You can use the Property module to create the following types of sections:
Homogeneous solid sections
Generalized plane strain sections
Homogeneous shell sections
Composite shell sections
Membrane sections
Surface sections
Beam sections
Truss sections
Gasket sections
Cohesive sections
Acoustic infinite sections
Acoustic interface sections
To create a section, select Section
Create from the main menu bar. A Create Section dialog box appears in which you can name the section and specify the type of section that you want to create. Once you have specified a section name and type, click Continue in the Create Section dialog box to display the section editor, which allows you to create and edit sections.
The format of the section editor varies according to the type of section you are defining. For example, the homogeneous shell section editor is shown in Figure 12–6.
Note:
You can display help on particular aspects of an editor that are not discussed here by selecting HelpOn Context from the main menu bar and then clicking the editor feature of interest. A help window will appear containing a relevant section from this manual.
Some editors contain a Rebar Layers option button, as shown in Figure 12–6. If you click this button, another dialog box appears in which you can enter data concerning rebar layers, as shown in Figure 12–7.
Note: To display context-sensitive help for items in the Rebar Layers dialog box, you must select the item of interest and then press [F1]. (The Help menu in the main menu bar is unavailable while the option dialog box is displayed.)
Once you have entered all the data necessary to define the section, you can click OK to close the section editor and to save the section.
For detailed instructions on using section editors, see the following sections:
