In FEA projects, element forces generated during the finite element analysis are post-processed into sets of design-to loads. This process of converting element forces to design-to (i.e. stiffened panel) loads is sometimes referred to as "pulling the loads".
The challenge of pulling the loads is determining how to aggregate loads from multiple finite elements into a single set of design-to loads. For example, a typical smeared panel component is modeled using several finite elements. If the Nx element force varies among the elements, designing to the maximum element load for panel strength may be appropriate for material strength but could be too conservative for panel buckling since the peak element load may be localized. For this reason, strength loads are computed separately from buckling loads.
There are several methods available to pull FEA loads: N-Sigma, Element Based, and Element Peak. The FEA load method is defined per-component within the FEA Loads tab of the Sizing form in the "FEA Load Extraction Method" drop-down menu.
See the methods document for more information.
See the HME document for more information.
