Beam

Beam Length: Read-only property that displays the actual length of the beam that is calculated using the end points from the scoping of the Reference and Mobile categories.

Element APDL Name: Optional property that enables you to manually define an APDL parameter (in the input file) and assign the parameter value as the element of the Beam. This facilitates easy programmatic identification of the element of the Beam for later use/reference in a Commands (APDL) object.

Scope - Information on springs also applies to beams.

Scope: Options include Body-Body or Body-Ground.

Reference - Information on springs also applies to beams.

The following properties are available when the Scope property is set to Body-Body:

Scoping Method: Specify as Geometry Selection, Named Selection, or Remote Point.

Applied By: Specify as Remote Attachment (default) or Direct Attachment. The default for this property can differ if you first select geometry or a mesh node.

Scope: Displays when the Scoping Method property is set to Geometry Selection. Once a geometry is selected, click in the Scope field and then click Apply.

Reference Component: Displays when the Scoping Method property is set to Named Selection. This property provides a drop-down list of available user–defined Named Selections.

Remote Points: Displays when the Scoping Method property is set to Remote Point. This property provides a drop-down list of available user–defined Remote Points.

Body: A read-only indication of scoped geometry. Displays for Body-Body scoping.

The following properties display for either Body-Body or Body-Ground scoping when the Applied By property is set to Remote Attachment.

Coordinate System

Reference X Coordinate

Reference Y Coordinate

Reference Z Coordinate

Reference Location

Material: Available when the Behavior property is set to Beam. Select a material to define material properties for the beams used in the connection. Density is excluded from the material definition.

Radius: Available when the Behavior property is set to Beam. Specify a radius to define the cross section dimension of the circular beam used for the connection.

Mobile - Information on springs also applies to beams.

The following properties are available when the Scope property is set to Body-Body:

Scoping Method: Specify as Geometry Selection, Named Selection, or Remote Point.

Applied By: Specify as Remote Attachment (default) or Direct Attachment. The default for this property can differ if you first select geometry or a mesh node.

Scope: Displays when the Scoping Method property is set to Geometry Selection. Once a geometry is selected, click in the Scope field and then click Apply.

Reference Component: Displays when the Scoping Method property is set to Named Selection. This property provides a drop-down list of available user–defined Named Selections.

Remote Points: Displays when the Scoping Method property is set to Remote Point. This property provides a drop-down list of available user–defined Remote Points.

Body: A read-only indication of scoped geometry. Displays for Body-Body scoping.

Behavior: Specify the scoped geometry as either Rigid, Deformable, or Beam.

Radius: Available when the Behavior property is set to Beam. Specify a radius to define the cross section dimension of the circular beam used for the connection.

Pinball Region

The following properties display for either Body-Body or Body-Ground scoping when the Applied By property is set to Remote Attachment.

Coordinate System

Mobile X Coordinate

Mobile Y Coordinate

Mobile Z Coordinate

Mobile Location

Tree Dependencies

Valid Parent Tree Object: Connections.
Valid Child Tree Objects: Commands, Comment, Figure, and Image.

Insertion Methods

Use any of the following methods after highlighting Connections object:

Select Beam > Body-Ground or Beam > Body-Body, as applicable on Connections Context Tab.
Right-click the Connections object or in the Geometry window Insert > Beam.

Right-click Options

In addition to common right-click options, relevant right-click options for this object include:

Enable/Disable Transparency: Similar behavior to feature in Contact Region.
Promote Remote Point (when the Applied By property is set to Remote Attachment).

API Reference

See the Beam section of the ACT API Reference Guide for specific scripting information.

Additional Related Information

See the following sections for more information: