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Quick Start

This guide will help you get started with Blueprints quickly by walking through common use cases.

Before You Begin

Make sure you have Blueprints installed. If not, see the Installation Guide.

Your First Calculation

Let's start with a simple concrete material calculation:

from blueprints.materials.concrete import ConcreteMaterial, ConcreteStrengthClass

# Create a C30/37 concrete material
concrete = ConcreteMaterial(concrete_class=ConcreteStrengthClass.C30_37)

# Access material properties
print(f"Concrete: {concrete.name}")
print(f"Characteristic strength (fck): {concrete.f_ck} MPa")
print(f"Design strength (fcd): {concrete.f_cd} MPa")
print(f"Mean tensile strength (fctm): {concrete.f_ctm:.2f} MPa")

Concrete: C30/37
Characteristic strength (fck): 30 MPa
Design strength (fcd): 20.0 MPa
Mean tensile strength (fctm): 2.90 MPa

That's it! You've just calculated key concrete properties according to Eurocode standards.

Working with Reinforcement Steel

Now let's add reinforcement steel to the mix:

from blueprints.materials.reinforcement_steel import ReinforcementSteelMaterial, ReinforcementSteelQuality

# Create B500B reinforcement steel
rebar = ReinforcementSteelMaterial(steel_quality=ReinforcementSteelQuality.B500B)

print(f"Steel quality: {rebar.name}")
print(f"Characteristic yield strength (fyk): {rebar.f_yk} MPa")
print(f"Design yield strength (fyd): {rebar.f_yd:.2f} MPa")
print(f"Modulus of elasticity (Es): {rebar.e_s} MPa")

Steel quality: B500B
Characteristic yield strength (fyk): 500.0 MPa
Design yield strength (fyd): 434.78 MPa
Modulus of elasticity (Es): 200000.0 MPa

Working with Formulas

Blueprints organizes formulas by engineering standard. Here's how to use them:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/docs/checkouts/readthedocs.org/user_builds/blueprints/envs/stable/lib/python3.13/site-packages/markdown_exec/_internal/formatters/python.py", line 71, in _run_python
    exec_python(code, code_block_id, exec_globals)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/home/docs/checkouts/readthedocs.org/user_builds/blueprints/envs/stable/lib/python3.13/site-packages/markdown_exec/_internal/formatters/_exec_python.py", line 8, in exec_python
    exec(compiled, exec_globals)  # noqa: S102
    ~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "<code block: session quickstart; n3>", line 2, in <module>
    from blueprints.codes.eurocode.nen_en_1992_1_1_a1_2020.chapter_4_durability_and_cover.formula_4_1 import Form4Dot1NominalConcreteCover
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'blueprints.codes.eurocode.nen_en_1992_1_1_a1_2020'

Combining all elements in a Rectangular Reinforced cross section

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/docs/checkouts/readthedocs.org/user_builds/blueprints/envs/stable/lib/python3.13/site-packages/markdown_exec/_internal/formatters/python.py", line 71, in _run_python
    exec_python(code, code_block_id, exec_globals)
    ~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "/home/docs/checkouts/readthedocs.org/user_builds/blueprints/envs/stable/lib/python3.13/site-packages/markdown_exec/_internal/formatters/_exec_python.py", line 8, in exec_python
    exec(compiled, exec_globals)  # noqa: S102
    ~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  File "<code block: session quickstart; n4>", line 4, in <module>
    applied_cover = 5 + concrete_cover
                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
NameError: name 'concrete_cover' is not defined

Next Steps

Now that you've seen the basics, you can:

  • Explore the API Reference - Detailed documentation of all available functionality
  • Check out Examples - More complex, real-world scenarios
  • Read about Library Organization - Understand why Blueprints is structured the way it is
  • Join the Discord community - Ask questions and connect with other engineers

Happy engineering! 🚀