2.17.

8 Design Parameters

Page 1 of 6

2.3.4 Design Parameters

Design per AISC 36005 and 36010 (Unified) specifications is requested by using the CODE parameter.
Other applicable parameters are summarized in the following Table. These parameters communicate
design decisions from the engineer to the program and thus allow the user to control the design process to
suit an application's specific needs.
The default parameter values have been selected such that they are frequently used numbers for
conventional design. Depending on the particular design requirements, some or all of these parameter
values may be changed to exactly model the physical structure.
Table 21: AISC 36005 and 36010 Design Parameters

Parameter
Name

CODE

Default Value

Description

AISC UNIFIED Used to designate this code (default is

the 2010 edition).
CODE AISC UNIFIED (2010)
CODE AISC UNIFIED 2005

AXIS1

(AISC 36005 edition only See Note 1

below)
1 = Design single angles for
bending based on principle
axis.
2 = Design single angles for
bending based on geometric
axis.

BEAM

1.0

See Note 9 below.

0.0 = design at start and end nodes
and those locations specified by
the SECTION command.
1.0 = design at 13 evenly spaced
points (i.e., 1/12th points) along
member length, including start
and end nodes.

mk:@MSITStore:C:\SProV8i%20SS5\STAAD\Help\Technical_Reference_2007.chm::/A...

11/7/2016

2.17.8 Design Parameters

Parameter
Name

CAN

Page 2 of 6

Default Value

Description

0 = deflection check based on the

principle that maximum deflection
occurs within the span between DJ1 and
DJ2.
1 = deflection check based on the
principle that maximum deflection is of
the cantilever type (see note 2 on Table
2.1)

CB2

CSPACING

1.0

Coefficient Cb per Chapter F. If Cb is set

to 0.0, it will be calculated by the
program. Any other value will be
directly used in the design. See Note 2
below.

12 in

Spacing between connectors in current

length units. Refer to Section E6.1 and
E6.2 of AISC 360.

DFF

none
"Deflection Length" / Maximum
(mandatory allowable local deflection
for deflection
check)

DJ1

Start Joint of Joint No. denoting starting point for

member
calculation of "Deflection Length" (see
note 1 on Table 2.1)

DJ2

End Joint of
member

Joint No. denoting end point for

calculation of "Deflection Length" (see
note 1 on Table 2.1)

DMAX

1000.0 mm

Maximum allowable depth for member

selection.

DMIN

0.0 mm

Minimum allowable depth for member

selection.

mk:@MSITStore:C:\SProV8i%20SS5\STAAD\Help\Technical_Reference_2007.chm::/A...

11/7/2016

2.17.8 Design Parameters

Parameter
Name

FLX

Page 3 of 6

Default Value

Description

Parameter for specifying the lateral

torsional restraint condition for a single
angle. Refer to Section F10 of AISC 360
05 and 36010.
1 = Member does not have
continuous lateraltorsional
restraint along the length.
2 = Member has continuous
lateraltorsional restraint
along the length.
3 = Lateraltorsional
restraint is provided at the
point of maximum moment
only.

FU

400 MPa

Ultimate strength of steel.

FYLD

250 MPa

Yield strength of steel.

KX

1.0

K value for flexuraltorsional buckling.

KY

1.0

K value in local yaxis.

KZ

1.0

K value in local zaxis.

LX

Member
Length

Length for flexuraltorsional buckling.

See Note 8 below.

LY

Member
Length

Length to calculate slenderness ratio for

buckling about local yaxis.

LZ

Member
Length

Length to calculate slenderness ratio for

buckling about local zaxis.

MAIN
METHOD
NSF

200
LRFD
1.0

Allowable slenderness limit for

compression members.
Used to specify LRFD or ASD design
methods.
Net Section Factor for tension members,
equal to An/Ag,used to account for
reduction in section used for tension
checks (clause B 4.3b.) combined with
the SLF parameter to determine the
rupture strength. (see also SLF
parameter)

mk:@MSITStore:C:\SProV8i%20SS5\STAAD\Help\Technical_Reference_2007.chm::/A...

11/7/2016

2.17.8 Design Parameters

Parameter
Name

Page 4 of 6

Default Value

PROFILE

Description

Used in member selection. Refer to

Section 5.48.1 for details.

RATIO

1.0

Permissible ratio of actual load to

allowable strength.

SLF

1.0

Shear Lag Factor, value U normally

taken from table D3.1, combined with
the NSF parameter to determine the Net
Effective Area used to calculate the
section rupture strength. (see also NSF
parameter)

SNUG

Type of connection for the builtup

members:
0 = Bolted snugtight
1 = Welded or pretensioned
bolts

STIFF

STP

Member
Spacing of stiffeners for plate girder
Length or
design.
depth of beam,
whichever is
greater
1.0

Section Type to determine

Fr (compression residual stress in
flange)
1.0 = Rolled section (Fr = 10
ksi)
2.0 = Welded section (Fr=
16.5 ksi)

TMAIN

300

Allowable slenderness limit for tension

members.

mk:@MSITStore:C:\SProV8i%20SS5\STAAD\Help\Technical_Reference_2007.chm::/A...

11/7/2016

2.17.8 Design Parameters

Page 5 of 6

Parameter
Name

Default Value

TORSION

Description

(AISC 36010 only) Specifies design for

torsion per AISC Design Guide 9. See
"Design for Torsion"
0 = Do not perform torsion
checks
1 = Perform torsion checks
When torsion checks are
performed, TRACK 3 output may
be used to provide detailed
torsion design output for Design
Guide 9 checks.

TRACK

Specifies the amount of detail included

in design output
0 = Suppress all member
capacities
1 = Print all member
capacities
2 = Print full member design
details
3 = Print detailed output for
Design Guide 9 (torsion)
only (AISC 36010 only)

UNB

Member
Length

Unsupported length of the bottom flange

for calculating flexural strength. Will be
used only if compression is in the
bottom flange. See Note 3 below.

UNT

Member
Length

Unsupported length of the top flange for

calculating flexural strength. Will be
used only if compression is in the top
flange. See Note 3 below.

Notes
1. The AXIS parameter is only used by AISC 36005. For the AISC 36010 code, an angle is
automatically checked for geometric axis bending (in addition to principal axis bending) provided
one of the following conditions is met:

mk:@MSITStore:C:\SProV8i%20SS5\STAAD\Help\Technical_Reference_2007.chm::/A...

11/7/2016

2.17.8 Design Parameters

Page 6 of 6

i. The FLX parameter is set to 2 for that member. The section could be an equal or an unequal
legged angle.
ii. The angle is equallegged, has bending moment only about one of its geometric axes, and is
not subjected to axial compression.
2. Nondefault values of CB must be reentered before every subsequent CHECK CODE or SELECT
command.
3. Top and Bottom represent the positive and negative side of the local Y axis (local Z axis if SET Z UP
is used).
4. For a description of the deflection check parameters DFF, DJ1, DJ2 see the Notes section of Table
2.1 of this manual.
5. NSF is the Net Section Factor as used in most of the Steel Design Codes of STAAD. It is defined as the
Ratio of Net cross section area / Gross section area for tension member design. The default value
is 1.0. For the AISC 360 code, it is described in section D.3.2.
6. SLF is the Shear Lag Factor, as used in Section D.3.3 of the AISC 36005 code. This factor is used to
determine the Effective Net Area by multiplying this factor with Net Area of the cross section. Please
refer to Table D3.1 of the 360 code for a list of acceptable SLF values. In STAAD, the default value for
SLF is 1.0. The Effective Net Area is used to determine the Tensile Strength for Tensile rupture in
the Net Section, as per equation D.2.2.
7. To summarize, the Gross Area (Ag) is multiplied by NSF to get the Net Area (An) of the section.
The Net Area (An) is again multiplied by SLF to get the Effective Net Area (Ae) of the section.
8. For the design of a single angle for flexure, the parameter LX should be used to specify the value of
the term L in equations F104a, F104b, F105 and F106 of AISC 36005 and the term "Lb" in
equations F104, F105, F106a, and F106b of AISC 36010.
9. When BEAM is 1.0 (default), the design is performed at 13 evenly spaced points along the length of
the beam, including start and end points (i.e., 1/12th points or at ends of 12 equal length segments).
Figure 21: The default sections for design when BEAM 1.0 is used

When BEAM is 0.0, the start and ends along with up to three locations specified in the SECTION
command are designed.

mk:@MSITStore:C:\SProV8i%20SS5\STAAD\Help\Technical_Reference_2007.chm::/A...

11/7/2016