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Column

Cap: The midpoint of the pier cap is utilized to designate the position of the column.

Section Data: The section of the pier column can be specified.

• Section Length(Starts From Top): Input the distances for the defined section, starting from the top of the pier column. If the sections do not vary, one row is sufficient.

• Start Section: The location of the start section is calculated as the sum of all previously defined rows. If it is the first row, then the starting point is the top of the pier column.

• End Section: The position of the end section is determined by adding the distance defined in this row to the sum of all previously specified rows.

Transverse Offset: The midpoint of the pier cap is set to 0 location. If a negative value is employed, the pier will be shifted towards the left when viewed up-station from the alignment, while a positive value will shift it towards the right when viewed up-station from the alignment.

Rotation Angle [deg]: This parameter is utilized to rotate the section.

Bottom Elevation: This parameter specifies the global elevation of the bottom of the pier column. Suppose the vertical profile of the alignment is defined, and the PGL is at an elevation of 100. In that case, entering a value of -50 here will offset the bottom of the column by 150 units from the PGL elevation.

FEM

Additional Break Points: Break points can be added to include additional nodes at various positions. The distance is inputted from the top of the pier column. In some scenarios, users enter collision loads on the pier column as a point load. If there is no node defined at that precise location, the load is distributed to the nearest nodes based on their distance. However, in these instances, the user's objective is to apply the collision force from one particular location. Thus, creating a node at the intended location can fulfill this requirement.

Generate FEM[Yes/No]: Setting the "Generate Fem" parameter to "No" can disable the analytical representation of the pier.

Mesh Size: The mesh size parameter can be utilized to set the maximum distance for a single finite element line.

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