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Truss elements

Upcoming release

Truss elements will be available with the upcoming release


Truss (or cable) elements are structural members capable of transmitting stresses only in the direction normal to the cross section. It is assumed that this normal stress is constant over the cross-sectional area. Details on the implementation are provided in the Theory Manual.

The properties of truss elements are assigned using the *Material keyword in combination with the *Truss properties sub-keyword. See the Reference Manual for more information.

2D Elements

Element label Dim. Shape Nodes Order nIP*
u2-truss 2D truss 2 linear 1
u3-truss 2D truss 3 quadratic 3

* nIP = number of integration points

Additional output

For truss elements additional output variables are available. In addition to general output in cartesian coordinates such as displacements, stress and strain, local quantities in direction of the truss axis can be requested:

  • stress-truss: stress in direction of the truss axis in F/L²
  • strain-truss: strain in direction of the truss axis