Constraint under pressure only?

[Tom76]

Hello there,

I'm building up a model of a scaffold and I have a little question about Constraints.

At the wheels and baseplates of the scaffold I use Constraints to pin down the model.
Using Freebody I remove any Constraints that are under tension, ie lifting of the scaffold.
Is there a way to let Femap determine itself when this occurs?
I had a quick look at Equations but I couldn't work that out.

Thanks for your help.
Tom

 

[rb1957]

use a gap element.

 

[dwallace1971]

You can use linear gaps or contacts. There a few contact analyses in the Examples manual. The "Commands" manual covers gaps on p. 4-35 and contacts in Chapter 4.4.

"On the human scale, the laws of Newtonian Physics are non-negotiable"

 

[Tom76]

I'll give it a go, thanks guys.

Tom