Joint Element Output Conventions Page 1 of 5

Joint Element Output Conventions

n Spring Force Output Conventions. Spring forces are reported as forces acting on the elements connected to the
support. They are reported with respect to the global coordinate system. Positive spring forces act in the same
direction as the positive global axes. The sense of positive moments can be determined using the right-hand rule.

n Support Reaction Output Conventions. Support reactions are reported as forces acting on the elements connected
to the support. The reaction forces are reported with respect to the global coordinate system. Positive support
reaction forces act in the same direction as the positive global axes. The sense of positive moments can be
determined using the right-hand rule.

As an example, consider a building column that is supporting gravity load. This gravity load acts in a downward
direction. Thus the force imposed on the bottom of the column acts in an upward direction. This is the reaction
force reported by SAP2000. Since the upward force is in the same direction as the positive global Z-axis, the
reaction is reported as a positive value acting in the Z direction.

The figure below illustrates positive support reaction forces.

Frame Element Internal Forces Output Conventions

The frame internal forces are:

n P, the axial force

n V2, the shear force in the 1-2 plane

n V3, the shear force in the 1-3 plane

n T, the axial torque (about the 1-axis)

n M2, the bending moment in the 1-3 plane (about the 2-axis)

n M3, the bending moment in the 1-2 plane (about the 3-axis)

These internal forces and moments are present at every cross section along the length of the frame.

For each load case and load combination the frame internal forces and moments are computed and reported at each frame
output station.

For frame output displayed in a tabular form on the computer screen, printed to a printer or printed to a file, the locations of the output stations are
identified by the absolute distance to the station measured from the i-end of the frame.

The sign convention for frame internal forces is illustrated in the figure below. This sign convention can be described by
defining the concept of positive and negative faces of an object. Consider a section cut through the object in the 2-3 plane.

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At this section the positive 1 face is the face whose outward normal (arrow that is perpendicular to the section and pointing
away from the section) is in the positive local 1 direction. At this same section the negative 1 face is one whose outward
normal is in the negative local 1 direction. The positive 2 and 3 faces are those faces with outward normals in the positive
local 2 and 3 directions, respectively, from the neutral axis. Note the following about the frame internal forces:

n Positive internal forces (P, V2 and V3) and positive axial torque (T) acting on a positive 1 face are oriented in the positive direction of the
corresponding object local coordinate axis. For example, when V2 acting on a positive 1 face is positive, it is oriented in the direction of the
positive local 2-axis.

n Positive internal forces (P, V2 and V3) and positive axial torque (T) acting on a negative 1 face are oriented in the negative direction of the
corresponding object local coordinate axis. For example, when V2 acting on a negative 1 face is positive, it is oriented in the direction of the
negative local 2-axis.

n Positive M2 bending moments cause compression on the positive 3 face and tension on the negative 3 face.

n Positive M3 bending moments cause compression on the positive 2 face and tension on the negative 2 face.

n When end offsets along the length of the frame are present, the internal forces and moments are output at the faces of the supports rather
than the ends of the object. No output is produced within the end offset length.

n The right-hand rule applies in the figure for determining the sense of the moments shown by the double arrows.

Link Element Internal Force Output Convention

Although the link element internal forces ( P, V2 and V3) and link element internal moments (T, M2 and M3) are present
at every point along the element, they are reported only at the end points of the element. The figure below shows the
positive direction for link element internal forces reported at the link element end points.

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Shell Element Internal Forces/Stresses Output

Convention
The six faces of a shell element are defined as the positive 1 face, negative 1 face, positive 2 face, negative 2 face, positive
3 face and negative 3 face as shown in the figure below. In this definition the numbers 1, 2 and 3 correspond to the local
axes of the shell element. The positive 1 face of the element is the face that is perpendicular to the 1-axis of the element
whose outward normal (pointing away from the element) is in the positive 1-axis direction. The negative 1 face of the
element is a face that is perpendicular to the 1-axis of the element whose outward normal (pointing away from the element)
is in the negative 1-axis direction. The other faces have similar definitions.

Note that the positive 3 face is sometimes called the top of the shell element in SAP2000, particularly in the output, and the
negative 3 face is called the bottom of the shell element.

Shell Element Internal Forces

Shell Element Internal Stresses

Panel Zone Output Conventions

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Internally in the analysis model, SAP2000 creates two joints at locations where panel zones are assigned to point objects. If
the panel zone is between columns and other objects, one of the joints is connected to the columns and one is connected to
the other object. Brace-to-other-object panel zones are similar.

SAP2000 reports panel zone displacements (using the Display menu > Show Miscellaneous Assigns > Joints command and
the Panel Zone option), panel zone internal deformations and panel zone internal forces (using the Display menu > Show
Tables command and the Analysis Results, Element Output, Panel Output option). Do not confuse panel zone
displacements and internal deformations. They are different.

n Panel Zone Displacements

SAP2000 reports displacements for a point object with a panel zone assignment as follows:

¡ Beam-to-Other-Object Connectivity: Displacements are reported for the joint connected to the column.

¡ Brace-to-Other-Object Connectivity: Displacements are reported for the joint connected to the column.

Panel zone displacements are reported in the global coordinate system. Positive translational displacements are in
the same direction as the positive global axes. The sense of positive rotations can be determined using the right-
hand rule.

n Panel Zone Internal Deformations

Panel zone internal deformations are reported in the panel zone local coordinate system. The following conventions
are used by SAP2000:

¡ Beam-to-Other-Object Connectivity: The i-end of the panel zone is the joint that is connected to the
columns. The j-end of the panel zone is the joint that is connected to the other object.

¡ Brace-to-Other-Object Connectivity: The i-end of the panel zone is the joint that is connected to the other
object. The j-end of the panel zone is the joint that is connected to the brace.

n Panel Zone Internal Forces

The panel zone internal forces indicate how much unbalanced load is transferred through the panel zone. For
example, in a panel zone with beam-to-other-object connectivity the internal forces indicate how much unbalanced
moment is transferred from the beams to the other objects.

Panel zone internal forces are calculated as described for link element internal forces. Since panel zone elements
are zero length, elements M2 = M2b and M3 = M3b. The panel zone internal forces are reported in the panel zone
local coordinate system.

Section Cut Output Conventions

Section cut forces are reported at a single point in the local coordinate system defined for the section cut. Six different
force components are reported at that single point. They are:

l F1: A force in the section cut local 1-axis direction.

l F2: A force in the section cut local 2-axis direction.

l F3: A force in the section cut local 3-axis direction.

l M1: A moment about the section cut local 1-axis.

l M2: A moment about the section cut local 2-axis.

l M3: A moment about the section cut local 3-axis.

Section cut forces are reported as forces acting on the objects that make up the group that defines the section cut. An
example of this is described below. Positive section forces act in the same direction as the positive section cut local axes.
The sense of positive moments can be determined using the right-hand rule.

Consider the example shown in the figure below. The global coordinate system axes and the section cut local coordinate
system axes are shown in Figure a. This illustrates that the local coordinate system axes may be different from the global

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system.

Figure b shows a floor system that consists of 9 area objects labeled F1 through F9 and 16 associated point objects labeled
1 through 16. Suppose that we want to determine the section cut forces through the floor system at the location identified
by the heavy line in Figure c. This section cut passes through the point objects labeled 3, 7, 11 and 15.

Two groups can be defined for use in the section cut definition. Figure d shows the first possible group, which includes
area objects F2, F5 and F8 and point objects 3, 7, 11 and 15. Figure e shows free body diagrams that define the positive
direction of section cut forces when the section cut is defined using the group definition shown in Figure d. Note that the
positive section cut forces acting on the left free body diagram are in the same direction as the positive section cut local
axes shown in Figure a. The left free body diagram is the one that includes the objects that were used to define the group
that defined the section cut.

Figure f shows the second possible group that could define the section cut. This group includes area objects F3, F6 and F9
and point objects 3, 7, 11 and 15. Figure g shows free body diagrams that define the positive direction of section cut forces
when the section cut is defined using the group definition shown in f. Note that the positive section cut forces acting on the
right free body diagram are in the same direction as the positive section cut local axes shown in Figure a. The right free
body diagram is the one that includes the objects that were used to define the group that defined the section cut.

See Also

Define - Section Cuts

Section Cut Advanced Axes Form

Draw Section Cuts

Section Cut Plot Function

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