I'm working on a concrete model with a wall sitting on a slab. To get a better reaction stress representation I have modeled the support area with an area spring. The type of spring is a link which is fixed in the U3 direction only. The resulting spring returns small spring reactions in the planar directions but is not returning the U3 resultant force.
Similarly, one area link assigned as an area spring is fixed in the U1, U2, U3 directions. This support does not return any resultant forces.
I am wondering how to assess the vertical reactions from the support without removing the link.
The alternative is to remove the fixity and turn the directional restraint into a spring. But if I make the link unfixed, how can I assess an appropriate spring stiffness to return accurate force reactions for my support? I applied a stiffness to the U3 direction using AE/L, where A is the area of the support, E is the elastic modulus of the concrete, and L is the entire height of the wall. I'm not sure if that is an accurate representation, but the resultant forces seem reasonable for the load.
Similarly, one area link assigned as an area spring is fixed in the U1, U2, U3 directions. This support does not return any resultant forces.
I am wondering how to assess the vertical reactions from the support without removing the link.
The alternative is to remove the fixity and turn the directional restraint into a spring. But if I make the link unfixed, how can I assess an appropriate spring stiffness to return accurate force reactions for my support? I applied a stiffness to the U3 direction using AE/L, where A is the area of the support, E is the elastic modulus of the concrete, and L is the entire height of the wall. I'm not sure if that is an accurate representation, but the resultant forces seem reasonable for the load.
