A free polygon load acts as a uniform or linearly variable surface load on a polygonal, freely definable zone of a surface.
Usage in RFEM
Free polygon loads can be entered and defined in RFEM using the menu "Insert" → "Loads" → "Free Polygon Loads" → "Dialog Box" or in tables.
In the "Load Case" list, select the load case to which you want to assign the polygon 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 polygon load acts with a constant magnitude.
- Linear: The load has a linearly variable magnitude.
- Linear in X / Y / Z: The load has a linearly variable magnitude in the direction of a global axis.
In the "Parameters" section, you can specify load values of the polygon load. For a linearly variable load, enter two load values; for a load that is linearly variable in X / Y / Z, enter three load values with the corresponding point numbers of the polygon load.
In the "Load Location" section, you can define the corner point coordinates of the load in a table.