Decomposition to members is similar to roof panel decomposition, the span direction of the wind wall panel determines the direction of the one way decomposition.

All element types within the wind wall plane are considered with the exception of bracing members.

Decomposition to members allows for example, the generation of UDLs on portal stanchions and gable posts without the need to model side rails.

Choosing Decompose to Members with a wall panel rotation angle of 0 degrees produces the following load decomposition:

If the wall panel rotation angle is changed to 90 degrees, when the decomposition is re-performed this changes to:

Note that in the example model, analysis elements have been inserted between the column bases so that when the wall panel angle is 90 degrees, the panels are still surrounded by load carrying members in the direction of span.

Decomposition to nodes is the default setting and results in nodal loads on the supporting members. This setting is typically appropriate to avoid lateral loads on simple beams.

All element types within the wind wall plane are considered with the exception of bracing members.

The initial decomposition is to members (as described in the previous 'Decompose to Members' section) with the direction of the one way decomposition being specified by the span direction of the panel. A secondary decomposition stage is then undertaken to convert the member loads to nodal loads:

Choosing Decompose to Nodes with a wall panel rotation angle of 0 degrees produces the following loads:

The above loads are obtained by an initial horizontal decomposition of the area load to the column members, followed by a secondary decomposition of the column member loads back to the nodes.

If the decomposition were to be re-performed after changing the wall panel rotation angle to 90 degrees, the area load would initially be decomposed to the beams at roof level and analysis elements at ground level, (analysis elements are inserted as described in the previous section to enable the correct decomposition). The member loads would then be decomposed back to the nodes in the same way.

Decomposition to rigid diaphragms does not consider the span direction of the wall panel (so the rotation angle is irrelevant).

It is particularly useful for flat-slab structures, as the alternative Decompose to Member or Node decomposition methods require supporting members that may not exist in the model.

For the model shown above, choosing Decompose to Rigid Diaphagm produces the following load decomposition:

When using decomposition to diaphragms, each Zone load is decomposed as a separate point load on the diaphragm.