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 Table of Contents
ShapeBuilder
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 2
Features ........................................................................................................................... 3
Limitations ........................................................................................................................ 4
Licensing .......................................................................................................................... 6
Upgrade Guide .................................................................................................................. 7
Screen Layout ................................................................................................................... 9
Command Reference ............................................................................................................. 11
Mouse and Keyboard ......................................................................................................... 13
File Operations .................................................................................................................. 15
Export to IES Database...................................................................................................... 17
HOME Operations .............................................................................................................. 19
SHAPE Operations ............................................................................................................. 21
ANNOTATION & Dimensions .............................................................................................. 25
Advanced Stress Analysis ................................................................................................... 26
Reinforced Concrete Analysis ............................................................................................. 28
Properties Calculated ............................................................................................................. 31
Basic Properties ................................................................................................................ 31
Reinforced Concrete Property Definitions ............................................................................ 43
Shear and Torsion Properties ............................................................................................. 48
Applied Loads and Stress Results ....................................................................................... 51
Technical Reference .............................................................................................................. 55
Custom Shape Databases .................................................................................................. 56
Custom Material Databases ................................................................................................ 57
Simple Polygons ................................................................................................................ 58
Literature References ........................................................................................................ 59

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 Welcome to ShapeBuilder 9.0

What is ShapeBuilder?
ShapeBuilder calculates section properties for plane areas; properties like area, moment of inertia, section modulus, and
more. The "Big Idea" for ShapeBuilder is that you can quickly determine the structural section properties of a complex
built-up or cut-down cross section.

ShapeBuilder incorporates many additional features including stress analysis, composite properties, and reinforced
concrete capacity analysis. ShapeBuilder is also the tool for IES shape database customization.

Understanding ShapeBuilder

 What can you do with ShapeBuilder?

 Limitations & Assumptions: What is not possible with ShapeBuilder?
 Upgrade Guide: What's New?
 Screen Layout: Finding your way around ShapeBuilder.
 Commands: Feature documentation
o Shapes
o Annotations & Dimensions
o Analysis
 Training Videos: Find free How-To videos (www.iesweb.com/sb)
 Technical Reference: Properties Calculated, Analysis Theory & References

The engineers at IES hope that you find this tool a joy to use. You should find most answers to your questions in this
document or in our FAQ Answers web site. But, If you do have any questions, problems, or suggestions regarding
ShapeBuilder, please let us know: support@iesweb.com!

ShapeBuilder™ is a trademark of IES, Inc. www.iesweb.com

Copyright © 1994 - 2017, IES, Inc. All rights reserved.

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What can you do with ShapeBuilder?
Here is a brief look at some of the possibilities.

Calculate Geometric Properties of Any Plane Figure

 Create built-up sections, find their properties

 Mark any part as a hole
 Shapes with holes or cut-outs
 Area of any plane-geometric outline
 Structural properties
 Shear and torsion properties
 Use Parametric shapes to quickly change dimensions

Use Advanced Analysis for Shear Center, Warping Constant, etc.

Calculate Stress Levels under Arbitrary Loads

Investigate Reinforced Concrete Shapes under Loads

 Find cracked and uncracked properties

 Stress and strain determination
 View 3D Interaction diagrams
 Section capacity determination

Calculate Composite Section Properties (Transformed Properties)

 Each part has it's own material setting

 "Flitch beams"
 Steel & concrete sections

Create Shapes from External Data

 Import polygon shapes from simple text files (.txt)

 Import shapes from CAD DXF files.
 Import shapes from STEP/IGES files

Customize the IES Shape Database

 Export shapes to Custom Shape Databases

 Import Cold-Formed shape libraries (.scl files).

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Limitations & Assumptions
ShapeBuilder is a handy tool for plane-area geometric and structural property calculations. It will calculate geometric and
many structural properties for just about any shapes you can create, but it may not solve all your problems! As an
engineering tool, this program looks at an infinitely thin slice of a beam or a column to calculate properties, it does not
analyze or design beams or columns directly, it does not include "length effects" for structural members.

General

 Uses constructed geometries to perform a numerical approximation for all section properties.
 Slight differences between ShapeBuilder and equivalent "table lookup" in a database is expected!. This
is due to tolerances, manufacturer 'minimum' properties, and unpublished geometric details. This is 'normal' and
generally within the range of engineering approximations.
 Simply a 2D (plane) figure analysis; it does not consider the length of a beam or column member.
 Does not investigate structural connections.
 Will not analyze frames or trusses, walls or slabs (please see IES VisualAnalysis and other IES products)

Advanced Stress Analysis Limitations & Assumptions

 Will not analyze disconnected shape parts for shear & torsion properties or stress analysis. (You may
analyze each part separately and use superposition or other means for determining 'advanced' properties that
ShapeBuilder will not calculate. Or you may wish to connect the parts somehow within ShapeBuilder to allow them to
act as a single unit.)
 Will not analyze composite shapes (multiple materials) for shear & torsion properties or stress analysis.
 Multiple-part touching parts are assumed to be fully connected.
 Does not perform a Plastic Analysis during the Advanced Stress Analysis, if yield stress is exceeded, higher
stresses will be reported as though it were behaving elastically. The results are incorrect. (A warning message is
produced.)
 Does not perform a Cracked or Crushed analysis during the Advanced Stress Analysis. If the material would
crack or crush, the results are probably incorrect.
 Does not calculate Torsional Stresses due to Warping. This requires more information about the full length
of the member and the boundary conditions on the member, and the variation of loading along the length of the
member. None of which is available in ShapeBuilder. You can use the Warping Normal Function, which is
calculated, to help you determine warping stresses.
 Does not calculate stresses due to concentrated loads applied at a specific point or area of the cross section.
The applied loads are treated as "body forces", even though they are referenced from a specific point. We are
looking at the general stress distribution in the member due to external loads applied, not at localized stresses
produced from a point load. The purpose of the specific load application point is to account for eccentricities that
would create secondary forces (e.g., an eccentric shear force produces an additional torsion on the cross section).
 Cannot perform a stress analysis from internal pressures or thermal variations in a cross section.
 Orthotropic material behavior is not supported. Isotropic material behavior is assumed and used (the same
material properties are used in all directions).
 Visco-Elastic material analysis (creep) is not supported.
 Dynamic loads are not supported.

Reinforced Concrete Analysis Limitations

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 Limited to 8% maximum reinforcement ratio.
 Moment of inertia of embedded reinforcement parts must be "small" relative to the concrete. (Reinforcement
is treated as a "point" at the center of each rebar.)
 Will not analyze concrete shape with holes, but a large 'notch' or indentation works fine!
 Will not analyze disconnected concrete parts.
 No ACI phi factors are included in interaction diagrams--these are just "pure strength".

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Licensing
Free-trial use. IES provides free-trial software so that you may evaluate the software without risk. This feature allows you
to access all of the software features, though you may not have your name and company appearing in reports.

Purchasing licenses allows IES, Inc. to stay in business and provide technical support and future enhancements to the
software. IES owns the software, and customers are licensed to use it. Typically a business is the actual owner of a
license key, though an employee's name may be listed on the key in addition to the company name. Both single-user and
floating-network licenses are available.

Installing your License Key

When you purchase the software, IES will provide you with detailed instructions or information about installing licenses,
typically in the software itself, or via email. The engineer's name that appears in ShapeBuilder reports is controlled by the
licensing system. If your company has licenses for different people, you can control the names assigned to each license by
visiting the IES Self Service Portal, going to Licenses & Activations, and changing the Licensee Name and email address for
each license. After changing the name on the web site, you will need to 'refresh' the license in ShapeBuilder using the
HOME | License menu item.

Licensing & Sales Questions?

Find pricing, licensing options and other details at www.iesweb.com or by contacting our sales office 800.707.0816, or
sales@iesweb.com. You may purchase and manage ShapeBuilder licenses by logging into your account at the IES
Self-Service Portal.

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Upgrade Guide

Version 9.0 Features (2016)

Introduction
We have listened to customer feedback, and worked to streamline and improve ShapeBuilder to better meet your needs.
Below are listed changes and additions to the product in this release.

Section Properties

 Unit Weight is now reported, helpful for complex or composite shapes.

Functions/Operations

 Parts inside of holes are handled much more intelligently!

 Split a Part Horizontally or Vertically at the location you choose
 Intersect Shape Parts
 Less-Destructive DXF, Split, Merge (editable rectangles where possible)
 Simplified Export to VisualAnalysis (operation & layout, some properties predefined)
 Partial-Containment Selection (CAD like box) is more accurate
 Change database part-size after dropping (within the category)
 Dragging by Vertex is much more accurate
 Export aluminum shapes to VA 12.0 database works properly

User Interface/Usability

 Better editing of multiple selected items

 Simplified dimensioning 'mode' with a cursor
 Preference Settings have their own Dialog, better organized
 Color Preferences for many graphical items
 Improved Graphics (colors and sizes, selection and highlight, drag & snap)
 Modify annotations or dimensions in Project Manager
 Easily edit multiple-line text annotations
 Modify 'project settings' in Project Manager
 Pan the Graphical View with Arrow-Keys
 View Tabs moved to top for easier access and visibility
 Undo in"Quick Access" (above the ribbon/menu)
 "Settings", like preferences but automatic for various options
 Improved rebar information in R/C shapes reports

Quality Control/Performance

 Behind the scenes quality-control features for validation

 Improved crash-handling
 Updated to latest compilers & tools
 Crash-prevention work

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Architecture

 64-bit multi-threaded architecture (requires 64-bit Windows)

Prior Version Feature Changes

See the release notes for Prior Versions

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Screen Layout
Hold your mouse over a portion of the screen to see the name, click to jump to the description.

Title Bar
The title bar displays the name and version of ShapeBuilder, provides an application menu on the left (see Windows Help),
and buttons on the right to maximize, restore, or close the ShapeBuilder window. The file name of any open project file
(.sbf) is also displayed in this area. You can drag the window around on your screen using the Title Bar (unless the
window is maximized).

Main Menu & Toolbars

The main menu and toolbars provide access to commands.

Context Menus
A number of different context sensitive menus are available in various windows, using the right-click button on your
mouse.

Project Manager
On the left side of the window is an area with two or three tabs, depending on which graphic view is active.

You can Create new shapes by dragging them from this area onto the Sketch View.

You can Modify existing shapes while selecting them in the Sketch View.

You can use the Filter tab to show or hide bits of information in the active graphic view, such as vertices or result points.
Below the window filter settings are some system-wide preferences that affect not only this project, but defaults for

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future projects. Note: some preference settings will not take effect immediately, and may require a restart of ShapeBuilder.

You can use the Analysis Settings tab to define settings that will affect the advanced stress analysis.

Or the Concrete Settings tab to define settings for a reinforced concrete analysis.

Graphic Views
Sketch View
The main portion of the window is filled with a graphical Sketch View, where you can view the shape you are
creating. Here is where shapes and annotations are displayed, selected, moved, and otherwise manipulated.

Advanced Analysis View

This view shows results from a finite element analysis of general shapes (some restrictions apply). Advanced stress analysis
is done using a finite element solution that requires an element mesh. The controls for the advanced analysis appear in
the Project Manager when this view is active. You can apply loads, refine the FEA mesh, and decide which results to view.

Concrete View
The reinforced concrete analysis offers various Result Views. These views show either the stress-strain results from analysis
or interaction diagrams.

Reinforced concrete analysis will produce various interaction diagrams. Interaction diagrams have an elaborate context
menu available with a right-click. You may use this menu to customize the diagram, changing colors, sizes, labels, etc.
The diagrams may be exported to the clipboard using the Export command on this menu. You may then paste the image
into a word processor for customized reporting. Although no print preview is available for interaction diagrams, you may
print these windows directly to a full sheet of paper by using File | Print command.

Results Pane
At the right-hand side of the ShapeBuilder window are the calculated Results. Hover your mouse over the name of a
property for a pop-up tip that includes a description or explanation of the terminology we use. There are both "simple"
and possibly "advanced" results. These results update automatically as you work with shapes or analysis controls. These
results are included in a printable report available through the File | Print Preview menu. All the results are copied to the
Windows Clipboard when you use the HOME | Copy button or Ctrl+C.

Status Bar
Background Progress
The Status bar runs across the bottom of the ShapeBuilder window, if there are processes (like analysis) running in the
background, this are lets you know about them. You may also be able to Cancel the process, though it should not
interfere with your use of the program.

Mouse Coordinates
The right hand portion of the status bar contains mouse coordinates and an overlap indicator. When your mouse is near
a shape vertex or side-point, the coordinates will be exactly those of that point.

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Command Reference

Primary Commands
Most commands are found in the main menu (HOME, SHAPES, ANNOTATIONS) bar at the top of the window, and are
self-explanatory (with tool tips!) and a little trial and error. Below are details for some of the more sophisticated
commands.

 File Operations: e.g., Import: DXF, Export to VisualAnalysis

 HOME Operations: Clipboard, Selection, Units, Business
 SHAPE Operations: Create, Edit, Move, Merge, etc.
 ANNOTATION & Dimensions
 Analysis: Stress, Shear & Torsion, Cracked Concrete
 Reports
 Mouse Commands: Selection, dragging, zooming, etc.
 Keyboard Shortcuts: Beyond menu tool-tips
 Context Sensitive Menu: right-click
 Units & Unit Styles

Context Sensitive Menu

Right-click your mouse to find a popup menu with relevant commands. In a Sketch View, these are typically the main
menu commands that you might want to use, depending on what is displayed, selected, or under the mouse. Interaction
diagrams have a context menu useful for customizing the display or exporting the diagram. In other parts of
ShapeBuilder, like for an edit box, the context menu shows clipboard commands (copy & paste) or other general items.

Reports
ShapeBuilder reports (through the File | Print or Print Preview commands) consist of a WYSIWYG graphic image
(whatever is currently displayed in the active Sketch View, or Advanced Analysis View) and the set of calculated
properties. If an advanced Finite Element analysis was performed, then the loads and analysis control settings as well as
the extreme results are also included. For a reinforced concrete project, if you have performed the analysis, those results
are also included.

Change What is Visible

You may wish to perform a Zoom All or adjust the Filter settings before printing. You can add dimensions or annotations
to include additional information in your report.

Control Report the Aspect-Ratio

If you have a very tall, thin shape, you can resize the ShapeBuilder application-window to cause the Sketch View to be
taller than it is wide, and the printed graphic will adjust to become taller and thinner as well, with the properties listed
vertically rather than horizontally.

Custom Report Logo

The report may be customized to include your own (company) logo in the upper-left corner. All you need to do is create a
logo image: ReportLogo.png or ReportLogo.jpg, and place it in the IES\Customer folder, which you can access via the

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HOME | Custom Data toolbar command. The image should be kept to less than 5 times wider than it is tall. It will be
scaled to fit in the header area, but wide images may cause other text to start wrapping or get truncated. If the image
works you'll see it in the report/preview immediately after restarting ShapeBuilder.

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Mouse and Keyboard
Command Reference

Mouse Commands
Here are common mouse operations you can use in ShapeBuilder. Note not all pointing devices are the same or
configured in the same way. Here we assume the left button is your primary button, the right button is secondary, and the
device has a mouse-wheel whose "click" is configured as a middle-button push.

Hovering

 Over a tool bar command for an explanation and keyboard shortcut.

 Over a the name of an edit item in the Modify tab for an explanation
 Over a property names in the Results for a description of our terminology
 Over a the shape's color-plot for stress values under the mouse point in Advanced Analysis View.
 Anywhere in the Sketch View for coordinate locations (shown lower-right corner)

Clicking

 Click (away from any object) - Select nothing (unselect all).

 Click (on an object) - Select the item under the mouse (unselects everything else).
 Shift+Click - Selects all shapes, dimensions, or annotations, depending on what type you click on.
 Ctrl+Click - Adds or removes items from the selection, without destroying other selections
 Double-Click - Zoom to Fit
 Right-Click- Shows the Context menu (pop-up menu) with relevant commands.

Dragging

 Drag (on an object) - Press and hold the left button to move a shape, dimension or annotation.
 Drag (away from objects) - Draw a selection-box, objects entirely within the box are selected.
 Drag (a shape vertex) - Drag a shape by a vertex to snap it to any other shape's vertex (when it gets close).
 Ctrl+Drag (on shape or vertex) - Move shapes with a check for interference or overlap, shapes stop at
boundaries. Also drags multiple selected shapes.
 Ctrl+Drag (away from objects) - A toggle selection-box, objects within the box have their selection toggled.
 See Also: Shape Operations for ways to snap, move, or align selected shapes!
 Also: Use the Modify tab to move shape locations to specific coordinates.

Mouse Wheel

 Roll or Spin - Zoom in or out at the point of the mouse, depending upon the direction
 Ctrl+Drag - Pan the view horizontally
 Shift+Drag - Pan the view vertically
 Double-Click - Zoom to Fit

Keyboard Commands
Many of the toolbar (menu) commands have associated hot-keys or shortcuts. Hold your mouse over the command for a
description of the command and the associated keystroke. For example, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V are used for Copy and

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Paste, Ctrl+Z is for Undo, etc. Standard Windows hot keys are used where possible.

Sketch View Commands:

 Arrows - pan the view, unless one or more shapes are selected.
 Arrows - move the selected shape(s) up, down, left, or right the Arrow Move Shape defined in the Filter.
 Shift+Arrows - moves shapes 4-times the amount defined in the Filter.
 F - hold down in the Sketch View (when the window has the focus--click the background) to see a quick
preview of the "flattened" or merged model used for analysis purposes.
 Del - will delete the select shapes, dimensions or annotations

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File Operations
Command Reference

New General, New Reinforced Concrete

You must declare your project type when you create it. General projects are for most shapes. Use the Reinforced
Concrete project type for a concrete profile with embedded rebar in order to enable the cracked analysis and strength
capabilities.

Open, Examples, Recent Files

The Open command is used to open an existing project file. Recent ShapeBuilder project files are shown as a list to the
right of the File menu; hover the mouse over the file name to see the full-path to the project.

IES ships a number of example projects to demonstrate various capabilities and techniques.

Save
The Save command writes your work to a ShapeBuilder file (.sbf). The Save As command prompts you for a new name
for the file every time it is used.

Import Shape Geometry from DXF / IGES / STEP Outline

The ability to import DXF, IGES or STEP files into ShapeBuilder provides a direct link to your favorite CAD package.
ShapeBuilder cannot import all DXF files, and IES does not control these file formats! Polygons contained in these files do
not have materials and are not "nested" or otherwise related. Each polygon is imported independently, and those with a
clockwise ordering are assumed to be holes. Each polygon will become an independent "part" in ShapeBuilder. The data is
assumed to be in the unit system you choose when prompted by ShapeBuilder.

DXF File Information

You should simplify any DXF file down to purely Model Space objects--just the outlines of the shapes. The DXF file is
assumed to contain one or more shape outlines defined as POLYLINE entities. If your DXF file contains disjointed LINE
and ARC entities, ShapeBuilder will make a valiant attempt to create a "closed chain" outline from them, but it may not
work. Other entities in the file may or may not be imported properly by ShapeBuilder.

Import Shape from Outline Coordinates

You can create a shape by describing the outline using x,y coordinate points in a text file. This is useful if you have some
very complex shape, that is not handled by the built-in Parametric Shapes. Simply list the data points in a text file (.txt)
that is space, tab, or comma delimited. Here is an example for the outline of an L shape:

cm
0.0 0.0
2.0 0.0
2.0 0.25
0.5 0.25
0.5 3.75
0.0 3.75
0.0 0.0

15
The units line is optional; inches are assumed if one of the following is not specified: {in, ft, yd, mm, cm, m}. You do not
need to list the first point twice, the shape will automatically be "closed" for you. After the data file is parsed the shape
will be generated as though you had created it from the Shapes tab or imported it from a DXF file. Imported shape sizes
cannot be modified like parametric shapes.

Import Cold Formed Shape Library

VisualAnalysis has the ability to design or check cold-formed steel shapes. However, these shapes must come from RSG
Software's (www.rsgsoftware.com) CFS program, because VisualAnalysis uses that utility, behind the scenes, to perform
the checks. In order to get custom cold-formed steel shapes into the IES Database for VisualAnalysis, you may use this
menu item to import the .scl or .cfsl file you have obtained through CFS.

Export to DXF
Saves the current shape part outlines (and holes) to a DXF file. The file is written in inches.

Export to VisualAnalysis (IES Database)

This command exports the current shape so that it may be used for member elements in IES VisualAnalysis. Also refer to
the technical information regarding the IES Shape Database for more details.

Print & Print Preview (Report)

These commands create a printed report. ShapeBuilder can print to a PDF file, we have tested this with both Adobe's
latest PDF printer as well as a free Cute PDF Writer. If printing to a PDF file fails, you may need to update your driver and
or adjust the settings (e.g. DPI or quality) on the printer.

The Copy command will also get text-results and graphics onto the Windows Clipboard that you can Paste
into another program.

Exit
This command simply closes the program. If you attempt to exit and have not saved your work, you will be prompted to
save, then the program will close.

16
Export to Shape Database
Command Reference, File Menu

Guidelines:
This command lets you export your shape for later use in ShapeBuilder or other IES applications, such as VisualAnalysis.
Information about the Custom Shape Database is found in the technical reference. Database shapes are named, read-only
shapes (or assemblies) that can be reused over and over. The following provides details on the options provided in the
Export to Database dialog box.

How To Get Design Checks in VisualAnalysis 12.0

Not all custom shapes CAN be designed in VisualAnalysis. In order to get design-checks your exported shapes must
satisfy all of the following requirements.

1. Must be STEEL, WOOD, or ALUMINUM Material (see below for Cold-formed shapes)
2. Shape must match a PROFILE of existing designable shapes (See VisualAnalysis), such as Rectangle, W-Shape,
etc. Asymmetric shapes, shapes with cover-plates etc, will not likely work.
3. You must SPECIFY the design-type when exporting--analysis blobs are not designable.
4. You must PROVIDE the required design properties that ShapeBuilder has not calculated, if any.
5. You must GROUP shapes in categories with similar shapes.
6. You must check the box in the dialog to export to the 'legacy' database for VA 12.0

Cold-formed shapes are the "exception" to normal customization procedures. To get custom cold-formed
steel shapes, you must import a CFS file.

Shape Tree Location

Database
Define a name for your new database, or select an existing database location for your custom shape.

Category
Define a name for your new category, or select an existing category for your shape. It is a good idea to group shapes with
similar properties or configurations into the same category.

Shape Name
Provide a descriptive name for your shape. This is how you will find it and the name that will appear in most reports.

Shape Type (Design Classification)

Analysis Blob is used for any shape that could be analyzed in VisualAnalysis. If your shape matches one of the listed
profiles (e.g. Angle, Channel, Pipe, etc.), and you can provide the required properties (next section) for this profile, then
you may be able to get design checks for your shape from VisualAnalysis.

IES does not recommend that you try to "fool" the system. Most built-up or custom shape profiles will NOT
be shapes that VisualAnalysis could design for you. For example, a wide flange shape with a cover plate is
NOT a wide flange shape! You will not likely get reasonable design checks for such a shape.

Shape Properties
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Material
Specify a default material for this shape.

Dimensions and other Required Properties

Based on the selected Shape Type, you may need to provide one or more dimensions or other properties to be used in
the database. ShapeBuilder may or may not understand how your shape was created and you will need to provide values
before continuing.

Optional Properties
You may optionally define "Shear Areas" for your shape, these are normally left at zero, but if you wish to explicitly include
shear deflections during an analysis in VisualAnalysis you must define these values. This is not a commonly used feature
and does require the advanced level of VisualAnalysis as well as additional settings in that product.

Export Limitations
Database Categories
Categories can only contain one shape "design" type. Selecting an existing category dictates the current shape's type. If
you would like to export this shape using a different type, select a different category or create a new category.

Composite Shapes?
Shapes are exported as a single-material shape, with transformed section properties, and are seen in other IES products as
a single shape with these transformed properties. You must define your shape parts with one material before the export
will be permitted.

VisualAnalysis, Legacy Database

ShapeBuilder 7.0 introduced a new database system, the system will be used for IES applications developed in 2014 and
beyond. The export feature will also automatically export to the legacy database system used by VisualAnalysis 12.0 and
prior. Your custom shapes optionally are placed into a special file under the name "New Era Shapes", which was required
in ShapeBuilder 7.0. Otherwise with the same sub-categories and names you use during the export process. We are "in
transition" with Shape and Material database systems. For this reason if you make a mistake during exporting or change
properties, you will need to deal with the custom data from within VisualAnalysis (right-click on the Shape Database
there). We automate the 'normal' operation of exporting, but not editing or deleting of custom data.

Cold-Formed Shapes
You cannot export cold-formed steel shapes from ShapeBuilder for design unity checks in VisualAnalysis. The only way to
get custom cold-formed shapes into VisualAnalysis is to import a CFS file, as more data is required for design checks.

Editing or Deleting Custom Data

Please see the Custom Shape Database topic for information about editing or deleting exported shapes.

18
Home Operations
Command Reference

Undo & Redo

Most ShapeBuilder operations (but not ALL) can be undone if you make a mistake. You can undo and redo to go back and
forth through a sequence of events.

Clipboard
The Copy & Paste buttons allow you to access the Windows Clipboard. On Copy, ShapeBuilder can use copy & paste
within the program to generate duplicate shape parts.

You can use the Copy command to put the graphic image and results-text on the Windows Clipboard for pasting into
another tool, such as Excel or another spreadsheet.

Delete
Select a shape or annotation and use this command to delete everything that is selected.

Selection
There are many ways to select items with the mouse & keyboard, the quick selection buttons on this toolbar offer an
alternate way for common task.

Zoom
These quick zoom buttons do a generic zoom at the center of the window. For more specific control see the mouse-wheel
zooming in the mouse & keyboard topic.

Manage Unit Styles

ShapeBuilder offers a flexible unit system for the display and input of physical quantities, use this command to create and
manage your own custom unit-styles, if ours do not work for you. You can work in SI or Imperial units, or mix and match
with a custom style. When editing physical quantities in an edit-box, you may leave off the unit name to use the
previously displayed unit, enter a different unit (e.g. feet instead of inches) enter mathematical expressions on the values.

Unit Precision
ShapeBuilder tries to present numbers in a "nice" sort of way for engineering. Some quantities, which tend to be very
large or small numbers may be shown in scientific notation. Change the precision setting to control how many decimals
after the decimal point (in a significant digits way) using the Increase Precision command to cycle between 0 and 7
digits, using the Shift key to decrease the number.

Unit Style Selector

Quickly change among the predefined unit-styles. Unit Styles define how physical quantities are displayed throughout the
software.

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Custom Data
A quick way to browse the IES\Customer data folder where you can work with customized data files. These files, such as
shape and material databases, report logos, etc, may be used by other IES tools as well. You are responsible for backing
up these files. Any file may be deleted from these folders and IES tools will work just fine (they may restore a default
version of the file or they may ignore the absence). Look for a readme.txt file in these folders with up-to-date details
and instructions.

Help
Umm...you're looking at it.

Training
Access to the free ShapeBuilder training and feature-demonstration videos at the www.iesweb.com/sb page.

Update
Runs the IES Updater utility so you can verify that you have the latest versions of IES tools installed. The "Build Number"
for ShapeBuilder appears in the title-bar or the About-box. Review the release-notes in the updater to understand recent
changes and fixes. The updater utility is installed under C:\Program Files\IES, or C:\Program Files (x86)\IES.

Support
Takes you to the web site to get technical support contact information and resources.

License
ShapeBuilder is a commercial product and is sold by IES, Inc. 519 E Babcock St, Bozeman, MT 59715 USA.
(www.iesweb.com) If you have purchased a license, this is where you activate or deactivate that license on a particular
machine. See the web site or call 1-800-707-0816 for licensing details:

www.iesweb.com/support

www.iesweb.com/sales

About
Copyright and version information.

20
Shape Operations
Command Reference

Create a Shape
Use the mouse to drag a shape from the Create tab in Project Manager onto the Sketch View to create a "part" for
your shape. You may drag as many parts as you need. You may also Copy and Paste to create another similar shape
that you can then edit independently. Finally, you may "generate" arrays out of any shape in a rectangular or polar fashion
using the Modify options.

The shape Array property in the Modify tab replaces the Generate Copies command from ShapeBuilder 6
and prior versions.

For reinforced concrete sections, you may use a predefined shape available in the Create tab which allows you to quickly
define a complex cross section properties and rebar patterns. You may also "build up" your shape by dragging concrete
(parametric) shapes and rebar from the Create tab.

Modify a Shape
When a single shape is selected (click on it in the Sketch View), all of it's properties and options are available in the
Modify tab of Project Manager. You may edit dimensions of parametric shapes, change materials and the shape
orientation and location. You may also create easily modify "Arrays" (copies of this shape in a pattern)

Size
Parametric shapes have dimensions that may be changed. A picture is available by clicking the Definitions option in the
Modify tab will help you understand these. You may need to modify them in a certain order to achieve a "reasonable"
description. Database or imported parts cannot change size, except by overlapping holes or Merging with other parts.

Location & Orientation

You may view and manually change the location of a shape by adjusting one of the Center, Top, Left, Right, and Bottom
coordinate locations. You may set a specific Rotation angle on a part as well in the Modify tab. There is a Quick Rotate
command on the toolbar that will rotate any shape an angle (+ or -) you specify in the preferences. You can move shapes
with the mouse or keyboard too.

Unlike in ShapeBuilder 6 and prior versions, rotation is persistent and therefore easier to manage and
understand.

Holes
Any shape may be treated as a hole by simply checking a box. Holes may be fully contained or may overlap the
boundaries of other shapes. Anything "under" the hole part is ignored. You may build up complex holes out of multiple
hole-parts. You may place other parts 'inside' a hole, but they must share an edge with the hole; if they 'float' they will
be ignored. You can use the Flatten command (hold the F key on the keyboard in the Sketch View) to see how your
shape will be interpreted for analysis (or switch to the Advanced Analysis view).

Unlike in previous versions, holes do not need to be 'embedded' or merged and may be moved and
resized at any time. The "Big Idea" with holes is that any shape can be a hole and the software does the
rest. This allows parametric holes and their parametric containers to be modified at any time.

21
Material Properties
Each part in your assembled shape is made of a specific material. If all your parts have the same material, your shape is
non-composite. For composite shapes you also specify one "Base" material, which is a material used in one of the parts.

Unlike in previous versions you no longer need to Embed sub-shapes (like rebar) or other overlapping
shapes of different materials. ShapeBuilder assumes the part not made of the base material is the part to
be embedded. You may move or resize "embedded" shapes at any time.

Arrays of Shapes
There are a number of ways to automatically generate a pattern of similar shapes: With a shape selected, use the
Rectangular Array or Polar Array feature on the toolbar, control the number of copies and spacing of the parts using
the Modify tab. Parametric shapes remain editable (size) while arrayed. For more irregularly spaced parts, you can start
with an Array and then use the Explode Array command to let you manage each part independently. You can also use
Copy and Paste to generate multiple shapes of the same type.

Select a Shape or Unselect Everything

You can select a shape by clicking on it. To unselect everything, click on the background of the Sketch View. If your
shape accidentally "jumps" or is nudged when you try to select it with the mouse, you can also use the F8 key or Shift+F8
keys to select each part of your shape in turn. Use the F5 key to select ALL shape parts.

Select Multiple Shapes / Toggle Shape Selection

To select multiple shapes, hold the Ctrl key, and then click on each shape to add or remove the shape from the selected
set. By holding the Ctrl key, you can toggle their selection status without affecting the selection of other shapes.

Select Multiple Shapes in an Area

Multiple shapes can also be selected using a selection box. To use a selection box, simply click in the sketch view and
while holding down the mouse button drag the mouse across the screen creating a box. When using the selecting box
method, you only have to catch a corner of a shape in the selection box to add it to the selection. You can select all the
shapes by using the F5 key or Edit | Select All Shapes.

Move a Shape
To move a shape around, you may simply drag it in the Sketch View. The exact behavior of the move depends on
whether you drag a vertex or side point, or some interior point. You may snap to existing vertices or side points by
dragging from a vertex. You may also use the Arrow Keys on the keyboard to move a shape a distance defined in the
Filter tab. Use the Shift+Arrow keys to move four times that amount.

Constrained Movement of a Shape

Edit the Location of a shape in the Modify tab to move the shape in one direction only. Hint: You may use mathematical
expressions in these boxes to add or subtract a specific distance from the current location!

Snap Shapes Together

To snap a shape vertex to any other shape's vertex, drag by a vertex, and then move towards the point you want to align
with. As you get close (like 1/8th of an inch) you will see your shape jump to that point and a large circle will flash to
indicate that they have snapped. Then, simply release the mouse button. If you accidentally snap to the wrong point, just
drag the shape away and try again.

22
Lock & Unlock
This command locks the absolute position of the selected shapes in space. Lock a shape by selecting it and clicking the
option in the Modify tab. This is handy if you have a shape or series of shapes in the position you want them and don't
want them to move at all, while you are editing or adding other shapes. If a shape's position has been locked it is shown
with a different colored border. To unlock a shape, select it and check the unlock option in the Modify tab.

If you are trying to arrange lots of small parts around one main part, locking the main part can make it easier. Alignment
commands will respect one locked part and arrange other shapes accordingly.

Mirror Horizontally
This command mirrors selected shapes about a vertical axis parallel to global Y. One or more shapes must be selected for
this command to be available. If multiple shapes are selected, they will be mirrored about a common point located at the
center of the extreme fibers.

Flip Vertically
This command mirrors the selected shape or shapes about a horizontal axis parallel to global X. One or more shapes must
be selected for this command to be available. If multiple shapes are selected, they will be flipped about a common point
located at the center of the extreme fibers.

Flipping and Mirroring can have strange effects on a part's rotation behavior. The order of operations is
important, but not in anyone's control because they are applied independently. Shapes may rotate
backwards, especially with Undo.

Rotate
Apply a rotation angle to each of the selected parts--they all move independently. The amount of rotation is defined in
the Filter tab of Project Manager. Holding the Shift key will reverse the rotation angle. This is equivalent to setting an
angle on the part-properties in the Modify tab.

Rotate about a Point

Rotates one or more selected shapes about a common point, the shapes themselves will pick up rotation angles and they
will move in space to retain their original 'relative' positions.

Merge
This command combines multiple shapes into a single merged shape, this can make shapes easier to work with, faster and
more accurate to analyze. However, if you merge parametric shapes you will no longer be able to edit their dimensions, so
you may wish to save a copy of your project for editing before merging shapes. For this command to be available the
shapes must be touching and all shapes to be merged need to be selected. To select multiple shapes hold the Ctrl key
as you click them.

You cannot merge shapes with different materials. You can merge a shape with holes to create a part reduced by the
holes, this will cause the original holes to go away.

Intersect Two Shapes

This command creates new shapes from the intersection of two parts. Because parts can be fairly complex, you may end
up with multiple parts or holes. The resulting shapes, unless they are rectangular, will not be parametric shapes with

23
editable dimensions.

Split a Shape
This command can slice a shape in half either vertically or horizontally. You can shave off an edge by adjusting the
location of the split line. The resulting shapes, unless they are rectangular, will not be parametric shapes with editable
dimensions.

24
Annotations

Add Text Label

You may add any descriptive text to the Sketch View window by adding text labels. This command on the
ANNOTATIONS tool bar creates (and centers) a block of text. Double-click the text-area to edit the contents directly in
the sketch view. Or click on the annotation and use the Modify tab to set text or font. You can Drag the text-block around
to place it anywhere in the Sketch View. Selected annotations may be deleted with the Del key.

Dimensions
ShapeBuilder provides vertical, horizontal, parallel and angular dimension commands on the ANNOTATIONS tool bar.
These describe your shape size graphically. Dimensions may be created to the centroid, shear center, plastic neutral axis, if
they are visible and calculated. You cannot edit or change the text in dimensions, it adjusts automatically to shape
movement or size changes and also to unit system changes.

Generate Typical Dimensions

This command creates a set of dimensions for overall width and height as well as from the centroid to the extreme fibers.
Each dimension is independent, however, and you may move or delete them individually.

Add Linear Dimensions

To create a vertical, horizontal, or parallel dimension:

1. Click the toolbar command, the cursor will change to show 'dimensing mode' and direction,
2. Click each vertex or special-point (one after the other), the dimension will be shown.
3. Select the dimension-text to drag it to your desired position.

For backward, compatibility, you may preselect two vertices or special points, using the Ctrl key to select the second point,
and then click the dimension button in the toolbar.

Add Angular Dimensions

1. Click on three vertices or special points, clicking on the "center" point as the second selection.
2. Click the command button to create the dimension.

Move a Dimension
Once created, dimensions may be selected, moved (by Dragging).

Delete a Dimension
Select a dimension and use the Del key.

Show or Hide Dimensions

Use the filter to tab to hide dimensions or to show they if they are not visible.

25
Advanced Stress Analysis

Introduction
Advanced analysis lets you calculate shear and torsion properties as well as perform stress-analysis. This function is
performed with an approximate finite element analysis. Mesh refinement may be necessary to get accurate results. You
can run the advanced analysis in general shape projects by switching to the Advanced Analysis View tab. When analysis
is possible it is run automatically in the background whenever any of the input values (or your shape) changes. For very
complex shapes with lots of curves, analysis might take several minutes, but most shapes will analyze in seconds,
depending upon your computer system.

Advanced analysis is approximate based on finite element theory. Mesh refinement techniques may be
required to insure accurate results.

Multiple disconnected parts and composite shapes are not supported for this type of analysis because
the entire method is based on computing a warping normal function, which is not possible in
ShapeBuilder's implementation.

Input Information
The Advanced Settings tab in Project Manager allows input for the applied loading on the section, the location of the
applied loading (body forces), a mesh refinement adjustment, and a selector to determine which of the available results to
display in the graphic window. Shown in the figure below are the orientations and positive sign convention for the applied
loads on the section.

Loading
The location of the applied load is specified in the drop down box. The options here include: the Global Axes (X,Y), the
Centroidal Axes (x,y), the Principal Axes (1,2,theta), Shear Center, and Other Axes. If Other Axes is chosen, you will need to
specify the X and Y coordinates (in the global system) of the origin of your coordinate system as well as the angle of
rotation.

Loads are applied as body forces not concentrated forces. Since they are applied as body forces, stress concentrations are
not a factor and are therefore not considered.

26
Mesh Refinement
The mesh refinement slider is used to control how many elements are used in the analysis. You can compare the results
between different meshes to determine if the results are "converging" on the true elasticity solution.

View Results
:You may select among the following for graphical results using the drop-down list in the Project Manager, Advanced
Settings tab.:

Result View Description

Displays the finite element mesh used to run the analysis. You might look at this to
Mesh Only judge element sizes, to find meshing problems or issues (you may zoom and pan the
view).

St. Venant xy X-direction St. Venant shear stress as a result of applied or incidental torsion.

St. Venant yz Y-direction St. Venant shear stress as a result of applied or incidental torsion

Flexural xy X-direction flexural shear stress from applied shear.

Flexural yz Y-direction flexural shear stress from applied shear.

x direction total shear stress found by combining flexural and torsional shear stresses.
Combined xy Sign of the stress is used in the combination. Sign convention is consistent with the
right hand rule and strength of materials stress definition.
Total Resultant Shear Stress found by taking the square root of the square of the total
Resultant 
stresses. It is a positive number. The resultant represents the vector resultant value.

z Total normal (Z direction) stress, from combined axial and bending.

Warping
Warping normal function
Function
The orientation and sign convention of the resulting stresses is shown below. All stresses shown are positive; note that a
normal stress in tension is designated as positive. ShapeBuilder reports only the shear stresses on the Z face of the cube
below.

27
Reinforced Concrete Analysis

Introduction
With a reinforced concrete project, you can switch to the Reinforced Concrete View to perform a stress-strain analysis
of the cross section under a given set of loads. The basic geometric properties, such as A, I x, Iy, Sx, Sy, are calculated using
an uncracked section with the steel transformed to an equivalent concrete area. This is done using the modular ratio.
These basic properties are all calculated before the analysis is performed.

Definitions of properties calculated.

See also: Limitations

Controlling the Analysis

Use the Concrete Settings tab in Project Manager to specify the loads, analysis parameters, and the diagram
parameters. The load sign convention is shown in the figure. Note that Mx does not follow the right-hand-rule, where as
My does, positive moments cause compression in the upper-positive quadrant.

Click the Analyze button once you have defined the parameters. Choose the type of results to display using the drop
down list.

Tip: If analysis fails, it could be due to having a ZERO force for the axial loads. Our numerical solver can be somewhat
temperamental when it comes to this. You might add a significant axial compression to start with, perhaps 1-5% of the
shape's capacity, and after it analyzes successfully you can use the interaction diagrams to judge the capacity when axial
forces are truly zero.

Analysis Input & Details

The analysis parameters include: EpsO, EpsU, and the Whitney factor. The epsilon values are shown on the stress strain
diagram below. EpsO is commonly taken as 0.003, the concrete strain at crushing. EpsU is commonly taken as 0.0038 and
can be thought of as a strain hardening effect due to confinement. The Whitney factor (W f), when multiplied by f'c is the
compressive stress level assumed to occur where compressive strains exist. The equations of the two lines shown below
are as follows:

28
Interaction Diagrams
The diagram parameters control how the results are presented. After the analysis has been performed, a set of interaction
diagrams is presented. Shown below is a single slice. The number of slices specified in the input determine how many
slices are rotated around the axial load axis. The points per slice are in the axial load direction as shown below. With an
increased number of points and slices comes better definition of the interaction surface.

The interaction diagrams do not take into account any ACI phi factors or length effects; the capacities are
based purely on strength.

Stress-Strain Plot
Finally, the concrete strain plot shows the cracked neutral axis of the section, the strain in the concrete on the
compression side, and the stress in each individual rebar. In addition to being graphically displayed, this information is
also available on the right side in the Results area. You will notice the maximum value of strain given as well as the actual
numerical stresses in each bar. The bars are numbered such that the appropriate stress can be correlated with the correct
rebar. The cracked neutral axis offset and angle of rotation are also reported in the Results section. These values are
measured with respect to the centroid and the x-axis respectively, as shown in the diagram below.

29
For more information regarding the processes used in performing the reinforced concrete analysis please refer to [6] and
[10] in the References.

30
Basic Properties
Dimensions:
Total or
maximum
Height depth in
the y
direction
Total or
maximum
Width width in
the x
direction

31
 The sum
of the
external
edges of
the shape.
Useful for
calculating
the
surface
area of a
member
for
painting.
If holes
overlap
the outer
Perimeter
perimeter
to form a
notch, it is
the
"flattened"
perimeter
that we
calculate.
(Press and
hold the F
key in the
Sketch
View to
see the
flattened
shape.)

Transformed Section Properties

An asterisk (*)indicates transformed properties for composite shapes.

For shapes that include multiple materials, you specify which material to use as a "base".
The properties are then transformed with a modular ratio. For example, areas of each part are weighted by
the modular ratio of E/(E Base) as shown in the equation at right.

32
Geometric Properties:
Gross or full
cross-sectional
area of the
shape, less the
area of any
holes.
Overlapping
portions of
Area, A shapes (of the
same material)
are
"flattened"--the
y are not
included twice.
Overlaps on
composite parts
are not allowed.
That point
where the
moment of the
area is zero
about any axis.
This point is
Center of
measured from
Gravity,
the global XY
Xc, Yc
axes and is
labeled CG in
the graphics.
Also known as
the Centroid of
Area.

33
 Second moment
of the area with
respect to the
subscripted axis.
Moments A measure of
of Inertia, the stiffness of
Iy, Ix the
cross-section
and its ability to
resist bending
moments.

Integral of
x*y*dA. The
Product product of
of Inertia, inertia is zero
Ixy when the x-y
axes are the
principle axis.

The section
modulus is
useful for
calculating the
extreme
bending stress.
Defined as I/c,
Section where I is the
Modulus, moment of
Sx+, Sx-, inertia about the
Sy+, Sy- axis in question,
and c is the
distance from
the centroid to
the extreme
fiber in the
perpendicular
direction.

34
 Radius of
gyration is the
distance from a
reference axis to
a point at which
the entire area
may be
Radius of concentrated
Gyration, and still have
ry, rx the same
moment of
inertia as the
distributed area.
It is used as a
measure of the
stability of a
column.

Plastic Properties:

35
 The plastic neutral
axis is located such
that
Acomp*FyComp =
ATension*FyTension.
If the section is
composed of
multiple materials of
differing yield
Plastic
stresses, the
Neutral
FyComp and
Axis,
FyTension values
PNA-Y,
may vary across the
PNA-X
cross-section. If the
section is composed
of only one material
the PNA, divides the
area of the section
into equal halves
and is not always
located at the
centroid.

36
 The plastic section
modulus is the
arithmetical sum of
the statical
moments about the
plastic neutral axis
of the parts of the
section above and
below that axis. This
term is used to
calculate the plastic
moment capacity of
a section Mpx = syZx,
Plastic where sy is the yield
Modulus, stress of the
Zy, Zx material. When a
section is composed
of multiple materials
of differing yield
stresses, the Zx and
Zy values are
calculated by
weighting each part
with a yield stress
other than the user
specified base yield
stress FyBase
referenced to
FyBase.

Polar Properties:

37
 Moment of
inertia with
respect to the
z axis (normal
to the section
plane). This is
equivalent to
the torsion
Polar
constant, J, for
Moment
circular
of Inertia,
cross-sections
Ip
only. In other
cases the polar
moment of
inertia is larger
(perhaps much
larger) than
the torsion
constant.
The polar
Polar radius of
Radius of gyration about
Gyration, the centroid of
rp the shape =
sqrt( Ip/A ).

Principal Properties:

38
 The axes
orientation at
which the
maximum and
minimum
moments of
inertia are
obtained,
positive
according to
the right-hand
rule. Moment
of inertia Ixy is
zero with
respect to this
Principal coordinate
Axes system. These
Angle,  axes are the
same as the
centroidal axes
(x,y) if either of
the xy axis is
an axis of
symmetry,
where Ixy = 0.
Theta is the
angle of
rotation from
ShapeBuilder's
geometric
(X-Y) axes to
the principal
axes.

39
 Maximum and
minimum
moments of
inertia, defined
on the
Principal
principal
Moments
coordinate
of Inertia,
system axes.
I1, I2
The product of
inertia with
respect to
these axes is
always zero.

Part Properties: (Shear Flow)

40
 First
moment
of inertia
of the
entire part
about the
centroid
of the
entire
built-up
shape.
Qx, This
Qy quantity is
used to
determine
shear flow
(VQ/I) for
welding
or bolting
parts, like
cover
plates to a
beam for
example.

Material Properties

41
 The
weight
(per unit
length) of
an
extruded
shape is
Weigh
calculated
t
using the
material
densities
of all the
parts and
their net
area.

42
Reinforced Concrete Property Definitions
These properties apply to Reinfored Concrete projects only, and a Reinforced Concrete Analysis.

Concrete Shape Terminology:

The yield
Reinforcing
stress of the
Yield Stress,
reinforcing
Fy
bars.
The
compressive
Concrete
strength of
Compressive
the concrete
Strength, F'c
in the
section.

Uncracked Concrete Properties:

Area of the cross
section (The asterisk
(*)indicates transformed
Area*
properties: rebar areas
are transformed with the
modular ratio).
Defined as the ratio of
the modulus of
elasticity of steel (Es)
to the modulus of
elasticity of concrete
Modular
(Ec). Normal weight
Ratio, n
concrete is assumed
in the calculation of
Ec and is given by the
following formula:

43
 Section modulus
values about the
Secton
centroidal axis (x or y)
Moduli,
with respect to the
Sx+*, Sx-*,
extreme fiber in the
Sy+*, Sy-*
positive or negative
direction.

The cracking moment

for bending about the
x and y axes.

Cracking where f'r

Moment, is the modulus of
Mcr rupture and is taken
Right,
as in
Mcr Left,
units of (psi). Mcrx is
Mcr
calculated the same
Bottom,
replacing Sx with Sy.
Mcr Top
The Mcr Right value
corresponds to having
the right side of the
section in tension, etc.

Axial load only

capacity = 0.85*F'c*A -
Po (Fy - 0.85F'c)*As, where
As is the area of steel
(not calculated).

Applied Loads and Input Data

44
 The
reinforced
concrete
analysis uses
bending
Bending moments
Moments, oriented
M x , My such that
positive
values cause
compression
in the +X,
+Y quadrant.

An applied
axial force,
where
Axial
compression
Load, P
is positive,
tension is
negative.

Concrete Analysis Results:

Concrete
U strain at
failure.
Strain level
assumed at
O onset of
strain
hardening.
Extreme
compression
fiber strain
Epsilon
under the
loading
specified.

45
 Fraction of
the
compressive
Whitney
strength, F'c,
Factor,
used for
Wf
stress level in
compressive
block area.
Cracked
section
Ixcr, Iycr
moments of
inertia.
A set of loads
that produce
concrete
strain levels
that would
cause
crushing of
Capacity the concrete
Forces, at the
Moy, Mox, extreme
Po compressive
fiber. These
are the
extreme
points on the
concrete
interaction
surface.

Perpendicular
distance from
the neutral
NA axis to the
Offset centroid
under the
loading
specified.

46
 Neutral axis
inclination
angle
NA measure ccw
Alpha from the
X-axis under
the loading
specified.
Tension stress
in each
reinforcing
bar under a
given
Bar loading.
Stresses, Plotted
Bar1, graphically.
Bar2, Bar numbers
...BarN correspond
to the
numbers
displayed in
the Results
View.

47
Shear and Torsion Properties
The quality of the values calculated depends upon the mesh density used in the finite element analysis, see
Advanced Analysis for more details on getting accurate answers.

Advanced analysis is not performed on a shape composed of multiple disconnected parts or for
composite shapes (multiple materials). This is because the theory is all based on a single material and the
warping normal functions. You might wish to use "superposition" of your parts independently to estimate a
J value, but this may not be correct!

Torsional stiffness factor

is a more accurate
measure of the torsional
rigidity than polar
moment of inertia. For
thin-walled open cross
sections it is
approximated as the sum
of b*t3 for each
component rectangle. For
Torsion
thin-walled closed
Constant, J
sections it is proportional
to the enclosed area.
ShapeBuilder uses a
sophisticated numerical
process to calculate the
value, which may be quite
different than the
approximation formula
results.

48
 Also known as the
Flexural Center. The Shear
Center is the point on the
cross section where an
applied shear force will
cause no twisting of the
cross section as it bends.
In general, this is not the
Shear Center, centroid. If the section is
Xsc, Ysc symmetric, the shear
center will lie on the axis
of symmetry; for doubly
symmetric sections, the
shear center will coincide
with the centroid. This
point is located with
respect to the global
origin.

Derived from the polar

radius of gyration about
the shear center is the
AISC flexural constant H
AISC Flexural
= 1 - (xs2 + ys2)/ro2. Refer
Constant, H
to the AISC manual for
more details. H=1 if the
shear center and centroid
coincide.

49
 The polar radius of
gyration about the shear
center is defined in AISC
LRFD Appendix E as:

Polar Radius of Where xs, ys represent the

Gyration about distance from the
Shear Center, ro centroid to the shear
center. This property is
only shown if the shear
center does not coincide
with the centroid. (See
also rp in Basic
Properties.)

Used for calculating

Monosymmetry lateral torsional buckling
Factor, 1 of singly-symmetric cross
sections.
Warping constant is
Warping calculated as:
Constant, Cw

If these are unfamiliar, you may wish to review the Literature References.

50
Applied Loads and Stress Results
These properties apply to the Advanced Analysis.

Applied Loads:

The location and

orientation of
the applied loads
can be specified
at an arbitrary
coordinate
system. Load
application may
also be with
respect to the
following
Load
coordinate
Application
systems: Global
System
Origin,
Centroidal
Origin, with
respect to the
Principal Axes, or
with respect to
the Shear Center.
You may also
specify any
Other Axes and
Orientation.

51
 An applied axial
force, where
compression is
negative, tension
is positive. If the
Axial Force, load is applied at
P a point other
than the
centroid, it will
also induce
moments on the
cross section.
Moment sign
Bending
conventions
Moments,
follow the
Ma, Mb
right-hand-rule

Positive shear is
in the direction
of the positive
Shear axis. Shear forces
Force, Va, applied at a
Vb point other than
the shear center
will induce
torsion as well.

Applied torsional
moment,
counterclockwise
Torque, T
is positive,
following the
right-hand-rule.

Mesh Refinement & Results:

52
 The
number of
elements
Element
used in the
s
advanced
analysis
mesh.
The
number of
nodes used
Nodes in the
advanced
analysis
mesh.

The slider
for refining
the mesh is
exponential
in nature
and
specifies a
desired
Element
element
Area
size (in
Area). The
report
shows the
average
element
area used
in the FEA.

Stress Results:
Normal stress (combined axial and
z bending). Normal stress is positive for
tension, negative for compression.

53
 Resultant Shear Stress found by taking
the square root of the sum of the
Resultant squares of the flexural and St. Venant
 shear stresses. It is a positive number.
The resultant represents the vector
resultant value.
Combined The superposition of Flexural and
xy, yz St.Venant shear stresses.
Shear stress due to torque only, Tr/J.
St. Venant
These stresses are also called uniform
xy, yz
torsional shear stresses.
Flexural Shear stresses induced by shear loads
xy,yz applied.
Normal axial stress due to axial load
only, P/A. Normal stress is positive for
Axial
tension, negative for compression. If you
Stress, Not
wish to find this value, change your
Outputted.
loads to include only an axial load at the
centroid.
Also known as Bending Stress. These are
normal stresses due to bending
moments only. For biaxial bending of
asymmetric shapes, the total bending
Flexural
stress is calculated according to:
Stress, Not
Outputted.

If you wish to find these stress values,

apply only Moment loads (no axial or
torsion).

54
Technical Reference
ShapeBuilder calculates approximate section properties based on geometry! For manufactured shapes, like AISC steel,
the properties used may be slightly different than those listed in the AISC manual. This is OK, ShapeBuilder is not
intended to be a table-lookup tool and may actually be more accurate! AISC does not publish exact geometry for shapes
and even the properties it tabulates are subject to tolerance variations.

ShapeBuilder's "Simple" Results

 Basic Properties: width, height, A, Ix, etc., polar, principal, shear-flow

Advanced Analysis Input & Results

 Advanced Analysis
 Shear and Torsion Properties
 Applied Loads and Stress Results

Reinforced Concrete Analysis Input & Results

 Reinforced Concrete Analysis

 Reinforced Concrete Properties

IES Databases
(shared with other IES products)

 IES Shape Database

 IES Material Database

Literature References

55
Custom Shape Databases
What is It?
The Custom Shape Database is a set of your files describing shapes you have defined either directly (in XML files) or
imported or created through ShapeBuilder. This system is used by a number of IES products to make it easy to build
structural models from beams or columns with predefined properties.

Limitations
No composite shapes are stored in the database.

Where is the Custom Shape Database?

The database consists of XML data files. If you are not familiar with XML, it is a text based format which is commonly used
for data-exchange, you can easily edit and understand them using a simple text editor. (We like "NotePad++" because it
is freeware and offers XML syntax highlighting, but you can use any plain-text editor. Be careful with MS Word and similar
as they may want to 'corrupt' the format..) The customizable files are stored in your local application data path, which is:

C:\Users\<your.login>\AppData\Local\IES\Customer\Shapes

Note: that the AppData folder is normally hidden by Windows, but you may use Windows Explorer to turn on the display
of hidden folders, or you may type the path into Windows Explorer to get to the folder.

You may copy these files from one machine to another to share your customizations on different machines. You should
take responsibility for these files with backup copies.

Using Exported Shapes in VisualAnalysis

IES VisualAnalysis can perform design checks on member elements created from shapes in the IES shape database as well
as some shapes you export from ShapeBuilder. Use File | Export to VisualAnalysis (IES Database) to perform the export
operation in ShapeBuilder.

Shape Management: Add, Modify, Remove, Copy

However, you may create a custom library of many shapes that you use over and over, but this is a manual process
outside of ShapeBuilder. Please look for instructions and examples, in the Customer\Shapes folder. You can copy
your database files to other machines where you (or others) have IES products installed. You may delete any files you no
longer wish to use.

If you wish to suggest libraries of shapes for IES to incorporate or make available, you may suggest those to IES Technical
Support!

Legacy .DBS Database Files

Prior to the release of ShapeBuilder 7.0, IES products use an older shape database system. (This includes ShapeBuilder 6.0
and VisualAnalysis 12.0 and prior versions of these programs). When you create a custom shape in ShapeBuilder 7.0 it will
be exported to both the new and the legacy system into a file called "New Era Shapes.dbs" and will be available in
VisualAnalysis under that name. These files were installed a different format and location:

C:\Users\<your.login>\AppData\Local\IES\Data\Shapes

There is no automated way to import legacy .dbs files into the new system. You can (temporarily) use ShapeBuilder
6.0 if you wish to import a library of shapes to use in VisualAnalysis 12.0 and prior. When a newer version of VisualAnalysis
starts using the new database we will provide new 'tooling' to facilitate this feature in ShapeBuilder 7.0+.

56
Custom Material Database
What is It?
The Custom Material Database is a set of XML files you create and manage to add materials to IES products. (The IES
proprietary material database provides most common materials already.) This system is used by a number of IES
products to make it easy to build structural models with standard properties. The system is flexible, and extensible, but
OUTSIDE of ShapeBuilder.

Limitations
All IES materials are assumed to be linear, isotropic and elastic.

Where is the Custom Material Database?

The database consists of XML data files. If you are not familiar with XML, it is a text based format which is commonly used
for data-exchange, you can easily edit and understand them using a simple text editor. (We like "NotePad++" because it
is freeware and offers XML syntax highlighting, but you can use any plain-text editor. Be careful with MS Word and similar
as they may want to 'corrupt' the format..) The customizable files are stored in your local application data path, which is:

C:\Users\<your.login>\AppData\Local\IES\Customer\Materials

Note: that the AppData folder is normally hidden by Windows, but you may use Windows Explorer to turn on the display
of hidden folders, or you may type the path into Windows Explorer to get to the folder.

You may copy these files from one machine to another to share your customizations on different machines. You should
take responsibility for these files with backup copies.

Material Management: Add, Modify, Remove

You may edit the database files, manually, outside of ShapeBuilder. Please look for instructions and examples, in the
Customer\Materials folder.

If you wish to suggest libraries of materials for IES to incorporate or make available, you may suggest those to IES
Technical Support!

Legacy .DBM Database Files

VisualAnalysis 12.0 and ShapeBuilder 6.0 used files installed in a different format and location:

C:\Users\<your.login>\AppData\Local\IES\Data\Materials

There is no automated way to import legacy .dbs files into the new system. You will need to build "new" database
files using your original data and the instructions and examples in the Customer\Materials folder (see above).

57
Simple Polygons
ShapeBuilder only has the the capability to analyze simple polygons. A simple polygon is one that does not
self-intersect, or have touching vertices. Vertices touch if two points share the same location (and are not adjacent).

The screenshot below shows a polygon for which analysis fails. The merged outside boundary is not a simple polygon,
due to the shared vertex between the rectangles, which encloses the hole (circled in red).

Less obvious complex polygons are sometimes created by small mis-alignments in the shape's geometry, e.g. small gaps
where shapes are meant to connect.

ShapeBuilder does not analyze these shapes because the physical meaning of the touching vertices is unclear.

Possible Solutions
To fix the analysis problem shown above, one of two methods can be employed:

 Increase the overlap so that it is more than a point

 Create a gap so the set is not 'closed'

58
Literature References
1. Manual of Steel Construction and ANSI/AISC 360-10 by the American Institute of Steel Construction..
2. Young, Warren C. and Richard G. Budynas. Roark's Formulas for Stress and Strain, 8th Edition, 2011, ISBN
978-0071742474.
3. Seaburg, Paul A. and Charles J. Carter. Torsional Analysis of Structural Steel Members. Steel Design Guide
Series #9. 1997, American Institute of Steel Construction.
4. Murray, Noel W. Introduction to the Theory of Thin-Walled Structures. Clarendon Press - Oxford 1984,
ISBN 0-19-856186-5.
5. Pilkey, Walter D., Stress, Strain, and Structural Matrices. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1994, ISBN 0-471-52746-7.
6. Wang, Chu-Kia. and Salmon, Charles G. Reinforced Concrete Design, 7th Edition Wiley, 2006, ISBN
978-0471262862.
7. Davis, Raymond E., Francis S. Foote, James M. Anderson, and Edward M. Mikhail. Surveying Theory and
Practice. McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1981, ISBN 0-07-015790-1.
8. Gruttmann, F., R. Sauer, and W. Wagner. Shear Stresses in Prismatic Beams with Arbitrary Cross-Sections.
International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering No. 45, p. 865-889, 1999.
9. Gruttman, F. and W. Wagner. Shear correction factors in Timoshenko's beam theory for arbitrary shaped
cross-sections. Computational Mechanics No. 27, p. 199-207, 2001.
10. Rodriguez, J. A. and J. Dario Aristizabal-Ochoa. Biaxial Interaction Diagrams for Short RC Columns of any
Cross-Section. Journal of Structural Engineering. Vol. 125, No. 6 p. 672-683 June 1999.
11. Galambos, T. V., Structural Stability of Steel Concepts and Applications for Structural Engineers, Wiley,
2008, ISBN 978-0-470-03778-2

59