Section Properties Calculation

[ieaz123]

Can anyone recommend a good general purpose section properties calculator? I've used Boeing's SA and SA+ which are very good but not accessable unless working on a Boeing project. I also have used shapebuilder but it seems a little clunky. I've seen some excel based user created calculators but nothing that great.

 

[SAITAETGrad]

AutoCAD

 

[rb1957]

excel works for me ... of course it depnds on what you want to section ... a stringer or a fuselage, and how exotic you want you're properties ... Ixx is easy enough, principal axes aren't too difficult. if you want something canned, try xcalcs.com

 

[RPstress]

Most FE preprocessors and CAD programs have quite good section properties modules. PATRAN, Femap and CATIA all do the job.

There are a million billion (almost) simple programs and spreadsheets out there too. Quite a common approach that appeals to people is to define the section by a series of points making up a complicated polygon, and then to find the properties by evaluating a series of trapeziums, one between each side of the polygon and each of the X and Y axes.

One older program that works well is the BEAMSTRESS module of the old SMUG suite (Structural Members User Group). This handles the slightly trickier aspect of torsional properties of an arbitrary section. Boeing's SA can also do this, though it has to make a mesh and do an FE analysis (which it is quite happy to do). BEAMSTRESS requires you to make the mesh, but it works (also by FE). Unfortunately I can no information of SMUG or its BEAMSTRESS online, though my company still has it available on the computer system.

I know of no software that does plastic torsion, and although I suspect that plastic bending is occasionally covered I actually don't know of any that does that, either. In these instances a full plastic FE analysis is probably the only way. Plastic torsion is rarely covered in classic texts. "Inelastic Behavior of Load-Carrying Members" by J.O. Smith has something on a limited set of sections.

 

[vem2004]

This is a useful section calculator for excel 2003. It doesn't seem to work in 2007 though

 

[vem2004]

I forgot to say after you add-in the file, a "section properties" menu item appears at the bottom of the tools menu.

 

[robonave]

I have an old program but is really quick and handy in section calculations (and it works in seven too!).
Hope it helps you