Reinforcement sequence numbering

With reinforcement sequence numbering you can assign running numbers to reinforcement within each cast unit or pour unit. The sequence numbers usually start from 1. With sequence numbers you can indicate the installation order of the bars, for example.

Reinforcement sequence number is an optional identifier that can be used in addition to the regular reinforcement position number (REBAR_POS), which remains as the basis for identifying identical reinforcement objects and cast units in the model. Reinforcement sequence numbering relies on position numbers to assign the same sequence number to identical bars within a cast unit or pour.

Either or both of these two numbers, model-specific reinforcement position numbers and cast unit or pour-specific reinforcement sequence numbers, can be shown in drawings and reports, and used in exports.

Reinforcement sequence numbers can be assigned to all reinforcement object types: single reinforcing bars, reinforcing bar groups, rebar sets, reinforcement meshes, and reinforcement strands. Reinforcement objects added to a rebar assembly are numbered within that assembly. However, reinforcement objects that are added to cast units as steel sub-assemblies, such as embeds, are excluded from sequence numbering. Also loose reinforcement objects that are detached from parts are excluded.

If you have defined a pour by setting the same pour number for several pour objects, they are treated as one entity in reinforcement sequence numbering. Pour objects without a pour number are treated individually, and they are not combined with other pour objects that do not have a pour number.

Note:

Sequence numbers are always assigned to all reinforcement objects within a cast unit or a pour. When using the Number series of selected objects command, not all reinforcement objects may be included in the selection. In such cases, the numbering process automatically expands to include all reinforcement objects within the cast unit or pour.

To use reinforcement sequence numbers in existing drawing and report templates created with Tekla Structures versions prior to 2025, you should modify the templates. This can be laborious if there are many such templates. Alternatively, you can set the following advanced options to show sequence numbers instead of position numbers for reinforcement in outputs:

XS_REBAR_POSITION_NUMBER_FORMAT_STRING

For example, set XS_REBAR_POSITION_NUMBER_FORMAT_STRING to %REBAR_SEQ_POS%.
XS_REBARSET_TAPERED_GROUP_POSITION_NUMBER_FORMAT_STRING
XS_REBARSET_TAPERED_REBAR_POSITION_NUMBER_FORMAT_STRING

Note:

If you set the above advanced options to show reinforcement sequence numbers in outputs, the original reinforcement position numbers (REBAR_POS) cannot be shown.
These advanced options only control how the reinforcement position numbers are shown in outputs. In the model database, reinforcement numbers are still stored as position numbers.

Assign reinforcement sequence numbers

To define the default separator for the reinforcement sequence numbers, do the following:
1. Go to File menu > Settings > Options > Numbering.
2. In the Rebar sequence number separator list, select dot (.), comma (,), slash (/), or hyphen (-) to be the default separator.
  
  You can also select the empty option, and then later include the separator in the numbering prefix and, for example, use a different separator for each object group.
3. Click OK to save the setting and to close the Options dialog.
On the Drawings & reports tab, click Numbering settings > Numbering settings to open the Numbering Setup dialog.
Go to the Reinforcement sequence numbering tab.
In the Create reinforcement sequence numbers list, select Yes.
Under Use reinforcement sequence numbering for object groups, define which object groups to assign reinforcement sequence numbers to.

You can start either by modifying the default object group with the All rebars selection filter and the standard settings, or you can create new object groups.
1. To create a new object group, click Add row.
2. Select an object group row.
3. On the selected row, in the Filter column, select a selection filter.
  To use the same settings for all reinforcement objects, you can use the predefined All rebars option.
  
  To create a new filter or to modify an existing filter (.SObjGrp), click on the Selecting toolbar and use the Object Group - Selection Filter dialog.
  
  The following content options can be used in the filter:
  - Cast units, rebar assemblies, or pours (Object type = Assembly or Pour unit)
    
    All reinforcement objects within a cast unit, rebar assembly, or a pour will get a sequence number.
  - Parts (Object type = Part)
    
    All reinforcement objects attached to a part will get a sequence number.
  - Reinforcement objects (Object type = Reinforcing bar)
    
    The filtered reinforcement objects will get a sequence number.
  - Combinations of the above three.
4. On the selected row, in the Settings column, select the settings that you want to use for the object group.
  
  To define or modify the numbering settings for the selected row, click Edit settings and follow the steps below in the "Modify reinforcement sequence numbering settings" section.
To add more rows for object group filters, repeat step 5.

The filters work in the order they are in the list, starting from top. For each reinforcement object, the first matching filter will be used.
To arrange the rows in a different order, select a row and use the Move up and Move down buttons.
To define whether the reinforcement sequence numbers are applied within cast units or pour units, select an option in the Number rebars in cast in place using list.

The list is only available when pour management is enabled for the model (the advanced option XS_ENABLE_POUR_MANAGEMENT is set to TRUE).

If you select the Pour units option, Tekla Structures automatically calculates the pour units before numbering.
Modify the other numbering settings as required.
Click OK to save the numbering settings and to close the Numbering Setup dialog.

Tekla Structures stores the settings in the numbering database file (<model_name>.db2) in the current model folder the next time you save the model.
If you want to assign sequence numbers to reinforcement objects that have already been numbered, or that have not been modified since the last numbering, clear the existing numbers.

Use the Change number > Clear reinforcing bar numbers command on the Drawings & reports ribbon tab.
Update numbering in the model.

Tekla Structures assigns a reinforcement sequence number to new and modified reinforcement objects the next time you use a numbering command, such as Number modified objects or Number series of selected objects.

Modify reinforcement sequence numbering settings

In the Reinforcement sequence numbering settings dialog, you can define and modify the reinforcement sequence numbering settings of object groups.

In the Numbering Setup dialog, go to the Reinforcement sequence numbering tab.
Under Use reinforcement sequence numbering for object groups, select an object group row.
Click Edit settings.

The Reinforcement sequence numbering settings dialog appears.
Select how you want to number new or modified reinforcement objects.

The options are Compare to old and Take new number. You can also select to re-use old numbers.
Click the + button to add the needed elements to the prefix.

In addition to adding elements, you can type text in the Prefix box.

To remove an added element from the prefix, select the element in the Prefix box, right-click, and select Delete.
In the Start with list, select or enter the start character. The options are Number and Letter.
If specific sequence numbering start characters are needed for different reinforcement objects in individual cast units or pour units, you can define the start characters on the Reinforcement tab in the cast unit or pour unit user-defined attributes. There are separate attributes for reinforcing bars, reinforcement meshes, and strands:
- Rebar start number or letter (RBR_SEQ_START_NO_R)
- Mesh start number or letter (RBR_SEQ_START_NO_M)
- Strand start number or letter (RBR_SEQ_START_NO_S)

In the Sort by list, select the parameters that you want to use in sorting.

For example, for reinforcement in slabs, you might want to sort by the center of gravity and indicate the installation order of bars with the sequence numbers: bottom bars with the lowest center of gravity first, then the edge bars, and finally the top bars.

Note that you can search for parameters by starting typing a parameter name.

The following table lists the available parameters and describes how they are used in sorting:


Parameter	Description
Bending shape	Bars are arranged by the number of bends, with the smallest first. The fabrication geometry of bars is used. When the advanced option `XS_REBAR_RECOGNITION_HOOKS_CONSIDERATION` is set to `FALSE`, hooks are excluded when calculating the number of bends. When there are several shapes with an equal number of bends, they are arranged by the `SHAPE` attribute in alphabetical order.
Diameter	The nominal diameter of the bar is compared in sorting.
Length	The length of the bar is compared in sorting.
Center of gravity	Numbering is done first using the global z coordinate of the bar's center of gravity, then x and y, starting from the lowest value.
Layer	Numbering is done in three groups, in the following order: bottom bars, side bars, and top bars. Within each group, numbering is done in the order of layer numbers; bottom and side bars starting from the smallest layer number (outmost bars), top bars starting from the largest layer number (innermost bars). If the sorting order is changed from ascending to descending, the change is done for the whole outcome, not individually within bottom, side, and top groups. Reinforcement objects that do not have a layer prefix will be numbered last.
UDAs	User-defined attributes whose type is ‘integer’ can be used as sorting parameters. In the list of UDAs, only the ones with the type ‘integer’ are displayed.

To define in which order the selected parameters are used in sorting, drag the parameter rows up or down, so that they are in the correct order.
To define the sorting order for the values of a parameter, click the sorting arrow button next to the parameter name.

A down arrow indicates that the parameter values are sorted in descending order, and an up arrow denotes ascending order.
To save the settings, enter a file name in the box at the top of the Reinforcement sequence numbering settings dialog, and then click Save.

The settings are saved as an .snj file in the \attributes folder in the current model folder.
Click X in the upper-right corner to close the Reinforcement sequence numbering settings dialog.