In Consteel, the calculation of cross sectional interaction resistance for Class 3 and 4 sections is executed with the modified Formula 6.2 of EN 1993-1-1 with the consideration of warping and altering signs of component resistances. Let’s see how…

Application of EN 1993-1-1 formula 6.2

For calculation of the resistance of a cross section subjected to combination of internal forces and bending moments, EN 1993-1-1 allows the usage -as a conservative approximation- a linear summation of the utilization ratios for each stress resultant, specified in formula 6.2.  

$$\frac{N_{Ed}}{N_{Rd}}+\frac{M_{y,Ed}}{M_{y,Rd}}+\frac{M_{z,Ed}}{M_{z,Rd}}\leq 1$$

As Consteel uses the 7DOF finite element and so it is capable of calulcating bimoment, an extended form of the formula is used for interaction resistance calculation to consider the additional effect.

$$\frac{N_{Ed}}{N_{Rd}}+\frac{M_{y,Ed}}{M_{y,Rd}}+\frac{M_{z,Ed}}{M_{z,Rd}}+\frac{B_{Ed}}{B_{Rd}}\leq 1$$

Formula 6.2 ignores the fact that not every component results the highest stress at the same critical point of the cross-section.

In order to moderate this conservatism of the formula, Consteel applies a modified method for class 3 and 4 sections. Instead of calculating the maximal ratio for every force component using the minimal section moduli (W), Consteel finds the most critical point of the cross-section first (based on the sum of different normal stress components) and calculates the component ratios using the W values determined for this critical point. Summation is done with considering the sign of the stresses caused by the components corresponding to the sign of the dominant stress in the critical point.

(For class 1 and 2 sections, the complex plastic stress distribution cannot be determined by the software. The Formula 6.2 is used with the extension of bimoments to calculate interaction resistance, but no modification with altering signs is applied)

Example

Let’s see an example for better explanation.

Did you know that you could use Consteel to perform dual analysis with 7DOF beam and/or shell elements?

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Did you know that you could use Consteel to calculate effective cross-section properties for Class 4 sections?

Download the example model and try it!

If you haven’t tried Consteel yet, request a trial for free!

Gewöhnlich zeigt traditionelle baustatische Software die Verformungen von Balken mit ihren Querschnitten auf der verformten Schwerachse. ConSteel 15 dagegen benutzt eine fortschrittliche Methode für Deformationsdarstellungen, die feiner und realistischer ist. Natürlich sind die numerischen Ergebnisse identisch, aber mit der verfeinerten Visualisierung kann das 3D-Verhalten der Balkenstruktur besser erkannt werden.

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In this paper a numerical study is presented which examines a steel frame with two different finite element programs. Stability failure is more frequent in a lot of cases than strength failure hence it is important to focus on these failure modes: global, in-plane-, out-of-plane -, lateral-torsional- and local buckling. Three models were used with different elements such as shell elements and 7 DOF beam elements. 7 DOF beam elements were used in the first model, shell elements were used in the other two. The first of the shell models gave too much local buckling shapes therefore it was improved with local constraints and that is the third model where global buckling shapes can be examined. There are three different procedures to calculate the resistance: (i) the general method, (ii) the method of the reduction factors, and (iii) the simulation. The analysis results of the different programs and design methods were compared to each other and to the manual calculation based on the Eurocode 3 standards.