To add rigid link offsets to one or more corners of a plate, use
the following procedure.
Plate corner
offsets can be used to model any situation where the corners of a plate element
do not coincide with the analytical node used for the plate incidences. For
example,
walls that meet at a corner (e.g., so that walls do not overlap)
wall and slab intersections (e.g., a wall that bears on top of a
slab)
Optional: Select the plates which will have the same plate offset
specifications assigned.
Either:
on the
Specification ribbon tab, select the
Plate > Offsets tool in the
Specification group
on the
Specifications - Whole Structure dialog, click
Plate
The
Plate Specs dialog opens to the
Offset tab.
Select the
Direction in which you want to specify
offsets:
Local - the nodal offsets at a specified joint are
given in the element local axes.
Global - the nodal offsets at a specified joint are
given in the global axes.
Z Offset - the offset is specified along the local z
axis of the element (i.e., parallel offset to the plane of the element)
Specify the offset values:
For…
Do…
Local or global offsets
Select the local incidence node number and then specify the
offsets in the local or global directions.
Z offsets
Type the offset value to use. By default, the same value
will populate in all the node fields (i.e., a parallel offset to the plane of
the plate).
You can override these values by typing different values at
different nodes.
Tip: To
quickly identify the order of element corners, use the
Plate Cursor tool and double click a plate.
The Plate query dialog displays the nodes in order on the Geometry tab.
Note: The joint
offsets must result in offset corners which are co-planar to
prevent a warped surface.
Either:
To…
Do the following…
add the specification to
the model and assign to the current plate selection
click
Assign.
add the specification to
the model for later assignment