A free circular load acts as a uniform or linearly variable surface load on a circular, freely definable part of a surface.
Usage in RFEM
Free circular loads can be entered and defined in RFEM using the menu "Insert" → "Loads" → "Free Circular Loads" → "Dialog Box" or in tables.
In the "Load Case" list, select the load case to which you want to assign the circular load.
In the "Assigned to Surfaces" section, you can control the effective area of the load. There are several options available in the list:
- "Empty": The load does not act on any surfaces.
- All: The load is applied to all surfaces that are cut perpendicular to the projection plane, starting from the load locations.
- "Number": The load acts only on the surfaces of the specified numbers.
The following options are available for selection in the "Load distribution" list:
- Uniform: The circular load acts with a constant magnitude.
- Linear: The load has a linearly variable magnitude.
In the "Parameters" section, you can specify the load size of the force. For a linearly variable load, you have to enter two load values: the value pC at the center and the value pR at the boundary line.
In the "Load location" section, enter the coordinates of the circle center C.