Content Comparison

General

Location: Choose a support line to indicate the position of the pier cap.

Sections: When the pier cap section remains unchanged throughout the structure, the user can input the length of the pier cap and assign the same section to both the start and end. However, if the pier cap has linear variations, such as hammerhead pier caps demonstrated below, the user can define distinct sections for the start and end to accommodate these changes.

• Section Length(Starts From Right): Assuming that the right-hand side is the starting point of the section, when looking up-station from the alignment. The overall length of the pier cap is equivalent to the value entered for the distance in each row.

• Start Section: The location of the start section is calculated as the sum of all previously defined rows. If it is the first row, then the starting point is on the right side.

• End Section: The position of the end section is determined by adding the distance defined in this row to the sum of all previously specified rows.

Slope Option[Input/Alignment]: If cross slope of the alignment at this station needs to be used as the slope of the pier cap,”Alignment” can be selected. To input a slope value in the next column, select 'Input'.

Slope:The transverse slope of the top of the pier cap can be adjusted using positive or negative values, which will rotate the section as demonstrated below.

Top Elevation Offset from Alignment: Specify the distance from the midpoint of the pier cap at the top to the PGL location, where 0 indicates that the midpoint of the pier cap is at the PGL location vertically. Generally, a value equivalent to the sum of the deck thickness, girder depth, bearing depth, and haunch depth is employed.

Transverse Offset: When 0 is entered, the midpoint of the pier cap (equal to half of the cap length) will be positioned at the PGL location. If a negative value is used, the pier cap will be offset in the left direction when looking up-station from the alignment, and if a positive value is used, it will be offset in the right direction when looking up-station from the alignment.

Longitudinal Offset: If you intend to adjust the centerline of the pier cap in the longitudinal direction, use this offset value. For end bents, a value of typically half the section width can be helpful, as support lines are typically not defined at the centerline for end bents.

FEM

Generate FEM?[Yes/No]: Setting the "Generate Fem" parameter to "No" can disable the analytical representation of the pier cap substructure.

Rigid Section: To connect the pier cap finite element to the bearing, the user needs to specify the properties of the rigid section. When bearings are longitudinally offset from the support line, rigid elements are automatically generated to link those bearings to the pier cap.

Additional Break Points List: Break points can be added to include additional nodes at various positions. By default, nodes are generated at the column and bearing locations.

Merge Deck Nodes [YES/NO]: Opting for "Yes" avoids creating additional nodes in the deck mesh and utilizes the nearest nodes with automatically computed element end offsets.

Reinforcement

Show[Yes/No]: Choose "Yes" to display reinforcement in the 3D model.

Longitudunal Reinforcement Data:

• Reinforcement Profile: Select a rebar profile for the longitudinal reinforcement

• Reinforcement Material: Select a rebar material for the longitudinal reinforcement.

• # of Bars: Specify the number of rebars in a single row.

• Inner Rebar Spacing: Specify the inner rebar spacing. The distance is measured from the center of one rebar to the center of the another rebar.

• Outer Rebar Spacing: Specify the outer rebar spacing between rebars. The distance is measured from the center of one rebar to the center of the adjacent rebar.

• Reference Edge[Top/Bottom]: Specify the reference edge for Distance to Reference Edgeinput.

• Distance to Reference Edge: Set the distance to reference edge. This distance is measured from the Reference Edgeof the section to the center of the rebar.

• Offset from Start : Offset distance from right side of the Pier Cap(if there is any).

• Offset from End: Offset distance from left side of the Pier Cap(if there is any).

• Horizontal Offset from Center: Specify the horizontal offset to move center of the rebar row.

Shear Reinforcement Data:

• Start Length(From Right End): Specify the starting distance from right side of the Pier Cap.

• End Length(From Right End): Specify the ending distance from right side of the Pier Cap.

• Reinforcement Profile: Select a rebar profile for the transverse reinforcement.

• Reinforcement Material: Select a rebar material for the transverse reinforcement.

• Spacing: Specify the spacing along the length of the object.

• # of Legs: Specify the number of tranverse reinforcement legs.

• Clear Cover (Visual): Does not affect the code check; it's solely for visualization purposes.

Visual Settings

Adjust Pier Cap Edges Align Ends Parallel to PGL: When the support line used ,to define the Pier Cap location, has a non-zero skew angle, selecting 'Yes' adjusts the Pier Cap edges to be parallel to the PGL.

End Slope (1HxV) : The slope of the pier cap can be adjusted.

Cap Opacity: Input a value between 0.1 and 1. A value of 0.1 represents maximum transparency, allowing the rebar or tendons inside to be visible, while a value of 1 signifies no transparency.

Reinforcement Opacity: Input a value between 0.1 and 1. A value of 0.1 represents maximum transparency, while a value of 1 signifies no transparency.

Circular Smoothness: This parameter influences the rendering of rebar circles (the number of sides), and opting for a higher value may result in longer compilation times.

Integral Cap

Is the Cap Integral? [NO/YES]: Users can define whether the cap is integral or not by specifying this parameter with the provided options. If this parameter is set to 'YES,' the location of the cap will be adjusted accordingly for both the FEM and 3D model.

Drop Cap Offset from Top: The cap’s top offset in vertical direction can be specified using this parameter. The definition of this offset will only affect the object's 2D CADD drawings and will have no effect on the object's FEM and 3D model.

Match Cap Edges to Deck Edges [YES/NO]: The cap’s length in the transverse direction can be defined by this parameter. If the parameter is defined with the option 'NO,' the cap will be generated according to the length definitions done under other tabs. If set to 'YES,' the length of the cap will be adjusted according to the concrete deck, regardless of the definitions made under other tabs.