Connections / Connections forces

[jonasaasebo.stafsberg]

Robot structural analysis need a functionality to handle connection forces. A big part in doing a structural analysis of a building is handling the connection forces and detailing accordingly. An ability to categorize the connection and handling the connection forces in lists would greatly improv this workflow. The same way it is possible to group bars and getting the envelope max/min of selected bars it should be possible for connections as well.

• from a workflow perspective I guess it would be possible to designate connections thru “releases”. Either the “release” and “connection” would be the same function where you give a given connection a name and degrees of freedom, or they would work similarly but separately.
  
  
• To make the documentation work it should be possible to plot the actual name of the “release/connection” in 2d/3d view. To have the different options to print only the name, (Name, node) or (Name, Node, bar) would be handy. And classing them as actual objects so that it would be possible to select them as other objects.
  
  
• In the list it should be possible to print local Fxyz and global Fxyz and maybe a mix between global z and local Fx/Fy in the same list. Sometimes it is necessary to get the global forces to design the reactions on the connecting element. It is then time consuming to find the actual angle on the bar element to decompose the local shear/normal force from the bar-element.
• From a BIM perspective it should also be available. If we had the ability to define connections and handle them as actual classes in the program it would probably be a lot easier to import the forces to other programs as Revit or ideastatica. Even Revit has it’s own connection “class”

If what I have mentions over would be to time-consuming to implement, we should at least have the ability to display the actual release name in 2d/3d. The ability to display the “bar tilt” or angle between Basis.X with Uxy and Uxy with Uxyz in the bar force list would also greatly improve the workflow.