COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR CELLULAR STRUCTURES OF ARBITRARY PLAN GEOMETRY

A COMPUTER PROGRAM IS PRESENTED FOR THE ANALYSIS OF CELLULAR STRUCTURES OF CONSTANT DEPTH WITH ARBITRARY GEOMETRY IN PLAN VIEW. THE DEVELOPMENT IS BASED ON THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD AND USES TWO DIFFERENT ELEMENT TYPES DESIGNED TO CAPTURE THE MAIN BEHAVIOR OF DECK AND WEB COMPONENTS. THE STRUCTURE MAY BE SUBJECTED TO A VARIETY OF FORCE AND DISPLACEMENT BOUNDARY CONDITIONS, SUCH AS DISTRIBUTED DEAD AND LIVE-LOADS IN ADDITION TO CONCENTRATED NODAL LOADS AND PRESCRIBED NODAL DISPLACEMENTS. THE WELL ESTABLISHED DIRECT STIFFNESS METHOD IS USED FOR THE ELEMENT ASSEMBLY. AFTER SOLVING FOR THE UNKNOWN NODAL DISPLACEMENTS AND REACTIONS, INTERNAL FORCES ARE COMPUTED AT THE CENTER AND AT NODES OF DECK AND WEB ELEMENTS SELECTED BY THE USER. /AUTHOR/