findBodyLoad

(To be removed) Find body load assigned to geometric region

findBodyLoad will be removed. Use the CellLoad and FaceLoad properties of femodel instead. (since R2023a) For more information on updating your code, see Version History.

Syntax

bl = findBodyLoad(bodyLoads,RegionType,RegionID)

Description

bl = findBodyLoad(bodyLoads,RegionType,RegionID) returns the body load assigned to a geometric region of the structural model. A body load must use units consistent with the geometry and other model attributes.

Examples

Find Body Load

Create a structural model.

structuralModel = createpde("structural","static-solid");

Create and plot the geometry.

gm = multicuboid(0.5,0.1,0.1);
structuralModel.Geometry = gm;
pdegplot(structuralModel,"FaceAlpha",0.5)

Specify Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and the mass density. Notice that the mass density value is required for modeling gravitational effects.

structuralProperties(structuralModel,"YoungsModulus",210E3, ...
                                     "PoissonsRatio",0.3,...
                                     "MassDensity",2.7E-6);

Specify the gravity load on the beam.

structuralBodyLoad(structuralModel, ...
                  "GravitationalAcceleration",[0;0;-9.8]);

Check the body load specification for cell 1.

findBodyLoad(structuralModel.BodyLoads,"Cell",1)

ans = 
  BodyLoadAssignment with properties:

                   RegionType: 'Cell'
                     RegionID: 1
    GravitationalAcceleration: [0 0 -9.8000]
              AngularVelocity: []
                  Temperature: []
                     TimeStep: []
                        Label: []

Input Arguments

bodyLoads — Body loads

BodyLoads property of StructuralModel object

Body loads of the model, specified as a BodyLoads property of a StructuralModel object.

Example: structuralmodel.BodyLoads

RegionType — Geometric region type

"Face" for a 2-D model | "Cell" for a 3-D model

Geometric region type, specified as "Face" for a 2-D model or "Cell" for a 3-D model.

Example: findBodyLoad(structuralmodel.BodyLoads,"Cell",1)

Data Types: char | string

RegionID — Geometric region ID

vector of positive integers

Geometric region ID, specified as a vector of positive integers. Find the region IDs by using pdegplot.

Example: findBodyLoad(structuralmodel.BodyLoads,"Cell",1)

Data Types: double

Output Arguments

bl — Body load assignment

BodyLoadAssignment object

Body load assignment, returned as a BodyLoadAssignment object. For details, see BodyLoadAssignment Properties.

Version History

Introduced in R2017b

R2025a: To be removed

findBodyLoad will be removed. Use the CellLoad and FaceLoad properties of femodel instead.

For example, you can check the body loads for all cells as follows.

model = femodel(AnalysisType="structuralStatic", ...
                Geometry="Block.stl");
model.CellLoad = cellLoad(Gravity=[0 0 -9.8]);
model.CellLoad

Alternatively, you can check the body loads on particular cells.

model.CellLoad(1)

The unified finite element model workflow defines the type of a problem and all of its parameters as the properties of an femodel object. This object enables you to specify physical parameters for structural, thermal, and electromagnetic types of analyses. The solver in the unified workflow uses only the parameters (properties) appropriate for the current analysis type while ignoring all other properties. If you switch the analysis type by setting the AnalysisType property of the model, the solver uses the appropriate set of properties corresponding to the new analysis type.

For more help migrating your existing code that uses StructuralModel to the unified finite element workflow, see Migration from Domain-Specific to Unified Workflow.