Suggestions for Design

Economy of concrete structures begins in the design development stage with designers who have a good understanding of formwork logic. Often, two or more structural alternatives will meet the design objective equally well. However, one alternative may be significantly less expensive to build. Constructability, that is, making structural frames faster, simpler, and less costly to … Read more

Plate Structures

Plate structures are rigid, planar, usually monolithic structures that disperse applied loads in a multidirectional pattern, with the loads generally following the shortest and stiffest routes to the supports. A common example of a plate structure is a reinforced concrete slab. A plate can be envisioned as a series of adjacent beam strips interconnected continuously … Read more

Building Systems

Structural System The structural system of a building is designed and constructed to support and transmit applied gravity and lateral loads safely to the ground without exceeding the allowable stresses in its members. The superstructure is the vertical extension of a building above the foundation, Columns, beams, and loadbearing walls support floor and roof structures. … Read more

Construction Management Glossary

  – A – Activity – (1) A scheduling term (2) The smallest work unit within a project; the basic building block of a project. (see Project) ADA – The Americans with Disabilities Act which gives civil rights protection to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, … Read more

Solar Boat – Basic Experiments

Remember to use the scientific method when testing your solar boat! Hold other variables constant as you change and explore individual questions. • Experiment with different propellers. Which propeller makes the boat go faster? • What do you think would be more effective: a small propeller at high RPMs, or a larger propeller at low … Read more

Tekla Structures – Sketching and using cross sections

The Sketching toolbar is embedded in the Cross section sketch editor. It contains thetools you need to define and save cross sections:   Sketching cross sections       To sketch a cross section: 1.    Click Modeling > Profiles > Define Cross Section in Sketch Editor…. Tekla Structuresopens the: •       Cross Section Sketch Editor View and Sketching toolbar •       Variables and Sketch Browser dialog boxes 2.     Use the following tools on the Sketching toolbar to sketch the outline of a crosssection, and … Read more

Tekla Structures – Tools

Snapping Tekla Structures includes many tools you can use alone or together with other tools to snap to specific locations. These tools are: •     Snap switches  •     Numeric snapping  •     Orthogonal snapping  •     Tracking  •     Temporary reference points See also Snapping examples  Numeric snapping Use the Enter a numeric location toolbar to key in position coordinates you want to snap to. TEKLA    To display the toolbar, initiate a … Read more

Tekla Structures – Numbering

Numbering settings To open the Numbering Setup dialog box, click Drawings & Reports > Numbering > Numbering Settings…:   You can use various numbering options: Option Action if checked Renumber all Tekla Structures renumbers all parts. All information on previous numbers is lost. Reuse old numbers Tekla Structures reuses numbers assigned to parts that have subsequently been deleted. … Read more

Tekla Structures – Settings

Units and decimals To configure how units and decimals are input, output, stored and displayed, click Tools >Options > Options… > Units and decimals. Update                        When you click OK in the Units and decimals dialog box, Tekla Structures updates the format of units and decimals in all open dialog boxes. Input and output Different types of data are separated onto three tabs in the Units and decimals dialog box. Inputdata                             data appears on the Modeling and Catalogs tabs. Output data appears on the Analysis results tab … Read more