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D4.A.4 Design Parameters

The program contains a number of parameters which are needed to perform design per CSA Standard A23.3-94. These parameters not only act as a method to input required data for code calculations but give the engineer control over the actual design process.

Default values, which are commonly used numbers in conventional design practice, have been used for simplicity. The following table contains a list of available parameters and their default values. It is necessary to declare length and force units as Millimeter and Newton before performing the concrete design.

Note: Once a parameter is specified, its value stays at that specified number until it is specified again. This is the way STAAD.Pro works for all codes.
Table 1. Canadian Concrete Design CSA-A23.3-94 Parameters
Parameter Name Default Value Description
CLB 40 Clear cover to reinforcing bar at bottom of cross section, in mm.
CLS 40 Clear cover to reinforcing bar along the side of the cross section, in mm.
CLT 40 Clear cover to reinforcing bar at top of cross section, in mm.
DEPTH YD Depth of the concrete member. This value defaults to YD as provided in the MEMBER PROPERTIES.
EFACE 0.0 (Face of Support)

Distance of face of support from end node of beam. Used for shear and torsion calculation.

Note: Both SFACE & EFACE must be positive numbers.
FC 30 Specified compressive strength of concrete, in N/mm2.
FYMAIN 400 Yield Stress for main reinforcing steel, in N/mm2.
FYSEC 400 Yield Stress for secondary reinforcing steel, in N/mm2.
MAXMAIN 7 (Number 55 bar) Maximum main reinforcement bar size.
The parameter values for metric bar sizes are:
  • 0) 10 mm
  • 1) 15 mm
  • 2) 20 mm
  • 3) 25 mm
  • 4) 30 mm
  • 5 ) 35 mm
  • 6 ) 45 mm
  • 7) 55 mm
MINMAIN 0 (Number 10 bar ) Minimum main reinforcement bar size.
The parameter values for metric bar sizes are:
  • 0) 10 mm
  • 1) 15 mm
  • 2) 20 mm
  • 3) 25 mm
  • 4) 30 mm
  • 5 ) 35 mm
  • 6 ) 45 mm
  • 7) 55 mm
MINSEC 0 (Number 10 bar) Minimum secondary (stirrup) reinforcement bar size.
The parameter values for metric bar sizes are:
  • 0) 10 mm
  • 1) 15 mm
  • 2) 20 mm
  • 3) 25 mm
  • 4) 30 mm
  • 5 ) 35 mm
  • 6 ) 45 mm
  • 7) 55 mm
MMAG 1.0 A factor by which the column design moments will be magnified.
NSECTION 12 Number of equally-spaced sections to be considered in finding critical moments for beam design.
REINF 0 Column comfining reinforcement type:
  • 0) Tied column
  • 1) Spiral reinforcement
SFACE 0.0

Distance of face of support from start node of beam. Used for shear and torsion calculation.

Note: Both SFACE & EFACE must be positive numbers.
TRACK 0
Specify the level of detail in the output:
  • 0) Beam and Column Design - Minimum details
  • 1) Beam Design - Intermediate level details; Column Design - TRACK 0 detail and column interaction
  • 2) Beam Design - TRACK 1 detail and steel required at 1/12th sections; Column Design - TRACK 1 detail and interaction diagram
WIDTH ZD Width of the concrete member. This value defaults to ZD as provided in the MEMBER PROPERTIES.
Parent topic: D4.A. Canadian Codes - Concrete Design per CSA Standard A23.3-94