staad-supports

STAAD.Pro Supports

Instructions

Basic Supports

Fixed — restrains all 6 DOF:

fix_id = sup.CreateSupportFixed()

Pinned — translations restrained, rotations free:

pin_id = sup.CreateSupportPinned()

Fixed-But — selective releases or springs:

# releaseSpec: [FX,FY,FZ,MX,MY,MZ] → 0=fixed, 1=released, -1=spring
# springSpec: [KFX,KFY,KFZ,KMX,KMY,KMZ] → spring stiffness
sup_id = sup.CreateSupportFixedBut(
    ReleaseSpec=[0, -1, 0, 0, 0, 1],   # FY=spring, MZ=released
    SpringSpec=[0, 100.0, 0, 0, 0, 0]   # KFY=100
)

Inclined Supports

sup_id = sup.CreateInclinedSupport(
    inclinedType=2,   # 1=Pinned, 2=Fixed, 3=FixedBut
    refType=2,        # 0=distances, 1=coordinates, 2=node reference
    refNode=1,
    coord=[0, 0, 0],
    releaseSpec=[0,0,0,0,0,0],
    springSpec=[0,0,0,0,0,0]
)

Elastic Mat Support (Soil Springs)

Spring support distributed over tributary area. See SUPPORT_CODES.md — Direction Codes for direction values and SUPPORT_CODES.md — Spring Types for springType.

# Typical case: springs in Y direction (STAAD adds X/Z fixity for stability)
mat_id = sup.CreateElasticMat(
    direction=1,     # 1=Y Direction (use for most foundations)
    subgrade=20.0,   # kN/m^3 or equivalent
    printFlag=0,
    springType=0     # 0=Normal (bi-directional); 1=Compression only
)
sup.AssignSupportToEntityList(mat_id, [41, 42, 43])

# Y Only (direction=4): springs act ONLY in Y — use only when the model already
# has other supports (e.g. pinned/fixed nodes) providing X and Z restraint.
# Without those, the structure will be unstable in X/Z.

Plate Mat Support

pm_id = sup.CreatePlateMat(direction, subgrades, printFlag, springType)

Elastic Footing

foot_id = sup.CreateElasticFooting(length, width, direction, subgrade)

Assigning Supports

• sup.AssignSupportToNode(nodeID, supportID) — assigns to a SINGLE node
• Use a for loop to assign to multiple nodes