Master Steel Table File Format

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Master Steel Table File Format

Note: The Master Steel Tables are used jointly by both RAM SBeam and the RAM Structural System. The
description given below also includes information on shapes used by the RAM Structural System, but only Ishapes, Channels and TS (HSS) are relevant to RAM SBeam. Only the desired relevant shapes need to be
included in the Master Table.

New Master Steel Tables can be created using a simple text editor. Use spaces, not tabs, between data items. The
file name must have the extension .TAB.
CAUTION:
Do NOT use a word processor as it might embed control characters into the file.

The file has the following format. The data for a given section must be placed on a single line.
The first line of the file contains an E or S, indicating English or SI units.
The steel sections are then listed, grouped by shape. Each group begins with a header (I, Channel, L, TS, Pipe,
Tee, Roundbar, or Flatbar). W, M, and S shapes are included in the I group. Single angle properties are used
for single angles as well as to calculate the double angle properties. Square and Rectangular Hollow Sections are
included in the TS group. Round Hollow Sections are included in the Pipe group. Single angle, Tee, Round
bar and Flat bar shapes are applicable only to braces.
For each group a section is created. Each section begins with a heading and is followed by lines containing the
section properties of members of that group, one line per member. Each group has the format seen in the
example below, where:
Desig
the shape designation (e.g., W18X35), 15 characters maximum.
RollFlg
a flag, either an R or a B, indicating Rolled or Built-up shape. By placing this flag with each section rather
than at the beginning of the table, you can mix Rolled and Built-up shapes in the same Master Table.
Depth
the total depth of the section (in. or mm). Tw is the web thickness (in. or mm).
Bftop
the top flange width (in. or mm).
Tftop
the top flange thickness (in. or mm).
Bfbot

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the bottom flange width (in. or mm).

Tfbot
the bottom flange thickness (in. or mm).
Ktop
the distance from the outer face of the top flange to the web toe of the fillet (in. or mm).
Kbot
the distance from the outer face of the bottom flange to the web toe of the fillet (in. or mm).
Area
the total area (in.2 or cm2).
Ix
the moment of inertia about the X-X axis. (in.4 or cm4).
Sxtop
the elastic section modulus with respect to the top flange of the member (in.3 or cm3).
Note: This is Zx in European terminology.

Sxbot
the elastic section modulus with respect to the bottom flange of the member (in.3 or cm3).
Note: This is Zx in European terminology.

Zx
the plastic section modulus of the member (in.3 or cm3).
Note: This is Sx in European terminology.

Iy
the moment of inertia about the Y-Y axis (in.4 or cm4).
Sy
the elastic section modulus of the member with respect to the Y-Y axis (in.3 or cm3).
Note: This is Zy in European terminology.

Zy
the plastic section of the member with respect to the Y-Y axis (in.3 or cm3).
This is Sy in European terminology.
J
the Torsional Constant (in.4 or cm4)
Cw
the Warping Constant (in.6 or cm6).
RTtop

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the radius of gyration (see AISC Manual) with respect to the top flange of the member (in. or mm).
Note: This is used only for AISC ASD and may otherwise be left blank.

RTbot
the radius of gyration (see AISC Manual) with respect to the bottom flange of the member (in. or mm).
Note: This is used only for AISC ASD and may otherwise be left blank.

For Channels
xbar is the distance from the web face to the centroid with respect to the Y-Y axis (in. or mm).
e0 is the distance from the web face to the shear center (in. or mm).

For Angles (Ls)

Vleg is the vertical leg width (in. or mm).
Hleg is the horizontal leg width (in. or mm).
tLeg is the leg thickness (in. or mm).

For Pipes (Round Hollow Sections)

OutDia is the outer diameter of the member (in. or mm).
Tw is the wall thickness. I is the moment of inertia of the member (in.4 or cm4).
S is the section modulus of the member (in.3 or cm3).
Z is the plastic section of the member (in.3 or cm3).
I
Desig RollFlg Depth Tw Bftop Tftop Bfbot Tfbot ktop kbot Area Ix Sxtop
Sxbot Zx Iy Sy Zy J Cw RTtop RTbot
Channel
Desig Rollflg Depth Tw Bftop Tftop Bfbot Tfbot ktop kbot Area Ix Sxtop
Sxbot Zx Iy Sy Zy J Cw xbar e0
L
Desig RollFlg Vleg Hleg tleg Area Ix Sx Zx Iy Sy Zy J Cw
TS
Desig RollFlg Depth Tw Bf Tf Area Ix Sx Zx Iy Sy Zy J
Pipe
Desig RollFlg OutDia Tw Area I S Z
Tee
Desig RollFlg Depth Tw Bftop Tftop ktop Area Ix Sxtop Sxbot Zx Iy Sy
Zy J Cw
RoundBar
Design Diameter Area
FlatBar

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Desig RollFlg Bf Tf Area

Note: The section properties of any given member must appear on a single line in the Master Steel Table
File. Some shapes are shown above in two lines due to space limitations on the page.

It is not necessary to specify values for the italicized variables in the format list. If any of the italicized values in
the format list are set equal to zero or are left blank, those values will be calculated based on the dimensions
given for the web and flanges except as explained below.
If Bfbot is set equal to zero in the table, Bfbot will be set equal to Bftop.
If Tfbot is set equal to zero in the table, Tfbot will be set equal to Tftop.
If Sxbot is set equal to zero but Sxtop is not equal to zero, Sxbot will be set equal to Sxtop. If Sxtop and Sxbot are
both set equal to zero, Sxbot will be calculated based on the dimensions given for the web and flanges.
For angles, if Hleg is set equal to zero, Hleg will be set equal to Vleg.
When zeros occur between non-zero values on a data line, the zeros must appear on the data line. If a zero
occurs and ALL fields to the right also contain zeros, those zeros may be removed and the remainder of the line
left blank.
Since the actual section properties for rolled shapes are larger, due to the contribution of the fillets, than would
be calculated based strictly on the web and flange dimension, some increase in accuracy can be obtained in the
design by specifying all of the section properties in the tables.
The following is a sample listing from the RAMAISC.TAB file:
E
I
W44X285 R 44.02 1.025 11.810 1.770 0. 0. 2.6875 0. 83.80 24600.0
1120.00 0. 1310.00 490.0 83.00 135.000 60.00 219000.0 2.95 0.
W44X248 R 43.62 .865 11.810 1.575 0. 0. 2.5000 0. 72.80 21400.0
983.00 0. 1150.00 435.0 74.00 118.000 40.70 192000.0 2.96 0.

Channel
C15X50
C15X40

R 15.0 .716 3.716 .650 0. 0. 1.4375 0. 14.70 404.00 53.80

68.20 11.000 3.780 8.170 2.67 492.00 .798 .583
R 15.0 .520 3.520 .650 0. 0. 1.4375 0. 11.80 349.00 46.50
57.20 9.230 3.370 6.870 1.46 411.00 .777 .767

L
L8X8X1-1/8
L8X8X1

R 8.0 8.0 1.1250 16.700 98.000 17.500 31.600 98.000

17.500 31.600 7.13000 32.50000
R 8.0 8.0 1.0000 15.000 89.000 15.800 28.500 89.000
15.800 28.500 5.08000 23.40000

TS
HSS16X16X5/8
HSS16X16X1/2

R 16.0 0.581 16.0 0.581 35.0 1370.

171. 200.
2170.
R 16.0 0.465 16.0 0.465 28.3 1130.

171.

200.

1370.

141.

164.

1130.

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141.

164.

1770.

PIPE
HSS20.000X0.500 R 20.000
HSS20.000X0.375 R 20.000
HSS18.000X0.500 R 18.000

TEE
WT22X167.5 R 22.0 1.02
118
WT22X145
R 21.8 0.87
103

0.465
0.349
0.465

28.5
21.5
25.6

1360
1040
985

136
104
109

177
135
143

16.0 1.77 2.56 49.1 2160 392.0 131 233 600 75.3
15400 117.0
15.8 1.58 2.37 42.9 1840 349.1 111 197 523 66.1
10700 74.8

ROUNDBAR
RB1/4
0.2500
RB5/16 0.3125
RB3/8
0.3750

FLATBAR
FB3/16X1/2
FB3/16X3/4
FB3/16X1

R
R
R

0.50
0.75
1.00

0.1875
0.1875
0.1875

Note: The section properties of any given member must appear on a single line in the Master Steel Table
File. Several members are shown above in two lines due to space limitations.

In addition to the standard rolled steel shapes, tables of built-up shapes can be created. Below is a portion of a
file of built-up shapes. Notice that in this example, only the web and flange dimensions are included. If other
section properties are not included in the file the program will calculate the section properties from the given
data.
E
I

B14X19.2
B17X19.3
B12X19.3
B15X19.6
B10X19.8
B16X20.2
B15X20.2
B14X20.4
B18X21.7

B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B

13.75
16.63
11.63
14.63
9.75
15.63
14.63
13.50
17.50

0.188
0.188
0.188
0.188
0.188
0.188
0.188
0.250
0.250

4.25
4.25
4.25
4.25
5.50
4.25
4.25
5.50
4.25

0.375
0.250
0.250
0.250
0.375
0.250
0.250
0.250
0.250

4.25
6.75
5.25

0.375
0.375
0.375

5.50
4.25

0.375
0.375

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