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How to define the cross-section when using a beam element over a closed circular curve

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Hello everybody,

I'm quite new to Comsol and these forums, so my apologies if this is a common beginner question (i tried to search this forum and the tutorials but could not find the answer to my questions).

Currently I'm trying to model a T-profiled circle, and look how it deforms under its own weight (see attachment beam_elements_over_circle), I want to do this using beam elements. (a representation of the system using solid mechanics can be seen in the solid mechanics attachment)

With this i got a few questions.
- When creating a cross-section for a beam element you can define an orientation, does it always keep that same orientation or can it somehow follow the curvature of a beam in case the beam is not straight (as in my case the beam will make a 360 degree turn, I could of course cut my circle into a lot of elements and set different orientations for every piece but that seems quite inefficient).
- When applying a cross-section on a closed profile (like a circle) will it apply the cross-section orientation based on the top part of the circle or the bottom part.
- When using the default/common cross-sections for beam elements provided in comsol, is there a way to visualize those to see if applied/oriented them correctly.

Thank you for your help :)


0 Replies Last Post 23 feb 2015, 08:57 GMT-5
COMSOL Moderator

Hello Jesse van Dongen

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