An element component is a representation for minor items included in, added to or connecting to or between elements, which usually are not of interest from the overall building structure viewpoint. However, these small parts may have vital and load carrying functions within the construction. These items do not provide any actual space boundaries. Typical examples of _IfcElementComponent_s include different kinds of fasteners and various accessories. 

It is often desirable to model a number of same-shaped element components by means of a single occurrence object, e.g. several bolts within a connection or a row of reinforcement elements. In this IFC release, this is possible by means of multiple mapped representation as documented below. To express the multiplicity of element components also on a higher semantic level, a Qto_ElementComponentPatternQuantities should be provided via IfcRelDefinesByProperties and contain the number of pieces which are placed by a single IfcElementComponent instance. 

A symbolic representation is defined for a row of components or several rows of components within a single instance of IfcElementComponent. Such rows or arrays may contain possibly large numbers of individual pieces. The product definition shape consists of an IfcShapeRepresentation with the attribute values:

• RepresentationIdentifier : 'Row'
• RepresentationType : 'GeometricCurveSet'

and one or several curves as geometric items. The curves represent where reference points of the pieces are located. For example, such reference points may be at the heads of mechanical fasteners or at the starting point of the extrusion axis of reinforcement bars. A Qto_ElementComponentPatternQuantities should denote the count of pieces in the row or array and their spacing.

This definition may not be instantiated.