Modelling bolts and area loads

Hi, I am new to Karamba3D and I would very much appreciate some help with the software.

I have a truss that is illustrated in the figure below. The truss is composed of two individual components (one of the components is outlined in red for illustration). The two components are connected through bolts at the black circled areas. How can I go about modelling the bolt within the program?
I want to define the load on the truss as an area load. I have made a mesh as illustrated in the figure, and attempted to apply a uniformly distributed loading over the mesh. However, I am not sure if it’s actually working, since the element at the mid of the top chord doesn’t seem to be registering any load. Please let me know if I am on the right track and how I can proceed, or if I should use another method to apply area loading.

Thank you for your help!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Karamba3D on February 25, 2020 at 12:20pm

Hi Shukey Lin,

regarding the bolted connections: Their simulation depends on their intended design. When prestressed such connections can be treated as rigid connections. When not presetressed and working via shear in the bolts the connection can be assumed to act like a rotational joint. In Karamba3D it is possible to define hinges via a 'Beam-Joints'- or 'Beam-Joint-Agent'-component.

Make sure that the mesh you use for applying the MeshLoad is fine enough. Also try to change 'Length/Segment' in submenu 'Render Settings' of the ModelView-component.

Best,

Clemens

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