The Plot Deformed Mesh option is used to examine a 3D view of the FE mesh in the deformed position. Since deformations are relatively small in a realistic pavement system, the user must specify the Displ. Scale. This is a magnification factor for the deformations that can be varied to improve the clarity of the figure. The user also has the option to overlay the undeformed mesh by choosing the Plot Undef. Mesh option. This may aid in the visualization of the deformations. The user may also find it help to alternate between the Results and the Meshing tabs or the Results and the Loads tabs to aid in the visualization of the deformed mesh. The user has the ability to zoom and drag the image on the main graphics panel when the Plot Deformed Mesh option is selected. It should be noted that when the user first selects the Plot Deformed Mesh option, EverStressFE may appear to pause or lag for a moment. This is due to the fact that extensive one-time calculations are being performed to determine the coordinates of the deformed mesh. A sample screenshot of the EverStressFE program showing the Plot Deformed Mesh visualization of results is shown in Figure 1 (see the Tutorial Example for more information).
Figure 1: Results Tab Showing Deformed Mesh and Critical Microstrains