The support of the cross-laminated timber panel deserves special attention. Usually, a cross‑laminated wall is secured against shearing by means of shear connectors and against lifting forces by means of tie rods.
You can use the "Free Circular Load" option in RFEM to apply a partial uplift force to a cone‑shaped floor slab. It can be defined as linearly variable. The definition of center C and the outer boundary R can be specified easily, using the select function.
Usually, the lifting forces acting on a structure, which mostly result from wind loads or a dynamic analysis, are transferred into the ground through ties.
When modeling frame structures, RFEM and RSTAB provide various options for controlling the transfer of internal forces and moments at the connection points of members. You can use the member types to determine whether only forces act on the connected members, or whether moments act on them as well. In addition, you can use hinges to exclude specific internal forces from the transfer. One special form is scissor hinges, which allow for realistic modeling of roof structures, for example.
From time to time, two intersecting beams overlap at a short distance. Such a structure raises the question, with regard to the modeling, of how it is possible to consider a contact with force transmission under compression between the two beams, while the contact under tension (for example, in case of a lifting top beam) should fail.
When defining real support conditions, it is always necessary to combine linear and nonlinear support conditions. This way, a beam resting on a wall can transfer compression forces to the wall and the line support (wall) will not take over the lifting forces. These forces should be carried by screws, for example, which are defined as a linear nodal support.