SuperMembers

A Super Member is a member made up of several element member segments. These are then treated as one structural element during design. Super members can greatly simplify a design by removing the constraint of an analytical element exclusively representing a structural element.

There are 3 types of Super-Members

1.Analysis Super-Members;

2.Design Super-Members;

3.Drafting Super-Members.

Each has it’s own advantages as described below.

In the frame below member M1-3 is a Super-Member consisting of members 1, 2 and 3.

Basic rules for defining a Super-Member

1.All Nodes must sequentially increase or decrease ie 1, 2, 3, 5, 67 but not 1, 2, 5, 67, 3.

2.All Member elements must sequentially increase or decrease ie 1, 2, 3, 5, 67 but not 1, 2, 5, 67, 3.

3.All Nodes/Members must lie on a straight line.

4.All Members must use the same section.

5.All Members must have the same Beta angle rotation.

MasterKey Concrete detects any Super Members defined in MasterFrame during frame generation.

Analysis Super-Member

1.All Loading is stored on the super-member.

2.All loading previously defined on the individual members will be placed correctly on the Analysis Super-Member when generated.

3.In-span deflections are calculated for the Analysis Super-Member.

4.Analysis Super-Members are automatically Design and Drafting Super-Members.

Tip: Steel and Composite beam Super-Members are best defined at Analysis time.

Design Super-Members

1.All Analysis Super-Members are automatically Design Super-Members.

2.Designs the members as one structural element.

3.Better than Analysis Super-Members for concrete design.

4.They just glue your BM/Ft and SF diagrams together.

5.Design Super-Members are automatically Drafting Super-Members

6.In-Span deflections are NOT calculated for Design Super-Members

7.Define in MasterFrame or at design time in MasterKey Concrete

Tip: Concrete beams are best defined as Design Super-Members. These are best defined inside MasterKey concrete. 

Drafting Super-Members

1.Not important in the Concrete program

Tip: Any drafting Super-Member will automatically use the same section size for each part during MasterKey automatic design. When you Auto Size a member it will automatically Auto Size all other parts of the drafting Super-Member.

Recommendations

We recommend that you use Design Super-Members and define these inside the MasterKey Concrete program.

Design Super-Members can also be used to simplify the detailing of short beams by gluing together several concrete members. It also gives better detailing control over short cantilever members.

Defining Super Members

Super members are defined in the same way that they are in MasterFrame using

   To insert a new super member

    Add a member to the current super member

    Find an existing super member definition