Concrete Settings
In the Concrete settings tab, you can make specific adjustments to the properties of the concrete. These adjustments not only affect the determination of the creep coefficient and shrinkage strain, but also the structural design checks of the structural components to which the concrete is assigned.
If necessary, adjust the “Maximum aggregate size” dg. This is yielding in the detailed design checks of the user-defined reinforcement.
In the “Aggregate type” list, you can select from different types of aggregates. The same applies to the “Cement class” (S, N, or R), which has a major influence on the hardening of the concrete. In the “Concrete type” list, you can also adjust the manufacturing process of the structural component (monolithic or precast).
Concrete Design
In the Concrete Design tab, you can find the standard parameters of the material that apply to the design.
Among other things, the partial safety factors for both concrete and reinforcing steel are specified, and the minimum concrete cover for the various exposure classes is listed. These values are based on the standard that you specified in the Base Data of the model. For EN 1992-1-1, for example, you will find the parameters of the National Annex here, while for ACI 318, the values are taken directly from the standard.
Reinforcing Steel
When you activate concrete design, an additional tab becomes available in the “Edit Material” dialog box for concrete reinforcement materials, allowing you to make special adjustments to the properties of the reinforcing steel. For a general description of this dialog box, refer to the chapter Materials in the RFEM manual.
Steel Settings
Use the lists to specify the “Classification” of the reinforcing steel (N or X) and the “Production Type” (hot-rolled or cold-formed). These properties affect the ductility behavior. They are required for the fire resistance design, among other things.