1. In STAAD.

pro, you may add cover plates to your beam elements as shown in the
following figure.
2. You may add cover plates to your beam elements as shown in the following figure
using Section Builder Software. Click on Start -> Programs -> STAAD.pro 2006 ->
Section Wizard -> Section Builder.

1. Click on the “Select Profile” button.

2. Expand the “ASTM” tree item.
3. Expand the “W-Wide Flange Beams” tree item.
4. Select “W10x33”
5. Click on the “Ok” button.
6. Your “W10x33” section will appear in the “Section Element” dialog box.
7. Click on the “Add” button to add the section to the “Section Wizard” window.

8. Now we need to add the top and bottom cover plates.

9. Click on the “Select Profile” button.
10. Select the “plates” option.
11. Enter 1.5 inches in the “Plate Thickness” input box.
12. Enter 12 inches in the “Plate Width” input box.
13. Click on the “Ok” button.
14. Your 1.5” x 12” plate will appear in the “Section Element” dialog box.
15. Notice that node #1 is highlighted in red. Select the “Join Node” option. In the
first selection box, select node #6. You will notice that node #6 is now
 highlighted in red. Select node# 11 in the second node selection box. You will
notice that node #11 in your “Section Wizard” window on the “W10x33” section
will be highlighted. Press the Add button. You will notice that the top cover
plate has been added.
16. Notice that node #6 is highlighted in red. Select the “Join Node” option. In the
first selection box, select node #8. You will notice that node #8 is now
highlighted in red. Select node# 2 in the second node selection box. You will
notice that node #2 in your “Section Wizard” window on the “W10x33” section
will be highlighted. Press the Add button. You will notice that the bottom cover
plate has been added.
Once you have created your section, you can export the section to STAAD.pro by
clicking on File -> Export to STAAD -> General Section. Specify a file name and
location.

To import and use the newly created section in STAAD.pro, click on

1. Click on Tools->Create User Table.
2. Click on the "New Table" button.
3. Check the "External Table" check box.
4. Click on the "Browse" button and locate your "*.upt" file.
5. Select the "General" section type.
6. Press "Ok"
7. Press "Close"
8. Click on the Geometry tab on your left.
9. Click on "Property" tab.
10. On your right hand side, click on the "User Table" button.
11. Select "Table #" in which your section is placed.
12. Select the section and click the "Add" button.
13. Press "Close"
14. Select the Section in the "Properties" box and select "Use Cursor to
Assign"
15. Click on the "Assign" button.
16. You will see that the mouse pointer will change and you will be able to assign the
new section.