N08: A High Arch Structure - Geometric Nonlinear

A high circular arch structure of radius 100 meters is subjected to a concentrated load at its midpoint. One end of the arch is a fixed support and the other end is a pinned support.

Determine the load-displacement behavior at the point of load application using incremental joint displacement loading.

The material properties for the arch are:

Modulus of Elasticity = 6,000,000 Pa

Poisson's Ratio = 0.30

Shear Modulus = 2,307,692

The section properties for the arch are:

Axx = 1.0 m2

Iyy = 0.16667 m4

Izz = 0.16667 m4

The finite element model consists of 50 beam elements and 51 joints. Nonlinear static analysis has been performed using the load-deflection option for load combinations.

Tested Features

The load displacement curves for the vertical and horizontal displacements are compared with results from Zienkiewicz and EMRC. The results are in excellent agreement.

Reference

O.C. Zienkiewicz, "The Finite Element Method", McGraw Hill Book Company, 1977.
EMRC, "NISA II Verification Problems Manual", 1991.