Question
I would like to find out the reaction forces at the base of a pier. Can I do that using LimitState:RING?
Answer
Yes. Depending on the particular information that is of interest, there are two ways to do this:
1. At Collapse
To determine the forces at collapse, simply solve a 'standard' analysis to determine the critical live load position. You can then select the contact surface at the base of the pier (between the last block and the support) and, in the Property Editor, query the values of Normal, Shear and Moment.
2. In Service
To find the force at the base of the pier under service loading, you can use the support movement functionality.
First move the load vehicle to the position of interest. From now on the traffic loads (if present) will
not be factored up to cause collapse, though you can factor them manually if you wish (via 'Tools > Partial Factors').
Select 'Tools > Support Movement Wizard', and then choose the green support block of the pier as the one to move. By moving the block first downwards and then upwards you can derive a range of energy values for the work done in moving the support. This can then be used to manually determine the support force (by dividing the energy value by the magnitude of the imposed displacement). You should see that the forces acting on the supports are smaller than those encountered at collapse.
not be factored up to cause collapse, though you can factor them manually if you wish (via 'Tools > Partial Factors').
Select 'Tools > Support Movement Wizard', and then choose the green support block of the pier as the one to move. By moving the block first downwards and then upwards you can derive a range of energy values for the work done in moving the support. This can then be used to manually determine the support force (by dividing the energy value by the magnitude of the imposed displacement). You should see that the forces acting on the supports are smaller than those encountered at collapse.