This window is displayed when you create a new section or open an existing section. It is displayed as a floating window separate from the main application window. Closing this window will not close the section itself and will not lose any information about the section. To redisplay this window (when a section is open), select Section Inputs from the View menu, or press F3.
This tab contains general inputs that apply to the entire section. See also Part Tab, Elements Tab, and Direct Strength Tab.
| Description | Text describing the type of section. |
| Project | Text describing the use for the section. |
| Revised | The date and time of the last revision to the section, and the name of the user that made the last revision. The user name comes from the Heading tab of the Options window. |
| Material Type | The designation for the type of material of the section. When you select a different material, the yield strength and tensile strength inputs are updated to the defaults for that material. For carbon steels, these may then be changed if necessary. If you have created a custom material it will also be available to select from the list. Additionally, you may view detailed information about the material and customize it specifically for the current section by pressing the ‘…’ button next to the material type. |
| Apply cold work of forming strength increase | Indicates whether to calculate and apply the strength increase from cold work of forming. If the inleastic reserve option is also checked, the strength increase from cold work of forming is not permiited, but CFS will calculate and report the higher strength of the two options. The cold work of forming option does not get applied to cylindrical tubes. |
| Apply inelastic reserve strength increase | Indicates whether to calculate and apply the inelastic reserve strength. If the cold work of forming option is also checked, the inelastic reserve strength is not permiited, but CFS will calculate and report the higher strength of the two options. |
| Yield Strength, Fy | The section material yield strength used for design calculations. For stainless steel materials, this represents the longitudinal compression yield strength and is not editable. |
| Tensile Strength, Fu | The section material longitudinal ultimate tensile strength. For stainless steel materials, this is not editable. |
| J Override | St. Venant torsion constant to be used instead of the value calculated by CFS, if the override is greater than the calculated value. This is useful for sections containing multiple parts that are connected such that the section torsion constant is larger than the sum of the individual part torsion constants, which generally happens when separate parts join to form a closed shape. The Section Wizard will compute and assign the appropriate value for applicable sections using the assumption that the parts are rigidly and continuously connected. However if you subsequently make changes to the inputs, this value will not be automatically updated. For sections with holes, this override should reflect the weighted average torsion constant consistent with the hole length and spacing. |
| Cw Override | Torsional warping constant to be used instead of the value calculated by CFS, if the override is greater than zero. This is useful for sections containing multiple parts that are connected such that the section torsional warping constant is different from the sum of the individual part torsional warping constants. The Section Wizard will compute and assign the appropriate value for applicable sections using the assumption that the parts are rigidly and continuously connected. However if you subsequently make changes to the inputs, this value will not be automatically updated. For sections with holes, this override should reflect the net section warping constant. |
| The effective torsion properties for built-up sections depend on the stiffness of the connections, which can be difficult to determine if not rigidly and continuously connected. This article provides information which may be helpful: The mechanics of built-up cold-formed steel members. | |
| Connector Spacing | For built-up sections of more than one part, this defines the longitudinal spacing between shear connectors. It is used to adjust the KL/r for column members. It is also used for the spacing of intermittent connections of cover plates. |
| Hole Length | For sections with holes, enter the length of the holes. This affects distortional buckling stresses and the average section properties used for calculating global buckling stresses. To ignore the impact on buckling stresses, enter a hole length of 0. |
| Hole Spacing | For sections with holes, enter the longitudinal hole spacing. This affects distortional buckling stresses and the average section properties used for calculating global buckling stresses. |