T.2 Viewing the force and moment diagrams

Tip: You can display force or moment diagrams on most any page in the Post-Processing, but is recommended to use the Beam | Forces page to do so.

Select the Beam Results page on the Postprocessing page control bar.
Note: You can display force and moment diagrams on most results pages by selecting corresponding tool from the View Result group on the Results ribbon tab. The corresponding tool remains depressed when the diagram is displayed.
The bending moment MZ is drawn on the structure by default. The Beam End Forces table and Beam Force Detail table open. T.2 The Beam Forces Table for details on these tables.

To change the force or moment (i.e., degree of freedom) diagram displayed, either:

select the corresponding diagram tool from the View Result group on the Results ribbon tab

select Structure tool in the Configuration group on the Results ribbon tab and then select the degrees of freedom to display from the Beam Forces group on the Loads and Results tab.

Table 1. Results diagram tools
Tool	What it does
	Displays the axial force diagram
	Displays the shear Y diagram
	Displays the shear Z diagram
	Displays the torsion diagram
	Displays the bending Y diagram
	Displays the bending Z diagram
	Displays the beam stress (tension and compression) diagrams.

Note: The Load and Results tab on the Diagrams dialog can also be used to select the color for each diagram as well as the display method (i.e., hatched, filled, or outline).

Tip: You can display multiple diagrams simultaneously.

(Optional) If the force or moment diagram is not exaggerated enough to clearly identify, you can change the scale:
1. On the Results ribbon tab, select the Scale tool in the Configuration group.
  
  The Diagrams dialog opens displaying the Scales tab.
  
  Tip: You can also open the Diagrams dialog by selecting the Structure tool or by right-clicking in the View area and then selecting Structure Diagrams from the pop-up menu.
2. Change the value in the corresponding Results Scales group to the diagram currently displayed.
  Tip: Smaller numbers exaggerate the diagram.
  Type a value of 50 (kN/m per m) to clearly see the Bending Z due to load case 5.
3. Click Apply.
  Tip: You can set the Apply Immediately option on this tab to view the scale change as you use the up/down arrows in any of the Result Scales fields.
4. Click OK.
To change the load case being displayed, select from the current Load list in the window status bar.

Tip: Alternatively, select the Structure tool in the Configuration group on the Results toolbar. The active load case can be selected on the Load and Results tab in the Diagrams dialog.

The results displayed are for the selected load case only.
Annotate the bending Z moment diagram to display the maximum moment in the beams for load case 5:
1. Select Results > View Value. The Annotation dialog opens.
2. On the Ranges tab, select the Ranges option and then type 2 5 (spaced node number list) in the Beams field.
3. Select the Beam Results tab and then check the Maximum option in the Bending group.
4. Click Annotate and then click Close.
  The bending Z moment diagram is annotated for load case 5, as in the following figure.
Change the display units for bending moments: The units in which results values are displayed in the post-processing mode are referred to as the display units.
1. On the File ribbon tab, select Display Options on the Settings tab.
  The Options dialog opens.
2. Select the Force Units tab.
3. Change Moment selection from kNm (kilonewton meters) to kip-ft (kilopound feet).
4. Click OK.
  The diagram updates to reflect the new units.