Understanding Load Sets

Every load that you add belongs to a load set. A load set is a collection of loads that act together on your model. Load sets cannot contain constraints.

To manage your load sets click Home > Loads >

Load Sets. The Load Sets dialog box opens with the following items:

• New—Opens the Load Set Definition dialog box. Enter a name and optional description for the new load set.

You can also access the Load Set Definition dialog box by clicking the New button in the Member of Set area of the Force/Moment Load, Pressure Load, Gravity Load, Centrifugal Load, or Structural Temperature Load dialog boxes.

• Copy—Copies the selected load set and adds to the list in the Load Sets dialog box. The new load set includes copies of the same loads as the original load set.

• Edit—Opens the Load Set Definition dialog box to enable you to modify any information you used to specify the highlighted load set.

If you want the flexibility of treating each of your loads or constraints separately, use a unique load and load set name for each load or constraint.

Load and constraint sets provide a logical means of organizing your modeling entities so that you can define analyses effectively and clearly. A carefully-considered approach to load and constraint set creation simplifies load and constraint selection when defining your analyses. Although you are free to create a separate load or constraint set for each of your modeling entities, you can greatly reduce the number of selections you need to make when defining your analyses by grouping your loads and constraints into sets.