The structural analysis software RFEM 6 is the basis of a modular software system. The main program RFEM 6 is used to define structures, materials, and loads of planar and spatial structural systems consisting of plates, walls, shells, and members. The program also allows you to create combined structures as well as to model solid and contact elements.
RSTAB 9 is a powerful analysis and design software for 3D beam, frame, or truss structure calculations, reflecting the current state of the art and helping structural engineers meet requirements in modern civil engineering.
Do you often spend too long calculating cross-sections? Dlubal Software and the RSECTION stand-alone program facilitate your work by determining section properties of various cross-sections and performing a subsequent stress analysis.
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For the CSA O86 and NDS, the Modification and Adjustment factors used in the Timber Design add-on in RFEM 6 can be manually adjusted. The factors are listed under the material properties.
To edit them manually, first open the material(s) being used for timber design and then set them to "User-Defined". Once this is done, navigate to the Timber Design tab where the Modification and Adjustment factors can be entered manually.
Both RFEM and RSTAB are ideally suited for the structural analysis and design of timber structures.
Main Programs RFEM and RSTAB
The main programs RFEM and RSTAB are used to define the model with its properties and actions. In addition to spatial frame and truss structures, such as halls or space trusses, it is possible to model plate, wall, and shell structures with RFEM. Thus, RFEM is the more versatile variant—especially if you work in other areas, such as solid construction.
Available Standards
Add-ons for Timber Structures
Design add-ons supplement the functionality of the main programs. Use the Timber Design add-on to perform the ultimate and serviceability limit state design checks as well as the stability analysis and fire resistance design according to the standards listed above. In combination with the Torsional Warping (7 DOF) add-on, you can also perform lateral-torsional buckling analysis with up to seven degrees of freedom.
The special-solution Multilayer Surfaces add-on for RFEM is ideally suited for laminate surfaces made of cross-laminated timber (CLT).
In case of any questions about the Dlubal timber design solutions, our sales team will be happy to assist you.
The formula to determine the initial section depth di (CSA) or the equivalent square section dimension aeq (NDS) used for the slenderness ratio calculation is as follows:
Channels, hats, angles, and Z sections from AISI D100-17 standard can be designed according to AISI S100 in the Steel Design Add-on.
Additionally, all rectangular and round HSS AISC shapes can also be designed per AISI S100. This option is set under the Strength Configuration for Steel Design.
A custom section can be created using one of the “Thin-Walled” sections available in the library. For other sections that do not meet any of the 14 available cold-formed shapes, the sections can be created and imported from the stand-alone program RSECTION.
Parametric (custom) sections with the manufacturing type “Cold formed” can be designed according to AISI S100 or CSA S136.
The safety factor Ω and resistance factor Φ used in Chapters E through H are only appropriate for sections that comply with the limitations in Table B4.1‑1. For all other sections that exceed any of the limits, higher safety factors Ω or lower resistance factors Φ are applied according to section A1.2(C). In RFEM, this limitation is checked by default. The user has the option to deactivate this check in the "Strength Configuration".
Shapes that can be checked in RFEM include C, Z, L, I (double back-to-back C), hat, rectangular, and round HSS. In the example shown in Image 02, the 8ZS2.75 x 105 section meets the applicability limits.
For general/complex sections, such as the sigma section used in Example III‑14 of AISI D100‑17 (shown in Image 03), the more conservative factors are automatically applied. As a result, Φc = 0.80 is used in the RFEM design checks. However, the manual calculation shows that the sigma section actually meets the applicability limits and Φc = 0.85 can be used instead.
If no angle can be defined in the "Rotation" column, there is an isotropic material model selected for the material, where stiffnesses are identical in all directions and it is not necessary to define an angle.
If you use materials with anisotropic behavior (for example, timber), it is necessary to ensure that the "Orthotropic | Linear Elastic (Surfaces)" material model is selected.
Note: The "Orthotropic | Timber | Linear Elastic (Surfaces)" material model cannot be currently used in combination with the "Layers" thickness type.
As soon as switching to the orthotropic material model, the individual layers can be rotated accordingly.