Beam dialog

Opens when a member is double-clicked with the Beams cursor.

Tip: While this dialog box is open, you may select any other member to Query by double-clicking it. This updates the dialog box contents automatically for the newly selected member. Also, the units can be changed dynamically while this dialog box is open. Changing the units using the View | Options or Tools | set Current Display Units menu affects the contents of this dialog box automatically.

To change the property, member specifications or the beta angle on the member, simply click on one of the buttons. If the member contains output result tabs (Displacement, Steel Design, etc.) in the query box, changing the member attributes will cause these tabs to disappear. This is due to the fact that the current output no longer reflects the new input.

Note: Changing the member attributes for one member will subsequently change the attributes of all other members belonging to the same attribute list. For example, if the current member's property is also assigned to other members, changing the property on the current member will change the property on all the members.

Geometry

Shows a diagram of the member property and lists the length, connecting nodes and their coordinates, and whether the member has a beta angle, any releases or other member specifications. One can assign/change the beta angle of the member by clicking on the Change Beta button.

Setting	Description
Change Beta	Click to assign or change the beta angle for the selected member.
Change Releases at Start / End	Click to assign or change the start or end release attributes, member offsets, cable specification, truss specification, tension-only specification, compression-only specification, ignore stiffness, or inactive specifications.

Property

This shows an elevation and cross section with a list of some of its section properties and material.

Setting	Description
Physical Properties	The table lists some of the section properties from the assigned section, including: Ax, cross sectional area Ay, shear area in the local Y axis Az, shear area in the local z axis Ix, torsional moment of inertia Iy, moment of inertia about the local y axis Iz, moment of inertia about the local z axis D, the depth of the section (for taper members this is the average depth over the length) W, the maximum width of the section Click Assign/Change Property to assign or change the section property of the member. The choice of properties will only from the same family as the current cross-section. For example, if the current property is an America W12x45, only W, M, S, HP, and B shapes and sizes will be available.
Material Properties	The table lists some of the material properties from the assigned material, including: Elasticity, Young's modulus Poisson’s Ratio Density, Alpha, the coefficient of thermal expansion Click Assign Material to update the material definition with one selected from the drop-down list.

Setting

Description

Physical Properties

The table lists some of the section properties from the assigned section, including:

Ax, cross sectional area
Ay, shear area in the local Y axis
Az, shear area in the local z axis
Ix, torsional moment of inertia
Iy, moment of inertia about the local y axis
Iz, moment of inertia about the local z axis
D, the depth of the section (for taper members this is the average depth over the length)
W, the maximum width of the section

Click Assign/Change Property to assign or change the section property of the member. The choice of properties will only from the same family as the current cross-section.

For example, if the current property is an America W12x45, only W, M, S, HP, and B shapes and sizes will be available.

Material Properties

The table lists some of the material properties from the assigned material, including:

Elasticity, Young's modulus
Poisson’s Ratio
Density, Alpha, the coefficient of thermal expansion

Click Assign Material to update the material definition with one selected from the drop-down list.

Loading

A list of the load items assigned to the member are displayed here. New load items can now be added to existing load cases, and, existing load items edited or deleted using the Member Query window.

Setting	Description
Select Load Case	Choose the load case to you want to display or edit. This list will be empty if no primary load cases have been defined in the model.
Add new Load Item	Opens the Create New Load Items dialog, which is used to add new load items to the selected load case and assign them to the currently selected member. The list of load items displayed is limited to those which can be assigned to members.
Remove Selected Load Item.	Click to remove an existing load item selected in the list.
Edit Selected Load item	Click to make changes to the currently selected load item in the list. The load item dialog for the load type opens. Make the desired changes and then click Change.

Shear Bending

This tab appears only after running the analysis. It also contains facilities for viewing values for shears and moments, selecting the load cases for which those results are presented, a slider bar for looking at the values at specific points along the member length, and a Print option for printing the items on display.

The slider bar in the member query box can be used to display the shear, bending and deflection values at any point along the beam. A corresponding edit box is also provided to manually type in the distance for which the aforementioned values will be calculated and displayed.

To obtain the values for the shear, bending or deflection at any point along the beam for a specific load case, grab the slider bar (the draggable arrow) and drag it to the desired location on the beam. The location of the slider bar is reported in the Dist edit box in the current display units. This edit box can also be manually changed which conversely, changes the location of the slider bar. The values for the results in question will automatically be updated every time the slider bar moves.

Deflection

This tab appears only after running the analysis. Shows deflection diagram in the global or local directions for the selected load case. Also lists tabulated deflection values. Points of inflection are displayed on the diagram. The points of inflection or contraflexure are the distances along the member where the sign of the force, deflection or moment changes (the point where these values are zero).

Refer to the next figure to see where the points of inflection are labeled. The distances are always reported from the start of the member (in the figure, the left-hand side of the member).

Composite Property

The dialog box displays various properties for the composite beam including effective width, whether shoring during construction has been considered or not, grade of concrete, unit weight of concrete, thickness of concrete above flutes, rib properties, stud properties etc. These data will enable the user to get a clear picture of the geometric properties for the composite beam.

Design Property

If the STAAD input file contains instructions for steel design - Member Selection (refer to TR.49.1 Member Selection Specification, and US or UK Example 1 in the Application Examples) which may result in a change of section property from the one originally assigned by the user - that new section name, and associated property values will be displayed under this tab. One can assign/change the material attributes for the beam by clicking on the Assign Material button.

Steel Design

This tab appears only after running the analysis if a steel design operation has been performed on the selected member. Shows a diagram of the member property and lists the length, design stresses, critical load, code being used, ratio, result, critical condition and slenderness value.

Setting	Description
fSB	Actual Steel Stress before Concrete Hardens
FSB	Allowable Steel Stress before Concrete Hardens
fCB	Actual Concrete Stress before Hardening
FCB	Allowable Concrete Stress before Hardening
fSA	Actual Steel Stress after Concrete Hardens
FSA	Allowable Steel Stress after Concrete Hardens
fCA	Actual Concrete Stress after Hardening
FCA	Allowable Concrete Stress after Hardening
Critical load	The table displays information like critical load case, critical force values, and location of the critical section along the member length
Code	The design code followed for designing the composite beam
Result	Displays whether the beam has PASSED or FAILED the check
Ratio	Ratio of actual to allowable stresses
Critical	Reports the critical condition. In the previous dialog box CONC-STR-AH is displayed which indicates that Concrete Stress after hardening is the critical condition.
KLR	Reports the slenderness ratio (kL/r for compression or L/r for tension). The slender ratio value displayed is based on the critical axial force and is marked "T" for tension or "C" for compression.
STUDS	Display the number of shear connectors required and diameter of shear connectors.

STAAD.Pro Help

Beam dialog

Geometry

Property

Loading

Shear Bending

Deflection

Composite Property

Design Property

Steel Design

Castellated Beam Design

Concrete Design