Creating generalized plane strain sections

Generalized plane strain sections are used to define the section properties of two-dimensional planar regions.

Related Topics
The reference point
Creating sections
In Other Guides
Choosing the element's dimensionality

Context:

You must create a reference point to indicate the reference node required by generalized plane strain elements. In addition to the material and the section thickness at the reference point, you can specify wedge angles about the global 1- and 2-axes, as defined in Figure 1. For more information, see Generalized plane strain elements.

Figure 1. Generalized plane strain section definition.

  1. From the main menu bar, select SectionCreate.

    A Create Section dialog box appears.

    Tip: You can also click Create in the Section Manager or select the create section tool in the Property module toolbox.

  2. Enter a section name. For more information on naming objects, see Using basic dialog box components.

  3. Select Solid as the section Category and Generalized plane strain as the section Type, and click Continue.

    The generalized plane strain section editor appears.

  4. Select a material for the section. If desired, click to create a material; see Creating or editing a material, for more information.

  5. Enter a value for the material Thickness at the reference point.

  6. Enter a value for the Wedge angle about global 1-axis, the rotation about the global 1-axis at the reference point in radians.

  7. Enter a value for the Wedge angle about global 2-axis, the rotation about the global 2-axis at the reference point in radians.

  8. Click OK to save your changes and to close the generalized plane strain section editor.