OS. STAAD Nomenclature

In STAAD documentation and in the program menus and dialog boxes, the terms member and beam are used interchangeably. Use of the term beam should not be taken to imply that the member cannot take an axial load.

Similarly, the terms joint and node are used interchangeably in STAAD. Both terms refer to the connections between elements.

Connections are also referred to as incidences. The terms member incidences, plate incidences, and solid incidences refer to the nodes that connect these elements to other elements and supports.