17.6.3.8. Simply Supported

Available for 3D simulations only.

This boundary condition prevents one or more straight or curved edges or a vertex or vertices from moving or deforming. However, rotations are allowed. If you want to fix the rotations as well, use the Fixed Support boundary condition. It is applicable for surface body models or line models only.

This page includes the following sections:

Analysis Types

Simply Supported is available for the following analysis types:

Dimensional Types

The supported dimensional types for the Simply Supported boundary condition include:

  • 3D Simulation

Geometry Types

The supported geometry types for the Simply Supported boundary condition include:

  • Surface/Shell: Supported for Surface only.

  • Wire Body/Line Body/Beam: Supported for Line only.

Topology Selection Options

The supported topology selection options for Simply Supported include:

  • Edge

  • Vertex. This boundary condition cannot be applied to a vertex scoped to an End Release. In addition, a simply supported vertex is not realistic and leads to singular stresses (that is, stresses that approach infinity near the simply supported vertex). You should disregard stress and elastic strain values in the vicinity of the simply supported vertex.

Applying a Simply Supported Boundary Condition

To apply a Simply Supported:

  1. On the Environment Context tab: click Supports>Simply Supported. Alternatively, right-click the Environment tree object or in the Geometry window and select Insert>Simply Supported.

  2. Specify Scoping Method and Geometry or Named Selection.

Details Pane Properties

The selections available in the Details pane are described below.

CategoryProperty/Options/Description
Scope

Scoping Method: Options include:

  • Geometry Selection: Default setting, indicating that the boundary condition is applied to a geometry or geometries, which are chosen using a graphical selection tool.

    • Geometry: Visible when the Scoping Method is set to Geometry Selection. Displays the type of geometry (Body, Face, etc.) and the number of geometric entities (for example: 1 Body, 2 Edges) to which the boundary has been applied using the selection tools.

  • Named Selection: Indicates that the geometry selection is defined by a Named Selection.

    • Named Selection: Visible when the Scoping Method is set to Named Selection. This field provides a drop-down list of available user-defined Named Selections.

Definition

Type: Read-only field that describes the object - Simply Supported.

Suppressed: Include (No - default) or exclude (Yes) the boundary condition.

API Reference

For specific scripting information, see the Simply Supported section of the ACT API Reference Guide.