In the RFEM add-on Surface Concrete Design allows you to perform the fire design according to the simplified table method (EN 1992-1-2, Chapter 5.4.2 and Table 5.8 and 5.9) for walls and ceilings made of reinforced concrete.
In the Concrete Design add-on, you have the option to define an existing vertically oriented punching shear reinforcement. This is then taken into account in the punching shear design.
In RFEM, the oriented strand board (OSB) material is available for the USA and Canada. The material parameters are taken from the "Panel Design Specification manual".
The "Bracing in Cells" function allows you to generate diagonal bracing with just a few clicks. You can find this feature under Tools → Generate Model – Members → Bracing in Cells.
In RFEM and RSTAB, you can visualize the flow field quantities of pressure, velocity, turbulence kinetic energy, and turbulence dissipation rate for the wind simulation.
The clipping planes are aligned with the respective wind direction.
In the Construction Stages Analysis (CSA) add-on, you can use built-up cross-sections by means of what are known as phase sections. This allows you to activate and deactivate the parts of the "Parametric - Massive II" section type throughout the construction stages.
Design of five types of seismic force-resisting systems (SFRS) includes Special Moment Frame (SMF), Intermediate Moment Frame (IMF), Ordinary Moment Frame (OMF), Ordinary Concentrically Braced Frame (OCBF), and Special Concentrically Braced Frame (SCBF)
Ductility check of the width-to thickness ratios for webs and flanges
Calculation of the required strength and stiffness for stability bracing of beams
Calculation of the maximum spacing for stability bracing of beams
Calculation of the required strength at hinge locations for stability bracing of beams
Calculation of the column required strength with the option to neglect all bending moments, shear, and torsion for overstrength limit state
Design check of column and brace slenderness ratios
The seismic design result is categorized into two sections: member requirements and connection requirements.
The "Seismic Requirements" include the Required Flexural Strength and the Required Shear Strength of the beam-to-column connection for moment frames. They are listed in the ‘Moment Frame Connection by Member’ tab. For braced frames, the Required Connection Tensile Strength and the Required Connection Compressive Strength of the brace are listed in the ‘Brace Connection by Member’ tab.
The program provides the performed design checks in tables. The design check details clearly display the formulas and references to the standard.
In the Geotechnical Analysis add-on, the Hoek-Brown material model is available. The model shows linear-elastic ideal-plastic material behavior. Its nonlinear strength criterion is the most common failure criterion for stone and rocks.
You can enter the material parameters using
Rock parameters directly, or alternatively via
GSI classification.
Detailed information about this material model and the definition of the input in RFEM can be found in the respective chapter Hoek-Brown Model of the online manual for the Geotechnical Analysis add-on.
Using the "Beam Panel" thickness type, you can model timber panel elements in 3D space. You just specify the surface geometry and the timber panel elements are generated using an internal member-surface construct, including the simulation of the connection flexibility.
A "beam plate" offers you the following advantages:
Single-sided and double-sided cladding is possible
Automatic calculation of the semi-rigid coupling
Boarded sheeting
Stapled cladding
User-defined sheeting
Representation as a complete geometric 3D object (frame, crosstie, column, sheeting, staples), including eccentricity
Considering openings via surface cells
Design of the structural elements utilizing the Timber Design add-on
Independent of material (for example, drywall with cold-formed sections and gypsum fibreboards as covering)
Using the "Damper" member type, you can define a damping coefficient, a spring constant, and a mass. This member type extends the possibilities within the Time History Analysis.
With regard to viscoelasticity, the "Damper" member type is similar to the Kelvin-Voigt model, which consists of the damping element and an elastic spring (both connected in parallel).
Global 3D calculation of the global model, where the slabs are modeled as a rigid plane (diaphragm) or as a bending plate
Local 2D calculation of the individual floors
After the calculation, the results of the columns and walls from the 3D calculation and the results of the slabs from the 2D calculation are combined in a single model. This means that there is no need to switch between the 3D model and the individual 2D models of the slabs. The user only works with one model, saves valuable time, and avoids possible errors in the manual data exchange between the 3D model and the individual 2D ceiling models.
The vertical surfaces in the model can be divided into shear walls and opening lintels. The program automatically generates internal result members from these wall objects, so they can be designed as members according to any standard in the Concrete Design add-on.
For calculation diagrams, you can use the "2D | Hinge" diagram type. These hinge diagrams show the hinge response of load situations for nonlinear hinges.
For calculations with several load situations, such as the case with the pushover analysis and time history analysis, you can evaluate the hinge condition in each load step.
If you have experimentally determined surface pressures available for a model, you can apply them to a structural model in RFEM 6, process them in RWIND 2, and use them as wind loads in the structural analysis of RFEM 6.
You can find out how to apply the experimentally determined values in this technical article.
In the Modal Analysis add-on, you have the option to automatically increase the sought eigenvalues until reaching a defined effective modal mass factor. All translational directions activated as masses for the modal analysis are taken into account.
Thus, it is possible to easily calculate the required 90% of the effective modal mass for the response spectrum method.
You can open the cross-sections in RSECTION using a direct connection, modify them there, and transfer them back to RFEM/RSTAB. Both RSECTION cross-sections and library cross-sections, with the exception of elliptical, semi-elliptical and virtual joists, can be opened and modified directly in RSECTION by clicking a button.
For example, you can thus adjust the reinforcement layout of user-defined RSECTION cross-sections directly in a local RSECTION environment in RFEM/RSTAB. This feature is currently only available for cross-sections with a uniform distribution type. The shear and longitudinal reinforcement defined for library cross-sections is not imported into RSECTION.
The modal relevance factor (MRF) can help you to assess to which extent specific elements participate in a specific mode shape. The calculation is based on the relative elastic deformation energy of each individual member.
The MRF can be used to distinguish between local and global mode shapes. If multiple individual members show significant MRF (for example, > 20%), the instability of the entire structure or a substructure is very likely. On the other hand, if the sum of all MRFs for an eigenmode is around 100%, a local stability phenomenon (for example, buckling of a single bar) can be expected.
Furthermore, the MRF can be used to determine critical loads and equivalent buckling lengths of certain members (for example, for stability design). Mode shapes for which a specific member has small MRF values (for example, < 20%) can be neglected in this context.
The MRF is displayed by mode shape in the result table under Stability Analysis → Results by Members → Effective Lengths and Critical Loads.