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Structural Design User Guide
Structural Design User Guide
User Guide
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Structural Design User Guide
Contents Page
Structural Design
Read This First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
Scope of this Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
Intended Audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
Assumptions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
About the Tutorial Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:1
How the Guide is Organised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:2
Further Training in the Use of PDMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1:3
1.1.2 Assumptions
For you to use this guide, the sample PDMS project, Project SAM, must be correctly
installed on your system, and you must have read/write access to the project databases.
It is assumed that you know:
• where to find PDMS on your computer system
• you know how to use the Windows operating system installed at your site
• you are familiar with the basic Graphical User Interface (GUI) features, as described in
the AVEVA document Introduction to Common Functionality.
Contact your systems administrator if you need help in either of these areas.
Read This First introduces this guide and summarises its scope.
Introducing PDMS gives a general overview of the main design facilities provided
within the structural application.
Setting Up the explains how PDMS stores its design data and shows you how to
PDMS Database organise your data. Also describes the logging in procedure and
Hierarchy how to create some administrative elements. A running tutorial
exercise is used from this chapter on, to illustrate essential
concepts.
Creating a Simple guides you through the steps needed to create a simple structure
Structure comprising only vertical columns and horizontal beams.
Enhancing the shows how to add diagonal bracing members, how to model
Basic Structure joints between connected members, and how to modify the
design by moving interconnected parts of the structure.
Adding Panels and shows how to clad the structure by adding panels and plates.
Plates
Penetrating One shows how to configure those locations where one item
Item With Another penetrates another.
Checking and shows how to check your design for clashes, and how to
Outputting Design generate reports and plots directly from the design data.
Data
Adding Some explains how curved sections are represented and illustrates
Curved Steelwork their use.
Structural Design summarises the database hierarchy which PDMS uses to store
Database your structural design data.
Sample Plots shows some examples of typical plots of structural designs which
may be created using PDMS.
The guide concludes with an index, allowing you to refer back to any specific topics about
whose details you need to be reminded.
2 Introducing PDMS
• The applications are controlled from a graphical user interface. This means that all
design, drawing and reporting operations are initiated by selecting choices from
menus, and by entering data into on-screen forms. For ease of use, many common
actions are also represented by pictorial icons.
section profiles, and the edges of adjacent panels may be shaped such they interlock
automatically.
• Penetrations may be created as catalogue elements. Such a penetration, which can
incorporate appropriate sleeving, kick plates, etc., may be inserted into a structural
section or panel as a complete entity, with the dimensions and position of the
penetration derived automatically from the dimensions of the pipe/duct/cable tray
passing though it.
• The applications make it easy for you to create panels and to connect them to existing
panels or sections via linear joints. This facility uses intelligent pointer picking to
enhance the interaction between the displayed graphics and the design creation
process. You can derive panel vertices simply by picking appropriate datum lines on
existing sections; connections between panels and sections are then created
automatically to give a fully connected structural model. Such panels can be used
either to represent floors/walls or to build up complex plated connections.
• You can carry out multi-disciplinary clash checks at any stage of the design, thus
avoiding spatial conflicts within the overall model which could be expensive to rectify at
the construction stage. This is particularly important where different features of the
design model are under the control of different designers.
• At any stage of your work, you can create reports listing specified data from the current
database. You can specify a standard report template, so you can derive lists of
commonly-required information very quickly, or you can design a report format to suit
your own particular needs. The resultant output, which can include data from any
design discipline, sorted in any way you require, can be either displayed on your
screen or sent to a file (for storage and/or for printing).
position in the database hierarchy. The Design Explorer displays this information
continuously.
3.3 Logging In
This is the first step of the tutorial exercise
Exercise begins:
1. In the PDMS Login form give the name of the Project in which you want to work: enter
SAM.
2. Give your allocated Username: enter STRUC.
3. Give your allocated Password: enter STRUC.
4. Give the part of the project Multiple Database (MDB) you want to work in: enter
STRUC.
5. Give the name of the Module you wish to use: select Design.
Make sure that you leave the Read Only box unchecked, so that you can modify the
database as you work.
When you have entered all the necessary details, the form looks as shown:
Click OK.
Exercise continues:
7. Check that you are at World level ( icon) in the Design Explorer, then select
Create>Site. On the displayed Create Site form, enter the name TESTSITE in the
Name text box.
Press the Enter key to confirm the name; note how the system adds a / prefix
automatically to conform to PDMS naming conventions.
8. Click OK to create the Site element. Your first new element appears in the Design
Explorer as the current element.
9. Repeat this process, using the appropriate options from the Create menu, to create a
Zone named TESTZONE, a Structure TESTSTRU, a Framework TESTFRMW and a
Subframework (Sub-Frame) TESTSBFR, in that order.
Your Design Explorer should now look like this (only newly created elements shown):
Note: If you or other users have accessed this database before, the list may also contain
other elements.
10. Click on the menu option Display>Draw List and you will see that the Structure
element has been automatically added to it. The Draw List is covered in more detail
later, (see Viewing the Design).
In the next chapter, you will start to build up a design model by creating some structural
members.
In this chapter you will start to build up a structural design model by creating a simple
configuration of interconnected columns and beams. Before doing so, however, it is
important to understand how some of the items which make up the design are represented
and accessed in the PDMS databases, as explained in the following sections.
LTBS RTBS
Note: For further deails of how this and other profiles are specified see Structural
Catalogue Guide.
4.2.2 Nodes
PDMS uses the concept of Nodes to represent basic analytical points within a structure.
Nodes have two main functions:
• To identify the points at which logical connections are made between adjoining
Sections.
• To define how applied stresses can affect individual points in the structure (for passing
design data to separate stress analysis programs).
Primary Nodes have their positions specified independently of other elements.
Secondary Nodes are positioned along an owning Section, at a specified distance from the
Section’s Start Position. If you move a Section, its Secondary Nodes move with it.
Exercise continues:
Close the form by clicking the button. Note how the current storage area settings
are shown below the main tool bar, like this:
The first structural sections which you create are columns, so the default profile is set to
something suitable.
Exercise continues:
14. Click on the Default Profile Specification button . The resulting Section
Specification (Default) form allows you to select any specification from the available
catalogues. For the purpose of this exercise:
• Set the Specification to British Standard
• Set the Generic Type to Universal Columns.
• From the displayed list of profiles applicable to BS Universal Columns, select
203x203x46kg/m:
15. Leave the Justification list (justification determines the ‘Setting out’ position of the
Section, that is the axis about which the geometry is offset), the Member line list
(which determines how sections are shown in wireline views and drawings), and the
Joint Line list (which determines the position of a joint relative to an attached section)
all set to NA (Neutral Axis). You will see the effects of these later.
16. Click Apply to use this setting as the new default, noting that the current specification
is now shown as:
Dismiss the Section Specification (Default) form when you have finished with it.
Co lu m n 2 Co lu m n 3
Co lu m n 4
Co lu m n 1 9000 9000
5000 U
4000 E
N
Note: Keep these column designations in mind; as they will be referred to throughout the
rest of the exercise.
Exercise continues:
17. Select Create>Sections>Straight….
You will see both a Section form and a Positioning Control toolbar, which together
control how the start and end points of sections are specified. The Positioning
Control toolbar is not relevant for your current purposes (you will see what it is used for
later).
18. On the Section form, check that the String Method is set to Single (which means that
you will define independent start and end positions for each section) and that the
Secondary Nodes check box is selected.
Select the Confirm check box (so that you can check where each new section will be
positioned before it is added to the database).
The form’s settings should now look as shown:
19. Click the button, which tells the system that you want to define a position by
entering explicit coordinates (this is the only practical option at this stage). You will see
a Define section start form. You want to position the start of the first column at the site
origin, so leave the East/North/Up coordinates at the default position (E0, N0, U0), as
shown:
Note: The default entry wrt World, meaning ‘with respect to the World’, defines the
coordinate system within which the position is specified.
20. Click OK. The Start position will be shown in the centre of the 3D View.
Rather than specifying all three coordinates for the Section’s end position explicitly, its
position will be defined relative to the Section’s start.
21. Click the button. You will now see a Define section end form in a format which
lets you enter the required data. You want to create a vertical column 5000mm high, so
enter the Direction as U and the Distance as 5000, as shown:
22. Click OK, then click the Accept button on the Section form to confirm the creation of
the Section. Check the Design Explorer: the Section will appear as SCTN 1. The
Section will also be added to the Draw List, and will appear (as a very small rectangle)
in the centre of the 3D View.
23. Using the same procedures, create the following three Sections:
• Start Position E0 N7000 U0; Length 9000
• Start Position E0 N12000 U0; Length 9000
• Start Position E0 N17000 U0; Length 4000
(Do not forget to Accept each Section on the Section form after you have defined it.)
When you have created all four columns, Dismiss the Section form.
Your Design Explorer should now show four Sections (SCTN 1-4), like this:
Note: Each newly created Section is placed before the current list position, so that SCTN 1
in the list was the last Section created (corresponding to Column 1 in the diagram).
Exercise continues:
24. The Draw List will contain the four Sections you have just created, as well as the
owning Structure element. To view the Draw List, select the option Display>Draw List
from the main menu bar. Notice how there is a ‘ticked box’ adjacent to each element.
25. To see all of your current design, click on the (Walk to Draw List) button on the
View Manipulation toolbar on the left-hand side of the main Design window. All four
Sections will appear within the 3D View window in cross section, as if you are ‘looking
down’ on them. Notice how the view is automatically scaled so that all four Sections fit
neatly within it.
26. It is often useful to display coordinate Axes. To do this, click the button on the
Main toolbar or select Query>Axes…. The Define Axes form is displayed:
By default, the axes are positioned at the origin of the current element, but other
positioning options are available from the form’s Select pull-down menu. Ordinal
(X,Y,Z) or cardinal (North, East, Up) directions can be specified, as can the size of the
axis arrow lines.
27. Select the Cardinal Directions check box, change Size to 1000, then select
Close>Retain Axes from the form’s pull-down menu.
28. Other looking directions can be selected by positioning the mouse pointer within the 3D
View window and pressing the right-hand mouse button. Do this and select
Isometric>Iso 3 to set an isometric view direction. You should now see all four
columns as shown:
Note: The status line shows the viewing direction. See Manipulating the Displayed View for
the meaning of ROTATE on the status line.
29. Observe the effect of selecting different view directions (Look, Plan and Isometric
from the right-hand mouse button. Revert to Isometric>Iso 3 when you have finished.
(Try these selection options and observe the effect on the Middle Button Drag shortcut
menu; a tick appears against the selected option.)
Exercise continues:
30. Select .
31. Position the cursor in the view area and hold down the middle mouse button, then
move the mouse slowly from side to side while watching the effect on the displayed
model.
The initial direction of movement determines how the view appears to rotate; starting
with a left or right movement causes the observer’s eye-point to move across the view.
32. Now release the mouse button, hold it down again and move the mouse away from you
and towards you; this time the observer’s eye-point appears to rotate up and down
around the model.
33. Repeat the rotation operations while holding down the Control key. Note that the word
Fast appears in the status line and that the rate of rotation is increased.
34. Repeat the rotation operations, but this time hold down the Shift key. Note that the
word Slow appears in the status line and that the rate of rotation is decreased.
For an alternative way of rotating the model, first press the F9 Function key to display
horizontal and vertical sliders, and then try dragging the sliders to new positions along
the view borders. You can rotate the model in this way at any time, regardless of the
current manipulation mode.
35. Select .
36. Position the cursor in the view area and hold down the middle mouse button, then
move the mouse slowly in all directions.
Note that it is the observer’s eye-point which follows the mouse movement (while the
viewing direction remains unchanged), so that the displayed model appears to move in
the opposite direction to the mouse; in effect, you move the mouse towards that part of
the view which you want to see.
37. Repeat the pan operations while holding down first the Control key (to increase the
panning speed) and then the Shift key (to decrease the panning speed).
38. Select .
39. Position the cursor in the view area and hold down the middle mouse button, then
move the mouse slowly up and down.
Moving the mouse away from you (up) zooms in, effectively magnifying the view;
moving the mouse towards you (down) zooms out, effectively reducing the view. Note
that these operations work by changing the viewing angle (like changing the focal
length of a camera lens); they do not change the observer’s eye-point or the view
direction.
40. Repeat the zoom operations while holding down first the Control key and then the Shift
key.
41. Position the pointer near the centre of Column 1 and click (do not hold down) the
middle mouse button. Notice how the view changes so that the picked point is now at
the centre of the view. Whenever you click the middle button, whatever the current
manipulation mode, you reset the centre of interest. Switch to Zoom mode (if not
already selected), set the centre of interest to the top of Column 2, then zoom in for a
close-up view of the top of the column. You will find this a very useful technique when
making small adjustments to the design: it will be used later to see the effect of
realigning sections where they are connected at a joint.
42. To restore the original view when you have finished, select .
43. Finally, observe the effect of clearing some of the ticked check boxes and changing the
colours and translucency of the elements using the controls in the Draw List.
operation (i.e. the current event) rather than simply as a request to navigate to a new current
element. In the examples, picking in event-driven graphics mode will always be used to
specify a position.
The position derived from your pointer pick can be the exact point at which you have placed
the pointer or, more commonly, it can be a position which is related to the picked point in a
specified way. The main concept involved is that of the snap function, which automatically
chooses the nearest Start, End or (optionally) Secondary Node position to the picked point,
so that you do not need to be very accurate when positioning the pointer.
The full range of options available for identifying positions is extensive. For example, you
can specify a position at:
• a given offset from the nearest snap point;
• the mid-point of a picked item;
• the intersection of two picked items;
• a given proportion along the length of a picked item.
You will use several of the available facilities in the rest of the exercise.
Beam 1
Co lu m n 2 Co lu m n 3
(9000) (9000)
Beam 2
Beam 4 Beam 3
Co lu m n 4
Co lu m n 1
(5000)
(4000) U
E
N
Note: Keep these beam designations in mind; as they will be referred to throughout the rest
of the exercise.
For demonstration purposes, you will create a single beam in the position occupied by
Beams 3 and 4 and then split this into two separate beams, with automatic length and
connection adjustments, in a subsequent step.
Exercise continues:
45. Click on the Profile Specification button and set the default profile specification
to British Standard, Universal Beams, 305x165x40kg/m. Leave the Justification,
Member Line and Joint Line set to NA for the purpose of this exercise (you will see
later that this would not be your normal choice of justification setting in practice; this
setting is used for demonstration purposes only). Apply and Dismiss the form.
46. Select Create>Sections>Straight… to redisplay the Section form, which you used
earlier, and the Positioning Control form, which this time you will use to identify
positions by picking them with the pointer in the graphical view.
47. Set the String Method to Single, since you will begin by specifying the start and end
points independently for each section. Select the Secondary Nodes check box so that
secondary nodes and joints will be created automatically at all connections between
sections. Select the Confirm check box to begin with and clear it Off later when you
feel it is no longer necessary. Note that the Secondary Joint (SJOI) element forms the
basis of the analytical model
Rather than enter explicit coordinates, you will define the Start Position as a point on
one of the existing columns (namely the top of Column 3) which is picked using the
pointer.
48. On the Positioning Control toolbar, set the Pick Type option (left-hand drop-down list;
see tool tip) to Element. This means that you are going to pick sections themselves,
rather than individual plines, for identifying positions within the design model.
49. The Pick Method setting (right-hand drop-down list) specifies how you want your
pointer picks to be interpreted as positions (remember, you are now using the event-
driven graphics mode). Set this to Snap, meaning that you want to snap to the position
of the nearest Start or End of a picked section; this option will remain in force until you
change it.
The settings will look as shown:
Notice that the pick mode prompt above the graphical view shows the current event as
‘Define section start (Snap)’. Pick a point anywhere in the upper half of Column 3. Note
that the word Start appears in the view to mark the specified start point and that the
snap action has placed this at the upper end of the column.
50. The pick mode prompt will have changed to ‘Define section end (Snap)’. Pick a point
anywhere in the upper half of Column 2 to define the End Position of the new beam.
Note how the proposed route of the new beam is shown in the 3D View. Click the
Accept button on the Section form to confirm the section creation. Beam 1 will be
shown with its start connected to the top of Column 3 and its end connected to the top
of Column 2.
51. The length of the beam is calculated automatically, with allowances for the section
dimensions, but you will see that the beam’s position is too high. This is because the
justification datum is set to the Neutral Axis (NA), as shown by the Profile
Specification setting /BS-SPEC/305x165x40kg/m (NA/NA/NA). This will now be
corrected by resetting the justification datum to the Top of Steel (TOS) pline. The result
is as shown in the diagram:
Exercise contines
52. Switch temporarily from event-driven graphics mode to graphical navigation mode by
clicking the Navigate to Element button on the main tool bar (check the pick
mode prompt). Change the view direction to Look>East, move the centre of interest to
the approximate mid-point of Beam 1, and zoom in to see more clearly what happens
at the ends of the beam. Pick the new beam to ensure that it is the current element and
select Modify>Sections>Specification…. On the Section Specification form, set the
Justification to TOS, as shown:
53. Select the Use as default profile check box, so that the next beams which you create
will be aligned correctly without further adjustment. Apply the change and the beam
should move down to the correct position.
Notice that the default specification has changed:
You could, alternatively, have realigned just the current beam by selecting the
Modify>Sections>Justification option, but this would not have let you reset the
default specification for subsequent beam creation.
54. You will now create Beam 2, with its Start Position at the top of Column 4, running
horizontally to connect part-way up Column 3. Reset the view, if necessary, to show all
sections so far created. Return to event-driven graphics mode by Dismissing the
Section form and selecting Create>Sections>Straight… again, ready to position the
start of the next Section (check the pick mode prompt again). Position the Start for
Beam 2 at the top of Column 4.
55. To pick the End Position, you will use the snap facility with a specified offset distance
along the picked Section. From the Positioning Control toolbar’s Pick Method list,
select Distance and, in the adjacent Method Value field, enter 5000 (i.e. the height of
Column 4):
The pick mode prompt should now say ’Pick section end (Distance [5000])’. Pick
anywhere in the lower half of Column 3. The End Position is calculated by snapping to
the bottom of the column and then moving up (i.e., towards the pointer) by 5000mm.
Accept the Section on the Section form.
56. In the preceding step, you had to remember the height of Column 4 in order to set the
correct snap offset distance. You will now create a beam from the top of Column 1,
running horizontally to Column 3 (equivalent to Beam 3 plus Beam 4 in your design
sketch), without remembering any dimensions.
Position the Start of the new beam at the top of Column 1 as before (remember to reset
the pick option to Snap).
57. Two alternative ways of achieving the required End Position will now be compared.
Make sure that Verification: Confirm check box is selected so that you can cancel the
first method to try the second.
58. Method 1
Because the beam is to be horizontal, its End Position can be constrained to have the
same elevation as its Start Position. To do this, the explicit positioning form is used, but
now the coordinates are entered on the form by graphical picking rather than by typing
them in. This step demonstrates the ease with which you can mix the different ways of
defining positions (using the Section, Positioning Control and Define section end
forms) to suit the current circumstances.
Click the button on the Section form to display the Define section end form. The
latter will initially show the coordinates of the last point picked, namely the top of
Column 1.
Select the Lock check box next to the Up field, as shown:
Note: The Up coordinate is greyed out to show that you cannot change it.
You can now pick any part of Column 3 to specify the beam’s End Position, since the
elevation of the snap point will be ignored in favour of the constraint that the End
Position must be at the same elevation as the Start Position; only the East and North
coordinates of the pick are used. OK the Define section end form, then click Reject
on the Section form to cancel the creation.
59. Method 2
The Start Position will still be shown at the top of Column 1.
The and buttons on the Section form both let you create a section which is
perpendicular to another section. You will constrain the new beam’s End Direction to be
perpendicular to Column 3.
Click the Perpendicular to button , then pick Column 3. The derived End Position
will be the same as for Method 1. This time Accept the section creation.
60. When you have created the three beams, dismiss the section creation forms. (Note that
clicking Dismiss on the Section form also removes the Positioning Control toolbar
and returns the pick mode prompt to Navigate.)
Zoom in close to the beam which you created last and notice how it passes straight
through Column 2. You will now split this beam into two separate sections to form
Beam 3 and Beam 4.
61. Select Modify>Sections>Split…. Set the controls on the Split Sections form as
shown:
Note: The lengths of Beams 3 and 4 are to be adjusted automatically where they meet at
Column 2 (Connections at split set to Trimmed).
62. Click Apply. When prompted to ‘identify item to be split on’ (see the status line), pick
the element which corresponds to the split point, in this case Column 2. Cancel the
next prompt (since you are splitting the beam in one place only) by pressing the Esc
key. When prompted to ‘identify section to be split’, pick any part of the beam which is
to be split to form Beams 3 and 4. Esc the next prompt (since you are splitting one
section only).
Notice how the proposed split point is identified in the graphical view. Confirm the
splitting and then dismiss the Split Sections form.
When using this facility, the items to be split on and the items to be split must actually
intersect at the required split points. Projected intersection points will not work.
You have now completed the creation of the substructure illustrated at the start of this part of
the exercise, namely (looking East):
Beam 1
C o lu m n 2 C o lu m n 3
Beam 2
Beam 4 Beam 3
C o lu m n 4
C o lu m n 1
U
E
N
If you look at the Design Explorer, you will see that each column (SCTN) element now
owns one or more Secondary Nodes (SNODs; marked in the above diagram) at the
locations of the ends of the beams. Each Secondary Node owns one or two Secondary
Joints (SJOIs) with connection references to the attached beams. This provides the logical
connectivity between the sections.
Exercise continues:
63. Select Utilities>Lists from the main menu or click the button on the main tool bar.
You will see a Lists/Collections form for controlling the existence and contents of all
lists for the current session. If any lists existed, you would be able to select the one
which you wanted to modify from the list available from the option button. Since you
have not yet used this facility, this will simply say ‘No List’.
64. From the Lists/Collections menu bar, select Add>List…. In the Description box on
the Create List form, enter TESTLIST.
65. Ensure that your current element is the Sub-Frame by clicking on it in the Design
Explorer and then, from the Lists/Collections menu bar, select Add>CE Members.
All elements owned by the Sub-Frame will now be shown as items within TESTLIST,
like this:
Select Control>Close to dismiss the Lists/Collections form when you have finished
with it.
Note: The new list automatically becomes the current list:
Existing Subframe
U
N Origin
E
6000 6000 6000
As explained in the preceding part of this exercise, the list containing all members of the
Sub-Frame will be copied rather than the Sub-Frame itself.
Exercise continues:
66. Select Create>Copy>Offset…. A Copy with Offset form displays which allows you to
specify what you want to copy (Object), where the copies are to be stored in the
database hierarchy (to), how many copies you want, and how each copy is to be
positioned relative to its preceding neighbour (Offset).
67. Set the Object to be copied to List; since only one list exists, its name (TESTLIST) is
shown without further selection.
Set the to option to Rel. (Relative). This creates the new element copies in the same
part of the database hierarchy as the original elements; that is, as members of the Sub-
Frame.
68. Set the Number of Copies to 3.
69. Note that the Offset must be specified in terms of the local X,Y,Z coordinates of the
geometric primitives making up the structural items, rather than the E,N,U coordinates
used to position items within the overall design model. In our case, by default, X=E,
Y=N and Z=U. Note that the axes are shown automatically in the displayed 3D View as
a guide.
Set the X Offset to 6000, leaving Y and Z set to 0.
The form settings should now look as shown:
70. Click Apply to create the three offset copies and, when prompted, confirm that you
want to retain the copies (assuming that they look correct in the graphical view).
Dismiss the Copy with Offset form when you have finished.
71. Click and select Isometric>Iso3 from the 3D View shortcut menu so that you can
see the whole of the current design.
72. Study the Design Explorer to see what elements have now been created and where
they fit into the hierarchy. Note that the Sub-Frame now owns 32 Sections, comprising
16 columns and 16 beams, together with all of the necessary Secondary Nodes and
Joints needed to define their interconnections.
A B C D
U
N Orig in
E
In creating these beams, you will include some variations of the ways so far used to define
the start and end positions of the beams.
Exercise continues:
73. Start by creating the three most southerly beams (show in black on the diagram). Do
this by creating a single beam and then splitting it into three lengths to fit between the
columns (use the technique described previously featuring the Split Sections form).
74. Next, you will create the three beams directly to the north of those which you have just
created (shown cross-hatched on the diagram). This will be done in a sequence of
operations in which the start of each section (after the first) will be situated
automatically at the end of the preceding section.
Set the String Method to Continuous on the Section form to begin creating a chained
configuration of sections. By default, the start of the next section is assumed to be at
the end of the previous section (as shown in the 3D View); click the Redefine Start
button to override this.
75. On the Positioning Control toolbar, set Pick Method to Intersect to show that you will
identify positions at the intersection points of pairs of existing sections. To create the
first beam, pick first Column 3 and then Beam 2 (whose intersection is at the Start
Position of the first required beam, labelled A in the diagram), then use the same
method to pick the intersection which identifies the end of this beam (B in the diagram).
If Confirm is selected, click Accept to create the beam (otherwise your next picks will
simply redefine the end of this section). It is important to stress the behaviour of not
picking the attached member first as the sequence of picking the intersections
determines the ownership of the SNOD/SJOI and therefore the connectivity model
76. The start of the next beam will be positioned automatically at B (as shown in the 3D
View). Use the same procedure to pick points C and D to create the next two beams.
Click the Redefine Start button on the Section form to define a new start for another
section or sequence of sections.
77. Complete the design using a combination of the techniques which you have learned,
plus any other options that you want to experiment with. Switch Confirm to Off to
speed up the process as you gain confidence. If you make a mistake in the middle of
defining a section, click Redefine Start to go back a stage.
Note: you will probably need to use the Middle Button Drag view manipulation options
available from the 3D View shortcut menu in order to be able to have a clear view of
the correct Sections prior to clicking on them.
Dismiss the Section form when you are satisfied with your results.
Note: If you simply copy beams, either singly or as a composite list, the copies will be
positioned but will not be connected automatically.
78. To update the database so as to store the most recent changes to the design model
which you have created, select Design>Save Work from the main menu bar or click
the button.
If a significant part of the model that you want to design comprises a regular array of beams
and columns, a special facility is provided to speed up the creation of all the necessary
elements to define the fully connected structure. Even if your model is not completely
regular in layout, you might find it quicker to use this facility first and then to modify the
design as necessary, rather than build up the design section-by-section as you have done
so far.
In this chapter you will build a new structure using this method, so that you can judge
whether or not it is relevant to your own types of design work.
Exercise continues:
79. You will store your new model under a separate Structure element in the hierarchy, so
that it can easily be distinguished from the design model which was created in the
earlier parts of the exercise. Navigate to Zone level and below this create a new
Structure, Framework and Subframework, giving them different names from those
specified in the previous design model (for example, /REGSTRU, /REGFRMW and /
REGSBFR, respectively).
80. Check that automatic Profile allocation is On and Primary Node creation is Off, as in
Automating Profile and Primary Node Allocations. (As you will see soon, storage areas
and specifications need not be set yet.)
81. Select Create>Sections>Specials…. The resulting Section Creation form lists all
available methods: the options available depend on how your system has been set up,
but they should include the following:
82. To initiate the use of any available method, you click on it in the list. In this case, select
Regular Structure, then Dismiss the form. You will see a Regular Structure form
which gives you complete control of the whole design process. In the following steps,
this form is looked at in three distinct parts.
83. The areas labelled Column Data and Beam Data allows you to set the storage areas,
profile specifications and justification p-lines independently for the two types of section.
Set these as follows (replacing /REGSBFR by whatever name you gave the
Subframework).
• To enter each Storage area name, navigate to the Subframe and type CE. The
name of the current element will be entered automatically.
• To enter the Profile specifications, click the Profile button to display the Section
Specification form and pick the required specification and pline settings.
84. The Grid Origin area allows you to define how your structure is to be positioned
spatially. Enter the following settings:
The Datum setting defines the element whose reference axes will determine the origin
and orientation of the structure.
The Underside of Base-Plate setting allows you to set the lowest point of your
structure (underside of baseplate) relative to the datum axes. This lets you define the
elevations of the structural members relative to a plane which does not correspond to
the base of the overall structure. This has been set to 1000, so that the bottoms of the
columns will be truncated at an elevation of 1000mm. (The effect of this will be seen
when the completed model is viewed.)
85. The East Spacings and North Spacings lists specify the relative spacing between
adjacent columns in the given directions. The Elevation list specifies the absolute
elevations of the beams representing the floor levels. Type in the following values:
These settings will create 16 columns on a 4x4 rectangular grid, with a uniform inter-
column spacing of 3000mm in the East direction and 5000mm in the North direction.
The columns will be 4000mm high, to accommodate two floors at elevations of
3000mm and 5000mm relative to the datum plane, but with the bottoms of the columns
truncated so that they do not extend below the 1000mm elevation specified by the
baseplate setting.
86. Select the Trim sections to Plines check box, so that the beams will have their
lengths calculated to fit between the columns to which they are connected.
87. With view limits set for zone and view direction set to Iso 3, click the Preview button to
display a ‘stick’ representation of the specified structure. It should have the following
configuration:
5000
3000 1000 5000
5000 3000
3000
5000
3000 Z/U
Shaded area is Y/N
datum plane X/E
Origin
Check and, if necessary, correct the settings, then click Apply to create the structure.
The sections will first have the specified profiles applied to give them their 3D
geometry, then they will be trimmed to length and connected. This process involves a
lot of calculation, and might therefore take a minute or two to complete; progress will be
shown in the status bar.
88. The structure is now modified by removing beams as follows:
*
*
* *
Select Delete>Identified and then pick the 14 beams which are to be removed.
Escape the prompt when you have finished picking and confirm the deletion.
89. Finally, you will reduce the heights of the eight outermost columns (marked * in the
preceding diagram). Rather than modify each one separately, create a new list (select
93. You will notice that the secondary nodes which were at the tops of the deleted columns
are still present, even though they no longer serve any useful purpose. To delete these,
navigate to the Subframe and select Delete>Tidy Nodes…. A Tidy Nodes form is
displayed telling you that 8 redundant nodes have been identified. Select the Mark
Nodes for Deletion check box to tag these nodes in the graphical view, then click OK
to delete them.
94. Now, for practice, extend the bottoms of all sixteen columns downwards by 1000mm,
so that they rest on the origin plane (shown shaded in the first illustration of this
chapter).
95. Update the DESIGN database to save your work (by selecting Design>Save Work).
In this chapter, you will revert to your original structure and add some bracing members. You
will then select some joints from the catalogue. Finally, you will modify the structure by
moving part of it to a new position and then restoring the correct geometry between its
members semi-automatically.
or
or
To correct this, you can trim the length of the incoming section to an explicitly picked pline of
the owning section. Before you develop your model further, you will correct any errors of this
type which might currently exist (otherwise you could have problems connecting your
bracing correctly).
Exercise continues:
97. Zoom in to the graphical view and change the viewing direction so that you can see the
detailed geometry of each connection point in turn, looking for any examples where an
attached section has been trimmed to the wrong length. If you find any, correct them as
follows.
Select Connect>Trim to Pline>Pick (force). When prompted to ‘Identify section end
to be trimmed’, pick one of the ends which you want to correct (as shown shaded in the
preceding diagram). You will then be prompted to ‘Identify pline to be trimmed to’;
change the view if necessary and pick the pline which corresponds to the required
section end point (typically NAR/NAL for a web connection or TOS/BOS for a flange
connection, as shown by the black dots in the preceding diagram, see also Structural
Catalogue Guide). Note how the pointer shape changes when it is positioned on a pline
and how the status bar helps you by identifying which pline is selected at any given
moment. Press Escape to action the change.
Note: You will need to make full use of the graphical manipulation facilities detailed in
Manipulating the Displayed View, in particular it is advisable to zoom in close to the
joint of interest. Also, it is advisable switch to wireline display mode by pressing F8
(this toggles between wireline and shaded display modes).
98. Repeat this sequence, alternately picking section ends and plines, until all errors have
been corrected. Note that, if you are confident that you have made the correct
selections, you can pick any number of section/pline pairs before pressing Esc.
99. To check the current pline rule (if any), select Settings>Picking Filters>Plines…. You
will see a Pline Filter form showing all currently defined rules; this probably shows No
Rule and Normal, with the former selected. The Normal rule will handle the connections
that the rule being created below is going to handle. You will set a rule to give
appropriate results for the rest of this exercise. To do so, click the Define Rule button to
display the Define Rules form. Enter the Name as Extremities (this will be used to
identify the rule in subsequent lists) and the Description as Flange or web face for
trimming at connection. Enter the Rule as follows (taking care to include the
apostrophes and commas exactly as shown:
PKEY inset (’TOS’,’BOS’,’NAL’,’NAR’,’FOC’,’BOC’,’TOC’)
Click the Include button to add the new rule into the list. The result is as follows:
100. Click OK. Select the Extremities rule on the Pline Filters tab of the Snap Settings
form to make this the current rule. Click OK and close the Picking Control form.
Note: A full explanation of the ways in which pline rules are set and applied is beyond the
scope of this introductory guide. Suffice it to say that the rule you have set here may
be interpreted as ‘Select a pline which has any of the PKEY settings specified in the
list’. (See Structural Catalogue Guide for diagrams showing how these plines are
positioned for typical steelwork profiles.)
2 4 6
1 3 5
U A B C D
N
E
(The letters and numbers identifying the columns and beams, respectively, in the above
diagram will be used for reference purposes in the steps which follow.)
The first bracing member will be connected to Columns A and B and its end positions will be
specified in terms of their spacing from Beams 1 and 2.
You will then use the Mirror Copying facility to create the other two bracing members. This
facility lets you create a copy of an existing element and to reposition the copy automatically
by reflecting it about an axis in a specified plane (so that the original and copy elements are
mirror images of one another).
Exercise continues:
101. Click the Default Profile Specification button and reset the default specification
to British Standard, Rect (Rectangular) Hollow Sections, 200.0x100.0x10.0 with
Justification, Member Line and Joint Line all set to NA. This will be the profile used
for the bracing members.
102. Select Create>Sections>Straight. Using Pick Type: Element and Pick Method:
Intersect on the Positioning Control form, create a single bracing member with its
Start at the intersection of Column A and Beam 1 (A1 for short) and its End at B2.
Important: When you pick the sections defining each intersection point, your first pick
defines the section to which the connection is made. In this case, therefore, you
must pick the column before the beam when defining each end, otherwise the
bracing gap trimming facility will not work correctly. Do not worry if the vertical
alignment of the bracing member ends looks wrong at this stage; you will
correct this in the next step.
(currently at A1 in the preceding diagram). Using the diagram on the Brace Gaps form
as a guide, pick plines in the following order:
• A pline on the lower face of the bracing member, such as BOS. Pick close to the
connection, so that the gap is calculated for the correct end.
• A pline on Column A along which the gap is to be defined, such as NAL or NAR.
• A pline on the upper face of Beam 1, such as TOS.
Note: As previously mentioned, you might find it easier to pick the plines if you switch the
graphics to a wireline view. (Press F8).
1. P line on lower
of br a cin g m em ber
Bracing Member
Column A
106. When you have picked the third pline, the calculated distance for the current position is
shown in the graphical view and is also inserted into the Gap A text-box on the Brace
Gap(s) form. The Accept/Reject buttons are now active. Note that the displayed
distance is measured downwards (because of the way the plines currently intersect),
whereas you want to move the bracing section upwards. To achieve this, change the
Gap A data to -150, check that the new position shown in the graphical view is as
required, then click Accept to move the section end.
107. Repeat the procedure to position the upper end of the bracing member with a gap of
150mm measured down Column B from Beam 2. Dismiss the Brace Gaps form.
108. Before you create the next bracing members, try this facility for checking whether or not
the ends of a section are connected. With the bracing member as your current element,
select Utilities>Beams & Columns. From the menu bar of the small form which
results, pick Tag>All ends. The ends of the current section should both be tagged as
Connected. (You will see another way of checking connectivity later.)
Rather than create and position the other two bracing members B4-C3 and C5-D6 by
repeating the preceding sequence of operations, a short-cut is used by copying the existing
A1-B2 section. Each copy is repositioned by defining it as a mirror image of its original
reflected in an appropriate plane.
Exercise continues:
109. Select Create>Copy>Mirror. The Mirror form displays which allows you to specify
what you want to copy (Object), where the copies are to be stored in the database
hierarchy, and the plane in which the copy position is to reflected.
110. Assuming that you are still at the bracing member, set the Object to be copied to CE
and set the to option to Rel. Set the Type of mirror option to Mirror Copy (since you
want to create a new element rather than simply reposition the original one).
111. The plane in which you want to reflect the copied section is represented by the shaded
area in the following diagram:
Ex is tin g m e m be r Co p ie d m e m be r
U
N
B
E
This plane is specified in terms of its direction (i.e. the direction of the normal to the
plane) and of the position of any point within it. The Mirror form provides several
methods of specifying these by picking items in the existing model; Column B is used to
define the position and the direction entered explicitly.
112. Select Cursor>Element from the Mirror form’s menu and, when prompted, pick any
part of Column B. The position identified snaps to the start or end of this column
(depending on where you picked) and its coordinates are entered into the East/North/
Up text boxes automatically. A symbolic representation of the plane’s position and
orientation is shown in the graphical view.
Note that the Plane Direction text box now shows the cutplane direction of the
column’s start or end (namely Up or Down). Change this to East and observe the
reorientation of the symbolic plane in the graphical view.
Note: If you want to enter the Plane Direction before you pick the position, select the Lock
check box to prevent its setting being updated when you pick the position.
The form settings should now look as shown (the Up coordinate will be 9000 rather
than 0 if you picked near the top of Column B rather than near the bottom):
113. Click Apply to create the mirrored copy and, when prompted, confirm that you want to
retain the copy.
114. Using the same procedure, create the third bracing member (C5-D6) by copying and
reflecting the second member (B4-C3).
115. The two copies which you have just created should be positioned correctly, but will not
yet be connected. To check this, instead of using the Tag utility for each new bracing
member, select Query>End Connections. The resulting Highlight Connections form
lets you see the connectivity status of all relevant members of the current element.
116. Navigate to the SubFrame TESTSBFR and click the CE button on the Highlight
Connections form to update the displayed data. The numbers on the coloured buttons
show the number of sections in each category: they should show 40 sections with both
ends connected and 16 sections with neither end connected. Select the corresponding
Highlight check boxes to colour the sections in the 3D View; click on a coloured button
if you would prefer a different highlight colour.
Note: You might think that the upper ends of the columns should be shown as connected.
However, the beams at those points are connected (via Secondary Joints) to
Secondary Nodes positioned along the columns, rather than to Primary Nodes at the
column extremities. Therefore, even though the Secondary Nodes in this case
happen to be coincident with the tops of the columns, the diagnoses are correct.
117. To connect the ends of the two bracing sections to the appropriate columns, select
Connect>Connect and follow the status bar prompts carefully. (Escape terminates
each stage of the process in the usual way.) Use the Highlight Connections form
again to confirm the results.
U
N
E
Exercise continues:
118. Select Create>Sections>Bracing configurations…. The Bracing form displays.
This form does not use the default settings for section data, so first set the following:
• Storage area to the Subframe /TESTSBFR;
• Profile to British Standard, Equal Angle, 70x70x6.0;
• Justification to NAL (Neutral Axis Left: this will align the angle sections back-to-
back; see diagram in Sample Plots);
• Member Line and Joint Line to NA.
• Bracing Plane : leave the option set to Derived by Section so that the bracing
members will lie in the same plane as the sections to which they will be attached.
119. In the Available Bracing Configurations list, select Cross Bracing. Notice how the
parameterised diagram shows the details of the selected configuration. The diagram
shows the dimensions which must be specified (A, B) and the order in which existing
sections must be picked (1, 2, ...) so as to position and connect the bracing members
correctly. For the cross bracing configuration it looks as shown:
Gap B
Note: In our design this
Pick 2 datum is the lower end of
the column, since, there
Pick 1 is no cross beam at this
position.
Gap A
120. Click Apply. The Cross Bracing form displays. Set Gap A to 150 and Gap B to 300.
Select Confirm.
You are now in event-driven graphics mode. Using the diagram on the Bracing form as
a guide, pick the two columns between which the bracing members are to be
connected. To achieve the required configuration, make sure that your first pick is near
the bottom of the first column and that your second pick is just below the cross beam
on the second column; that is, pick reasonably close to the required connection points
for the bracing members.
When you are satisfied with the configuration shown in the graphical view, accept the
creation of the sections forming the bracing members and then Dismiss the Bracing
form.
121. Repeat the procedure used in the previous steps to create the diamond bracing at the
top of the structure. Set the Profile to British Standard, Universal Beams, 203x133x25,
and the Justification, Member Line and Joint Line all to NA.
In the Available Bracing Configurations list, select Diamond Bracing. The
parameterised diagram shows that you need to specify the separations between the
bracing members for each pair of opposing sections.
122. Click Apply to display the Diamond Bracing form on which the data can be entered.
Set both Gap A and Gap B to 500, leave confirm selected, and pick the four beams (in
the correct sequence, as shown in the diagram) to complete the operation. Dismiss
the Bracing form when you have finished.
Note: You must dismiss the Diamond Bracing form, thereby leaving event-driven graphics
mode, in order to change the bracing configuration. If you want to add more sections
using the current bracing configuration, however, you can simply continue picking
connection points in the graphical view.
Z
Y
Origin plane is X,Y plane through
X origin.
Origin plane direction is Z.
Plines extrude in Y direction.
Pline direction is Z direction
Owning
Section
BOS TOS
NA
TOS
BANG of Section Attached
SNode POSS
NA Section
BANG of Joint
BOS
OPDI of Joint
JLIN of Joint set to BOS of Attached Section
JLIN of Attached Section set to NA of Joint
POSL of Joint set to TOS of Owning Section
Logical Connectivity:
JOIS of Attached Section points to Joint
CREF of Joint points to Attached Section
CTYA of Joint must match CTYS of Attached Section (for connection compatibility)
Note how the origin plane of the Joint is set with reference to the Owning Section (via the
POSL attribute), while its position within the constraints of that plane is set with reference to
the Attached Section (by aligning the plines defined by the JLINs of both Joint and Section).
That is, with reference to the orientation of the diagram, the Joint is moved horizontally by
changing its POSL and vertically by changing its JLIN. Both the Section and the Joint can be
rotated independently by changing their BANGs (the Section rotates about its NA, the Joint
about its OPDI).
How the Section end configuration depends on the Joint to which it is attached:
(using a wedge-shaped Joint to demonstrate the principles)
Owning
Section
NA
Exercise continues:
For the purpose of this exercise, you will add some simple bolted flanges where the beams
are attached to the columns. Remember that the joint elements (SJOIs in the Design
Explorer) already exist as a result of connecting the sections together; you need only set a
pointer to the joint specification in the catalogue to define each joint’s geometry.
Section end
used to
identify joint
Thickness of Plt = 10
Notice how the attached beam has been shortened to accommodate the thickness of
the plate and how the bolt holes in the plate have generated corresponding holes in
the column flanges.
127. The position of the joint relative to the profile of the column (i.e. its owning section) is
determined by the joint’s position line. To see the effect of changing this, select
Modify>Joints>Position Line. The displayed Position Line form shows the current
setting as either BOS or TOS (depending at which end of the beam the joint is
situated). Change this to the opposite setting (i.e. TOS or BOS), select the Re-trim
attached section check box, and click Apply. The joint and its attached section end will
move thus:
(view rotated)
Section end
used to
identify joint
128. Reposition the joint correctly, then Dismiss the Position Line and Joint Specification
forms.
129. Rather than set each joint specification explicitly, you can apply the specification for
one joint to other joints. This facility is used to specify the joint at the other end of the
beam which you have just been looking at. To do so, select Modify>Joints>Joint
Like>Maintain Pline. When prompted to ‘Identify end of section to be copied like’, pick
the same section end as picked previously. When prompted to ‘Identify section end to
be modified’, pick the other end of the same beam. Press Escape for both of the next
prompts (you are only modifying one joint in this step). Zoom in close to the second
joint and notice how its geometry matches that of the first joint. The position line
settings for the two joints are, however, set automatically to opposite flanges of the
column (TOS for one, BOS for the other), to give the correct alignment.
Note: If the joints were ‘handed’, such as a shelf angle, you would also see that the second
joint has been rotated automatically about its vertical axis to match the start/end
directions of the section. This is not apparent for the endplate, but if you select
Query>Attributes you will be able to see which attributes differ between the two
joints.
130. Using the same method as in the previous step, set the specifications for some of the
other column flange joints.
You will use this feature in the next part of the exercise.
U
N
E
Exercise continues:
131. In order to make the bracing member realign itself to maintain the specified bracing
gap, the joint to which it is connected must be dominant. To ensure this, you will make
the joints dominant at both ends of all bracing sections (as would be normal practice).
For the purposes of this exercise, you will also make dominant the joints at both ends of
each of the four N-S beams between the columns to be moved (i.e. the beams shown
shaded in the preceding diagram).
Select Connect>Joint Dominant. Each joint is identified by picking the section end to
which it is connected. When prompted, pick both ends of each bracing member created
in Adding and Modifying Simple Bracing (six picks) and the ends of all relevant beams
(eight picks). Press Escape when you have finished.
Note: This part of the exercise has been designed to illustrate, among other features, the
concept of joint dominance. In normal practice, only the joints at the ends of the
bracing members would be made dominant.
132. Use the Utilities>Lists… facility to create a new list and use the Add>Identified
option to add into it the four columns to be moved (shown black in the preceding
diagram).
133. Select Position>Relatively (BY). The Position By form displays which allows you
move an item by a given distance in a given direction. Use the option button near the
top-left of the form to set the item to be moved to the list containing the columns
(Current List). Enter the required movement in the By text boxes; in this case specify
a move by 2000mm in the East direction.
When you Apply the settings, the columns should move as shown:
U
N
At first sight, this appears to be a rather disastrous result. However, as long as you
have set all of the connectivity rules correctly, particularly the joint dominance settings,
you can easily rectify the problem by reconnecting all of the sections which should be
connected to the columns.
134. Select Connect>Trim to Section>all attached. When prompted, pick each of the four
columns in turn, then press Escape and watch the results in the graphical view as the
correct geometry is restored.
Note: The Trim to Section differs from the Trim to Pline option, which was used before, in
that Trim to Section maintains the existing pline connectivity, thereby retaining any
In this chapter, you will change to another of the structural design applications, namely the
Panels & Plates application, and add a floor plate to your existing structure. You will then
modify this in various ways to demonstrate some of the facilities provided for detailing
panels.
Note: The facilities which are looked at next allow you to add planar material to the design
model in any orientation. Throughout this text, the term panel is used for such items
in all descriptions, regardless of whether the element represents a horizontal floor
plate, a vertical wall panel, a sloping roof panel, or any similar planar item.
Excerise continues:
136. Select Design>Structures>Panels & Plates from the main menu bar, or click the
button.
The main menu bar and tool bar will change, although the differences may not be
obvious at a first glance. They now look as shown:
Look at each pull-down menu in turn; you will see that the options in the upper parts of
the menus are common to the equivalent Beams & Columns menus, whereas many of
the options in the lower parts of the menus are specific to the Panels & Plates
application.
Panel (PANE)
Note: The resulting justification of a panel may be dependent upon the clockwise/
anticlockwise direction of creation for the panel.
Each Panel Vertex can have an optional Fillet Radius setting which represents a circular arc
which curves towards (positive radius) or away from (negative radius) the vertex position, as
shown:
Excercise continues:
137. Rather than using the Settings>Storage Areas option, a short-cut method is used to
set default storage areas for Panels and Panel Linear Joints (which will be looked at
later). Both types of element will be stored under the same SubFrame which you have
been using for your basic framework design.
Navigate to TESTSBFR and then click the (Panels) and (Panel Linear Joints)
buttons in turn. These automatically set the storage areas to the current element.
The current storage area settings are shown as:
Exercise continues:
138. Select Create>Panel…. The Create Panel form displays which provides, among its
other settings, various ways of specifying the positions of vertices.
139. The optional names for panels are not entered in this exercise. Set the Justification to
Bottom (this allows you to position the bottom face of the panels on the top of their
supporting sections) and set the Thickness to 30.
140. Leave the Representation set to Predefined: Default for now. These settings (Levels
and Obstruction) affect the way items are shown in 3D views and how they are dealt
with when checking for clashes between design items; the defaults should be adequate
for your current purposes.
141. You will define the positions of four vertices, V1-V4, which define the overall area of the
floor plate shown shaded in the following diagram (all bracing members omitted for
clarity):
V1 A B V2
V4 A B V3
U
N
E
(The broken lines A-A and B-B show where you will later split the panel into three.)
The Create Methods buttons give you several ways to define each vertex. The
methods used are:
allows you pick a point graphically using any of the standard pointer
picking options
In the next steps, these options are used to illustrate the principles.
142. Click the button. The Positioning Control form indicates that you are now in
event-driven graphics mode, ready to pick the position of the first vertex. Set Pick Type
to Element and set Pick Method to Intersect. Now pick the column and either of the
beams whose intersection coincides with V1 in the preceding diagram. The text below
the icon buttons on the Create Panel form will change from ‘No vertices currently
defined’ to ‘1 Vertices defined (no Panel created)’.
Note: The first vertex defined for a new panel becomes the panel’s origin (as displayed) by
default. You can change this later if required.
143. Repeat this point-picking procedure to define V2 and V3, in that order. As soon as you
have defined three vertices, the plane of the new panel is shown in the graphical view
(as a triangle) and a PANEL element added into the Design Explorer.
144. As a demonstration, V4 is positioned relative to V3. Click the button. The Define
vertex form displays on which you can specify the required offset. Set the Direction to
West and the Distance to 20000. Click Apply to create the vertex. The text below the
icon buttons on the Create Panel form now says ‘4 Vertices defined (Panel created)’.
145. Leave the Display modification form check box clear (you would select this only if
you wanted to modify the panel vertices immediately). Click OK to complete the panel
creation operation. Note that the Design Explorer now includes one PANEL, one
PLOOP and four PAVERT elements (as defined in How PDMS Represents Panels).
Exercise contiunes:
146. Either select Query>Measure Distance or click the button. The Measure form and
the Positioning Control form are displayed, which together allow you to measure the
distance between any two points or lines in the design model. On the Positioning
Control form, set Pick Type to Element and Pick Method to Snap, then pick near the
tops or bottoms (but not one of each) of the columns through the V4 and V3 positions.
Note: Zoom in if necessary and pick carefully at the ends connected to bracing sections to
avoid snapping to the secondary nodes rather than the column extremities.
The Information area on the Measure form shows the direct distance between the
Neutral Axes of the sections, the XYZ components of that distance, and the direction of
the second point relative to the first. The distance is also shown in the graphical view.
147. Experiment with some other graphical picking options to measure a few other distances
and directions, including some in skewed directions, then dismiss the Measure form.
Note: When you split your original panel into three, new vertices were created
automatically, so the vertex numbers for the current panels do not correspond to
those of the original panel. As you insert new vertices, the numbering will change to
accommodate them, so care is needed to check that you are at the correct vertex for
each panel editing operation.
Exercise continues:
150. Navigate to the westernmost panel (i.e. that between V1-A-A-V4 in the previous
diagram) and select Modify>Extrusion/Panel…. The Loop Vertex Editor form
displays which allows you to modify the shape of the current panel by manipulating
individual vertices, edges between vertices, groups of vertices, etc. Whatever methods
you use for picking new positions, all vertices are constrained to remain in the plane of
the panel loop (i.e., the underside of the panel) throughout these operations.
151. Check that the options Settings>Confirm and Settings>Confirm on delete from this
form’s menu bar are both selected.
The active controls on the form, and their titles, change to suit the current
circumstances as you use the form. As displayed now, you will notice that many of the
buttons (especially those relating to Group and Line operations) are greyed out.
The upper part of the form shows that the current focus is on Vertex 1, while the lower
part shows the coordinates and fillet radius of this vertex, as shown:
The geometry of the current panel in Plan view (not to scale) is as follows:
A N E
P L
V2 V3
V7 V6
V1 V4
V8 V5
Y
New vertices
V1 V4 to be inserted
Origin
at V1 X
You will insert four new vertices between V4 and V1, as shown in the inset view, so that
this panel edge fits round the column (note that V4 comes before V1 when defining this
edge, since vertex numbering is clockwise as viewed in the diagram).
152. .Each new vertex is added to the sequence immediately after the current vertex, so first
navigate to V4 in either of the following ways:
• Click the select vertex/edge button on the Loop Vertex Editor form and pick
the p-point at V4. Note that, because this position is within the column, you might
find it easier to switch to wireline mode to see it.
• Use the up/down arrow buttons next to the displayed vertex number to step
through the vertex list sequentially. Notice how the current vertex and the edge
direction to the next vertex are shown in the 3D View as you do this.
If you know the number of the vertex you want, you can type it directly in the Vertex
number field. Do not forget, though, that the numbering may change as you edit the
list; it is usually safer to pick a vertex graphically.
153. Click the Create points button in the Mode Selection area of the Loop Vertex
Editor form. Set the Positioning Control to Element Snap and position the vertex at
the end of the beam which joins the column from the direction of V4 (i.e. at point V5 on
the diagram). A ‘New vertex’ tag is added to the graphical view so that you can check
the proposed position; if it is correct, click the Create button at the bottom of the Loop
Vertex Editor form to confirm the creation.
Notice that the new vertex is now the current vertex (labelled <5>), ready for the next
one to be added after it.
154. Position the next vertex, V6, at the intersection of the corner of the column with the
panel. To do so, click the button again, set the Positioning Control to Pline Snap,
and pick the column pline which passes through the required point (RBOS or LBOS;
see diagram in Straight Sections). If you cannot pick the pline you want, select
Settings>Pick Filters>Plines from the main menu bar and reset the current filtering
rule to No Rule (it is probably still set to Extremities). Do not forget to click Create when
you have positioned the vertex.
155. Create V7 and V8 by using similar methods to those in the previous steps.
Rotate the graphical model as necessary and check that the panel now incorporates a
cut-out which fits round the column, as shown in the preceding diagram. At present the
panel edges are abutted against the column flanges. Next a small clearance gap is
introduced by moving the relevant vertices using the explicit editing facilities.
156. To change from ‘create mode’ to ‘modify mode’, click the button and pick V5. Note
how its current settings are copied into the Vertex area at the bottom of the form (X, Y
and Radius text-boxes). To introduce a 10mm clearance, change the setting in the X
box by adding 10 (the axes, shown at the panel’s origin, are useful here for checking
directions in the panel’s coordinate system). Click the Modify button to confirm the new
setting.
157. Repeat the procedure from the previous step, adding or subtracting as necessary, to
move V6, V7 and V8 to give a 10mm clearance all round, noting that V6 and V7 must
be moved in both the X and Y directions.
158. Pick V6 and change the Radius setting from the default of zero to 15mm. Update the
V6 data to the new setting, then repeat the process for V7.
The final result is as shown:
V7 V6
P AN EL
V8 V5
(Set the view to Look>Down and zoom in to see this in detail. You might find it easier
to see the detail if you switch to wireline mode.)
V7 V6
P ANE L
RTOS
Move edge Move edge
TOS
LTOS
V1 V8 V5 V4
Exercise continues:
159. Still using the Loop Vertex Editor form, click the select edge to modify button in
the Mode Selection area and then pick a point on the panel near the edge between V4
and V5.
Notice how the upper part of the form now shows the current focus as Edge 4, while the
lower part shows the coordinates of the Start of the edge (i.e. V4) and the length of the
edge, thus:
Notice also that the controls in the Line area are now active (they were previously
greyed out). These are examples of how the form changes to suit current
circumstances.
160. By default, the next modification would be applied only to the Start position of the edge;
as shown by the Start option, and the fact that START is tagged in uppercase letters in
the 3D View (at the V4 end of the beam). You want to move the whole edge (that is,
you want to move V4 and V5 simultaneously), so change the option to Aligned, thus:
Set the Positioning Control to Pline Snap, pick the LTOS pline on the top outer edge
of the beam and then click the Modify button to move the panel edge to this position.
161. Select Settings>Tag edges from the Loop Vertex Editor menu. Repeat the method of
the previous steps to move Edge 8 (V8-V1) to the outer edge of its supporting beam.
162. Use the same process to move the non-abutting edges of all three panels to the outer
edges of their supporting beams (but do not modify any more edges to fit round
columns yet; other ways of doing this will be looked at later).
V3 V4
P AN EL
N EGATIVE
Panel V3 EXTR US ION
Panel V2
V2 V1
Note: Vertices V1-V4 in this diagram define the negative extrusion; their numbering is
independent of the panel vertices. (Negative extrusion vertices are shown in italic to
distinguish them from panel vertices.)
Notice how the outer edge of the negative extrusion (V1-V2) extends beyond the outer edge
of the panel to ensure that the hole always penetrates through the panel edge. Similarly, the
thickness of the negative extrusion should exceed the thickness of the panel to ensure that
the hole always penetrates completely through the panel.
Exercise continues:
163. You will create the negative extrusion where a column passes through the midpoint of
the easternmost edge of the largest panel (that is, at the opposite end of the structure
from the vertices added in Tailoring Panel Edges by Editing Individual Vertices).
Navigate to that panel (which should be PANEL 3 in the Design Explorer) and select
Create>Negative Extrusion…. The Create Negative Extrusion form (similar to the
Create Panel form which you used earlier) is displayed.
164. To see the negative extrusion volume in the graphical view when you create it, select
Settings>Graphics>Representation and clear the Holes Drawn check box. Select
the Update all Graphics check box and OK the change.
165. To achieve the correct justification and orientation for the negative extrusion relative to
its owning panel, click the Surface button in the Settings area of the form, then pick
the upper face of the panel.
Note: To get a better view, zoom in close to the panel and the column of interest and look
along (and slightly above) the panel.
The hole will penetrate into (or, in your case, through) the panel thickness from this
surface.
166. Set Hole Depth (equivalent to the thickness of the negative extrusion) to 250. This
large depth will make it easy to see the volume of the negative extrusion once you have
created it: a depth slightly greater than the panel thickness would normally suffice,
since the application automatically adds 1mm to ensure that the hole always cuts
through the referenced panel surface.
The settings should now be as shown:
167. Using any combination of the methods which you used to create and modify panel
vertices (see Creating Simple Panels and Tailoring Panel Edges by Editing Individual
Vertices), create the four vertices needed to define the required hole round the column,
as shown in the preceding diagram. For ease of positioning, align V1 and V2 with the
outer face of the column (although any position beyond the panel edge would be
satisfactory). Introduce a clearance of 10mm round the column and set the radii of the
two vertices within the panel area to 15mm.
Note that the origin plane of the negative extrusion is its bottom face, as shown by the
positions of the graphical aids when you are creating and modifying its vertices.
168. When created, the negative extrusion will appear as an outline volume superimposed
on the design in the graphical view. If you have positioned it correctly, its upper face will
just protrude from the top face of the panel, as shown:
Look>West: Look>North:
Negative Negative
extrusion extrusion
V2 V1 Panel V3 V2
(If not, use the Position>Relatively (BY) menu option to move the negative extrusion
vertically to a position where it cuts both faces of the panel.)
169. To see the result of applying the negative volume represented by the negative
extrusion to the positive volume of the panel, revert to Holes Drawn On
representation. Notice how the negative extrusion creates a hole only through its
owning panel; it does not affect the column.
Note: The effects of the Holes Drawn setting on the Representation form:
• When Holes Drawn is Off, negative volumes are shown as outline shapes in the
graphical view and can be picked using the pointer (you must pick a visible edge, not
an invisible surface). Their effect of removing material from positive (solid) items in the
design is not shown. Use this mode when explicitly creating or modifying a negative
item.
• When Holes Drawn is On, negative volumes are not shown explicitly in the graphical
view and cannot be picked using the pointer (although you can still navigate to them
using the Design Explorer as normal). Only their effect on positive volumes through
which they pass is visible. Use this mode for normal design work to view a realistic 3D
representation of the design model.
That concludes the addition of simple panels to the structural framework, including two
methods for representing holes in the panels where they fit round structural members. In the
next part of the guide, you will look at ways of adding predefined catalogue fittings to panels.
In this chapter the concept of Panel Fittings is introduced and then such a fitting is
incorporated into the design to represent a manhole giving access through a floor plate.
A panel fitting is positioned relative to its owning panel’s origin by setting its Position (POSI)
attribute and is orientated about an axis perpendicular to the panel by setting its Beta Angle
(BANG) attribute. It can be justified to align its origin plane with the top face, centre plane, or
bottom face of the panel by setting its Justification (SJUS) attribute. As an example, a
stylised manhole might be defined like this:
Z
Beta Angle defines
orientation about Z axis
Positive volume
representing lid Origin Plane
X
determines justification
Negative volume relative to panel
representing hole
through panel Origin
When you create a new panel fitting, it is positioned automatically at the origin of its owning
panel. You can then move it to the required position in any of the standard ways.
Select the Specification for Standard Access, Access Cover, Standard Manhole
Access, ACCESS_COVER (probably the only item in the list).
Set the Justification to Top outwards. These options let you specify the panel plane
(top, centre or bottom) to be used as the alignment datum and the orientation of the
fitting relative to this plane, as shown:
171. By default, the fitting will be positioned at the origin of its owning panel (as shown by
the Position field). We will position it by eye, using the pointer. Click the ‘Pick
Position’ button , set the Positioning Control to either Graphics Snap or Graphics
Cursor, and pick a point somewhere near the centre of the panel area. OK the Pick
Fitting Position form to transfer the coordinates of the picked position to the Create
Panel Fitting form, then Apply the latter to create the fitting. The new panel fitting is
shown in the Design Explorer as a PFITTING owned by the PANEL.
172. With the PFIT as your current element, select Orientate>ß Angle>90 Degrees to
rotate the fitting within the plane of the panel. (The default orientation has the Beta
Angle set to zero.)
173. To see the effects of changing the justification, select Modify>Fitting and, on the
resulting Modify Panel Fitting form, try each of the Justification options in turn. Zoom
in and look at both faces of the panel to see how the negative part of the fitting creates
the necessary access hole. Reset whichever justification you think is most appropriate
before dismissing the form.
Note: Sections can also own Fittings (FITTs rather than PFITs in this case) which can serve
a similarly wide range of purposes. You will not look explicitly at these in the exercise,
but similar principles apply to their creation and manipulation. You may want to
experiment with these yourself by switching to the Beams & Columns application:
see Some Standard Fittings for some examples. Note that such a fitting is positioned
along its owning section by setting its distance from the section’s start (the
Zdistance).
More complex fittings may be represented by Compound Fittings, each of which can
own a set of Subfittings. You will see an example of how these may be used when you
look at Penetrations in the next chapter.
Several of the design applications include the concept of a Penetration to allow one or
more items to pass through another such that there is a logical link between the penetrating
and penetrated items (in contrast to, say, a negative extrusion which can be positioned and
dimensioned independently of any item which passes through it or through which it passes).
In this chapter you will use this facility to show yet another way of creating a hole in a panel
where a section passes through it.
For information on Penetration and Hole Management refer to Introduction to Common
Functionality.
FITT owned
ATTA owned by Section
by Branch
SBFI
by CMPF; SBFI
CMPF by CMPF;
Panel by panel CMPF
Branch Section Panel by panel
(These diagrams show only single penetrations, where each CMPF owns just one SBFI. For
a multiple penetration, each CMPF would own one SBFI for each penetrating pipe or
section.)
For your present purposes, you will consider only the case of a structural section passing
through a panel, so you will be concerned with specifying a FITT and a SBFI for each
penetration.
Negative
Vertices
extrusion
fitted round PANEL 1 PANEL 2 PANEL 3
column
Penetration
to go here
U
N
E
You will now add a penetration, as indicated in the above diagram, to allow the column to
pass through the corner of Panel 1.
Exercise continues:
174. You can create a penetration for a section through a panel either from the Beams &
Columns application or from the Panels & Plates application. From either application,
the penetrating item will be dominant in determining the penetration’s position and
geometry; that is, whether it is the section or the panel which is to be regarded as the
owner of the penetration. Here you want the penetration to be owned by the section.
Change to the Beams & Columns application.
175. Select Utilities> Penetrations…. This starts the Panels Penetration subapplication,
whose menu bar is displayed in addition to the existing Beams & Columns
Application menu. Both menus are active: one gives access to the general steelwork
design functions, the other accesses those functions specific to penetration design.
176. From the Panels Penetration Application menu bar select Create>Penetration…
then select Steel Penetration. The Create Section Penetrations form displays.
This form requires you to specify four types of data:
• Whether the penetration is to allow for a single penetrating item or for multiple
items.
• How you want to identify the panel(s) through which the penetration is to pass (the
penetrated items).
• How you want to identify the section(s) which are to pass through the penetration
(the penetrating items).
• The default specification of the catalogue penetration which is to be used (the first
penetration in the selected specification will be used by default).
Set the Penetration Type option to Single Penetration.
Set both the Elements to be penetrated and Elements that penetrate options to Pick
using cursor, showing that you will identify each item individually by picking it in the
graphical view.
Set the Defaults: Spec. option to Penetrations.
Select the Confirm before penetrating check box and click Apply. You will be
prompted to ‘Identify item to be penetrated’. Pick the panel and Escape the next
prompt. When prompted to ‘Identify items that penetrate’, pick the column and Escape
the next prompt. Check that the picked intersection point is correct, as tagged in the 3D
view, and confirm the creation of the penetration.
177. The Penetration Item List form is displayed automatically so that you can complete
the specification of the penetration elements. It shows all data settings relevant to the
penetrating item (FITT) and the penetrated item (or hole; SBFI).
The upper scrollable list acts as a specific Design Explorer for the rapid selection of,
and navigation to, elements relevant to penetrations. It displays the penetrating and
penetrated items in a hierarchic (indented) format. Leave the Show option set to Items.
The List option controls how the hierarchy is sorted. Since your penetration is owned
by the section rather than by the panel, the options work as follows: Penetrating Items -
Owner lists all FITTs for each section; Penetrating Items - Attached lists all FITTs for
each panel (grouped by CMPF):
(You have only a single penetration, so the difference here is less significant than when
you have several penetrations.) Select Penetrating Items - Owner.
The middle list, labelled Penetrating Item, shows the relevant attribute settings for the
current FITT (as selected in the upper list). It is in this list that you select the settings
which you want to modify.
The lower list, labelled Hole Information, shows the relevant attribute settings for the
SBFI which is referenced from the current FITT. This data is shown for reference only;
you will see how to modify it later.
Select the Navigate on selection check box. Any item picked in the upper list will then
automatically become the current element in the Design Explorer.
178. You have only one FITT which you can modify, so select this in the upper list. Its
relevant attribute settings appear as follows:
You want to set the specification, so select SpecRef in this list (the > symbol shows that
this is an editable entry). The Modify Fitting form is displayed.
From the list of fitting specifications displayed, select Steel Sections, Steel Sections,
Rectangular, PENI/RECT. Set the Justification to NAL or NAR (it does not matter
which). The Zdist(ance), which determines the position of the fitting along its owning
section, is set automatically from the calculated penetration coordinates; leave this
value as it appears. Leave the Beta Angle (which determines the orientation of the
fitting about the section) at the default value of 0.
179. Click the Properties... button. The resulting Modify Properties form allows you to set
the local geometry for the fitting (similar to the way in which you specified joint details
previously). Set the X-Clearance and Y-Clearance to 20 so that the fitting extends
beyond the section extremities by 20mm in each direction. Leave the X-Offset and Y-
Offset set to zero, so that the fitting is centred on the section’s neutral axis. OK these
settings and Apply the Modify Fitting form.
When you have finished setting the specification for the FITT, Dismiss the Penetration
Item List form and its associated forms.
180. Having fully specified the part of the penetration which relates to the penetrating
section (the FITT), you must now do the same for the part which relates to the
penetrated panel (the CMPF and its SBFI).
Navigate to the panel and select Modify>Penetrations from the Steelwork
Penetration Application menu. The resulting Penetration Display form allows you to
specify whether you want to modify penetrating or penetrated items: select List
Penetration Holes and click Apply. The Penetration List form displays. This is very
similar to the Penetration Item List form which you used in the preceding step, except
that the lists are now based on the CMPF and SBFI data rather than the FITT data. The
upper ‘navigation’ lists now look as shown, so the owner/attached definitions have
been reversed when compared with the equivalent lists shown previously:
Note: The middle list now shows Hole Information ready for modification, while the lower
list now shows Penetrating Item data for the referenced FITT.
181. Select the SBFI in the upper list. Before you modify the SBFI’s specification, you need
to ensure that it is correctly aligned with the FITT from which it is to derive some of its
settings. To do this, select Position>Align with ref. from the Steelwork Penetration
Application menu.
182. Select SpecRef in the middle list to display the Modify Panel Fitting form. Set the
specification to Hole Penetrations, Hole Penetrations, Rectangular, PENH/FITT/
RECT2.
Click the Properties... button to display the Modify Properties form for the dimensions
of the hole. Although you could set Xlength and Ylength explicitly to match those of
the penetrating item, there is an easier way of doing this by copying the data
automatically from the referenced item (namely the FITT). Leave all properties at their
default values of zero and OK/Apply the forms to set the SpecRef.
183. From the Steelwork Penetration Application menu, select Modify>Copy like ref.
The effect is to change the attributes of the current SBFI to match the corresponding
settings of the FITT to which it refers. In this case, the effect is to set the X and Y
dimensions of the SBFI to be compatible with those of the FITT. To check this, look at
the Ref Data settings shown in the Hole Information list on the Penetration List form:
184. Close all of the forms relating to penetrations, select Holes Drawn (from
Settings>Graphics>Representation...) and zoom in for a close inspection of the new
penetration. Save your design changes to conclude this part of the exercise.
In the next part of the exercise, you will look at some ways of checking the design model
and outputting some design data derived from the database settings.
To ensure maximum design integrity, the structural applications allow you to check the data
in several ways so that any potential mistakes are drawn to your attention. In this chapter
you will look at one of these checking facilities, namely the method of checking for clashes
(spatial interferences) between design elements.
Finally, you will look at three ways of outputting design data derived from the structural
model: the generation of a tabulated report showing the material required to build the design
(categorised by section profile); the analysis of some mass properties of the steelwork
members (centre of gravity, surface area and weight calculations); and the creation of a plot
showing the structural layout.
Note: The facilities which you will be using here are available from both the Beams &
Columns and the Panels & Plates applications (from all design applications, in fact),
so it does not matter which application you are currently using.
• A touch: the primitives either overlap by less than the amount needed to cause a clash
or are separated at their closest point by less than a specified distance. This may
simply mean that one item is resting upon another as intended, or it may indicate a
problem.
• A clearance: the primitives are separated at their closest point by more than the
amount necessary to constitute a touch but less than a specified clearance distance.
This represents a near miss, which you may want to investigate.
These three classes are illustrated below for the clash specifications:
overlap > 5mm overlap < 5mm gap < 2mm 2mm < gap < 8mm
Exercise continues:
185. You will start by using the defaults for all clash checking settings. To see what these
are, select Settings>Clasher>Defaults… to display the Clash Defaults form. Think
about the meaning of each setting shown (refer to the preceding introduction; ignore
the reference to ‘Branch’, which relates to piping designs only); then Cancel the form.
186. You will check the westernmost panel (PANEL 1) for clashes against all other elements
in the test framework. The default obstruction list (all elements in the current design
database) will include the regular structure created in Quick Way to Build a Regular
Structure, so you must edit the list to remove this. To do so, select
Settings>Clasher>Obstruction>List…. The Add/Remove Obstruction Items form
is displayed. Remove All current entries and then Add the framework /TESTFRMW.
187. Navigate to the panel which you want to check (by clicking on it in the display, or in the
Design Explorer, or in the Add/Remove Obstruction Items form) and select
Utilities>Clashes…. This displays the Clash Display form. The left-hand side of this
form controls the clash checking process; the right-hand side consists of a 3D view in
which you can look in detail at any clashes diagnosed.
188. Select Control>Check CE from the form’s menu bar to run the clash checking process
and, when completed, study the Clash List which shows all clashes found.
You will see a hard-hard (HH) clash at both points where the panel has a column
passing through it, and a hard-hard touch where the panel rests on each of its seven
supporting beams and where it abuts the adjacent panel. To see a summary of all
clashes found, select Query>Clash>Summary… from the form’s menu. The resulting
Summary form shows the total number of clashes in each category:
Note: In particular, that there are no clashes where the panel has been modified to fit round
the columns.
189. To study any clash in detail, select the corresponding line in the Clash List and then
select Query>Clash>Detail…. The resulting Clash Detail form shows the extent of the
clash, the identities of both the clashing and obstruction items, and the calculated
position at which the clash was diagnosed.
Notice how the clashing items are highlighted in different colours in the graphical view.
To change these colours, display the Clash Defaults form again and choose the
colours you want to use.
190. Experiment with some of the other options on the Clash Display menus and then close
the form.
Note: If the Auto Clash button is selected: , each new element that you create is
checked immediately for clashes as the design is built up. This can slow down
progress when you are adding many new elements, but is very useful when you want
to add a few new items to an existing design which has already been checked for
clashes.
Exercise continues:
191. Select Utilities>Reports>Run… to initiate the reporting process. This displays the File
Browser listing all files in the current reporting directory (specified by your System
Administrator as part of the project setting-up procedure).
192. Select the ...\REPORTS\TEMPLATES directory by clicking on it in the Sub-directories
window. All files with a .tmp suffix are report templates.
193. Select steel_mto.tmp, which has been designed to produce a material take-off report
for steelwork sections.
194. Click OK on the File Browser.
The Report Details form that displays requires you to specify:
• where the report is to appear
• what part of the database hierarchy is to be read when extracting the required types
of data.
195. Complete the Report Details form as follows:
• Leave the Filename text box empty (this sends the report automatically to the
screen)
• In the Hierarchy text box, enter /TESTFRMW (this lists the material take-off for the
whole of the design model).
• Click OK to run the report.
The tabulated report output will be displayed in a Command Output window which is
opened automatically.
This report shows the total cut length for each of the steel profiles used in the design
and the number of lengths into which each profile is divided. (Do not worry if part of the
heading seems inappropriate for your project; this wording is written into the template
simply as an example of the type of heading which you might want to use.)
Exercise continues:
196. You will specify the same material for all structural items (sections, joints, fittings,
panels etc.). Navigate to the subframework TESTSBFR and then select
Modify>Material… from the main menu. The Set Material form displays listing all
available material specifications in the Properties database.
197. Leave the option set to CE and select the Cascade Material to all offspring check
box. (The latter will set the MatRef for all elements below the current subframework to
the selected material automatically.)
198. From the Materials list, select GR275 (density 7850.00 Kg/M3) and click Apply. The
whole framework will be highlighted in the graphical view to show that all design
elements have been selected for modification to the selected material. Confirm the
change.
199. Select Query>Mass Properties…. The Mass Properties form displays which allows
you to make all necessary calculations based on the current material density.
• Set the upper option to CE (still at subframework level),
• Set the Results option to Gross,
• Click Apply.
The calculated gross surface area, volume and mass for the whole subframework is be
shown in the Mass Properties list, together with the position of the centre of gravity.
The centre of gravity will also be tagged in the graphical view.
200. Change the Results option to Net, select the Append to list check box (so that you
can compare the next result with the existing one in the list), and click Apply again.
Note the difference between the calculated net and gross weights; this small difference
is due to the material removed for joint allowances, panel cut-outs, etc.
201. Set the upper option to Pick, click Apply, and perform similar calculations for individual
items or groups of items which you pick using the pointer. (Use Esc to terminate each
picking sequence in the usual way.)
Exercise continues:
In order for the drawing facilities to apply the correct rules for representing structural items,
you must set a design attribute which will tell the drawing module how to interpret the design
data. The attribute used for this purpose is the Function attribute of the parent Zone.
202. Navigate to the Zone which you created as /TESTZONE and select
Modify>Attributes…. The Modify Attributes form displays listing the current settings
for the Zone. The Function attribute will probably say unset; it is this setting which you
need to change.
Select the Function line in the list. A small Function form displays showing the current
setting. Edit the text to replace unset by Steelwork. OK/Apply the changes.
You must now switch from the DESIGN module, which you have been using to create
the design model, to the DRAFT drawing module.
203. Select Design>Modules>Draft>Macro Files.
The DRAFT applications loads and the screen changes to show the DRAFT General
menu bar and tool bar, and an empty 2D view window, the Main Display, (analogous to
the 3D View which you have been using in DESIGN):
You must next set up an administrative hierarchy to define how plots are to be stored
(in a real project this would probably have been done for you already). The parts of the
hierarchy with which you are concerned here are as follows:
DEPARTMENT
(DEPT)
REGISTRY LIBRARY
(REGI) (LIBY)
DRAWING LIBRARY
(DRWG) (LIBY)
VIEW
208. Check that the Create Registry check box on the Department Information form is
selected and OK this form. The Create REGI form displays.
209. Name the Registry STRUCREGI and click OK. This displays the Registry Information
form.
210. Click Attributes... to see a Registry Attributes form. Note that all attribute settings for
the Registry have been copied from its owning Department (any individual attribute
cascaded in this way can be overwritten at a lower level if required). Dismiss the
Registry Attributes form.
211. In the Registry Information form:
• Select the Create Drawing check box
• Select Explicitly.
• Click OK.
212. In the Create DRWG form now displayed, name the Drawing STRUCDRWG and click
OK. In the displayed Drawing Definition form, enter the Title as Structural View. Note
that the Date and Drawn By entries are derived automatically from your system log-in
data.
213. Click Apply, then Dismiss.
That completes the setting up of the drawing administration hierarchy; you are now in a
position to define the content of a drawing sheet ready for viewing and plotting.
214. Select Create>Sheet>Explicitly… and OK the Create SHEET form. The Main
Display view shows the backing sheet specified earlier.
215. In the Sheet Definition form now displayed all settings have been cascaded down
from Department level. Click Apply, then Dismiss.
The detailed design data, extracted directly from the Design database, is applied to the
sheet in the form of individually defined Views.
216. Select Create>View>User-defined… and OK the resulting form. A User-defined
View form is displayed, and a default rectangle is added to the Main Display to show
where the design data for this view will be plotted.
217. You will plot a single view on the sheet, so you will first resize the default view area to
fill the available space. Select Frame>Size>Cursor from the User-Defined View
menu and, when prompted, pick points just inside the top-left and bottom-right corners
of the drawing area within the backing sheet layout.
218. On the User-defined View form:
• Enter the Title as ISO3 View;
• Set the View Type to Global Hidden Line;
• Set the Direction to ISO3 (select this using the the middle Direction options list).
219. The part(s) of the design model which are to be plotted are specified by means of a
drawlist. Select Graphics>Drawlist… from the User-Defined View menu to display
the Drawlist Management form. In the Reference List Members list, navigate to the
subframework holding the design model (/TESTSBFR) and click the Add button to add
it to the drawlist. Dismiss the Drawlist Management form.
220. You must now set the drawing scale so that the plotted model representation fits
sensibly into the area available on the sheet. Click the Auto Scale button on the User-
Defined View form. The precisely calculated scale is displayed in the adjacent text-
box.
221. To modify this to the nearest smaller standard scale, click the Nearest button. The
chosen standard scale will now be displayed (e.g. 1/200). Click Apply to implement the
new scale calculation.
222. The final settings in the User-defiend View form should look similar to that shown:
223. Select the Update Design button and click Apply to plot the drawlist element(s) in the
Main Display at the chosen scale:
This is as far as you go with DRAFT in this exercise. The full range of 2D drafting facilities
available is extensive, allowing you to add dimensioning and labelling data derived directly
from the design model, and to add any other specific 2D annotation which you require.
In the next, and final, chapter, you will look at some of the facilities available for creating and
modifying some nonlinear structural design elements.
So far you have built your design model entirely from straight steelwork sections. In this final
chapter you will add some nonlinear sections.
In order to provide some reference points for use when routing a curved section, you will
construct a temporary working grid.
End POINSP
CURVE
PROFILE
CURVE
The Beams & Columns application menu provides options for creating two versions of the
GENSEC:
A ring section, restricted to an arc of a circle (up to a full circle), comprising two Spine
Points separated by a single Curve.
A more general curved section, comprising any number of Spine Points and Curves.
Looking Down:
End
Support
180º Existing
Ring diamond
Section bracing
Support
N Start
Looking East:
End End
Inset 100 Inset 100
Start
U
Existing
cross
N
bracing
Exercise continues:
224. In the Beams & Columns application, set the default profile specification to British
Standard, Equal Angle, 120x120x10.0, with Justification, Member Line and Joint
Line all set to NA.
225. Navigate to the Subframe element (TESTSBFR). From the main menu bar, select
Create>Sections>Ring…. The Ring Section form displays, the buttons on which
provide many different ways of specifying the section’s geometry.
You do not want to create a full circle, so click Circle Definition: Arc.
226. You will define the path of the section (the GENSEC’s Spine) by picking the two
positions at its ends plus a third point which specifies how the arc is directed (that is,
whether it curves towards the East or the West). The diameter of the circle will be
derived automatically from the distance between the first two positions. To do this, click
the ‘Derived diameter’ button (fourth button, second row).
227. To define the start of the ring section (prompt says ‘Define ... first point’), set the
Positioning Control to Pline, Distance 100 and pick near the southern end of the NA
pline of the beam (see figure at start of this section. You will probably need to unset the
232. Click the Derived arc passing through three points button .
Pick the three points defining the panel boundary as follows:
• First point: snap to one end of GENSEC.
• Second point: snap to mid-point of GENSEC.
• Third point: snap to other end of GENSEC.
Escape the next prompt. The 3D View shows a circle, half of which follows the ring
section, as a construction aid. Notice that, although you have only picked three
points, the message ‘4 vertices defined’ is shown. These vertices are positioned
thus:
V1 V4
First pick Third pick
V2 V3
Second pick
7
End
Start
Y
Grid
origin
X 6 12 20
N
= existing structure
= working grid (1000mm spacing)
E
= runway beam (curved section)
The upper face of the runway beam will, for convenience, be positioned against the lower
faces of the beams from which it is suspended. In practice, you would probably want to
interpose hangers or bolted flanges to support the runway beam.
To make it easier to position the points and curves defining the GENSEC’s spine, you will
first create a horizontal working grid as a working aid (as shown in the diagram).
Exercise continues:
233. Switch back to the Beams & Columns application. Select Utilities>Working Plane….
The resulting Working Plane form allows you to define a plane onto which all graphical
picks will be projected, with an optional grid superimposed on the plane to help you
position graphical picks without needing to refer to existing parts of the design model.
234. From the Working Plane form’s menu, select Define>Linear Grid…. The resulting
Working Plane - Linear Grid form allows you to define the number and spacing of the
grid lines, and the position and orientation of the grid’s plane. Set both the X and Y
Spacing to 1000 and enter the Number of visible lines as 40. (The grid behaves as
though it is of infinite size; this setting controls only the size of the grid shown in the 3D
View.)
235. The default position of the plane’s centre and its orientation are shown by the green
dotted-line square in the 3D View. Leave the Orientation as it is (Y is N, Z is U, X is E).
You want the elevation of the plane to be at the lower faces of the beams, so set the
Positioning Control to Pline, Intersect and pick the BOS plines for the two beams
which meet at the required origin (see preceding diagram). The Position should be East
0, North 0, Up 4696.6 (the latter is the height of the column less the depth of the beam).
236. Click the Preview button to see the grid in the 3D View. Select the Detail check box
and click Preview again to number the grid lines. OK the Working Plane - Linear Grid
form.
237. On the Working Plane form, select the Active and Visible check boxes (so that the
grid will be both effective and visible in the graphical view).
238. Select Working Grid Snap, which means that when you later pick positions on the
grid, the picked point will always snap to the grid intersection nearest to the pointer
position.
239. Select Control>Close from the Working Plane form’s menu to complete the
operation.
240. Set the default profile specification to British Standard, Joists, 203x152x52kg/m. Set
the Justification to TOS, so that the upper face of the runway beam will coincide with
the working plane and, therefore, with the undersides of the supporting beams. (See
generic type DINI in Some Standard Profiles for a diagram of a similar profile.)
241. Select Create>Sections>Curved…. The Curved Section form displays, the buttons
on which provide various ways of specifying the path of the section’s spine. Because
your section follows a complex path which does not conform to the simplified standard
geometry provided by most of the buttons, you will use a free-form definition which will
let you build up any sequence of spine points and curves.
243. You are now in event-driven graphics mode, ready to pick the sequence of positions
which will define the spine. Set the Positioning Control to Screen, Snap. Any pointer
pick you make will be projected onto the working plane and will then snap to the
nearest grid intersection point (remember that you set Working Grid Snap to On when
you defined the grid previously). If you make a mistake at any stage, the Undo button
on the Curved Section form lets you delete one or more points in reverse order.
244. With reference to the grid coordinates, pick position (X0, Y2) to define the start (origin)
of the GENSEC.
Set the Radius to 2000 and pick (X4, Y2) to define the position of the first curve.
With Radius still set to 2000, pick the following positions, in this order: (X4, Y6), (X8,
Y6), (X8, Y2), (X18, Y2), (X18, Y6), (X20, Y6). When you pick the last position, you will
be warned that it is not possible to fit in a curve with 2000 radius so close to the
preceding position and will be asked if this represents the end point: click Yes to
complete the operation. Close the Curved Section form.
7
End
Start
1 4 5
Y
0
6 12 20
X
= original path
= modified path
1 = curve number (at new fillet position)
245. Check that the new GENSEC is the current element and select
Modify>Sections>Definition…. The Modify Section (Curved) form displays which
allows you to edit the position and/or radius for each individual point/curve in the spine.
246. Set the first Spine Point option to Start and pick the new start position at (X0, Y1). Click
the Modify button to implement the move.
247. Change the first Spine Point option to Curve and set the second Spine Point option
(up/down arrows) to 1. Move Curve 1 to (X4, Y1), leaving its Radius set to 2000.
Note: The graphical aids show the position and radius of the current and adjacent curves
as you modify the spine shape. The X and Y Attributes on the Modify Section
(Curved) form show the coordinates relative to the GENSEC’s origin (start), not in
terms of the working grid positions.
248. Move Curve 4 to (X8, Y1) and change its Radius to 3000.
249. Select Curve 5 and change the third Spine Point option from Fillet to Centre:
Notice how the graphical aid now shows the radius centre at (X16, Y4) instead of the
radius fillet at (X18, Y2). Move the centre to (X15, Y4), press Modify, then change the
Radius to 3000.
The latter operation illustrates the two ways of specifying a curve’s position:
Fillet position
Radius
Centre position
250. Repeat the clash checks which you carried out on the earlier version of the design
model in Checking for Clashes. Think about the reasons for the extra clashes which
are diagnosed for the current design.
251. Save your design changes and exit from PDMS.
11.5 Conclusion
This concludes both the tutorial exercise and this introduction to some of the ways in which
PDMS and AVEVA applications can help you in your structural design work. You should now
have an insight into the potential power of PDMS and sufficient confidence to explore some
of the more advanced options on your own.
For further technical details, refer to the sources of information listed in the last appendix.
If you have not already done so, you are strongly advised to attend one or more of the
specialised PDMS training courses, which will show you how to get the maximum benefits
from the product in your own working environment (see Further Training in the Use of
PDMS).
The part of the DESIGN database hierarchy which holds structural elements is as follows
(elements in italics, e.g. RELEASE, are for analytical purposes only):
STRUCTURE
(STRU)
LOOP
PRIMARY JOINT PRIMARY COMPOUND JOINT (LOOP)
(PJOI) RELEASE NODAL LOAD (PCOJ)
(RELE) (NOLO) VERTEX
GENERIC SECTION NODAL DISPLACEMENT SUBJOINT (VERT)
(GENSEC) (SUBJ)
(NODI)
SUBJOINT(SUBJ)
This appendix gives a much-simplified introduction to the way the structural catalogue is
used in creating the design model and lists the principal features of some standard
catalogue components to which you may want to refer when creating your design model.
(For full details of the way in which the catalogue is built up and used, see the Catalogue
and Specifications Reference Manual.)
referenced PKEYs use the following naming conventions (each profile uses only a subset of
these):
NA Neutral axis
Column Flange:
c
Co lu m n We b:
c
a
d
d
b
D i s t fro m TOS = a
D i s t fro m B OS = b N o tc h D e p th = d
Th k o f P lt = c
B o lte d We b:
4M20_bo lte d _w e b_c le a ts
a Le n g th o f c le a ts = a
a Le n g th o f c le a ts = a
We ld e d S e a t:
Ex te n s io n Wid th o f B o tto m An g le = a
Single Clearance:
Radius of Rathole = a
Double Clearance:
Flush_p_cutback:
a
Radius of Rathole = a
Flush_p_cutback_with_snipe:
a
Radius of Rathole
a
D ia o f B o lt = a
30mm_thick_user_defined_baseplate:
Depth of Plt = a
Width of Plt = b
a Bolt wrt Depth = c
Bolt wrt Width = d
Dia of Bolt = e
d d
b
b 1st Row = a
2nd Row = b
3rd Row = 0
(in this example)
B.5.1 Stiffeners
a short length = a
long length = b
b
d
e
Height of Pad Eye = a
Width of Pad Eye = b
Vertical Distance = c
c a Shape Radius = d
Hole Radius = e
Pad Eye Thickness = f
(not shown)
This guide serves purely as an introduction to those parts of PDMS most relevant to
structural design. Therefore, it describes only the main concepts needed to get you started.
Documents that can provide you with further information are listed below.
D Sample Plots
This appendix comprises some examples of typical (though relatively simple) plots showing
the sorts of structural designs which may be created using PDMS with the AVEVA structural
applications.
A restoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:1
Distance
Application measuring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:4
Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:1 Draft applications
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2:1 loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:6
loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:1 Draft database hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . 10:7
Attachment Draft module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:6
pipe penetrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:1 Drag
panel edge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:7
B Drawing sheet, Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:9
Bracing
creating individual members . . . . . . . 6:3 E
creating standard configurations . . . 6:7 Edge
modifying bracing gaps . . . . . . . . . . 6:4 definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:2
dragging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:7
C picking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:6
End position
Catalogue database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:1 definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:1
Centre of gravity calculations . . . . . . . . 10:5 identifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5:4
Clash Escape key/button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:15
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:1 Event-driven graphics mode . . . . . . . . 4:10
Clash checking
checking process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:2
clash limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:2 F
extent of clash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:1 Fillet radius
obstruction levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:1 definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:2
obstruction list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:2 setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:7
principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:1 Fitting
Clash limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:2 section penetrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:1
Clashing extent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:1 Forms and display
Clearance restoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:1
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:2 Function attribute
Collection See List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:16 setting for Draft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:6
Compound panel fitting
penetrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:1
Copying
G
mirror option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6:5 Generic Section (GENSEC)
offset option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4:17 definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:1
Curve GENSEC
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:1 definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:1
Curved section Geometry set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B:1
creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:5 Graphical view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4
definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:1 Gross weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:5
modifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11:6
H
D
Hard obstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:1
Database hierarchy Holes
Draft data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:7 negative extrusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7:9
Density . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10:5 penetrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9:1
Design Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3:4
Design parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B:1
Display