All object types available in the model and suitable for the design in the add-on are listed as one row in this table. Members and member sets are available for the steel design. The design of surfaces is not possible in the Steel Design add-on; for steel surfaces, an evaluation in the Stress-Strain Analysis add-on is suitable.
Objects to Design
The "Design All" check box allows you to easily select all available objects for the design. The entry in the "Selected Objects" column is thus blocked and all object numbers of a type are selected; for example, all members. As an alternative, you can manually specify which objects should be taken into account in the add-on. To do this, deactivate the "Design All" check box and enter the object numbers manually in the "Selected Objects" column.
Instead of entering object numbers, you can select the objects graphically by clicking the
button in the corresponding cell.
Not Valid / Deactivated Objects
The "To Design" and "Not Valid / Deactivated" columns are filled in automatically by the program. Thus, all members of an invalid material for the steel design (for example, concrete or timber) or an invalid cross-section (for example, a thick-walled massive section) are detected and deactivated for the design. Likewise, all members designed via a member set are deactivated; this is also explained in Chapter Member Sets.
Removing Objects from Design
By entering an object number in the "Removed from Design" column, you can specifically exclude some objects from the design. Thus, the "To Design" column includes all objects for which the design is performed in the add-on.
Design of Members of "Surface Model" Type
In the "Steel Design" add-on, you can also perform cross-section design checks for the members of the Surface Model . A cross-section class as well as the elastic and plastic cross-section resistances are calculated at a gross section, neglecting any cross-section reduction (for example, due to an opening in the web) and considering root fillet radii, as in the case of the "Beam" member type.
The actions are determined on the generated surface model in the stress plane first. For design checks based on internal forces, the stresses are integrated via the cross-section. To be compared with the design on a conventional beam element, the automatically generated and possibly reduced support and loading conditions are considered on a "surface model". These are described in the section about the Surface Model member type in the RFEM manual.