The data for materials, loads and load combinations must be entered in RFEM in accordance with the design concept specified by SIA 263 (Schweizerischer Ingenieur- und Architektenverein). 

The RFEM material library already contains appropriate materials for SIA. Furthermore, the add-on module RF-COMBI allows for an automatic creation of corresponding load combinations in accordance with SIA 260. All combinations can be generated also manually in RFEM.

First, you select the members and sets of members in the add-on module RF-STEEL SIA that you want to design. In addition, you determine the load cases, groups and combinations for the design. In further input tables, you can adjust the preset definitions for lateral intermediate supports and effective lengths.

In case continuous members are used, it is possible to define individual support conditions and eccentricities for each intermediate node of the single members. In the program's background, a special FEA tool determines the critical loads and moments required for the stability analysis.

For the evaluation of results, RF-STEEL SIA provides clearly arranged output tables. The first results table shows the maximum design ratio with the corresponding analysis for each load case, group or combination that has been designed.

The following tables show all detailed results sorted by specific subjects in extendable tree menus. Moreover, it is possible to display all intermediate results for each location along the members. In this way, you can easily retrace how the individual designs have been carried out by the module.

The complete module data is part of the RFEM printout report. The contents for the report and the extent of the output data can be selected specifically for the individual designs. A graphical result representation of the governing design criterion in RFEM allows for a quick overview about the utilization of the individual structural components.