I’m trying to evaluate a gusset plate with a bolted connection in 2D using a mesh-based approach.
The connection between the gusset plate and the member plates is modeled by ensuring that only the bolts (represented as point entities) share common vertices across the respective meshes.
Furthermore, I was expecting a better stress distribution around the bolts. Could this be a limitation due to Karamba using triangular meshes instead of quadrilateral ones?
If you want to evaluate the stress distribution around the bolts, I believe you’ll need to model the bolts differently. I would recommend separating the gusset plate from the member plates by half the plate thickness, and then linking them at the bolt positions using short spring elements. To avoid stress singularities from point-based connections, it’s important to include short beam segments or springs to reflect the finite size of the bolts. For example, you could model a cross-shaped arrangement of embedded beams and connect the centers of each cross accordingly. Also, make sure to adjust Karamba3D’s “limit distance” setting so that nearby nodes do not automatically snap together.
