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RF-/JOINTS Steel - Column Base Add-on Module for RFEM/RSTAB
Design of Hinged and Restrained Column Bases
The RF-/JOINTS Steel - Column Base add‑on module designs footings of hinged and restrained column bases according to:
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EN 1993‑1‑8 (including National Annexes)
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Features
Hinged Column Footing category provides four different base plate connections:- Simple column base
- Tapered column base
- Column base for rectangular hollow sections
- Column base for circular hollow sections
Restraint Column Footing category provides five different joint layouts of I-sections:- Base plate without stiffening
- Base plate with stiffeners in center of flanges
- Base plate with stiffeners on both sides of column
- Base plate with channel sections
- Bucket foundation
All connection types include a base plate welded around a steel column. Connections with anchors are set in concrete within the foundation. You can select anchors types M12 – M42 with steel grades of 4.6 – 10.9. The top and bottom side of anchors can be provided with round or angled sheets for a better load distribution or anchorage. In addition, you can use rectangular or circular anchor heads with threads applied at the member ends.
Material and thickness of the grout layer as well as the dimensions and material of the footing can be set freely. Furthermore, you can define edge reinforcement of the footing. For a better transfer of shear forces, it is possible to arrange a shear key (cleat) on the bottom side of the base plate.
Shear forces are transferred by a cleat, anchors, or by friction. You can combine the individual components.
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Input
After selecting a joint type and a design standard in the first input window, you can define nodes imported from RFEM/RSTAB to be designed on footing anchorage.
Optionally, you can define the column cross-section and material manually. The other input windows include footing parameters such as a base plate, anchors, shear keys, and stiffeners. Loads are imported from RFEM/RSTAB or entered manually in the case of user-defined joint definition.
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Design
After the calculation, RF-/JOINTS Steel - Column Base displays the following design results:- Base plate bending
- Anchor tension and anchor shear force
- Shear key strength
- Concrete compression / failure of concrete edges
- Friction
- Welds
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Results
At first, the governing joint designs are arranged in groups and displayed with the basic geometry of the joint in the first result window. In the other result windows, you can see all fundamental design details such as the load-carrying capacity of anchors, stresses in welds, and others.
Dimensions, material properties, and welds important for the connection construction are displayed immediately and can be printed directly. It is possible to visualize the connections in RF-/JOINTS Steel - Column Base or in the RFEM/RSTAB model.
All graphics can be included in the RFEM/RSTAB printout report or printed directly. Result graphics to scale provide the option of an optimal visual check right from the design phase.
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Display Options for 3D Graphics
In addition to the result tables, it is possible to create three-dimensional graphics in RF-/FRAME-JOINT Pro and RF-/JOINTS. This is a realistic representation of a connection to scale.

SHAPE-THIN determines the effective cross-sections according to EN 1993-1-3 and EN 1993-1-5 for cold-formed sections. You can optionally check the geometric conditions for the applicability of the standard specified in EN 1993‑1‑3, Section 5.2.
The effects of local plate buckling are considered according to the method of reduced widths and the possible buckling of stiffeners (instability) is considered for stiffened sections according to EN 1993-1-3, Section 5.5.
As an option, you can perform an iterative calculation to optimize the effective cross-section.
You can display the effective cross-sections graphically.
Read more about designing cold-formed sections with SHAPE-THIN and RF-/STEEL Cold-Formed Sections in this technical article: Design of a Thin-Walled, Cold-Formed C-Section According to EN 1993-1-3.
- How can I perform the design of the tension resistance of a smooth column in a smooth bucket column base, that is, the design against pulling out the column?
- Is it possible to design a restrained column base with stiffeners on both sides of the column in an RFEM/RSTAB add-on module?
- When calculating a case of RF‑/JOINTS Steel - Column Base, I get Message No. 48335 saying that the bending moment Mz exceeds 5% of the plastic moment resistance. What does it mean?
- I have defined temperature loads, strain loads, or a precamber. As soon as I modify stiffnesses, the deformations are no longer plausible.
- Can the properties, such as B. the cross -section or the surface thickness as well as the material of a surface of an existing element for a new element?
- I am trying to manually check the deformations from the CRANEWAY add-on module. However, I obtain great deviations. How to explain the differences?
- Why is there no stability analysis displayed in the results despite the activation of the stability analysis in RF‑/STEEL EC3?
- How can I model and design a crane runway girder with Dlubal Software?
- Why do I get large differences for the design of a longitudinally stiffened buckling panel in comparison with the German and Austrian National Annex?
- How can I create a curved or arched section?
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