Strand7 Software:  In Detail:  Elements:  Node Attributes

Node attributes

Strand7 includes the following node attributes:

	Restraints may be assigned in any coordinate system, to facilitate the application of boundaries such as inclined supports or axisymmetric conditions. Restraints may be fixed, free or prescribed. Prescribed restraints are used to impose actual displacements on nodes. Commonly used symmetry conditions can be automatically applied via the relevant buttons.
	Forces and moments may be assigned to nodes in any coordinate system. They can be displayed as resultants or as components in any other coordinate system.
	Mass at nodes includes translational mass, non-structural mass and rotational inertia. Any or all components of mass can be applied in the selected system. Rotational inertia can be apllied about any arbitrary axis.
	Stiffness at the nodes can be applied to both the translational and rotational degrees of freedom. These may be assigned in any coordinate system thereby simplifying the definition of spring supports on inclined planes and on other surfaces such as cylindrical surfaces. Nodal stiffness attributes are drawn as small springs in Strand7. For visual clarity, these may be orientated towards either the positive or negative axis.
	Temperature at the nodes may be constant, time-varying or initial. The constant option is used primarily in static structural analysis for determining thermal stress and strain due to a given temperature distribution. It is also used in heat transfer problems for fixing the temperature at specific points. Time-varying temperature may be used in both structural and heat transfer transient problems. Finally the initial option is used in transient heat transfer analysis for setting starting values of temperature for nodes which may change during the transient.
	Discrete Damping may be applied at nodes, orientated in any coordinate system, for use in the transient dynamic solver.