Supported Elements¶
ops-post recognizes 61 OpenSees element types through its element
registry (ops_elements.py).
Shell elements¶
Displayed as transparent extrusion + mid-surface + fiber layers + GP spheres.
| Element | Nodes | GPs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASDShellQ4 | 4 | 2x2 | General-purpose shell |
| ShellMITC4 | 4 | 2x2 | Mixed interpolation |
| ShellDKGQ | 4 | 2x2 | Discrete Kirchhoff |
| ShellNLDKGQ | 4 | 2x2 | Nonlinear DKG |
| ShellANDeS | 4 | 2x2 | ANDeS formulation |
| shellMITC4Thermal | 4 | 2x2 | Thermal variant |
| shellNLDKGQThermal | 4 | 2x2 | Thermal variant |
| ASDShellT3 | 3 | 3 | Triangular shell |
| ShellDKGT | 3 | 3 | Triangular DKG |
| ShellNLDKGT | 3 | 3 | Triangular nonlinear |
| ShellMITC9 / ShellNL | 9 | 3x3 | 9-node shell |
2D continuum elements¶
Displayed the same as shell elements (surface + extrusion).
| Element | Nodes | GPs |
|---|---|---|
| quad | 4 | 2x2 |
| quad3d | 4 | 2x2 |
| SSPquad | 4 | 2x2 |
| bbarQuad | 4 | 2x2 |
| enhancedQuad | 4 | 2x2 |
| quadWithSensitivity | 4 | 2x2 |
| nineNodeQuad | 9 | 3x3 |
| Tri31 | 3 | 1 |
Beam / column elements¶
Displayed as 3D hexahedra using the cross-section profile derived from TCL section data (A, Iz -> rectangular width and height).
| Element | Nodes |
|---|---|
| ElasticTimoshenkoBeam2d / 3d | 2 |
| elasticBeamColumn | 2 |
| forceBeamColumn | 2 |
| forceBeamColumnCBDI / CSBDI | 2 |
| forceBeamColumnThermal | 2 |
| forceBeamColumnWarping | 2 |
| elasticForceBeamColumn | 2 |
| elasticForceBeamColumnWarping | 2 |
| dispBeamColumn | 2 |
| dispBeamColumnInt | 2 |
| dispBeamColumnThermal | 2 |
| dispBeamColumnWithSensitivity | 2 |
| gradientInelasticBeamColumn | 2 |
| internalBeamColumnElement | 2 |
| AxEqDispBeamColumn2d | 2 |
| element2dGNL | 2 |
| MVLEM / MVLEM_3D | 2 |
| SFI_MVLEM / SFI_MVLEM_3D | 2 |
| E_SFI_MVLEM_3D | 2 |
Truss elements¶
Displayed as thin beams with a default square cross-section.
| Element | Nodes |
|---|---|
| truss / Truss | 2 |
| corotTruss / corotTrussSection | 2 |
Link and zero-length elements¶
Recognized but not visualized (no geometry to display).
| Element | Type |
|---|---|
| twoNodeLink / TwoNodeLink | Link |
| zeroLength / ZeroLength | Zero-length |
| zeroLengthSection | Zero-length |
| zeroLengthND | Zero-length |
| zeroLengthContact2D / 3D | Zero-length |
| zeroLengthContactASDimplex | Zero-length |
| zeroLengthImpact3D | Zero-length |
| zeroLengthInterface2D | Zero-length |
| zeroLengthRocking | Zero-length |
| CoupledZeroLength | Zero-length |
Unknown elements¶
If an element type is not in the registry, ops-post falls back to guessing the topology from the connectivity column count:
| Columns | Assumed type |
|---|---|
| 4 | Shell quad (Q4) |
| 3 | Shell triangle (T3) |
| 9 | 9-node quad (Q9) |
| 2 | Beam |
To add a missing element, see Extending.