Use this option to define the buckling length of members. Access the option by clicking the appropriate icon (for the Y or Z direction) found in the Buckling Length Coefficient field of the Member Definition - Parameters dialog.
Select the icon with the appropriate end support condition to automatically enter the buckling length coefficient.
The icons are divided into two groups:
- The first group contains typical (code) methods of member support and the corresponding buckling coefficient values.
- The second group contains icons for calculating the buckling for columns of multi-story frames. The icon colors signify respectively: red - calculations for sway frames, blue - for non-sway frames.
Buckling is considered during calculations if a compressive force, even if it is small in comparison to other internal forces, act on the member. A separate analysis is not performed to determine whether or not buckling effects should be excluded.
Click 
, to eliminate the buckling effects from the calculations.
Click 
, to calculate the buckling length of a column according to the automatic procedure (see: Automatic buckling length).
Click 
to include (in calculations) the bars with internal bracing (lateral stiffening of the analyzed bars, limiting the lateral buckling length). Double-click the icon to open the Internal bracings dialog, to define the parameters of lateral stiffening.
Click 
or 
(one of these icons is available for the American steel code ANSI / AISC 360-05) to open a dialog to select if an angle is a component of a 2D or 3D truss.
Effect of fixing - with eccentricity - an angle to the gusset plate; calculations are performed based on Section E5 of ANSI/AISC 360-05.
An angle is by default set so that its longer leg is adjacent to the gusset plate (the axis 'z' II to the plane of the plate).