Material
Pre-Analysis Tab
Concrete and steel grades are assigned to each member type from the “ Pre-Analysis ” tab page in the “ Building Analysis ” Form.
Unit Weight of Member
Unit Weight of Concrete given in this field is used for calculating the self-weight of columns, walls, beams, slabs and foundations.
Unit Weight of Blocks
Unit Weight of Blocks is used in calculating the self-weight of the filler blocks used in ribbed slabs.
From this page press the “ Edit Materials ” button in the “ Material ” field.
Material grades in ProtaStructure are taken from the Codes. You can easily define a new grade using the “ Add ” or "+" button.
By default, two sets of material are predefined :
- Default Materials – used for all superstructure storeys members (Storey 1 and above)
- Foundation Floor – used for foundation members modelled in Sotrey 0
There is option to add “Storey Having Different Material” if there is a need define specific storey members to have different materials.
Material can also defined for each member individually by selecting a member > right-click > “Edit Section/Material”.Concrete Grade
ProtaStructure allows you to select different concrete grades for different member types. You can define concrete grades for columns, beams, slabs, ribbed slabs and foundations separately.
To select a concrete grade for a member type, you press the button next to the member type label to display the Concrete Grades List. After selecting a grade you can check the “Apply to all member types” option to use the same grade for all member types.
If you want to define a new concrete grade, press the “Add” or "+" button. Similarly, you can delete an existing grade by selecting it in the table and pressing the “Delete” or " X " button.
Fields on the Concrete Grades List are editable. You can select any cell to enter a new value.
In the Concrete Grades List, the characteristic strength is:
- Cube strength of the concrete for British Standard Code template
- Cylinder strength of the concrete for Eurocode and ACI code template.
For the analysis and design of members, the design strength for a given material is derived from the characteristic strength divided by the “ Material Factor ”. The Material factor is defined in the “ Material Coeff ” field.
The Modulus of Elasticity of the concrete grades are calculated using the formula Ec = Ko + 0.2 fcu.After selecting a concrete grade, you can close the form by clicking the “OK” button.
Reinforcement Bar Grade
ProtaStructure allows you to select different steel grades for different member types. You can define the steel grades for columns, beams, slabs, ribbed slabs, foundations and links separately.
For example, you can select “Grade 460-Type2” to design for all members but Grade 485-Fabric for slabs.
To select a reinforcement bar grade for a member type, you can press the button next to the member type label to display the Steel Grades List. You may check the “Apply to all member of this material class in this storey” option to use the same grade for all member types in a particular storey if you want to design all members in the storey using the same rebar materials.
If you want to define a new steel grade, press the “Add” button. You can set Imperial Unit or SI unit for the new rebar materials.
Fields on the Steel Grades List are editable. You can select any cell to enter a new value.
In the Steel Grades List, the characteristic yield strengths of the steel grades are given. For the analysis and design of members, the design strength for a given material is derived from the characteristic strength divided by the “Material Factor”. The Material factor is defined in the “Material Coeff” field.
After selecting a steel grade, you can close the tab by clicking the “OK” button.
If the “Rib Type” of a steel grade is "Type 0", then these bars will automatically have hooks at the ends. If you don’t want hooks at bar ends, you can remove the check in the “Hook” column, thus providing straight bars.
Determining Bars Sizes to be used
Rebar table can be called out by clicking the “Edit…” button on the Rebar Material Properties dialog.
In this rebar table, users can select which rebar diameters are used for designing members when the particular rebar material is used.
Filter Panel
Users can select certain members here to view the selected rebar diameter for the members. For example, if you select to filter column, then only rebar diameters which have been selected to design column will be shown in members tab.
Rebar Diameter & Area of rebar
Input field to enter rebar diameter and area of rebar. The value input here will be used in design,
Members tab
In members tab, symbol in the columns are representing members (such as walls, slabs & beam etc.) whereas rebar diameters are in rows. Table below shows the members represented by each symbol:
Column | |
Wall | |
Beam | |
Slab | |
Rib Slab | |
Footing | |
Links | |
Longitudinal Web Bars | |
Horizontal Web Bars | |
Generic |
Generic's purpose is for ProtaDetail's free form rebars, where the corresponding structural member is not certain.
The symbol "✔" in the box indicates that the rebar diameter is selected for that particular member. For example, if users wish to design columns using 8 mm rebar, then the box which intersects with column and rebar diameter needs to be checked.
Note that the selected rebar diameters will be used in designing members only when that particular rebar material is used. For example, below shows 2 different rebar materials with different selected rebar diameters set:
- Grade 500 (Type 2): 8 mm & 10 mm rebar diameters are selected to design columns
- Grade 460 (Type 2): 10 mm rebar diameter is selected to design columns.
When Grade 500 (type 2) is selected as rebar material for columns, the columns will be designed using 8 mm and 10 mm rebars. If users change the rebar material to Grade 460 (Type 2), then columns will not be designed using 10 mm anymore as only 8 mm rebar diameter is selected for Grade 460 (Type 2).
Steel Grade
ProtaStructure allows you to select different steel grades for Truss, Purlin, Girt and Brace Members. To select a steel grade for a member type, you click the steel material to display the Steel Grades List.
If you want to define a new steel grade, press the “Add” or "+" button. Fields on the Steel Grades List are editable. You can select any cell to enter a new value.
In the Steel Grades List, the design strength for a given material is derived from the characteristic strength divided by the “Material Factor”. The Material factor (Safety Factor) is defined in the “Material Coeff” field.
After selecting a steel grade, you can close the form by clicking the “OK” button.
Related Articles
Re-Label Members
The “Member Re-labelling Option” can be found in “Review” tab to re-assign the member labels for particular member groups. Members can be re-labelled pressing “OK” button after selecting one or more member groups. Members You can check the member ...General Definitions tab in Profile Editor
This tab contains information about element type which is a very important parameter used in annotation which can be displayed in graphic editor or engineering drawings, element position and assembly number which may be used by steel detailing ...Model Options
Options to be used in analysis can be specified in “Model Options” page of “Building Analysis” form. “Model Options” comprises of four tab pages namely, Model, Shear Wall Model, Slab Model, and Settings. Any modifications made in this page can be ...Quantity Extraction Tables
Concrete and formwork quantity estimations can be created at any time, either by clicking on the “Quantity Extraction Tables” icon, or by using the related menu selection under the "Drawings and Reports" ribbon Using these options, related quantity ...Working with Ribbed Slabs
Defining/Editing a Ribbed Slab Defining a New Ribbed Slab Before inserting a Ribbed Slab member its reference axes should be defined. To define a new Ribbed Slab member: 1. Display the storey level in the drawing area which will contain the slab. 2. ...