Several methods are available to account for structural deformation during staged construction. These methods, which involve adding joints to displaced configuration, are discussed as follows:

Modify undeformed geometry

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1. Define two Frame (or Shell) Modifiers named property sets through Define > Name Property Sets. The first may be named Ghost, and the second, Full. In the named property set Ghost, set all stiffness modifiers to a small value, perhaps 1e-4, and set mass and weight modifiers to zero. In the named property set Full, set all modifiers to 1.0.
2. In the first construction stage, add the whole structure and apply the named property set Full to all objects which are present at the beginning of staged construction. Load these objects, then apply named property set Ghost to the rest of the structure.
3. In subsequent stages, apply the named property set Full to objects which are added to the structure, then load this set of objects.

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A discussion of ghost-structure application using both sections and modifiers is available in the

Analysis Reference Manual (Nonlinear Static Analysis > Staged Construction, page 396).

Implement a

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ghost structure with two parallel structures

Another approach is to develop the actual structure in parallel with the ghost structure. The color of objects within the ghost structure may be modified to better visualize the staged-construction process. This method also enables better control over the age at which objects are added, improving the simulation of time-dependent effects. The Staged construction of a five-story column test problem demonstrates the development of actual and ghost structures in parallel.

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