Sections
Individual sections are stored in the sections object. Each section inside the sections object should be identified by a unique positive integer. Note that sections can be specified in two ways:
- From the "Section Builder" software: This output consider real cross sectional geometry and calculates properties based on the geometry.
- Direct Input: This does not consider the real cross section geometry, but instead directly takes in cross section properties such as Iz, Iy, J etc. if they are known in advance (e.g. from catalogs).
| Input |
Type |
Description |
| sections |
Object |
Each section is defined as an object. If the "Section Builder" software was used to define your section, an "aux" property will be present. This property defines the geometry of the section. |
"Section Builder" Schema
| Section Properties |
Type |
Value |
Description |
| version |
Number |
- |
The version of the "Section Builder" that was used to construct this object. |
| name |
String |
- |
The name of your section. If nothing is entered, the name will default to the (rounded) height x width dimensions. |
| area |
Number |
Section Area |
Cross sectional area. |
| Iy |
Number |
Section Length4 |
Area moment of inertia about the y axis. |
| Iz |
Number |
Section Length4 |
Area moment of inertia about the z axis. |
| material_id |
Number |
- |
The ID of the material that is assigned to the cross section. Materials are defined in its own object. |
| shear_area_z |
Number |
Section Length2 |
Optional. Do not get confused between this property and the one with the same name within the "aux" property. Shear Area in the Z-axis. Leave this value as Empty or Zero for a Euler-Bernoulli Beam (Recommended). Enter a value for a Timoshenko Beam (i.e. where shear deformation is not neglible). |
| shear_area_y |
Number |
Section Length2 |
Optional. Do not get confused between this property and the one with the same name within the "aux" property. Shear Area in the Y-axis. Leave this value as Empty or Zero for a Euler-Bernoulli Beam (Recommended). Enter a value for a Timoshenko Beam (i.e. where shear deformation is not neglible). |
| aux |
Object |
- |
The "aux" property is an object containing various property values. It contains the geometric coordinates of the cross section among other properties which are calculated via the "Section Builder" software. For brevity, the individual properties are not detailed here. To understand how to create a section via the "Section Builder" and implement it into the API, please contact us at [email protected] |
"Direct Input" Schema
| Section Properties |
Type |
Value |
Description |
| name |
String |
- |
An optional name given to a section to easily identify it. |
| material_id |
Number |
- |
The ID of the material that is assigned to the cross section. Materials are defined in its own object. |
| shear_area_z |
Number |
Section Length2 |
Optional. Shear Area in the Z-axis. Leave this value as Empty or Zero for a Euler-Bernoulli Beam (Recommended). Enter a value for a Timoshenko Beam (i.e. where shear deformation is not neglible). |
| shear_area_y |
Number |
Section Length2 |
Optional. Shear Area in the Y-axis. Leave this value as Empty or Zero for a Euler-Bernoulli Beam (Recommended). Enter a value for a Timoshenko Beam (i.e. where shear deformation is not neglible). |
| area |
Number |
Section Area |
Cross sectional area. |
| Iy |
Number |
Section Length4 |
Area moment of inertia about the y axis. |
| Iz |
Number |
Section Length4 |
Area moment of inertia about the z axis. |
| J |
Number |
Section Length4 |
Torsion constant |
Example
{
"sections": {
"1": {
"version": 1,
"name": "203 x 203",
"area": 5894.42893,
"Iy": 15391924.9909,
"Iz": 45719276.66583,
"J": 224234,
"material_id": 1,
"shear_area_z": 500,
"shear_area_y": 800,
"aux": {
"composite": false,
"Qz": 249151.30616,
"Qy": 115057.81814,
"centroid_point": [
101.6,
101.6
],
"centroid_length": [
101.6,
101.6
],
"depth": 203.2,
"width": 203.2,
"alpha": 0,
"shear_area_z": 1380.153833546,
"shear_area_y": 3889.4548957763,
"torsion_radius": 16.5124
}
},
"2": {
"name": "CustomSpecSection",
"area": 6500,
"Iy": 16000000,
"Iz": 50000000,
"J": 250000,
"material_id": 3,
"shear_area_z": 500,
"shear_area_y": 800
}
}
}
