With the SHAPE‑THIN cross‑section program, you can create any thin‑walled cross‑section and use it in RFEM or RSTAB as a member cross‑section. SHAPE‑THIN can give all relevant cross‑section values of any cross‑section for a design and stress analysis.
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 the technical article "Design of Thin-Walled, Cold-Formed C-Section According to EN 1993‑1‑3".
Design of Thin-Walled, Cold-Formed C-Section According to EN 1993-1-3 More about RF-/STEEL Cold-Formed SectionsUse the "Independent mesh preferred" option in the FE mesh settings to create an independent FE mesh for the integrated objects. This allows you to generate a significantly more detailed and precise FE mesh for individual objects that are integrated into one another.
In the "Edit Section" dialog box, you can display the buckling shapes of the Finite Strip Method (FSM) as a 3D graphic.
In RFEM 6 and RSTAB 9, you have the option to enter "Visual Objects" as guide objects. You can import the file formats 3ds, stl, and obj.
These objects allow you to create a better reference to the dimensions.