Beams

The data in the BEAMS module comes from the commands PHYSICAL, BSEC, BORI, MAT(UMAT), and it refers to the data in the modules ELEMENTS (property number), NODES (orientation node) and MATERIALS (material number).

The axis system is global Cartesian indicated by the constant property item

AXIS.NUMBER = 0

The contents header reads

SECT MATE IYY IZZ TORS AREA NODE INSID OUTS THIC

and these specify the physical and orientational properties of the beam.

The entries in the columns IYY,IZZ,AREA,INSID,OUTSID are calculated within the interface from the data from the PROPERTY PHYSICAL SECTION command. Some beam types are not supported by PAFEC namely USEC and TSEC and whenever one is encountered, a message will be displayed to the screen. The bending plane of the beam is specified by a third node in FEMGEN and these coordinates are transferred to the NODES module. The entry NODE in the BEAMS module refers to the orientation node of that number in NODES.

For 3 noded beams in PAFEC this entry refers to the centre of curvature of the beam so the user must modify the file and specify the bending plane with either the BETA or AXIS.NUMBER method. The user is referred to the PAFEC user manual for further information.