Beam | Stresses Page Page 1 of 5

User Interface

Post Processing

3.2.2.2 Beam | Stresses page

Used to view the Member Stresses (combined axial and bending stresses) both graphically and
numerically. It also allows the user to obtain the combined stress for any cross-section at any point
along the length of the member. Stress points (at any point on the cross-section) can be determined
with a click of the mouse and added to a customized report for printing. An OpenGL rendered picture
of the stress distribution in 3D is also provided.

Description

This Page displays the Member Stress diagram in the Main Window and the Beam Combined Axial
and Bending Stresses table.

The main window will be split into three parts. The topmost splitter window (the separator bar can be
moved from side to side) displays the combined stress of the currently selected member in 3D along
the longitudinal axis of the beam. A yellow rectangular plane, which is perpendicular to the local x-
axis of the member, represents the location on the longitudinal axis of the beam for which the cross-
sectional stress distribution is shown (the right part of the top most window).

Figure 4.41

If the topmost window (depicting the combined stresses along the cross-sectional and longitudinal
directions) is blank, there are no members selected in the model view in the lower-left corner of the
screen. Select a member by clicking on the beams cursor and selecting any member. The topmost
window can only show the stress distribution for one member at a time.

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Figure 4.42

Once a member is selected in the bottom left corner window, a dialog box will appear enabling the
user to choose a location along the longitudinal axis where the stresses along the cross-section will be
displayed. The direction of the local x-axis (longitudinal) is defined as the direction from the starting
node to the ending node. The positive direction is labeled in the left hand-side of the topmost window.
Either the slider bar or the edit box labeled Distance: can be used to position the yellow rectangle at a
certain location. The cross-sectional stress diagram will be immediately updated as the position along
the longitudinal axis is changed.

The table below shows an example of this:

Distance Along Location of Yellow Cross-sectional

Longitudinal Axis (3.8 Plane @ 3.8 ft Stresses @ 3.8 ft
ft from start)

Figure 4. 43

In the second half of the Select Section Plane dialog box shown above, the user can choose a point on
the cross-section at which to calculate the combined stress. The two points (labeled Y Point and Z
Point) represent the local Y and Z coordinates for the given cross-section for which the local origin is
located at the centroid of the section (the point where the local Y and Z axes intersect). To retrieve the
stress value at any given point, fill in the Y and Z values in the appropriate edit boxes or click on any
point in the cross-section window (upper right-hand corner). By clicking on a point (indicated by a
green dot), the Y and Z edit boxes will be filled with the selected location.

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Figure 4. 44

The option to include the corner stress values (see the section STAAD Graphical Environment | Post
Processing | The Pages In The Post Processing Mode | Beam Stresses for more information on the
corner points for various cross sections) on the diagram is also included. Check the box labeled
Display Corner Stress to display the corner stress values for the selected beam. As the location of the
section along the longitudinal axis changes, so will the corner stress values.

The color patterns for the combined stress diagrams represent the variation from compression to
tension throughout the member (cross-section and longitudinal direction). Red represents
compressive stress while blue represents tensile stress. These colors DO NOT match the color
provided by the user to label the compressive and tensile stresses through the Labels tab in the
Structure Diagrams box. Although the default colors have been set up to coincide with each other, if
they are changed through the Labels box, the new colors will not be reflected in the 3D stress
diagrams (only in the normal view).

The final check box, labeled Display Legend, displays the combined stress range (minimum to
maximum) and associated color gradient.

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Figure 4. 45

Selected points on the cross-section can be added to the grid table in the lower right-hand corner
(“Beam Combined Axial and Bending Stresses”) under the Profile Stress Points tab. To add a specific
stress value at a certain point, click on the Add Stress to Table button from the Select Section Plane
dialog box. If the dialog box has been closed, select another member from the diagram in the lower-
right hand corner to bring the Select Section Plane box back.

Figure 4. 46

To add this customized output to the final report, choose Beam Profile Stress under Output from the
Report Setup dialog box.

Figure 4. 47

Whole Structure

The Main Window shows the combined stress diagram superimposed on the members. The
Compressive and Tensile stresses are displayed in different colors.

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Figure 4. 48

The colors of the stress diagrams can be changed from the Loads and Results tab in the Diagrams
dialog box from the View | Structure Diagrams menu option. The scale factor for plotting the diagram
may be changed using the menu option Results | Scale. The Load Case for which the diagram is
plotted may be controlled using the menu option View | Structure Diagrams | Loads and Results tab.

Beam Combined Axial and Bending Stress table

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