When calculating regular structures, data input is often not complicated but time-consuming. Input automation can save valuable time. The task described in the present article is to consider the stories of a house as single construction stages. Data is entered using a C# program so that the user does not have to enter the elements of the individual floors manually.
The modal relevance factor is a result of the linear stability analysis and qualitatively describes the degree of participation of individual members in a specific mode shape.
The Construction Stages Analysis (CSA) add-on allows for the design of member, surface, and solid structures in RFEM 6 considering the specific construction stages associated with the construction process. This is important since buildings are not constructed all at once, but by gradually combining individual structural parts. The single steps in which structural elements, as well as loads, are added to the building are called construction stages, whereas the process itself is called a construction process.
Thus, the final state of the structure is available upon completion of the construction process; that is, all the construction stages. For some structures, the influence of the construction process (that is, all the individual construction stages) might be significant and it should be considered so that errors in the calculation are avoided. A general overview of the CSA add-on is given in the Knowledge Base article titled “Consideration of Construction Stages in RFEM 6”.
You can use the Steel Joints add-on in RFEM 6 to create and analyze steel connections using an FE model. You can control the modeling of the connections via a simple and familiar input of components. Steel joint components can be defined manually, or by using the available templates in the library. The former method is included in a previous Knowledge Base article titled “A Novel Approach to Designing Steel Joints in RFEM 6". This article will focus on the latter method; that is, it will show you how to define steel joint components using the available templates in the program’s library.
The advantage of the RFEM 6 Steel Joints add-on is that you can analyze steel connections using an FE model for which the modeling runs fully automatically in the background. The input of the steel joint components that control the modeling can be done by defining the components manually, or by using the available templates in the library. The latter method is included in a previous Knowledge Base article titled “Defining Steel Joint Components Using the Library". The definition of parameters for the design of steel joints is the topic of the Knowledge Base article “Designing Steel Joints in RFEM 6".
The calculation of complex structures by means of finite element analysis software is generally performed on the entire model. However, the construction of such structures is a process carried out in multiple stages where the final state of the building is achieved by combining the separate structural parts. To avoid errors in the calculation of overall models, the influence of the construction process must be considered. In RFEM 6, this is possible using the Construction Stages Analysis (CSA) add-on.
In this article, a lap joint of a ZL purlin on a monopitch roof is modeled and designed using the Steel Joints add-on, and compared with the load-bearing capacity table of the manufacturer.
This article will show you how to use the Torsion Warping (7 DOF) add-on in combination with the Structure Stability add-on to consider cross-section warping as an additional degree of freedom when performing the stability analysis.