Beam Attributes: Offset

Description

Offsets selected beam elements in the lateral directions relative to the nodes.

The offset is the distance between the nodes and the centroid of the offset beam cross section. The offset can be defined in either the local or principal axes of the beam. A positive offset moves the beam in the positive direction of the respective axis.  A negative offset moves the beam in the negative direction.

Offset attributes are independent of load and freedom cases.

If the Lumped Mass Matrix option for beams is used in dynamic analysis, Straus7will automatically change this to the Consistent Mass Matrix option to account for offsets.

Dialog

Offset x / y or 1 / 2

The beam offset.

Axis

The axis system used to define the offset orientation. It can either be Local or Principal.

Common Controls

Units

Length (e.g., m, in).

Common Uses

Typical detailing in engineering structures, such as bolted joints, may include eccentricities which can induce significant moments for design considerations. Such eccentricities can be modelled using beam offsets.

See Also