Hello all,
I am trying to model two beams bonded together with a certain eccentricity. From reading all the information on the forum, I learned that there are two ways of modeling such eccentricity.
- A virtual beam with a large profile that provides enough stiffness
- A spring element connection two beams
With the problem I am having (see picture attached), with one beam loaded in-plane (z-x plane), due to the eccentricity and the bonding, there will also be out-of-plane (y-z plane) displacement/rotation at the connection.
I wish to use the spring element so I can assign proper stiffness to the bond (based on my own project). However, a spring element couldn’t incorporate the out-of-plane action I mentioned earlier. Modeling with a virtual beam works in this case because it could generate the out-of-plane. However, I am having doubt about what cross-section I should use, as different cross-section generates quite different results.
To summarize, I am wondering if I could use both the spring element and a virtual beam element to model this bond and the eccentricity. Spring is used so I can assign stiffness flexibly based on my project, virtual beam is used to incorporate the out-of-plane behavior.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.