Cross Section Data Files

Dr. Frame2D has two mechanisms for making cross section data available for assignment to members: (i) run-time creation of custom cross sections as described in the Working with Members documentation; and (ii) loading of text-based files containing cross section data. This section focuses on these mechanisms, describing the basic processes for creating, loading, and unloading database files suitable for use with Dr. Frame2D.

By default, Dr. Frame2D loads the file named DFSectionData.txt at startup. This file is located in the application home directory for Windows (C:\Program FIles\Dr. Software\Dr. Frame2D\, by default), and in the user's Library/Application Support/DrFrame2D/ directory for Mac OS X. This file can be edited or replaced to customize the default section database contents---simply name the desired file "DFSectionData.txt" and place it in the appropriate directory (i.e., the directory that currently contains the DFSectionData.txt file).

It is recommended that a copy of the original section data file be made prior to making such modifications.

Section Data File Formats

There are several data formats that can be used with Dr. Frame2D for purposes of importing section data:

  1. Comprehensive text-based tables of dimensions and properties.
  2. Text-based tables containing dimensions only---properties are calculated by Dr. Frame2D on import.
  3. XML-based section listings. This kind of data file is generated by Dr. Frame itself, and is intended to support moving smaller sets of custom sections between analysis files.

The first two of these formats are similar, and are described below in the Basic Section Data File Format section. The XML format is described in the subsequent section. In all cases, the file formats are intended to be straightforward to understand, and so simply opening an existing file in any basic text editor and studying it will give a pretty good idea how things work.

For both formats, it is generally harmless to include extraneous data---Dr. Frame2D looks for what it needs and ignores what it does not need.
Basic Section Data File Format
The key ingredients of the basic data format are:
  1. BEGINFAMILY...END tags delimiting the beginning and end of a family of sections, in which a family generally shares fundamental shape and nominal size cahracteristics.
  2. A units designator, denoting either US units (dimensions and properties in powers of inches) or metric (dimensions in mm, computed properties in powers of cm).
  3. The family name. This identifier will appear in the member cross-section selection pop-up when a member or set of members is selected.
  4. A section shape classification tag. The currently recognized set of section type tags are listed below: 
    • I_Section
    • T_Section
    • Rect_Section
    • L_Section
    • RectTube_Section
    • Z_Section
    • Pipe_Section
    • C_Section
  5. A tab-delimited list of dimension and property names concluded by the tag 'end'. These dimension and property names are used by Dr. Frame2D to relate subsequent numerical data to internal computational quantities, and so the names need to follow normal conventions if they are to be recognized (unrecognized properties are still read in and available for inspection, but they are not used in computations). The currently recognized dimension and property tags are identified below:
    Property Designator
    Depth d or h
    Width bf or b
    Thickness (flange) t or tf
    Web thickness tw or s
       
    Area Area or A
    Ix Ix
    Iy Iy
    Sx Sx
    Sy Sy
    Zx Zx
    Zy Zy
    J (Torsion) J or Kt
    Cw Cw
    X1 (AISC torsion) X1
    X2 (AISC torsion) X2
    Centroidal x-coordinate xBar
    Centroidal y-coordinate yBar
    e0 e0
    Principal Orientation tanAlpha
    Iu Iu
    Iv Iv
  6. The section data in tab-delimited rows. See below for examples.
Examples

Example excerpts from the DFSectionData.txt file are listed below. Again, the files itself can be inspected for further full examples:

  • US section family, precomputed data. 
    BEGINFAMILY
englishUnits
W4-6
I_Section
Section	Number	Area	d	tw	bf	... end
W6X25	179	7.34	6.38	0.32	6.08	...
W6X20	180	5.87	6.2	0.26	6.02	...
W6X15	181	4.43	5.99	0.23	5.99	...
...
W5X16	186	4.68	5.01	0.24	5	...
W4X13	187	3.83	4.16	0.28	4.06	...
END
  • European section family, precomputed data 
    BEGINFAMILY
metric
PFC
C_Section
Section		d	bf	tw	tf	...	Zx	...	end
430x100x64	430	100	11	19	...	1222	...	
380x100x54	380	100	9.5	17.5	...	933	...	
300x100x46	300	100	9	16.5	...	641	...	
...
100x50x10	100	50	5	8.5	...	48.9	...
END
  • US structural pipe, dimensions only 
    BEGINFAMILY
englishUnits
DoubleExtraStrongPipe
Pipe_Section
Section		d	t	end
DES2in		2.375	0.436
DES2_1/2in	2.875	0.552
DES3in		3.5	0.600
DES4in 		4.5	0.674
DES5in		5.563	0.750
DES6in		6.625	0.864
DES8in		8.625	0.875
END
  • US rectangular tube family, dimensions encoded in section name 
    BEGINFAMILY
englishUnits
RectTube16-20
RectTube_Section
Section		end
20x12x1/2
20x12x3/8
20x12x5/16
...
16x12x1/2
16x12x3/8
16x12x5/16
16x8x1/2
16x8x3/8
16x8x5/16
16x4x1/2
16x4x3/8
16x4x5/16
END
XML Section Data File Format

As mentioned earlier, the XML file format is intended primarily for allowing custom sections created from within Dr. Frame2D to be saved for use in other model files. Because it is a quasi-internal file format, it does not support multiple units, and it does not lend itself well to hand creation. This having been said, it is relatively straightforward to edit and read, and that is why this documentation is provided.

Dr. Frame2D uses a simple XML format, with no attributes. All dimensions and properties are assumed to be in inches or powers of inches. The example below contains a range of section types and can be used as a guide for identifying the basic tags and data used. In general, one can simply define the type of cross section(s) one is interested in Dr. Frame, and then use File:Export Custom Sections menu command to create an XML file that can be inspected and edited as desired. The File:Import Custom Sections can be used to load an exported set of sections.

Dr. Frame2D and Dr. Frame3D share a common mechanism for working with cross section data. This leads to the inclusion of more data than is strictly necessary for 2D analysis.
Example
<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<ModelData>
  <CrossSections>
    <CrossSection>
      <DFCSName>CS7</DFCSName>
      <DFCSSubtype>tube</DFCSSubtype>
      <DFCSType>3Dbeam</DFCSType>
      <DFDepth>8.000000000000e+00</DFDepth>
      <DFRefID>9</DFRefID>
      <DFSectionArea>7.203958319928e+00</DFSectionArea>
      <DFSectionDepth>8.000000000000e+00</DFSectionDepth>
      <DFSectionIww>4.629700704137e+01</DFSectionIww>
      <DFSectionIxx>5.625436926009e+01</DFSectionIxx>
      <DFSectionIyy>1.882566338556e+01</DFSectionIyy>
      <DFSectionKt>4.629700704137e+01</DFSectionKt>
      <DFSectionPolarI>0.000000000000e+00</DFSectionPolarI>
      <DFSectionZx>1.790949278856e+01</DFSectionZx>
      <DFSectionZy>1.098597614870e+01</DFSectionZy>
      <DFThickness>3.300000000000e-01</DFThickness>
      <DFWidth>4.000000000000e+00</DFWidth>
    </CrossSection>
    <CrossSection>
      <DFCSName>CS6</DFCSName>
      <DFCSSubtype>pipe</DFCSSubtype>
      <DFCSType>3Dbeam</DFCSType>
      <DFPipeID>6.500000000000e+00</DFPipeID>
      <DFPipeOD>7.000000000000e+00</DFPipeOD>
      <DFRefID>8</DFRefID>
      <DFSectionArea>5.301437602933e+00</DFSectionArea>
      <DFSectionDepth>7.000000000000e+00</DFSectionDepth>
      <DFSectionIww>6.038668769591e+01</DFSectionIww>
      <DFSectionIxx>3.023476132923e+01</DFSectionIxx>
      <DFSectionIyy>3.023476132923e+01</DFSectionIyy>
      <DFSectionKt>6.038668769591e+01</DFSectionKt>
      <DFSectionPolarI>0.000000000000e+00</DFSectionPolarI>
      <DFSectionZx>1.139583333333e+01</DFSectionZx>>
      <DFSectionZy>1.139583333333e+01</DFSectionZy>
    </CrossSection>
    <CrossSection>
      <DFCSName>CS5</DFCSName>
      <DFCSSubtype>other</DFCSSubtype>
      <DFCSType>3Dbeam</DFCSType>
      <DFDepth>6.000000000000e+00</DFDepth>
      <DFRefID>7</DFRefID>
      <DFSectionArea>5.250000000000e+00</DFSectionArea>
      <DFSectionDepth>6.000000000000e+00</DFSectionDepth>
      <DFSectionIww>4.375000000000e-01</DFSectionIww>
      <DFSectionIxx>2.481675388724e+01</DFSectionIxx>
      <DFSectionIyy>5.848424684192e+00</DFSectionIyy>
      <DFSectionKt>4.375000000000e-01</DFSectionKt>
      <DFSectionPolarI>0.000000000000e+00</DFSectionPolarI>
      <DFSectionZx>8.156250000000e+00</DFSectionZx>
      <DFSectionZy>5.789062500000e+00</DFSectionZy>
      <DFWidth>5.000000000000e+00</DFWidth>
    </CrossSection>
    <CrossSection>
      <DFBetaTwist>5.999525189911e-01</DFBetaTwist>
      <DFCSName>CS4</DFCSName>
      <DFCSSubtype>angle</DFCSSubtype>
      <DFCSType>3Dbeam</DFCSType>
      <DFDepth>6.000000000000e+00</DFDepth>
      <DFFlip>1.000000000000e+00</DFFlip>
      <DFRefID>6</DFRefID>
      <DFSectionArea>5.250000000000e+00</DFSectionArea>
      <DFSectionDepth>6.000000000000e+00</DFSectionDepth>
      <DFSectionIww>4.375000000000e-01</DFSectionIww>
      <DFSectionIxx>2.481675388724e+01</DFSectionIxx>
      <DFSectionIyy>5.848424684192e+00</DFSectionIyy>
      <DFSectionKt>4.375000000000e-01</DFSectionKt>
      <DFSectionPolarI>0.000000000000e+00</DFSectionPolarI>
      <DFSectionZx>8.156250000000e+00</DFSectionZx>
      <DFSectionZy>5.789062500000e+00</DFSectionZy>
      <DFThickness>5.000000000000e-01</DFThickness>
      <DFWidth>5.000000000000e+00</DFWidth>
    </CrossSection>
    <CrossSection>
      <DFCSName>CS3</DFCSName>
      <DFCSSubtype>Tsection</DFCSSubtype>
      <DFCSType>3Dbeam</DFCSType>
      <DFDepth>1.200000000000e+01</DFDepth>
      <DFFlangeThickness>1.000000000000e+00</DFFlangeThickness>
      <DFRefID>5</DFRefID>
      <DFSectionArea>1.050000000000e+01</DFSectionArea>
      <DFSectionDepth>1.200000000000e+01</DFSectionDepth>
      <DFSectionIww>2.145833333333e+00</DFSectionIww>
      <DFSectionIxx>1.501674833867e+02</DFSectionIxx>
      <DFSectionIyy>1.053125000000e+01</DFSectionIyy>
      <DFSectionKt>2.145833333333e+00</DFSectionKt>
      <DFSectionPolarI>0.000000000000e+00</DFSectionPolarI>
      <DFSectionZx>3.262500000000e+01</DFSectionZx>
      <DFSectionZy>6.937500000000e+00</DFSectionZy>
      <DFWebThickness>5.000000000000e-01</DFWebThickness>
      <DFWidth>5.000000000000e+00</DFWidth>
    </CrossSection>
    <CrossSection>
      <DFCSName>CS2</DFCSName>
      <DFCSSubtype>rectangular</DFCSSubtype>
      <DFCSType>3Dbeam</DFCSType>
      <DFDepth>1.400000000000e+01</DFDepth>
      <DFRefID>4</DFRefID>
      <DFSectionArea>7.000000000000e+01</DFSectionArea>
      <DFSectionDepth>1.400000000000e+01</DFSectionDepth>
      <DFSectionIww>4.517100000000e+02</DFSectionIww>
      <DFSectionIxx>1.143333333333e+03</DFSectionIxx>
      <DFSectionIyy>1.458333333333e+02</DFSectionIyy>
      <DFSectionKt>4.517100000000e+02</DFSectionKt>
      <DFSectionPolarI>0.000000000000e+00</DFSectionPolarI>
      <DFSectionZx>2.450000000000e+02</DFSectionZx>
      <DFSectionZy>8.750000000000e+01</DFSectionZy>
      <DFWidth>5.000000000000e+00</DFWidth>
    </CrossSection>
    <CrossSection>
      <DFCSName>CrossSection 1</DFCSName>
      <DFCSSubtype>Isection</DFCSSubtype>
      <DFCSType>3Dbeam</DFCSType>
      <DFDepth>1.400000000000e+01</DFDepth>
      <DFFlangeThickness>1.000000000000e+00</DFFlangeThickness>
      <DFRefID>3</DFRefID>
      <DFSectionArea>3.000000000000e+01</DFSectionArea>
      <DFSectionDepth>1.400000000000e+01</DFSectionDepth>
      <DFSectionIww>8.500000000000e+00</DFSectionIww>
      <DFSectionIxx>1.088000000000e+03</DFSectionIxx>
      <DFSectionIyy>2.881250000000e+02</DFSectionIyy>
      <DFSectionKt>8.500000000000e+00</DFSectionKt>
      <DFSectionPolarI>0.000000000000e+00</DFSectionPolarI>
      <DFSectionZx>1.740000000000e+02</DFSectionZx>
      <DFSectionZy>7.275000000000e+01</DFSectionZy>
      <DFWebThickness>5.000000000000e-01</DFWebThickness>
      <DFWidth>1.200000000000e+01</DFWidth>
    </CrossSection>
  </CrossSections>
</ModelData>

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