You can solve pendulum problems in SAP2000 by performing nonlinear time-history analysis with large deflections.

If you are trying to solve typical structural problems with a pendulum used for isolation or as a tuned-mass damper, this is usually represented by using a linear spring to represent the restoring force. For a pendulum, this could be either be a torsional spring at the support, or a horizontal spring, attached to the bottom.

Screenshots

The screenshots below and the attached video show modeling of set of pendulums hitting each other (so called Newton's cradle). The contact was modeled using [gap links] connecting each adjacent pair of balls. However, because the rods were axially stiff, the gaps contacted nicely.

See Also

• [kb:Contact surface problem]

Attachments

• [Pendulum video|Pendulum^Pendulum_video.zip] (Zipped AVI file, 0.3 MB)