Dr. Beam Pro

Dr. Beam Pro™ is a direct manipulation beam analysis environment. It differs from other beam analysis programs in that it is designed primarily for simulating and visualizing behavior as opposed to simply performing analyses. Once you have learned to use Dr. Beam Pro n(5 - 15 minutes) designing a beam becomes as simple as applying loads and supports and watching what happens.

Dr. Beam Pro has additional features intended to make it more useful in a professional environment. These include two new tools for annotating the beam, a catalog of steel sections for design, and the ability to design with axial loads (beam/columns).

This page provides an overview of the Dr.Beam Pro environment. In addition there are pages to:

• Take a 10-minute tour
• View a feature list for Dr. Beam Pro
• Read the online Help documents
• Purchase Dr. Beam Pro

Overview of Dr.Beam Pro Environment

The screen shot below shows a beam being analyzed by Dr. Beam Pro.

As noted in the snapshot above, the main components of the Dr.Beam Pro environment are:

• a tool palette
• a main view, and
• a status bar .

Each of these components is presented in more detail below.

The Tool Palette

The Dr. Beam Tool Palette provides access to a variety of direct manipulation tools. These include support tools, load tools, and annotation tools. Each load and support tool provides the ability to change the properties of its associated object in real time. For example the Fixed Support tool can be used to create a fixed support, move it back and forth along the beam, and enforce settlements. Some tools provide special features, such as the hinge tool which can create a plastic hinge on the beam with a plastic moment based on the current internal moment. Spring supports are useful for modeling nonstandard support conditions or the influence of attached structural elements. In addition to providing important feedback for your current design task, the Label, Station, and Dimension tools also allow you to provide full visual documentation of the beam for printed reports. For a more detailed description of each tool, see the online help document.

The Main View

The majority of your work will be done in the main view. And it is here that Dr. Beam Pro shines! Using the load tool, drag down on the beam and watch it deflect. Add more loads and supports and it doesn't slow down. Dr. Beam Pro is performing solutions so fast that what you see is smooth motion. You now can perform a beam analysis as fast as you can draw it -- and see all the interim states of the beam during its construction! If you want to know some details about the main view, read on.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a direct manipulation, real-time feedback analysis image is worthy of a novel. Instead, we offer a brief description and urge you to experience Dr. Beam Pro personally.

The beam is always drawn at the top center of the main view and is sized to fit the window. Plotted below it are moment, shear, and rotation diagrams. The displacement diagram is drawn on the beam itself. Each of the diagrams can be scaled using the controls to the right of the diagram and you have the option of hiding any or all of the diagrams. Loads and supports are applied to beam based on the horizontal location of the cursor. In the figure above, the hinge tool is pointing at the maximum moment in the moment diagram. By holding down the control-key and clicking, we have created a pseudo-plastic hinge in the beam at the location of the maximum moment. Handy. Anytime the beam goes unstable, the plots are no longer drawn and the "Unstable" message appears below the beam. The exception is when the beam buckles due to an axial load. In this case the buckled shape of the beam is displayed.

The Status Bar

Located at the bottom of the window, the status bar provides pertinent information to aid you in your beam analysis.

Point at a load or support and details of that object will appear in the status bar. This information also appears during object manipulation.

You can use the status bar to read values from the plots by pointing to the location along the beam in which you are interested, in this case x = 4.7.

Point to the undeformed beam to display the beam's properties.

The status bar will identify tools in the tool palette by pointing at them. It will also display the value of plotting scales by moving the cursor over the associated scale button.

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