Shells may be modeled as simply-supported shells by inserting short links between the slab and its supporting members. These links would be fixed for translational degrees of freedom (DOF), and free for rotational. This procedure results in a model which may be checked easily, since all links are readily visible.

An alternative procedure is to disconnect the joints and then use constraints to constrain only the translational DOF as follows:

• At each support location, disconnect all joints which connect the slab to adjoining members by selecting Edit > Edit Points > Disconnect. This will replace each single joint with two or more independent joints, one for each coincident member.

• If necessary, consolidate these disconnected joints such that adjacent slab objects share a common joint, and adjacent supporting members share a common joint.

• For each of these consolidated joints, define a body constraint, equal constraint, or weld constraint among UX, UY and UZ DOF.

• Ensure that the mesh for the simply-supported shell matches that for the supporting system.

See Also

• Modeling a pin connection between crossing members tutorial