2D Joint Element for Bars, Plane Stress and Plane Strain

Joint Elements
2D Joint Element for Bars, Plane Stress and Plane Strain
General
Element Name
JNT3
Y,v x
y
3
X,u

1
2

Element Group Joints

Element Subgroup 2D Joints
Element Description A 2D joint element which connects two nodes by two
springs in the local x and y-directions.
Number Of Nodes 3. The 3rd node is used to define the local x-direction.
Freedoms U, V: at nodes 1 and 2 (active nodes).
Node Coordinates X, Y: at each node.

Geometric Properties
Joints

Not applicable.

Material Properties
Linear Not applicable.
Matrix Stiffness: MATRIX PROPERTIES STIFFNESS 4 K1,...,
K10 element stiffness matrix (Not supported
in LUSAS Modeller)

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Joint Elements

Mass: MATRIX PROPERTIES MASS 4 M1,..., M10

element mass matrix (Not supported in
LUSAS Modeller)
Damping: MATRIX PROPERTIES DAMPING 4 C1,...,
C10 element damping matrix (Not supported
in LUSAS Modeller)
Joint Standard: JOINT PROPERTIES 2 (Joint: 2/Stiffness)
Dynamic JOINT PROPERTIES GENERAL 2 (Joint:
general: 2/General)
Elasto-plastic: JOINT PROPERTIES NONLINEAR 31 2
(Joint: 2/Elasto-Plastic)
Elasto-plastic: JOINT PROPERTIES NONLINEAR 32 2
(Joint: 2/Asymmetric)
Nonlinear JOINT PROPERTIES NONLINEAR 33 2
contact: (Joint: 2/Initial Gap)
Nonlinear JOINT PROPERTIES NONLINEAR 34 2
friction: (Joint: 2/Frictional)
Concrete Not applicable.
Elasto-Plastic Not applicable.
Rubber Not applicable.
Composite Not applicable.
Field Not applicable.
Stress Potential Not applicable.
Creep Not applicable.
Damage Not applicable.
Viscosity Not applicable.

Loading
Prescribed PDSP, TPDSP Prescribed variable. U, V: at active nodes.
Value
Concentrated CL Concentrated loads. Px, Py: at active nodes.
Loads
Element Loads Not applicable.
Distributed Not applicable.
Loads
Body Forces CBF Constant body forces for element. Xcbf, Ycbf,
Ωx, Ωy, Ωz, αz
BFP, BFPE Not applicable.
Velocities VELO Velocities. Vx, Vy: at nodes.
Accelerations ACCE Accelerations. Ax, Ay: at nodes.
Initial SSI, SSIE Initial stresses/strains at nodes/for element. Fx,
Stress/Strains Fy: at active nodes. εx, εy: at active nodes.

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 2D Joint Element for Bars, Plane Stress and Plane Strain

SSIG Not applicable.

Residual Not applicable.
Stresses
Temperatures TEMP, TMPE Temperatures at nodes/for element. T1, T2, T1o,
T2o: actual and initial spring temperatures.
Field Loads Not applicable.
Temp Not applicable.
Dependent
Loads

Output
LUSAS Solver Force: Fx, Fy: spring forces in local directions.
Strain: εx, εy: spring strains in local directions.
LUSAS Modeller See Results Tables (Appendix K).

Local Axes
q Standard joint element

Sign Convention
q Standard joint element

Formulation
Geometric Nonlinearity
Not applicable.

Integration Schemes
Stiffness Default. 1-point.
Fine. As default.
Mass Default. 1-point. Joints
Fine. As default.

Mass Modelling
Lumped mass only. The position of the mass(es) relative to the two active joint nodes
is defined in the joint joint material data. See Mass Lumping in LUSAS for a
description of the use of joint elements as point masses.

Options
55 Output strains as well as stresses.
119 Invokes temperature input for joints.

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Joint Elements

Notes on Use
1. The nodes of a joint element need not be coincident, but for correct response the
distance between them should be as small as possible. This is particularly
important with joint elements which contain rotational degrees of freedom, since
the stiffness matrix is not formulated using engineering beam theory. This means
that a joint moment is independent of both shear force and its length. For
instance, the moment calculated with a joint length of zero will remain the same
magnitude at any other joint length.
These effects can be exacerbated significantly in dynamic analyses (e.g.
eigenvalue extraction or Hilber dynamics) and, therefore, we recommend that
joint elements representing lumped masses are placed between active nodes of the
structure. In this way a zero stiffness may be used for all the degrees of freedom
of the joint - the mass applied to whichever freedom is appropriate. Non-
coincident nodes will lead to additional forces in the solution which are not in
equilibrium (usually small and swamped, but could be significant sometimes).
We do not recommend having joints “hanging off” the side of the structure,
having a large stiffness associated.
2. Joints do not support any geometric nonlinearity. They may be used, however, in
geometrically nonlinear analyses but will themselves remain geometrically linear
(i.e. infinitesimal strain is assumed and large deformation effects are ignored).
3. The strain for a joint element is measured as follows:
Strain measure = (displacement for 2nd node) - (displacement for 1st node)
This strain being measured in the local axis system. Therefore, if node 1 is
restrained, node 2 would need to be displaced in the negative local (x/y/z)
direction to generate compressive contact forces.
4. The rotation output for a joint element is measured in radians.

Restrictions
Not applicable.

Recommendation on Usage
The joint elements may be used to release degrees of freedom between elements, e.g.
a hinged shell, or to provide nonlinear support conditions, e.g. friction-gap
condition. Also, point masses may be represented by including a joint at an element
node.
The following table shows the finite elements compatible with each joint element.

Joint Elements Compatible Finite Elements

JNT3 Bars BAR2, BAR3

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 2D Joint Element for Bars, Plane Stress and Plane Strain

2D Plane Stress QPM4, QPM8, TPM3,

TPM6, QPK8, TPK6,
QPM4M
2D Plane Strain QPN4, QPN8, TPN3, TPN6,
QNK8, TNK6, QPN4M,
QPN4L
JPH3 2D Beams BEAM, BM3, BMX3
JF3 2D Grillage GRIL
2D Plates TF3, QF4, TF6, QSC4,
TTF6, QTF8
JRP3 Ribbed Beams BRP2
Ribbed Plates TRP3, RPI4
JNT4 3D Bars BRS2, BRS3
3D Solids HX8, HX16, HX20, PN6,
PN12, PN15, TH4, TH10,
HX8M
Space Membranes TSM3, SMI4
JL43 Semiloof Shells TSL6, QSL8 (corner nodes)
JSH4 3D Beams BMS3, BS3, BS4, BSX4
3D Shells TS3, QSI4, SHI4, TTS3,
TTS6, QTS4, QTS8
JL46 Semiloof Beams BSL3, BSL4, BXL4 (corner
nodes)
JSL4 Semiloof Beams BSL3, BSL4, BXL4 (mid-
side nodes)
Semiloof Shells QSL8, TSL6 (mid-side
nodes)
JAX3 Axisymmetric Solids QAX4, QAX8, TAX3,
TAX6, TXK6, QXK8,
Joints
QAX4M, QAX4L
JXS3 Axisymmetric Shells BXS3

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