IES VisualAnalysis User's Guide
Report Notation

The following table describes the notation used in the reports and through out the program. Note: Lower-case x, y, z represent the local coordinate system (see members and plates) and upper-case X, Y, and Z represent the global coordinate system. For members, x is the axial direction.

Column Heading Description
% Damping Damping factor used in modal superposition
%Iy, %Iz, %J Percent of stiffness to use during analysis of cracked materials
Action Member behavior: normal (two-way), tension-only, or compression-only
Alpha Thermal coefficient of expansion, for a material. Also, orientation of principal axes for asymmetric shapes.
Area Area of plate
Auto Mesh Signifies whether an area is meshed with plates
Ax Cross sectional area
Beta Beta Angle - rotates the member local coordinates, also an input parameter for time history analysis, also "Parme Beta" in concrete design
Cases Number of load cases included in the combination
Category Type of shape within a database
Cluster Factor Cluster factor used in modal superposition
Combination Method Response case modal combination method
Connect Crossings? When mapped to the FEA model, should the member be split and connected to members crossing it.
D. Mass Lumped translational mass
Delta Input parameter for time-history analysis.
Delta t Time step interval for time history analysis.
Density Weight density of a material (also Gamma)
Design Spectrum Name of design spectrum
Dim. 1 - Dim. 6 Cross section dimensions, meaning depends on type of shape
Direction Global direction of a nodal load or member load. Direction of spring support. Also direction of a Semi-Rigid connection (advanced only)
Displacement Displacement result in spring
DX, DY, DZ Displacement in the global X, Y, or Z direction
Dx, Dy, Dz Local member displacements in the x, y, or z direction
Dx1, Dy1, Dz1,
Dx2, Dy2, Dz2
Displacement release in the local x, y, or z direction at the starting(1) or ending(2) node
Elasticity, or E Modulus of elasticity or Young's Modulus
Elements Number of members or elements in the group or mesh
End Offset Distance from the starting end of the member
End zone 1,
End zone 2
Type of end zone (normal, panel, or rigid) at the start(1) or end(2) of a member.
Ez Width. 1,
Ez Width. 2
Width of the end zone at the start(1) or end(2) of a member
Ez Stiffness 1
Ez Stiffness 2
Percent of the member stiffness to use in the end zone region at the start(1) or end(2) of a member
Equation Equation name or description
Exclusive True or false, indicates whether the load case requires unique building code combinations, as for directional wind or seismic load sources.
Extreme Item Type of results
f(Hz) Frequency of vibration in cycles per second
fa Axial stress in a member (tension is positive, compression is negative).
fby(+z), fby(-z) Bending stress in a member bending about the section y-axis, at the extreme z fiber
fbz(+y), fbz(-y) Bending stress in a member bending about the section z-axis, at the extreme y fiber
fc max, fc min Extreme value of combined bending and axial stress at the section "corners", may be incorrect for non-rectangular shapes!
fc(+z+y), fc(+z-y), fc(-z+y), fc(-z-y) Superimposed bending and axial stresses at section "corners", may be incorrect for round, tee, L, and other shapes without corners at a 'bounding rectangle' drawn around the shape. See Member Results
fvy, fvz Average shear stress on a member: Vy/A and Vz/A, respectively. These are not the "extreme" shear forces on the cross section as VisualAnalysis cannot calculate that information.
Final Shape Designed member size or section name
Fix DX, Fix DY,
Fix DZ
Supported against translation in X, Y, or Z
Fix RX, RY, RZ Supported against rotation about X, Y or Z
Force Reaction force in spring supports.
Framing Member 'category' (beam, column, or brace) used to exclude braces from area loads
Fx Axial force in a member (tension is positive, compression is negative).
FX, FY, FZ Reaction force in the global X, Y, or Z direction
Gamma Density of a material (g)
Iy, Iz Moment of inertia about the local axis
J Torsion constant
L.FX, L.FY, L.FZ Sum of applied loads in the global X, Y, or Z direction
L.MX, L.MY, L.MZ Total moment about X, Y, or Z of applied loads, taken about the global origin
Length Length of member
Load Case Name of a load case
Load Source Type of loads in this load case
Loads Number of loads in the service load case
Location Node name or plate centroid where plate results are located
Magnitude Force, moment, displacement or rotation of a nodal load. Value of member load.
Magnitude1, 2 Starting or ending distributed member load
Mass Case Static load case included in a response analysis
Mass Dir. Direction of gravity for loads in response analysis
Material Material type name
Max Mass The maximum participating mass (X Mass, Y Mass or Z Mass) for the mode shape. The value is converted to a force.
Max, Min Principal Principle direction membrane stresses in plates
Member Member name
Member Loads Number of member loads in the service load case
Modal Method Method used to analyze for mode shapes
Mode Mode number
Modes Used Number of modes included in a response analysis
Moment The semi-rigid connection moment value. Advanced level only
Mx Torsional moment in a member
Mx, My Distributed plate moment on local x or y face
MX, MY, MZ Nodal reaction moment in the global X, Y, or Z direction, Distributed plate bending moment transformed to global directions
Mxy Distributed twisting moment on plate edge
MXY Distributed plate twisting moment transformed to global directions
My, Mz Bending moment in a member about local y or z
Name Name of the Design Group or Mesh
Nodal Loads Number of nodal loads in the service load case
Node Node name.
Normal Direction of vector perpendicular to a plane (e.g. area or plate)
Offset Distance from the starting end of the member, for loads or results.
Offset y, Offset z Member centerline offset in the local y or z direction.
One Way Normal, tension-only or compression-only member or spring support
Parameters Are design parameters set and valid?
Path Hierarchical category for shape or material from the database
Phi Angle to the global Z axis for a spherical coordinate
Plane Top, bottom, or mid-plane of plate element
Plate Plate name
Plate Loads Number of plate loads in the service load case
Points Number of data points in a design spectrum
Poisson Poisson's Ratio, n
Pressure 1 - Pressure 4 Plate pressure load at node 1 through 4
Projected Is the load on the projected length?
Power Semi-rigid connection power factor, advanced level only
R Distance from the origin in polar coordinates
R. Mass Lumped rotational mass
R.FX, R.FY, R.FZ Sum of reactions in the global X, Y, or Z direction
R.MX, R.MY, R.MZ Total moment about X, Y, or Z of reactions, taken about the global origin
Result Case Name The name of the result case for a specific load case.
Result Type Indicates the type of the result case (1st order, 2nd order, or dynamic time results)
Results Load case has valid analysis results?
Rho Spherical coordinate
RX, RY, RZ Rotation in the global X, Y, or Z direction
Ry, Rz Member end reaction result (like shear Vy and Vz, respectively, with a different sign convention)
Rx1, Ry1, Rz1 Rotation release, local x, y, or z at the starting node
Rx2, Ry2, Rz2 Rotation release, local x, y, or z at the ending node
Scale Factor A load factor applied to an entire load combination equation. (e.g. .75 in .75(1.4D + 1.7L + 1.2W))
Section Section name of a shape in a database
Self Weight Includes self-weight of model
Self X, Y, or Z Factor on self-weight in the X, Y, or Z direction
Service Checked for design serviceability
Shear Ay, Shear Ay Shear Area, area that participates in shear resistance (i.e., the web on a wide flange) Ignored if zero.
Shear Modulus Material property, G, a function of Elasticity and Poisson's ratio.
Sigma x, Sigma y Membrane normal stress perpendicular to the local x or y face of a plate
Sigma X, Sigma Y, Sigma Z Membrane normal stresses in plates transformed to global directions
Span/Dy, Span/Dz Ratio of member element length to local deflection in the y or z direction
Spring Spring support name
Stiffness Stiffness of spring
Stiffness 1,
Stiffness 2
Semi-rigid connection stiffness parameters, advanced level only
Strength Load case is checked for design strength. Concrete or masonry material compressive strength.
Sy(+z), Sy(-z) Section modulus about local y, at the extreme z fiber
Sz(+y), Sz(-y) Section modulus about local z, at the extreme y fiber
T Delta Change in temperature on a member or plate
T Gradient Gradient temperature through a member or plate
T(sec) Period of vibration in seconds
Taper Depth Depth of member at end of taper
Taper End Distance from the start of member to end taper
Taper Start Distance from the start of member to begin taper
Taper Type Type of member taper
Tau Principal Principal shear stress in a plate
Tau xy In-plane shear stress on a plate
Tau XY, YZ, or ZX Membrane shear stresses in plates transformed to global directions
Therm. &alpha Thermal coefficient of expansion, greek character, alpha.
Theta Theta Angle. Used in polar or spherical coordinates.
Thickness Thickness of plate element
Time The time for a time-history result case, this may be a time-step or an actual time in seconds, advanced level only
Type Type of spectrum. Design code or specification.
Unity Unity check ratio (<= 1 is good, >1 is bad), or actual value/allowable value, or demand/capacity. Used for forces, moments, stresses, deflections or other criteria.
Vx, Vy Distributed shear force on x or y face of plate
Vy, Vz Shear force in the local y or z direction in a member
Warping Constant The warping constant, Cw, a property of the cross section of a member element, advanced level only
Weight Weight of member or plate
Weight-X, Y, or Z Self-weight of the model in the X, Y, or Z direction
X C.M., Y, or Z X, Y, or Z location of the center of mass
X Cosine, Y, or Z Spring direction cosine in X, Y, or Z
X Dir, Y, or Z Direction factors for a Response Case
X Mass, Y, or Z Contributing mass in the X, Y, or Z direction for a mode shape. It may just be a small portion of the model that is vibrating. The mass is converted to a force.
X Part, Y, or Z Modal Participation factors in X, Y, or Z, represents the percentage of structural mass that is 'active' in a mode shape. Building codes often require that you include enough mode shapes in a response analysis to achieve a certain level of participation.
X, Y, Z Global Cartesian X, Y or Z position in space
X1, Y1, Z1,
X2, Y2, Z2...
Global coordinate for node1, node2, etc. for member or plate. Or vertices for areas.