Identify sloped joist as support element

[alexandru.marin2MMTV]

Hello,

We are currently working at an application that supports modeling deck sheets on different supporting elements (for example beams, joists, walls). What we want to achieve is to be able to model deck sheets on cranked joist but we have some difficulties on detecting them as being supporting elements.

This is how one of our joists is looking but we also have other joists with multiple slopes.

One solution would be to split the joist in two different beams through the slope point because our code already supports modeling deck sheets on beams. We already tried to use "Split" method from the API but it is not working for this case.

Is there something that already exists and could help us? Or if you have other ideas of how we can identify the top chord of elements (because we need to identify the actual shape of the element even if it is extended), it would really help us.

Thank you!

[jeremy_tammik]

The first things that come to mind are filtered element collectors based on bounding boxes or element intersection and is the ReferenceIntersector ray tracing functionality. Both of these can be used to check proximity of elements. In order for element B to support element A, it must be somewhere close by, mustn't it, and preferably below?

[RPTHOMAS108]

From your description I don't know if you are able to make up a joined analytical model i.e. that has bar elements for beams and analytical surfaces for slabs?

If that is the case you can use:

AnalyticalModel.GetAnalyticalModelSupports
(for the AnalyticalModelSurface of the slab)
Then
AnalyticalModelSupport.GetSupportingElement

Reliability will be dependant on the form of analytical model (how joined up it is).