Summing Radial Reaction Forces

[hadley_rossignol]

I am trying to determine the amount of force that is required to change the diameter of a part by a certain amount. By using enforced motion and a cylindrical coordinate system, I was able to generate the model. However, the reaction forces are split into the reaction force in various radial directions (unsure what the intervals are) and are not the total reaction force, which is ultimately what I am looking for. 

Wondering if there is a way to determine this force.

[John_Holtz · Accepted solution]

Hi @hadley_rossignol . Welcome to the Inventor Nastran forum.

If you are using the Inventor interface, I am 99% certain the reaction forces (SPC results in the contour plot) are in global X,Y,Z. The SPC forces are not in the radial direction. To get what you want, you would need to do the following:

1. Export the SPC forces in X, Y, Z to a text file.
2. Get the coordinates of the nodes.
3. Convert the X, Y, Z SPC force to radial direction based on the position of the node.
4. Sum the result.

The first two steps can be done with the third-party app FNO Reader. The last two steps would be done in Excel. 

Let us know if you have any questions.

John