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Structural Elements
An important aspect of geomechanical analysis and design is the use of structural support to
stabilize a rock or soil mass. Structures of arbitrary geometry and properties, and their
interaction with a rock or soil mass, can be modeled with FLAC3D. This section describes the
types of structural-support members (beams, cables, piles, shells, geogrids and liners), or
structural elements, available in FLAC3D, as well as the numerical formulation that supports
the structural-element logic.
The structural elements can either be independent of, or coupled to, the grid representing the
solid continuum. The structural-element logic is implemented with the same explicit,
Lagrangian solution procedure as the rest of the code (as opposed to an implicit, matrix-
inversion procedure): the full dynamic equations of motion are solved, even for modeling
processes that are essentially static. Large displacements, including geometric nonlinearity,
can be accommodated by specifying a large-strain solution mode; and the full dynamic
response of the system in the time domain can also be obtained with the dynamic-analysis
option.
This overview section is organized as follows. We begin with a brief description of the six
types of structural-support members provided by FLAC3D. This is followed, in Terminology,
by a high-level introduction describing the relevant terminology. The means by which
structural elements are created and joined to one another is discussed next (in Geometry
Creation} and Joining Structural Elements). The discussion includes a description of how
particular physical entities (e.g., physical beams) that are composed of a collection of beam
structural elements and nodes can be referred to — for purposes of plotting and specification
of property and boundary conditions — as a single unit. The general procedures are also
described for specification of boundary and initial conditions (in Specifying Boundary and
Initial Conditions), stresses in shells (in Stresses in Shells), coordinate systems and sign
conventions (in Local Systems and Sign Conventions), damping conditions (in Specifying
Damping and Timestep Conditions), thermal expansion (in Thermal Expansion in Structural
Elements) and material properties (in Material Properties).
It is helpful to discuss the various conditions that can be prescribed at structural nodes before
describing each of the types of structural elements in FLAC3D. This is done in Structural
Element Nodes. This section also includes a summary of the commands associated with
nodes.
Each type of structural element is then described in detail in Beam, Cable, Pile, Shell, Geogrid,
and Liner Structural Elements. This includes a description of the mechanical behavior, the
required properties and associated commands. Finally, simple examples are included at the
end of each section, illustrating the application of each structural-element type.
A detailed discussion of the general formulation of the structural-element logic in FLAC3D is

provided in General Formulation of Structural-Element Logic. Users wishing to implement
more complex interaction between structural elements and the grid should consult this
mk:@MSITStore:C:\Program%20Files\Itasca\Flac3d600\flac3dhelp.ch... 02/06/2019
section to gain an understanding of the implementation procedure.
Throughout this section, matrices and vectors will be denoted by boldface type. The
mathematical symbols , , and will designate a rectangular matrix, diagonal
matrix, column vector and row vector, respectively. Also, structure and element matrices will
be described by uppercase and lowercase English alphabet characters. For example, and
designate structure and element stiffness matrices, respectively.
Types of Structural Elements

Six forms of structural-support members can be specified. Each of these members can be
joined to one another and/or the grid.
1. Beam Structural Elements — Beam structural elements are two-noded,

straight, finite elements with six degrees of freedom per node: three
translational components, and three rotational components. A physical beam
(i.e., an arbitrarily curved, beam structure of isotropic material and
bisymmetrical cross-section) can be modeled as a collection of beam
elements. Each element behaves as a linearly elastic material with no failure
limit; however, it is possible to introduce a limiting plastic moment, or even
a plastic hinge (across which discontinuity in rotation may develop), between
elements. Beam elements may be rigidly connected to the grid such that
forces and bending moments develop within the beam as the grid deforms,
and they may be loaded by point or distributed loads. Beam elements are
used to model structural-support members in which bending resistance and
limited bending moments occur, including support struts in an open-cut
excavation and general framed structures loaded by point or distributed
loads.
2. Cable Structural Elements — Cable structural elements are two-noded,

straight, finite elements with one axially oriented translational degree-of-
freedom per node. A physical cable (i.e., an arbitrarily curved, cable structure
of isotropic material) can be modeled as a collection of cable elements. Each
element can yield in tension or compression, but cannot resist a bending
moment. A shear-directed (parallel with the cable axis) frictional interaction
occurs between the cable and the grid. A cable may be anchored at a specific
point in the grid, or grouted so that force develops along its length in
response to relative motion between the cable and the grid. Cables may also
be point-loaded or pretensioned. Cable elements are used to model a wide
variety of structural-support members for which tensile capacity is
important, including cable bolts and tiebacks.
3. Pile Structural Elements — Pile structural elements are two-noded, straight,

finite elements with six degrees of freedom per node. A physical pile can be
modeled as a collection of pile elements. The stiffness matrix of a pile

element is identical to that of a beam element; however, in addition to
providing the structural behavior of a beam, both a normal-directed
(perpendicular to the pile axis) and a shear-directed (parallel with the pile
axis) frictional interaction occurs between the pile and the grid. In this sense,
piles offer the combined features of beams and cables. In addition to skin-
friction effects, end-bearing effects can also be modeled (see Axially Loaded
Pile). Piles may be loaded by point or distributed loads. Pile elements are
used to model structural-support members, such as foundation piles, for
which both normal- and shear-directed frictional interaction with the rock or
soil mass occurs.
A special material model is also available as an extension to the pile

element to simulate the behavior of rockbolt reinforcement. This
model includes the ability to account for changes in confining stress
around the reinforcement, strain-softening behavior of the material
between the structural element and the grid, and tensile rupture of the
element.
4. Shell Structural Elements — Shell structural elements are three-noded, flat

finite elements. Five finite-element types (2 membrane elements, 1 plate-
bending element and 2 shell elements) are available. A physical shell (i.e., an
arbitrarily curved, shell structure of either isotropic or orthotropic material)
can be modeled as a faceted surface composed of a collection of shell
elements. The structural response of the shell is controlled by the finite-
element type (to resist membrane loading only, bending loading only, or
both membrane and bending loading). Each shell element behaves as an
isotropic or orthotropic, linearly elastic material with no failure limit;
however, one can introduce a plastic-hinge line (across which a discontinuity
in rotation may develop) along the edges between elements, using the same
double-node procedure as is applied to beams. Shell elements may be
rigidly connected to the grid such that stresses develop within the shell as
the grid deforms, and they may be loaded by point loads or surface
pressures. Shell elements are used to model the structural support provided
by any thin-shell structure in which the displacements caused by transverse-
shearing deformations can be neglected.
5. Geogrid Structural Elements — Geogrid structural elements are three-noded,

flat, finite elements that are assigned a finite-element type that resists
membrane but does not resist bending loading. A physical membrane can be
modeled as a collection of geogrid elements. The geogrid elements behaves
as an isotropic or orthotropic, linearly elastic material with no failure limit. A
shear-directed (in the tangent plane to the geogrid surface) frictional
interaction occurs between the geogrid and the FLAC3D grid, and the
geogrid is slaved to the grid motion in the normal direction. A geogrid can
be anchored at a specific point in the FLAC3D grid, or attached so that stress
develops along its surface in response to relative motion between the
geogrid and the FLAC3D grid. The geogrid can be thought of as the two-
dimensional analog of a one-dimensional cable. Geogrid elements are used
to model flexible membranes whose shear interaction with the soil are
important, such as geotextiles and geogrids.
6. Liner Structural Elements — Liner structural elements are three-noded, flat

finite elements that can be assigned any of the five finite-element types
available for shell elements. A physical liner can be modeled as a collection
of liner elements that are attached to the surface of the FLAC3D grid. In
addition to providing the structural behavior of a shell, a shear-directed (in
the tangent plane to the liner surface) frictional interaction occurs between
the liner and the FLAC3D grid. Also, in the normal direction, both
compressive and tensile forces can be carried, and the liner may break free
from (and subsequently come back into contact with) the grid. Liner
elements are used to model thin liners for which both normal-directed
compressive/tensile interaction and shear-directed frictional interaction with
the host medium occurs, such as shotcrete-lined tunnels or retaining walls.
An option that allows interaction with the FLAC3D grid on both sides of
the liner is available with the liner element.
Terminology
With the addition of structural-element logic, FLAC3D can model the structural response of a
mechanical system that is composed of a solid continuum and a framework of load-carrying
members. The solid continuum is represented by a collection of polyhedral-shaped zones,
each of which is associated with a set of gridpoints. The framework is represented by a
collection of structural elements, each of which is associated with a set of nodes. The
framework interacts with the solid continuum by means of links which connect nodes to
zones (not simply to gridpoints) or to other nodes.
Six degrees of freedom, composed of three translational components and three rotational
components, are associated with each node. Each node also has its own local orthogonal
coordinate system. The node-local system provides the directions in which the equations of
motion for the node are solved, and also defines the directions in which the node can be
attached to a target entity via a link. A link supports the following three attachment
conditions, which are specified independently for each local direction of its source node: free,
rigid and deformable. See Structural-Element Links for a detailed description of structural-
element links.
For most modeling situations, it is not necessary to specify link properties; instead, it is
sufficient to create, position and assign properties to the desired structural elements. Nodes
(and links, if necessary) will be created automatically, and will inherit necessary information
from the structural elements that use them.
Geometry Creation
The six types of structural elements provide the building blocks, or components, needed to
model six types of physical items: beams, cables, piles, shells, geogrids and liners. Each
physical item is associated directly with a collection of component objects of the same type.
For example, a cable is associated with a collection of cable elements, whereas a liner is
associated with a collection of liner elements. The association between physical items and
their corresponding component objects is implemented by storing two distinct identification
numbers for each structural element:
1. id — The ID number refers to the physical item.
2. component-id — The component-ID number refers to the component object

itself.
Properties may be specified for each type of physical item, and will be inherited automatically
by the associated component objects. For example, the command
struct cable property grout-friction=30.0 range id=3
will assign a grout friction angle of 30 degrees to all cable elements thar are part of the cable
with an ID number of 3, whereas the command
struct cable property grout-friction=30.0 range component-id=3
will assign a grout friction angle of 30 degrees to the single cable element with a component-
ID number of 3.
The Beam, Cable, Pile, Shell, Geogrid, and Liner plot items allows one to view the six different
element types, as well as the nodes and the links.
Beam, Cable and Pile Structural Elements

The geometry of beams, cables and piles is defined by their corresponding collection of
component objects. The creation commands for all three of these types are identical, and for
simplicity the following examples will be for cable elements, but they will work just as well for
pile or beam elements.
A single cable forming a straight line (made up of a number of individual elements) can be
created using the structure cable create command, in one of three ways:
1. By specifying the two end locations (structure cable create by-line),
2. By specifying the ID numbers of two nodes at each end (structure cable

create by-nodeids), or
3. By specifying a starting point, a direction, and a length (structure cable

create by-ray).
Each create command takes an optional ID argument to denote the ID of the item to be
created. If no ID is provided, the next available ID will be used. New nodes are created
automatically at uniformly spaced internal points along the line. If a node already exists at
one of the end locations and is used by a element with the same ID as that given in the
command, a new node is not created at this location; otherwise, a new node is created.
A group of cables may be created from external geometric information, using the structure
cable import command. For each line segment in the imported data, one or more cable
elements will be created. Current, data can be imported in one of three ways:
1. From an existing geometry set (structure cable import from-geometry).

See the Geometry for details of creating a geometric set.
2. From a compatible CAD file (structure cable import from-file). The

currently compatible file types are DXF, STL, and the Itasca Geometry format.
3. From an extruder set (structure cable import from-extruder). See the

Extrude for how to use the 2D Extruder.
The following example, depicted in Figure 1, illustrates the association mechanism between
nodes and structural elements. The nodes are not drawn in these plots. Instead, the cable
elements are drawn at 90% of their true length. Consider a curved cable, identified by an id of
5, that is composed of a collection of 7 elements and 8 nodes. Each element stores the cable
id of 5, as well as its own unique component-id. This can be seen by moving the mouse over
an element and examining the information window. In this way, the 7 elements are combined
to form a complex, arbitrarily curved cable that can be referred to by the single id of 5.
Figure 1: Representation of a single curved cable identified by an ID of 5
The commands necessary to produce the model are shown in Figure 1 are given in
selexample1-1.f3dat.
selexample1-1.f3dat: Creating a single curved cable identified by an ID of 5
model new
struct cable create by-line (0.0,4.0,0.0) (3.0,4.0,0.0) segments=2 id=5
There is no restriction that requires the end locations to lie within the FLAC3D grid; in fact, it
is not necessary to have a grid at all. (Recall that the structural elements can either be
independent of, or coupled to, the grid representing the solid continuum.) When using the
structure cable create command, if any of the nodes used by the newly created elements lie
within zones, these nodes will be linked to these zones, and the link properties will be set
consistent with the corresponding element behavior described in Beam, Cable, and Pile
Structural Elements.
The most common reason to specify more than one segment between end locations is to
improve accuracy, especially with piles and cables that are interacting with the host medium.
In this case, the distribution of shear forces along each pile or cable is a function, to some
extent, of the number of nodes. The following rules-of-thumb have been used to determine
the number of nodes to use when modeling cables:
1. Try to provide approximately one node in each FLAC3D zone. The reasoning
here is that since the zones are constant-stress regions, it is not necessary
to have more than one interaction point within a zone.
2. Try to provide two to three cable element within the development length of
the cable. The development length of the cable is determined by dividing the
specified yield strength, , by the grout cohesive strength, . By following
this procedure, failure by "pull-out" can occur if such conditions arise. If the
cable elements are too long, then only the yield failure mode of each
element is possible. (This reasoning also applies to pile elements if used to
simulate the behavior of rockbolts.)
Shell, Geogrid and Liner Structural Elements

The geometry of shells, geogrids and liners is defined by their corresponding collection of
component objects. The creation commands for all three of these types are identical, and for
simplicity the following examples will be for shell elements, but they will work just as well for
geogrid or liner elements.
A single shell surface (made up of a number of individual elements) can be created using the
structure shell create command, in one of four ways:
1. By specifying a set of surface zone faces, on which elements will be created

(structure shell create by-face).
2. By specifying four existing structural nodes, forming a quadrilateral

(structure shell create by-nodeids).
3. By specifying four points in space, forming a quadrilateral (structure shell

create by-quadrilateral).
4. By specifying three points in space, forming a triangle (structure shell

create by-triangle).
A shell surface may also be created from external geometric information, using the structure
shell import command. For each line segment in the imported data, one or more shell
elements will be created. Current, data can be imported in one of two ways:
1. From an existing geometry set (structure shell import from-geometry).

See the Geometry for details of creating a geometric set.
2. From a compatible CAD file (structure shell import from-file). The

currently compatible file types are DXF, STL, and the Itasca Geometry format.
The most common way that shell-type elements are created in FLAC3D is with the structure
shell create by-face command, which places them on zone faces. As an example below, the
geometry logic is used to create a 45 degree arc surface of shell elements. The command
used as listed in selexample1-2.f3dat.
The geometry edge create by-arc command is used to create a 45 arc section in 8 segments.
Then the geometry generate from-edges command is used to extrude those edges in the y-
direction into 8 segments. This description is then used by the structure shell import
from-geometry command to create two triangular shell elements per quadrilateral in the
geometric description. Figure 2 shows the resulting shell elements.
model new
geometry select 'cyl'
geometry edge create by-arc origin (0,0,0) start (0,0,1) end (0.707,0,0.707) segments
geometry generate from-edges extrude (0,1,0) segments 8
struct shell import from geometry 'cyl'
Figure 2: Representation of a curved shell created by generating shell

elements using a geometry description
Joining Structural Elements to One Another and to the Grid

Structural elements can be joined to one another either by sharing a node or by having one of
their nodes linked to either another node or to a zone (see Terminology). If two or more
structural elements share a node, all forces and moments are transferred between the
elements at the node. If it is necessary to limit or eliminate specific forces and/or moments
that are transferred between elements, then two separate nodes may be created and
connected by a node-to-node link, and the appropriate attachment conditions set. For
example, if it is necessary to join two beams with a ball-joint, a node-to-node link can be
added between the two beam end nodes, and the attachment conditions set in all
translational and rotational directions to be rigid and free, respectively. The same procedure
can be applied when joining elements to the grid, except that in this case, a node-to-zone
link must be established between the node and the zone in which it lies. Node-to-node and
node-to-zone linkage is controlled via the structure link command, and the linkage
conditions are described in Structural-Element Links.
The element creation commands ( structure cable create, structure beam create, etc.) are
designed to maintain a clear separation between different physical items being modeled. For
example, if modeling two separate piles lying end-to-end, issue two separate structure pile
create commands and specify two separate IDs (e.g., 1 and 2). This will result in the creation
of two nodes lying in the same geometric location: one is used by pile-1; one is used by pile-
2. Forces and moments will not be transferred between the adjoining pile elements; instead,
only forces will be transmitted into the surrounding zone at the common location. This
mimics two separate piles lying end-to-end. If a single pile is desired, then issue two separate
structure pile create commands, but this time specify the same ID for each. This will result
in the creation of a single node that is shared by the pile element on each side of the common
location. Forces and moments will be transferred between the adjoining elements. In most
modeling situations, the default link attachment conditions that are set by the element
creation commands should not be modified, because these attachment conditions produce
the desired element-grid interaction for each particular element type.
Specifying Boundary and Initial Conditions

All boundary and initial conditions (with the exception of distributed loads applied to beam
and pile surfaces, pressure loads applied to shell, liner, and geogrid surfaces, and pretension
forces applied to cables) are specified with the structure node command. The nodal
conditions include
1. velocity-fixity conditions,
2. current velocity components, and
3. applied point loads (forces and/or moments).
There are two coordinate systems associated with each node: the global system and the
node-local system. The node-local system is used to specify attachment conditions that
control how the node interacts with the grid. Also, the equations of motion are solved in these
local directions. Therefore, one may fix or free velocities in these directions only. The
orientation of the node-local system is set automatically at the start of a set of cycles based
on the type of elements that use the node. (See the structure node command for a full
description of these two systems.)
Velocities and rotations at nodes are fixed and freed in the node-local system using the
structure node fix and structure node free commands. Velocities and rotations are
initialized to specified values in the global system using the structure node initialize
command. Point loads are applied at nodes in either the global or the node-local system
using the structure node apply command.
Distributed loads are applied to elements using the structure cable apply (for example).
Linear elements (beam, cable, or pile) can apply distributed loads in the element local y and z
directions. Planar elements (shell, geogrid, or liner) can apply pressure normal to the
element surface. Note that in large-strain mode, the applied loads remain aligned with the
corresponding element system directions, which may rotate as the element location changes.
Pretension forces are applied to cables using the structure cable apply tension command.
A positive pretension force places the cable into tension. See Pretensioning for additional
information.
Stresses in Shells
This section provides a brief introduction to shell behavior. Much of the information in this
section is taken from Cook et al. (1989). Consult that text for a more complete discussion.
A shell forms a curved surface in space. Usually a shell is thin in comparison with its span.
Geometrically, a shell is described by its thickness, t, and the shape of the shell mid-surface.
If the mid-surface is flat, then the shell is called a plate. In general, a shell simultaneously
displays bending stresses and membrane stresses. Bending stresses in a shell correspond to
bending stresses in a plate and produce bending and twisting moments and transverse-shear
forces. Membrane stresses correspond to stresses in a plane-stress problem: they act tangent
to the mid-surface, and produce mid-surface tangent forces. These moments and forces per
unit length are called stress resultants. There are a total of eight stress resultants, which can
be divided into those that arise from bending action and those that arise from membrane
action. These will be described in the following two sections.
Bending Action
We can account for the bending action of a shell in terms of plate-bending theory, which
extends beam theory from one dimension to two as follows. Define a surface coordinate
system xyz such that x and y are orthogonal coordinates in the mid-surface and z is a
direction normal to the mid-surface. Approximate the tangent plane to the shell mid-surface
as a flat plate subjected to "plate bending," meaning that external loads have no components
parallel to the xy-plane and that σxx = σyy = σxy = 0 on the mid-surface z=0. Such a flat plate,
like a straight beam, supports transverse loads by bending action. Figure 3 shows stresses
that act on cross sections of a plate whose material is homogeneous and linearly elastic,
subjected to plate-bending loading. Normal stresses σxx and σyy vary linearly with z, and are
associated with bending moments Mx and My. Shear stress σxy also varies linearly with z, and
is associated with twisting moment Mxy. Normal stress σzz is considered negligible in
comparison with σxx, σyy and σxy. Transverse shear stresses σyz and σxz vary quadratically with
z. Lateral load q includes surface load and body force, both in the z-direction.
Figure 3: Bending action in a shell showing: (a) stresses that act on a

differential element of a homogeneous, linearly elastic plate subjected to
plate-bending loading; and (b) stress resultants corresponding with these
stresses. (Stress resultants are drawn acting in their positive sense.)
Stresses in Figure 3 produce the bending stress resultants
(1)
and the transverse-shear stress resultants
(2)
The bending resultants are moments per unit length, and the transverse-shear resultants are
forces per unit length. Differential total moments and forces are Mxdy, Qxdy, and so on, as
shown in Figure 3. The following stress distributions are consistent with the assumptions of
plate-bending theory, and satisfy (1) and (2):
(3)
Stresses σxx, σyy and σxy are largest at the surface , whereas transverse-shear stresses,
σxz and σyz, are largest at the mid-surface. Two points should be noted:
1. The differential equations of equilibrium for a plate element under a general

state of stress indicate that σzz varies as a cubic parabola over the thickness
of the plate (Ugural 1981). But this stress, according to the assumptions of
plate-bending theory, is negligible compared with the other stress
components — this assumption becomes unreliable in the vicinity of highly
concentrated transverse loads.
2. σxz and σyz, according to the assumptions of plate-bending theory, are

negligible compared with the other stress components; however, when these
stresses are integrated through the thickness, they produce transverse-shear
stress resultants, Qx and Qy, that are of the same order of magnitude as the
surface loading and moments.
Membrane Action
We can account for the membrane action of a shell in terms of plane-stress conditions. Define
a surface coordinate system xyz such that x and y are orthogonal coordinates in the mid-
surface, and z is a direction normal to the mid-surface. Approximate the tangent plane to the
shell mid-surface as a flat plate subjected to plane-stress conditions, meaning that the plate
is loaded in its own plane. Such a flat plate supports these loads by membrane action. Figure
4 shows stresses that act on cross sections of a plate whose material is homogeneous and
linearly elastic, subjected to plane-stress loading. Normal and shear stresses σxx, σyy and σxy
are constant through the thickness.
Figure 4: Membrane action in a shell showing: (a) stresses that act on a

differential element of a homogeneous, linearly elastic plate subjected to
plane-stress loading; and (b) stress resultants corresponding with these
stresses. (Stress resultants are drawn acting in their positive sense.)
Stresses in Figure 4 produce the membrane stress resultants
(4)
The membrane resultants are forces per unit length. Differential total forces are Nxdy, Nydx
and so on, as shown in Figure 4. The following stress distributions are consistent with the
plane-stress assumptions and satisfy (4):
(5)
General Shell Stresses

A shell structure simultaneously displays bending stresses and membrane stresses. The
stresses and stress resultants acting in a general shell consist of a superposition of these two
loading modes (see Bending Action and Membrane Action). We can express these stress
quantities in terms of a surface coordinate system xyz, where x and y are orthogonal
coordinates in the shell mid-surface and z is a direction normal to the mid-surface. The eight
stress resultants can be divided into bending (Mx, My, and Mxy), transverse-shear (Qx and Qy)
and membrane (Nx, Ny and Nxy) stress resultants (see (1), (2), and (4)). The distribution of
stress through the shell thickness follows from the particular plate or shell theory used to
model structural behavior. For both the Kirchhoff (thin-shell) and Reissner (thick-shell)
theories, the stress distributions correspond with a superposition of (3) and (5):
(6)
The stresses and stress resultants are sketched in Figure 3 and Figure 4, which also provide
the sign convention for the stress resultants.
Stress Recovery Procedure

General shell stresses are computed in FLAC3D as follows. Refer to Stress Recovery Procedure
for a more detailed description of the stress-recovery procedure. Each shell-type structural
element (shell, geogrid, and liner) has an associated finite-element stiffness matrix that
defines the structural response (see Finite Element Stiffness Matrices). Each shell-type
element stores an internal force vector containing the generalized nodal forces acting on the
element. During each timestep, the internal force vector is updated by multiplying the
element stiffness matrix with the incremental nodal displacements (nodal velocities multiplied
by timestep). Note that shell stresses are not computed during each timestep. Shell stresses
are only computed by invoking a stress-recovery procedure that uses the internal force vector
and the stiffness matrix to first compute stress resultants, and then compute stresses using
(6). These stress resultants are in equilibrium with the generalized nodal forces acting on the
element.
The structural properties of shell-type elements include material properties (e.g., and for
an isotropic material) and thickness. These properties are embodied in the element stiffness
matrix. If a structural property is modified during a simulation, then: (1) the generalized nodal
forces and the stress resultants will remain the same; and (2) the stresses will change only if
the thickness is altered (see (6) and note that a change in thickness will affect the stresses
even if the stress resultants do not change).
Note that the same procedure is used for all shell-type structural elements, shell, geogrid,
and liner. The command and FISH examples below use shell, but any of the shell-type
keywords can be substituted.
The stress-recovery procedure requires that a consistent surface coordinate system be

established prior to recovering any stress quantities. The surface coordinate system, xyz,
establishes x and y as orthogonal coordinates in the shell mid-surface, and z as normal to the
mid-surface. The stress resultants are expressed in terms of this system. The surface
coordinate system is stored at each node, and can be set with the structure shell recover
surface command and the FISH function struct.node.system.surface. It can be printed with
the structure node list system-surface command and plotted with the Shell, Geogrid, and
Liner plot items.
After establishing the surface coordinate system over a patch of shell-type elements, stress
resultants and stresses can be recovered for these elements with the structure shell
recover resultants and structure shell recover stress commands. These values can be
queried, sampled as histories, and viewed as colored contours:
1. The values can be queried with the structure shell list resultant,
structure shell list stress, and structure shell list stress-principal
commands, and the FISH functions struct.shell.resultant,
struct.shell.stress, and struct.shell.stress.prin.
2. The values can be sampled as histories with the structure shell history
command.
3. The values can be plotted as color contours with the Shell, Geogrid, or Liner
plot item. Note that by default the plot items calculate an up-to-date value
of the resultants and stresses, but they can be set to show the current
engine values in the plot item attributes.
The stress resultants and stresses become invalid after any step is taken, or if the surface
coordinate system is altered; also, the stresses become invalid if the depth factor is altered. In
these cases, the values must be recovered again.
The stress-recovery procedure involves two steps: (1) creation of a consistent surface
coordinate system; and (2) recovery of stress quantities. Both of these steps can be limited to
only apply to a range of shell-type elements. This allows one to control whether nodal
averaging will occur between shell-type elements that use the same node. For example,
suppose that one wished to recover stresses throughout a capped cylindrical pressure vessel.
The curvature across the cap edge is not continuous, and some of the stresses across this
edge are also not continuous. We could recover stresses separately in the cap and in the
cylinder walls by performing two separate recovery operations for the shell-type elements in
these regions. When doing so, the z-direction of the surface coordinate system for the nodes
along the edge would be different in each case.
Local Systems and Sign Conventions

Each element has its own local coordinate system. For beams and piles, this system is used to
specify both the cross-sectional moments of inertia and applied distributed loading. For
shells, geogrids and liners, this system is used to specify orthotropic material properties and
applied pressure loading.
Each node has its own node-local coordinate system. This system is used to specify
attachment conditions that control how the node interacts with the grid, and also defines the
directions in which the equations of motion are solved. The orientation of the node-local
system is set automatically at the start of a set of cycles based on the type of elements that
use the node (see the structure node command).
Responses are computed for nodes and for each type of element. Nodal responses include
forces and moments, as well as translational and rotational velocities and displacements.
Forces and translational velocities are positive in the direction of the positive coordinate axes
(either global or node-local) at the node. Positive moments and rotational velocities follow the
"right-hand rule": With the thumb pointing in the direction of the positive coordinate axis, the
fingers are curled in the positive direction of rotation. The double arrows in Figure 3 indicate
the direction of the right-hand thumb to define the positive moment and rotation.
Responses for each type of element, and the associated sign conventions, are described in the
sections named "Response Quantities" associated with each element type (later in this
chapter). The sign convention for force and moment distributions in beams and piles is shown
in Beam Sign Conventions and Pile Sign Conventions, and the sign convention for stress
resultants in shells, geogrids and liners is shown in Bending Action and Membrane Action,
where the xyz-axes correspond with the surface coordinate system used during stress
recovery (see Stress Recovery Proceture).
Specifying Damping and Timestep Conditions

The same damping conditions applied to the FLAC3D grid for static and dynamic analysis can
also be applied to the structural elements. Note that the damping conditions specified with
the zone mechanical damping and zone dynamic damping command only apply to the zones,
and the structure damping command must be used to specify damping conditions for the
structural elements.
The structure damping command can be used to change the damping condition, and the
structure node damping-local command can be used to change the damping constants at
nodes for either local damping or combined damping. The timestep used for either static or
dynamic analysis can be adjusted by using the structure safety-factor command. Also, the
computation of the rotational degree-of-freedom masses during dynamic analysis can be
controlled by the structure scale-rotational-mass command.
Thermal Expansion in Structural Elements

The effect of linear thermal expansion is implemented in the structural element formulation in
FLAC3D. The temperature change occurs as a result of either heat conduction or temperature
re-initialization in the FLAC3D zones (for model configure thermal).
The effect of heat conduction in the structural element is not considered. It is assumed that
the zone temperature is communicated instantaneously to the structural elements. The
temperature change generates thermal expansion/contraction in the structural element axial
direction. The effect of the lateral expansion in the element is neglected, and no other
coupling takes place.
The incremental axial force generated by thermal expansion in the element is calculated using
the formula (note that compression is positive for axial forces)
where E is the Young's modulus of the element, A is the cross-sectional area, is the linear
thermal expansion coefficient, and is the temperature increment for the element.
The structural-element nodal temperature increment is determined by interpolation of nodal

temperature increments in the host zone, and stored in a structural node offset. For a 1D
structural element (i.e., beam, cable or pile), the temperature change is calculated as the
average of values at the two nodes. The thermal strain increment of a 1D element is
computed as the product of the thermal linear expansion coefficient, temperature change for
the step, and element length. For a 2D structural element (i.e., shell, geogrid or liner), the
temperature change is calculated as the average of values at the three nodes. The thermal
strain increment of a 2D element is computed as the product of the thermal linear expansion
coefficient, temperature change for the step, and the lengths of the vectors from the element
centroid to each node. (There are three of these vectors.) Thermal strains, thermal strain
increments and temperatures at structural nodes are not stored.
Note that when a large temperature increment is specified for cables, it is advisable to assign
nonzero compressive yield strength to the cables in order to avoid compressive yielding
during the thermal expansion stage.
Material Properties
Properties are assigned to structural elements with the structure shell property command
(or the equivalent for beam, cable, pile, geogrid, or liner elements). The range logic can be
used to limit the property settings to only those elements within the specified range. The
properties for each structural-element type are described in detail in the following sections.
Note that all quantities must be given in a consistent set of units (see Table 1).
Table 1: Systems of units for some structural element properties
Property Unit SI Imperial

area length2 m2 m2 m2 cm2 ft2 in2
axial or shear force/disp N/m kN/m MN/m Mdynes/cm lbf/ft lbf/in
stiffness
exposed perimeter length m m m cm ft in
moment of inertia length4 m4 m4 m4 cm4 ft4 in4
plastic moment force- N-m kN-m MN-m Mdynes- ft-lbf in-
length cm lbf
yield strength force N kN MN Mdynes lbf lbf
Young's modulus stress Pa kPa MPa bar lbf/ft2 psi
where, 1 bar = 106 dynes/cm2 = 105 N/m2 = 105 Pa.

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Structural Elements Page 1 sur 19

A detailed discussion of the general formulation of the structural-element logic in FLAC3D is

section to gain an understanding of the implementation procedure.

Types of Structural Elements

1. Beam Structural Elements — Beam structural elements are two-noded,

2. Cable Structural Elements — Cable structural elements are two-noded,

3. Pile Structural Elements — Pile structural elements are two-noded, straight,

modeled as a collection of pile elements. The stiffness matrix of a pile

A special material model is also available as an extension to the pile

4. Shell Structural Elements — Shell structural elements are three-noded, flat

5. Geogrid Structural Elements — Geogrid structural elements are three-noded,

6. Liner Structural Elements — Liner structural elements are three-noded, flat

1. id — The ID number refers to the physical item.

2. component-id — The component-ID number refers to the component object

struct cable property grout-friction=30.0 range id=3

struct cable property grout-friction=30.0 range component-id=3

Beam, Cable and Pile Structural Elements

1. By specifying the two end locations (structure cable create by-line),

2. By specifying the ID numbers of two nodes at each end (structure cable

3. By specifying a starting point, a direction, and a length (structure cable

1. From an existing geometry set (structure cable import from-geometry).

2. From a compatible CAD file (structure cable import from-file). The

3. From an extruder set (structure cable import from-extruder). See the

Figure 1: Representation of a single curved cable identified by an ID of 5

selexample1-1.f3dat: Creating a single curved cable identified by an ID of 5

Shell, Geogrid and Liner Structural Elements

1. By specifying a set of surface zone faces, on which elements will be created

2. By specifying four existing structural nodes, forming a quadrilateral

3. By specifying four points in space, forming a quadrilateral (structure shell

4. By specifying three points in space, forming a triangle (structure shell

1. From an existing geometry set (structure shell import from-geometry).

2. From a compatible CAD file (structure shell import from-file). The

Figure 2: Representation of a curved shell created by generating shell

Joining Structural Elements to One Another and to the Grid

Specifying Boundary and Initial Conditions

2. current velocity components, and

3. applied point loads (forces and/or moments).

Figure 3: Bending action in a shell showing: (a) stresses that act on a

Stresses in Figure 3 produce the bending stress resultants

and the transverse-shear stress resultants

1. The differential equations of equilibrium for a plate element under a general

2. σxz and σyz, according to the assumptions of plate-bending theory, are

Figure 4: Membrane action in a shell showing: (a) stresses that act on a

Stresses in Figure 4 produce the membrane stress resultants

General Shell Stresses

Stress Recovery Procedure

The stress-recovery procedure requires that a consistent surface coordinate system be

Local Systems and Sign Conventions

Specifying Damping and Timestep Conditions

Thermal Expansion in Structural Elements

The structural-element nodal temperature increment is determined by interpolation of nodal

Table 1: Systems of units for some structural element properties

Property Unit SI Imperial

where, 1 bar = 106 dynes/cm2 = 105 N/m2 = 105 Pa.

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