VOL.

01

BRIDGE INSIGHT

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO

LINK ELEMENTS

midas Bridge
The Complete
CONTENTS

Guide to
Link Elements 2
01. What are Link Elements?

4
02. Differences Between Link Elements

6
03. Link Application Examples

10
04. Common Mistakes in
Modeling Link Elements
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01

What are Link

01-1-4. Elastic link - Tension Only
This link connects two nodes in situations when only tensile force is to be transferred between
the nodes. The stiffness of the link considered when transferring this tensile force is provided
by the engineer. The direction of force transfer is always from node no. 1 to node no. 2.

Elements?
Ideally, such a link is used when a tensile brace is used to resist lateral forces.

01-1-5. Elastic link - Multi-linear

-
This type of link is used when the stiffness of the link itself is subject to change depending on
the acting loads in a linear analysis. To define this behavior, the engineer must provide the
force-deformation function and the DOF for which this function is valid. Such links can be
used to define the soil behavior under lateral loading.

Link elements are a means to define rules of force transfer between 2 distinct nodes in a finite element
model without modeling the structural member (like beams, plates, etc.). These links are generally used A rigid link is a connection between two nodes, where one
when specific details about the connection stiffness or behavior are known, but the links themselves aren’t node, the master node, dictates how the other node, i.e., the
01-2.
the main focus of the analysis. A few of the links available in midas Civil are: slave node, would behave. The two nodes are connected to
Rigid Links act as a rigid body. The master node shows which degrees of
freedom are restrained. The six 1's at the master node location
represent a degree of freedom. From the first to the last digit,
these represent DX, DY, DZ, RX, RY & RZ, respectively. The
An elastic link connects nodes for which the stiffness is defined by the user for all 6 Degrees of number "1" implies that a particular DOF is restrained, and "0"
Freedom (DOF) for force transfer. The x-axis of the elastic link is along the direction of the two
01-1. connecting nodes. Five different types of elastic links are available in midas Civil, as listed
implies that a particular DOF is free. The "111111" indicate that
all degrees of freedom are restrained. Such links are used in
Elastic Link below. situations where the structure is theoretically expected to
behave as a rigid body, like connecting the bottom of the pier
with the top of the piles. Figure 2. Rigid link
01-1-1. Elastic link - General
The engineer must provide a finite number as stiffness for force/moment transfer in all six DOF
between two nodes for such links. An elastic link - general can be used when defining a bridge
bearing for linear analysis.

01-1-2. Elastic link - Rigid
01-3.
As the name suggests, this connection is quite rigid, and the engineer doesn’t need to provide
the individual stiffness in all directions as required for an elastic link of type general. The
General Links
software automatically assigns a stiffness of about 105 x stiffness of the stiffest member in the
model for DOF of this link, which essentially makes the link rigid for all practical purposes. This
stiffness is capped at 2.1 x 1012 kN/m for translation and 3.5 x 1011 kN-m/rad in rotation to avoid
Figure 1. Elastic link any instability in the structural matrix. Such link type can be used to transfer force rigidly
between members to connect the pier cap and pier element.
A general link is a non-linear connection between the two nodes used in boundary non-linear
analysis. This non-linearity is only considered in dynamic analysis, while these behave as linear
for static analysis. The engineer must define the linear as well as non-linear behavior. Linear
stiffness is a finite stiffness value as provided by the engineer for all DOF.
The non-linear definition can be done for multiple behaviors like viscoelastic dampers, lead
rubber isolator, etc., based on the actual expected non-linear behavior. The stiffness definition
for linear and non-linear behavior are independent of one another.

01-1-3. Elastic link - Compression Only

This type of link is used to connect two nodes in situations when only the compressive force is
to be transferred between the nodes. The engineer provides the stiffness of the link to be
considered when transferring this compressive force. The direction of force transfer is always
from node no. 2 to node no. 1. Ideally, this type of link is used when uplift is expected in the
structure due to acting loads, like in the case of incrementally launched bridges.

The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT
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02

Differences Between
02-2-1.
Elastic link - general will always have linear behavior, no matter the analysis type. However, a
02-2. general link will have non-linear behavior in non-linear time history analysis and linear in all
General Link vs. other analysis types.
Elastic Link

Link Elements - Rigid

-
For all practical purposes, both these links could be the same. However, theoretically, these are
very different, and each has its pros & cons.
02-1.
Rigid Link vs.
Elastic Link 02-1-1.
- Rigid Elastic link - rigid establishes a connection between two nodes simultaneously, while a rigid link
Figure 4. Behaviour of Elastic Link (Type: General) in different types of analysis Figure 5. Behaviour of General Link in different types of analysis
can connect one master node with multiple slave nodes. Hence, it is much easier to use rigid
links when a rigid behavior is defined in multiple nodes at once. Rigid type elastic links can
also be used, but it could be quite inconvenient depending on the number of nodes to be
connected.

02-3-1.
02-1-2. Multi-linear behavior is considered in static analysis in an elastic link of type multi-linear, while
In the case of a rigid link, the DOF of the master node governs the behavior of the slave node.
02-3. the behavior is linear for a general link.
When a support is provided to a node, the DOF is constrained by the support condition. General Link vs.
Therefore, if a support condition is provided at the slave node location, there would be two Elastic Link
governing DOF conditions for the same node, leading to errors. In such a situation, where a - Multi-linear
support condition is provided at the slave node location, only an elastic link of general type
should be used.

02-1-3.
Forces in an elastic link are obtained in tabular format. However, the force output for rigid links
is not available.

Figure 6. Behaviour of Elastic Link (Type: Multi-linear) in different types of analysis

02-3-2.
Superposition of load cases should not be done when using elastic link of type multi-linear
since for each load case, the stiffness is considered from the origin (0,0) of load vs. displace-
ment input. The change in actual stiffness of the link due to the superposition of loads will not
be considered. However, the load superposition could be done in the case of a general link
since the behavior is linear.
Figure 3. Proper way to model a connection from girder to the support location using links

The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT
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03

Link Application
From the examples, it can be noted that vertical reactions from all the methods are the same.
However, the horizontal reactions are quite different. Practically, we do not expect a horizontal
reaction in the transverse direction at these locations. These are 0 in methods 1 & 2. Again,
these are quite negligible for method 3. However, these are quite huge for method 4. It can

Examples
also be noted that the longitudinal reaction is quite low in the case of method 4. It is always
recommended to model the bearing elastic links and provide the fixed boundary condition
below the bearing location if the entire substructure isn't modeled. Method 1 is recommended
for just modeling the substructure to reduce time and obtain practical results.

-
Connecting pier to foundation plate elements
Case 2. Some engineers prefer to model the pile cap as plate elements to consider the flexibility in pile
Box girder superstructure up to the bottom of bearing cap and thus obtain realistic forces. It is necessary to model the pile cap as thick plates with a
Case 1. To model such a structure, we need to use a combination of rigid links & elastic links. This
drilling degree of freedom in such cases. This is necessary because there can be asymmetric
longitudinal forces acting on the pier cap, which may cause rotation in the pier. However, many
process can be done in many ways. Four different methods are shown below, and the results
engineers tend to miss this rule. Let us consider an example for comparison as below. The pile
are compared.
cap has been modeled as thick plate elements without a drilling degree of freedom.

Fz = 1992.6 kN
Fx = 1286.3 kN
Fy = 0.0 kN

(a) Method 1: Inclined rigid link + elastic link – general for bearings

Fz = 1992.6 kN
Fx = 1285.9 kN
Fy = 0.0 kN

(b) Method 2: Horizontal rigid link + vertical elastic link –rigid + elastic link – general for bearings

Fz = 1992.6 kN
Fx = 1285.0 kN
Fy = 5.8 kN

(c) Method 3: Inclined elastic link – rigid + elastic link – general for bearings

Fz = 1992.6 kN
Fx = 32.8 kN
Fy = 1758.1 kN

(d) Method 4: Inclined elastic link – rigid only (No elastic links for bearings)

Figure 7. Methods for modeling connection at diaphragm location for a box girder bridge Figure 8. Pier and pile cap connection with the applied load (kN)

The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT
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The only difference between the two is that in one case, the nodes within the pier's perimeter
have been connected to the pier node via a rigid link, as indicated by the red circle. This
method is applied because the connection between the pier and pier cap is essentially a joint
Case 3.
supposed to behave as a rigid body.
Modeling a pylon with a continuous cable for an extradosed bridge
The cable is only anchored on deck at both ends and passes through the pylon. This method is
performed to reduce the bending moment in the pylon and mainly introduce axial forces in it.
The global analysis of such a model is important for force transfer in the structure and not the
exact forces in the saddle itself. For that, a separate Finite Element (FE) modeling is
performed. To replicate the force transfer of such saddle in the structure, both elastic and rigid
links need to be used. For the rigid links, DY and DZ are restrained. Elastic links of general type
are modeled with 108kN/m stiffness in DX direction.

(a) Geometry of the structure

Figure 9. Total deformation under applied loading

(b) Elastic links directly connecting cable nodes, (c) Rigid link with pylon node as master node
by passing the pylon node and cable nodes as slave nodes

As it could be noted, the deformations are extremely high for the structure in which the pier
isn’t connected to the pile cap elements via the rigid link. This is mainly because the pier
elements are undergoing rotational deformations as the pile cap is not effectively restraining it.
This is incorrect behaviour.

(d) Asymmetric loading and symmetric but symmetric

axial forces in the cable on either side of pylon

Figure 10. Asymmetrically loaded extradosed bridge with continuous cable anchored only in deck

The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT
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04

Common Mistakes in
Activating links without activating the required nodes
04-2. To activate any boundary condition (link), it is necessary to activate the node(s) to which that
boundary condition is assigned. If any of the nodes is not activated at the time of relevant

Modeling Link Elements

boundary group activation in the construction stage, then the boundary will not be assigned.

-
Most common mistakes happen when construction stages are introduced in the model.

Activating the connected nodes without activating the link Figure 12. Necessary nodes to be activated before activating the link in construction stage

04-1.

Incorrect modeling with rigid link links

04-3.

Figure 13. Incorrect connection modelling with 2 rigid links

(a) Structural activation without (b) Incorrect deformed shape and force (c) Correct deformation after activating
node connectivity distribution in subsequent stages rigid links connecting the free nodes with pylon
In such a situation, the DOF at the slave nodes are released automatically, and the structure
usually ends up being unstable. It is advised to use Elastic Link (Type: Rigid) for such
Figure 11. Vertical displacement in pylon due to self-weight situations.

The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT The Complete Guide to Link Elements BRIDGE INSIGHT
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