Commands

Commands that operate on structural elements.

Structural elements are explicit finite-element based objects formulated using shell and beam theory. As with zones, all element force-displacement calculations are incremental.

Each individual element is connected to others via structural nodes. Interactions with other objects (primarily zones) are handled by structural links associated with the nodes.

There are six types of structural elements supported—each specifies both a default internal behavior and a default link formulation. There are three linear elements (beam, cable, and pile) and three two-dimensional plate elements (shell, liner, and geogrid).

The structural element logic differs from other modules in how it handles id numbers. Within this module, id numbers refer to collections of elements, identifying a given beam or cable structure that may be constructed of any number of individual elements. Each element is identified by a component-id number, which is unique to that element. Nodes and links may be selected by id number, which selects nodes that are attached to element collections with those numbers. Nodes and links also have their own individual component-id numbers.

For more detail, please see General Formulation of Structural-Element Logic.

[CS: previous sentence had this following “see”: the detailed :flag2:-structural element formulation- section. : check with DR that link supplied above is correct; also check whether that section is properly located (it could reasonably be moved adjacent to this topic)]

Structural Commands

Commands that affect the structural element logic in general.

structure damping Set the structural element logic damping scheme.
structure list information Lists general information about structural element settings.
structure results Controls if and what values are saved from zones in...
structure safety-factor Set the safety factor.
structure scale-rotational-mass This value applies to dynamic analysis only.

Commands that apply to beam elements.

structure beam apply Assign uniform applied distributed loads.
structure beam create Create a beam represented by one or more elements.
structure beam delete Delete all beam elements in the range.
structure beam group Assign all beam elements in the range to the group...
structure beam hide This commands hides or un-hides all beam elements in the...
structure beam history Samples beam responses that include force and moment carried by...
structure beam import Create beam elements from an outside source.
structure beam initialize Initializes quantities on the element.
structure beam list List information about beam elements.
structure beam property Assigns a property to elements in the range.
structure beam refine This command refines an existing element in the range by...
structure beam select This command selects or de-selects all elements in the range.

Commands that apply to cable elements.

structure cable apply Applies conditions to cable elements in the range.
structure cable create Create a cable, represented by one or more elements.
structure cable delete Delete all cable elements in the range.
structure cable group Assign all cable elements in the range to the group...
structure cable hide This commands hides or un-hides all cable elements in the...
structure cable history Sample cable responses.
structure cable import Create cable elements from an outside source.
structure cable initialize Initializes quantities on the element.
structure cable list List information about cables.
structure cable property Assigns a property to elements in the range.
structure cable refine This command refines an existing element in the range by...
structure cable select This commands selects or de-selects all elements in the range.

Commands that apply to geogrid elements.

structure geogrid apply Assign uniform applied pressure f to all geogrid elements in...
structure geogrid create Create a geogrid.
structure geogrid delete Delete all geogrid elements in the range.
structure geogrid group Assign all geogrid elements in the range to the group...
structure geogrid hide This commands hides or un-hides all geogrid elements in the...
structure geogrid history Sample geogrid responses.
structure geogrid import Create geogrid elements from an outside source.
structure geogrid initialize Initializes quantities on the element.
structure geogrid list List properties and response of each geogrid element in the...
structure geogrid property Assigns a property to elements in the range.
structure geogrid recover Stress-recovery for geogrid elements.
structure geogrid refine This command refines elements in the range by subdividing them...
structure geogrid select This commands selects or de-selects all elements in the range.

Commands that apply to liner elements.

structure liner apply Assign uniform applied pressure f to all liner elements in...
structure liner create Create a liner.
structure liner delete Delete all liner elements in the range.
structure liner gap-factor Sets the gap factor used during large-strain sliding of liner...
structure liner group Assign all liner elements in the range to the group...
structure liner hide This commands hides or un-hides all liner elements in the...
structure liner history Sample liner responses.
structure liner import Create liner elements from an outside source.
structure liner initialize Initializes quantities on the element.
structure liner list List properties and responses of each liner element in the...
structure liner property Assigns a property to elements in the range.
structure liner recover Stress recovery for liner elements.
structure liner refine this command refines elements in the range by subdividing them...
structure liner select This commands selects or de-selects all elements in the range.

Commands that apply to pile elements.

structure pile apply Assign uniform applied distributed loads.
structure pile create Create a pile represented by one or more elements.
structure pile delete Delete all pile elements in the range.
structure pile group Assign all pile elements in the range to the group...
structure pile hide This commands hides or un-hides all pile elements in the...
structure pile history Sample pile responses.
structure pile import Create pile elements from an outside source.
structure pile initialize Initializes quantities on the element.
structure pile list List information about piles.
structure pile property Assign the specified property to all elements in the range.
structure pile refine this command refines an existing element in the range by...
structure pile select This command selects or de-selects all elements in the range.

Commands that apply to shell elements.

structure shell apply Assign uniform applied pressure f to all shell elements in...
structure shell create Create a shell.
structure shell delete Delete all shell elements in the range.
structure shell group Assign all shell elements in the range to the group...
structure shell hide This command hides or un-hides all shell elements in the...
structure shell history Sample shell responses.
structure shell import Create shell elements from an outside source.
structure shell initialize Initializes quantities on the element.
structure shell list List properties and response of each shell element in the...
structure shell property Assigns a property to elements in the range.
structure shell recover Stress-recovery for shell elements.
structure shell refine This command refines elements in the range by subdividing them...
structure shell select This commands selects or de-selects all elements in the range.

Commands that apply to structural nodes elements.

structure node apply Set generalized point loads for all nodes in the range.
structure node create Create a structural node at location v .
structure node damping-local Sets the local-damping factor to f for all nodes in...
structure node delete Delete all nodes in the range.
structure node fix Fix conditions for all nodes in the range, thereby preventing...
structure node free Free fixed conditions for all nodes in the range.
structure node group Assign all nodes in the range to the group with...
structure node hide This command hides or un-hides all nodes in the range.
structure node history Samples nodal responses.
structure node initialize Initialize quantities on all structure nodes in the range.
structure node join This command creates node-to-node links on all nodes in the...
structure node list Show information about structural element nodes in the range.
structure node select This commands selects or de-selects all structural nodes in the...
structure node system-local Set the orientation of the node-local system for all nodes...

Commands that apply to structural links elements.

structure link attach Set attachment conditions for the specified link directions.
structure link create Creates new links on structure nodes in the range.
structure link delete Delete all links in the range.
structure link group Assign all links in the range to the group with...
structure link hide This commands hides or un-hides all links in the range.
structure link history Samples relative displacement or force from a single degree-of-freedom in...
structure link list List values and information about link objects in the range.
structure link property List a property of a deformable force-displacement model in the...
structure link select This commands selects or de-selects all links in the range.
structure link slide Set the large-strain sliding flag.
structure link tolerance-contact Set the tolerance used when establishing node-to-zone links.
structure link tolerance-node Set the tolerance used when establishing node-to-node links.
structure link tolerance-slide Set the tolerance used when updating node-to-zone links in response...