- Define the isotropic linear elastic "facade material" with the average stiffness of the adjacent elements of the main structure without the weight, thermal expansion property, or stiffness modification.
- In the facade areas, describe the surfaces made of the facade material with the "Orthotropic" stiffness type. To ensure that no opposing load is transferred to the main structure at the surface corners, the thickness and torsional stiffness must be defined near zero. We recommend applying the average thickness of the adjacent elements of the main structure / 1,000 as the thickness, and dividing the related torsional stiffness k33 by the factor of 1,000 as well.
- Define a line release between the facade surfaces and the main structure elements so that only forces perpendicular to the main structure elements can be transferred. All other directions must be specified without any force.
- To prevent the surfaces that have been detached with the line releases from slipping in the wall plane, a surface support in the planar degrees of freedom x and y must be placed on the facade surfaces.
Using Facade Surfaces in RFEM for Transmission of Wind Loads to Main Structure
Are there any facade surfaces in RFEM to transmit wind loads to the main structure?
Mr. Niemeier is responsible for the development of RFEM, RSTAB, RWIND Simulation, and in the area of membrane structures. He is also responsible for quality assurance and customer support.
Use the "Independent mesh preferred" option in the FE mesh settings to create an independent FE mesh for the integrated objects. This allows you to generate a significantly more detailed and precise FE mesh for individual objects that are integrated into one another.
In the "Edit Section" dialog box, you can display the buckling shapes of the Finite Strip Method (FSM) as a 3D graphic.
In RFEM 6 and RSTAB 9, you have the option to enter "Visual Objects" as guide objects. You can import the file formats 3ds, stl, and obj.
These objects allow you to create a better reference to the dimensions.
Do you have individual column sections and angled wall geometries, and need punching shear design for them?
No problem. In RFEM 6, you can perform punching shear design not only for rectangular and circular sections, but for any cross-section shape.