Abutments

Abutments consist of three elements, whereby two elements form the bearings on each side and one element in the center represents the abutment.

To define abutments, you need to specify these three positions by reference points or docking points in the cross section of the girder.

You can adapt the stiffnesses of these elements by their spring constants for each direction/rotation during the definition or later in the Properties window.

To interactively create a new abutment

1. Right-click on the menu Structural Supports to open the context menu and select the menu item New Abutment.
2. Optionally, edit the name and the description in the opening input window.
3. Define the spring stiffnesses for the 6 degrees of freedom of the left, right and central spring directly or by using the predefined types (for details see here).
4. Confirm the input with OK.

   In the tree, a new abutment is created in the menu Structural Supports.

5. In the 3D view window, click the reference point / docking point (to be selected in the Properties window), at which the left bearing should be created.
6. In the view window, click the cross section of that structural unit, which should be connected with the left bearing.
7. In the view window, click the reference point / docking point, at which the right bearing should be created.
8. In the view window, click the cross section of that structural unit, which should be connected with the right bearing.

   Note: If the girder consists of a cross section with one structural unit only, the cross section to be selected in step 6 and 8 is the same.

9. In the view window, click the central reference point, at which the abutment should be created.