D.Aluminum Design Overview
The design of aluminum members in STAAD.Pro can be achieved in the following two methods:
- check that the member meets the requirements of the design code using the Code Check command.
- for the forces resulting from the current set of loading, determine the most efficient size of section that would meet the requirements for the design code using the Select command.
Each design follows the rules as defined in a published design code specification. The list of available codes currently supported can be found at D. Available Aluminum Design Codes.
In order to determine the design code and code edition to which the members will be designed, the design command is preceded by a definition of the code and a series of code-related parameters. Each collection of these parameters is referred to as a "parameter block." In the STAAD.Pro input file, this is initiated with the command PARAMETER and then typically terminated with the design command (e.g., CHECK CODE).
The parameter block provides the means by which you specify design-related member attributes required for the specified design code that have not been specified in the analytical model thus far. Each parameter has a default value which is ascribed to members to which a design command applies. When you assign a parameter to a given member, any design command that follows this assignment will use the specified parameter in the design. The default value of each design code parameter is listed in the appropriate section of the documentation.
PARAMETER CODE design code/version parameters modified from default values design command
It is possible to define multiple design command and parameter blocks :
PARAMETER 1 CODE design code/version parameters modified from default values design command 1 design command 2 design command 3 … PARAMETER 2 CODE design code/version parameters modified from default values design command 4 design command 5 design command 6
Also, each design command can be defined for different sets of members and different design commands:
PARAMETER 1 CODE design code/version parameters modified from default values CHECK CODE MEMBER 1 TO 10 SELECT MEMBERS 5 TO 20