...
Tendons
...
are
...
line
...
objects
...
which
...
may
...
be
...
embedded
...
within
...
other
...
objects
...
(
...
...
,
...
...
,
...
...
,
...
etc.)
...
to
...
simulate
...
the
...
effects
...
of
...
...
and
...
post-tensioning.
...
Tendons
...
may
...
be
...
modeled
...
either
...
as
...
independent
...
structural
...
objects
...
or
...
simply
...
as
...
equivalent
...
loads
...
which
...
act
...
upon
...
the
...
structure.
...
When
...
modeled
...
as
...
objects,
...
...
behavior
...
may
...
be
...
assigned
...
through
...
axial
...
...
,
...
and
...
losses
...
may
...
be
...
calculated,
...
including
...
those
...
from
...
elastic
...
shortening
...
and
...
time-dependent
...
effects
...
(
...
...
,
...
...
,
...
and
...
aging).
...
Tendons
...
extend
...
between
...
two
...
...
locations,
...
may
...
follow
...
a
...
curvilinear
...
or
...
segmented
...
path
...
within
...
3D
...
space,
...
and
...
do
...
not
...
need
...
to
...
be
...
entirely
...
contained
...
within
...
other
...
objects.
...
Tendons
...
have
...
axial,
...
shear,
...
bending,
...
and
...
torsional
...
stiffness
...
properties,
...
though
...
axial
...
is
...
of
...
primary
...
concern.
...
A
...
maximum
...
tension
...
(positive)
...
and
...
compression
...
(negative)
...
may
...
be
...
assigned
...
to
...
tendons.
...
No-compression
...
behavior
...
is
...
specified
...
by
...
setting
...
the
...
compression
...
limit
...
to
...
zero.
...
These
...
limits
...
only
...
apply
...
during
...
nonlinear
...
analysis.
...
...
...
may
...
also
...
be
...
applied
...
to
...
tendons.
...
Additional
...
information
...
on
...
tendons
...
and
...
their
...
application
...
is
...
available
...
in
...
the
...
...
...
...
(The
...
Tendon
...
Object,
...
page
...
279).
...
References
- , NISEE Online Archive, University of California, Berkeley – the LAPBOX Manual explains calculation of tendon forces