SF Interactive Steel Frame Design

SF - Interactive Steel Frame Design

Form: Steel Stress Check Information

Interactive steel frame design can be used to review the design results for any frame element and to interactively change the design overwrites and immediately view the results.

Access Interactive Steel Frame Design as follows:

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

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

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

If design results are not currently displayed, click the Design menu > Steel Frame Design > Interactive Steel Frame Design command and then right click a frame element to enter the interactive design mode for that element.

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

Frame ID display box. The label associated with a frame element.
Design Code display box. The design code selected using the Steel Frame Design Preferences form.
Analysis Section display box. The section property that was used for this frame element in the last analysis. Thus the design forces are based on a frame element of this section property. For your final design iteration, the Design section property and the Analysis section property should be the same.
Design Section display box. The current design section property. If the frame element 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 element, the element 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 element. Thus the forces and moments obtained in the next analysis are based on this section. Change the Design/Analysis 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 Steel Frame Overwrites form to change the design parameters. Thus, the Analysis Section is changed/updated by rerunning the analysis. The Design Section is changed by selecting a new section on the Steel Frame Design Overwrites form.

Use the Steel Frame Design Overwrites form to make revisions to the 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 Steel Stress Check Information form to immediately see the new design results.

If you modify some overwrites in this mode and exit both the Steel Frame Design Overwrites form and the Steel Stress Check Information form by clicking their respective OK buttons, the changes made to the overwrites are permanently saved. When you exit the Steel Frame Design Overwrites form by clicking the OK button the changes are temporarily saved. If you then exit the Steel Stress Check Information form by clicking the Cancel button, the changes made to the 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 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 element. 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 or cable element.
- Ratio: The total PMM stress ratio for the element. When stress ratios are reported for this item, they are followed by (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 element.
- Min Shr Ratio: The shear stress ratio for shear acting in the minor direction of the frame element.
Overwrites button. Click the Overwrites button to access the Steel Frame Design Overwrites form. Use this form to change design parameters, including the design section.

Use the Steel Frame Design Overwrites form to make revisions to the 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 Steel Stress Check Information form to immediately see the new design results.

Details button. Clicking the Details button displays the Steel Stress Check Data form, which shows the design details for the selected design combination and station location. Values that are not applicable are reported as N/A. Similarly, N/C and N/N indicate an item is “Not Calculated” and “Not Needed.” 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 Steel Details (Database) form. Use the various menu commands on the form to export, display, and print the data table.
Table Format File button. The program default format or a selected table format can be applied to the data output (export, display or print). Click the Table Format File button to access the Set Database Table Formats File form and select 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.