Frequently
Asked Questions| Frequently
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What happened to the Table format I liked so much in Beam II text output?
The 'Table' format is still available. In the Run Settings dialog, select Compact Layout in General tab (Scientific in version 3.0) and the required precision. When scientific format is selected, the location analysis output appears in a tabular format that is similar to the one used in Beam II.
Beam 2D offers a much wider range of formatting options than those available in Beam II. While all Beam II text output was displayed and printed in scientific notation, Beam 2D provides choice between scientific and standard notation with various degrees of user-selected precision. In addition, all output parameters may be described with their full names or just abbreviated symbols; e.g. 'deflection =' vs. 'd ='. To use symbols instead of full names, check Use symbols box in the Run Settings dialog window.
2. Editing beam components as a group.
Can I relocate a group of supports (i.e. move a number of supports along the beam axis) and/or change spacing between supports in the group without having to edit each support individually?
Yes. Use Extract command for that purpose. Save the supports to be edited to a file and then extract them from that file specifying the new location and extent of the group along the beam length. You might want to delete the existing supports before extracting them; otherwise they will be added to the existing supports. You can use this method for all beam components such as materials, cross-sections, loads, and locations.
The primary purpose of the Extract command is to quickly copy entire data group (such as materials, cross-sections, supports, loads etc.) from one beam to another. However, in the process, this command also lets you change location and distribution of the extracted components along the length of the target beam. Therefore, this command is well suited to editing data within the same beam in repeated 'what if' analyses. When editing an entire data group, the group may be extracted from the previously saved copy of the same file. Generally the components being edited in the current (target) beam should be deleted before extraction of the new ones since Extract command adds the extracted components to the existing ones. When editing a group of components that is a part of but not the whole data group (e.g. five supports out of the total of say 10 supports), create a temporary beam data file that will contain only these components that will be edited and then extract them to your target beam changing location and distribution as required. For more information search Help for 'Extract'.
I would like to start Beam 2D with units of my choice rather than change them each time; is it possible?
Yes. Start a new task and change units to the units of your choice and then click Save As Default in the File menu.
Save As Default command in the File menu saves the current beam data to a special file that is loaded each time Beam 2D starts or when a new task is started. This file is like any Beam 2D data file and may contain not only units, but also any other beam data such as materials, cross-section properties, supports, and loads. Typically the default file contains data that are used most often and are preloaded for convenience. Once loaded, the default data may be edited like any other beam data.
4. Editing several components at a time.
Is there a way to edit several components (e.g. supports or cross-sections) without having to select and edit each of them one by one?
Yes. In the applicable Group List, select all the components (data sets) that you intend to edit and then click Edit button if the AddEdit panel is not visible already. The selected data sets will appear one after another in the AddEdit panel without the need to select the next component after each edit. To select non-contiguous data sets hold Ctrl key while clicking them. Search Help for 'Group List' for more ways to select data sets.
5. Uninstall Beam 2D completely.
I moved my Beam 2D 3.0 license to a new computer and now I would like to uninstall Beam 2D completely from the old machine. What files can I delete?
All Windows applications consist of files that can be classified into two groups: proprietary files and shared files. The proprietary files are unique files that are used by the particular application only while shared files are files that are shared with other applications running under Windows even though they may be distributed with an application as its components. Shared files are usually installed in the C:\Windows\System folder (C:\WINNT\System or C:\WINNT\System32 in Windows NT).
The proprietary files can be deleted safely without affecting the operation of other applications. The shared components should generally be left on the hard drive since it is virtually impossible to make sure that other applications are not using them.
To remove all proprietary components:
Following is the list of shared components that Beam 2D Version 3.0 requires. These are installed during program setup if not already present in the C:\Windows\System folder (C:\WINNT\System in Windows NT). It is recommended that all these files with the possible exception of LCRYPKYD.DLL be retained since they are likely to be used by other applications. One file that can probably be removed is LCRYPKYD.DLL unless you have other applications that use the CrypKey protection.
How can I model a hinge connection within a beam?
Hinge connection or support is a connection between two parts of a beam that transfers shear force but not bending moment. This type of connection is best simulated by a very short cross-section that has a very small Iz (area second moment of inertia) compared to the preceding and following cross-sections. Usually, Iz value of a hinge connection will be smaller by several orders of magnitude compared to the rest of the beam. Note that the hinge section must be very short too (a few orders of magnitude fraction of the beam length); otherwise you will get large deflection in the hinge section itself. This method gives a greater flexibility in simulating properties of a hinge connection compared to a rigid hinge. In reality, hinge connection often has some stiffness resulting from its design, friction, age deterioration, etc. By varying properties of the cross-section that simulates the hinge, we can create a more realistic model. If the hinge exhibits some elastic moment resistance, an elastic rotation support may be added.
7. Transfer In command is disabled.
I am not able to transfer the license to another computer because the Transfer In command on the new (target) computer is disabled after I have installed Beam 2D there. I can operate Beam 2D in the trial mode only.
License can only be transferred to a computer that does not have a license. When Beam 2D is installed on a new computer for the first time, it automatically initiates a trial license. Since the target computer temporarily has an operating license, the Transfer In command is disabled. To transfer the license to the target computer, the trial license must be removed first. To remove the license, click menu Maintain|Remove License in the License Configuration window of the target computer. Once the trial license is disabled, the Transfer In command will become active. It is recommended to restart Beam 2D after the license is removed.
When Beam 2D starts, I get the message 'File not found' and then when I click OK button the program shuts down.
You need to edit BM2D.INI file located in C:\Windows folder (C:\WinNT in Windows NT). To open this file in Notepad simply double click it in the Windows Explorer. The second line in the BM2D.INI file should look like this:
Local=C:\BEAM2D
where C:\BEAM2D is the folder containing Beam 2D program files i.e. the folder you chose to install Beam 2D to during the setup. If you chose a different folder than that shown above then the text after the equal sign must indicate that folder. If the line after the equal sign is blank, then you must type the correct path and then save the file. To save the file click File menu and then click Save command.
When I print to a network printer in Windows 95, the printing process completes within the program but no printed output appears at the printer or I get a message 'Printer error' and then when I click OK button the program shuts down.
This is caused by a bug in the Windows 95/Visual Basic interface. Apparently Windows 95 does not handle paths containing space characters the way it should. To avoid this problem make sure that the server path names do not contain any space characters.
More on this subject can be found at Microsoft site: FIX: "MS Visual Basic- Printer Error" Occurs Under Windows 95 .
I would like to analyze my beam under several combinations of loads and be able to scale the loads by various factors.
This method uses Extract feature that makes it possible to copy an entire data group from another beam file and add it to the current beam. In the process, locations and values of loads can be changed if required.
Hint: To keep the files organized, you can create a project folder named with the name of the project (e.g. 'Main Girder', 'My Beam' e.t.c.) and save all category and load case files in the project folder with appropriate category names (e.g. 'No Load', 'Dead Weight', 'Live', 'Wind' , '1.25 Live + 1.5 Wind' e.t.c.).
To extract load groups with load factor feature you must have Beam 2D Version 3.1 Build 5 or higher. To update/upgrade/verify version/build of your copy of Beam 2D go to service area.
I want to analyze a beam when a set of loads changes location along beam axis. How can I do it without having to re-enter location of each moving load?
This method uses Extract feature that makes it possible to copy an entire data category from another beam file and add it to the current beam. In the process, locations and values of loads can be changed if required.
Hint: To keep the files organized, you can create a project folder named with the name of the project (e.g. 'Main Girder', 'My Beam' e.t.c.) and save all related files in the project folder with appropriate file names (e.g. 'Fixed Set', 'MoveSet', 'LocXXX', LocYYY', "LocZZZ', e.t.c.).
When I start Beam 2D on a Windows NT system I get an error message 'Invalid property value' and then when I click the OK button in the error dialog window, the program exits.
This error appears because font 'Arial' is missing or is not properly registered on your system. The error appears on some NT 4.0 systems that had service pack 4.0 or higher installed. One of the service packs somehow affected this font i.e. the font may still appear in the Fonts list but will generate an error when an attempt is made to use it. To fix the problem Arial font must be reinstalled (including Arial Bold and Arial Italic). A good check is to try to find and use 'Arial' font in the WordPad applet found in C:\Program Files\Accessories\Wordpad.exe (not Word or any other application - in Word, font 'Arial' will appear even though it may still be missing). While in WordPad look for plain 'Arial' without any adjectives and if you cannot find it in the list of available fonts then you need to reinstall it.
I would like to export numerical values of the plot data into a spreadsheet so I can do further analysis.
While Beam 2D does not provide
direct export command, you can easily 'export' data in the format
imported by most spreadsheets i.e. space delimited fixed length
format. To do so:
1. In the Input window; 'Locations' data group:
Enter locations to be analyzed i.e. the plot locations in the
form of an array. Note, that you can enter array locations in two
ways:
a) By specifying Number of locations, Start Location and Step
between locations.
b) By specifying Number of locations only (the 'L' box must be
checked); the locations are then distributed uniformly along the
length of the entire beam.
2. In the Run Settings window; General tab; Text
panel:
Check 'Compact Layout' and select the desired precision.
3. Perform calculation run.
4. In the Text Output Window:
Drag mouse pointer or use keyboard to highlight the columnar part
of the text output you wish to export and click 'Copy Select'
button in the toolbar (the button with a camera and two
horizontal lines).
The following import instructions assume Microsoft Excel (other
software packages will have similar features):
5. Open Microsoft Excel spreadsheet if not
already open.
6. Paste contents of the clipboard into the
spreadsheet.
7. Click Data|Text to Columns... command in the
toolbar. This will parse the pasted text into numerical columns.
Now you can work with the data as you need.
Note, that you can also specify 'locations to analyze' directly
from the Text Output window after the calculation run has been
performed. They will be then appended to the Text output window.
This is very convenient because you can perform multiple exports
without having to return to the Input window. You can also
plot/analyze a part of the beam or the entire beam with more
precision than the Plot Window provides since you can specify any
number of locations and their distribution. Just remember that
Run Settings must specify 'Compact Layout' before the calculation
run is performed to get fixed length format in the Text Output
window.
