Master Steel Table File Format
New Master Steel Tables can be created using a simple text editor. Use spaces, not tabs, between data items. The file name must have the extension .TAB.
The file has the following format. The data for a given section must be placed on a single line.
The first line of the file contains an E or S, indicating English or SI units.
The steel sections are then listed, grouped by shape. Each group begins with a header (I, Channel, L, TS, Pipe, Tee, Roundbar, or Flatbar). W, M, and S shapes are included in the "I"group. Single angle properties are used for single angles as well as to calculate the double angle properties. Square and Rectangular Hollow Sections are included in the "TS" group. Round Hollow Sections are included in the "Pipe" group.
For each group a section is created. Each section begins with a heading and is followed by lines containing the section properties of members of that group, one line per member. Each group has the data as shown below.
I Desig RollFlg Depth Tw Bftop Tftop Bfbot Tfbot ktop kbot Area Ix Sxtop Sxbot Zx Iy Sy Zy J Cw RTtop RTbot SAx Depth_det Tw_det Bftop_det Bfbot_det Tftop_det Tfbot_det ktop_det kbot_det k1top_det k1bot_det T_det Channel Desig Rollflg Depth Tw Bftop Tftop Bfbot Tfbot ktop kbot Area Ix Sxtop Sxbot Zx Iy Sy Zy J Cw xbar e0 L Desig RollFlg Vleg Hleg tleg Area Ix Sx Zx Iy Sy Zy J Cw TS Desig RollFlg Depth Tw Bf Tf Area Ix Sx Zx Iy Sy Zy J Pipe Desig RollFlg OutDia Tw Area I S Z Tee Desig RollFlg Depth Tw Bftop Tftop ktop Area Ix Sxtop Sxbot Zx Iy Sy Zy J Cw RoundBar Design Diameter Area FlatBar Desig RollFlg Bf Tf Area
It is not necessary to specify values for the italicized variables in the format list. If any of the italicized values in the format list are set equal to zero or are left blank, those values will be calculated based on the dimensions given for the web and flanges except as explained below.
If Bfbot is set equal to zero in the table, Bfbot will be set equal to Bftop.
If Tfbot is set equal to zero in the table, Tfbot will be set equal to Tftop.
If Sxbot is set equal to zero but Sxtop is not equal to zero, Sxbot will be set equal to Sxtop. If Sxtop and Sxbot are both set equal to zero, Sxbot will be calculated based on the dimensions given for the web and flanges.
For angles, if Hleg is set equal to zero, Hleg will be set equal to Vleg.
In earlier versions of the programs, the detailing dimensions were not used in the program and so were not included in the Master tables. Some of these values are now used, currently in the Yield-Link feature, so they have been added to the I-shapes in the AISC tables. If the user is using a table in which these values have not been specified, the program will set the detailing value equal to the corresponding design value as indicated below. Note that this is mostly unconservative, and in some cases very unconservative, but there is no alternative if user hasn't defined the values. It is recommended that these values be specified in any tables created by the user, if the tables are possibly going to be used by the features that need these detailing values.
If Depth_det is set equal to zero in the table, Depth_det will be set equal to Depth.
If Tw_det is set equal to zero in the table, Tw_det will be set equal to Tw.
If both Bftop_det and Bfbot_det are set equal to zero in the table, Bftop_det will be set equal to Bftop and Bfbot_det will be set equal to Bfbot; otherwise, if Bftop_det has a specified value and Bfbot_det is set equal to zero in the table, Bfbot_det will be set equal to Bftop_det (based on the assumption that the shape is symmetric).
If both Tftop_det and Tfbot_det are set equal to zero in the table, Tftop_det will be set equal to Tftop and Tfbot_det will be set equal to Tfbot; otherwise, if Tftop_det has a specified value and Tfbot_det is set equal to zero in the table, Tfbot_det will be set equal to Tftop_det.
If both ktop_det and kbot_det are set equal to zero in the table, ktop_det will be set equal to ktop and kbot_det will be set equal to kbot; otherwise, if ktop_det has a specified value and kbot_det is set equal to zero in the table, kbot_det will be set equal to ktop_det.
If both k1top_det and k1bot_det are set equal to zero in the table, k1top_det will be set to ktop_det - tftop_det + 0.5f * tw and k1bot_det will be set equal to kbot_det – tfbot_det + 0.5f * tw; otherwise if k1top_det has a specified value and k1bot_det is set equal to zero in the table, k1bot_det will be set equal to k1top_det (based on the assumption that the shape is symmetric).
If T_det is set equal to zero in the table, T_det will be set equal to Depth_det - ktop_det - kbot_det.
When zeros occur between non-zero values on a data line, the zeros must appear on the data line. If a zero occurs and all fields to the right also contain zeros, those zeros may be removed and the remainder of the line left blank.
Since the actual section properties for rolled shapes are larger, due to the contribution of the fillets, than would be calculated based strictly on the web and flange dimension, some increase in accuracy can be obtained in the design by specifying all of the section properties in the tables.
I-shapes
- Desig
- the shape designation (e.g., W18X35), 15 characters maximum.
- RollFlg
- a flag, either an R or a B, indicating Rolled or Built-up shape. By placing this flag with each section rather than at the beginning of the table, you can mix Rolled and Built-up shapes in the same Master Table.
- Depth
- the total depth of the section (in. or mm).
- Tw
- the web thickness (in. or mm).
- Bftop
- the top flange width (in. or mm).
- Tftop
- the top flange thickness (in. or mm).
- Bfbot
- the bottom flange width (in. or mm).
- Tfbot
- the bottom flange thickness (in. or mm).
- ktop
- the distance from the outer face of the top flange to the web toe of the fillet (in. or mm).
- kbot
- the distance from the outer face of the bottom flange to the web toe of the fillet (in. or mm).
- Area
- the total area (in.2 or cm2).
- Ix
- the moment of inertia about the X-X axis. (in.4 or cm4).
- Sxtop
-
the elastic section modulus with respect to the top flange of the member (in.3 or cm3).
- Sxbot
-
the elastic section modulus with respect to the bottom flange of the member (in.3 or cm3).
- Zx
-
the plastic section modulus of the member (in.3 or cm3).
- Iy
- the moment of inertia about the Y-Y axis (in.4 or cm4).
- Sy
-
the elastic section modulus of the member with respect to the Y-Y axis (in.3 or cm3).
- Zy
-
the plastic section of the member with respect to the Y-Y axis (in.3 or cm3).
This is Sy in European terminology.
- J
- the Torsional Constant (in.4 or cm4)
- Cw
- the Warping Constant (in.6 or cm6).
- RTtop
-
the radius of gyration (see AISC Manual) with respect to the top flange of the member (in. or mm).
- RTbot
-
the radius of gyration (see AISC Manual) with respect to the bottom flange of the member (in. or mm).
- SAx
- the shear area in the major direction. (in2 or cm2)
- Depth_det
- the detailing equivalent of Depth (in. or mm).
- Tw_det
- the detailing equivalent of Tw (in. or mm).
- Bftop_det
- the detailing equivalent of Bftop (in. or mm).
- Bfbot_det
- the detailing equivalent of Bfbot (in. or mm).
- Tftop_det
- the detailing equivalent of Tftop (in. or mm).
- Tfbot_det
- the detailing equivalent of Tfbot (in. or mm).
- ktop_det
- the detailing equivalent of kftop (in. or mm).
- kbot_det
- the detailing equivalent of kfbot (in. or mm).
- k1top_det
- a detailing value for the distance from the centerline of the web to the toe of the top flange fillet (in. or mm).
- k1bot_det
- a detailing value for the distance from the centerline of the web to the toe of the bottom flange fillet (in. or mm).
- T_det
- a detailing value for the distance from the toe of the top flange fillet to the toe of the bottom flange fillet (in. or mm).
TS (Square or Rectangular HSS or Built-up Box Shapes)
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Tw | thickness of the sides associated with the depth (in. or mm). |
| Bf | width (in. or mm). |
| Tf | thickness of the sides associated with the width (in. or mm). |
FlatBar (Flat Bars or Plates)
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Bf | width of bar (in. or mm). |
| Tf | thickness of bar (in. or mm). |
Example Tables
The following is a sample listing from the RAMAISC.TAB file:
E I W44X335 R 44.0 1.03 15.9 1.77 0.0 0.0 2.56 0.0 98.5 31100 1410 0.0 1620 1200 150 236 74.7 535000 0.0 0.0 0.0 44.0000 1.0000 16.0000 0.0 1.7500 0.0 3.0000 0.0 1.7500 0.0 38.0000 W44X290 R 43.6 0.865 15.8 1.58 0.0 0.0 2.36 0.0 85.4 27000 1240 0.0 1410 1040 132 205 50.9 461000 0.0 0.0 0.0 43.6250 0.8750 15.8750 0.0 1.5625 0.0 2.8125 0.0 1.6250 0.0 38.0000 … CHANNEL C15X50 R 15.0 0.716 3.72 0.650 0.0 0.0 1.44 0.0 14.7 404 53.8 0.0 68.5 11.0 3.77 8.14 2.65 492 0.799 0.583 C15X40 R 15.0 0.520 3.52 0.650 0.0 0.0 1.44 0.0 11.8 348 46.5 0.0 57.5 9.17 3.34 6.84 1.45 410 0.778 0.767 … L L12X12X1-3/8 R 12.0 12.0 1.375 31.1 413 48.6 88.1 413 48.6 88.1 19.9 211 L12X12X1-1/4 R 12.0 12.0 1.250 28.4 381 44.6 80.7 381 44.6 80.7 14.9 160 … TS HSS24X12X3/4 R 24.0 0.698 12.0 0.698 47.1 3440 287 359 1170 195 221 2850 HSS24X12X5/8 R 24.0 0.581 12.0 0.581 39.6 2940 245 304 1000 167 188 2430 … PIPE HSS20.000X0.500 R 20.0 0.465 28.5 1360 136 177 HSS20.000X0.375 R 20.0 0.349 21.5 1040 104 135 … TEE WT22X167.5 R 22.0 1.03 15.9 1.77 2.56 49.2 2170 0.0 131 234 600 75.2 118 37.2 438 WT22X145 R 21.8 0.865 15.8 1.58 2.36 42.6 1830 0.0 111 196 521 65.9 102 25.4 275 … ROUNDBAR RB1/4 0.2500 RB5/16 0.3125 … FLATBAR PL3/16X1/2 R 0.50 0.1875 PL3/16X3/4 R 0.75 0.1875 …
In addition to the standard rolled steel shapes, tables of built-up shapes can be created.
The following is a portion of a file of built-up shapes. Notice that in this example, only the web and flange dimensions are included. If other section properties are not included in the file the program will calculate the section properties from the given data.
E I … B14X19.2 B 13.75 0.188 4.25 0.375 B17X19.3 B 16.63 0.188 4.25 0.250 4.25 0.375 B12X19.3 B 11.63 0.188 4.25 0.250 6.75 0.375 B15X19.6 B 14.63 0.188 4.25 0.250 5.25 0.375 B10X19.8 B 9.75 0.188 5.50 0.375 B16X20.2 B 15.63 0.188 4.25 0.250 5.50 0.375 B15X20.2 B 14.63 0.188 4.25 0.250 4.25 0.375 B14X20.4 B 13.50 0.250 5.50 0.250 B18X21.7 B 17.50 0.250 4.25 0.250 …