About Physical Members

Beam objects connecting two nodes in a structural model are referred to as analytical beams as they are the fundamental, one-dimensional object processed by the STAAD engine during analysis. While necessary for this purpose, they are often difficult elements to use for design as they do not possess the same geometry of a physical structural element. For example, a girder is not physically broken where a beam frames, but a node must be placed to represent the connection in the model. The design of this girder is then complicated as the bracing conditions and other parameters of design can not be directly interpreted by the program.

In this case, STAAD.Pro has the facility to use group one or more analytical beam objects into physical members for the purpose of design. This concept is used in both the Steel Design and Concrete Design workflows. Additionally, physical members can be created in the modeling mode for the purpose of integrated steel design.