As an example, we will consider a structure with a different wall distribution for each story.
The mass center and rigidity center coordinates will be measured in the global coordinate system. For better detection of the coordinates, the structure is positioned so that one of the corner elements is placed at the global coordinate system origin.
- In order to obtain the mass center and rigidity center coordinates for each level, you must group the structural elements in systems so that all the elements of a certain level belong to a single system.
In the Pilot, create separate systems for each level of the structure and then place the structural elements in the system corresponding to their level. - Enable the "Level" option in the properties window of each level system. Specify the top and the bottom limit of the level for each story ("Ztop" and Zbottom") and the position number of the level inside the structure (in the "Number" field).
- The structure in this example is loaded with dead loads, live loads and seismic loads along X and Y.
- After running the finite elements analysis you can generate a report containing the mass center and rigidity center coordinates for each level. Perform the following steps:
- Access the Documents > Generate a new report command.
- In the "Report Generator" dialog box, access the Table tab and select Table > Finite Elements Analysis > Results > Modal analysis > Level mass and rigidity centers.
- Click the " <<" button to add the selected table in the current report.
- Click "Generate" to create the document containing the selected table.
| Level mass and rigidity centers | |||
| Level No. | Level name | Mass center
X Y Z |
Rigidity center
X Y Z |
| 1 | Story 1 | 6.90 4.44 0.00 |
9.97 4.00 0.00 |
| 2 | Story 2 | 7.06 4.55 0.00 |
14.97 5.00 0.00 |
| 3 | Story 3 | 6.60 4.97 0.00 |
14.94 8.33 0.00 |