Modeling (ridiculously) complex rigging

pberry

I have a small structure that requires hundreds of stay cables. To draw them as individual elements and apply bonded contact to each end will take a lot of time. Facing several design cycles of that is daunting. Is there a faster way to constrain and load a model with so many elements? Perhaps a way to import the model as a single element, then define the boundaries between materials and apply bonded contacts at the same time by clicking/dragging? Maybe wishful thinking, but something to make the task more manageable? I need to test the complete structure for buckling.

Victor

You can normally use a single bonded contact for many parts so you could perhaps select all the nodes of the ends of the cables, change to Select faces mode, then use that face selection in the bonded contact. And similar for the faces on the structure.

To model the cables, if they have some symmetry, you might be able to generate them using Move/copy or Rotate/copy.

Or you can edit the .liml file and use a text editor's copy and paste to duplicate things.

pberry

Tension only elements are convenient for quickly modeling a cable to at least get an idea of how the structure will behave when stayed, but they are invalid for 3D buckling analysis. Is support for this possible, or is there some basic reason that none of the solvers support tension only with buckling analysis?

Victor

Tension-only is a nonlinear effect so it can't be used with linear buckling. However, if you know whether each one is in tension or compression then they're equivalent to ordinary spring/truss elements or nothings respectively.

But that's only linear buckling. You should be able to do nonlinear buckling with Nonlinear Static 3D analysis type and defining the tension-only elements using CCX cards.