General
The geometry, start and end locations of the deck are primarily determined based on the selected girders. Support lines, on the other hand, are only used to define the cross-section location.
Cross-Sections:
Cross Section Location(Support Line): To extrude the section, the user needs to input the deck cross-section location and can introduce linear or parabolic variations between the cross-sections. It is crucial to note that at least two cross-section definitions are required.
Offset From Support Line[ft]: If the entered cross-section is not located at the selected support line, use the offset value.
Cross Section: Select the cross-section defined prior to this step.
Skew Angle[deg]: A positive skew value rotates the start and end location in a clockwise direction, while a negative skew value rotates the cross-section counterclockwise. Selecting a skew value for any interior support line (pier) will impact the finite element generation logic at that location.
Variation w/Next Segment[Linear/Parabola]:
Girders: To create the 3D geometry for the haunch and finite element mesh of the deck, input for the girder is required. To ensure accurate extraction of composite forces, the library component will generate a minimum of two shell elements between two girders.
Taper: In the overhang regions, users can choose whether or not to include taper by selecting "yes" or "no," as shown in the figure below. This input will impact the haunch load computation.
Continuous at Start-Continuous at End[Yes/No]: Users can choose whether the deck is continuous or discontinuous at the start or end regions, which affects the generation of the finite element model. To ensure continuity between two different decks, users can select the "continuous" option for the end location of the first deck and the start location of the second deck. If the user wants to define the deck as discontinuous with a gap between two decks, they can select the "discontinuous" option and define girders end locations accordingly. Selecting continuous or discontinuous options will not affect the behavior if only one deck is defined.
Material: The material used for the shell elements generated for the deck.
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