Monorail connection to bottom of beam - STAAD

[WesleyJ]

Hi,

I have an S-monorail attaching to the bottom flange of 3 perpendicular members.

How would you go about releases at these 3 intersecting points? At one of the ends, the monorail also cantilevers out several feet.

I know that these are not pinned connections, but I also cannot pin the continuous members that they attach to at those points since all members are continuous.

For right now, I have no releases on any members at these 3 points, but my gut says this isnt right.

Another option is to put some type of short "dummy" member that I can add releases to (beneath the overhead flanges).


Thanks

 

[SethGuthrie]

I may not understand the situation completely, (a picture or the std file might help), but my general advice is to pin or release moments only at the ends of a beam with a simple shear connection. I sometimes say, pin the member that has holes in it. Don't pin the supporting member or it will lead to instabilities. Some tips regarding instabilities and how to solve them are available here:

http://communities.bentley.com/prod...tructural_analysis_and_design__wiki/3038.aspx

When framing is not concentric, adding short links to tie things together and account for eccentricity is usually a good idea, but that can also lead to instability.

Another suggestion is to start with fixed-ended members and see what moments develop. If the moments are large where you really have a flexible connection then pin that location, if the moments are trivial, then just leave it all fixed.