Time function for linear vs. nonlinear time-history analysis

Software handles the initial conditions of a time function differently for linear and nonlinear time-history load cases. A description is as follows:

• Linear cases always start from zero, therefore the corresponding time function must also start from zero.

• Nonlinear cases may either start from zero or may continue from a previous case. When starting from zero, the time function is simply defined to start with a zero value. When analysis continues from a previous case, it is assumed that the time function also continues relative to a previous value. A long record may be broken into multiple sequential analyses which use a single function with arrival times. This prevents the need to create multiple modified functions.