Did you know that you could use Consteel to include in your model a wide range of cold-formed macro sections?

For line member modelling, the cross-section must first be loaded into the model. In Consteel, there are four options to do this, either starting from the Section Administrator or directly during beam or column modelling: From Library, Macro Section, Draw Section, or My Library.

Cold-formed sections can be created using any of these four methods. Standard cold-formed cross-sections can simply be selected from the library. However, if a special cold-formed section is needed, it can be created via Macro Sections, including: RHS, CHS, L profile, Z shape, C shape, Sigma section, Zeta section, Hat section with stiffeners, double C section, double Sigma section, and double user-defined sections.

Macro sections are easy to create because the essential geometric characteristics are predefined, and the parameters can be modified intuitively. It is also possible to add profile stiffeners. Flange and web stiffeners can be configured in various forms, including single and double options. These defined stiffeners are included in the structural evaluation of distortional buckling, according to EN 1993-1-3.

The thickness tolerance category must be specified. This determines the design wall thickness for the section. In practice, macros follow the commonly applied tolerance categories used for coated steel sheet products.

If you want to use a double section, make sure to load into the model first the section that you want to duplicate.

For very special or unique sections, the Draw Section function can be used. This allows users to create fully custom cross-sections when standard or macro shapes are insufficient, by manually sketching the geometry.

Sections can be defined as cold-formed or general thin-walled, which determines how they are analyzed: cold-formed sections have uniform thickness and account for distortional buckling, while general thin-walled sections allow varied thicknesses and closed shapes, typically for welded or fabricated profiles.

This approach is especially useful for modelling unique shapes, prototypes, or as-built sections, giving full control over every segment to accurately capture geometries that standard libraries or macros cannot reproduce.

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Did you know that you could use Consteel to perform structural analysis at room and elevated temperatures as part of design process for fire resistance?

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Did you know that you could use Consteel to calculate the elastic critical moment of a member subject to arbitrary loading and boundary conditions?

Calculating the elastic critical moment can quickly become difficult when beams have tapering, unusual restraints, or complex loads. Consteel simplifies the process and gives a quick, accurate result for any situation.

The elastic critical moment for lateral-torsional buckling is the theoretical bending moment at which a beam, free to sway sideways and twist, becomes unstable and buckles elastically, before yielding, representing the absolute upper limit of elastic stability for beam bending. It depends on: cross-section stiffness properties (I_z, I_w), material (E, G), span / buckling length, restraint to lateral displacement and to warping at the restraints, and on the shape of the moment diagram (via factors C₁, C₂, C₃).

For doubly symmetric I- or H-sections with constant cross-section, uniform bending, and classical boundary conditions, the elastic critical moment M_cr can be calculated using the analytical formula:

However, for arbitrary support conditions and loading scenarios, the calculation becomes significantly more complex, and the classical formula is no longer applicable. In such cases, specialized software such as LTBeam or Consteel is required.

Let’s consider a tapered, welded I-section with pinned supports at both ends and two intermediate restraints, one at the bottom flange and one at the top flange. In addition to the uniform distributed load, a bending moment is applied at one end of the beam.

By performing a buckling analysis in the Analysis tab, the buckling shapes and the critical load factor (αcr​) can be obtained. The elastic critical bending moment of the beam can be then calculated by multiplying the critical load factor by the maximum bending moment.

Consteel uses seven-degree-of-freedom finite element that fully accounts for tapering effects, torsion, and warping, key components in accurately capturing the true 3D behaviour of steel members. The seventh degree of freedom represents cross-sectional warping, which becomes visible in the buckling shape as the flanges move out of the plane of the cross-section.

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Did you know that you could use Consteel to design simple supported, continuous and over-lapped purlins systems, considering shear and rotational stiffness of attached roof sheeting?

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Did you know that you could use Consteel to determine the critical temperature of a steel beam protected against fire with intumescent painting?

To perform this calculation, you first need to create a Fire load group and include at least one fire load case.

For critical temperature determination, the analysis must be set to room temperature material properties, because the objective is to find the exact temperature at which the steel section can no longer resist the applied loads while the intumescent coating reacts.

The key step is to assign reactive fire protection to the beam. This activates Consteel’s intumescent coating model, which calculates the temperature at which the reduced cross-section resistance equals the internal forces from the applied load combination. The software accounts for tension, compression, bending, and combined loading using Eurocode reduction factors, including interaction checks for complex load scenarios.

Results are available in the Predesign Parameters, where the critical temperature is visualized per member. You can also inspect detailed information in the Section Module, including the applied fire curve, the steel temperature profile, and the achieved versus required fire resistance.

Additionally, Consteel can optionally determine the required thickness of the intumescent coating from product tables based on the calculated critical temperature, considering the environmental exposure and structural element type.

After completing the fire design, you can also include an intumescent paint design in the documentation. This report can list each cross-section selected for painting, along with the section name, fire protection surface to be painted, A/V ratio, and the critical temperature for each member.

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Did you know that you could use Consteel to design a hot-rolled crane beam considering the effect of code-prescribed load eccentricities?

Designing crane beams often involves more than simply applying vertical loads. Code-prescribed eccentricities, arising from rail positioning, wheel load distribution, and horizontal forces, can significantly influence internal forces and stability checks.

In Consteel, you can define three types of overhead traveling crane loads. The Standard option is fully based on EN 1991-3, following the code provisions directly. With Standard load based, you specify the standard-defined wheel loads, and Consteel automatically creates the corresponding load groups for you. The User defined option gives you full control, letting you input the wheel loads individually for each wheel, which is useful if your crane has a non-standard configuration.

Once you select the type of crane load, you set the crane’s geometry, loading, and driving properties according to the chosen method. This includes parameters such as the crane span, trolley distances, number of axes, self-weight of the bridge and trolley, elevated load, number of driven wheels, drive system, friction factor, and guiding device.

For Standard and Standard load based options, Consteel calculates the wheel loads automatically and generates the load groups, while the User defined option lets you input each wheel load manually. The calculated wheel loads can be reviewed for each load case, helping you ensure that the crane beam design reflects the actual forces according to the selected standard or custom configuration.

A key aspect of this method is that the eccentricity of the wheel loads is included directly in the analysis. This means that the internal forces along the beam account for the positioning and distribution of the loads.

By carefully defining the crane geometry, load magnitudes, and driving properties, the resulting bending moments and shear forces correspond closely to the real crane configuration, allowing for a reliable assessment of the hot-rolled crane beam under the prescribed loads.

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Warehouse building example for Overall Imperfection Method in Consteel

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Example hall model for trying the smart link feautre in Consteel

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Example model for trying the smart link feature in Consteel

Watch our user guide about How to use the smart link feature to learn more.

Example model for calculate critical temperature in Consteel

Watch our user guide about How to use the critical temperature feature to learn more.