Reinforcement pattern manager

From the main reinforcement tab the Reinforcement pattern manager can be reached.

Figure 1: Reinforcement pattern manager

The main utility of this window is providing a possibility to select a reinforcement setup from a predefined template. The template can be an ordinary .pattern file (which can be created directly via the Save button in the main reinforcement tab) file or a .mstrpat file (Master Pattern File) which can be saved in this window via the "Save pattern..." button or simply created manually.

A (master) pattern file opened here should mirror a list of approved strand/bar positions. Such a file can easily be defined since it contains only coordinates in the yz plane , see Figure 2.

To get started, the PRE-Stress installation provides a sample .mstrpat file (strusoft_sample_pattern.mstrpat).

Figure 2: Sample master pattern file.

Once a pattern is loaded the canvas will show the possible bar positions as well as the current concrete section. Should the pattern and the section not align satisfactory, the whole pattern can be translated in both y- and z-direction (see bottom of Figure 1). The new position of the pattern can be saved via the "Save pattern..." button.

The "Center align" gives the user a short cut to aligning the center of the bottom of the section with the center of the bottom of the loaded strand pattern.

The canvas allows for zoom (roll middle mouse button) and pan (press and hold middle mouse button). Alternatively for a 2-button mouse, double-click left/right is zoom in/out and shift+left click and drag is pan. The "Zoom extent" button will reset the zoom to showing the full pattern and section.

By clicking on bar positions on the canvas the reinforcement setup is composed. The bars are colored and drawn according to its status, see Figure 3.

Non selected styles:

• Bar drawn with a dotted perimeter means it is positioned outside all sections along the beam and cannot be selected.
• Bar drawn with a solid, but not filled, perimeter means is it positioned outside at least one section along the beam.
• Bar drawn with a solid and filled (dark grey) perimeter means it is positioned inside all sections along the beam. 

Selected styles:

• Bar drawn with yellow color means it is selected and positioned outside at least one section along the beam.
• Bar drawn with red color means it is selected and in collision with a bar in the current reinforcement setup.
• Bar drawn with blue color means it is selected and positioned inside all sections along the beam.  

Hovering over a bar position will show its coordinate and status.

Figure 3: Bar notations.
 

The list to the right of the canvas shows the actual bar positions chosen (see Figure 1).

Should the beam be of variable beam type a slider is shown at the top of the window allowing for browsing the sections along the beam, meaning the concrete section on the canvas is updated.

From the current selection the centroid of the bars is calculated and drawn with blue cross on the canvas which can be compared with the centroid of the concrete section (drawn with a red circle and cross). From these centroids their eccentricity is determined.

Once the selection is done, the entire setup is either added (via the Add button) to the current reinforcement or replacing it (via the Replace button).

The selection of bar positions will then be transformed to actual reinforcement strands/bars and given the material, prestress, and diameter currently chosen in "Reinforcement bar details" (see top of Figure 1). The bar length will mirror the element length.