Line HingeLine hinges control the connections between surfaces. It is possible to consider entire decouplings of surfaces or elastic couplings by means of linear springs. Internally, line hinges are also line releases, except for integrated lines. Such a line hinge works in the way that the stiffness in the first adjacent element row of the related surface is reduced according to the selected degrees of freedom. In concrete structures, it is possible to use a line hinge to define a mounting joint, for example. In timber structures, modeling with line hinges is necessary due to the very limited rotation transmission of forces.Line ReleaseLine releases allow you to decouple elements (members, surfaces, and solids) connected to a line from each other. A new line is generated at the same place, transferring only the locked degrees of freedom. In contrast to a line hinge, it is also possible to consider nonlinear effects.First, it is necessary to create the line release type. Thus, the open degrees of freedom or spring constant and possible nonlinearities are defined. Then, you can carry out the line release for members, surfaces, and solids on individual lines. In the same dialog box, you can also define the axis system of the release.When using line hinges in a structure, you can quickly convert them to line releases. This way, it is very easy to consider nonlinear effects in the structure.