Create plated or compound section steel beams

In addition to rolled steel beams, Tekla Structural Designer also allows you to create plated section and compound section beams.

Plated section and compound section beams are distinguished from each other as follows:

Fabrication-wise plated sections are made up exclusively from separate structural steel plates assembled together (rather than rolled as a single cross-section). Plated section beams are designable in Tekla Structural Designer.
Compound sections differ in that they are made up from one or more rolled sections and/or plates. Compound section beams are provided for modelling and analysis purposes, but they are not designable in Tekla Structural Designer.

Plated section types

There are two plated section types:

Plated Beam
Plated Column

Compound section types

There are eighteen compound section types:


Section		Notes
	Rolled I-sections with Bottom Plate	Composed of: Standard parallel flange I-section & Bottom plate
	Rolled I-sections with Plates	Composed of: Standard parallel flange I-section; Top plate; Bottom plate Limitation: Top & Bottom plates must be equal and greater than standard section breadth.
	Rolled I-sections with Top Plate	Composed of: Standard parallel flange I-section & Top plate
	Rolled Steel Joists with Plates	Composed of: Standard tapered flange I-section; Top plate; Bottom plate Limitations: Top & Bottom plates must be equal and greater than standard section breadth. For Indian code - India country this compound section is not included since it exists already as one of the rolled section types For selected country - South Africa, the steel joist source section is not available. In order to define this compound section a different country would need to be chosen.
	Plated I-sections with Plates	Composed of: Top & Bottom Plates; Plated I-section Limitation: Top & Bottom plates must be greater that plated section breadth.
	Star Sections with Plates	Composed of: 2 Plated sections
	Double Rolled I-sections	Composed of: 2 Rolled standard parallel flange I-sections
	Double Rolled I-section with Plates	Composed of: 2 Rolled standard parallel flange I-sections; Top and Bottom plates Limitation: Top & Bottom plates must be greater that the total breadth of the 2 rolled I-sections (including the gap between them).
	Welded Sections with Plates	Composed of: Plates
	Rolled Angles in Star Arrangement	Composed of: 2 Rolled angle sections
	Rolled Channels (toe to toe)	Composed of: 2 Parallel flange channel sections Limitation: For US code - USA country or Canada parallel flange channels are not available.
	Rolled Channels (toe to toe) with Horizontal Plates	Composed of: 2 Parallel flange channel sections; 2 horizontal plates Limitations: Top & Bottom plates must be equal and less than the total breadth of the 2 rolled channels and the gap. For US code - USA country or Canada parallel flange channels are not available.
	Rolled Channels (toe to toe) with Vertical Plates	Composed of: 2 Parallel flange channel sections; 2 vertical plates Limitation: For US code - USA country or Canada parallel flange channels are not available.
	Rolled Channels (back to back)	Composed of: 2 Parallel flange channel sections Limitation: For US code - USA country or Canada parallel flange channels are not available.
	Rolled Channels (back to back) with Plates	Composed of : 2 Parallel flange channel sections; 1 vertical plate; 2 horizontal plates Limitation: For US code - USA country or Canada parallel flange channels are not available.
	Box with Plates	Composed of: Plates
	Rolled Steel Joists in Star Arrangement	Composed of: 2 Tapered flange I-sections Limitation: For selected country - South Africa, the steel joist source section is not available. In order to define this compound section a different country would need to be chosen.
	Rolled Steel Joists with Plates in Star Arrangement	Composed of : 1 Tapered flange I-section; 1 plated I-section Limitation: For selected country - South Africa, the steel joist source section is not available. In order to define this compound section a different country would need to be chosen.

Create plated or compound section beams

On the Model tab, click the arrow under Steel Beam.
In the list that appears, select Plated.
Click the arrow on the right side of the Section property.
In the list that appears, select <New\Edit...>.

The Select Section dialog box opens.
Select the section type and size.
Tip: If the desired section is not listed, you can add it as follows:
1. Click Add...
2. Type the sections, plate dimensions, and gaps according to your needs.
3. To add the section to the list, OK.
  
  The section is automatically added to the materials database. Therefore, you do not need to redefine it in other models.
4. Select the section in the Select Section dialog box.
In the Properties window, adjust the remaining properties according to your needs.
Click the start point of the beam.
Click the end point of the beam.

Tekla Structural Designer creates the beam.
Do one of the following:
- To create more similar beams, click the start point of the new beam.
- To stop creating beams, press Esc.

Apply a plated or compound section to an existing steel beam

In the Properties window, go to Fabrication.
Set Fabrication to Plated.
Go to Section and do one of the following:
- Select an existing compound section.
- Click <New\Edit...> to select a new section.