MEMBERS OFFSETS - RIGID ZONE FACTOR-

[SAYATTIA]

Gentlemen : how to apply the MEMBERS OFFSETS - RIGID ZONE FACTOR-.
would you give some details regarding this subject

 

[slickdeals]

Rigid zone factors are used to account for the joint stiffness. FEA models account for center line models, but in reality all members have a certain dimensions.

In concrete structures, the beam column joint can be assumed to be completely fixed. This means you can set the rigid zone factor close to 1.0. For example, if you have a 24x24 concrete column, then 12" of the beam on either side of the column center line is modeled as a rigid member with no rotations. The rotations happen outside the face of the column.

I think the program defaults to "0" for the rigid zone factor because they are conservatively treating all joints stiffness to be at the center line of the FE model.

Hope that makes sense.