14 docs tagged with "section"

Basic preferences are those that apply across the program.

The catalogue sections are stored in an section database, installed with GSA. This provides an interface to that database.

Definition

The available design parameters depend on the material type.

Definition

The section properties are first calculated with respect to the section definition coordinate axes. From these the centroid of the section is calculated and then the properties with respect to the centroid.

In many models, particularly when targeting steel design, there can be a large number of sections. It is convenient to be able to make bulk changes to groups of sections, e.g. the material grades and analysis materials, or adding sections to pools.

Perimeter definition

All beam type elements refer to a section defining the geometrical properties (e.g. area, second moment of area) referenced by the element or member through the property number. The set of sections in the model form the Section Library. Individual sections in the section library can have Section Analysis Properties that are modified for analysis, e.g. reducing the J value so that the element doesn't attract torsion. Sections are then grouped in Section Pools.

The reference point is the point where axial loads on a section are assumed to apply. By default this is the centroid, meaning that an axial loads produces no bending. However in some situations it is better to assume loads are applied with an eccentricity. One way to achieve this is to apply an offset to the section.

The section Pool is a way to group sections for use in design tasks to ensure that only suitable sections are chosen. For example there may be one pool for beam sections and another for column sections.

Sections are most conveniently edited using the Section Wizard. This allows the user to either select sections from a catalogue, to define standard section shapes or explicitly define the section properties.

Section dimensions

In order to use a section in steel design, a number of steel specific parameters are required. These may vary from one steel design code to another.