Beam/Column Levels

Up to 2020 version

From 2021 version - click on the grey button at the end of the cell to open the beam/column levels table shown above.

In multi-storey frames an additional tab is displayed in the Basic Data & Defaults area.  Here you set two sets of values for each column level as follows:

Top of beam Structural Level. In the analysis model all beams on a level are drawn through their centre lines.  While this is OK for analysis it is not good enough for detailing. It would cause the column reinforcement to stop and start at different levels for the same node level. See left hand sub-frame opposite.

To overcome this, the user should set the “Top of Beams Structural Level” for each node height. A typical level is the node height plus ½ the depth of the deepest beam on that level. This will then detail the columns as shown in the right hand sub-frame above.

Column Fcu below this level. This function allows you to define different concrete grades for the columns depending on the level of the column. In the above the top 3 lifts are 30 kN, the next 3 are 35 kN and the next 3 are 40 kN.