Master-Slave Constraints

This feature provides the capability of imposing "master-slave" relationships between displacement components at different nodes. Displacement components at a "slave" node may be constrained to conform to those of other nodes, designated "master" nodes. Each degree of freedom at a slave node may be related to the corresponding degree of freedom at a different master node.

One of the main applications of the master-slave feature is in modelling floors in multi-storey buildings where these may be considered to be rigid in their own plane. There is one master node at each level and all other nodes at that level are slaves for the in-plane degrees of freedom. In effect, in-plane degrees of freedom are not required for each slave node because the three components of displacement in the horizontal plane can be determined from the in-plane displacements of the master node.