The structural beam is an object with which a member can be defined in Vectorworks for the framework calculation. Material and cross-section properties can be assigned to it.
¶ Informationen - Object
¶ Material
Defines the name of the material to be assigned to this beam.
¶ Cross-Section
Defines the name of the cross section to be assigned to this beam.
¶ Moment of Inertia (Iy)
Defines the area moment of inertia (Iy) of the beam in cm4 or a compatible unit.
¶ Moment of Inertia (Iz)
Defines the area moment of inertia (Iz) of the beam in cm4 or a compatible unit.
¶ Torsional Constant (Ii)
Defines the torsional moment of inertia (It) of the beam in cm4 or a compatible unit.
¶ Library
Opens the material and cross-section library. You will find many predefined cross-sections in this library.
¶ Hinge at the start/end of the beam
Opens the settings dialogue for the beam ends.
Each degree of freedom at the end of the beam can be specifically defined. The following definitions are available:
| Definition | Description |
|---|---|
| Ridgid | The degree of freedom is fixed, rigid, immovable |
| Free | The degree of freedom is loose, free, mobile |
| Spring | The degree of freedom is spring-loaded. Displacements with a linear spring constant in kN/cm or compatible unit. Rotations in kNcm/rad or compatible unit. |
¶ Tool
The following tools are available when creating:
| Symbol | Description |
|---|---|
|
Creates the beam with 2 clicks. |
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The beam is created with 4 clicks. The starting point is the midpoint between the first two clicks, and the end point is between the last two clicks. |
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Select two beams. The new beam is placed vertically between the two beams. The position is determined by the intersection point in the top view. |
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Select two beams. The new beam will be placed on the shortest line between the two beams. |
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Draw a line from any point perpendicular to a beam. |