Concentrated Point Load

Users can select one or more point objects, then Assign menu>Point Loads>Force to a particular load pattern. Point load assignments can be made using Global axes or Local axes. For purposes of any CSiPlant documentation or Wiki entry, the terms Point, Node, and Joint can be used interchangeably.

In some scenarios users may need to assign point loads in a skewed direction. This can be accomplished by selecting one or more points, then Assign>Joint>Local axes as shown below. By default, point local axes align with global axes, with axis 1 = Global X, 2 = Global Y, and 3 = Global Z. 

In this example we will rotate a selected point local axis 45 degrees about its local 1 axis and assign a 1 Kip load in the minus local 3 direction (blue arrow is local 3) as shown. Concentrated point loads can be assigned to any load pattern, and there is no practical limit to the number of point loads which can be assigned and analyzed.