Most of the time an
engineer will not be faced with a need (or desire) to locate the analytical
model of a member at any significant distance from the geometric model.
The analytical model is an approximation for the purposes of discretizing the
model into a set of equations approximating the response of the structure to
a set of applied loads (or displacements). Engineers will often make
decisions in their approximations which are based on their professional
judgment and/or practical experience. Here are 4 of many possible ways
to describe the same physical structure with |
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an analytical model. Some engineers
feel that the rigid link approximation is the only acceptable approximation
though others would argue that it hasn’t accounted for inherent stabilization
provided by framing members and that any of the other approximations are
equally applicable. |
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The last two
approximations utilize the new functionality. A more subtle example of
this would be where the beams between gridlines 2 and 4 are different widths
where the exterior edge is intended to align yet the centers of the beams
would be mis-aligned. The new functionality could be used to reduce
this small noise in the analytical model. |
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I hope this helps
illustrate how one might use the new functionality in a somewhat more
realistic scenario. |
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