I have a robot model which models two pipelines supported by beams as shown in the attached image. In reality the pipelines will be connected to the beams by a clamp which sits over the pipelines and is bolted to the beam on either side. To model this in Robot, I have connected the pipelines to the beams using rigid links. These links connect to the beams as the point where the clamp will be connected and are rigid in all six degrees of freedom. Each pipeline will have its own clamp.
I now would like to extract the forces between the clamp and the beam at nodes 255, 257, 254 and 254 so that I can design the clamp. My problem is that I have having difficulty in interpreting the interaction forces between the node and the beam and what they mean in reality. Please provide some guidance with a focus on the following:
- Are the axis referenced in the interaction forces table to the global axis?
- Do the moments have any relvance to this situation?
In summary, if I wanted to extract the compression or tension (vertical) and shear (horizontal) loads at the nodes, which values should I be looking at?
