Assigning a Section Cut as a Hinge causes the provisions of the selected design code pertaining to plastic hinge formation to be enforced for the design calculations for the Section Cut. For example, if ACI 318 is the active design code, the special boundary element checks of Chapter 21 will be calculated for the Section Cut. If the selected design code has no provisions pertaining to plastic hinge formation, the hinge assignment has no effect on the design of the Section Cut. For code-specific information on plastic hinge calculations, see the chapter in this manual for the specific design code that has been selected.

Hinge assignments (orange Section Cuts are hinges)

Changing the Hinge assignment for a Section Cut will clear the design results for the Wall Panel Group to which the Section Cut belongs, and will clear the reinforcing for all Wall Panels that are not frozen. The Hinge assignment is pertinent only for horizontal Section Cuts and only when earthquake loads (load combinations containing a "Seismic" or "Dynamic" term) are considered in the design run. Otherwise, the assignment will have no effect on the design results.

If the conditions of the model are such that hinge calculations will be conducted, Hinges should be assigned in each Wall Design Group such that the appropriate failure mechanism of the structure is captured.