From now, the new Project Center unites all the functionalities for model and account management, supplemented with easy access to personalized information and learning materials.
Introduction
It is essential for the effective work of the design engineers to have a model which is easy to overview. In Consteel there are several functions to achieve that such as layers and portions, and also Member coloring by cross-section.
How it works
The color of the displayed objects is now determined by the object style settings in Options.
Layer color can overwrite these settings if the Layer style cell is checked on Layers dialog.
In the case of beam type members, it is also possible to set the color of the object according to the section it has defined. Coloring by member can be set with Object color setting dialog in the right bottom corner:
Choose the I-section shape button to use coloring by section. Setting can be applied to local or all tabs as usual. Color by section is not possible when color by layer is selected.
The colors can be defined for each profile in the section administrator. With a double-click on the color cell, it is possible to set any color.
Use coloring by section to make your model more perspicuous.
For more check out our feature preview video:
Scripting is a powerful tool in your hand to create, access, and manipulate flexibly model objects and operations or calculations on them. We know it is not always easy or familiar to the structural engineers, so want to bring the power of scripting closer to you. The Consteel Programming Interfaces cover multilevel scripting options, one of them is the updated internal scripting environment, Descript.
With Superbeam feature, modelling of stiffeners is easy and effective. Multiple options and various shapes are available. Analysis is possible with beam and shell elements either.
Introduction
Are you wondering how a web opening would influence the lateral-torsional buckling resistance of your beam? Check it precisely with a Consteel Superbeam based analysis
It is often required to let services pass through the web of beams. In such cases the common solution is to provide the required number of opening in the webplate. Such an opening can have a circular or rectangular shape, depending on the amount, size and shape of pipes or ventilation or cable trays.
Beams must be designed to have the required against lateral-torsional buckling. The design procedure defined in Eurocode 3 is based on the evaluation of the critical bending moment value which provides the slenderness value, needed to calculate the reduction factor used for the design verification.
There is no analytical formula provided in the code for beams with web openings. Would the neglection of such cutouts cause a miscalculated and unsafe estimation of the critical moment value?
The following demonstration will be made with a 6 meters long simple supported floor beam with a welded section.
Exposed to a linear load of 10 kN/m, the critical bending moment value of the solid web beam can be obtained by performing a Linear Buckling Analysis (LBA) with Consteel.
The obtained critical multiplier for the first buckling mode is 3.00 which means that the actually applied load intensity can be multiplied by 3.00 to reach the critical load level. The corresponding critical moment will have the value of Mcr = 3.0 * 47.18 = 141.54 kNm yielding a slenderness of 1.286 (Mpl,Rd = 234.20 kNm) and a lateral-torsional buckling resistance of 0.394 * 234.20 = 92.27 kNm. With this value the actual utilization ratio is at 51%.
How would this value change if a rectangular opening needs to be cut into the web of this beam?
Analytical formula for critical bending moment
By looking to the analytical formula (ENV 1993-1-1 F.4) to calculate the critical moment of double symmetric sections loaded at eccentric load application point it becomes obvious that the section properties having effect on the moment value are Iz, Iw and It.
An opening in the web has no effect on the first two values and has very little effect on the last one. As it has been already shown in previous article, the presence of such an opening can have effect on the vertical deflection, but as long as the lateral stiffness of a beam is much lower than it’s strong axis stiffness, the vertical deflections can be neglected when the lateral-torsional buckling resistance is calculated. The usual linear buckling analysis (LBA) performed also by Consteel neglects the pre-buckling deformations.
Therefore one can expect that in general web openings can be disregarded when the critical moment value is calculated.
Analysis with Consteel Superbeam
Beam finite elements cannot natively consider the presence of web openings. In order to obtain the precise analysis result, it is possible to use shell finite elements. The new Superbeam functionality comes as a solution in such cases. Instead of using beam finite elements, let’s use shell elements!
Opening can be positioned easily along the web, either as an individual opening or as a group of openings placed equidistantly. The opening can be rectangular, circular or even hexagonal. Circular openings can be completed with an additional circular ring stiffener.
The rectangular opening for this example can be easily defined with this tool. As there is no need to provide any additional opening on the remaining part of the beam, only the first part which includes the opening will be modelled with shell elements and the rest can still be modelled with beam finite elements. Using this technique, the total degrees of freedom of the model can be kept as low as possible. When using Superbeam, the designer has the choice whether to use beam or shell finite elements, as appropriate.
As the result of the new analysis using Consteel Superbeam with a mixed model from shell and beam elements, the obtained value of the first critical multiplier is 2.99 which is virtually identical to the value obtained with the beam with solid web.
This confirms the feeling that in general such a web opening may not significantly impact the lateral-torsional buckling resistance of a simple supported beam.
But this can change when for example the same beam would have fixed end conditions. In this case the region with the opening is close to the position of change of sign of bending moment, plus the weakened bottom T shape is subject to elevated compression combined with an unstiffened edge of the opening which may result in a distortion of the cross-section which causes a stiffness reduction and therefore lower critical load level.
In cases where such section distortion happens, another violation of the basic assumptions of Bernoulli-Navier Hypothesis used also by the 7DOF beam finite element happens.
In order to get the most precise analysis results, the use of shell elements is recommended at locations where the assumptions of a beam finite element are significantly violated. Consteel Superbeam provides to the designer a very efficient tool to analyse such critical parts locally with shell elements and continue to use the well established 7DOF beam elements elsewhere. This provides an optimum compromise between analysis result precision and size of finite elements model and solution time.
Defining cutouts is a useful additional function within the Superbeam feature. They are easy to modify, various shapes and multi-placing option are available. Watch our feature preview for more details.
Superbeam is a new function introduced with Consteel 15. It is developed for dual handling of members. Superbeam makes it possible to examine structural parts with the accuracy of shell elements but with the ease of using a beam element concerning definition, modification and model handling. We prepared a video to show how to convert a 7DOF beam into shell elements and how easy it is to work with it.
It is often required to let services pass through the web of beams. In such cases, the common solution is to provide the required number of openings in the web plate. Such an opening can have a circular or rectangular shape, depending on the amount, size and shape of pipes or ventilation or cable trays.
If the structural engineer has the freedom to position these openings along the beam, where to place them? What would be its effect on the deflection of the beam?
The effect of such openings on the deflection is more important when the length of the opening along the beam is increased. As circular openings are made with equal length and depth, they are usually less critical than rectangular openings.
The following demonstration will be made with a 6 meters long simple supported floor beam with a welded section.
Exposed to a linear load of 10 kN/m, the deflection at mid-span of the solid web beam is 4.6 mm.
Let’s assume that a 250 mm deep rectangular opening with a length of 400 mm needs to be provided on the web, at a distance of 300 mm from the left support.
Traditional analysis with beam finite elements
Consteel 7DOF beam finite elements are very powerful, but cannot consider natively such opening. The usual approach is to build a Vierendeel-type of model, by using additional beam elements with a T shape section „above” and „below” the opening. These additional beam elements are defined eccentrically to the reference line of the solid-web beam.
Eccentricities can be easily defined in Consteel using both smart and traditional link elements.
The deflection with this refined model will be equal to 4.8 mm.
Analysis with Consteel Superbeam
In order to find a more precise analysis result, it is possible to use shell finite elements. The new Superbeam functionality comes as a solution in such cases. Instead of using beam finite elements, let’s use shell elements!
Opening can be positioned easily along the web, either as an individual opening or as a group of openings placed equidistantly. The opening can be rectangular, circular or even hexagonal. Circular openings can be completed with an additional circular ring stiffener.
The rectangular opening for this example can be easily defined with this tool. As there is no need to provide any additional opening on the remaining part of the beam, only the first part which includes the opening will be modelled with shell elements and the rest can still be modelled with beam finite elements. Using this technique, the total degrees of freedom of the model can be kept as low as possible. When using Superbeam, the designer has the choice of whether to use beam or shell finite elements, as appropriate.
As the result of the new analysis using Consteel Superbeam with a mixed model from shell and beam elements, the precise deflection of 5.2 mm can be obtained.
This deflection is higher than the value obtained with the solution using the Vierendeel-type of structure using beam finite elements.
In order to get the most precise analysis results, the use of shell elements is recommended at locations where the assumptions of a beam finite element are significantly violated. Consteel Superbeam provides to the designer a very efficient tool to analyse such critical parts locally with shell elements and continue to use the well established 7DOF beam elements elsewhere. This provides an optimum compromise between analysis result precision and size of finite elements model and solution time.
