# Tutorials for Small Structures

If you are a civil engineering student, and after you completed the tutorials in TwoDFrame's help system, you may want to get to know some of TwoDFrame's specific settings, which are necessary to analyse small structures. Small structures are typical for laboratory works in a university. They are exceptional in structural engineering practice.
If needed, you can find the data files in the tutorials directory (e.g. c:\twdframe\tutorials\small1).

## Portal Frame

This tutorial describes specific settings needed for modeling a small portal frame. The structural system is shown in the figure below.

Figure: Structural System and Loads

- To start TwoDFrame, select the TwoDFrame item on the main windows menu.

#### 1. Setting the Printing Scale for Small Structures

Select the Page Setup... item on the File menu. The Page Setup dialog box appears.

- Enter 1 : 10 as Printing Scale of the drawing.
- Press the OK button.

#### 2. Setting Drawing Parameters

Select the Drawing... item on the Settings menu. The Settings property sheet appears.

- Tick N, Nm. This will change the units for forces and moments to Newton and Newtonmeter. Note, that this is necessary for small structures, only.
- Enter 200 as the diagram scale of the drawing.
- Select the Annotate diagrams at all points radio button.
- Press the Apply button.
- Click to close the Settings property sheet.

#### 3. Modeling the Frame Elements

- Select the Frame Elements... item on the Model menu. The Frame Elements property sheet appears.
- Enter the Start Node Coordinates (0,0) and the End Node Coordinates (0,0.45) of the first frame element.
- Select the Material property page.
- Click on the Standard... button.
- Select S235JRG2 and click the OK button.
- Select the Section property page.
- Press the New... button.
- Press the Rectangle... button.
- Enter 0.8 and 2.5 as height and width of the rectangular section.
- Press the OK button.
- Again, press the OK button.
- Click the Apply button on the Frame Element property page.
- Select the All item on the Zoom menu.

- Continue in the same way as described in the tutorials before.

## Truss

This tutorial describes specific settings needed for modeling a small truss. The structural system is shown in the figure below.

Figure: Structural System and Loads

- To start TwoDFrame, select the TwoDFrame item on the main windows menu (if TwoDFrame is already running, click the New item on the file menu).

#### 1. Setting the Printing Scale for Small Structures.

Select the Page Setup... item on the File menu. The Page Setup dialog box appears.

- Enter 1 : 10 as Printing Scale of the drawing.
- Press the OK button.

#### 2. Setting Drawing Parameters

Select the Drawing... item on the Settings menu. The Settings property sheet appears.

- Tick N, Nm. This will change the units for forces and moments to Newton and Newtonmeter. Note, that this is necessary for small structures, only.
- Enter 400 as the deflection scale of the drawing.
- Press the Apply button.
- Click to close the Settings property sheet.

#### 3. Modeling the Truss Elements

- Select the Frame Elements... item on the Model menu. The Frame Elements property sheet appears.
- Enter the Start Node Coordinates (0,0) and the End Node Coordinates (0.24,0) of the first truss element.
- Tick the Truss Element check box.
- Select the Material property page.
- Click on the Standard... button.
- Select S235JRG2 and click the OK button.
- Select the Section property page.
- Click on the New... button. The Section dialog box appears.
- Click on the Rectangle... button. Enter 0.6 and 0.3 and click the OK button.
- On the Section dialog box click the OK button.
- Click the Apply button on the Frame Element property page.
- Select the All item on the Zoom menu.

- Continue in the same way as described in the tutorials before.