BEAM3 — 2-D Elastic Beam.docVIP

BEAM3 — 2-D Elastic Beam Element Description BEAM3 is a uniaxial element with tension, compression, and bending capabilities. The element has three degrees of freedom at each node: translations in the nodal x and y directions and rotation about the nodal z-axis. See the ANSYS, Inc.?Theory Reference for more details about this element. Other 2-D beam elements are the plastic beam (BEAM23) and the tapered unsymmetric beam (BEAM54). Input Data BEAM3 shows the geometry, node locations, and the coordinate system for this element. The element is defined by two nodes, the cross-sectional area, the area moment of inertia, the height, and the material properties. The initial strain in the element (ISTRN) is given by Δ/L, where Δ is the difference between the element length, L (as defined by the I and J node locations), and the zero strain length. The initial strain is also used in calculating the stress stiffness matrix, if any, for the first cumulative iteration. You can use the element in an axisymmetric analysis if hoop effects are negligible, such as for bolts, slotted cylinders, etc. The area and moment of inertia must be input on a full 360° basis for an axisymmetric analysis. The shear deflection constant (SHEARZ) is optional. You can use a zero value of SHEARZ to neglect shear deflection. See Shear Deflection for details. The shear modulus (GXY) is used only with shear deflection. You can specify an added-mass-per-unit-length with the ADDMAS value. Node and Element Loads describes element loads. You can specify pressures as surface loads on the element faces, shown by the circled numbers in BEAM3. Positive normal pressures act into the element. You specify lateral pressures as a force per unit length. End pressures are input as a force. KEYOPT(10) allows tapered lateral pressures to be offset from the nodes. You can specify temperatures as element body loads at the four corner locations shown in BEAM3. The first corner temperature T1 defaults to TUNIF. If all other t