how to find displacement of component within assembly

Hi everyone,

a semi-circular square cross-section duct consisting of bolted plates is subjected to internal pressures such that the duct as whole is bent, and the individual plates bulge. what is a convenient way of finding the amount of bulging of the plates? how can i subtract the overall duct bending from the resulting displacements?

i could run a separate simulation for each plate loading it by the local pressure, but there are many many plates in this assembly. another way i thought of is to define the duct axis and measuring plate displacement with respect to the axis after deformation, but i cannot create that axis in the deformed result. is there a way to add geometry to the deformed result? or way to have the axis deform along with the duct?

i am hoping there is an easy way.

thanks for your thoughts,

Mark