Each element is assigned a Section. The Section properties are the following:
•Name (optional, max. number of characters in Name: 20)
•Area A - Essential property
•Moment of Inertia I - Essential property
The Area A and the Moment of Inertia I of the Section are important parameters affecting the Model Stiffness Matrix.
Add new Section
To add a new Section, type the Name (optional), Area A and Moment of Inertia I of the Section and click the "Add new Section" button.
Edit existing Section(s)
You can click on the table and you can easily edit the properties of an already existing Section. Any change you make is automatically reflected to the Model.
Select an existing Section
You can click on a row number to select one or more Sections. Then you can apply actions to the selected Sections, as shown in "Actions for selected Sections".
Section Properties Calculator
By clicking the "Calculator" button, a new form appears, as shown below. You can use the Section Properties Calculator to calculate the properties of various section shapes. The various section shapes are shown in the second figure below. The Calculator calculates various properties. The program needs only to take the Area A and Moment of Inertia I property.
•Click "Apply y-y" to apply the Area A and the Iy Moment of Inertia
•Click "Apply z-z" to apply the Area A and the Iz Moment of Inertia
The available sections are the following:
Actions for selected Sections
In order to perform these actions, you have to first select the entire row(s) of the corresponding Section(s) and then apply the action.
•Set as Default. Sets the selected Section as the Default Section. Any Elements drawn on the screen are assigned the Default Section.
•Duplicate Section(s). Click the "Duplicate" button. You can Duplicate more than one Sections at a time.
•Delete Section(s). Click the "Delete" button. You can Delete more than one Sections at a time.
Sections selection tools
This tab provides tools for the selection of Sections. For example, you can select (add to selection) or deselect (remove from selection) all the Sections that are assigned to Elements, or all the Sections that are NOT assigned to Elements.
