The "Base Plate" component allows you to design base plate connections with cast-in anchors. In this case, plates, welds, anchorages, and steel-concrete interaction are analyzed.
You can use the "Plate Cut" component to cut plates (for example, gusset plates, fin plates, and so on). There are various cutting methods available:
Plane: The cut is performed on the closest surface to the reference plate.
Surface: Only the intersecting parts of plates are cut.
Bounding Box: The outermost dimension consisting of width and height is cut out of the plate as a rectangle.
Convex Envelope: The outer hull of the cross-section is used for the plate cut. If there are fillets at the corner nodes of the cross-section, the cut is adapted to them.
Automatic generation of FE analysis models: The add-on automatically creates a finite element model (FE) of the steel connection in the background.
Consideration of all internal forces: The calculation and design checks include all internal forces (N, Vy, Vz, My, Mz, MT) and are not limited to planar loading.
Automatic load transfer: All load combinations are automatically transferred to the FE analysis model of the connection. The loads are transferred directly from RFEM, so manual data input is not necessary.
Efficient modeling: The add-on saves you time when modeling complex connection situations. You can also save the created FE analysis model and use it further for your own detailed analyses.
Extensible library: An extensive and extensible library with predefined steel connection templates is available.
Wide applicability: The add-on is suitable for connections of any type and shape, compatible with almost all rolled, welded, built-up, and thin-walled cross-sections.
You can now insert a cap plate in steel joints with only a few clicks. You can enter the data using the known definition types "Offsets" or "Dimensions and Position". By specifying a reference member and the cutting plane, it is also possible to omit the Member Section component.
This component allows you to easily model cap plates on column ends, for example.
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.
Using the "Rib" component, you can define any number of longitudinal ribs on a member plate. By defining a reference object, you can automatically specify welds on it.
The "Rib" component can also be arranged on circular hollow sections. Dafür wird zusätzlich die Vorgabe der Winkel zwischen den Rippen benötigt.
The form-finding process gives you a structural model with active forces in the "prestress load case" This load case shows the displacement from the initial input position to the form-found geometry in the deformation results. In the force or stress-based results (member and surface internal forces, solid stresses, gas pressures, and so on), it clarifies the state for maintaining the found form. For the analysis of the shape geometry, the program offers you a two-dimensional contour line plot with the output of the absolute height and an inclination plot for the visualization of the slope situation.
Now, a further calculation and structural analysis of the entire model is performed. For this purpose, the program transfers the form-found geometry including the element-wise strains into a universally applicable initial state. You can now use it in the load cases and load combinations.