STAAD.Pro Properties & Materials

Instructions

• Define the shorthand once per script: prop = staad.Property

Beam Sections from Database

prop_id = prop.CreateBeamPropertyFromTable(countryCode, sectionName, typeSpec, v1, v2)
prop.AssignBeamProperty(beam_ids, prop_id)   # returns True on success, raises on failure

Country codes (full table in the Reference section — PROPERTY_CODES.md):

Type spec:

Specialized shape creation:

Name helpers — CRITICAL validation workflow: Before calling CreateBeamPropertyFromTable, validate the section name exists in the database:

code = prop.GetShapeCode(countryCode, sectionName)
if code < 0:
    print(f"Section '{sectionName}' not found in country {countryCode}")
else:
    staad_name = prop.GetSTAADProfileName(sectionName, countryCode)
    print(f"Valid section: {staad_name} (shape code {code})")

• GetShapeCode(country, name) → shape code integer (negative = not found)
• GetPublishedProfileName(name, country) → catalog name
• GetSTAADProfileName(name, country) → STAAD internal name

Prismatic Sections (User-Defined)

prop_id = prop.CreatePrismaticRectangleProperty(depthY, depthZ)
prop_id = prop.CreatePrismaticCircleProperty(diameter)
prop_id = prop.CreatePrismaticTeeProperty(depth, flangeW, stemD, stemW)
prop_id = prop.CreatePrismaticTrapezoidalProperty(depth, topW, bottomW)
prop_id = prop.CreatePrismaticGeneralProperty([AX,AY,AZ,IX,IY,IZ,YD,ZD,YB,ZB])

Tapered Sections

prop_id = prop.CreateTaperedIProperty([depth_start, web_t, depth_end, top_w, top_t, btm_w, btm_t])
prop_id = prop.CreateTaperedTubeProperty(type, start_d, end_d, thickness)
# type: 0=Round, 1=Hex16, 2=Dodecag, 3=Oct, 4=Hex, 5=Square

Plate Thickness

thick_id = prop.CreatePlateThicknessProperty([t, t, t, t])  # list of 4 floats, one per node
prop.AssignPlateThickness(plate_ids, thick_id)

Materials

# Create
prop.CreateIsotropicMaterialProperties(name, E, poisson, G, density, alpha, damping)
prop.CreateIsotropicMaterialPropertiesEx(name, E, poisson, G, density, alpha, damping, fy, fu, ry, rt, fcu)

# Convenience
prop.CreateIsotropicMaterialSteel(name, E, poisson, G, density, alpha, damping, fu, fy, rt, ry, is_physical)
prop.CreateIsotropicMaterialConcrete(name, E, poisson, G, density, alpha, damping, fc, physical)

# Assign
prop.AssignMaterialToMember("STEEL", member_ids)
prop.AssignMaterialToPlate("CONCRETE", plate_ids)
prop.AssignMaterialToSolid("CONCRETE", solid_ids)

# Query
E, nu, density, alpha, damp = prop.GetMaterialProperty("STEEL")
name = prop.GetBeamMaterialName(beam_id)

Beta Angle (Local Axis Rotation)

prop.AssignBetaAngle(beam_ids, angle_degrees)
angle = prop.GetBetaAngle(beam_id)

Member Specs

# Releases
rel_id = prop.CreateMemberReleaseSpec(end, dofValues, springConstants)
# end: 0=start, 1=end; dofValues: [FX,FY,FZ,MX,MY,MZ] → 0=fixed, 1=released
prop.AssignMemberSpecToBeam(beam_ids, rel_id)

# Special member types
truss_id = prop.CreateMemberTrussSpec()
tens_id  = prop.CreateMemberTensionSpec()
comp_id  = prop.CreateMemberCompressionSpec()
cable_id = prop.CreateMemberCableSpec(tension_or_length, value)
inact_id = prop.CreateMemberInactiveSpec()

Querying

Examples

• assign-beam-sections.py — create and assign a W-section
• assign-plate-thickness.py — assign plate thickness
• create-floor-plates.py — create plates and assign thickness

Gotchas

• CreatePlateThicknessProperty takes a list of 4 floats, one value per corner — not a single scalar
• AssignBeamProperty returns True on success and raises on failure — call it directly; do NOT check if result < 0 (execute_code reports any uncaught error)
• Always retrieve actual IDs via GetBeamList() / GetPlateList() before assigning — never assume IDs start at 1
• GetMemberDesignSectionName(bid) raises an error when results are unavailable — use GetSectionPropertyName for pre-analysis lookup
• Built-in material names: "STEEL", "CONCRETE", "ALUMINUM" — case-sensitive