Frequently Asked Questions

How can the number of BEAM SECTION cards be reduced for ABAQUS output?

Use the vector option to define the orientation of the local coordinate system of the cross section of the beam. Then use the ztol command with a tolerance of around .0001 to compensate for numerical errors.

This is needed because TrueGrid®'s internal data structure for a beam includes its orientation point (not vector). When the output file is written for ABAQUS, TrueGrid® converts the points to vectors, and sorts them to get a unique list. This can be the source of numerical errors, and is the reason for the tolerance parameter.