Use this option to determine the parameters of calculations performed on member groups with the optimization options taken into account. Access the dialog by clicking the Options button in the Calculations dialog dialog.
The following optimization options are available.
- Weight - selecting this option results in recognizing section weight in optimization, i.e. the lightest section in the group amongst the sections that meet the code-defined criteria.
- Maximum section height - selecting this option results in the recognition of the maximum section height in optimization; defines the section height in the edit field located to the right of the option.
- Minimum section height - selecting this option results in the recognition of the minimum section height in optimization; defines the section height in the edit field located to the right of the option.
- Minimum flange thickness - selecting this option results in the recognition of the minimum flange thickness in optimization; defines the flange thickness in the edit field located to the right of the option.
- Minimum web thickness - selecting this option results in the recognition of the minimum web thickness in optimization; defines the web thickness in the edit field located to the right of the option.
The lower part of the dialog contains the Calculations for the entire set of sections option. Selecting this option results in activation (during calculations) of the procedure that searches the entire section database for the optimal section (this is especially important when the database contains sections not arranged in the ascending order, i.e. each successive section is "bigger" than the previous one).
If the option Calculations for the entire set of sections is selected, whereas the Weight option is cleared, then the optimal section is the one for which the value of efficiency ratio is the greatest (but less than 1).