Adding Members in a Panel

The Add Members in a Panel function allows members to be quickly and easily added within a panel formed by bounding members. An example of this would be adding secondary members between primary members. The panel the members are added to is not restricted to be horizontal or vertical, nor does the panel have to be rectangular, but the panel form a planar surface and the boundary of the panel must be closed. It is possible to use dummy members to form the boundary. it is also possible to add members to a panel with curved members forming part of the boundary.

The Add member in a Panel menu provides a number of options with which it is possible to control the number of members added, the spacing of members, whether the members are evenly or irregularly spaced and the orientation of the members. Members can be inserted at a specific angle or automatically aligned to be parallel or perpendicular to one of the bounding members, selected by positioning the mouse pointer adjacent the relevant member.

To access the Add Members in a panel window, go to Create>Add Members in a Panel from the top menu. Once selected the Insert Members in a Panel  pane opens on the right hand side of the screen. This pane is shown below.

Member Section.

The member section to be added can be controlled by the member section tools. The section material can be and cross section type is controlled by a combination of the icons and drop downs at the top of the Define Members window. The icons give the following options:

Add a Steel Section:

To add a steel section, select the  icon. Once selected, the drop downs below the icons allow for the selection of the Section Type, Steel Grade and Section Size. The member beta angle orientation can be input in the text box. The layout of the steel drop downs is shown below.

Add a Concrete Section:-

To add a rectangular, square, round, L or Tee section, select the concrete icon.

Then click on the ‘Edit Concrete Section’ icon to open the area where the shape and size of the section can be defined. Save the section before positioning it in the frame.

The section size can be later amended using the Properties > Member Section Materials menu option.

Add a Timber Section:-

To add a rectangular, square or round section, select the timber icon.

Then click on the ‘Edit Timber Section’ icon to open the are where the shape and size of the section can be defined. The moduli, strength and service classes, etc can also be selected. Save the section before positioning it in the frame.

The section size, etc can be later amended using the Properties > Member Section Materials menu option.

In-Use:-

The In-Use option allows for the quick selection of a column section already in use in the model. Selecting the  icon, the drop down options now allow for the selection of any previously input member section.

The Define Section check box allows the define section options to be deactivated. In this case, a default 356x406 UC 634 S355 section is added.

Once members have been added to a model, they section properties can be edited through either the Properties>View Member Property Editor or the Properties>Member Section Materials functions.

Attributes

The attributes of the input beam section can be controlled through the Attributes section of the Insert Members in a Panel menu. The available options are as shown below.

Note: The Stiff Deck option applies the old style rigid member style stiff deck. This is based on modifying the member minor axis properties to make the member rigid laterally. This approach is less accurate than the semi-rigid style stiff deck method and is not compatible with the Finite Element module.

Member Group Options

The member viewing and design group options allow a column to be created and automatically added to a viewing group, a design group or to both. The relevant group can be selected form the drop down, if any viewing or design groups have already been created. Additional groups can be added by clicking on the  icon and inputting a group name or title in the text input box.

Spacing

The Spacing inputs gives control over the spacings and positions of the members being added. The Arrow at the right hand of the title can be used to expand or contract the spacing area, if required.

The beam spacing can be set as either regular or irregular. Both these options also interact with additional inputs below. With the Regular intervals option select, the Number of members to insert and Spacings of members options are active, while with the Irregular intervals option selected, only the lower Spacings input is active.

Regular intervals:

The regular intervals option is used to insert a number of member at a regular spacing. The spacing also controls the position of the first member relative to the members selected.

When inserting members, the number of members can be controlled either by specifying the number of members to be added or, alternatively, by specifying the spacing of the members. There are also options to fill to extents and to evenly space over the panel. These options also affect the required inputs needed. With the fill to extents option ticked, the number of beams to insert option is greyed out, while if the Evenly spaced over panel option is selected the Spacing of members option is greyed out.

To add a specific number of members are a defined spacing:

1.Set the number of members to insert by typing the required number in the input box

This will give a set number of members in the selected panel, with the first member located at the input spacing from the selected starting beam. The spacings from the end beam to the next member is controlled by the number of beams inserted and their spacing. If more beams are specified to be inserted than can be placed in the panel, the software will only add the number of beams that can fit.

To add a number of beams at equal spacings:

1.Set the number of beams to insert

2.Select the Evenly spaced over panel option.

This will insert the number of beams specified at an even spacing over the full panel, with the spacing being controlled by the dimensions of the panel and the number of beams.

To add beams at a specified spacing with the maximum number of beams:

1.Specify the desired spacing

2.Select the Fill to extents option

This will give the maximum number of beams over the panel that can be set at the input spacing, with the number of beams then being controlled by the panel dimensions and spacing.

Irregular intervals:

The irregular intervals are specified solely by the spacings inputs, which defines the gaps between the beams and hence also controls the number of beams. The spacings are input separated by semi-colons. The first input value defines the position of the first beam from the selected boundary member.

Member Direction

Member direction is concerned with the alignment of the members within the panel. The members added to the panel can be specified to be rotated relative to the global axes, aligned with a specific member in the model, or, alternatively, aligned parallel or perpendicular to one of the boundary members of the panel. When aligning to a boundary member in the parallel mode, it is also possible to specify that the setting out of the beam is used from the member opposite the selected boundary member.

The layout of the Member Direction area is shown below.

The Angle and Selected Member options allow for the selection of multiple panels. This is done by using the mouse pointer and windowing around the required area.

To apply a specific angle of rotation:

1.Select the Angle radio button

a)The corresponding Angle textboxes should now be enabled

2.Enter the angle in degrees you want to rotate the members by

To align members to an existing member:

1.Select the Selected member radio button

a)The Single checkbox should be enabled and activated

2.Click the member with which you want to align your members in the panel

The Align with nearest panel side options override the Angle or Selected member options, since the alignment of the beams to be inserted are now defined by the panel boundary members. Because the alignment of the members is determined relative to the members forming the boundary of the panel, each panel can be set up uniquely. Because of this, the Align with nearest panel side option can only be used to create an individual panel at a time, in a single select mode.

To align members to a boundary member:

1.Check the “Align with nearest panel side” box

2.Choose whether the members will be aligned parallel or perpendicular to the closest side

a)If parallel is selected, you can add the members starting from the opposite end of the panel by checking the “Measure from opposite side” box

Panel selection

Panels are selected graphically in the main graphics window by using the mouse pointer. When a valid boundary for a panel is detected, the panel boundary and the beams to be added are highlighted in cyan. When the Align with nearest panel side option has been selected, moving the mouse pointer to a boundary member will cause the alignment of the internal beams to be amended. The boundary member taken to be the selected member is the boundary member nearest the mouse pointer. On long narrow panels, this can mean one edge is picked as nearest over most of the length of the panel.

To add the members to the panel, click on the left mouse button. The new members will now appear in the panel.

With the new members added, the panel boundaries will now be modified for that area of the structure. This will be reflected in the change in the cyan borders. Care needs to be taken in case the mouse button is double-clicked, which can result in a new panel being formed. If this happens, using the Undo icon can remove the changes.

When using the Angle or Selected member options, using the mouse, it is possible to window around an area to Add Members in a Panel. Using the navigation tools, it is therefore possible to window into specific areas of a model and quickly add members to a specific area.