Form: Joint Assignment - Panel Zone Property
A panel zone assignment to a joint object allows differential rotation, and in some cases, differential translation at beam-column, beam-brace and column-brace connections. Note that multiple panel zones cannot be assigned to the same joint object.
Specify a panel zone assignment as follows:
Select the joint object(s) to be assigned a panel zone.
Click the Assign menu > Joint > Panel Zone command to access the Joint Assignment - Panel Zone Property form.
Highlight the name of a previously defined panel zone definition in the display area and click the Apply button to complete the assignment. Any previously assigned panel zone properties will be replaced by this assignment.
To remove all assignments, select the joint object(s), highlight the None option, and click the Apply button.
When the Apply button is used, the Joint Assignments - Panel Zone Property form will remain open until it is closed by clicking the Close button. This allows selection of another joint object(s), to which a different assignments can be made.
If only one assignment is being made to only one set of selected objects, the OK button can be used to both apply the assignment and close the form.
Note that clicking the Modify/Show Definitions button will display the Panel Zone Data form, which can be used to define a new panel zone property or review an existing definition. Note the following about the assignment of some of the parameters specified using the Panel Zone Data form:
Elastic Properties from Column option. If this option is specified and no column is connected to the joint object with the panel zone assignment, the panel zone assignment is ignored by ETABS. When the analysis is run, a warning message reports panel zone assignments that are ignored because of this condition.
Elastic Properties from Column and Doubler Plate option. If this option is specified and no column is connected to the point object with the panel zone assignment, ETABS ignores the panel zone assignment. When the analysis is run, a warning message reports panel zone assignments that are ignored because of this condition.
Connectivity. If a type of panel zone connectivity is specified for a joint object and the element type specified does not connect to the joint object, ETABS ignores the panel zone assignment. For example, if brace-column connectivity is specified at a joint object and no braces exist at the joint object, the panel zone assignment is ignored. When the analysis is run, a warning message reports panel zone assignments that are ignored because of this (if any) condition.
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