A member support allows you to describe the boundary conditions of all FE nodes available along a member. Displacements and rotations at these internal nodes can be limited by translational and rotational springs. This way, you can model, for example, foundation beams as elastic member supports in the model.
Usage in RFEM and RSTAB
In RFEM and RSTAB, member supports can only be assigned to beams, rigid members, and ribs.
The support conditions of a member support are divided into "Translational", "Shear", and "Rotational" degrees of freedom.
- Translational: In order to obtain a member-related translational spring in [N/m²] or [kip/ft²] based on the subgrade reaction modulus, a spring constant of a foundation beam is determined, taking into account the cross-section width.
- Shear: In the case of this support condition, the shear capacity of the soil is determined by using shear springs.
- Rotational: The rotational restraint of a member about its longitudinal axis is described by the constant of a rotational spring.