Interesting customer projects realized with Dlubal structural analysis software.
RF-/TIMBER AWC Add-on Module for RFEM/RSTAB
Design of Timber Members and Sets of Members According to American Standard ANSI/AWC NDS
Videos
The RF-/TIMBER AWC add‑on module performs designs of the ultimate limit state, serviceability limit state, and fire resistance according to the American standards ANSI/AWC NDS‑2018 and ANSI/AWC NDS‑2015. It covers design methods according to:
Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD)
Allowable Stress Design (ASD)
In addition to stress designs, RF‑/TIMBER AWC performs stability analysis of members according to the equivalent member method or second‑order analysis. Furthermore, it is possible to carry out the serviceability limit state and fire resistance designs (ASD).
-
Features
- Design of members and continuous members for tension, compression, bending, shear, and combined internal forces
- Stability analysis of buckling and lateral-torsional buckling according to the Equivalent Member Method or second-order analysis
- Serviceability limit state design by limitation of deflections
- Design of tapered and curved beams consisting of glulam timber
- Free setting of charring time and rates as well as free selection of charring sides for fire resistance design
- Material and cross-section library based on the supplement to the standards ANSI/AWC NDS‑2018 and ANSI/AWC NDS-2015, including adjustment factors
- User-defined entry of rectangular and circular cross-sections
- Automatic cross-section optimization
- Optional import of buckling lengths from the RF-STABILITY/RSBUCK module
- Detailed result documentation including references to design equations of the used standard
- Various filtering and sorting options of results
- Consideration of temperature effects and moisture service conditions
- Visualization of design criterion on RFEM/RSTAB model
- Data export to MS Excel
- Metric and imperial units
-
Input
After opening the add-on module, it is necessary to select the members/sets of members, load cases, load or result combinations for the ultimate limit state, serviceability limit state and fire resistance design (only ASD). Also, you can select the design method (ASD or LRFD). The materials from RFEM/RSTAB are preset and can be adjusted in RF-/TIMBER AWC. Material properties listed in the respective standard are included in the material library.
When checking the cross-sections, you can specify whether to apply the design values of the relevant standard, or user-defined values. Then, you can consider the load duration classes (LDC), temperature effects, and moisture service conditions.
The deformation analysis requires the reference lengths of the relevant members and sets of members. Furthermore, you can define a specific direction of deflection, precamber and beam type.
For fire resistance design, you can define charring sides of member or set of members.
-
Design
The cross-section resistance design analyzes tension and compression along the grain, bending, bending and tension/compression as well as the strength in shear due to shear force.
The design of structural components at risk of buckling and lateral buckling is performed according to the Equivalent Member Method and considers the systematic axial compression, bending with and without compressive force as well as bending and tension. Deflection of inner spans and cantilevers is compared with the maximum allowable deflection.
Separate design cases allow flexible analysis of the selected members, sets of members, and actions as well as for the individual stability analysis.
Design-relevant parameters such as load duration in case of fire, member slendernesses, and limit deflection can be freely adjusted.
-
Results
After the calculation, the module displays results in clearly arranged result tables. All intermediate values (for example governing internal forces, adjustment factors etc.) can be included in order to make the design more transparent. The results are listed by load case, cross-section, member, and set of members. If the analysis fails, the relevant cross-sections can be modified in an optimization process.
Design ratio is represented with different colors in the RFEM/RSTAB model. In this way, you can quickly recognize critical or oversized areas of the cross-section. The targeted evaluation is also ensured by displaying the result diagrams on the member or set of members.
In addition to input and result data including design details shown in tables, you can add any graphic into the printout report. In this way, a comprehensible and clearly arranged documentation is guaranteed. You can select the report contents and the extent of the results specifically for the individual designs.
Contact us
Do you have any questions about our products or need advice on selecting the products needed for your projects?
Contact us via our free e-mail, chat, or forum support or find various suggested solutions and useful tips on our FAQ page.
Customer Projects
Price

Lateral-Torsional Buckling in Timber Construction | Examples 2
The previous article Lateral-Torsional Buckling in Timber Construction | Examples 1 explains the practical application for determining the critical bending moment Mcrit or the critical bending stress σcrit for a bending beam's lateral buckling by using simple examples.- How can I perform a stability analysis for a tapered member?
- Can I design laminated veneer lumber with RFEM/RSTAB?
- How can I create a curved or curved section?
- How are the signs to be interpreted for the release results of the line release and line hinges?
- After the design with RF-/TIMBER Pro, I had a cross-section optimized. Why is the utilization of the optimized cross -section now exceeded?
- Is it possible to design the support pressure or the sleeper pressure in RX-TIMBER?
- Why are the stresses of the 90 ° orientation not displayed in RF-LAMINATE for a layer with the orthotropic direction 90 ° for σb, 90?
- How can I get the member end forces to design the connections?
- I design timber components. The deformations of load combinations deviate from the manual calculation exactly by the factor of the material partial safety factor. Why?
- How can I run the RX‑TIMBER Frame plugin? I did not find it in the Add-on Modules menu nor in Project Navigator - Data.
Customers who bought this product also bought