ZeroLength Element
his command is used to construct a zeroLength element object, which is defined by two nodes at the same location. The nodes are connected by multiple UniaxialMaterial objects to represent the force-deformation relationship for the element.
| element zeroLength $eleTag $iNode $jNode -mat $matTag1 $matTag2 ... -dir $dir1 $dir2 ... <-orient $x1 $x2 $x3 $yp1 $yp2 $yp3> |
| $eleTag | unique element object tag |
| $iNode $jNode | end nodes |
| $matTag1 $matTag2 ... | tags associated with previously-defined UniaxialMaterials |
| $dir1 $dir2 ... | material directions:
1,2,3 - translation along local x,y,z axes, respectively 4,5,6 - rotation about local x,y,z axes, respectively |
| $x1 $x2 $x3 | vector components in global coordinates defining local x-axis (optional) |
| $yp1 $yp2 $yp3 | vector components in global coordinates defining vector yp which lies in the local x-y plane for the element. (optional) |
NOTE:
If the optional orientation vectors are not specified, the local element axes coincide with the global axes. Otherwise the local z-axis is defined by the cross product between the vectors x and yp vectors specified on the command line.
The valid queries to a zero-length element when creating an ElementRecorder object are 'force,' 'deformation,' 'stiff,' and 'material $matNum matArg1 matArg2 ...' Where $matNum is the tag associated with the material whose data is to be output.
EXAMPLE:
element zeroLength 1 2 4 -mat 5 6 -dir 1 2; # truss tag 1 between nodes 2 and 4 acting in directions 1 and 2 with materials 5 and 6 respectively.
Code Developed by: Gregory L. Fenves, University of Texas, Austin.