defining a beam section

[andreamordini]

I am using a BEAM188 element with the section defined via SECTYPE.
I would like to rotate 90 deg the section about the local x axis of the beam. How can I do it without redefing a new CS?

andrea

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Andrea Mordini, Civil Engineer, Ph.D.

http://www.andreamordini.com

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[cbrn]

Hi,
you could possibly rotate the entire beam?

Regards

 

[andreamordini]

Could you explain please how?

thanks

andrea

-------------------------------------------
Andrea Mordini, Civil Engineer, Ph.D.

http://www.andreamordini.com

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[andreamordini]

Orientation nodes seem to be one possibility. Any other idea?

Andrea

-------------------------------------------
Andrea Mordini, Civil Engineer, Ph.D.

http://www.andreamordini.com

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[cbrn]

Hi,
orientation node IS the possibility. Of course, re-building the section by "rotating" it 90° (i.e. exchanging Y-axis with X-axis) and keeping the orientation node as it is, or rotating the orientation node 90° while keeping the section as it is, is the same thing.
The orientation node is not mandatory, but if you omit it Ansys will assume it based upon criteria which involve the coordinates of the other nodes, and the final result may be unpredictable (or, at least, very far from your intent)...
Regards

 

[DanRail]

You may already be doing this, but it's worth mentioning.

While any node in the model can be used for an orientation node, it's sometimes advantageous to use node(s) that are not used for anything but beam orientations. This will let you "rotate" a beam by moving the orientation node(s) without having to redefine the elements.

I might have another suggestion, but it depends on the SECTYPE you are using.