Hinge Rotation

[ftoledoj]

I there is a way to obtain the rotation of a portion of the element without using springs? I currently have moment curvate, but i would like to obtain the rotation of a portion of the section, is this possible or this involve changing the element tipe?

[fmk]

if you have modelled the element using beam elements you can ask for the section deformations (which will include the curvatures at the sections) at the gauss points.

[ftoledoj]

If am not mistaken what you are mentioning is what i already have the rotation at the gauss point since it a zerolegth element corresponds to the curvature non the rotation of a portion of the element wich is what am looking for.
What i want is to obatain the rotation of lets say i define that my hinge has a length of 60 cm and i want to know the rotation of that 60 cm. Is it possible?

[fmk]

yes, for the beam columns elements: a section at a gauss point has only section response -- moment and curvature. to obtain rotations you need a length factor over which you integrate the curvature. the beam withHinges element will do this integration for you if you ask for rotations at the ends, however you are stuck with an elastic middle. the regular beam column elements do not do this. however you can see the integration locations, section curvatures and you could do the calculation.

now you are using a zero length element .. moment-curvature and momet-rotation are the exact same thing .. the zeroLength hinge has no length. now you have probably calibrated the material in the truss to provide the moment-rotation response assuming some hinge length and moment-curvature response.