Difference between "Beamwithhinges" vs. "Rotational Spring"

[david506]

Hello All,

I am trying to create a nonlinear model which has concentrated plasticity forming at the element ends. I was reading about the element command "Beamwithhinges," which creates an element with plasticity at the ends with user specified lengths. My question is what is the difference between this command and using the ".tcl" script for "rotSpring2DModIKModel.tcl?" Will I get similar results using both methods. I am asking because the "Beamwithhinges" command is much simpler to utilize than the latter.

Thank you,
David

[vesna]

The results of the analysis by using BeamwithHinges or the rotational spring may differ depending on the way you define one or the other. BeamwithHinges is a more advanced element than rotational spring as it considers distributed plasticity, not concentrated as rotational spring does. In addition to this BeamwithHinges accounts for P-M interaction which rotational spring does not.

[davidli506]

Thank you Vesna.