Creating a Stiffener

You can create a stiffener. A stiffener is an angle bar or a stringer fastened to a panel to strengthen it and make it rigid.

Before you begin: Open the structure you want to add the stiffener to.
See Also
About Stiffeners
About Profile Limits
Managing Sections
In Other Guides
Content for Structure Apps
  1. From the Function section of the action bar, click Stiffener .
    The Stiffener dialog box appears.
  2. From the Category list, select an appropriate category for the stiffener.

    You can change the category while editing the stiffener.

    Note: If no dictionary is set in Data Setup, only the default category is available.

  3. Optional: Clear the Automatic check box and type the required name in the Name box.

    Note: If a naming action rule is assigned in Rules Catalog or Rules Library in Data Setup, and the Automatic check box is selected, the structural object is named automatically according to the naming action rule. For more information, see Action Rule for Naming.

  4. Optional: Select the Fast Preview check box to get a quick preview of all the operations performed for creating a stiffener.
    It generates only a trace of a stiffener in the work area. When you click OK, both the trace and the full geometry of the stiffener are generated.
  5. In the Material & Orientation tab,
    1. Select the appropriate material and section for the stiffener.

      1. Select the required material reference.
      2. From the Standard list, select the section standard.
      3. From the Shape list, select the required section shape.

        The Shape box is unavailable for selection when the material-section table does not have the SectionShape column, that is when you are using the resolved sections.

      4. From the Size list, select the required section size.

      For more information about material selection, see Material, Thickness and Section.

    2. Set the orientation of the stiffener.

      For more information, see Orientation.

    If you are unable to find the selected section reference, check the following:

    • The section reference is available in the database.
    • There are no duplicate section references in the database.
    • The section reference has the section standard attribute specified in its properties.

  6. In the Geometry tab, select a panel to which the stiffener will be attached in the Plate box.
  7. Optional: Select the limit mode.

    You cannot change the limit mode once the support is selected.

  8. In the Support box, select a reference plane as support for the stiffener.

    Notes:
    • You can also select structural objects (panel or stiffener), curves, or sketch.
    • If you select a structural object (panel or stiffener) as a support, the supporting reference plane for the structural object is selected as the support.

  9. Optional: In the Offset box, enter the offset value for the stiffener from the selected support.
  10. Optional: Under the Limit area,
    1. Select the start and end limits.

      By default, the labels of the extremities are Start and End. However, the labels may change according to the name of the directions of the bounding box.

    2. Specify the offset and normal offset values.
    3. Define the delimitation type.

    Note: You can multi-edit limits for stiffeners, if the specified limits for all stiffeners are exactly same. If not, the Limit area becomes unavailable for edition.

    Important:
    • The orientation of the stiffeners is independent from the orientation of the support. However, when the stiffener trace is curved, the orientation may not be as expected.
    • In case of multi-domain case, the orientation of the stiffener may not be as expected.
    • In case of multi-solution case, the orientation of the stiffener may not be as expected.
    • If the bounding box is set, the orientation is computed using the bounding box system.
    • If the bounding box is not set, the orientation is computed using the X, Y, and Z representation.

  11. Under the Angle area, select one of the following options:
    • Normal to plate: creates a stiffener normal to the panel.
    • Along plane: creates a stiffener along the selected plane.
      Note: If the support is a curve, only the Normal to plate option is effective.

    The images below show stiffeners placed on a shell supported by a horizontal plane.

    Along plane

    Normal to plate

  12. Click OK.
    A stiffener is created.

Notes:
  • If the stiffener location changes, the end cut location is also updated. You need to update the connection set to update the graphical representation of the end cut. For more information, see About Connection Sets.
  • If the section, category, or other parameters of the limiting stiffener changes, you need to manually update the limits. For this, right-click the stiffener and select Stiffener.x object > Update Limits.
  • If a limiting stiffener was created using a release earlier than R2013, you need to upgrade it to visualize the improvement in 3D. Right-click the stiffener and select Stiffener.x object > Upgrade.