Mesh Parts, Properties, and Materials

Mesh parts, properties, and materials are retrieved through the design model, and are found under Properties set.
 

2D Property - Plate
  A 2D property entity manages material and grade as well as thickness attributes.

Only one user-defined material is created per combination of material and grade.
 
  In the dialog boxes below, you can see how the 2D properties are retrieved from the design model and applied to the analysis model.
 
 

1D Property - Beam and Pillars, Stiffener, Stiffener on Free Edge
  A 1D property carries information for 1D mesh such as material, orientation, and section parameters. (The section parameters are retrieved form the section catalog.)

Any section coming from the design model is mapped to the User-defined beam type.

Click the button beside the Type field, and the Beam Definition dialog box displays.
 

About Section Parameters
The Axis definition in the design model is different from the one used in the analysis model. The mapping described below is used to place the values of the parameters stored in the section document on to the Beam Definition parameters.
 

For more information on Analysis section parameters, see the Generative Structural Analysis User Guide.
  List of Parameters

The required parameters are shown with sample values in the image below.

The following list describes these parameters.

Parameter

Description

Ix

Moment of Inertia along X axis. (Strong Axis)

Iy

Moment of Inertia long Y axis. (Weak Axis)

J

Torsional constant of the cross-section

These components of inertia matrix should be expressed with respect to the principal axis. (Diagonal Matrix of Inertia)

Shear Centerx

x-coordinate of the shear center in the section axis, centered at the center of the gravity of the section

Shear Centerx

y-coordinate of the shear center in the section axis, centered at the center of the gravity of the section

Shear Factorzx

Ratio between the cross-sectional area (A) and the shear area (Ax), area section which works in shearing in the ZX-pane (case of a short beam). As defined, this ratio should be superior to one.

Shear Factoryz

Ratio between the cross-sectional area (A) and the shear area (Ay), area section which works in shearing in the YZ-pane. As defined, this ratio should be superior to one.

COG_x

Center of Gravity; x component

COG_y

Center of Gravity; y component

COG_z

Center of Gravity; z component

PrincipalMomentofInertia_FirstAxis_x

First PMI; x component

PrincipalMomentofInertia_FirstAxis_y

First PMI; y component

PrincipalMomentofInertia_FirstAxis_z

First PMI; z component

PrincipalMomentofInertia_SecondAxis_x

Second PMI; x component

PrincipalMomentofInertia_SecondAxis_y

Second PMI; y component

PrincipalMomentofInertia_SecondAxis_z

Second PMI; z component
 

Obtaining the Section Parameters
  To obtain the section parameters while preparing the section catalog, you can:
  • use the Standard Steel tables. (Note that the Principal Moment of Inertia is sometimes referred to as Iu/Iv.)
  • use the Generative Structural Analysis workbench to obtain the section parameters expressed in the principal axis of the beam. (The axis where the matrix is diagonal.)
  • use the Manage Section CATPart command.
  Using Generative Structural Analysis workbench
 

1.

 In the Generative Shape Design workbench, create a face from the sketch of a section.
 

2.

 Go to the Generative Structural Analysis workbench, and click the 1D Property button .

The 1D Property dialog box displays.
 

3.

Select Beam from Surface from the Type drop down list, and click the Component Edition button .

The Beam Definition dialog box displays.
 

4.

 Select the Compute and display checkbox to compute and display the required section parameters for a given surface.

Click OK and the Computed Values dialog box displays.
 

 
 

 

 Refer to these computed values to obtain the section parameters.
 

5.

 Similarly, to obtain the COG and Axis Value information, refer to the Axis Values tab, as shown in the image below.
 

 

 For more information about Analysis Section Parameters, see the Generative Structural Analysis user's guide.

Note: Each 1-D mesh part (profile, beam, stiffener, etc.) can be oriented via one geometry only. It may cause some confusion in case orientation of the beam changes along its support. (for example, stiffener on a free edge). this is a FMS limitation.
  Managing Section CATPart
  1. You can generate the required section parameters for analysis by using the Manage Section CATPart command.
Note: You need an ELFINI Structural Analysis (EST) license to use the Manage Section CATPart command to view the section parameters for analysis.
  2. Load your resolved sections.
  3. In your Product workbench, drag the command to your toolbar.

You can find the command using the Customize option in the Tools menu.
 

4.

 Click the Manage Section CATPart button to display the Manage Section CATPart dialog box.

Selected Object displays the section names. Click the Elements list button to remove or replace the objects in the list.
  5. In the Operations list, select one of the following:
  • Check Section CATPart: The Manage Section Report displays the existing value, if any, versus the computed value of the parameters.
  • Fix Section CATPart: The missing parameters are added to the CATPart, as shown in the Manage Section Report. You can also see these added in the specification tree. Save the CATPart.

 

Check Section CATPart  Fix Section CATPart

This report can be imported into a .xls file (delimited by comma) and can be used for design table of sections.
 

Orientation Geometry - Beam and Pillars, Stiffener, Stiffener on Free Edge
 

 

 To orient a 1D section properly, the local xyz vector is defined so that the x-axis goes along the trace of the profile, while the y-axis is the major component of the principal moment of inertia axis, and z-axis is computed accordingly.

Warning: If the Principal Moment of Inertia (PMI) axis is not provided as a section parameter, a default axis is designated (OrientationBodyERR_NO_PMI) as PMI and is added in the specification tree. As a result, the Y axis becomes normal to the web surface of the profile, which may not always be the correct orientation.
 

 

Offset - Beam and Pillars, Stiffener, Stiffener on Free Edge
 

 

 The Anchor point (including the U and V offsets) used in the design model is taken into account to valuate the fields on the Offset  Definition dialog box.

Click the button beside the Offset field on the 1D Property dialog box, and the Offset Definition dialog box displays.