Mass Calc Panel
Use the Mass Calc panel to obtain the mass, area, and/or volume of a selected group of elements, solids, or surfaces.
Location: Tool page
Because materials can only be assigned to mesh, you cannot find the mass of a geometric entity (surface or solid) - only its area, or surface area and volume.
Elements Subpanel
Mass from 1D elements other than that of true mass elements (config. 1) is omitted from this calculation.
Mass from 2D or 3D elements is calculated by multiplying each element's volume by the
density rho specified for its component. The volume of a two-dimensional element is
its surface area multiplied by the thickness specified for its component. The
surface area of a two-dimensional element and the volume of a three-dimensional
element are calculated using Gaussian quadrature with the patterns of Gauss points
that are described with the Jacobian ratio element quality check on the Check
Elements panel.
| Option | Action |
|---|---|
| elems/comps | Select the entities to
include in the calculation. Note: Whether you select
elements or components, elements are selected. Components
select all elements within the specified
components.
|
| area =, volume =, total mass = | Display the relevant
totaled data for the selected elements once you click
calculate. Note: This is a read-only text
field.
|
Surfaces Subpanel
Because materials can only be assigned to elements, it is not possible to calculate
the mass of an area within Engineering Solutions because the density cannot be
assigned to it. If you wish to find the mass of a 2D shell based on assigned
material properties, you would need to mesh the surface, assign a material to the
resulting mesh, and then perform a mass calculation on the elements instead of the
surfaces.
| Option | Action |
|---|---|
| surfs | Select the surfaces to include in the calculation. |
| area = | Display the total area
of the selected surfaces once you click calculate. Note: This is
a read-only text field.
|
Solids Subpanel
Because materials can only be assigned to elements, it is not possible to calculate
the mass of a solid within Engineering Solutions because the density cannot be
assigned to it. If you wish to find the mass of a 3D object based on assigned
material properties, you would need to tetramesh or hex-mesh the solid, assign a
material to the resulting mesh, and then perform a mass calculation on the elements
instead of the solids.
| Option | Action |
|---|---|
| solids | Select the solid entities to included in the calculation. |
| area =, volume = | Display the relevant
totaled data for the selected solid elements once you click
calculate. Note: This is a read-only text
field.
|
Command Buttons
| Button | Action |
|---|---|
| calculate | Perform the relevant calculations and populate the output fields for area, volume, and/or total mass as appropriate to the entity type once entities have been selected. |
| return | Exit the panel |