Member Selection Commands for Structural Design

A comprehensive operational system for selecting members within the general environment of the Integrated Civil Engineering System (ICES) and Structural Design Language (STRUDL) is described. Member design or selection commands that are a natural adjunct to the analyses afforded by large scale systems such as STRUDL and its precursor, STRESS (Structural Engineering Systems Solver) are described. Both member selection and checking can be done for truss members, beams, and columns, subjected to a variety of axial, shear, moment, biaxial bending and axial loads. Structural types such as plane trusses, frames, grids, space trusses and frames are all handled by identical commands. A general purpose constraint checker is incorporated to allow specification of structural, architectural, or fabrication requirements. The member selection commands are designed for both steel and concrete members, though only steel selection/checking procedures and the AISC code have been developed to date.