Hello. I am trying to model hinged supports for a three-point bending experiment, I have used the boundary conditions offered in Atena Examples/Science/GiD/Tutorial.Static3D/ShearBeam3d.gid example file.

I divided the bottom surface of the support plate and assigned constraint for all the x,y and z directions to the created middle line , then assigned a fixed contact for surface for the bottom surface of the concrete beam and the top surface of the support plate.
But unfortunately the results aren’t satisfying for me. Because of the fixed contact between the beam and the support plate when the bottom surface of the concrete beam moves up it drags the support plate by itself which in reality it doesn’t happen.

My question is if there is a way to model a hinged support in a more realistic way? In the experiment there is not such a thing like a fixed contact between the support and the concrete beam. I mean the beam is just sitting on the support. There should be a way to model the support in a way that the concrete beam would sit on it without a fixed contact for surface needed.

I am thinking like I can use springs with zero stiffness in tension but I believe there should be better ways to model it.

(When I don’t assign the fixed contact between the beam and the support plate during the analysis the concrete beam moves downward and the support gets inside the beam!)