Definition of group names for grouping different properties, and definition of attribute sets for  properties of reinforcement steel. Groups are defined in the upper table of the input screen,  and attribute sets are defined and modified in the lower table.

• Group:  Definition of group names for grouping different properties.The groups are not  database objects but labels assigned to the different properties for better identification. The group name "Default" will be assigned if no groups are defined. Groups identifying material properties (assigned to material names) shall get the relevant creep, shrinkage and relaxation laws as direct parameters. These are then automatically assigned to the materials with assigning the group name.
• Attribute Sets: Reinforcement groups are defined as reference sets with respect to position and distribution in the cross-section (see Cross section definition) Attribute Sets are assigned to those reinforcement groups and describe the type and the  physical parameters of the reinforcement bars, such as material, diameter and cross- section area of the group. Type and material parameters are used in the design routines  as input values. The cross-section areas are result values. Additional properties such as  maximum diameter are only used in special situations (e.g. in the crack width check).

This menu is used for viewing the cross-sections stored in the database and managing their parameters. Different parameter sets are treated dependent on the selected sub-function.

• Parts: Data related to the different cross-section parts are displayed. The upper table shows all defined cross-sections with the group name (Group), the  individual name (Name) and the number of parts in the cross-section(Parts). The catalog name is displayed if the cross-section has been taken over  from the cross-section catalog.

• Reference Sets: Reference-Sets describe points or geometric entities (e.g. cuts) in the cross-section, which get assigned certain properties. It depends on the type of the reference set how these properties are used in the program.

  The following types can be defined:

  • Stress point: Points where longitudinal stresses shall be calculated.
  • Geometry point: Points used for defining connections to other elements
  • Temperature point: Points for defining a non-linear temperature gradient
  • Bending reinforcement: Points for defining the position of bending reinforcement bars
  • Crack reinforcement: Points for defining reinforcement for limiting the crack width
  • Robustness reinforcement: Points for defining robustness (minimum) reinforcement
  • Longitudinal reinforcement: Points for defining longitudinal reinforcement bars
  • Torsion reinforcement: Perimeter for calculating required torsion reinforcement
  • Longitudinal shear reinforcement: Defining longitudinal reinforcement due to shear
  • Shear reinforcement for web: Defining a shear reinforcement in webs
  • Shear reinforcement for plate (Qy): Defining cut for shear reinforcement design for Qy
  • Shear reinforcement for plate (Qz): Defining cut for shear reinforcement design for Qz The upper table shows all defined cross-sections with the group name (Group), the  individual name (Name) and the number of parts in the cross-section(Parts).
• Catalogue: For cross-sections taken over from the cross-section catalog. Catalog sections are parametrically defined standard sections provided internally in the program.  The actual geometric parameters are shown in the bottom left table.
• FE mesh: Displays elements and nodes of the Finite Element mesh of the cross-section. Each cross-section is subdivided into 9-noded Finite Elements. The mesh is used for  calculating the cross-section values, especially the shear parameters. The lower left table contains the cross-section elements with node incidents,  the lower right table shows the node coordinates in the cross-section coordinate system.
• FEM Parameters of the Finite Elements used in the structural analysis instead of the standard beam elements.