Challenge
The comprehensive renovation of the long-span track hall roof at Munich Central Station posed an extraordinary structural engineering challenge. Commissioned by Deutsche Bahn AG, Werner & Balci GmbH had to analyze an immense, highly complex structure with over 20,000 members, 4,000 surfaces, and more than 200 different steel section types. Another challenge was that the refurbishment had to be carried out while the station remained in operation.
Structurally, the project required the assessment of a complex matrix of historic steel beams, trusses, plates, and stiffeners on an asymmetrical roof geometry with a total area of approx. 30,000 m². To make matters more difficult, the engineering team had to plan subsequent lightweight reinforcements in the form of 40 mm polygonally routed post-tensioning cables (200 kN) along the main beams, while simultaneously accounting for strongly varying wind and snow loads in different roof areas.
Solution
To handle the sheer size and complexity of the Munich track hall roof, Werner & Balci GmbH relied entirely on RFEM 6 from Dlubal Software as the central tool for structural design. RFEM 6 offers a powerful, unified environment capable of processing a massive global 3D model without having to break it down into smaller submodels. This enabled the engineers to calculate both steel and concrete components seamlessly and simultaneously, completely avoiding data fragmentation.
Using RFEM, the engineering team precisely simulated the polygonal post-tensioning cable structures and investigated plate buckling. In addition, they were able to design complex steel connections using the exact internal forces directly from the global analysis, which guarantees overall structural safety.
Key Benefits of Using RFEM 6
- Unified global modeling: The engineers integrated all components – from the historic steel trusses and the 40 mm post-tensioning cables used for reinforcement to the concrete roof slabs and foundations – into a single, high-performance 3D model with over 20,000 members, ensuring a flawless, holistic overview.
- Integrated connection design: Using Dlubal add-ons for steel connections, the team could perform code-compliant verifications directly in the main analysis. This eliminated the manual re-entry of actions, minimizing transfer errors.
- Automated load distribution: RFEM 6 safely and efficiently distributed complex wind and snow loads across the enormous, geometrically variable roof area of approx. 30,000 m² by automatically converting large-area surface loads into precise member loads.
- Transparent verifications for checking engineers: With just one click, RFEM 6 visually displays the local internal member forces and shows the formulas in the style of a verifiable hand calculation – including the exact clauses and paragraphs from the Eurocodes. This significantly speeds up approval by external checking engineers.
