Defining UB Sections
Next, the beam elements need to be assigned with an appropriate section type. Here, we wish to give all of the cross-beams in the Y-direction a standard 356 x 127 x 39 UB cross-section, as shown below:
To do this:
1. Select the "Edit Section" tab of the "Properties | Beam Sections" dialogue box.
Using the "Generate Grid" option means that two section types have already been generated within Vulcan. These have generic properties that must be edited to the users' requirements.
2. In the 'Number' drop-down box, select the beam-type '1'. This corresponds to the Y-direction beams in the example.
3. Select the 'Type', 'Family' and 'Size' of beam required. In this instance, the options chosen are 'I Sections', 'UB' and '356 x 127 x 39' respectively. For more information on the types of beam available, see the 'Properties | Beam Sections | Edit Section' page.
4. If you wish all of the offsets to be updated (which we do), check the relevant box.
N.B. If you wish to edit more than one beam section-type (again, in this example we wish to do this), simply choose the relevant number from the drop down box - there is no need to close the window and reopen it.