The Objects to Design table lists all object types available in the model that are eligible for steel design:
- Members
- Member sets
- Member representatives
- Member set representatives
- Surfaces (RFEM only)
- Surface sets (RFEM only)
Objects to Design
The check box in the “Design All” column allows for quickly selecting all available objects for design. This locks the input option in the “Selected Objects” column. The numbers of all objects of the object type are automatically entered there, for example, all members or all surfaces.
However, you can also manually specify which objects are to be designed: Deactivate the “Design All” check box and then enter the numbers of the relevant objects in the “Selected Objects” column. You can also select the objects graphically using the
button at the end of the cell.
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.
Not Valid / Deactivated Objects
The "To Design" and "Not Valid / Deactivated" columns are usually filled in automatically. This means that all objects with properties that are not suitable for steel design are recognized and deactivated for the design. These include, for example, timber or concrete members, members with a thick-walled cross-section, or surfaces with a variable thickness. Likewise, all members and surfaces that are designed as member or surface sets are deactivated (see the chapters Member Sets and Surface Sets).
Design of Members of "Surface Model" Type
The "Steel Design" add-on allows you to also perform cross-section design checks for the members of the Surface Model type. 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 (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, it is necessary to take into account the automatically generated and possibly reduced support and loading conditions on a surface model.