CFSF Interactive Cold Formed Steel Frame Design

CFSF - Interactive Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design

Form: Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information

Interactive cold-formed steel frame design allows you to review the design results for any frame object and to interactively change the design overwrites and immediately view the results.

After completing the Modeling Process using cold-formed steel frames, access Interactive Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design as follows:

Select the Analyze menu > Run Analysis command to analyze the model.

Select the Design menu > Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design > Start Design / Check of Structure command.

Right click on a frame object while the design results are displayed on it to access the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form and enter the interactive design mode to interactively design the object.

If design results are not currently displayed, click the Design menu > Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design > Interactive Cold Formed Steel Frame Design command and then right click a cold-formed steel frame object to enter the interactive design mode for that object.

Use the various areas of the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form to review the design:

Frame ID: The label associated with a frame object.
Design Code: The design code selected using the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design Preferences form.
Analysis Section: The section property that was used for this frame object in the last analysis. Thus the design forces are based on a frame object with this section property.
Design Section: The current design section property. If the frame object is assigned an auto select list, the section displayed in this form initially defaults to the optimal section. If no auto select list has been assigned to the frame object, the object design is performed for the section property specified in this edit box.

It is important to note that subsequent analyses use the section property specified in this list box for the next analysis section for the frame object. Thus the forces and moments obtained in the next analysis are based on this section. Change the Design section property by clicking the Overwrites button and making the changes on the resulting form.

Note: For final design iteration, the Analysis Section and the Design Section property should be the same. Use the Verify Analysis vs Design Section command to determine if this is the case. If it is not, repeat steps 1 through 4 until the analysis and design sections match. As appropriate, use the Overwrites button and the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Overwrites form to change the design parameters. Thus, while the Analysis Section is changed/updated by rerunning the analysis, the Design Section is changed by selecting a new section on the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design Overwrites form.

Use the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design Overwrites form to make revisions to the cold-formed steel frame design parameters, such as unbraced length ratio, effective length factor, bending coefficient, tensile strength, major and minor bending stress and major and minor shear stress, among others. Then use the Details buttons on the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form to immediately see the new design results.

If you modify some overwrites in this mode and exit both the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design Overwrites form and the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form by clicking their respective OK buttons, the changes made to the overwrites are permanently saved. When you exit the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design Overwrites form by clicking the OK button the changes are temporarily saved. If you then exit the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form by clicking the Cancel button, the changes made to the cold-formed steel frame overwrites are considered temporary only and are not permanently saved. Permanent saving of the overwrites does not actually occur until you click the OK button in the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form.

Table Showing Stress Details: This table shows the stress ratios obtained for each design load combination at each output station along the frame object. Initially the worst stress ratio is highlighted. Following are the headings in the table.
- Combo ID: The name of the design load combination considered.
- Station location: The location of the station considered measured from the i-end of the frame object.
- Ratio: The total PMM stress ratio for the object. When stress ratios are reported for this item, they are followed by either (T) or (C). The (T) item indicates that the axial component of the stress ratio is tension. The (C) item indicates that the axial component of the stress ratio is compression. Note that typically the interaction formulas are different depending on whether the axial stress is tension or compression.
- Axl: The axial component of the PMM stress ratio.
- B-Maj: The bending component of the PMM stress ratio for bending about the major axis.
- B-Min: The bending component of the PMM stress ratio for bending about the minor axis.
- Maj Shr Ratio: The shear stress ratio for shear acting in the major direction of the frame object.
- Min Shr Ratio: The shear stress ratio for shear acting in the minor direction of the frame object.
Overwrites button. Click the Overwrites button to access the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Overwrites form.

Use the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design Overwrites form to make revisions to the cold-formed steel frame design parameters, such as unbraced length ratio, effective length factor, bending coefficient, tensile strength, major and minor bending stress and major and minor shear stress, among others. Then use the Details buttons on the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form to immediately see the new design results.

If you modify some overwrites in this mode and exit both the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design Overwrites form and the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form by clicking their respective OK buttons, the changes made to the overwrites are permanently saved. When you exit the Cold-Formed Steel Frame Design Overwrites form by clicking the OK button the changes are temporarily saved. If you then exit the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form by clicking the Cancel button, the changes made to the cold-formed steel frame overwrites are considered temporary only and are not permanently saved. Permanent saving of the overwrites does not actually occur until you click the OK button in the Cold-Formed Steel Stress Check Information form.
Summary button. Click the Summary button to display the design details for the selected design combination and station location. Print this information by selecting File menu > Print command at the top of the form.
Effective button. Click the Effective button to display the details for the effective area, effective major and minor moments of inertia, and deflection design. Click on the display and drag it to reveal areas not visible in the available window. Print this information by selecting File menu > Print command at the top of the form.
Tabular Data button. Click the Tabular Data button to access the Cold-Formed Steel Details (Database) form. Use the various menu commands on the form to export, display, and print the data table.
Table Format File button. Click the Table Format File button to access the Set Database Table Formats File form. Use that form to specify the Use Program Default Table Formats option or the Use Formats from User Defined Table Formats File option. When the Use Formats from User Defined Table Formats File option is chosen, also click the Select button to locate a previously defined format file. Table formats are defined using the Modify/Show Database Table Format form. The default or selected table format will be applied to output (export, display or print) of the data.