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Tools for Understanding Behavior
- PERFORM-3D includes a number of tools for processing the analysis results. One set of tools allows you to study the behavior of a structure, and to check that the analysis look reasonable. These tools are as follows:
- Deflected shapes. These can be animated, for both static push-over and dynamic response history analysis.
- Time histories of many response quantities, including node displacements, velocities and accelerations; element and component forces and deformations; and forces on “structure sections” that cut through all or parts of the structure.
- Hysteresis loops for inelastic components.
- Moment and shear diagrams for beams, columns, and shear walls. These can be animated.
- Energy balance, showing strain energy, kinetic energy, inelastic work, and damping energy. This includes a comparison of external and internal work, which provides a good indication of the numerical accuracy of the analysis.
- These tools are not directly useful for making design decisions. For this, see the next section, Performance Assessment.
