About Rebar Creation

This section provides background information and key concepts you should understand when creating rebars in Concrete Structures 3D Design.

This page discusses:

Rebar Creation Process Overview

The figure below provides an overview of the rebar creation process workflow:

  • Launching the Rebar Creation command.
  • : Searching and selecting the rebar profile, selecting a rebar creation mode among: template mode (selected by default), wire selection, strap mode and mesh mode.
  • : Selecting planes and input elements
  • : Configuring the rebar bed referred to as pattern in this guide (count, pattern and spacing)
  • : Creating bends, specifying start and end hooks, and relimiting.
  • : Checking for interferences.

Note the guide structure reflects this process workflow.

Rebar Creation Modes

Select either of the following rebar creation modes available directly from the rebar creation assistant — also referred to as the Rebar Creation dialog box and identified by these option buttons:

  • Rebar Template to select a predefined rebar profile.
  • Wire selection to create a rebar layer by selecting an existing wire, by creating a wire using the Sketcher or by selecting the Picking Point option .
  • Strap to create a rebar layer around an existing rebar layer.
  • Mesh to create a rebar layer on another layer.

Predefined Rebar Profiles

Concrete Structures 3D Design allows you to create standard or parametric 3D rebar geometry from a catalog of predefined rebar profiles.

You can select among the provided of rebar profiles directly from the 3DSearch. These rebar profiles reflect the most commonly used profile shapes. If you need to define your own rebar profile, you can create reinforcing bar object types.

Four types of rebar profiles are available based on object types, select:

  • A fixed rebar profile when the rebar shape you envision is defined by a fixed dimension value. For example, each rebar layer has the same size, shape, and number of bends.
  • An adaptive limited by planes rebar profile when the rebar follows the shape of the geometry such as surfaces until limiting planes.
  • An adaptive follow surfaces rebar profile when the shape follows surfaces until its boundaries.
  • A freeform profile to adapt to isoparametric shapes such as curved bars.

Fixed Profiles

The fixed rebar profiles are identified in red in the 6W Search. If this type of rebar profile is selected, all the bars contained in the rebar bed will have the same shape There is only one input for this bar which is an axis system that enables to locate the bar in 3D space, but no limiting surface.

Adaptive profiles

These rebar profiles are shaped by delimiting surfaces. If you are handling a complex rebar design, the bar profile is not always straight but must be bent to follow the boundaries of the concrete body. By choosing an adaptive profile, the bar profile embraces some selected bounding surfaces and keeps associativity with them. See an adaptive profile example below:

  • : Identifies the longitudinal bars.
  • : Represents the adaptive rebar profile.
  • : Identifies the concrete border.

Adaptive LP (Limiting Planes)

If this type of rebar profile is selected, all the bars contained in the rebar layer will adapt to the limiting surfaces (either computed automatically or selected by user). Those relimiting surfaces must be plane surfaces to enable the instantiation of the user feature and the bars creation. The shape of the bars can vary with respect to the surrounding planes.

By default, relimiting planes are proposed and colored with respect to the rebar support ().

Note: Adaptive LP bars are identified in blue in the Search results.

Adaptive FS (Following Surfaces)

If this rebar profile is selected, all bars contained in the rebar layer will adapt to the limiting surfaces (either computed automatically or selected by user). The behavior is the same as for Adaptive LP, although the limiting surfaces can be curved surfaces. The shape of the bars can vary with respect to the surrounding surfaces.

By default, relimiting surfaces are proposed and colored with respect to the rebar support ().

Note: Adaptive FS bars are identified in black in the Search results.

User Defined Rebar Profile

If the predefined profiles provided are not sufficient or not convenient for your rebar design, you can add your own profiles by creating new reinforcing bar object types. Once created, those are added to the list of available predefined profiles, and can be tagged as "user profile" so that they can be searched through the rebar creation assistant. You can reference these profile as UserDefined in the PredefinedType IFC parameter of the reinforcing bar object type to easily retrieve it.

Rebar Features Creation: Recommendation

Create rebar features inside geometrical sets instantiated under the component (3D shape) in which you want to create rebars. To add a geometrical set, right-click the 3D shape in the tree and select Geometrical Set.