[LOAD]     What does the error ‘PSC/Composite type of beam section temperature cannot be applied to section of the element’, imply?

This error happens, say, when a temperature gradient is assigned with
PSC/Composite option for a simple beam element.





Usually, for a bridge superstructure, when the superstructure sections are defined using the in-built PSC/ Composite section templates,
assigning the temperature gradient across the section becomes easier with the automatically considered
section width and the effective area for temperature gradient load computation.



However, this option is not applicable for certain type of sections. Say for example, in a superstructure with PSC section, the diaphragm is solid,
which is defined by PSC Value type section, a section type other than from the PSC templates. So, for these sections, the temperature gradient load
can’t be applied using the PSC/Composite option. In stead, the General option has to be selected for temperature gradient application,
and the width has to be manually entered.



If the user, by mistake applies the PSC/Composite option for such sections, then the user is warned of the said error message in the message window.