Is it possible to add a nodal wind/seismic load in the middle of a beam in RSS modeler? I was in the Modeler and set up wind and seismic load cases and loads, but it seems I can only apply them at the beam ends or column locations. Many of my nodal loads at the anchorage points for some large cooling towers are not at beam ends or columns, but there's no option to specify the load at a certain distance from the end of the beam. Am I missing something? Any suggestions?
Regretfully no. Gravity point loads can be anywhere, but nodal loads are limited to the nodes, occurring at lateral member end points. I sometimes suggest adding short lateral stub columns on a higher story in order to apply nodal loads at other locations, or you can send the model over to Ram Elements where loads can be placed more freely.
Answer Verified By: Jason McCool
Thanks for the quick reply, Seth. I wasn't sure if there was a way to add a node first so that it would be recognized as a valid point to load. Sounds like that's maybe what's happening by adding a stub column. Trying it out now, and it looks like that will be a feasible workaround. Thanks!