StrainBeam class

The StrainBeam class gives you access to define initial strain beam cards in PRIMER. More...

The PRIMER JavaScript API provides many class constants, properties and methods. For Arup to be able to extend and enhance the API in the future any constant, property or method names beginning with a lowercase or uppercase letter are reserved.
If you need to add your own properties or methods to one of the existing classes then to avoid any potential future conflict you should ensure that the name begins with either an underscore (_) or a dollar sign ($) or the name is prefixed with your own unique identifier.
For example if company 'ABC' need to add a property called 'example' then to avoid any potential future conflict use one of:

Class functions

Member functions

StrainBeam properties

Name Type Description
eid integer Beam Element ID
exists (read only) logical true if initial strain beam exists, false if referred to but not defined.
include integer The Include file number that the initial strain beam is in.
model (read only) integer The Model number that the initial strain beam is in.
rdisp real The initial displacement along the local r-axis
rrot real The initial rotation about the local r-axis
sdisp real The initial displacement along the local s-axis
srot real The initial rotation about the local s-axis
tdisp real The initial displacement aling the local t-axis
trot real The initial rotation about the local t-axis

Detailed Description

The StrainBeam class allows you to create, modify, edit and manipulate strain_beam cards. See the documentation below for more details.

Constructor

new StrainBeam(Model[Model], details[object])

Description

Create a new StrainBeam object.

Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that strain_beam will be created in

  • details (object)

    Details for creating the StrainBeam

    Object has the following properties:

    Name Type Description
    eid integer Beam Element ID
    rdisp (optional) real The initial displacement along the local r-axis
    rrot (optional) real The initial rotation about the local r-axis
    sdisp (optional) real The initial displacement along the local s-axis
    srot (optional) real The initial rotation about the local s-axis
    tdisp (optional) real The initial displacement along the local t-axis
    trot (optional) real The initial rotation about the local t-axis

    Returns

    StrainBeam object

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To create a new strain_beam in model m, using eid 1, rdisp 2.2, sdisp 3.3, tdisp 4.4, rrot 5.5, srot 6.6 and trot 7.7: 

    var s = new StrainBeam(m, {eid: 1, rdisp: 2.2, sdisp: 3.3, tdisp: 4.4, rrot: 5.5, srot: 6.6, trot: 7.7});

    Details of functions

    AssociateComment(Comment[Comment])

    Description

    Associates a comment with a initial strain beam.

    Arguments

  • Comment (Comment)

    Comment that will be attached to the initial strain beam

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To associate comment c to the initial strain beam ieb: 

    ieb.AssociateComment(c);

    ClearFlag(flag[Flag])

    Description

    Clears a flag on the initial strain beam.

    Arguments

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to clear on the initial strain beam

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To clear flag f for initial strain beam ieb: 

    ieb.ClearFlag(f);

    Copy(range (optional)[boolean])

    Description

    Copies the initial strain beam. The target include of the copied initial strain beam can be set using Options.copy_target_include.

    Arguments

  • range (optional) (boolean)

    If you want to keep the copied item in the range specified for the current include. Default value is false. To set current include, use Include.MakeCurrentLayer().

    Returns

    StrainBeam object

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To copy initial strain beam ieb into initial strain beam z: 

    var z = ieb.Copy();

    DetachComment(Comment[Comment])

    Description

    Detaches a comment from a initial strain beam.

    Arguments

  • Comment (Comment)

    Comment that will be detached from the initial strain beam

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To detach comment c from the initial strain beam ieb: 

    ieb.DetachComment(c);

    Error(message[string], details (optional)[string])

    Description

    Adds an error for initial strain beam. For more details on checking see the Check class.

    Arguments

  • message (string)

    The error message to give

  • details (optional) (string)

    An optional detailed error message

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To add an error message "My custom error" for initial strain beam ieb: 

    ieb.Error("My custom error");

    First(Model[Model]) [static]

    Description

    Returns the first initial strain beam in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get first initial strain beam in

    Returns

    StrainBeam object (or null if there are no initial strain beams in the model).

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To get the first initial strain beam in model m: 

    var ieb = StrainBeam.First(m);

    FlagAll(Model[Model], flag[Flag]) [static]

    Description

    Flags all of the initial strain beams in the model with a defined flag.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all initial strain beams will be flagged in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to set on the initial strain beams

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To flag all of the initial strain beams with flag f in model m: 

    StrainBeam.FlagAll(m, f);

    Flagged(flag[Flag])

    Description

    Checks if the initial strain beam is flagged or not.

    Arguments

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to test on the initial strain beam

    Returns

    true if flagged, false if not.

    Return type

    Boolean

    Example

    To check if initial strain beam ieb has flag f set on it: 

    if (ieb.Flagged(f) ) do_something...

    ForEach(Model[Model], func[function], extra (optional)[any]) [static]

    Description

    Calls a function for each initial strain beam in the model.
    Note that ForEach has been designed to make looping over initial strain beams as fast as possible and so has some limitations.
    Firstly, a single temporary StrainBeam object is created and on each function call it is updated with the current initial strain beam data. This means that you should not try to store the StrainBeam object for later use (e.g. in an array) as it is temporary.
    Secondly, you cannot create new initial strain beams inside a ForEach loop.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all initial strain beams are in

  • func (function)

    Function to call for each initial strain beam

  • extra (optional) (any)

    An optional extra object/array/string etc that will appended to arguments when calling the function

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To call function test for all of the initial strain beams in model m: 

    StrainBeam.ForEach(m, test);
function test(ieb)
{
// ieb is StrainBeam object
}

    To call function test for all of the initial strain beams in model m with optional object: 

    var data = { x:0, y:0 };
StrainBeam.ForEach(m, test, data);
function test(ieb, extra)
{
// ieb is StrainBeam object
// extra is data
}

    GetAll(Model[Model], property (optional)[string]) [static]

    Description

    Returns an array of StrainBeam objects or properties for all of the initial strain beams in a model in PRIMER. If the optional property argument is not given then an array of StrainBeam objects is returned. If the property argument is given, that property value for each initial strain beam is returned in the array instead of a StrainBeam object

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get initial strain beams from

  • property (optional) (string)

    Name for property to get for all initial strain beams in the model

    Returns

    Array of StrainBeam objects or properties

    Return type

    Array

    Example

    To make an array of StrainBeam objects for all of the initial strain beams in model m: 

    var a = StrainBeam.GetAll(m);

    To return an array containing the value of property 'foo' (for example 'x' for a node) for each initial strain beam in model m: 

    var a = StrainBeam.GetAll(m, 'foo');

    GetComments()

    Description

    Extracts the comments associated to a initial strain beam.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    Array of Comment objects (or null if there are no comments associated to the node).

    Return type

    Array

    Example

    To get the array of comments associated to the initial strain beam ieb: 

    var comm_array = ieb.GetComments();

    GetFlagged(Model[Model], flag[Flag], property (optional)[string]) [static]

    Description

    Returns an array of StrainBeam objects for all of the flagged initial strain beams in a model in PRIMER If the optional property argument is not given then an array of StrainBeam objects is returned. If the property argument is given, then that property value for each initial strain beam is returned in the array instead of a StrainBeam object

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get initial strain beams from

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag set on the initial strain beams that you want to retrieve

  • property (optional) (string)

    Name for property to get for all flagged initial strain beams in the model

    Returns

    Array of StrainBeam objects or properties

    Return type

    Array

    Example

    To make an array of StrainBeam objects for all of the initial strain beams in model m flagged with f: 

    var ieb = StrainBeam.GetFlagged(m, f);

    To return an array containing the value of property 'foo' (for example 'x' for a node) for all of the initial strain beams in model m flagged with f: 

    var a = StrainBeam.GetFlagged(m, f, 'foo');

    GetFromID(Model[Model], number[integer]) [static]

    Description

    Returns the StrainBeam object for a initial strain beam ID.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to find the initial strain beam in

  • number (integer)

    number of the initial strain beam you want the StrainBeam object for

    Returns

    StrainBeam object (or null if initial strain beam does not exist).

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To get the StrainBeam object for initial strain beam 100 in model m 

    var ieb = StrainBeam.GetFromID(m, 100);

    GetParameter(prop[string])

    Description

    Checks if a StrainBeam property is a parameter or not. Note that object properties that are parameters are normally returned as the integer or float parameter values as that is virtually always what the user would want. For this function to work the JavaScript interpreter must use the parameter name instead of the value. This can be done by setting the Options.property_parameter_names option to true before calling the function and then resetting it to false afterwards.. This behaviour can also temporarily be switched by using the StrainBeam.ViewParameters() method and 'method chaining' (see the examples below).

    Arguments

  • prop (string)

    initial strain beam property to get parameter for

    Returns

    Parameter object if property is a parameter, null if not.

    Return type

    Parameter

    Example

    To check if StrainBeam property ieb.example is a parameter: 

    Options.property_parameter_names = true;
if (ieb.GetParameter(ieb.example) ) do_something...
Options.property_parameter_names = false;

    To check if StrainBeam property ieb.example is a parameter by using the GetParameter method: 

    if (ieb.ViewParameters().GetParameter(ieb.example) ) do_something...

    Keyword()

    Description

    Returns the keyword for this initial strain beam (*INITIAL_STRAIN_SHELL). Note that a carriage return is not added. See also StrainBeam.KeywordCards()

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    string containing the keyword.

    Return type

    String

    Example

    To get the keyword for strain_beam i: 

    var key = i.Keyword();

    KeywordCards()

    Description

    Returns the keyword cards for the initial strain beam. Note that a carriage return is not added. See also StrainBeam.Keyword()

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    string containing the cards.

    Return type

    String

    Example

    To get the cards for strain_beam i: 

    var cards = i.KeywordCards();

    Last(Model[Model]) [static]

    Description

    Returns the last initial strain beam in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get last initial strain beam in

    Returns

    StrainBeam object (or null if there are no initial strain beams in the model).

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To get the last initial strain beam in model m: 

    var ieb = StrainBeam.Last(m);

    Next()

    Description

    Returns the next initial strain beam in the model.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    StrainBeam object (or null if there are no more initial strain beams in the model).

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To get the initial strain beam in model m after initial strain beam ieb: 

    var ieb = ieb.Next();

    Pick(prompt[string], limit (optional)[Model or Flag], modal (optional)[boolean], button text (optional)[string]) [static]

    Description

    Allows the user to pick a initial strain beam.

    Arguments

  • prompt (string)

    Text to display as a prompt to the user

  • limit (optional) (Model or Flag)

    If the argument is a Model then only initial strain beams from that model can be picked. If the argument is a Flag then only initial strain beams that are flagged with limit can be selected. If omitted, or null, any initial strain beams from any model can be selected. from any model.

  • modal (optional) (boolean)

    If picking is modal (blocks the user from doing anything else in PRIMER until this window is dismissed). If omitted the pick will be modal.

  • button text (optional) (string)

    By default the window with the prompt will have a button labelled 'Cancel' which if pressed will cancel the pick and return null. If you want to change the text on the button use this argument. If omitted 'Cancel' will be used.

    Returns

    StrainBeam object (or null if not picked)

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To pick a initial strain beam from model m giving the prompt 'Pick initial strain beam from screen': 

    var ieb = StrainBeam.Pick('Pick initial strain beam from screen', m);

    Previous()

    Description

    Returns the previous initial strain beam in the model.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    StrainBeam object (or null if there are no more initial strain beams in the model).

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To get the initial strain beam in model m before initial strain beam ieb: 

    var ieb = ieb.Previous();

    Select(flag[Flag], prompt[string], limit (optional)[Model or Flag], modal (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Allows the user to select initial strain beams using standard PRIMER object menus.

    Arguments

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to use when selecting initial strain beams

  • prompt (string)

    Text to display as a prompt to the user

  • limit (optional) (Model or Flag)

    If the argument is a Model then only initial strain beams from that model can be selected. If the argument is a Flag then only initial strain beams that are flagged with limit can be selected (limit should be different to flag). If omitted, or null, any initial strain beams can be selected. from any model.

  • modal (optional) (boolean)

    If selection is modal (blocks the user from doing anything else in PRIMER until this window is dismissed). If omitted the selection will be modal.

    Returns

    Number of initial strain beams selected or null if menu cancelled

    Return type

    Number

    Example

    To select initial strain beams from model m, flagging those selected with flag f, giving the prompt 'Select initial strain beams': 

    StrainBeam.Select(f, 'Select initial strain beams', m);

    To select initial strain beams, flagging those selected with flag f but limiting selection to initial strain beams flagged with flag l, giving the prompt 'Select initial strain beams': 

    StrainBeam.Select(f, 'Select initial strain beams', l);

    SetFlag(flag[Flag])

    Description

    Sets a flag on the initial strain beam.

    Arguments

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to set on the initial strain beam

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To set flag f for initial strain beam ieb: 

    ieb.SetFlag(f);

    Sketch(redraw (optional)[boolean])

    Description

    Sketches the initial strain beam. The initial strain beam will be sketched until you either call StrainBeam.Unsketch(), StrainBeam.UnsketchAll(), Model.UnsketchAll(), or delete the model

    Arguments

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the initial strain beam is sketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to sketch several initial strain beams and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To sketch initial strain beam ieb: 

    ieb.Sketch();

    SketchFlagged(Model[Model], flag[Flag], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Sketches all of the flagged initial strain beams in the model. The initial strain beams will be sketched until you either call StrainBeam.Unsketch(), StrainBeam.UnsketchFlagged(), Model.UnsketchAll(), or delete the model

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all the flagged initial strain beams will be sketched in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag set on the initial strain beams that you want to sketch

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the initial strain beams are sketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to sketch flagged initial strain beams several times and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To sketch all initial strain beams flagged with flag in model m: 

    StrainBeam.SketchFlagged(m, flag);

    Total(Model[Model], exists (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Returns the total number of initial strain beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model to get total for

  • exists (optional) (boolean)

    true if only existing initial strain beams should be counted. If false or omitted referenced but undefined initial strain beams will also be included in the total.

    Returns

    number of initial strain beams

    Return type

    Number

    Example

    To get the total number of initial strain beams in model m: 

    var total = StrainBeam.Total(m);

    UnflagAll(Model[Model], flag[Flag]) [static]

    Description

    Unsets a defined flag on all of the initial strain beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that the defined flag for all initial strain beams will be unset in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag to unset on the initial strain beams

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unset the flag f on all the initial strain beams in model m: 

    StrainBeam.UnflagAll(m, f);

    Unsketch(redraw (optional)[boolean])

    Description

    Unsketches the initial strain beam.

    Arguments

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the initial strain beam is unsketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to unsketch several initial strain beams and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unsketch initial strain beam ieb: 

    ieb.Unsketch();

    UnsketchAll(Model[Model], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Unsketches all initial strain beams.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all initial strain beams will be unblanked in

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the initial strain beams are unsketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to unsketch several things and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unsketch all initial strain beams in model m: 

    StrainBeam.UnsketchAll(m);

    UnsketchFlagged(Model[Model], flag[Flag], redraw (optional)[boolean]) [static]

    Description

    Unsketches all flagged initial strain beams in the model.

    Arguments

  • Model (Model)

    Model that all initial strain beams will be unsketched in

  • flag (Flag)

    Flag set on the initial strain beams that you want to unsketch

  • redraw (optional) (boolean)

    If model should be redrawn or not after the initial strain beams are unsketched. If omitted redraw is true. If you want to unsketch several things and only redraw after the last one then use false for redraw and call View.Redraw().

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To unsketch all initial strain beams flagged with flag in model m: 

    StrainBeam.UnsketchAll(m, flag);

    ViewParameters()

    Description

    Object properties that are parameters are normally returned as the integer or float parameter values as that is virtually always what the user would want. This function temporarily changes the behaviour so that if a property is a parameter the parameter name is returned instead. This can be used with 'method chaining' (see the example below) to make sure a property argument is correct.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    StrainBeam object.

    Return type

    StrainBeam

    Example

    To check if StrainBeam property ieb.example is a parameter by using the StrainBeam.GetParameter() method: 

    if (ieb.ViewParameters().GetParameter(ieb.example) ) do_something...

    Warning(message[string], details (optional)[string])

    Description

    Adds a warning for initial strain beam. For more details on checking see the Check class.

    Arguments

  • message (string)

    The warning message to give

  • details (optional) (string)

    An optional detailed warning message

    Returns

    No return value

    Example

    To add a warning message "My custom warning" for initial strain beam ieb: 

    ieb.Warning("My custom warning");

    Xrefs()

    Description

    Returns the cross references for this initial strain beam.

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    Xrefs object.

    Return type

    Xrefs

    Example

    To get the cross references for initial strain beam ieb: 

    var xrefs = ieb.Xrefs();

    toString()

    Description

    Creates a string containing the initial strain beam data in keyword format. Note that this contains the keyword header and the keyword cards. See also StrainBeam.Keyword() and StrainBeam.KeywordCards().

    Arguments

    No arguments

    Returns

    string

    Return type

    String

    Example

    To get data for strain_beam i in keyword format 

    var s = i.toString();