G.15.8 Loading on Elements
On Plate/Shell elements, the types of loading that are permissible are:
- Pressure loading which consists of loads which act perpendicular to the surface of the element. The pressure loads can be of uniform intensity or trapezoidally varying intensity over a small portion or over the entire surface of the element.
- Joint loads which are forces or moments that are applied at the joints in the direction of the global axes.
- Temperature loads which may be constant throughout the plate element (causing only elongation / shortening) or may vary across the depth of a plate element causing bending on the plate element.. The coefficient of thermal expansion for the material of the element must be provided in order to facilitate computation of these effects.
- The self-weight of the elements can be applied using the SELFWEIGHT loading condition. The density of the elements has to be provided in order to facilitate computation of the self-weight.
On Solid elements, the loading types available are:
- The self-weight of the solid elements can be applied using the SELFWEIGHT loading condition. The density of the elements has to be provided in order to facilitate computation of the self-weight.
- Joint loads which are forces or moments that are applied at the joints in the direction of the global axes.
- Temperature loads which may be constant throughout the solid elements (causing only elongation / shortening). The coefficient of thermal expansion for the material of the element must be provided in order to facilitate computation of these effects.
- Pressure on the faces of solids.
Only translational stiffness is supported in solid elements. Thus, at joints where there are only solid elements, moments may not be applied. For efficiency, rotational supports should be used at these joints.