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Class Shapes
MOSES maintains a table of standard shapes. Here, a "shape" is nothing more than a partial class
definition. If one has an element made of one of these shapes, he can simply specify it by
SHAPE_NAME. In other words, one can specify:
~CLASS

W14X140

and nothing else is required. Alternatively, one can now add any valid class option to this definition to
tailor it for his purposes. One can obtain a list of the currently available shapes by issuing &NAMES
SHAPES. The basic table supplied with the program contains AISC, British, and French shapes.
One can add to the default shape table by entering a new menu with the command:
&DATA SHAPES

This command should be followed by records of the form:

NAME, TYPE, A, B, .... H

-OPTIONS

where the available options are the section options discussed above:

-SECTION, AREA, IY, IZ, J, ALPHAY, ALPHAZ

-POINTS, Y(1), Z(1), AX(1), AY(1), ..... \

Y(n), Z(n), AX(n), AY(n)

-P_FY, FY(1), FY(2), .... FY(n)

-M_P, Zy, Zz

-P_N, Pn

-ETA, ETA

-F_TYPE, TYPE

-T_STIFF, SPACE, ~STIF_CLASS, WHERE

-L_STIFF, SPACE, ~STIF_CLASS, WHERE

-TN_STIFF, NUMBER, ~STIF_CLASS, WHERE

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-LN_STIFF, NUMBER, ~STIF_CLASS, WHERE

Here, NAME is the name which one wishes to give the shape, and TYPE is a valid class section type
(TUBE, CONE, BOX, PRI, WBOX, IBEAM, G_IBEAM, TEE, CHANNEL, ANGLE,
D_ANGLE, PLATE, or LLEG), and A, B, etc. are dimensions (inches or mm) which are appropriate
to define the shape.
When the shapes have been completely defined, one should issue END_&DATA to exit. Normally,
shapes defined via this menu are added to the basic shape table provided with the program, and
remain defined only for the duration of a given database. One can permanently add shapes to the basic
table. To find out how to accomplish this, look in the section on Customizing Your Environment.
For the AISC shapes, the standard names are used for most of the shapes. The exceptions occur when
the standard name exceeds eight characters. Jumbo W shapes are denoted by a J suffix. Angles are
named Lddwwtt where dd is the depth in 1/10s of an inch, ww is the width in 1/10s of an inch, and tt
is the thickness in 1/16s of an inch. Double angles are named sLddwwtt where s is the spacing
between the two angles in 1/8 of an inch, dd is the depth in 1/10s of an inch, ww is the width in 1/10s
of an inch, and tt is the thickness in 1/16s of an inch. Square and rectangular tubes are named
TSddwwtt where: dd is the depth in inches, ww is the width in inches, and tt is the thickness in 1/16s
of an inch. Here, exceptions are made for dd and ww values for some of the smaller sizes. For these
tubes, dd and ww are in 1/10s of an inch.
For British shapes, names UdddBmmm are used for Universal Beams with depth ddd (millimeters),
and mass mmm (kilograms) per meter. Likewise, UdddCmmm is used for Universal Columns,
UdddPmmm is used for Universal Bearing Piles, and JdddSmmm for Joists. The remaining shapes
are named CdddBwww for channels, SHddttt for Square Hollow Sections, RHddwwtt for
Rectangular Hollow Sections, LEdddttt for Equal Angles, and LUddwwtt for Unequal Angles. Here,
dd denotes the depth in centimeters, ww the width in centimeters, and tt the thickness in millimeters.
The French shapes in the table are denoted HEAZddd, HEAYddd, HEBZgddd, HEBYgddd,
HEMZddd, HEMYddd, IPEZddd, IPEYddd, IPEZddd, and IPEYddd. Here, the shapes with the Z
in their name are defined with the strong axis in the normal direction while those with the Y in their
name are rotated 90 degrees. Here, ddd is the depth of the section in millimeters.
The shape type of TUBE is special in that no plate can be attached to a tube. This shape also allows
for having a tube inside of a tube, with the inside tube being specified by the dimensions C and D. If
one has an inside tube, then he should not specify contents for this element within this class. This is
useful for defining piles inside of legs.

http://bentley.ultramarine.com/hdesk/ref_man/cls_shp.htm

6/3/2012