Solving internal cross section stress in Nastran

[jchurch]

I'm new to stress analysis with Nastran, and am trying to find a way to calculate internal stress values on a cross section of a part. I'm running a simple static tension load case using SOL101 on a hollow cylindrical housing. The output file shows surface stresses on the part, but I need stress values on at least 8 nodes through a given cross section in order to calculate an average cross section stress. I've been told this is possible in other FEA packages (ANSYS, etc.) but it is not clear to me how to get these results out of NX Nastran. I'm using a simple 3D tetrahedral mesh, and cannot find a way to add a discrete cross section mesh for my area of interest to the analysis. Anyone have some insight on this?

I'm using NX 9/Nastran 9

 

[Tuw]

Hi,

Yes you can get the stress value across a section. Follow the steps below:

1. Create the stress contour plot. This is where you see the surface stress only.
2. Click Edit Post View button at the Results Tab.
3. On the Display tab, find "Display on", from the drop down list, choose Cutting Plane. Then, click on the Option... button
4. You should be brought to the Cutting Plane dialog box. Now play around with the buttons available and create a cross section on your simulation model. Once satisfied, exit this dialog box. After this step, you should be able to see the contour plot of the cross section.
5. Furthermore, to measure the value of the stress at the cross section, use the Identify Results button.

Kind regards,
Tuw