Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) Open the Load Cases & Combinations dialog box. Under the Base tab, select the Edit Parameters of Edition option. The default values are set to 1.0 (Image 1)

Case A: To apply the same factor in the X and Y directions, use the generic (no direction) redundancy factor, ρ.

Case B: To apply different factors in each direction, use the redundancy factors, ρ_x and ρ_y. The generic factor, ρ in the first row is not used.

2) Under the Load Cases tab, create a seismic load case with Qe as the Action Category. Next, select the Additional Settings tab and pick the direction (Image 2)

3) Under the Design Situations tab, select the applicable seismic Design Situation Type. Both LRFD and ASD methods are available (Image 3)

Note: When neither or both directions are activated under the same load case, the generic redundancy factor, ρ is used. Create a separate load case to apply the individual factors, ρ_x and ρ_y.

4) In the Load Combinations tab, verify that the correct factor(s) has been applied. Factors are also shown in the Result Combinations tab, if applicable. Click OK to exit (Image 4)

Under the Load Cases, select the Additional Settings tab, and activate the “Live load is less than or equal to 100 psf” option (Image 1).

Next, select the Design Situations tab and Edit Combination Wizard. Activate the “Exception 1 according to 2.3.1” option under the Standard Options (Image 2).

Under the Load Combinations tab, the 0.5 load factor are listed in the applicable COs (Image 3).

1) In the material library, set the region to “All” and the material type to “Fabric” in the filter. Select any one of the fabric materials from the list.

2) Activate the “User-defined material” option and specify the user-defined name.

3) Under the Material Values tab, revise the fictitious thickness, density, and so on. The strengths and basis weight (m_s) do not affect the calculation and can be disregarded.

4) To specify the modulus of elasticity and shear modulus in terms of force/area, select the Orthotropic Linear Elastic (Surfaces) tab and enter the values there. Note: Changing the thickness in Step 3 affects the values entered in this tab.

To access the user-defined materials and sections for future models, a template can be created. This is shown in FAQ 005109.

When entering a cross-section description in the Name text box of the "New Section" dialog box, all cross-section series containing the search term are suggested. For example, when entering HEA, cross-sections of the series HEAA or HEAT are also suggested.

To ensure the search gives you only the exact hits, enter quotation marks at the beginning of the term you search. The search term for an HEA section is then: "HEA

The default Design Situations (DS1 and DS2) do not include the seismic load combinations. To add the seismic COs, add new Design Situations with design situation type “Section 2.3 (LRFD), 6 and 7” and/or “Section 2.4 (ASD), 8 to 10” (Image 1).

Under the Load Combinations tab, the generated seismic COs are shown.

To set the value scale to a defined range (for example, positive values only), double-click the color scale of the control panel.

A dialog box appears where you can change the reference from "Max/Min" to "Limits" and define the limit values manually here (for example, Min = 0.0).

To completely hide the excluded value ranges in the graphic, move the slider to the right of the value scale at the minimum by one level (see Image 01).

The activation of the "Auto connect lines/members" function is shown in Image 01.

In RFEM 6 and RSTAB 9, the program creates a node of the "on member/on line" type on the existing line or member by default.

However, if you would like to divide the existing line or member automatically, you can change this in the program options. To do this, open the "Options" → "Program Options..." menu. A dialog box appears where you can deactivate the connection "by internal nodes" option, see Image 02.

You can move and copy objects directly in the display window in order to work more efficiently. However, if you want to deactivate this function, you can use the shortcut menu. For this, right-click in the view window and select the "Deactivate Drag & Drop" option in the list.

It's possible to select an existing cross-section from the program library and edit the parameters with the "convert into parametric section" option.

This will prompt the section dialog box to directly input the modified dimensions.

It's further possible to use this member in the model for the static analysis as well as design acc. to the various standards in the Design Add-ons.

To activate the nonlinear material behavior in RFEM 6 or RSTAB 9, the Nonlinear Material Behavior add-on must be activated.

The material model should then be modified from the default setting "Linear Elastic" to the relevant "Plastic" setting under the Material dialog box depending on if the element is a 1D member, 2D surface, or 3D solid.

Lastly, the Static Analysis Settings should further be modified to set the number of load increments and to activate the saved results of all load increments checkbox.

After the calculation, all results can be viewed in the Navigator - Results panel by the load increment selected.