When we use APDL to generate contour plots, some necessary information is displayed in the upper left corner of the plot, such as result type, time point of the result, load step, result coordinate system type, as well as DMX, SMX, and SMN. Many beginners may not fully understand the meaning of these three. Shuige will briefly explain them here:
DMX: Maximum value of the total displacement of the model
SMX: Maximum value of the current contour plot content
SMN: Minimum value of the current contour plot content
The so-called total displacement here refers to the maximum value of the square root of the sum of squares of displacements in three directions, which is also the maximum value in the PLNSOL,U,SUM contour plot. By default, DMX is always constant and does not change with the content of the contour plot.
Illustrated with screenshots below:
1. Plot the total displacement of a structure, command PLNSOL,U,SUM
DMX=SMX=0.373e-4, and the maximum value of the contour plot is 0.373e-4
2. Plot the Y-direction displacement contour, command PLNSOL,U,Y
DMX=0.373e-4
SMX=0.356e-4, the maximum value of the model contour plot is 0.356e-4
3. Plot the X-direction stress contour, command PLNSOL,S,X
DMX=0.373e-4
SMX=0.3822
SMN=-0.0766
If you want to change the displayed DMX, SMX, and SMN information, right-click in the window and select Legend Settings to configure.
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