GNL-5

Title
Snap-through

Description
A truss element is subjected to a vertical load at the node 2.
Draw the load-displacement graph.

12 N

25 m

X
2500 m

12 N

2
1

25 m

X
2500 m

Structural geometry and analysis model

Verification Example

MODEL

Analysis Type
2-D geometrical nonlinear analysis
Unit System
m, N
Dimension
Length 2500 m Height 25 m
Element
Truss element
Material
Modulus of elasticity
E = 5.0107 N/m2
Poissons ratio
= 0.0
Sectional Property
Area: 1 m2
Boundary Condition
Node 1: Constrain DX and DZ
Node 2: Constrain DX
Load Case
A concentrated load, P = 12 N is applied at the node 2 in the -Z direction.

GNL-5

Results

Stage/Step graph

Verification Example

Comparison of Results

15

10

0
-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

Load (N)

-5

MIDAS/Gen
Exact solution

-10

-15
Displacement (m)

Reference
M. A. Crisfield, Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Structures, Volume
1:Advanced Topics, 1991