778x
004467
2020-06-30

Question

I have generated a load from an area load on a circular opening. If the radius is 1.0 m and the load is 10 kN/m², the resultant should be 31.416 kN. The recalculated load on the line should be 5.0 kN/m. However, the value of the converted load is 4.968 kN/m. Why?


Answer:
The inaccuracy is caused by the fact that RFEM calculates the area of the circle approximately by dividing the boundary; that is, as a polygon. On the other hand, the length of the boundary curve is calculated exactly as a circle. In this case, the resultant is 31.202 kN instead of 31.416 kN.
If you need a graphically accurate number (that is, an image for the structural analysis), this can be solved by reducing the number of decimal places displayed.

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