Flexcom > Theory > Postprocessing > Custom Postprocessing > Excel Add-in > Force Functions

Purpose

This is a general function capable of retrieving a wide variety of data from the force database. Refer to the discussion below for further details.

As the function is completely generic, it is recommended that you use the more specialised functions such as GetEffectiveTension, GetLocalYBendingMoment etc. This will keep your VBA code cleaner and easier to understand.

Syntax

GetForceValue (string DatabaseName, int TimeIndex, int ParameterType, int ItemNo, int DOFNo)

Parameters

DatabaseName (character string). The full path name to the relevant database. Note that you should to include the .DBF file extension in addition to the file stub name.

TimeIndex (integer). The relevant time index.

ParameterType (integer). The parameter type index. The values are as follows:

1Reaction Force

2Axial Force

3Local Y Shear Force

4Local Z Shear Force

5Torque

6Local Y Bending Moment

7Local Z Bending Moment

8Effective Tension

9Local Y Curvature

10Local Z Curvature

11Local Axial Strain

12Flat Guide Reactions

13Zero-Gap Guide Reactions

14Pipe-in-Pipe Reactions

15Clashing Reactions

16Temperature

17Pressure

ItemNo (integer). The item number. The significant of this variable is dependent on the selected parameter type. The values are as follows:

Parameter Index	Parameter Type	Item Number
1	Reaction Forces	Constrained Node Number Index
2-11	Element Forces/Stresses	Element Index
12,13	Guide Reactions	Guide Index
14	Pipe-in-Pipe Reactions	Pipe-in-Pipe Connection Index
15	Clashing Reactions	Clashing Region Index
16,17	Temperature/Pressure	Element Position (1=Start, 2=Midpoint, 3=End)

DOFNo (integer). The DOF number. The significant of this variable is dependent on the selected parameter type. The values are as follows:

Parameter Index	Parameter Type	Item Number
1	Reaction Forces	Degree of Freedom (1 to 6)
2-11	Element Forces/Stresses	Element Position (1=Start, 2=Midpoint, 3=End)
12,13	Guide Reactions	Degree of Freedom (1 to 3)
14	Pipe-in-Pipe Reactions	Degree of Freedom (1 to 3)
15	Clashing Reactions	Degree of Freedom (1 to 3)
16,17	Temperature/Pressure	Not applicable

Error Codes

-9999998 (if the specified database is invalid)

-9999999 (if the requested value cannot be retrieved from the database or if the inputs are out of range)