SDNODE preliminary documentation

01/22/88 M. Blake
SDNODE is a program to create SD2 plots of node information from
a SuperSap .DO output file. It was designed to graph Temperature
at one node as a function of timestep. However, it can also be
used to display displacements or rotations at one node as a function
of load case.
CREATING A GRAPH OF TEMPERATURE VS. TIMESTEP
For example, to obtain a plot of temperature vs. time for
node number 9 from the .DO file, 'test.DO', in response to the
DOS prompt, type:
sdnode test 9
The SDNODE program will display:
SDNODE version 1.00 Plotting Temperature for node 9
Reading from file: test.DO
Output file is testB9.ESD
To view plot, type 'SD2 testB9.'
The output file combines the file name, a letter indicating the
component plotted (A=DX, B=DY or Temperature, C=DZ, D=RX, E=RY and
F=RZ) and the node number. To view the plot, follow the instructions
for starting SD2.
OBTAINING INDIVIDUAL POINT VALUES
Using the SD2 INQUIRE:POINT command, you can obtain the value and
output step of any point (line endpoint) of the graph. To do this type:
F9 To return to the SD2 main menu,
I For the Inquire menu,
P For the Inquire:Point command.
Using the INQUIRE:POINT command, click on any graph point using the right
mouse button (or using the '*' key if in keyboard mode). The 'Y' and 'Z'
value of the point corresponds to the temperature and output step of that
point. (The 'X' value has been scaled so that the graph fits nicely in the
SD2 window so we are not interested in its value.) For example, if I
'right clicked' on an endpoint of one of the graph lines and saw:
X=3.5 Y=21.123 Z=5.
I would know that the temperature of the node was 21.123 at output step 5.
OBTAINING A PLOT OF DZ AS A FUNCTION OF LOADCASE
SDNODE can be used on SSAP0 runs to obtain the DX,DY,DZ displacements
or RX, RY, RZ rotations of any node as a function of loadcase. For example,
if 'stest.DO' were the SSAP0 output file and I wanted to view the Z
displacement of node 23 as a function of loadcase, I would type:
SDNODE stest 23 3
This would create an SD2 file, 'sdtestC23.esd', which contains a graph
of the Z displacement of node 23 as a function of loadcase.
COMBINING PLOTS
The SD2 commands, FILES:MERGE and MODIFY:SCALE, can be used to
combine the plots of multiple nodes onto the same graph. Since the 'X'
scaling of each graph was selected so the graph would fit nicely on the
screen (based on the vertical size of the graphs), the 'MODIFY:SCALE line'
command will have to be used to re-adjust the horizontal scaling of the
merged graphs.
To merge the SD2 graph files, testB1.ESD, testB5.ESD and
testB12.ESD. First, determine which graph is the largest (this is not
necessary, but makes the graph look better as we proceed). Then
load the largest graph in SD2. If 'testB5' were the largest graph,
and I were in SD2, I could type:
F9 To return to the SD2 main menu,
F For the FILES menu
L For the FILES:LOAD command
testB5<Enter> To load the file.
To merge-load the file 'testB1.ESD', I would type:
F9 To return to the SD2 main menu,
F For the FILES menu
M For the FILES:MERGE command
testB1<Enter> To merge the file.
To view everything, I would type:
F10 For the DRAW menu
E For the Enclosing operation.
Notice that everything from the merged file is selected. We can now re-scale
the merged graph so that the X axis length is the same as the testB5 X axis.
F9 To return to the SD2 main menu,
M For the MODIFY menu
S For the scale command
L For the 'Line sc' option
X To select the X direction only for scaling.
Now, using the mouse button, I would right-click (to snap to points) for
the Fixed, From and To points:
[right click] Click on the left end of the X axis (the Fixed point)
[right click] Click on the right end of 'selected' X axis (from point)
[right click] Click on the right end of the 'unselected' X axis (to point)
After the third 'right click', the merged graph should be rescaled in the
X direction only so that its X axis is the same size as the X axis from
testB5. If this is not the case, use the 'F2' key to UNDO the operation and
try again.
After rescaling the merged graph, you may want to use the SD2 MODIFY:DELETE
command to eliminate one of the X axes.
The third graph, testB12.ESD, can be combined using the MERGE and SCALE
commands in the same manner. Note that when you enter the MODIFY:SCALE
menu, the '*Line sc' option should still be activated ('*') so you
should not re-type 'L' and 'X'.
IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE ZOOM OPERATIONS
SD2 uses the 'tolerance' to determine the smallest zoom increment. If
SD2 doesn't allow you to ZOOM IN or OUT, it is probably because the tolerance
is too large. The following sequence can be used to re-adjust the tolerance
based on the size of the objects on the screen:
F9 To return to the SD2 main menu,
C For the CONSTRUCT menu
C For the CONSTRUCT:CLEAN menu
S To 'Set tol'erance based on the picture size
SETTING THE TEXT SIZE AND ASPECT TO MATCH THE GRAPH TEXT
In versions 1.15 and later of SD2, the CURRENT:TEXT menu has a 'Get sa'
option. This option is used to set the size and aspect ratio based on
existing text. To use this option,
F5 Current menu
T CURRENT:TEXT
G to activate the 'Get sa' option
[click] on text of the desired size.