Karamba Load Applications

Grasshopper Karamba3D
1

Hey,

I have a few questions about Karamba. I would be very happy if you could help me. By the way, sorry if my questions are too simple. I would appreciate if you could explain the following topics.

As you can see in the picture below, I am trying to apply a load with Karamba on a structure with 4 surfaces. 4 surfaces have a slope. These surfaces are fixed to the ground with 4 aluminium profiles on the base. So I have 4 support points. Also, there is a plate on the structure. This plate is connected to the model below with two nodes. Now;

1- Self-Weight Load: I calculated the specific weight of the large model below. Should I apply these force values with “Mesh Load Tool” for each surface separately. Or should I apply the total dead weight of the whole model with the “Gravity Load” tool.

2- I accepted the specific weight of the top plate as a second self-weight load. and I apply this load to two points on the large model as a “point load”. Stress occurs in inclined profiles. But there is no stress on the 4 profiles at the base. Is this normal. Shouldn’t stress occur in the base profiles?

3- Unlike this study, I want to apply a live load on a surface. I used “Mesh Load” for this. I chose a load of 4 Kn per square metre for each surface. Now, should I multiply this 4 Kn load value by the area of the surface to calculate the total live load? Or does Karamba automatically take the area into account and calculate the total load itself?

4- Finally, the thickness and depth of the profiles are fixed. Depending on the change of the profile height value, I examine the change of the ut

ilisation value with Galapagos. However, since there is not enough stress on the 4 profiles at the base, the utilisation value does not change even if the profile heights change for profiles at the base. Is this normal?

Thank you for your answer.
Best regards.

questiontoClemens
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2

Hi, here are the answers to your questions.

1 - Self weight is calculated when you use the Gravity load input
2 - you can apply the self weight of the plate as a mesh load - just ensure that your mesh density is small enough to evenly distribute the load across all beams
3 - the mesh load will automatically calculate the total load based on your load value and the area of the surface
4 - you need to check if all your loads are applied properly. The edge beams essentially carry the loads directly to the supports and therefore have little role in the “global” load takedown. The majority of this occurs in the diagonal elements. You can check the utilisation of the actual elements with the Utilisation component.

4

Hi, the support conditions depend on how you really intend to support your structure. At the moment the edge beams will only take a portion of the load and you can see the shear forces and bending moments in the cross section in the beam view. This can help you to understand why these elements are smaller.