RF-/JOINTS Timber - Steel to Timber Add-on Module for RFEM/RSTAB

• Design of hinged, bending-resistant, and semi-rigid connections
• Definition of up to 5 steel plates slotted in timber beams
• Up to 8 members connected to one node
• Thickness of steel plate 5 mm – 40 mm
• All sizes of fasteners
• Automatic check of the minimum distance between fasteners
• Optional free definition of fastener distances
• Definition of asymmetric fastener layouts (any polygonal chain, for example)
• Graphical visualization of joints in the add-on module and RFEM/RSTAB
• All required steel and timber designs, including reduction of cross‑section values
• Design of transversal tension reinforcement (for EN 1995‑1‑1 only)
• Export of member eccentricities to RFEM/RSTAB to be considered in the determination of internal forces
• Dowel length optionally shorter than cross-section width (for wooden plugs)
• DXF export of the connection geometry
• Fire resistance design according to EN 1995‑1‑2

First, it is necessary to select the joint type, design standard, and steel plate and dowel material. For design according to EC 5, you can select the SFS intec dowel system WS‑T. In this case, the corresponding material is preset in compliance with the technical approval of the manufacturer.

The connected members are imported from the RFEM/RSTAB model. The module automatically checks if all geometric conditions are fulfilled. Alternatively, you can define the connection manually.

Also, the loads are imported automatically from RFEM/RSTAB or entered manually in the case of user-defined connection definition. The Geometry window includes steel plate dimensions and fastener layouts.

After the calculation, the RF‑/JOINTS Timber - Steel to Timber add‑on module lists joint stiffnesses of all individual members, among other things. The following design results are displayed:

• Check of minimum spacing
• Load-carrying capacity of single fastener
• Steel plates (bearing resistance and stress according to EC 3 and AISC)
• Stress analysis with reduced timber cross‑section
• Block shear failure
• Total load carrying-capacity (including stiffness determination, transversal tension design according to EC 5, and others)
• Fire resistance design according to EN 1995‑1‑2

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.

Dimensions and material properties important for the connection construction are displayed immediately and can be printed directly. Similarly, export to DXF-file is enabled. It is possible to visualize the connections in RF‑/JOINTS Timber - Steel to Timber or in the RFEM/RSTAB model.

All graphics can be included in the RFEM/RSTAB printout report or printed directly. Due to the scaled output, an optimal visual check is possible as early as in the design phase.