AD.2006.1.6 Specification of Member Orientation Using Reference Vector

This feature will allow users to orient members by specifying a direction vector. Beta angles will be calculated by the software by itself based on the direction vector specification. The new reference vector will be defined with respect to the local coordinates of the member. This is going to make the task of orienting members much easier.

To access the feature go to Commands > Geometric Constants > Member Reference Point.

The Reference Point dialog box comes up where the vector for the reference axis can be specified as shown in the following figure. The local Y axis for the member is going to oriented along the vector. This X, Y, Z values are going to be based on the local axis system of the member.

The feature is explained in the next section with an example. Let us consider the beam shown in the next figure. The requirement is to rotate the cross section about the axis of the member in the direction as shown, such that the angle of rotation is governed by a slope of 1 horizontal to 2 vertical.

Select Commands > Geometric Constants > Member Reference Point. The Reference Point dialog opens.
Select the Vector option and specify the reference vector so that it is oriented as per the required slope.
Click OK. The member is rotated to the referenc vector.

The member gets oriented correctly without the user having to take the trouble of calculating the beta angle. In the STAAD input file, the following command lines get written.

CONSTANTS
REFVECTOR 0 2 1 ALL

Beta angle for the member can be easily figured out by simply double clicking on the member that brings up the Beam dialog box as shown next. The correct beta angle of 26.5651 is automatically calculated by STAAD.Pro based on the reference vector specification.

Parent topic: AD.2006.1 Features Affecting the Pre-Processor

Related tasks	Related reference
M. To align a member to a reference point	TR.26.2 Specifying Constants for Members and Elements