Building stone on stone has a long tradition in construction. The Masonry Design add-on for RFEM allows you to design masonry using the finite element method. It was developed as part of the research project DDMaS - Digitizing the Design of Masonry Structures. Here, the material model represents the nonlinear behavior of the brick-mortar combination in the form of macro-modeling. Do you want to find out more?
You enter and model the structure directly in RFEM. You can combine the masonry material model with all common RFEM add-ons. This enables you to design the entire building models in connection with masonry.
The program automatically determines for you all parameters required for the calculation by using the material data that you have entered. Then, it finally generates the stress-strain curves for each FE element.
Stress determination using an elastic-plastic material model
Design of masonry disc structures for compression and shear on the building model or single model
Automatic determination of stiffness of a wall-slab hinge
An extensive material database for almost all stone-mortar combinations available on the Austrian market (the product range is continuously being expanded, for other countries as well)
Automatic determination of material values according to Eurocode 6 (ÖN EN 1996‑X)
The Concrete Design add-on provides you with the option to perform the simplified fire resistance design according to EN 1992‑1‑2 for columns (Section 5.3.2) and beams (Section 5.6).
The following design checks are available for the simplified fire resistance design:
Columns: Minimum cross-sectional dimensions for rectangular and circular sections according to Table 5.2a as well as Equation 5.7 for calculating time of fire exposure
Beams: Minimum dimensions and center distances according to Table 5.5 and Table 5.6
You can determine the internal forces for the fire resistance design according to two methods.
1 Here, the internal forces of the accidental design situation are included directly into the design.
2 The internal forces of the design at normal temperature are reduced by the factor Eta,fi (ηfi), then used in the fire resistance design.
Furthermore, it is possible to modify the axis distance according to Eq. 5.5.
Was your design successful? Then just sit back and relax. You benefit from the numerous functions in RFEM also here. The program gives you the maximum stresses of the masonry surfaces, whereby you can display the results in detail at each FE mesh point.
Moreover, you can insert sections in order to carry out a detailed evaluation of the individual areas. Use the display of the yield areas to estimate the cracks in the masonry.
The calculation of masonry is carried out in compliance with the nonlinear-plastic material law. If the load at any point is higher than the possible load to be resisted, redistribution takes place within the system. This have the simple purpose of restoring the equilibrium of forces. With the successful completion of the calculation, the stability analysis is provided.
With the Concrete Design add-on, you can perform the fatigue design of members and surfaces according to EN 1992‑1‑1, Chapter 6.8.
For the fatigue design, you can optionally select two methods or design levels in the design configurations:
Design Level 1: Simplified design according to 6.8.6 and 6.8.7(2): The simplified design is performed for frequent action combinations according to EN 1992‑1‑1, Chapter 6.8.6 (2), and EN 1990, Eq. (6.15b) with the traffic loads relevant in the serviceability state. A maximum stress range according to 6.8.6 is designed for the reinforcing steel. The concrete compressive stress is determined by means of the upper and lower allowable stress according to 6.8.7(2).
Design Level 2: Design of damage equivalent stress acc. to 6.8.5 and 6.8.7(1) (simplified fatigue design): The design using damage equivalent stress ranges is performed for the fatigue combination according to EN 1992‑1‑1, Chapter 6.8.3, Eq. (6.69) with the specifically defined cyclic action Qfat.
During the cross-section design, you can directly control whether the concrete surface is applied behind the reinforcing bars or is subtracted from the concrete cross-section. You can use the design of the net concrete cross-section especially in the case you deal with a highly reinforced cross-section.
The structural analysis program provides you with a clear overview of all performed design checks for the design standard. You have to determine a design criterion for each design check. In addition to the ultimate limit state and the serviceability limit state design, the program checks the design rules of the standard. For each design check, there are the design details including the initial values, intermediate results, and final results, arranged in a structured way. An information window in the design details shows you the calculation process with the applied formulas, standard sources, and results in great detail.
Enter the surface reinforcement directly on the RFEM level. In this case, you can select the defined area reinforcements individually. The usual editing functions Copy, Mirror, or Rotate are at your disposal when entering the surface reinforcement.
The Concrete Design add-on allows you to perform the seismic design of reinforced concrete members according to EC 8. This includes, among other things, the following functionalities:
Seismic design configurations
Differentiation of the ductility classes DCL, DCM, DCH
Option to transfer the behavior factor from a dynamic analysis
Check of the limit value for the behavior factor
Capacity design checks of "Strong column - weak beam"
Detailing and particular rules for curvature ductility factor
Detailing and particular rules for local ductility
A library for cross-laminated timber panels is implemented in RFEM, from which you can import the manufacturer's layer structures (for example, Binderholz, KLH, Piveteaubois, Södra, Züblin Timber, Schilliger, Stora Enso). In addition to the layer thicknesses and materials, there is also the information about stiffness reductions and the narrow side bonding.
The Concrete Design add-on allows you to design fiber-reinforced concrete components according to the guideline "DAfStb Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete".
You can use this option for the design according to EN 1992‑1‑1. The design according to the DAfStb guideline is carried out once the concrete of the "Fiber Concrete" type has been assigned to the reinforced structural component.
Did you know that To calculate masonry structures, a nonlinear material model has been implemented in RFEM. It is based on the approach of Lourenco, a composite yield surface according to Rankine and Hill. This model allows you to describe and model the structural behavior of masonry and the different failure mechanisms.
The limit parameters were selected in such a way that the design curves used correspond to a normative design curve.
Within a member, you can define the integration width and effective slab width of T-beams (ribs) with different widths. The member is divided into segments. You can either grade or specify the transition between the different flange widths as linearly variable. Furthermore, the program allows you to consider the defined surface reinforcement as a flange reinforcement for the reinforced concrete design of a rib.