Reports for single angle sections are in principal axes for AS4100, BS5950, NZS3404, AS4600, AISC-LRFD, AISC-ASD and IS800.At the end of a steel member design or check, you can produce a full report showing the results of the design or check.
The pass/fail status of each member can also be shown graphically in a color-coded display as described in "View steel member design results". Filters can also be created to filter members in accordance with their pass/fail status as described in "Filters".
You can also query individual members graphically to get an abbreviated report showing the results of the design or check as described in "Query steel member design results".
Reports for single angle sections are in principal axes for AS4100, BS5950, NZS3404, AS4600, AISC-LRFD, AISC-ASD and IS800.
Updating analysis member sizes
If you have performed a design (as opposed to a check), the final design member sizes are probably slightly different to those in the analysis section property data. So that the design is based on the same member sizes as the analysis, the new design member sizes should be transferred back into the analysis and then the analysis and design process iterated until the analysis and design sizes are the same. This is described in detail in "Updating member sizes".
Member, section and shear checks
For each steel design member in a full report, three lines of information relating to section, member and shear checks are presented. These represent summaries of the results of the three main checks that are performed when a steel member is designed or checked.
The section and shear checks are performed at numerous points along each design group. They consider the capacity of a cross section and are not related to effective lengths or any other conditions which occur away from the cross section under consideration. The forces and moments used in a section or shear check are the ones which occur simultaneously at the cross section. The governing location for the section and shear checks is shown under the "Start Pos’n" heading.
The member check is performed for each segment between adjacent points of critical flange restraint. The member check is affected by the axial and bending effective lengths of the segment and the shape of the deflection and bending moment diagrams along the segment. The forces and moments used in a member check are the maximum values taken from anywhere along the segment. The governing segment for the member check has its start and finish locations shown under the "Start Pos’n" and "Finish Pos’n" headings.
Load factor
The load factor applies only to AISC-LRFD, EUROCODE 3, AS4100, AS4600, BS5950, NZS3404, HK CP2011 and IS800. It is the amount by which the design actions can be increased before the point of failure is reached.
For example, if the steel design returns a load factor of 1.12, you could theoretically increase your loads by 12%, repeat the analysis and design, and expect the load factor to reduce to 1.00. This is not always the case however, because the non-linearity of the analysis means that increasing your loads by 12% does not guarantee that the design actions will also increase by exactly 12%.
For members designed in accordance with these codes, the load factor must be greater than 1.0. This means that the design actions can be factored up by an amount greater than 1.0 before the member becomes inadequate.
Because the relationship between design actions and design capacity is not linear, the load factor is not equal to the inverse of the (design actions)/(design capacity) failure equation at the end of the detailed calculations for each member in the steel design report.
Zero variables in reports
You may notice that some variables in the steel member design output report are shown as zero when it appears that they should have a non-zero value. This occurs because the steel member design modules only calculate the values that are applicable to the design actions and section type. Variables which are not applicable for the governing failure mode are not calculated and hence appear as zero in the output report.
Weighted average load factors (WALF)
A weighted average load factor (WALF) gives an overall indication of the efficiency of the design for each load case. The WALF for a given load case is calculated by summing the load factors and masses for each member according to S(LF x Mass) / S(Mass), where LF is the load factor for each steel member and Mass is its mass. The WALF should be greater than 1.0, and the closer to 1.0 the more efficient the design. A WALF significantly greater than 1.0 could indicate that many of the steel members are not working to their full capacity.