A few days ago Josh sent me an email with a question about choosing FEA software. And I realized I've never actually written about it. Time to fix it I guess : ) But since I'm experimenting with videos (let me know what you think!) I've made this one about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq0YFTQuVL8 There are different [...]
I got a really interesting question on my email from Fateme. I wanted to address this issue so many times now, so finally there is a great occasion to do this! In Abaqus, can we review the capability of a structural member? Whether or not it can bear the load like: shear, bending, twisting, axial [...]
I'm preparing materials for another training about stability and I figured I have never written anything about frame stability on the blog! It's high time, so I decided to make a small roundup of methods on calculating buckling length in a frame system. Buckling length - do I need it? Let's start with the obvious: [...]
When I first started working with Finite Element Analysis (FEA) I had a huge problem in understanding what to do. I had a basic engineering knowledge but I simply did not understand what was the order of the steps. Suddenly the software had many "modules" and each was screaming at me that some data is [...]
Recently a friend challenged me to do something in Nastran. At a certain point, I realized that I know too little about nonlinear material types. So as typical me, I stopped a challenge and decided to learn more about material nonlinearity, starting from the simplest models to the most advanced ones when it comes to [...]
Most engineers use a popular approach: connection is either a hinge or a rigid one. This is usually not the case. Just as with many other engineering problems in certain cases we simplify the reality by assuming perfect conditions (i.e. hinge). It is crucial to understand when such assumptions are incorrect, as this may lead [...]
Connection rigidity is important in many structural solutions. However taking it into account requires time, the time we usually don’t have. I share here my views on when connection rigidity is important, and when can it be ignored. […]
Slippage in connections is often neglected in the design of steel structures. I have seen its importance when I was working in the team investigating the structural failure. Just as easily I could learn about it when it was my design under investigation! It is incredible how easy it is to discard slippage from calculations, [...]
This is the third post about the rigidity of the connections in steel structures. Since we already have discussed what a hinge actually is, and how to calculate the connection rigidity, it is time to discuss how this all fits into the static design. It is also important to discuss the impact of connection rigidity [...]
In last post, we have learned how to check if the connection is a real hinge. Today we will treat our joint between steel members as semi-rigid and we will calculate connection rigidity. This is a very useful tool. It can be used to make an even more accurate design if necessary. If you ever [...]
In the first workshop for students in WrUT organized by Enterfea and Dlubal, a problem of rigidity of the connections in steel structures was presented and discussed. I had a pleasure to teach there with Ola Kociołek (CEO of Dlubal Poland). Have you ever wondered how to be sure that your connection is a hinge? [...]
Lateral torsion buckling (LTB) is a very dangerous phenomenon, that can easily cause the collapse of a poorly designed beam. In civil engineering codes, the critical bending moment is crucial in the proper design of bent beams susceptible to LTB, as it allows for slenderness calculation. In “typical” cases everything is ok since code equations [...]