Measure Panel

The Measure panel allows you to measure:

•	Distance between nodes or systems (markers)

•	Minimum distance between two entities (nodes, components, or elements).

•	Incremental distance between nodes or systems (markers)

•	Position of x, y, z coordinates at any given time frame (nodes or systems/markers)

•	Relative displacement of nodes or systems (markers)

•	Relative angle between two nodes or systems (markers)

•	Incremental angle between two nodes or systems (markers)

•	Angle between three nodes or systems (markers)

•	Yaw, pitch, and roll of systems (markers)

•	Element or nodal results when contour data is applied

•	Path between two (or more) nodes

•	Radius of a circle defined by three nodes or systems

Measures can also be defined on cross-section nodes for measuring position, distance between, or any other nodal measure type to examine the points on the deformed section. Calculating intrusion on a vehicle cross car section of the B-pillar is an example for automotive crash simulations that will be applicable. In addition, nodal results can be measured on cross-sections and paths defined to study the variation of a result, as blank thickness from stamping simulations, using the path measures. See the Cross-Section Measurements and Path Plots topic for additional details.

To access the Measure panel, click on the Measure button on the Annotations toolbar, or select Measure from the Annotations menu.

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Measure panel

After creating a measure, you can use it to create a curve in a preview plot, a new plot, or an existing plot. Cross plotting options to control the abscissa of the curve are also available.

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Example - Measure Group with a Bar Chart

Measure Groups List

Measure groups are displayed in the Measure Groups list and can be added and deleted using the Add and Delete buttons.

Keyboard shortcuts are also available for selecting items within the list:

•	Press the SHIFT or CTRL key on the keyboard + the left mouse button to select multiple items from the list.

•	Press the CTRL + A keys on the keyboard to select all items in the list.

•	Press the DELETE key on the keyboard to delete the selected measure group(s).

In addition, you can access the following context menu options by right-clicking anywhere within the Measure Groups list:

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Delete	Deletes the selected measure group(s) from the list. .
Rename	Displays the Rename dialog, which allows you to rename the selected measure group.
Show	Displays the selected measure group(s) in the graphics area and activates the corresponding check box(s).
Hide	Hides the selected measure group(s) in the graphics area and deactivates the corresponding check box(s).

When a measure group is activated, it is included in the measure calculations and displayed on the screen. For each relative displacement or relative angle, the time step at which the measure was created is displayed as a reference. The definition of the currently selected measure group is displayed in the definition window.

When a contour is applied to the model, the two measure groups listed below are automatically created. These measure groups are predefined and cannot be altered.

Static MinMax Result	Displays the minimum and maximum values from all the time steps combined.
Dynamic MinMax Result	Displays the minimum and maximum values at each time step.

You can sort the items in the Measure Groups list by clicking on one of the list headings.

Defining Measure Groups

The types of measures that can be performed are listed in the drop-down menu. Each measure type has various display options associated with it that can be activated using the check boxes. ID (entity ID), Name (measure group name) and System (system ID).

The entities that will be used to perform a measure are selected using the Nodes, Components, Elements, or Systems (Markers) input collector.

Nodes or elements can be selected across different overlaid models.

The measure types are:

Distance Between

The distance between two nodes or two systems (markers). The options, Magnitude, X, Y, and Z, allow you to display the designated value for each selected measure group.

Minimum Distance

The minimum (or shortest) distance between two entities.

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Click on the Pick Entities button to display the Minimum Distance dialog:

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Use the From and To input collectors to select, or change, the type of entity that will be added to a measure group. You can then pick entities to be measured directly from the screen, using the quick window selection, or by clicking the Elements, Components, or Nodes input collector and using the extended entity selection menu. See Selecting Entities Using the Input Collector for more information on selecting entities.

Note - The From collector will always pick nodes (only) on the selected part, and the To collector will either pick nodes or elements on the selected part. For faster computation, it is recommended to use to Nodes for both collectors.

When defining From or To sides, picking entities from more than one model is not allowed. A warning message will be displayed and you will have to redefine the set.

Activate the Save set check box to save the measure groups as a set. See the Set Panel topic for additional information.

The options, Magnitude, X, Y, and Z, allow you to display the designated value for each selected measure group.

You can also use the Results browser context menu and the Entity Editor section of the browser to create, view, and edit a minimum distance measure group.

Incremental Distance

The incremental distance between two nodes or two systems (markers). The incremental distance gives the relative change in distance between two points. It is calculated by taking the distance between two entities (at the current time step) and subtracting the distance between (at the relevant frame, or time step, depending on the animation mode as defined below). The change of length is displayed.

-	In transient animation mode, the incremental distance is relative to the time step at which the measure is defined. The change in distance between two points is tracked relative to the time at which the measure is defined.

-	In linear or modal animation mode dealing with real data, the incremental distance always gives the change in distance between two points with respect to the undeformed configuration.

-	In modal animation mode with complex data, the incremental distance is relative to the frame/angle at which the measure is defined.

The options, Magnitude, X, Y, and Z, allow you to display the designated value for each selected measure group.

Position

Available for nodes or systems (only). Provides x, y, and z coordinates at any given time frame. The options, X, Y, and Z, allow you to display the designated value for each selected measure group.

Relative Displacement

The distance of a node at any given time relative to a position at the time the measure item is defined. The options, Magnitude, X, Y, and Z, allow you to display the designated value for each selected measure group.

Relative Angle

The angle between the new N1 N2 direction versus the original N1 N2 direction defined at the time the measure is created (T1). The display options are True angle, X-projection, Y-projection, and Z-projection. The X-projection option displays the projected true angle onto the plane, with the x-axis as the normal. The Y-projection and Z-projection options act in a similar manner.

Angle Between

The angle between three nodes (N1, N2, and N3) or three systems (markers). Three nodes/markers are required to define the measure. The display options are True angle, X-projection, Y-projection, and Z-projection.

Incremental Angle

The incremental angle between three nodes (N1, N2, and N3) or three systems (markers). Three nodes/markers are required to define the measure. The incremental angle gives the relative change in angle formed by the three points. It is calculated by taking the included angle of the three points (at the current time step) and subtracting the angle between (at the relevant frame, or time step, depending on the mode of animation as defined below). The change of angle is displayed.

-	In transient animation mode, the incremental angle is relative to the time step at which the measure is defined. The change in angle is tracked relative to the time at which the measure is defined.

-	In linear or modal animation mode dealing with real data, the incremental angle always gives the change in angle with respect to the undeformed configuration.

-	In modal animation mode with complex data, the incremental angle is relative to the frame/angle at which the measure is defined

The display options are True angle, X-projection, Y-projection, and Z-projection.

Circle radius

The radius and center point of a circle defined by three nodes or three systems. The display options are Radius, Ctr X, Ctr Y, and Ctr Z.

Yaw Pitch Roll

The angular rotational displacement of a system (marker) around the z-axis, y-axis, and the x-axis is defined. The display options are Yaw, Pitch, and Roll.

Nodal Contour or Elemental Contour

When a contour has been applied to the model, an additional measure option is available. Nodal Contour is added if the contour contains nodal results; Elemental Contour is added if the contour contains elemental results.

For each of these measure types, you can display the nodal or elemental values of the selected nodes or elements by activating Value.

If the contour is based on a MaxLayer/MinLayer/ExtremeLayer, then the Value displayed consists of two parts: a “Value =” display that gives the actual value extracted across all layers that is a Max/Min/Extreme respectively, and a “Layer=” display that provides the layer name corresponding to the Max/Min/Extreme value. This is useful in identifying the significant ply and its value at the same time. Any curves generated from the Create Curves button will be plotting based on the number associated with “Value=”.

An additional Envelope Subcase check box is available if the contour belongs to an Envelope derived load case. This option will only be displayed in the panel if:

•	The Envelope trace plot type is set to None.

•	The Envelope function is not of the Range type.

Activating Envelope Subcase will display the subcase to which the value belong.

Node Path

Two or more nodes are required to define this measure. The nodes located in the path between the selected nodes will be automatically selected. You can continue to select nodes in the model to define a path from which you would like to extract the contour results in order to create a plot. The options, Value and Distance, allow you to display the value and distance magnitude for nodes. Distance displays the distance from the first node to each node along the path.

Nodes on a cross-section can be selected for defining a path along the cross-sections. This is useful in measuring the variation of a result, for example the blank thickness in stamping simulation, along a section cut. There are however, certain restrictions on selection and interchangeability of paths on regular model nodes to section cut nodes. See the Cross-Section Measurements and Path Plots topic for additional information.

Multi select/
Add Items

Allows you to select multiple entities which will be added to a measure group. Activating this check box enables the Add Items button, and also changes the entity collector from a single entity collector to an extended entity collector.

After defining multiple entities, click on Add Items to add these entities to the current measure group.

The Multi select option is only available for the following measure types:

•

Position

•	Relative Displacement

•	Yaw Pitch Roll

•	Nodal Contour

•	Elemental Contour

Note - Multi-selection of the node collector only works on the nodes of the model (the nodes on cross-section are not supported).

Entity input collector

The input collector allows you to select, or change, the type of entity that will be added to a measure group.

Display Options

Allows you to control the display for all measure types.

	Transparency	Activate the Transparency check box to remove the color from the measure group box and make it transparent against the window.
	Auto-hide	Activate the Auto-hide check box to hide the measure group box when the selected entities are not visible on the screen.
	Prefix	Active the Prefix check box to show the prefixes for the measure readouts (for example, "Value =").
	Format	Allows you to select either the Fixed or Scientific format for the measure labels.
	Precision	Allows you to set the numeric precision from 0 to 10 decimal points.
	Angle	Allows you to select either Degrees or Radians as the unit format used to display the angle.

Use tracking	Use tracking is available for all the measure types except Elemental/Nodal Contour and Nodal Path. This option is enabled only if a tracking system has been defined and activated from the Tracking panel. When Use tracking is activated, the measure displays values relative to the tracking system. Or if the Align with global (T=0) option is activated from the Tracking panel, the tracking system is aligned with global coordinate systems and the displayed measure values are transformed back to global directions. This applies to measures like Position, Relative Displacement, and Distance Between. This option is not available if you are using the Modal or Linear Static animation mode.
Resolved in	Allows you to transform your measure from the global system to a user selected system. This option is turned off when the Use Tracking check box is activated.
Measure item list	Displays all items/entities included in a measure group. You can use the reorder arrow buttons (located to the right of the list box) to move a selected item to a different location within the list (up or down). If a Live link is available for the items plotted on a single curve (see descriptions of the Single Curve and Live link options below), the curve is instantly adjusted to the new order of the items. Reordering also helps in sorting items according to a particular direction of the model (increasing the X, Y, or Z location, or the IDs of the entities).
Review (for Minimum Distance measure groups only)	The Review mode allows you to see which items/entities are included in the To and From sides of the selected Minimum Distance measure group. Click the Review mode button to start/enter the review mode. Note - The button will remain in a depressed state to indicate the review mode is active. When the mode is active, you can click on an item/entity in the Measure item list within a particular Measure group to display which entities are included in the To side of the measure item (highlighted in green) and which entities are included in the From side of the measure item (highlighted in white). To stop/exit the review mode and return the model to its normal display state, simply left click on the Review mode icon again. Click the Edit button to edit the items/entities included in the selected measure. Click the button to display the Minimum Distance dialog.
Delete	Deletes the selected entity from the Measure item list. Multiple items in the list box can be selected for deletion by holding down the SHIFT or CTRL key while selecting the items.
Create Curves	Click to display the Create Curves dialog. This dialog allows you to create curves from selected measures and place them on a plot:

Live Link

The Live link option creates a link between the selections made on the Measure panel and the curve. (Live) is added to the name of the measure item and the curve name to indicate that a live link is established. When a live measure item is deleted, a message is displayed prompting you to keep or delete the curve. When saving a report template with the live link option enabled, the curve is reestablished from a newly specified data file. The curve will be fully updated once a full cycle of animation is completed. A curve that is linked to a measure is updated when a tracking system is applied.

Single Curve

Activate this check box to enable the X-axis option (see description below). This option is only available for single entity measures (Position, Relative Displacement, Nodal/Elemental Contour, and Yaw Pitch Roll), and is particularly useful for plotting path measures of discrete selections.

Note - This option will automatically be activated for all Node Path measures.

Clicking on the measure curves within the HyperGraph Coordinate Info panel will highlight the entities in the HyperView graphics area.

In order for the highlighting to work, the curves must be Live linked and they should also be created as either a Single Curve or from a Node Path. This is useful in identifying the entities at min/max of the curves points (see the example below):

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HyperGraph Coordinate Info Panel (with max curve point selected)

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HyperView Graphics Area (with node highlighted on the model)

Use the Place on drop-down menu to select from on the following options:

	Preview plot	Allows you to review curves in a preview window.
	New plot	The curve is created in the next available empty window. If no such window exists, then the page layout is changed to the layout with an empty window. If no empty window is found, then a new page is added.
	Existing plot	The curve is created in an existing plot window that was selected from the page and window tree.
	Y-axis	Select a component of a measure to define the Y-axis in the plot. The available options depend on the measure group type selected.
	X-axis	Select a component of a measure to define the X-axis in the plot. The available options are: Distance, Entity-X, Entity-Y, Entity-Z, or Entity ID. With the X-axis option selected, the values of the abscissa of the curve will be updated at every time step for transient results, and at every frame for modal results with complex data. The default setting for this option is Distance.

Note	If you are using the Modal or Linear animation mode with non-complex data, the value will remain constant throughout the period of animation.

	OK	Click OK to create a curve in a preview plot, a new plot, or an existing plot in a HyperGraph window.
	Cancel	Click Cancel to disregard the settings and exit the dialog.

Note

Bar chart plotting is also available. In order to obtain a bar chart from the measure, you need to pick an existing bar chart window with the Existing plot option, or have an empty bar chart window available with the New plot option. Every curve addition to the bar chart replaces the categories with the selected X-axis option. It is important to make sure that you have consistent categories in the bar chart when overlaying multiple curves. See the HyperGraph User's Guide for additional information.

Font

Click the Font button, , to display the Font Selector dialog. This dialog allows you to select the font type, font style, and font size.

Color

Click the Color box to select a measure color from the pop-up dialog.

1.	From the Measure panel, click Add.

A measure group with a default name is added to the list.

2.	Rename the measure group.

-	Right click on the measure group name.

-	Select Rename from the context menu.

The Rename dialog is displayed.

-	Enter a new name.

Click OK.

The measure group is renamed.

3.	Select the measure group from the list.

4.	Click Delete.

The measure group is deleted from the list.

1.	From the Measure panel, select a measure group from the Measure Groups list.

2.	Select a measure group type from the drop-down menu.

3.	Activate the display options that you want to view.

4.	Select a coordinate system for Resolved in, if you would like to reference a system other than the Global System.

5.	Select the relevant number of nodes or elements using the input collector or pick them directly from the screen.

As you select nodes or elements, a measure is generated based on the number of nodes or elements required for the current measure group type. Use the reset button, , to clear your selections if necessary.

The node or element IDs for each selection are added to the definition box.

1.	From the Measure panel, select a measure group.

2.	Select a set of nodes or elements from the definition box.

3.	Click the Create Curves button.

The Create Curves dialog is displayed.

4.	Activate the Live Link check box if you want to establish a link between the selections on the Measure panel and the curve.

5.	Activate the Single Curve check box to enable the X-axis option (see below). This option is only available for single entity measures.

This option will automatically be activated for all Node Path measures.

6.	Select the Y-axis for the curve. The available options depend on the group measure type.

7.	Select the X-axis for the curve (if available).

This option will only be available if the Single Curve option is activated.

8.	From the Place on drop-down menu, select a destination for the curve.

9.	If you selected Existing plot, select a plot from the session tree and click OK.

The curve is added to the existing plot in HyperGraph.

10.	If you selected Preview plot:

Click OK.

The curve is displayed in the Plot preview dialog.

-	Click the X in the upper right corner to close the dialog.

11.	If you selected New plot, click OK.

A plot is created in a HyperGraph window. The position of the plot in the window is based on the next available page layout.

Measure Panel - HyperView

Measure Panel - HyperView

Measure Panel - HyperView

Measure Groups List

Defining Measure Groups