Rendering Arc-Shaped Members

When modeling arc-shaped members, the problem shown in the figure may occur. It seems as if the member cross‑section is twisted or the load applied on the local z‑axis changes direction. How does this come about?

In principle, the program tries to align the local z‑axis of members downward (global -Z). In the case of arched members modeled in the XZ or YZ plane, this leads to a change of the local coordinate system. This change causes the problems in rendering and explains the change of load direction.

In order to prevent this behavior, you can define the member rotation using the help nodes in the "Edit Member" dialog box. If you select the "Inside" option as well as "x‑z", the local z‑axis of the member will be oriented to the center point.

Author

Mr. Sühnel is responsible for the quality assurance of RSTAB; he also participates in product development and provides technical support for our customers.

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