In PLAXIS 2D, bending moments can be assigned as a value at a specific point to be applied on a plate. The bending moment can be defined by checking the PointLoad properties in the Model or Selection explorer. The value of the bending moment can be directly specified in the explorers or via the command line.

A positive value indicates a counter-clockwise bending moment whereas a negative sign indicates a clockwise one:

An example of the command is:

set Point_1.PointLoad.M -20

Value in calculation

Although the input values of bending moment can be specified in the Structures mode, the actual value that is applied in a calculation may be changed in the framework of Staged Construction. Moreover, a bending moment may be increased globally by means of the load multipliers, just like the point load.

On a part of the geometry where both a rotation fixity and a bending moment are applied, the rotation fixity has priority over the bending moment during the calculations, provided that the rotation fixity is active. Hence, it is not useful to apply bending moment on a point with a rotation fixity.

Also, it is not advised to apply bending moments directly to hinges or rotation springs: in these cases, the bending moment is randomly applied to one of the plate elements.