Show cross sections at stations

Interactively show the assigned cross sections of a structural member along its axis

To show the cross section of a structural member

1. Click Show cross sections at stations.

   The view is split into two windows, in the upper one the 3D model and in the lower one the cross sections are displayed.

2. In the upper window, select the structural member in the 3D model whose cross sections you want to display.
3. Now you can display the cross sections of this structural member in various ways in the lower window:
   • Move the mouse along the axis of the selected structural member to dynamically display the boundaries of the cross sections at the selected stations.
   • Click with the mouse on a particular station to display a detailed view of the cross section with all defined objects. Click again to switch back to the other display mode. Optionally, you can define the station directly in the input field.
4. Quit the tool with ESC.

Additional view options in the Property window

Stations

Snapping

Defines the accuracy of the detection of the stations when moving the mouse

• Normal: Detects the stations in steps of tenths
• High: Detects the stations down to 6 decimal places
• Defined: Detects the stations defined by the user only

Note: When using the direct input via the input field, the station is always detected exactly irrespective of the selected option.

Side

Selects for which side at a station point the cross section should be displayed

• FRONT/BACK: Before/after the station point

Linearized variation [informative]

Informative display of the calculation type of the values of the variables (exact or linearly interpolated) as defined in the Property window of the respective structural member.

Cross Section

Full view

Activate this option to scale the cross section to the window size.

Deactivate this option to display the cross section at a constant scale. (In this case the reference for displaying is the origin of the cross section coordinate system).

Note: At any time use the zoom and pan functions with the mouse to adapt the size and the position of the cross section view.

Areas

Fills the areas of the boundaries with color.

Mesh

Displays the FE-mesh of the defined boundary areas.

Variables

Displays all variables of the selected cross section with their evaluated values at the selected cross section

• Expression: Displays the assigned table or formula (as performed in Structural Members / Variation)
• Default: Default value of the variable (as defined in Cross Sections / Variables)