Structural Parameters

These allow Joint and Fitting Components to take dimensions from the Section or Sections (beam, column, etc.) to which they are physically connected. In this way, a basic design of Joint or Fitting may be adjusted automatically in the Design Database (DB) to fit a connected Section of any size. (Structural parameters are meaningless for Profiles.)

Structural parameters are of four types:

• Attached parameters (APARAM)

• Owning parameters (OPARAM)

• Design attached parameters (DES APARAM)

• Design owning parameters (DES OPARAM).

The types of structural parameter that a Component can use depends on whether it is a Piping Component, Profile, Joint or Fitting. In the case of a Joint, it also depends on how the Component is used in the Design DB.

Joints are of two types: primary and secondary. A primary Joint has an attached Section in the Design DB; a secondary Joint has an attached Section and an owning Section. (Refer to Structural Design Using Catalog Components for further information of primary and secondary Joints.)

Note:
Primary and secondary Joints are represented by the same class of Catalog Component, but the settings of their attributes and the attributes of their Pointsets and Geomsets are different.

A Fitting Component has an owning Section in the Design DB.

Components which have an attached Section (primary and secondary Joints) can use attached parameters to define the attributes of their Pointsets and Geomsets. Attached parameters correspond to the component parameters of the attached Section. For example, when a Joint component uses APARAM 2, it picks up the value of the PARAM 2 of the Joint’s attached Section.

Similarly, Components which have an owning Section (secondary Joints and Fittings) can use owning parameters in defining the attributes of their Pointsets and Geomsets. Owning parameters correspond to the component parameters of the owning Section. For example, when a Joint or Fitting component uses OPARAM 5, it picks up the value of the PARAM 5 of the component’s owning Section.

You can define specimen values for structural parameters in the same way as for insulation parameters. For example,

MODEL SETTINGS APARAM 2 300

defines a specimen value of 300 for attached parameter number 2. Refer to Reference Section for the full syntax of how to set values for structural parameters.