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Default Local Undeformed Axes

Like all three-dimensional finite element software, Flexcom of course needs a local undeformed axis system for every element. If you don’t explicitly define it, Flexcom uses a default algorithm to calculate the vectors of the local undeformed triad. The line joining the two nodes on an element defines the undeformed X-axis and the local Y and Z axes are chosen to give a right-handed system.

If you want to know what x, y and z axes Flexcom has calculated for a particular element, you will find the data you need in the program output file (jobname.out). In practice, though, this information is of very limited interest. When you are analysing a structure whose initial position defines its stress free or undeformed orientation, it is sufficient to know that the program uses a consistent scheme to calculate local undeformed axes for each element, and thereafter automatically (and correctly) evaluates the restoring forces and stresses caused by deformations relative to these axes.