Working with Excitations

You can apply excitations or preprocessing specifications to your model. Excitations are stored in the excitation library. The excitation library belongs to the Scenario category of a structural analysis simulation.

This task shows you how to:

Before you begin: A structural analysis simulation must be open.
Related Topics
About Structural Analysis Simulations
Creating Analysis Scenarios
Defining a Current Object
Authorized Supports
Reviewing Specifications

Insert an Excitation Set

Each time you create an analysis scenario, you can create new excitation sets. You can also create as many excitation sets as you want directly in the excitation library (under Excitations in the specification tree), and reference those sets later in a scenario definition or creation. For example: when you create a static scenario, you can create a new restraint set, a new load set and a new mass set. Those sets appear in the specification tree both under the excitation library and under the created scenario.

Important: You can create only restraint, load and mass sets under the excitation library. You cannot create dynamic excitation sets directly under the excitation library, you can create new dynamic sets only during the dynamic scenario definition.

  • Right-click Excitations in the specification tree, and select one of the following:
    • Insert > Restraint Set to create a restraint set. An new empty restraint set appears in the excitation library. You can now create restraints under this set, you can also insert an other restraint set by repeating the same step, and you can also reference this new restraint set in a scenario.
    • Insert > Load Set to create a load set. A new empty load set is created in the excitation library. You can now create loads and reference this load set for a scenario definition.
    • Insert > Mass Set to create a mass set. A new empty mass set is created in the excitation library. You can now create mass specifications and reference this load set for a scenario definition.

Create Excitations in the Excitation Library

When you create an excitation, it is stored in the current excitation set. When there is no current excitation set, you have to select the excitation set in which you want to store the specification you are creating. The current excitation set is the excitation set of the current scenario or the only excitation set that exists.

For example, when you create a restraint specification, the following rule is applied:

  • If there is only one restraint set in the excitation library, the restraint specification is created directly in this restraint set.
  • If several restraint sets exist in the excitation library and no scenario referencing a restraint set is set as current, you have to specify the restraint set in which you want to create the restraint specification.

  1. Select the excitation set to specify where you want to create the excitation.

  2. Create the excitation.

Modify Excitations

You can modify existing excitations.

  1. To modify an excitation, you can either:

    • Double-click the excitation in the specification tree.
    • Right-click the excitation in the specification tree, and select .object > Definition....
    • Double-click the 3D representation of the excitation if it exists.

    The corresponding dialog box appears.

  2. Modify the excitation.

  3. Click OK.