Display function of element coordinate system XY direction of shell element in Inventor Nastran

[norihiro_abe]

In Inventor Nastran, the element coordinate system Z direction (normal direction) of shell elements can be displayed and checked, but I would like to be able to display and check the XY directions as well.

[John_Holtz]

Hi @norihiro_abe . You can see the shell XY axis (at least the X axis), but you have to define a direction first. See How to define the material and stress axes in Inventor Nastran.

[norihiro_abe]

Hi @John_Holtz.

 Thank you for your comment. I know how to define the axis direction by the user, but I would like to know the axis direction when cut by Automesh. I have already contacted Autodesk Japan's support about this issue, and they replied that "it is not possible to display the element coordinate system (XY)." By the way, I heard that it is possible to check the X-axis direction, but I would appreciate it if you could tell me how to do it.

[John_Holtz]

Hi @norihiro_abe . I agree that Inventor will not show the default orientation. For most models, the default is not important because it will be random, and showing the average of two random results from adjacent elements would be the wrong result. It is better to define the orientation so that you can see it and get meaningful results.

By the way, the default orientation is in the direction from node 1 (G1) to node 2 (G2) on the element. See for example CQUAD4 and CTRIA3. You could use the model tree "Elements > Query Display" to see what nodes are on the element, then "Nodes > Query Display" to find where G1 and G2 are on the element. Then you would know the orientation for 1 element.