In this final section of the course, we’ll use our new Blender modelling skills to analyse more complex structures that consist of a combination of bar and cable elements. The focus here is on improving the versatility of our code by implementing different element types and some final critical features.
One of the most important outstanding features that we’ll implement in this section is removing slack cable elements from our analysis. Since cables cannot resist compression, if compression develops in a cable during the course of our analysis, we need to remove it from the structure.
This is a further source of potentially significant non-linearity in the behaviour of our structure and will be a critical feature to implement. This marks the completion of our toolbox and leaves you in a good position to expand it further.
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Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of 2D Catenary & Cable Structures using Python
Build an iterative solution toolbox to analyse structures that exhibit geometric non-linearity due to large deflections.
After completing this course...
- You will understand the concept of geometric non-linearity and when it should be considered.
- You will understand how to modify the axially loaded element stiffness matrix to account for large deflections and changes in geometry.
- You will have implemented a Newton-Raphson iterative solution algorithm that seeks to converge on the deformed state of the structure.
- You will have a workflow that leverages open-source modelling tools in Blender to quickly generate the initial structural geometry.