Plane plate
Use the Plane plate tool to define horizontal or inclined slab elements for general structural floor systems.
When you select Plane plate, a tool palette opens.
Main tools
- Define - create a new plate element
- Properties - check or edit parameters of an existing plate. Opens the Default settings dialogue for the selected plates
- Convert - convert existing wall foundation, foundation slab, horizontal beam, plate, wall, fictitious bar, fictitious shell, cover and some compatible solid shape elements into plane plates
- Hole - define openings within a plate using any of the supported contour tools
- Variable thickness - apply variable thickness (t2, t3) to an existing constant thickness plate, with the possibility to adjust initial thickness (t1)
- Edge connection - define edge interaction and end behavior (read more below)
- Physical extent - adjust the visible range of the plate’s geometry
- Info - display geometric and analytical data for the selected plate
- Default settings - set default values for geometry, material, and stiffness (read more below)
To read more about the Physical extent tool, see the topic:
User interface ➔ Tab menus ➔ Structure ➔ Additional dialogues ➔ Physical extent
To read more about the Info tool, see the topic:
User interface ➔ Tab menus ➔ Structure ➔ Additional dialogues ➔ Shell Info
Contour definition methods
Available for both Define and Hole tools.
- Rectangular - draw a rectangular contour
- Circular - draw a circular contour
- Polygonal - draw a custom polygon
- Pick lines - select lines from the model to define the shape
Only available with Define tool:
- Pick existing region - reuse an existing region’s shape
Thickness settings
Use 3 thickness values to define a plane that controls the variable thickness of a plate.
- t1 - thickness value used for plates with constant thickness and for the first point of variable thickness
- t2 - second point thickness value used for variable plates
- t3 - third thickness value used for variable plates
Alignment
- Alignment - drop-down menu to define how the plate’s cross-section aligns with the reference plane.
Options: Top/Left, Center, Bottom/Right
Connection tools
- Setup > - opens a dialogue for editing edge connection properties and endpoint behavior
- Presets > - opens a list of previously saved edge connection setups created using the Setup dialogue
The content of the Setup dialogue is the same as for other plate and wall elements.
To read more, see:
User interface ➔ Tab menus ➔ Structure ➔ Additional dialogues ➔ Shell Default Connections
Edge connection functions
Available when the Edge connection tool is selected.
- Edge connection properties - select an edge of a plate to view or edit connection settings
- Endpoint behavior - define how the ends of a plate's edge connect or terminate
To read more about these settings, see the relevant topics below:
- For Edge connection properties see:
User interface ➔ Tab menus ➔ Structure ➔ Additional dialogues ➔ Edge connections - For Endpoint behavior see:
User interface ➔ Tab menus ➔ Structure ➔ Additional dialogues ➔ Endpoint behaviour
Default settings dialogue
When you press the Default settings button, a dialogue window opens.
This dialogue contains three tabs: General, Material, and Stiffness. These follow the settings used in shell-type elements.
To read more about these settings, see the relevant topics below:
- For General tab see:
User interface ➔ Tab menus ➔ Structure ➔ Additional dialogues ➔ Shell general - For Material tab see:
User interface ➔ Tab menus ➔ Structure ➔ Additional dialogues ➔ Regular Material - For Stiffness tab see:
User interface ➔ Tab menus ➔ Structure ➔ Additional dialogues ➔ Shell Stiffness