Portal frame properties

Tekla Structural Designer
Modified: 31 Oct 2025
2025
Tekla Structural Designer

Portal frame properties

Portal frame properties

Select one or more portal frames and then use the Properties window to view and modify their properties.

General
Name The automatically generated name.
User Name Can be used to override the automatically generated name if required.
Autodesign

See: Steel member autodesign

All rafters
Section The section size
Grade Steel grade
Design section order The design order file from which a section size will be selected. For details of managing order files, see: Manage design section orders
UDA

Name

Finish

Class

Phase

Note

File

A customizable list of the attributes that can be applied to individual members and panels.

See: Work with user-defined attributes

All columns
Section The section size
Grade Steel grade
Design section order The design order file from which a section size will be selected. For details of managing order files, see: Manage design section orders
Sway and drift checks
Merge with stack below

Columns are divided into stacks and walls are divided into panels at floor levels where members or slabs connect to the column/wall. For the purposes of Sway/Drift, Wind Drift and Seismic Drift checks only you can override the default stack/panel divisions by merging a stack/panel with a lower stack/panel. The length of the combined stack/panel is then used in the checks.

Sway/Seismic drift checks

By default all stacks of all walls are taken into account in the calculation to determine the sway sensitivity of the building. The results of this calculation being accessed from the Review toolbar.

This parameter provides a facility to exclude particular wall panels from these calculations to avoid spurious results associated with very small panel lengths. You can either clear the checkbox located under ‘All Panels’ to exclude the entire wall, or you can exclude a particular panel by clearing the checkbox located under that panel only.

Wind drift check,

Wind drift ratio

Wind drift is automatically checked against the specified limiting ratio, (which can be set differently for different columns). The results of this calculation are accessed from the Review toolbar.

If you don’t want this check to be performed you can either clear the checkbox located under ‘All Panels’ to exclude the entire wall, or you can exclude a particular stack by clearing the checkbox located under that panel only.

UDA

Name

Finish

Class

Phase

Note

File

A customizable list of the attributes that can be applied to individual members and panels.

See: Work with user-defined attributes

Support 1, 2, 3 etc.
Name The automatically generated name.
User Name Can be used to override the automatically generated name if required.
Plane Indicates the grid along which the portal frame is placed.
Angles

(Fx/Fy/Fz, Mx/My/Mz)

Used to specify the translational and rotational degrees of freedom in which the support acts:

  • Fixed - indicates the support is fixed in the specified direction.

  • Free - indicates the support is free to move, or has a stiffness applied in the specified direction.

Translational stiffnesses (x/y/z)

Used to specify the translational stiffness applied in a direction that is not fixed:

  • Release

  • Spring Linear

  • Spring Non-linear

Rotational stiffnesses (x/y/z)

Used to specify the rotational stiffness applied in a direction that is not fixed:

  • Release

  • Spring Linear

  • Spring Non-linear

UDA

Name

Finish

Class

Phase

Note

File

A customizable list of the attributes that can be applied to individual members and panels.

See: Work with user-defined attributes

Span 1, 2, 3 etc.
In a multi-span frame rafter and column properties can be entered for a specific span, over-riding those defined at the All rafters and All columns levels.
UDA

Name

Finish

Class

Phase

Note

File

A customizable list of the attributes that can be applied to individual members and panels.

See: Work with user-defined attributes

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