Templates¶
File → New from Template… (Ctrl+T) generates a ready-made model. Pick a Category and then a Type, set the geometry parameters and the common material/section properties, and watch the live preview update as you type; click OK to draw the structure onto the canvas.
The dialog is organised into three titled, consistently indented boxes — Geometry, Material and Section — followed by the live preview. Each box adjusts its height to the fields the current type needs.
The dialog opens with the settings of its last use (accepted with OK) in the current session; they are not kept after closing the application. The Mesh element of walls and slabs starts as Quadrilateral.
Available templates¶
Templates are grouped into six families, in this order: Beams & Frames, Slabs, Walls, Trusses, Grillages, Arches. Beams & Frames, Walls, Trusses and Arches build plane models; Slabs and Grillages build plate models (out-of-plane bending — see Slabs and Grillages).
Beams & Frames
| Type | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous beam | spans, span length, left / intermediate / right support | Multi-span beam with an independent support condition at each position |
| Portal | span, height | Single-bay, single-storey, fixed bases |
| Rectangular | bays, floors, bay width, floor height | Multi-bay, multi-storey, fixed bases |
The continuous beam replaces the old single-span beam types: pick the support
at the left end, the intermediate supports and the right end — each
Free, Pin (canonical PIN) or Fixed (canonical FIXED). The
intermediate combo is disabled for a single span. The span length accepts a
single value (uniform spans) or a comma-separated list such as 6, 5, 4 for
variable spans; a list overrides the number of spans.
Both bay width and floor height (frames) accept a single value or a
comma-separated list (e.g. 5, 4, 6 widths, 4, 3, 3 heights) for variable
spacing; a list overrides the corresponding bays / floors count. In
parametric-object mode the rectangular frame emits one object per column
(spanning the full height) and one object per floor beam (spanning the full
length), welded to the joint nodes.
Trusses
Trusses use the same shaped bar section as beams and frames (not just an area).
| Type | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| King post | panels, span, depth | King-post truss; an odd panel count inverts the diagonals so it differs from the next even count |
| Warren | panels, span, depth | Triangulated, no verticals (symmetric for any panel count) |
| Howe | panels, span, depth | Verticals + diagonals sloping to centre; even panels only (odd would be asymmetric) |
| Pratt | panels, span, depth | Verticals + diagonals (tension under gravity); even panels only |
| Long (X-braced) | panels, span, depth | Howe + Pratt superimposed — a full X of diagonals in every panel (statically indeterminate); symmetric for any panel count |
| Town lattice | span, depth, diagonal pitch, lattice span k | Dense crossing lattice: diagonals jump k panels, spaced by the pitch (rounded to fit the span), joined only at the chords, with end posts |
For Howe and Pratt the panel spinbox steps in twos (a single diagonal per panel cannot be mirror-symmetric with an odd count). Warren and Long are symmetric for any count; King post keeps the full range and inverts its diagonals for an odd panel count. The Town lattice density is set by the diagonal pitch (target chord-node spacing, rounded so a whole number of panels fits the span) and the lattice span k (how many panels each diagonal jumps).
Arches
| Type | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Parabolic (two-hinged) | segments, span, rise | Two-hinged parabolic arch |
Walls
| Type | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Wall panel | width, height, mesh X/Y | Rectangular plane-stress panel meshed in triangles, fixed along its base |
| Deep beam | width (span), height (depth), mesh X/Y | Plane-stress panel supported at its two bottom corners (pin + roller) |
| Wall + Frame | bays, floors, bay width, floor height, wall width, wall mesh X, wall side | Rectangular frame with a full-height shear wall at one end |
Wall + Frame combines a rectangular frame with a plane-stress wall on the chosen wall side (Left / Right). The wall spans the full frame height and is meshed in modules aligned with the floor levels, so its interface nodes coincide with — and share — the frame's floor joints (the wall connects to the frame at every floor). It uses a single (concrete) material and a combined section giving both the frame bar dimensions (b, h) and the wall thickness / formulation. Bay width and floor height accept lists for variable spacing. Both frame bases and the wall base are fixed.
Every wall (and every slab) offers a Mesh element choice — Triangle or Quadrilateral — and an Element formulation whose options follow that choice: membrane triangles ES-FEM / Allman / CST or quads QM6 / Q4 for walls; plate triangles MITC3 / DKT or quads MITC4 / DKT4 for slabs.
Slabs (plate domain)
| Type | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rectangular slab | Lx, Ly, mesh element/formulation, thickness, per-edge support | Rectangular slab with an independent condition on each edge — Free, Pin (SIMPLE) or Fixed (CLAMPED), using the canonical plate support names |
| Rib-stiffened | Lx, Ly, mesh element/formulation, slab t, rib b/h | Slab with edge beams (grillage ribs), resting on the corners |
| Flat slab on columns | bay Lx, Ly (value or list), column bays X/Y, max element size, thickness | Slab carried only on a grid of columns (point W supports), no edge beams. Lx/Ly are the bay span — a single value (uniform bays) or a list like 6, 4, 6 for variable bays; columns land exactly on every bay line and each bay is meshed to the given max element size |
| On grade (Winkler) | Lx, Ly, mesh element/formulation, thickness, kz | Slab on an elastic foundation (subgrade kz), the springs alone carry it |
| Circular sector | rmin, rmax, θ, max element size, thickness, per-edge support | Circular slab sector with an independent condition on each edge — outer arc, inner arc and the two radial sides — each Free / Pin (SIMPLE) / Fixed (CLAMPED). rmin = 0 gives a solid sector (no inner arc), θ = 360 a full disc (no radial sides). The curved boundary is faceted and filled with a quality unstructured mesh at the given max element size |
Grillages (plate domain — beam grids)
| Type | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Beam grid | Lx, Ly, bays X/Y, beam b/h | Orthogonal grillage, simply supported on the perimeter |
| Bridge deck | span L, width W, girders, transverse stations, girder b/h, transverse b/h | Longitudinal girders tied by transverse diaphragms, simply supported at the two abutments |
A slab section is a thickness plus the chosen plate element (Triangle
MITC3/DKT or Quadrilateral MITC4/DKT4); a grillage beam reuses the shaped bar
section and gains a torsion constant J. All plate templates seed a self-weight
load case; the slabs also carry a uniform area pressure pz.
Material and Section¶
Below the Geometry box are two more, laid out in two columns each:
- Material — pick a type (Concrete / Steel / Timber) and a grade (C25/30, S275, C24…), shown side by side. The preset sets E, γ and ν; fine-tune them later in the material editor.
- Section — adapts to the family and material:
- for beams, frames, arches and trusses, the bar section depends on the material type. Concrete and Timber show only b and h (with sensible defaults — concrete 0.30 × 0.50 m, timber 0.12 × 0.36 m). Steel shows only a rolled I-profile dropdown (HEA/HEB/HEM/IPE, IPE100 by default) whose dimensions define the section;
- thickness t, the Mesh element (Triangle / Quadrilateral, default Quadrilateral) and the matching Element formulation for walls and slabs. The Circular sector is always meshed with triangles, so its mesh element is fixed, but its formulation (MITC3 / DKT) can be chosen;
- a combined section (frame b/h + wall thickness / formulation) for Wall + Frame.
Parametric objects (auto-meshed)¶
For Beams & Frames, Arches, Walls and Slabs, a checkbox Create as parametric objects (auto-meshed) (checked by default for Slabs and Walls) makes the template emit geometry objects — lines / a polyline for the bar families, rectangles for walls (one per floor module in Wall + Frame), a rectangle/polygon for slabs — instead of explicit nodes and elements. The objects discretise into elements at solve time, so the model stays parametric and easy to re-mesh or edit. The wall's mesh divisions then set the target element size. Trusses have no single-object form and keep the explicit output.
What every template includes¶
- A self-weight load case named SW with self-weight multiplier 1.0.
- A Linear analysis case, also named SW, that applies it with factor 1.0.
So a template is ready to Run (F5) immediately and show its self-weight response. Add further load cases, analysis cases, and combinations as needed — see Loads and Analysis.