Rule Sets

Rules can be created and used for a variety of purposes. The primary purpose of rules is to set the default value of design parameters in catalog and template items. Rules like these are useful for properties which must be aligned with a standard but cannot be derived formulaically.

For example, below is a table defining the number of bolt hole rows needed for a joint connecting two I-Sections:

This logic could have previously been achieved using a number of IFTRUE expressions, or by manual entry of a design parameter when creating every instance of the joint. Using the rule set functionality, this logic can instead be stored in the catalog and applied to every joint as it is created, to set the default value for the number of bolt-hole rows.

A Rule Set World (RLSWL) element can be created directly under a WORLD element to store Rule Set (RLSET) elements in a generic location.

A RLSET element contains a collection of Rule (DRULE) elements which all have the same purpose.

Rules Manager in Piping Sub-Component

The Sub-Component creation and modification processes include calls to the Rules Manager. Any rules where the expression criteria matches the current element are executed after creation or modification.

Rule Based Supports (RBS) Mode

RBS Mode uses predefined rules to automatically select the correct support ancillaries, removing the need for manual selection by designers. Each frame type and ancillary has conditions that determine when it is valid (such as pipe size or temperature), and RBS evaluates these conditions to choose the appropriate ancillary. For more information, see Rule Based Supports (RBS) Mode Configuration.