Navigation:  Assigning Properties to Modeling Entities > Properties for Members > Local Angle

Local angle is a way to rotate a member about its longitudinal axis.  It can be useful for situations such as when a wide flange steel member needs to be rotated from its default orientation of web-vertical to an alternate orientation, like web-horizontal when behaving as a girt.

 

Remember that each member has a local coordinate axis system.  The orientation of the local x axis (from starting node to ending node) is particularly important. To visualize the way a positive local angle will affect a particular member, point your right thumb in the direction of the local x axis.  The natural curl of your right fingers indicates the direction of rotation of the member when subjected to a positive local angle.

 

To assign a local angle to a member, select the member and then click Create (or Modify) >  Member Properties > Local Angles.  Either way, the Element Local Angle dialog opens.  It allows for the specification of an angle to be applied to selected members.  (It also can be applied to shells, which is covered in the section on Properties for Shells.)