Material

AQB
Design of Cross Sections
SOFiSTiK 2016
AQB
Design of Cross Sections
AQB Manual, Version 2016-11

Software Version SOFiSTiK 2016
Copyright 2015 by SOFiSTiK AG, Oberschleissheim, Germany.
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SOFiSTiK reserves the right to modify or to release new editions of this manual.
The manual and the program have been thoroughly checked for errors. However, SOFiSTiK
does not claim that either one is completely error free. Errors and omissions are corrected as
soon as they are detected.
The user of the program is solely responsible for the applications. We strongly encourage the
user to test the correctness of all calculations at least by random sampling.
Front Cover
Project: MILANEO, Stuttgart, Germany | Client: Bayerische Hausbau and ECE | Architect: RKW Rhode Kellermann Wawrowsky
| Structural Engineering for Bayerische Hausbau: Boll und Partner | Photo: Dirk Mnzner
Contents | AQB
Contents
Contents i
1 Task Description 1-1
2 Theoretical Principles 2-1

2.1 Internal Forces and Cross Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
2.1.1 Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
2.1.2 Internal Forces and Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
2.1.3 Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
2.2 Stress Analysis by the Theory of Elasticity . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
2.2.1 Method of Stress Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
2.2.2 Partial Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
2.2.3 Limit Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
2.3 Design of Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
2.3.1 Section Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
2.3.2 Utilisation Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
2.3.3 Buckling Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
2.3.4 Special Treatment of EN 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12
2.4 Secondary Stresses (Creep and Construction Stages) . . . 2-12
2.4.1 Shrinkage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
2.4.2 Creep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
2.4.3 Relaxation of Tendons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
2.4.4 Numerical Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
2.5 Design of Reinforced Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
2.6 Determination of the Required Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . 2-20
2.6.1 Longitudinal Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
2.6.2 Min. Reinforcement of the Statically Required
Cross Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
2.6.3 Divided Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
2.6.4 Unreinforced Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
2.6.5 Tendons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
2.7 Shear Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25
2.7.1 Shear Design according to Design Codes . . . . . . 2-28
2.7.2 Shear Checks in Circular Cross Sections . . . . . . 2-30
2.8 Stress Checks with Non-linear Material Behaviour . . . . . . 2-30
SOFiSTiK 2016 i
AQB | Contents
2.8.1 General Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30

2.8.2 Non effective plates (Sections of Class 4) . . . . . . 2-31
2.8.3 Strain Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-31
2.8.4 Stress Range of the Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . 2-32
2.8.5 Crack Width Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32
2.8.6 Other Checks for Crack Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-34
2.8.7 Determination of Non-linear Stiffnesses . . . . . . . 2-35
2.8.8 Interaction between Shear and Axial Stresses . . . 2-39
2.9 Fatigue Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-41
2.9.1 General Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-41
2.9.2 Fatigue according to EN 1992 / DIN 1045-1 . . . . 2-41
2.9.3 Fatigue according to DIN 15018 / DS 804 . . . . . 2-43
2.10 Special Effects of Design according to DIN . . . . . . . . . . . 2-43
2.10.1 Shear Checks According to DIN 4227 Zone a . . . 2-43
2.10.2 Shear Checks According to DIN 4227 Zone b . . . 2-44
2.10.3 Crack Width according to DIN 4227 Appendix A1 . 2-45
2.10.4 Shear Design according to DIN 1045 (1988) . . . . 2-45
2.10.5 Shear Design according DIN 1045-1 (2001) . . . . 2-46
2.11 Special Effects of Design according OENORM . . . . . . . . 2-47
2.11.1 Concrete Shear Design according to old OeNORM 2-47
2.11.2 Design according to OENORM B 4700 . . . . . . . . 2-47
2.12 Design according to SIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-48
2.13 Design according to French BAEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49
2.14 Design according to Italian Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49
2.15 Design according to Spanish EHE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-49
2.16 Design according to Danish DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
2.17 Design according to Swedish BBK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
2.18 Design according to British Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-50
2.19 Design according ACI / AASHTO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-53
2.20 Design according to Russian SNIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-55
2.20.1 Moment and Normal Force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-55
2.20.2 Shear and Torsion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-55
2.20.3 Serviceability and Crack Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-57
2.21 Design according to Japanese Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-57
2.22 Design according to Indian Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-58
2.23 Design according to Australian Standards . . . . . . . . . . . 2-60
3 Description of Input 3-1

3.1 Input Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
3.2 Input Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
3.3 Overview of the Design Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
3.4 Important changes to the Version 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
3.5 NORM Default Design Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
ii SOFiSTiK 2016
Contents | AQB
3.6 CTRL Controlling the Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25

3.6.1 Forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
3.6.2 Analysis Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
3.7 BEAM Selection of the Elements to be Designed . . . . . 3-32
3.7.1 External sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-35
3.7.2 Construction stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-36
3.7.3 Specification of reinforcements . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
3.8 TEND Tendons (AQBS only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
3.9 LC Selection of the Load Case to be Designed . . . . . . . 3-42
3.10 S Internal Forces and Moments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-47
3.11 COMB Definition of Load Case Combinations . . . . . . . . 3-49
3.12 EIGE Determination of Internal Stresses (AQBS only) . . 3-56
3.13 STRE Linear Stresses and Plastic Forces . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
3.13.1 Shear Design- STRE UL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-66
3.13.2 Minimum Reinforcement - STRE RL . . . . . . . . . 3-67
3.14 REIN Specification for Determining Reinforcement . . . . 3-68
3.15 DESI Reinforced Concrete Design, Bending, Axial Force 3-73
3.16 NSTR Non-linear Stress and Strain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-79
3.16.1 Design for Structural Steelwork (DIN 18800, EN
1993) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-81
3.16.2 Design for Reinforced Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-82
3.16.3 Iteration Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-85
3.16.4 Fatigue / Stress Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-86
3.17 ECHO Control of the Extent of Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-88
3.17.1 Output masks) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-93
SOFiSTiK 2016 iii

AQB | Contents
iv SOFiSTiK 2016
Task Description | AQB
1 Task Description
AQB is used for stress analysis and design of cross sections created with AQUA.
The enhanced version AQBS allows the consideration of the special features of
prestressed concrete and composite structures (prestressing tendons, imposed
secondary stresses, creep and shrinkage). This manual is valid for both ver-
sions. The optional features which are operative only in AQBS are identified.
The forces and the prestressing tendons can be defined directly or be imported
from the database for beam, truss or cable elements. A whole series of design
tasks can be carried out with the selected forces. These are:
1. Creep and shrinkage analysis (AQBS only)

AQBS can examine creep and shrinkage in up to 99 creep intervals. Dif-
ferent creep characteristics can be defined for each material, so that sub-
sequently added cross section parts can be considered too. The internal
forces due to creep are stored in the database and they are taken into ac-
count in later creep stages or stress determinations.
2. Determination of the maximum stresses in the cross section according to
the theory of elasticity.
AQB can perform stress checks of any thick-walled or thin-walled cross
section, including shear stresses and warping torsion in accordance with a
great variety of codes for steel, timber, or prestressed concrete. Different
stress limits can be considered for different materials in the same cross
section.
3. Determination of the required reinforcement or internal safety factor for un-
reinforced, reinforced or prestressed concrete cross sections.
AQB can design reinforced or prestressed concrete cross sections with an
optimised distribution of the reinforcement for axial force and biaxial bend-
ing. International codes can be taken into consideration. A shear design
can be carried out following the bending design.
4. Determination of the maximum stresses and actual stiffnesses for the de-
fined material law.
AQBS determines stress and strain distributions based on the material be-
haviour. This makes it possible to perform controls on crack width limits,
reinforcement stress range, foundation pressures, and elastic-plastic de-
sign analysis. Also effective stiffnesses can be determined with that for a
non-linear static calculation (plastic-plastic).
Computed stresses, reinforcement and stiffnesses can be stored back in the
SOFiSTiK 2016 1-1

AQB | Task Description
database, and they can both be graphically represented or be addressed by

other modules.
The functions for design and stiffness determination are also integrated into
STAR2 in a simplified form. For this reason, tasks (3) and (4) can be also carried
out directly with STAR2. This makes it possible to do a static design taking the
material behaviour into account. When this procedure is used, however, only
one design mode is possible for the entire structure. If columns and girders
are to be designed with different parameters, one can make an iteration using
the modules STAR2 and AQB by means of the command procedure PS (see
general manual SOFiSTiK: FEA / STRUCTURAL Installation and Basics).
The small version of AQB is included in the general SOFiSTiK-Licence. It allows

for a reduced number of functions only. These are:
- Generally only uniaxial bending but for circular sections along the main bend-
ing direction (piles)
- Stress checks for all cross sections
- Elastic-plastic analyses (STRE E) for rectangular, circular sections and struc-
tural steel shapes
- Uniaxial reinforced concrete design for rectangles and T-beams and for cir-
cular/annular sections.
1-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

Theoretical Principles | AQB
2 Theoretical Principles
2.1 Internal Forces and Cross Section

2.1.1 Coordinate System
Cross sections are described according to DIN 1080 in the local y-z coordinate
system of the beam. Here the x-axis points in the longitudinal direction of the
bar. The observer is looking at the positive boundary of the section (from the end
of the bar to the beginning). For the description of the forces and moments and
the support conditions, three points along the beam have to be distinguished
within a section: Beam axis, center of gravity and shear center. For more details
see the manual for AQUA.
S
M
Figure 2.1: Coordinate system
2.1.2 Internal Forces and Moments

The internal forces and moments are longitudinal or transverse forces referring
to the gravity centre and the centre of shear of the gross section of the total
cross section, since these points are used for all geometrical relations of the
centrobaric axis to the global coordinate system. In special cases, one can
select any other point in the cross section however.
For design purposes, the internal forces and moments are normally modified as
follows.
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-1

AQB | Theoretical Principles
The longitudinal and transverse forces are converted to axial and shear forces.
The torsional moment is dismantled in a Saint-Venant part and a secondary part
from warping torsion.
Within the defined support boundary, moments are smoothed under the as-
sumption of a uniform surface pressure (parabolic). The smoothing is done for
each side of the beam, and the shear force at the end of the beam is set to zero.
If the cross section is located within a haunch, the shear stress distribution will
change considerably, however the practical design rules will account for that by
changing the shear force in accordance with the following formula:
M
V = V (tn tn b ) (2.1)
D
For D other values like the lever arm of the inner forces are possible. As the
effect may be favourable or unfavourable, it might be difficult to choose correct
values. However, the user may limit the size of the inclinations. If the cross
section is in a bend the mean values of the inclinations are used.
If a representative shear section or a face has been defined for the beam, the
shear forces inside the support region are assumed to be decreasing linearly
towards the beginning or the end of the beam. No calculation will take place of
the possibly required suspension reinforcement.

V = Vm (2.2)

The increase of the internal forces and moments of thin cross sections accord-
ing to DIN 1045 17.2.1. (6) is carried out only for My and N and only for SREC
and SCIR cross sections.
All options can be deactivated by the record CTRL.
2.1.3 Cross Sections

The static properties of a cross section are calculated by AQUA. The gross static
properties of the effective cross section and the area of the total cross section
are stored in the database for the static analysis.
Construction methods such as those of prestressed concrete or composite

structures are dominated by the creation of the cross section in time stages.
The loads of the individual load cases act upon different cross sections with
varying location of the gravity centre.
AQUA allows therefore the definition of up to 9 construction stages which may

have arbitrary numbers of construction or prestressing stages assigned. AQB
2-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

itself allows for 30 construction-stages per cross section (e.g. gross, net, ideal).
Each load case can be assigned one of these sections. This yields up to 31
different stress distributions for the cross section.
For stress analysis, the contributions of all cross section elements with the same
material number are combined into one common stress level. Through integra-
tion, one obtains the so-called partial internal forces and moments which refer
to the partial cross section. As partial cross section is understood here the total
gross area of all cross section elements with common material number. Since
the cross section may also contain reductional areas of prestressing tendons,
these partial internal forces and moments are not values in equilibrium, but aux-
iliary values to describe the stress state in the cross section.
Different stress distributions arise in the various parts of the cross section, due to
the progress of construction or to creep and shrinkage. These too are compiled
into internal forces and moments, they are designated as secondary internal
forces and moments, and they are taken into consideration in stress analysis.
By cross sections with ineffective parts, AQUA stores the static properties of the
effective as well as of the total cross section. STAR2 and AQB use the effective
cross section properties, yet employing the area of the total cross section, not
only for evaluating the dead weight correctly, but also to account for the common
case in which the sole axial force comes from prestressing.
If other load cases with substantial axial force come along, it may become nec-
essary to switch over to the effective areas, or to assign a different material
number to the ineffective parts.
The determination of the secondary stresses also makes it possible to create

a differential load case for the stresses between these sections for a specific
combination of load cases (e.g. permanent loads at the time of completion of
the cross section) and save this in the database. This allows an almost unlimited
number of possible cross section systems.
2.2 Stress Analysis by the Theory of Elasticity

2.2.1 Method of Stress Analysis
The normal stresses on the cross section under a given load are computed by
the expanded Swain formula.
N My z + Mz yz Mz y + My yz Mb
= + 2
z 2
y (2.3)
A y z yz y z yz CM
The edge stresses (extreme values for bending about the principal axes) and
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-3

the corner stresses are shown separately here.
The shear stresses are determined from the unit shear stresses calculated in
AQUA. Using the normal and the shear stresses and taking into consideration
the lateral stresses y and z , one can calculate the principal stresses and the
von Mises stresses:

= 0.5( + y ) + 0.25( y )2 + 2 (2.4)

= 0.5( + y 0.25( y )2 + 2 (2.5)

= 2 + 3 2 (2.6)
For an accurate check, one must analyse the entire cross section with its real
geometry and all particular points, because the location of the most adverse
combination is not known a priori, especially in case of general cross sections.
AQB though examines the stresses at a few selected points (shear sections,
stress points and selected polygon points). The user should take care of mean-
ingful selections!
2.2.2 Partial Cross Sections

Partial internal forces and moments are determined in case of partial cross sec-
tions or compo-site cross sections. These are derived by the following calcula-
tions:
1. The given internal forces and moments are transformed from the gravity
centre of the gross section to that of the construction stage cross section.
NCS = Nb (2.7)
MyCS = Myb Nb (zsCS zsb ) (2.8)
MzCS = Mzb Nb (ysCS ysb ) (2.9)
2. The strain level of the total cross section (Bernoulli hypothesis) derives from
these internal forces and moments and the corresponding static properties
of the cross section. These values are used for computing the stress incre-
ment in the prestressing tendons.
2-4 SOFiSTiK 2016

3. For any particular partial cross section of a material, all components of

the various loads and secondary stresses are compiled, with reference to
the centroid of the partial cross section, into partial section forces which
describe a planar stress distribution in the partial cross section.

N MyCS MzCS
CS
Nt = At + (zst zsCS ) (yst ysCS ) (2.10)
ACS yCS zCS
MyCS
Myt = yt (2.11)
yCS
MzCS
Mzt = zt (2.12)
zCS
4. These partial internal forces and moments are added together for all con-
struction stages sections and possible secondary stresses.
5. The shear forces and torsional moments are increased proportionally to
ACS /At , since a more precise distribution is extremely complicated.
2.2.3 Limit Stresses

The computed stresses can be examined for limit values; a value exceeding the
limit is identified in the printout with * after the stress. All standard values (e.g.
in steel-, timber- or prestressed concrete construction) can be invoked as limit
stresses. The limit stresses are checked separately for each material.
Depending on the declaration of the allowable stress type, additional specialities

of the particular codes can be taken into consideration too:
Check of the slenderness ratio c/t for steel plates according to the section
classes 2 or 3 of EN 1993 or other design codes
Reduction of the axial force components by DIN 1052 The combined check
for axial force and bending moment components is carried out by reduction
of the axial force components and check of the allowable stress for bending.
In analog mode the check of the torsion occurs at the edge with correspond-
ingly raised shear stresses from shear force.
Differentiation between compression zone and pre-compressed tension
zone.
Reduction of the prestress components in the pre-compressed compression
zone in accordance with DIN 4227 Sec. 15.3.
Shear design under ultimate loads in accordance with Zone a, DIN 4227
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-5

Check for the decompression limit state (e.g. according to EC 2, DIN 1045-1)
Here it is verified that the concrete cross section has only compressive stress
at the edge of the precompressed tension zone due to prestress for the de-
terminant action combination.
The decompression check is done with the input SPAN E STYP VH. The
input STYP VH sets here the permissible tensile stressesin the concrete to
0.00. The check is filled, if the resistance factors are kept ( 1.0) table:
Maximum Degree of Utilization.
AQB determines the check edge from the centre of gravity of all tendons. In
the case of upper and lower tendons the check has to be done graphically.
The stresses which are determinant for the decompression check can be
checked graphically with the WING input BEAM TYPE DECO or in WinGRAF
with Design Stress of the material Decompression stress.
2.3 Design of Sections

2.3.1 Section Classes
Most newer design codes for structural steel and composite structures are based
on a elastic-plastic or plastic-plastic design. To achieve this the sections are
subdivided into four classes as follows:
Sections of class 1
are suitable for plastic hinges and a non-linear analysis with distributed yield
areas (Analysis option NSTR) and a detailed interaction of shear and normal
stress.
Sections of class 2
have limited deformation capacities. The analysis may be done according to
linear theory but the design may be done up to ultimate plastic limits.
Sections of class 3a
have no allowance for yielding, i.e. the linear stresses are limited. Thus
analysis and design are according linear theory.
Sections of class 3b
are formal in class 4 but due to small stresses these sections may be treated
as in class 3.
Sections of class 4
due to buckling of the plates, some parts of the section have to be treated as
not effective for normal stress, which has to be accounted for either during
the definition of the section or will be taken into account automatically within
a nonlinear analysis.
2-6 SOFiSTiK 2016

The separation between the classes is rule by a width-to-thickness ratio c/t, de-
fined in tables of the design codes. As the section class is not only depending
on the stresses but also on the material strength, it is of little use to specify a
single class for a complete section, and such a specification or evaluation of a
section class in AQUA is not provided.
The design in AQB reverts the viewing direction of the design to the consistent
way and has considerable advantages for the checking and especially for the
utilisation factors during planning. AQB does not check that all sections are in
class X, but it computes that the utilisation of the critical limit of c/t is less than the
stress dependent required limit value. This allows also to use slender elements
within a plastic design or nonlinear analysis, if the stresses at these elements
are sufficiently small.
Level
NSTR
STRE E
STRE C
1.0
c/t-lim
(1) (2) (3) (4a) (4b) (SCL)
Figure 2.2: Section classes
The check within AQB is done with the following possible variants:
Design for stresses only, checking the c/t ratio according to sectional class
1+2+3+4a and low utilisation of sections of class 4a (STRE E F)
Design for stresses for section class 3, and if the section is classified in 1 or
2 a design for sectional capacities with interactions according to Eurocode.
(STRE C)
Non linear design with hardening effects for sections of class 1 and 2.
(NSTR)
Design for stresses for sections of class 1-4 with a nonlinear analysis, where
the non effective parts of the plates in class 4 are deactivated automati-
cally.(NSTR)
For the design of sections of class 4 there are thus several possibilities:
For small stresses load cases not relevant for stability may use increased
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-7

c/t-limits (EN 1993-1-1 5.5.2 (9))

Defining NEFF areas in AQUA may create the effective sections directly.
Using automatic iterative evaluation of non effective parts with (NSTR)
Due to the shortening of the c-values in AQUA by the NEFF definitions those
sections are now classified as sections of class 1 to 3. Thus we encounter the
question if those reduced effective sections may include yielding. EN 1993-1-1
describes in Chapter 6.2.1 (4) how to perform an elastic stress check based on
effective sectional values. But then we have several hints:
Chapter 6.2.9.3 (1) requires only, that the stress should not exceed the yield
stress.
Chapter 6.2.9.3 (2) defines a simplified check based on the interaction with
the elastic sectional moduli We .
Chapter 6.2.2.4 describes how a section with a web in class 3 may be con-
verted to class 2 with the introduction of non effective areas.
As a nonlinear analysis including yield especially for the tensile parts but without
hardening does not exceed the yield stress, this method is within the require-
ments of the first bullet. Chapter 4.6 on EN 1993-1-5 describes the simplified
check according to 6.2.9.3 (2) as general rule, but it says also in chapter 4.2.
(2): "Effective areas should be determined on the basis of the linear strain dis-
tributions with the attainment of yield strain in the mid of the compression plate."
2.3.2 Utilisation Levels

For an effective design the ultimate bearing capacity is checked by utilisation
levels of the total forces. The interaction of the individual components is given
on a simplified way in the design codes and in general there are clauses to
use modified schemes if appropriate. Very often some parts of the section are
reserved for a certain force component. An other severe drawback is the non
linearity of the interaction utilisation levels, i.e.
the utilisation of a combined action may be lower than that of the largest
component
with half of the ultimate loading the utilisation value may be anything below
1.0, e.g. 0.25 or 0.75 for a quadratic expression
Utilisations larger than 1.0 cannot be treated at all in many equations
AQB provides thus five types of interaction, the user may select. All interaction
formulas try to calculate a utilisation level which is as close as possible linear,
i.e. giving an indication for the possible load factor. For an utilisation level of 1.0
2-8 SOFiSTiK 2016

the expressions are equivalent.
the utilisation of the yield stress by the elastic stresses (STRE E):
This is the square root of the yield criterion of all effects according EN 1993-
1-1 6.2.1 (5), Eq.6.1.
the summation of all individual utilisation levels (STRE B):
This is equivalent to EN 1993-1-1 6.2.1 (7), Eq.6.2, however the contributions
of transverse shear and torsion will be added separately and not included in
the utilisation of the moments.
the interaction according the consecutive equations of the Eurocode (STRE
C):
The shear force will be included in the utilisation of the moments, but the
axial force and the torsion will be added separately.
an evaluation of a plastic interaction (NSTR KSV PLD):
This method is not yet suitable for an iteration, but will only provide one point
on the interaction surface.
a non linear analysis (NSTR KSV ULD):
This method does not only include finite strains and a flow rule, but accounts
also for hardening effects, which is allowed according EN 1993-1-5 Appendix
C.6.
Some Remarks for the applied linearisation:
Torsion is treated in EN 1993-1-1 6.2.7 in a very simplified way and not use-
able for cranes for example. Thus the given reductions of the shear bear-
ing capacity of equations 6.25 to 6.28 are not generally applicable. While
a plastic deformation will reduce the effects of warping torsion, this is not
accounted for in the utilisation. For a nonlinear analysis, there will be no iter-
ation for equilibrium, but the warping deformation is accounted for in the flow
rule. Primary and secondary torsion as well as the warping moments will be
added by their three contributions:
Tt,Ed T,Ed Mb,Ed
= (N, Vy , Vz , My , Mz ) + + + (2.13)
Tt,Rd T,Rd Mb,Rd
If V/Vrd > 0.5, the plastic moments and normal forces will be reduced by
the general factor of equation 6.29 / 6.45 in both directions derived from the
utilisation of the shear force. The reduction of the normal force is obtained
from the remaining available sectional area. As the provision of EN 1993-1-
1 in equation 6.38 for the web areas is not applicable in general, does not
match the equation 6.18 (3) and the transverse shear of columns is of minor
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-9

importance, we use always the equation 6.18.

p
= (2 V/ V p,d 1)2 ; = A / A = 3 Vp / Np 0.5 (2.14)
Mred = Mp,d (1 ) (2.15)
Nred = Np (1 ) (2.16)
The utilisation is not taken less than those of the included shear force.
Then the interaction between normal force and bending moment is estab-
lished. The equations 6.36/6.38 are used in a linearized form avoiding very
small or even negative utilisation factors:
M M
= (1 0.5)/ (1 n) < 1 (2.17)
Mn Mred
M N
(1 0.5) + < 1 (2.18)
Mred Np
or (transverse bending of double-T shape, Eq. 6.38)

M M
= < 1 (2.19)
1 ((n )/ (1 ))2

Mn Mred
M (1 )2 N
+ < 1 (2.20)
Mred (n + 1 2) Np
or (tube, analytical instead of empirical formulas of Eurocode, which differ

between Version 2004 and 2010 by a factor of 1.04.)
n

Mn = Mred cos (2.21)
2
In the last step the bi-axial bending will be considered via an interaction
based on variable exponents and (given for rectangular solid or hollow,
tubes or double T-shapes). Similar to the rules above the formula is slightly
rewritten:

My Mz N Mb,Ed

(1)
(1 n) + (1 n)(1) + + < 1 (2.22)
My,red Mz,red Np Mb,Rd
But as this utilisation factor is not taken larger than the value of the linear
2-10 SOFiSTiK 2016

combination of Eq. 6.2, it is not relevant in case of medium to higher utilisa-

tion of the normal force capacity. In case of a small utilisation of the normal
force capacity the obtained value may be less than the single uniaxial bend-
ing utilisation which is thus taken as lower limit for this value.
According to DIN 18800 (755) and OEN 4300 it is required to limit the plastic
moments to the 1.25-time value of the elastic limiting moments. This will be ac-
counted for automatically if these design codes have been selected. If the user
does not want to become this effective (continuous beam with constant section,
without buckling or second order theory) he may either choose a different design
code or by assigning the buckling curve 0 to those sections.
The utilisation of the sectional class is obtained in AQB as follows: For very low
stresses, the extended limit value for section class 4 is applicable, which is quite
large, thus the utilisation level is low. With increasing stresses the limit value
becomes smaller and when the yield stress is reached, the limit is on the value
for section class 3 (blue line in Fig. 2.2). Beyond that the geometric utilisation
ratios are applicable, i.e. the utilisation ratio for section class 3 will raise with
a jump to a value above 1.0 (Fig. 2.3). Then NSTR has to be used analyze a
section with non effective parts.
Level
SCL 3
1.0 SCL 2
SCL 1
s
fy
Figure 2.3: Utilization level of section classes
2.3.3 Buckling Limit

The case of buckling will occur if an element will suffer from large forces due to
small deformations induced by geometric non-linear effects. This will limit the
ultimate load for slender structures.
The design for stability can be done in either of two ways. The most common
checks are done based on a single representative beam. The problem which
persists is the determination of the buckling length. The other way is to perform
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-11

a global analysis using second order theory and suitable imperfections. This is
the general target of SOFiSTiK-Software. However there are two exceptions to
this general concept:
The design for axially compressed beams in accordance with DIN 18800 Part 2
/ EN 1993 is also included under the stress design in AQB, since it is normally
used for lateral buckling perpendicular to the plane of the structure and for single
truss braces. This requires however the explicit definition of the buckling length
coefficient.
The design is performed by means of a degree of utilization of the buckling load.
N
= 1 (2.23)
( Nps )
The design for the lateral torsional buckling is only possible based on a repre-
sentative beam and is performed by a separate software module BDK.
2.3.4 Special Treatment of EN 1999

For Aluminum all reductions due to heat affected zones (HAZ) according to table
3.2b/c have to be defined by separate material numbers. Then the reduction
of the effective thickness to account for local buckling according to paragraph
6.1.5. are independent from the stresses and thus should be performed with the
definition of the section within in AQUA. Equally the coefficient of paragraph
6.1.4.3 (3) has to be defined via the distances within AQUA.
Eurocode EN 1999 uses in chapter 6.2.1 a unified design check based on ad-
missible stresses and a national dependent combination constant C, increasing
the admissible yield stress. This is comparable to a sectional check for sections
of class 3 or 4 ( = 1.0). The shape factor , which is described with great
details can be defined as plastic moments in AQUA so far.
2.4 Secondary Stresses (Creep and Construction Stages)

Secondary stresses may be induced by variant causes. The resultant of those
stresses are always zero for the total section. Possible causes are.
Shrinkage
Creep
Relaxation of tendons
non-uniform temperature
induced stresses from construction stages
2-12 SOFiSTiK 2016

All effects have to be dealed as a first step at the section itself, which is still
a complex task. The values needed are the acting stresses, the age of the
concrete, the humidity, the temperature, the class of cement etc. etc. Results
are strains and stresses for the section.
The deformations (strain and curvature loads) will yield in a second step the
forces if the structure is constrained (statically indeterminate), which change
the acting stress. If this effect is considerable, the user has to subdivide the
total analysis in several creep intervals. If the number of steps is increased the
results will converge to the exact solution, however depending on the quality of
the input parameters of course.
If the characteristic of the development of stresses in time is known, it is possible

to enhance the precision of this explicit integration scheme by the introduction
of a relaxation coefficients. This value (0.5 to 1.0) accounts for the loss of the
concrete stress in time due to the reduction of the constraining forces and must
not be mixed up with the relaxation of the tendons themselves.
For very simple cases of single sections it might be sufficient to reduce the acting
force by the same factor which is given by the loss of prestress.
The results are stores as load cases. Analyses can therefore be carried out with
up to 999 intervals.
There are some design code variants implemented. The selection is in general
by the defined material. The most important general solutions are selectable
explicitly via CTRL EIGE. To allow the precise control the class of cement has
to be specified with the concrete material. (S = Slow, N = Normal, R = Rapid
hardening) (See also input Record EIGE)
SUM Summation approach according Ruesch with delayed elasticity

(old DIN 4227, as well as Japanese and Chinese design codes, type
of cement in consistency classes)
EN10 Eurocode 2010
MC90 CEB model code 90
MC10 CEB model code 2010
Australian design code AS 5100
Brasilian design code NBR 6118
Indian Road Congress IRC 18 (single creep stage only)
The influence of the temperature has to be distinguished between a thermal

treating before the current creep step or a temperature during the creep process.
For the first case it is only the effective age at the beginning of a creep step, in
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-13

the second case creep and shrinkage coefficients ant the time function will also
change. For the latter case formulas are given in the Model Code 2010. In all
other cases, the effective age is calculated including the temperature, but the
user has to provide explicit values for the correct coefficients.
To account for individual modifications of the creep law, it is possible to define

coefficients with MEXT EIGE in AQUA, which work like non official "boxed val-
ues" for the formulas of appendix B of EN 1992-1.
2.4.1 Shrinkage
Shrinkage is the decrease in volume of concrete caused by the drying pro-
cess. Without reinforcement and outer constraints the stresses induced are
caused from the different speed on the outside and interior of thick construc-
tions. Reinforcement will hamper the deformation and thus create additional
tensile stresses. More reinforcement will create more stress.
With introduction of the Eurocode/CEB 2010 the shrinkage is now divided in

a drying contraction and a shrinkage effect. AQB uses four "boxed values"
c1 ,c2 and cd1 ,cd2 as follows:
cs (t) = c (t) + cd (t, ts ) (2.24a)

c (t) = c, c (t) (2.24b)
cd (t, ts ) = cd,0 (cm ) kh ds (t, ts ) (2.24c)
c, = c1 2.5 (ck 10) 106 (2.25a)

cm

cd,0 (cm ) = cd1 0.85 (220 + 110ds1 ) ep ds 106 RH
10
(2.25b)
p
c (t, t0 ) = ep c2 0.2 t0 / t1 ep c2 0.2 t/ t1 (2.25c)
v
u t ts
; (MC 2010)

u

t h 2
350 1000
+ t ts

ds (t, ts ) = (2.25d)
t ts
; (EN 2010)

t ts + cd2 0.04 h30

3
1.55 1 RH

; 40% RH < s 99%
100
RH = (2.25e)

25 ; RH 99% s
2-14 SOFiSTiK 2016

While the creep effects start with the loading, the shrinkage will start from the
beginning and the drying with the end of the curing. The characteristic thickness
is defined in AQUA either explicitly or via the expression 2A/U. The factor 0.85
has been defined only for the Eurocode, not with the MC 2010. The Eurocode
defines also that there is no drying if the humidity is 100 %.
The value of the total shrinkage is given in tables or maps in the respective
design codes (e.g. DIN 4227 Table 7 for the matrix of dry / wet against thick
/ thin). Some provide also time dependent coefficients (e.g. Pict. 3 in DIN
4227), but very often the time function for creep and shrinkage is assumed to be
equal.
2.4.2 Creep
The creep deformation has the principal form of:
b
= t (2.26)
Eb
The definition of is always related to the value of the elasticity modulus. While
most analyses refer to the standard secant modulus (e.g. DIN 4227 Table 6), EN
1992 and DIN 1045-1 refer to the tangent value after 28 days. AQB will factorize
therefore the creep coefficients to match the given Eb reference.
For concrete the creep coefficient is always for compressive stresses. There
is little information about the behaviour for tensile stresses. AQB will reduce
the creep coefficient depending on the tensile stress at the centre of the partial
section.
Creep has not only permanent but also reversible components. The total defo-
mation thus may be split in two contributions, where the latter are called delayed
elastic deformations. In case of changes of the loading we will always have then
three contributions:
k1
X
k = ,k + 0.4 k (t tk ) 0.4 k (t tt1 ) k (t t ) (2.27)
=1
If a particular load acts in the first interval, the effects up to the end of the
interval are calculated in terms of a plastic yield part and an elastic time-delayed
part (curves 1 and 2). While the plastic part is transferred unchanged to all
subsequent creep stages, the delayed elastic portion gets rebuilt. The currently
operative total load acts then in the second interval with the appropriate new
creep coefficients.
All coefficients are automatically determined form the given environment condi-
tions and time and effective thickness . The plastic yield may be also specified
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-15

e1f
P e1v t
e2f t
t
t
e2v
Figure 2.4: Creep Intervals
by the user explicitly. The delayed elastic part is always applied by the pro-
gram according to specification of the effective concrete age (See explanations
to record STRE).
With EN 1992 appendix B resp. DIN 1045-1 (Heft 525) and the CEB Model code
this approach has been abandoned in favour to the older concept of a product
formulation. But all values may be calculated now in a closed form. With the
"boxed values" c0 , c1 and c2 we have:
t = 0 c (t, t0 )
0 = c1 RH (cm ) (t0 )
1 RH/ 100

RH = 1 + 1 2
0.10 3 h0
p
16.8
(cm ) = p (EC2)
cm (2.28)
1
(t0 ) =
0.1 + t00.20
c0 =0.3
t t0

c (t, t0 ) =
c2 H + t t0
H = 1.5 1 + (0.012RH)18 h0 + 2503 1500

These factors are valid for stresses up to 0.45 fck resp. 0.40 fcm . For higher
stresses the CEB-Model-Code and Eurocode 2 part 1-3 specify a correction of
2-16 SOFiSTiK 2016

the creep coefficient:

|c,perm |
0,k = 0 e1.5(k 0.45) ; k = (2.29)
cmj
This correction can be applied currently only by an explicit definition of a higher

base creep value. If required it may become necessary to subdivide the section
in parts with individual materials.
For the summation approach the superposition is valid. Thus you may freely
select between:
To follow each loading until the end of times.

To load and unload the structure for ever time step.
For the product approach the consideration of different phases is only possible
by calculating increments of stresses. This leads to a similar formula but with
much larger values for the reversible part.
b0 b1
= 0 + 1
Eb Eb
b0
0 = 0 (t0 , t1 )
Eb
b0

b1 b0
(2.30)
1 = 0 (t1 , t2 ) + 1 (t1 , t2 )
Eb Eb Eb
b1 b0
= 1 (t1 , t2 ) + [ 0 (t1 , t2 ) 1 (t1 , t2 )]
Eb Eb
2.4.3 Relaxation of Tendons

Relaxation of tendons is implemented with a product approach. The first factor
is given dependant from the steel stress based on a time value of 1000 hours.
This is a material property defined in AQUA. AQB will account for the effective
initial stress value of the tendon by an iteration.
No effects for stress values less than 0.55 fpk will be assumed.
The second factor is then derived from the time. The user may specify this factor
explicitly or evaluate according to two variants:
CEB 1990 Table 2.3.1 resp. EN 1992 3.3.2 / App. D

EC2 Version 1992 Table 4.5
As EN 1992 has now the same values as the CEB model code, the second
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-17

variant will be only applied for explicit EC-Materials and a design code release
year < 2000. The french BPEL 91 provides in Appendix 2 a rather complex
formula for the direct evaluation of the relaxation loss dependant on the 0.70
fpk-value, the stress and the time.
2.4.4 Numerical Treatment

The change in stresses due to creep and shrinkage, according to the formulation
by Trost with relaxation coefficient (=0.80) is:
z = Ez Re (2.31)
Eb b s Eb
b = (2.32)
1 + 1 +
Under the assumption of plane cross section, a bilinear deformation variation is

assumed for the strains resulting from creep and shrinkage:
= 0 + y y + z z (2.33)
The magnitude of the strains derives from the condition that the sum of the
axial forces and moments of the all cross section elements must be zero in
statically determinate structures. The system of equations with three unknowns
is solved, yielding the secondary internal forces and moments of the individual
partial cross sections.
Results of this check are the secondary stresses of all tendons and all cross
section parts, which are stored in the database and taken into account in sub-
sequent stress or internal force calculations for statically indeterminate struc-
tures. These secondary stresses are not saved as normal internal forces and
moments, since in composite cross sections there are values present for each
material, which cannot be addressed as such. The total resulting secondary
stresses are also calculated; these are zero for regular composite cross sec-
tions. For prestressed concrete sections, however, there is a resulting value
which is added in the printout of the internal forces and moments and in all cal-
culations under cracked condition. The secondary stresses for each material
are considered separately in calculations under uncracked condition. The sum
of the secondary stresses is then no longer included in the determination of the
stresses.
In simple cases of analysis of one section only, one can create directly, using
the input CTRL EIGE 4, a record of statically indeterminate forces and moments
which are calculated with the same proportion as the statically determinate com-
ponents.
2-18 SOFiSTiK 2016

For the analysis of a total structure however one has to use the more general
CTRL EIGE 1 to store the resulting curvatures as loads in the database and
compute the statically indeterminate components with a run of STAR2/ASE.
Since this is a creep with initial stresses (Euler method) several creep stages
are usually needed for obtaining correct results. One must also make certain
that there are enough segments within the beam.
The same method can be used, for instance, to consider secondary stress states
resulting from the completion of a cross section, or from secondary temperature
stresses.
2.5 Design of Reinforced Concrete

The calculation of non-linear stress states is a prerequisite for all further checks
which consider material properties. Compared to the more general case of the
next chapter, we have for the design only a limited range of allowed strain distri-
butions, but on the other side an unknown reinforcement grade. Thus calculating
the reinforcement distribution is a considerably complicated task, because addi-
tional empirical rules of the various regulations have to be observed.
Material properties must be differentiated according to whether they are to be

as close to reality as possible (e.g. for dynamic or deformation analyses), or are
to be used with a safety coefficient for calculating an ultimate strength.
Whereas the safety coefficients were formerly assigned more-or-less at random,

sometimes to the load and sometimes to the material, more recent regulations
(Eurocode) provide for a clearer separation between the safety coefficients for
the loading and those for the material. Since the safety coefficients of the ma-
terial still depend on the nature of the loading or the type of design, the values
are specified in AQB explicitly. Definitions from AQUA may become effective
additionally.
Prestressing can be generally considered in two methods. Either one eliminates

from the external forces and moments the statically determinate parts of the pre-
stress and the secondary stresses, and specifies the prestressing steel with an
appropriate initial strain, or one allows the action of the total internal forces and
moments and observes the stress increase only. Both methods are completely
equivalent. AQBS uses the first method for ultimate design, and the second
method for strain checks.
The prestressing of the tendons is used with their values after creep and shrink-
age taking into consideration the decompression due to the internal forces and
moments on the reduced net cross section. The initial strain is determined by
the actual values of the internal forces and moments, and then multiplied as a
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-19

whole by the prestress factor.
2.6 Determination of the Required Reinforcement

2.6.1 Longitudinal Reinforcement
The reinforcement in AQUA has been arranged in layers. The reinforcement
of a layer is considered as tension reinforcement if the centre of the total rein-
forcement lies on the tension side relative to the centroid of the cross section.
A reinforcement with its centre on the other side is regarded as compression
reinforcement. The meanings of the layer types are as follows:
M Minimum reinforcement
The layer is always inserted with at least the defined magnitude. Minimum
reinforcement in the compression zone however is applied only when a cor-
responding tension reinforcement is also present. If the minimum reinforce-
ment should not be increased, the maximum reinforcement must be set
equal to the minimum reinforcement.
Z Supplementary reinforcement
Layers of this type are optional. The layers are equivalent in ranking; the
number serves only for identification. The value of the reinforcement area
is only to specify the reinforcement ratio between the individual positions,
and it is not a specification of minimum reinforcement. If supplementary
reinforcements are not permitted to exceed a certain value, an appropriate
maximum value must be input.
S Sequential layers
This type of layer serves to control the sequential filling of the reinforcement
layers known from older programs. When a maximum value is reached, the
next higher layer number is addressed. The reinforcement of layer 0 can be
defined as minimum reinforcement with layer type M; all other layers must be
of type S and have no minimum reinforcement.
Reinforcement with the same layer number is always increased by the same fac-
tor. The maximum factor is given by the first reaching of the maximum reinforce-
ment in the layer. The minimum factor is 0.0 for layers (S,Z) and 1.0 for minimum
reinforcement layers (M). Maximum values may be ignored in the determination
of the minimum reinforcement of the statically required cross section.
A design must find, by iteration, a strain estate and a reinforcement distribution

by which external and internal forces match. The class of possible strain states
is limited in such a way that only the limit strain states are used. This reduces
the number of unknowns in the strain plane to two. Additionally the unknown
factors of the reinforcement distribution are also present, however, there are
2-20 SOFiSTiK 2016

more unknowns available than conditions for the solution.
For this reason, problems with more than one reinforcement layers do not
always have one unambiguous solution. Even with all the possible addi-
tional conditions (3), one can find a unique solution for a maximum of 4 to
6 layers, depending on the strain range.
The procedure runs in two steps. The limit strain state is iterated in the outer loop
by the BFGS method, similarly to what was described in the previous section.
As a rule, a first attempt to achieve equilibrium is made with a strain variation

between the optimum tensile strain S1 to the maximum compressive strain
C1 and a variation of the reinforcement distribution. If this is successful while
the limiting conditions are maintained, an optimum ductile solution has been
found, where the limits on the height of the compressive zone are fulfilled. If
this does not happen, the further procedure is determined depending on the
axial force.
In case of compressive loading, the strain on the tension side is reduced
to the point where equilibrium is reached with a symmetric reinforcement
distribution. The compressive zone has to be enclosed with shear links.
In case of tensile loading, the following strain variations are successively
used in search of equilibrium:
a) Centric strain S2 per thousand
b) Compressive strain between 0 and C1
Tensile strain between S1 and S2
c) Fully tensioned cross section with variable tensile strain
The distribution of reinforcement is found in the inner loop by means of a

quadratic optimisation problem for minimum error between internal and exter-
nal forces with supplementary conditions for the required reinforcement.
Compression reinforcement is inserted by a magnitude not greater than the

tension reinforcement. This requirement of DIN is generalised by making
certain that the centre of the total reinforcement is located on the tensional
side of the cross section relative to its centre.
Provided that a minimum reinforcement is defined in the data base from
former design, this in this respect partial one is considered than there is not
any violation of the former paragraph.
Even with these limiting conditions, the problem can still be ambiguous. If, for
instance, several layers could function as tension reinforcement, the distribution
of the reinforcement would be based on the defined base values of the steel
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-21

areas. Since this is generally not desired, the program uses additionally the
distance of the reinforcement from the neutral axis and the moment of inertia
with respect to the neutral axis. A supplementary condition is formulated for that
purpose, which prefers reinforcement which is located farther outwards. If two
layers are at the same distance, they are treated in the same manner. If the
distance of a layer is zero, it is given no consideration whatsoever. Interpolation
is used between these two extreme situations. Thus, a layer which is half as
far out as another can only increase up to about one half the value of the outer
layer.
If the centre of some layer is at the outer extreme, only the distance of the cen-
tre is considered; if all of the layers have zero centre distances, only the radii of
p
inertia ( / A) are considered. This condition too is interpolated linearly between
the extreme values. Furthermore, the farther outward the reinforcement is posi-
tioned in the cross section, the more stringent the entire condition is formulated.
This supplementary condition does not affect the area of the reinforcement, but
rather the factors of increase. Therefore, any change in the AS-values defined
in AQUA will have a certain influence on the reinforcement distribution.
The procedure of activating the layer numbers in sequence, which was custom-
ary in older programs, can not handle changing loads. In special cases, such as
multilayer peripheral reinforcement or additional densifications, this method can
be applied by defining sequential layer numbers in AQUA.
In such case, each layer is considered individually. Layer i is laid only after layer
i-1 has reached its maximum value. If a layer is not needed (e.g. compression
reinforcement), it can be passed over.
Beside the information from the cross section program on the distribution of re-
inforcement, there are other parameters, especially the minimum reinforcement
ratios, which are controlled with the record DESI.
The program differentiates between bending and compression members. The

limit is set either by the orientation within the global gravity direction or by a
particular value of the relative load eccentricity e/d (e.g. 3.5) or by explicit input.
One constructional reinforcement value can be prescribed for each type. This is
an important option in stability studies. The minimum reinforcement of the stati-
cally required cross section can also be considered for compression members.
These minimum reinforcement values hold equally for all cross sections of an
analysis run and they are input as percentages of the cross sectional area.
The new reinforcement is the greatest of:
2-22 SOFiSTiK 2016

- reinforcement required by the current design

- minimum constructional reinforcement
- minimum reinforcement of the statically required section
- minimum reinforcement defined in the cross section program
- minimum reinforcement that has already been stored
The so computed reinforcement is used in subsequent checks.
2.6.2 Min. Reinforcement of the Statically Required Cross Section

The minimum reinforcement of the statically required cross section is applicable
to compression members. AQB recognises a compression member either by
an explicit specification through the record BEAM or by the orientation relative
to the gravity direction or, depending on the load case, by a relative eccentricity
e/d < 3.5 and the limit axial force NGRE (record CTRL).
The minimum reinforcement according to DIN is computed by the method of first

determining the internal forces and moments that can be sustained by the cross
section with an appropriate reinforcement (e.g. 0.8 percent), and then reducing
the reinforcement in proportion to its relative strength.
The minimum reinforcement for compression members according to EC 2, on

the other hand, is accounted for absolutely as follows:
Asmn = mn (0.15 N/ s , 0.003 Ac ) (2.34)
As minimum reinforcement is used the one layer, in case there is only one, or
the minimum reinforcement layer, in case there are many, or the supplements in
cases of cross sections with supplements only. Any entered maximum values of
layers are ignored in this case. If multiple layers are involved, the criteria of the
previous section for the selection of the layers are used. Outer reinforcement is
thus given preference.
When the relative strength has been obtained, each layer is reduced by the
same isotropic factor. If the minimum reinforcement were attained exclusively
by means of a layer laying on one side only, at reduction by this method the
minimum reinforcement ratio is not reached under circumstances. An alterna-
tive method which admits priority to the absolute steel area can lead to serious
underdesign and is therefore unavailable.
Clearly comprehensible results are obtained when only one layer with minimum
reinforcement = maximum reinforcement is defined, with usable distribution and
relatively small total quantity of steel, and all supplements lie on separate lay-
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-23

ers. The program changes then the minimum reinforcement onto the necessary
value.
2.6.3 Divided Sections

DIN 1045-1 contains in 10.2. (6) a regulation limiting the strain in the centre of
plates of divided sections to the value of c2 . This will be accounted for in AQB
at all centre points of shear cuts having the type FLAN. The default is to correct
the maximum compressive strain. If this is not what you want to do, then an
explicit definition of the DESI C1 will deactivate this behaviour. Then there are
two possibilities:
If nothing else is defined AQB will just check the strain and print an error
message if its value exceeds the limit of the stress-strain-law.
For critical cases, if the last sentence of this paragraph is needed, which
imposes the pure web with the total maximum strains as an lower limit to the
ultimate load, one has either to deactivate the plates via the CS-mechanism
or define them with a special material without the rectangular block in the
stress-strain-law.
2.6.4 Unreinforced Cross Sections

The design is also suitable for unreinforced cross sections. In such case the pro-
gram computes internal forces and moments which are in the same proportion
to each other as the external forces and moments. The safety factors must be
defined according to the particular code. The program then reports the relative
strength and prints a warning if this becomes less than 1.0. A message is also
printed when the strain at the gravity centre becomes positive, meaning that a
gaping joint is extending beyond the centre.
2.6.5 Tendons
In general the tendons are fixed. It is only the subdivision of the stress into a
provided part and those parts induced by a strain increment which max become
relevant for some design tasks.
For the treatment of stress induced corrosion of prestressed bridges some en-
hancements are provided:
The print out of stresses has in row C a new entry Az,r in the last column
giving the factor on the area and force of the prestressing yielding tensile
stress of ct .
Record BEAM has a new item PRED (after STYP) defining a factor to be
applied on all tendon areas and forces.
2-24 SOFiSTiK 2016

For DESI an additional row will be printed with the relative bearing capacity
based on the moments of the life load (Action L) with ident (rel-tra(M-live))
2.7 Shear Design

The shear design according to the variable angle strut method is the base for all
recent design codes. As the longitudinal reinforcement has considerable effect
on the design, AQB will evaluate the maximum reinforcement along a beam or
span before starting the shear design (see record REIN)
A
B
a
d
V
s C
D
Figure 2.5: Compressive or Tensile Forces
For the strut method three forces have to be considered:
the tensile force in the shear links or inclined longitudinal bars

the compressuve force or stress in the struts
the tensile force in the longitudinal direction of the beam.
The inclination of the shear links and the struts may be chosen arbitrarily. A
gently inclination will reduce the required shear link area, but will increase the
longitudinal tensile force. AQB will therefore select the most gently inclination
with an admissable compressive stress. However a defined large minimum re-
inforcements for the shear links will increase that angle to reach an utilisation
close to 1.0. Higher values can be specified explicitly in the record DESI.
The basic principle for the shear design is always a shear force T acting in the
walls of an equivalent hollow or open thin walled section which may be obtained
by three different theories:
The most common formula for the cracked section uses the lever of inter-
nal forces and an empirical reduction based on the ratio of the separated
compressive or tensile forces.
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-25

V Z D Mt

T =
+ (2.35)
z Z D
2Ak
For biaxial bending V is taken on the safe side as the norm of the shear force
vector (Vy ,Vz ). Z and Z are, respectively, the total and partial tension force in
the detached part of the cross section. D and D are the compressive forces.
The lever arm of the internal forces z comes from the bending design, or by ex-
plicit specification in AQUA. In this case one must note however that an inserted
minimum reinforcement parallel to the axis reduces the lever arm and that the
result of a local design does not have to be representative from time to time.
AQB received therefore a whole series of plausibility checks.
For the design of flanges some design codes recommend a more general
method based on the difference of the longitudinal forces:
Fd A
Fd beff
Dx
sf
A A
hf
B Fd +DFd
A sf
Fd +DFd
bw
d
Figure 2.6: Design of Flanges
Fd
T = (2.36)
h
This more general approach is also applicable for the design of the web, but
it does not allow for tendons leaving the separated parts between two cross
sections.
Last not least we have a shear flux based on the elsaticity theory reduced
by the ratio of the internal lever of the uncracked to the cracked state of the
2-26 SOFiSTiK 2016

section. This solution is a fall back for all those cases where the other two
methods have deficencies or fail.
The shear force T is thus defined as the resultant magnitude of the shear stress
along the width b0 of a cut.
No reduction is made of individual loads in proximity to the support.
The inclination of the compression struts is designated as (former ) and the

inclination of the links with respect to the section face as (former ).
The tensile force in the links is computed including the normal stress perpendic-
ular to the cut q from
T + q cot
Zb = (2.37)
sn (cot + cot)
The corresponding load in the longitudinal direction is derived by

Mt

Z1 = V + Uk (cot cot) (2.38)
2Ak
This force is introduced into the design as an additional axial force on the total
section!
An optimal solution would introduce this force just from the beginning in the
bending design, as the accounting of the compressive forces afterward is rather
difficult. A drawback however is that the inclination of the struts has to be se-
lected in advance or by iteration and that point loads may lead to excessive
values of the reinforcements if the shear force changes the sign.
Thus for best practice it is quite common to use only half of the value and to
assign it to the tensile reinforcements only. This is not correct for the location
with a zero moment. To avoid larger values than those at the maximum moment
(where the transverse shear might be zero), a geometric shift rule is used quite
common.
All this can be controlled by the input CTRL VM. The default is to use the tensile
force approach only for nonlinear analsysi with NSTR, while for any design with
DESI the classical approach is selected. As the above drawbacks are only effec-
tive in a minor degree for torsion, we suggest to use CTRL VM - 1.0 in general.
Quite often it is allowed or even requested to use a fixed inclination of 45 degree
for the torsion design.
The oblique principal compressive stresses due to torsion and shear force are
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-27

determined from:
cos sn
= (2.39)
sn sn( + )
The combined principal compressive stresses from torsion and shear force, with
concurrent loading in the same direction, are computed by:
sn2 (V T )
= |,V | + |,T | ,V ,T (2.40)
,V sn2 (V ) + ,T sn2 (T )
In case of counteracting shear loads, the principal compressive stress and the
link reinforcement are computed from a truss with an average inclination of the
compression struts and the resulting shear load. The designer must account
for whether this is in concordance with the codes in all cases. Whereas Eu-
rocode EC 2 makes explicit provision for this, the old DIN standards required
separate calculations, which though do not always yield meaningful results (e.g.
by inclined links).
A deduction from the web width of a shear cut can be defined in AQUA, in order
to account for the weakening due to ungrouted ducts.
The superposition of the computed reinforcement is controlled by the record

REIN.
AQB can handle also many cases of biaxial shear loading, however, these are
not to be believed under no circumstances uncritically. Especially if the resultant
shear force is not perpendicular to the neutral axis within certain limits, a real 3D
non-linear truss analysis may be the only choice to obtain reliable results.
2.7.1 Shear Design according to Design Codes

The differences in the various codes consist in the limits on the inclination of the
compression struts and the portion of the shear force that must be covered. In
most codes there is a part of the concrete and a part of the shear links contribut-
ing to the total shear.
The problem is now, that most design codes describe the matter based on a
rectangular section. The design check is based either on admissible stresses
or by comparing the total design shear force or torsional moment with the ulti-
mate resisting force or moment. While the first method has no problems with
complicated sections it is not very economical. The second method on the other
side will become rather difficult for a complex section. The method used by AQB
lies in between and is stated as possible design method in the Eurocode in the
chapter about interaction of torsion and transverse shear.
2-28 SOFiSTiK 2016

The design for the transverse shear with the variable inclination strut method is
done by comparing the design shear force VEd with the resisting shear forces of
the compression struts VRd,c and of the reinforcement VRd,s . AQB uses however
internally shear fluxes (kN/m). Where ever the norm uses V = b h... or V =
b d.. or V = b z .., AQB treats the flux T=V/h resp. V/d resp. V/z and the
corresponding shear stress. AQB reports the reinforcement required by this
design, as well as a permissible principal compressive stress or torsional shear
stress. The printout of shear forces utilisation factors VEd /VR will be done only in
the extended printout request.
The check of the compression strut strength is thus always made by either al-
lowing a maximum shear stress or by checking the principal compressive stress.
Viewed in that way, the principal compressive stresses must satisfy the following
conditions:
,V cd V = 0.7 ck/ 200 0.5 (2.41)
,T T cd T = 0.7 V (2.42)
,V 2 ,T 2

+ 1.0 (2.43)

V cd
T cd
If the cross section is loaded by an axial force, the permissible compressive

stress must be reduced in EC 2 by some factor.
red = mn{1.0, 1.67 1 cp,e / cd }

(2.44)
The permissible shear stresses for construction elements without shear rein-
forcement (plates) are given by:
1 = VRd1 / (b0 d) = Rd k (1.2 + 40) + 0.15 cp (2.45)
2 = VRd2 / (b0 z) = red 0.5 V cd (2.46)
The required reinforcement results from the truss analogy, equation (). AQB
begins with the lowest inclination value for the compression struts (0.4 or the
value TANA by the DESI record), and increases it up to the required value when
the principal compressive stresses are exceeded or the minimum reinforcement
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-29

is greater than the required reinforcements.
2.7.2 Shear Checks in Circular Cross Sections

In case of circular cross sections AQB uses as width according to a paper by
Feltham a value derived from the area above the resulting shear force and the
effective height.
Design is always done for the uniaxial resulting components of the forces or
moments.
Figure 2.7: Shear width in circular cross sections
2.8 Stress Checks with Non-linear Material Behaviour

2.8.1 General Principles
The determination of a stress state while accounting for the material properties
is the basis for many further checks. For this purpose, one must follow the
procedure described in Section 2.4 to determine the strain under service loads
or increased service loads. No strain limits nor safety coefficients are in effect
for this check. The user can apply a modified material law for this check.
In general, this task can only be solved iteratively. To accomplish this, the strain
level of the cross section, which is defined by the strain in the centroid and
the curvatures in the two coordinate directions, must be varied until the internal
forces and moments of the cross section sufficiently match the external ones.
The so-called BFGS (Broyden-Fletcher-Goldfarb-Shanno) method is used for

the non-linear iteration. From the differences between internal and external
forces a direction of change is computed for the strain level, and iteration pro-
ceeds in this direction until it reaches an optimum point. This procedure is called
line-search, and its precision can be controlled by some input for the CTRL
record. Starting from the calculated optimum point, a new direction is deter-
mined in the next step of iteration, using all the information computed thus far.
2-30 SOFiSTiK 2016

The mathematical prerequisite of convexity means, from mechanical perspec-

tive, that if the curvature increases the internal moment must increase too. If
stress-strain curves with falling branches are defined, the solution can become
ambiguous and the procedure may run into difficulties.
Either the serviceability stress-strain curves or the ultimate stress-strain curves

or an impute mean value stress-strain curve with or without safety coefficients
defined in AQUA may be applied. As the choice of the correct curve may have
considerable effect on the results, each user should carefully select the best
curve along his knowledge or opinion. As a guide-line the EC2 states the follow-
ing rules:
The evaluation of deformations and the distribution of forces should use the
mean values (Ecm , fctm ) in general. (A 2.1 (3))
For bracing elements, i.e. those where a lower stiffness is unfavourable, the
mean values of the concrete have to be divided by a safety factor of the
material. (A3.4 (6) und A3.1 (6)). As these factors do not coincide with those
of the design itself, they have to be specified with the stress-strain law within
AQUA.
For the evaluation of the ultimate limit state one has to use design values. (A
2.1 (4)).
For the design with the total system, reduced safety factors for the loading
as well as for the concrete may be used. (A 3.1)
The design takes into account any reinforcement possibly computed for the
stored load cases. If no reinforcement has been computed, or if a single com-
bination of forces and moments has been defined externally, the program uses
the minimum reinforcement ratios set in AQUA.
2.8.2 Non effective plates (Sections of Class 4)

A special case of non linear behaviour is the effect of local buckling as it is de-
fined in Eurocode EN 1993-1-5. Depending on the slenderness ratio c/t and the
acting compressive stress, parts of a thin walled section may become ineffective
for the normal stress. AQB will account for this effect automatically. The values
for c are defined in AQUA.
2.8.3 Strain Check

When some code requires observing certain maximum strains or checking that
the neutral axis runs only as far as the gravity centre, these values can be taken
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-31

directly from the results printout.
2.8.4 Stress Range of the Reinforcement

The stress range of the reinforcement is computed and verified, upon request,
for all defined load cases or combinations thereof. The stress range is derived
from the maximum and minimum steel stresses of all reinforcement elements in
all of the examined load cases.
2.8.5 Crack Width Check

The basis of the check in accordance with many design codes is the calculation
of a crack width by the expression:
k = srm (sm cm ) (2.47)
where srm is the mean crack spacing, sm the mean strain of the steel, cm
the mean strain of the concrete between the cracks and an optional safety
coefficient (old EC 2 = 1.7). The required design crack width wk is prescribed
in AQB. The reduced coefficient for restraint must be defined for thick cross
sections through the explicit input of this value.
The two characteristic values are determined from the following expressions:
srm = k3 c + k1 k2 k4 D/ z (2.48)
k1 = Bond coefficient (e.g. 0.8)
1 + 2
k2 + = (2.49)
2 1
For the coefficient k2 it is essential, where the lesser value 1 should be

taken. For local design checks different rules are applied than for the
total section where it is quite common to use k2 = 0.5 for bending despite
of the real height of the tensile region.
k3 = national definable boxed value (Recommendation = 3.4)
k4 = national definable boxed value (Recommendation = 0.425)
D = mean Diameter in mm
s 1 1 s

sm cm = kt ct,e + 0.6 (2.50)
Es Es e Ecm Es
2-32 SOFiSTiK 2016

kt = Factor for load characteristics (e.g. 0.4.-0.6)

(will be set according to a standardized factor,
e.g. kt = 0.2+0.42 , see below)
e = effektive reinforcement ratio considering the different bond

properties of prestressed and standard steel
DIN 1045-1 resp. Heft 525 DAfStB use somehow different formulas:
ds s ds
srm = ; kt = 0.4 (2.51)
3.6e 3.6ct,e
The old EC 2 and Heft 400 DAfStB use somehow different formulas:
srm = + 50 + 0.25k1 k2 D/ z (2.52)
2
s sr s

sm cm = {1 1 2 } 0.4 (2.53)
Es s Es
1 = Factor for bond characteristics (0.8/K1)
2 = Factor for load characteristics (e.g. 0.5-1.0)
ct
sr = (1 + (n 1)z ) = rst crck stress (2.54)
z
AQB determines the first crack stress according to a more precise

method, that also changeable tensile stresses considers from bending.
Other design codes like the SNIP use completely other formulas or establish
additional constraints like the swedish BBK. More detailed hints may be found in
the following chapters about the design codes.
The size of the effective tension area for certain checks in AQUA can be input
explicitly for each reinforcement element. The value for the total reinforcement
is computed by AQB by reducing the height of the tension zone.
he = mn{2.5 (h d) , (h ) , h/ 2} (2.55)
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-33

Although the design codes specify d as the distance to the centroid of the re-
inforcements, it is much more appropriate to use the distance to the resulting
tensile force of the reinforcements. The reduction of the tension zone height to
the bottom third is not appropriate in practice, because the axial force effects
may make the tension zone become so small that the reinforcement is located
in the upper third of the tension zone. AQB presupposes a height here of at least
2.0(c-D/2) for this height.
The factor 2.5 is valid only for concentrated reinforcements and thin elements
as stated in the German national annexe. For thick sections DIN 1045-1 speci-
fies two curves for bending and centric constraining, referenced in the German
annexe to EN 1992 only by the limits h/ d1 10 resp. h/ d1 5.
In consistency with the theoretical derivation, reinforcement with differing diam-

eters or bond characteristics (such as prestressing steel) is dealt with in such
a way that the sum of the components is made up according to the following
formula:
X A
(2.56)
D K1
and this term is introduced into the crack width equation. The requirement of
a square with 30 cm long sides is fulfilled in that a reference area AR can be
defined for the tendons. If the value of this area becomes less than or equal
to 0.09 m2 , a uniform distribution is assumed and the tendon is entered by its
maximum value. For areas larger than 0.09 m2 , only a proportion reduced by
0.09/AR is entered.
The minimum reinforcement based on the tensile stresses can be determined

with the record STRE.
2.8.6 Other Checks for Crack Width

Other design codes use admissable stresses based on the diameter or spacing
of the reinforcements. Both values may be specified in AQUA for any reinforce-
ment element.
The old German DIN 4227 provided an explicit formula for the diameter:
r z
d 104 (2.57)
s2
The check is carried out for the strip between outermost reinforcement and neu-
tral axis, yet not greater than HMAX (80 cm). All reinforcement within this region,
both conventional and prestressing steel, is taken into account for computing r
z . Prestressing steel in immediate bond is accounted with its full area, whereas
2-34 SOFiSTiK 2016

prestressing steel with subsequent bond is accounted with the following formula:
rz ds
As = (2.58)
r 4
The requirement of a square with 30 cm long sides is fulfilled in that a reference
area AR can be defined for the tendons. If the value of this area becomes less
than or equal to 0.09 m2 , a uniform distribution is assumed and the tendon is
entered by its maximum value. For areas larger than 0.09 m2 , only a proportion
reduced by 0.09/AR is entered.
The maximum over this region is used for the stress in the steel or the stress
increase. Particular reinforcement elements referring to a partial area can also
be checked, if the appropriate values have been defined in AQUA.
2.8.7 Determination of Non-linear Stiffnesses

There are various options for considering the results of the strain state in an
iterative static analysis. The general relationship for moments an curvatures :

1

k y Ez Eyz
My
ky,p
= +

kz ED E yz Ey Mz kz,p

(2.59)
th ED = Ey Ez (Eyz)2
cannot be evaluated for all five stiffness and plastic curvatures by given mo-
ments and curvatures. One solution is to set EIyz and the plastic curvatures
equal to zero and compute the remaining secant stiffnesses of the diagonal
members.
Ez ky
= (2.60)
ED My
Ey kz
= (2.61)
ED Mz
This methodology may yield the right results after an iterative calculation for
many cases. However, if EIyz deviates significantly from zero, the stiffnesses,
which are defined in this manner, can become considerably higher than the elas-
tic values. And the formulas are not applicable in this form for any initial stress or
temperature gradients. A fully cracked unsymmetrically reinforced sections with
zero curvature would still yield a moment, thus the stiffness becomes infinite.
This effect could be treated with large effort by a shifted center of gravity. The
SOFiSTiK approach however is to select useable non linear effective elasticity
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-35

moduli referred to the gross sectional area, which may become also larger than
the elastic stiffness. The orientation of the principal axes is maintained by a
variation of the stiffness EIyz . Then the corresponding plastic deformations are
calculated. For the regular case EIyz =0, the following equations may be used:
N = E A (0 0,p ) (2.62)
My = Ey y (ky ky,p ) (2.63)
Mz = Ez z (kz kz,p ) (2.64)
An iterative analysis of the structure is generally possible by a great variety of

methods. As a true incremental tangential stiffness is not yet available we have
to concentrate on three variants of a secant stiffness formulation:
1. Secant stiffness
The curvatures ky and kz and the moments yield new stiffnesses according to
equations and . This method is usually the fastest. It may though become
EI0
M
EI = M k
k
Figure 2.8: Secant stiffness
unstable in the neighbourhood of the ultimate load.
2. Plastic curvatures
The stiffness remains unchanged, but plastic curvatures are created according
to equation . This method is more general and, as a rule, a little more stable.
It can also cover biaxial bending and changes in the axial stiffness with ease.
2-36 SOFiSTiK 2016

EI0 EI0
M
k pl = k - M EI0
k0 k
Figure 2.9: Plastic curvature
3. Tangential stiffness
However it is much better in general to select a mixture of both methods by
setting the stiffness values to the true tangential stiffness and to fulfill equation
by the introduction of the plastic curvatures.
Independently of the used method, an automatic acceleration or damping is

applied, which can be controlled within certain limits.
There are three additional sub-variants possible in each case, which affect the
determination of the strain state.
Stiffness with the same moment (SN,KN) The strain plane continues to be
M
Eo
En
Kpl
K
Figure 2.10: Type N method
modified until the internal match the external forces. This method approaches
the desired solution quasi from above, which means that it does indeed work
faster, but with problems in the immediate vicinity of the ultimate load.
Stiffness with the same curvature (S1,K1) The old curvatures are retained and
the axial strain continues to be changed until the internal matches the external
axial force. The internal moments MY and MZ, which are normally smaller than
the external ones, and the old curvatures yield the new stiffnesses and plastic
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-37

M
E0 E1
Kpl
K
Figure 2.11: Type 1 method
curvatures. This method approaches from below and therefore always works,
but it requires more iterations.
The default is the S1 method with automatic acceleration. In systems with only
slightly utilised cross sections, SN will generally give quicker results. In case of
systems close to the ultimate load, one should switch to K1, and perhaps reduce
the automatic acceleration.
Effect of axial force

The preceding methods of type S are only limitedly suitable for a calculation
of non-linear effects from axial force, since in reinforced concrete the strain of
the centroid very often becomes positive despite a negative axial force. The
secant stiffness which is to be found would then become negative. The type K
procedures, with a plastic strain of the centroid axis, function even in this case,
however.
However, the calculation is not entirely free of problems for statically indeter-
minate systems, since these plastic strains can create very high axial forces.
For this reason the plastic strains are used only in the extended K procedures,
although they could theoretically be used in the S procedures also. As a con-
sequence calculations with plastic redistributions from axial force can only be
handled with these procedures.
Tension Stiffening
For a realistic determination of the stiffnesses, the cooperative effect of the con-
crete between the cracks (tension stiffening) must be considered. This can be
taken into account in AQB in accordance with Eurocode EC 2 or the heft 525, by
determining the crack widths. Instead of the steel-strain for cracked condition,
2-38 SOFiSTiK 2016

the mean steel strain is used for calculating the curvatures.

2
s sr

sm = smr + 1 1 2
Es s
(2.65)
ct
smr = = men stee strn, ncrcked, crckng od
Ec
According Heft 525 of DAfStB the formulas are different.
0 s sr :
sm = s1 (2.66)
sr s 1.3 sr :
t (s sr ) + (1.3sr s )
sm = s2 (sr2 sr1 ) (2.67)
0.3sr
1.3 sr s y :
sm = s2 t (sr2 sr1 ) (2.68)
y s t :
sr

sm = y t (sr2 sr1 ) + d 1 (s2 sy ) (2.69)
y
d is a parameter for the ductility, additional parameters can be found in the

section on crack width.
Displacement of the envelope line of the tensile force (shift rule)

A defined displacement of the envelope line of the tensile force is also consid-
ered when calculating the stiffnesses by means of a reduction in the effective
steel stresses.
2.8.8 Interaction between Shear and Axial Stresses

On calculations to systems in the area of the ultimate load, the mutual influence
of axial stresses caused from bending and axial force with the shear stresses
caused from torsion and shear force has to be taken into account. To accomplish
this, the keyword INTE has been provided which may have one of the following
values:
CTRL INTE 0 No interacction

CTRL INTE 1 Interaction with isotrope Reduction
CTRL INTE 2 Interaction with Prandtl-Flow Rule (Default)
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-39

CTRL INTE 3 Interaction with shear preference
The full theory to that was published by Katz in the journal Der Stahlbau in
1998.
If shear and torsional stiffnesses have been defined in AQUA, then they will be
reduced in the proportion of internal to external forces and they will be stored as
a non-linear stiffness to the database.
1. Solid sections
In solid sections a partial consideration of interaction is achieved through the
shift rule. As a further possibility also a reduction of the torsional and the shear
stiffnesses is implemented with the reduction of the normal and bending stiff-
ness. An exact theory is not planned currently.
2. Thin walled cross sections

In thin walled sections all the elastic variation of the stresses in the section is
known. For every thin-walled cross section element (panel) during determina-
tion of the internal forces in three selected points (Gauss-Legendre Points) the
elastic stresses will be calculated:
- An axial stress -x constant about the thickness

- A constant shear stress about the thickness caused from shear force,
from shear flow after Bredt and secondary torsion -m
- An increase of stress towards the boundary caused from Saint-Venant
torsion t
The von Mises flow rule will be evaluated to a point at distance t/6 from the
boundary with the highest stresses. During yielding redistribution of stresses
caused from constraints in the cross section may occur. However these can
be taken into account only with a three dimensional non-linear finite element
analysis. Therefore in AQBS the yield condition is taken into consideration in
the form of an elastic part:
y
= p (2.70)
2 + 3 2
For the elastic stress E e will be used. Afterwards the non-linear stresses will
be defined equal to the elastic stresses multiplied by . They will be integrated
each part separately to the cross section forces. Three different methods for the
determination of the elastic part are implemented. The default is the method
according to Prandtl with one flow rule.
2-40 SOFiSTiK 2016

For the determination of the inner torsional moment the parts of the open cross
section are decollated determines to the shear flow after Bredt. The Bredt shear
flow is influenced mainly through the thinner point of the cross section. The
minimum factor of all sections parts with Bredt shear flow will be calculated
therefore and this factor will be applied to the total torsional moment.
2.9 Fatigue Design

2.9.1 General Principles
The design against fatigue is either performed via a check against the accumu-
lation of damage according to Palmgre-Miner which is not available in AQB or
more or less simplified using admissible sways of stresses or damage equivalent
stresses.
For the loading there are special load trains available (e.g. LM3 in Eurocode
1). For such load cases special enlargements of the forces and moments are
selectable with the item FAT in record LC. However in many cases also the
frequent load combination values of the standard live loads may be used. In
both cases there are multiple load cases or load case combinations and further
checks have to be done based on the minimum and maximum stresses from the
set of results. For concrete the reference stress from permanent loads is also
needed.
The design check against fatigue is only performed for reinforcements and ten-
dons and discrete stress points.
2.9.2 Fatigue according to EN 1992 / DIN 1045-1

The design check is defined in EN 1992-1-1 chapter 6.8 (DIN 1045-1 paragraph
10.8 resp. DIN-Fachbericht 4.3.7). There are three possible methods. As the
exact fatigue stress check is not available, the simplified methods according to
6.8.7 / 6.8.8 (DIN 1045-1 10.8.3 / 10.8.4) are selected via the coefficients LAMC,
LAMT and LAMS. There are the following possibilities:
admissible sways of the damage equivalent stresses obtained from the real
fatigue stress with a correction coefficient s resp t resp. c . This will be
triggered with a value of > 0.0.
eq = (A.106.1) (2.71)
Rt,k
t,eq (4.191) (2.72)

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-41

Rs,k
s,eq (4.191) (2.73)

v
cd,m,eq u cd,mn,eq
+ 0.43 1 1.0 (A.106.12) (2.74)
t
cd, t cd,m,eq
v !
u cd,mn,eq
cd,m,eq cd, t 1.0 0.43 1 (2.75)
t
cd,m,eq
If -values are given negative, the simplified check with admissible sways of
the concrete and reinforcements form the maximum and minimum stresses
of the frequent load combinations according to the respective paragraph (2)
(DIN 1045-1 10.8.4) are performed. For the tendons a modified decompres-
sion check with 75 % of the prestress is foreseen.
s < || s,k / < 70MP (2.76)
cd,m cd,mn
0.50 + 0.45 0.9|0.8 (2.77)
cd, t cd, t
Deactivate the fatigue design check with = 0.0.
Admissible values of the sway have been defined with the material in AQUA.
The safety factors are already included in those values then. A value defined in
NSTR for SIGS will establish an upper limit on the admissible steel stress (eg.
SIGS 70)
The stresses of the reinforcements will be increased by a correction factor due

to the different bond behaviour. This is accomplished with the extended formula:
As zs + Ap zp
= r (2.78)
ds
As zs + Ap zp dp
It should be pointed out, that this formula will yield very large values if the
reinforcement is defined with a very small area.
A rather nasty problem is the evaluation of the shear. The DIN design code
allows a simple solution based on a corrected value for the inclination of the
2-42 SOFiSTiK 2016

compressive struts:
p
tn tge = tn (2.79)
Unfortunately it is nearly impossible to keep this value from the shear design
for all individual shear cuts or transform it to different load combinations and
reinforcement distributions for the fatigue stress check. AQB uses instead a fixed
value of 4/7 for the tangents. The user may overwrite this value however with
any desired value. As AQB uses the modified internal lever of forces based on
the real stress distribution, an increase of the shear stress is already activated.
If this circumstances allow a classification of a more detailed design is up to
the users decision.
2.9.3 Fatigue according to DIN 15018 / DS 804

The design check according to DIN 15018 or DS 804 is done automatically for all
stress points assigned with an appropriate loading group and a notch condition
in AQUA.
2.10 Special Effects of Design according to DIN

As the DIN codes develop in parallel to the Euro-codes, the user has to pay
special attention to the correct selection of the design codes.
2.10.1 Shear Checks According to DIN 4227 Zone a

A check in accordance with DIN 4227 Zone a is carried out when a stress check
with ultimate loads under uncracked conditions (Stage I) with the record STRE
has been requested.
The inclination of the truss struts is computed based on the stresses of an un-
cracked stage:
y
tn1 = (2.80)

0.6 re

tn = tn1 1 0.4 (2.81)

The lower limit of 0.4 for a is not applicable in the determination of the principle
compressive stresses (see Volume 320 of DAfStB [ Deutscher Ausschuss fr
Stahlbeton = German Committee for Reinforced Concrete] ). An inclination of
45 degrees is specified for torsion.
The shear reinforcement is computed so as to cover for the centre point of a cut,
based on the effective width and the mean torsional shear stress m,T found in
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-43

AQUA:
T = ,V tn bq + m,T b0 (2.82)
For cross sections with torsional stresses according to the integral equation
method, AQUA chooses a conservative average shear stress, which can lead to
a slight overdesign (e.g. 3%).
The minimum reinforcement is used according to table 5 of A1 and the the ex-
planations about that from Tue, Knig, Pommerening (Bautechnik 1999) (Differ-
ences in particular at wide beams).
When checking the principal tensile stresses at boundary points, longitudinal

tensile stresses are not taken into consideration (Section 12.2.(1)).
No reinforcement is computed by this design for sections, of which the stress

limit has been exceeded (Zone B). The principal stresses can be computed,
however, and they can be output with ECHO SHEA EXTR. The stress limits are
checked separately for each material.
The rules of Zone b are always applicable for tensioned flanges (Section 12.4.2
(4)).
2.10.2 Shear Checks According to DIN 4227 Zone b

A check in accordance with DIN 4227 Zone b is carried out when a bending
design with shear reinforcement has been requested.
When checking in accordance with DIN 4227, the calculated stress is compared
with the lower and upper values of the design limits. The inclination of the truss
struts is computed by the expression:
in general:
0.6 m

tn = 1.0 1 0.4 (2.83)

for construction joints:

0.6 m

tn = 1.0 1 0.25 0.4 (2.84)

An inclination of 45 degrees is specified for torsion. When shear reinforcement

is required, it is output and saved.
If a check in accordance with Zone a (STRE) has been performed in the same
input block, the so computed reinforcement is not saved if the maximum stress
limit has not been reached. The corresponding cuts are marked with A or I
2-44 SOFiSTiK 2016

(uncracked Stage I) instead of B. If this is not the case, this reinforcement will be
selected.
Since the stress limit in uncracked Stage I is only approximately calculated here
for an ideal cross section, with a deviation of a few percentage points, it is pos-
sible in rare cases that some sections will not be designed in either case. For
cross sections with more than one material, the program checks the value of
stress limit whose material number was defined by the SECT record.
The rules of Zone a are always applicable for compressed flanges (Section
12.4.2 (6)).
2.10.3 Crack Width according to DIN 4227 Appendix A1

The evaluation of the minimum reinforcement according to DIN 4227 A1 is based
on the elastic stress distribution and is therefore a post-processing option to the
design step STRE. Corrections given by Tue/Knig/Pommerening have been
incorporated.
The minimum reinforcement is increased for wide beams (not slabs) with
b0>2d0.
Changed definition of d0 for kc (6.7.3.)
Further the following assumptions have to be defined:
The material which shows the smallest compressive stress for the limit LIMA
becomes decisive.
The direction of the reference line is determined by means of the stress
distribution including all residual stresses in this material.
Coefficient k is interpreted as the thinnest place in the cross section to de-
termine from wall elements or shear cuts.
Coefficient kc can become also negative, then the whole minimum reinforce-
ment is deactivated through this coefficient!
d0 is taken as the effective height vertically to the reference line. The propor-
tional consideration of prestressed steel occurs about the bond coefficients
according to EC 2. A separate definition of bond stress ratios is not required.
2.10.4 Shear Design according to DIN 1045 (1988)

The design of non-prestressed construction elements according to DIN 1045 ex-
amines the shear regions for beams with the defined stress limits, and performs
a reduction of the shear stress if appropriate beam sections have been defined.
No shear stresses are computed in between the defined beam sections. The
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-45

inclination of the compression struts of the truss is always assumed to be 45 de-

grees. The input value TANA is thus the minimum factor of the shear coverage.
The following shear regions are considered:
Ia. without reinforcement (plates, rectangular cross section only)
0 k 01 = 0. (2.85)
Ib. minimum reinforcement (beams)
0 01 = 0.40 (2.86)
II. reduced shear coverage

02
01 < 0 02 = 0.40 (2.87)
02
III. full shear coverage (shear force only)
0 03 = 0 (2.88)
Equation (17.1) is additionally checked for:
0 T
+ 1.3 (2.89)
03 02
In case of fully tensioned cross sections, the design is based on the princi-
ple tensile stress computed in uncracked Stage I without further reduction. For
numerical reasons, only sections, by which the 1/1.75- multiple of the tensile
concrete strength is exceeded, are considered to be fully tensioned. In case of
fully compressed cross sections the design is similarly performed in Stage I, yet
a reduction is permitted.
If needed, the principal compressive stress is checked by analogy with DIN

4227.
The preset shear stress limits are appropriately increased for design under ulti-
mate loads.
2.10.5 Shear Design according DIN 1045-1 (2001)

The shear design deviates in some points from the Eurocode especially for the
2-46 SOFiSTiK 2016

minimum reinforcement and inclination of the struts.
2.11 Special Effects of Design according OENORM

2.11.1 Concrete Shear Design according to old OeNORM
Designing according to old OeNORM is still available using a truss analogy, with
a standard inclination of 45 degrees. Differentiation is made between B 4200, B
4250 and B 4253 as far as the application of the reduction. The code provides
for a reference stress 1 . The following stress limits are defined in B4200:
T01 ( 2 1 )
V T02 (10 1 )
T T02 (10 1 )
V+T T03 (12 1 )
as well as a reduction force
Vred = b0 z 1
B 4200 designs for:
Minimum reinforcement, if V T01
V reduced by Vred , if V T01 and T T01
full shear force, if V T01 and T T01
B 4250 designs for ultimate loads. The reduction value is thus increased. The
clause with the torsional stress is cancelled in this case.
Minimum reinforcement, if V T01
V reduced by 1.4Vred , if V T01
B 4253 does not contain any reduction value, the inclination of the truss is re-
duced instead according to 12.2.2.(3) :
tan = 0.6 to 1.0 by 0.0 to 2.5 o/oo tensile strain
2.11.2 Design according to OENORM B 4700

The B 4700 is similar to the Eurocode, but there are deviations. The most sig-
nificant is the different definition of concrete class based on the cubic strength.
Some how uncertain is 2.4.2. (3). The steel strain will not be checked by AQB.
We believe that the provision of symmetric reinforcements in those cases by
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-47

AQB will cover the intended requests.
For the inclination of the diagonals of the truss model we have the formulas
(23) and (24) of OENORM. The lower limit of 0.4 is only allowed for continuous
reinforcement. This has to be specified in REIN as SPAN.
The serviceability check uses a given interpolation factor between tables 7/8 and
9/10. Table 9 and 10 have been extended for smaller stresses according to the
theoretical base.
The B 4750 has additional factors for the creep coefficients if the strength is
higher than 35 MPa. The deductional areas of tendons is always the full duct
area.
2.12 Design according to SIA

SIA 162 and SIA 262 differ only slightly, but the material properties and safety
factors are considerably different.
The mean value of permissible inclination for shear force and torsion is freely
selectable between 25 and 45 degrees within SIA 262, the maximum allowed
shear is given by:
VRd,c = b zkc cd (cos + cotsn)sn (2.90)
The coefficients kc will be selected based on the stress distribution and the
CUT-properties WEB / FLAN.
The coefficient k for plates without shear links is taken as 3.0 and modified ac-
cording to the steel strength and the grading of the longitudinal reinforcements.
Modifications according to the maximum grain have to be specified explicitly.
The old SIA 162 established an admissible mean value:

v
2
u
t
tn = 1 + + (2.91)
4 2 (2)
This value can be varied by 20 degrees within the limits of 25 and 65 degrees.
AQB begins with the lower value of compression strut inclination and increases
it when the principal compressive stresses are exceeded. The safety coefficient
is set similarly to the bending design (1.2). The upper limit of the shear stress
(3.24.211) is equivalent to a check of the principal compressive stress:
0.25
c,mn = m{0.4, 0.65 } (2.92)
45
2-48 SOFiSTiK 2016

2.13 Design according to French BAEL

Shear design according to BAEL-91 as modified in the year 1999 still uses the
deductional stress method. The admissible stresses depend on the inclination
of the shear links (A5.1,21), but have the same value for all type of shear. There
is a factor k which modifies the shear force of the concrete depending on the
normal force and bending stresses. (A5.1,23).
The design for cracking is done via a limit for the stresses according to
A.4.5,323.
2.14 Design according to Italian Code

The ministerial decret from 1996 allows the design according to the EC with the
Italian material definitions. But there still exists the old method with a deductional
stress. A special option is the parameter , which has a value between 0 and
2 depending on the normal force and the decompression moment. This value
is then applied as a factor to the shear force of the concrete. Further it has to
be noted that the admissible shear stress is depending on the inclination of the
shear links. This document contains also a regulation for the use of the old EC2
with the formulas of the eurocode and the materials of the DM-1996. (Safety
factor of concrete is 1.6, Inclination of struts in truss model is 0.5 < tan < 1.0
etc.).
NTC (Norme Tecniche) of year 2005 was an intermediate solution, where ma-
terial safety (1.9/1.5) was referred on the cubical strength Rck of the concrete.
The crack width according Table 5.1-X is also depended on the sensitivity of
the reinforcement, and the stresses had to be checked for the serviceability
condition according to table 5.1-XI and 5.1-XII depending on the environmental
conditions.
The NTC (Norme Tecniche) of year 2008 is now nearly identical to the EN 1992
fast vollstndig berein. Small deviations are in the material parameters only.
Formulas for the crack width have to be taken from the comment however, they
are not included in the design code itself. Also for non linear analysis detailed
provisions are not given.
2.15 Design according to Spanish EHE

At the first glance the regulations for the EHE are very similar to those of the
German DIN 1045-1, however the design is rather different as the EHE uses still
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-49

a possible deduction of shear, which is for vertical links as follows:

cot
V V1 = K 1cd b0 d (2.93)
1 + cot 2
A
V V2 = Vc + Vs = c b0 d + z cot yd (2.94)
s
The first row is a check against compressive stress and will be marked as such
if not passed. The second equation will get a value of c from the bending
design, deduct this from the shear force and will cover the remaining force with
links. The coefficient SS depends on the inclination of the struts with rather
complex formulas. The inclination of the struts will be iterated between 0.5 and
2.0. For the least inclination the value of SS will become 0.0!
The design will be done by a scaled shear stress V/bd, a deductional shear
stress c and the maximum allowed shear stress of v-u1 = V1 /bd.
2.16 Design according to Danish DS

The Danish design code has the special provision that the safety factor for the
material has six parts, which have to be combined to a single value when defin-
ing the material. Per default the parabola-rectangular diagram is used, but the
constant stress block is also available. The shear design follows a strut and tie
modell, where the steepest inclination of the struts is depending on the inclina-
tion of the shear links. The crack width is controlled by a rather simple formula
for the case of the fine crack system.
2.17 Design according to Swedish BBK

The Swedish design code have the special provision that the safety factor for
the material has two parts: First m (= 1.5 for concrete) for the material itself,
which is defined with the material in AQUA, then a second safety class factor
n dependant on the type of the structure which is defined when selecting the
design code and thus will preset the safety factors for DESI.
There are no special effects for the bending design, but for the shear a deduction
method is foreseen where the concrete capacity is dependant on the normal
stress, the prestress and the existing longitudinal reinforcement. (Sections 3.7.3
and 3.7.4.)
2.18 Design according to British Standard

Design for normal force and moments according to BS has no specialities com-
pared to the standard methods. The predefined stress-strain laws are all we
2-50 SOFiSTiK 2016

need. For the check of stresses for bridges the user must prescribe the admis-
sible stresses in general. Shear design is implemented according to BS 8110
and BS 5400:Part4:1990. For the latter the user has to select the class of the
sections. Then you have to distinguish between:
Shear force Section uncracked in flexure (equation 28)

Vco = 0.67 b h (t2 + cp t ) (2.95)
Shear force Section cracked in flexure (equation 29), class 1 and class 2
only
Mcr
Vcr = 0.037 b d c + V (2.96)
M
The ratio Mcr /M will be derived from the forces of the given combination via
the normal stresses, which allows an immediate scaling of the shear force or
stress.
Section cracked in flexure (equation 30), class 3 only
Fpe Mo

Vcr + = 0.55 c b d + V (2.97)
Fp M
Also for this case everything is treated via the ratio Mo /M and not V/M. The-
oretically the ratio V/M should be evaluated for every load pattern, but this
would require to perform all superpositions within AQB. We believe that the
evaluation of the ratio for the given combination is sufficient in general.
Required Reinforcements
As b
mns = = 0.4 (2.98)
s (0.87 y )
As (V + 0.4 b d Vc )
s = = (2.99)
s (0.87 y d)
Ast T
st = = (2.100)
s (1.6 1 y1 0.87 y )
The depth d is according to the code the distance from the outmost compression
fibre to the centre of gravity of the reinforcements, but not less than 0.8h.
There is no remark within the text of the standard if V/M includes forces from
prestress. As it is generally intended to work on the ultimate forces and as there
is no specific safety factor for prestress available, we use only external load
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-51

contributions according to our technical knowledge: If you consider the ratio

M/Mcr , the part of the shear force of the concrete will become zero if prestress
and tensile strength is fully used from the external moment. From that follows
that M must not include prestress while V is the shear force including parts of
inclined tendons.
According to the standard the shear part of the inclined tendons has to be added
to the resistance Vc0 (uncracked) but not to the resistance Vcr (cracked), which
is not followed by AQB. For the evaluation of the reinforcements V should include
those parts.
Theoretically one has to consider all beam sections for all load cases to se-
lect the side of the section to have compression or tension for the evaluation of
Mcr and d. We use a bounding rectangle with its corners and midsides for this
purpose.
For the evaluation of the shear stress from torsion the standard has equation
9a for rectangular sections. This will provide for some ratios hmin/hmax lesser
values than those provided by classical mechanics, which is compensated by
much lesser admissible stresses compared to DIN/EC. AQB will not use this
formula at all, due to unknown theoretical background. Instead the stresses
from AQUA will be multiplied with a factor of 1.25 similar to equation 10a.
Crack width may be evaluated according BS 5400 Part 4 5.8.8. For the tension
stiffening effect a reduction is performed with an assumed tensile strength at the
height of the reinforcement. What you need are the nominal cover values from
table 13:
Concrete Grade
Environment 25 30 40 50
Extreme - - 65 55
(Marine structures / moorland / pH < 4.5)
Very Severe - (60) 50 40
(De-icing salts / sea water spray)
Severe - 45 35 30
(driving rain/alternate wetting and drying)
Moderate 45 35 30 25
(fully sheltered / pH > 4.5)
2-52 SOFiSTiK 2016

2.19 Design according ACI / AASHTO

ACI and AASHTO have been published in a metric SI and in an imperial units
version. SOFiSTiK uses the metric version where ever possible. The conversion
of the constants within these standards is not very precise, thus you have to
expect some small but remarkable deviations.
As the AASHTO 2002 has foreseen allowable stress and STRENGTH-Design

as alternate methods, and the appendix A of the ACI has been withdrawn 2002,
we supply only the second variant. Checks for allowable stresses according to
9.15.2. for prestressed concrete members are not fully covered automatically
(only 0.6 fc).
With the appearance of the ACI 02 several important changes have been in-
troduced, however the old provisions still exist in Appendix B and C, which are
available with a separate INI-file.
Minimal moments according 8.17.1 of AASHTO may be selected via the literal
MCR as load type at any combination. The factor is then to be defined as 1.2.
The safety factors of the materials are expected with their inverse faktors (ACI
and AAHSTO nearly identical):
Tension, Bending and tensional bending: 0.90

Compression and compressive bending: 0.65
Shear 0.85
For small compressive forces the safety factor will be interpolated according to
the steel strain. The old version based on the minimum from 0.1fc A and the
normal force Pb of the balanced strain condition is only available with the 318-
99 version. This estate of balanced strain condition will be evaluated first if
the section is not fully under compressive stresses. The safety factor is then
evaluated and will be kept despite of any changes of strain within the iteration.
Minimum reinforcement according to 10.5.1 and 10.5.3 will be considered,

10.5.2 however not. The referenced area of the section will be scaled with d/h.
If the relative bearing capacity is larger than 1.3 the minimum reinforcement will
be reduced accordingly.
Additional moments according to 10.12.3. will be only applied if a value for BETA
at record BEAM is defined. We use Cm=1.0 and beta-d=0.6. Sway frames with
slenderness ratios larger than 100 require a more detailed analysis via STAR2.
Shear design will follow chapter 11.3.2. of ACI resp. 5.8.3. (2002: 8.16.6) of
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-53

AASHTO. For prestressed sections we need according to 11.4.2. the values V

and Mm of a different load case than that actually worked on, which is a prob-
lem for AQB. Also the evaluation of Mcr needs values from other combinations.
To cope with all these requirements:
1. The combination MAX-M has to be designed before the combination

MAX-V. Then only AQB will remember the maximum values.
2. For the calculation of Mcr uniaxial bending is assumed. The load cases
of permanent actions have to be defined as such within the load com-
bination to allow the evaluation of the unfactored dead load.
3. The shear part of inclined tendons will only be used for Vc . This is a
deviation of the standard AQB procedure which implies that this part
will have the security factor of 0.85 applied or if Vc < Vc will not be
used at all.
Shear-Friction according 11.7.4. is not yet accounted for.
The depth d is according to the code the distance from the outmost compression
fibre to the centre of gravity of the reinforcements, but not less than 0.8h.
AASHTO LRFD (2004) describes the shear design in chapter 5.8.3./4. in detail
and rather complex. If AQUA has defined the crack spacing parameter se for a
section, the design will be made using table 2, otherwise the values of Table 1
are used. The strain will be always taken for the mid of the shear cut.
Torsion within the ACI relies for the reinforcements exactly on the equivalent
hollow section, but for the allowed stresses there is a simplified formula (11.6.1
resp. 11.6.3). AQB treats the value of Mt U/1.7A2 of 11.6.3 as real shear stress
and factorises it for 11.6.1. Variant b of this formula is not accounted for. For the
inclination of the struts there is always a value of 45 degrees. For prestressed
sections this can be modified with input of DESI TANA 0.767 to the 37.5 degrees
for the torsion. Minimum reinforcement according to 11.6.5.2. will be considered,
11.6.5.3 however not.
Design of prestressed composite sections is only possible if the reference ma-

terial is of type concrete.
Chapters 9.5 Control of deflections is not implemented, as AQB has much

more sophisticated methods available.
Crack width according to 10.6.4. has not been implemented.
Determination of creep and shrinkage coefficients is not suited for a computer
2-54 SOFiSTiK 2016

program. The have to be defined by the user himself explicitly.
2.20 Design according to Russian SNIP

SNIP 2.03.01 -84 has so many formulas and regulations, that a 100 percent im-
plementation is hardly possible within a general software. AQB has to generalize
many provisions to allow a design according to the SNIP in general cases. The
sucessor SP 52-101 has been simplified in some points, but has still some open
points.
Design according to knows two limit states: Group 1 (ultimate load) and Group
2 (Serviceability). The selection of the safety coefficients is rather complex, as
they depend not only on the loading but also on the importance of the structure.
This should be done therefore within SOFiLOAD and MAXIMA, i.e. those safety
factors have to be included in the forces and moments when entering the design.
In AQB we have only the factors b according to Table 15 to apply. The default
is b = 0.9.
2.20.1 Moment and Normal Force

For the bending design a constant stress block is foreseen with an optimal height
given by a value R . If the compressive zone becomes larger additional com-
pressive reinforcement is needed. This provision is identical to the approach
implemented in AQB with an optimum tensile stress of the reinforcements. For
the selected maximum compressive strain, the value R will define for every
combination of materials an optimum tensile strain.
The minimum reinforcement according to 5.16 Table 38 resp. rule 8.3.4. is

dependant on the slenderness and eccentricity of the load.
2.20.2 Shear and Torsion

The design for the shear force is done with a truss model. Instead of the in-
clination of the compressive strut, SNIP defines a projection co of the inclined
section. However as this value is given by the inclination of the crack direction,
the design formulas may be transformed from the shear force Q to the shear flux
T = Q/z easily:
z
c0 = (2.101)
tnR
Lower and upper limits for co are given by ho and 2 ho , from that we have
depending on z corresponding limits for the crack angle. A definition of TANA /
TANB in input record DESI however is always taken based on the ratio co /ho .
Another important dimension is c which is the distance from the considered
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-55

section to the face of the support. As this value is limited to an upper value it will
become effective only in the vicinity of the support.
The maximum shear force is limited on the compressive strength of the concrete
according to SNIP equation (72):
Q
b = 0.3 1 b1 Rb (2.102)
bh0
or according to SP 52 equation (6.65):

Q
b = b1 Rb ; b1 = 0.30 (2.103)
bh0
The part of the concrete in this formula as well as in others to follow are ruled
by the coefficients b1 Rb , b2 Rbt , b3 Rbt , b4 Rbt . As these factors
depend on the concrete class, all necessary definitions have to be made when
defining the material in AQUA.
Shear design is done with a deduction method, i.e. the total shear force is given
according to 3.31. equation 75 as the sum:
Q Q = Qs + Qs,nc + Qb (2.104)
The part Qs,nc has to be accounted for as with any other design code either
globally with inclined shear links or as a post processing from the total required
shear links. The part Ts is given by the following relation (neglecting shear link
inclination and compressive stress perpendicular to the section:
As Qs Qs
= = tnR (2.105)
s c0 Rs z Rs
The part of the concrete is given from equation (76)

Qb h0
b = = b2 1 + + n

Rbt (2.106)
bh0 c
For the SP 52 the factors and n are not defined (=Zero), the value b2 is set
to 1.5.
In the old SNIP the factor is defined for general sections as a similar relation
based on the shear deformation area according to:
(b b)h A
= 0.75 = 0.75 0.5 (2.107)
b h0 A
The value n takes care of the normal force either from compressive forces (78)
or tensile forces (79). The total value of 1+n + is limited to 1.5.
2-56 SOFiSTiK 2016

A further limit for Qb is given as follows:

h0
b2 > b3 (2.108)
c
The minimum shear reinforcement is given according to equation (83)
b3 (1 + + n ) Rbt b
qs = (2.109)
2
Again for the SP 52 the factors and n are not defined, the value b3 may be
assumed to be 0.5.
For sections without shear links, the allowable shear is given in the SNIP by
equation (84) with the limits of 2.5 Rbt bh0 and the coefficient b3 :
Q0 h0
0 = = b4 (1 + + n ) Rbt (2.110)
bh0 c
Torsion will be treated independently, the interaction of the compressive

stresses are accounted for however by an interaction rule.
2.20.3 Serviceability and Crack Width

For the design for a single crack a moment has to be generated reaching the
tensile strength, which may be accomplished via the COMB record.
For the design of the completed crack pattern, SNIP chapter 4.14 gives the
relation (144) for the crack width acrc :
s 3
p
crc = 20(3.5 100) d (2.111)
Es
The value is depending on the concrete, a special override with an input value
is possible.
For the design of the completed crack pattern, SP chapter 7.2.12 gives now the
relation (7.13) for the crack width acrc :
s
crc = 1 2 3 s s (2.112)
Es
2.21 Design according to Japanese Standards

The publications of the Japan Road Association provide admissible stresses
(3.2) and a general design with ultimate loads. For the shear of the cracked
section, there is a rather simple design with a deductional part of the shear
taken from the concrete. Shear stresses are calculated based on the effective
height, torsional stresses are augmented by a factor of 1.25.
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-57

The formula for the longitudinal reinforcement due to shear is not implemented.
The user has to specify the correct value with CTRL VM (1.0 for perpendicular
links)
2.22 Design according to Indian Standard

IS 456:2000 is implemented following section 5 (Limit State Method). The
Working Stress Method of appendix B as well as of IRC 21-2000 with the
old fashioned modular method are only available via CE-concrete types.
For Bridges we have IRC-21 (Road Bridges) resp. IRC-18 (Prestressed Con-
crete Road Bridges). Besides a lot of constuctive details, the allowable shear
stresses of IRC-21 are less. As the IRC-21 allows any recognised rational
method for the design we strongly recommend the Limit State Method.
IRC-18 has admissible stresses for temporary and service conditions which may
be selected via STRE BH and VH.
Creep and shrinkage values according to table 2 and 3 dependant on the matu-
rity and the age of the concrete are available as defaults.
For the design the following load combinations are required: (Section 12):
1.25 G + 2.0 G1(=SG) + 2.5 Q (moderate condition)

1.50 G + 2.0 G1(=SG) + 2.5 Q (severe exposure conditions)
G + SG1 + 2.5 Q (opposite effects)
There are the following minimum reinforcements:
Beams (26.5.1.1.) As/(bd) = 0.85/fy

Columns (26.5.1.1.) rmin = 0.8 % of static requ. section
Shear links (26.5.1.1.) Asmn /s = 0.4/0.87fy b
The provisions of 38.1 f) are not suitable for general programming, but in AQB
there is an equivalent rule available. AQB uses symmetric reinforcement distri-
bution to prevent unannounced failure whenever the tensile strain is less than
some limit value S1 of record DESI. Thus one can influence this behaviour for
special cases..
There is a minimum eccentricity for columns with non-linear second order theory
according to paragraph 25.4:
sk h
emn = + > 20mm (2.113)
500 30
2-58 SOFiSTiK 2016

This should be applied for biaxial bending for the weaker axis. For plane sys-
tems the local z-direction is appropriate. A simplified analysis according to para-
graph 39.7 with additional moments will be activated by defining a slenderness
factor BETA.
Shear design according to IS 456 has a table 19 for the stress of the concrete
vc , which is enlarged in the presence of a compressive force with a factor given
in paragraph (40.2.2.). In the neighbourhood of the face of a direct support, this
value may be raised according to 40.5. That is why the shear force does not
vary linearly as in other design codes but remains constant in that region.
For the design of shear according to IRC 18 the concrete shall bear the minimum
from the following two values:
Shear force Section uncracked in flexure (14.1.2.1)

Vco = 0.67 b h (t2 + 0.8 cp t ) (2.114)
Shear force Section cracked in flexure (14.1.3)

Mcr
Vcr = 0.037 b d c + V > 0.1 b d c (2.115)
M
The ratio Mcr /M will be evaluated via the normal stresses. This allows then
an immediate scaling of the shear stress or force. This ratio is evaluated only
for the current actual design combination.
The required shear links will calculated according to 14.1.4., the maximum ten-
sile stress is limited to 415 MPa.
Crack width may be calculated according to Annex F. To account for Tension

Stiffening a triangular stress block with a tensile stress of 1 MPa (Long term
0.55 MPa) at the centre of the reinforcement is used to reduce the steel strain. To
compute the crack width one needs the nominal covers from Table 16. Columns
should have a value of 40 mm or 25 mm following chapter 26.4.2.1.
Nominal Concrete Cover

Environment < M 35 > M 35
Extreme 75 75
Very Severe 50 45
Severe 45 40
Moderate 30 30
Mild 20 20
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-59

2.23 Design according to Australian Standards

Die Australian design codes AS 3600 / AS 5100 and the New-Zealand NZS
3101 deviate in details, but have much in common. The safety factors are im-
plemented as strength-reduction factors < 1.0. The AS has a rather compli-
cated scheme to establish this factor (Table 2.3), which is based on the design
of the moment without normal force and a modification of the reduction factor
caused by the normal force. This method is definitely not suitable for AQB at
all.
However AQB takes care of the critical height of the compressive zone with co-
efficient k = 0.4 according to row b. For a compressive strain of -3.0 per mille
this yields an optimal steel strain of +4.5 per mille. The safety factor is then
interpolated depending on the steel strain exactly as in the ACI and a compres-
sive reinforcement is provided. In 2005 a similar interpolation depending on the
relative height k0 has been introduced.
This coefficient will be modified depending on the axial forces. However this
requires the knowledge of the reinforcements, Thus a proper evaluation is only
possible with a design check for a given reinforcement which follows the common
design practice with manual calculations.
The design may be performed with any suitable parabola-rectangular diagram or

a special constant stress block, which has been implemented but is not activated
as default. The maximum stress value is reduced with a factor to 0.85 fc , the
height of the block is reduced according 8.1.2.2.
Creep and shrinkage values according to provisions of paragraph 6.1 are avail-
able completely.
Shear design has a shear strength vc from the concrete according to paragraph
8.2.7. and a part of the reinforcements according 8.2.9/10. The maximum shear
stress for shear and torsion is 0.2 fc . A linear interaction is defined.
Check against cracking is performed based on an admissible stress in the rein-

forcements according to tables. 8.6.1 a/b. For prestressed concrete the maxi-
mum tensile stress will be compared with the mean value of the tensile strength.
If that value is exceeded the stell stress will be limited to 200 MPa according
clause 8.6.2.
2-60 SOFiSTiK 2016

Description of Input | AQB
3 Description of Input
3.1 Input Language

The input is done in a free format with the CADINP input language (see the
general manual SOFiSTiK: FEA / STRUCTURAL Installation and Basics).
Three categories of units are distinguished:
mm Fixed unit. Input is always required in the specified unit.
[mm] Explicit unit. Input defaults to the specified unit. Alternatively, an

explicit assignment of a related unit is possible (eg. 2.5[m] ).
[mm] 1011 Implicit unit. Implicit units are categorised semantically and de-
noted by a corresponding identity number (shown in green). Valid
categories referring to the unit length are, for example, geodetic
elevation, section length and thickness. The default unit for each
category is defined by the currently active (design code specific)
unit set. This input default can be overridden as described above.
The specified unit in square brackets corresponds to the default for
unit set 5 (Eurocodes, NORM UNIT 5).
3.2 Input Records

The following record names and keywords are defined:
Record Items
ECHO OPT VAL SELE
CTRL OPT VAL VAL2
BEAM FROM TO STEP TYPE X XE NCS
BETA BETS STYP PRED
LAMS LAMT LAML LAMC
CS CS0 CS1 CS2 CS3 ... CS31
TEND NO NOB MNO ICS1 ICS2 ICS3
X Y Z ZZ AZ NY NZ
YHR ZHR AHR DZ AR UZ TEMP
Table continued on next page.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-1

AQB | Description of Input
Record Items
LC NO TYPE CST REF TITL
GAMU GAMF PSI0 PSI1 PSI2 PS1S GAMA
APAR SUP FAT
S NCS NO X N VY VZ MT
MY MZ MB MT2 Y Z REF
COMB EXTR SCOM SFAC LC1 F1 LC2 F2
LC3 F3 LC4 F4 LC5 F5 LC6
F6 LCST CST TITL
EIGE MNO PHI EPS REL T RH TEMP
T0 GRP LCT
STRE SMOD STYP SC ST SBC SBT SBBC
SBBT SI SII TAU SV TAUS SSTM
SSEM SSKM SSER SSKR CC CBC CBBC
LIMA ZMAX ZDIF SCMG
REIN MOD RMOD LCR ZGRP SFAC P6 P7
P8 P9 P10 P11 P12 TITL
DESI STAT KSV KSB AM1 AM2 AM3 AM4
AMAX SC1 SC2 SCS SS1 SS2 C1
C2 S1 S2 Z1 Z2 SMOD TVS
KTAU TTOL TANA TANB MSCD SCL DELR
NSTR KMOD KSV KSB KMIN KMAX ALPH FMAX
CRAC CW BB HMIN HMAX CW- FFCT
CHKD CHKT CHKS FAT SIGS TANS TANC
DUMP
Input is divided into blocks, which conclude with the record END. Within each
block, any desired load case and beam combination may be selected and pro-
cessed with the design operations. The program is terminated when an empty
block (END/END) is encountered.
The records HEAD, END and PAGE are described in the general manual
3-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

SOFiSTiK: FEA / STRUCTURAL Installation and Basics.
3.3 Overview of the Design Operations

There are various design operations, each activated by a corresponding record.
With the exception of EIGE, every task may be selected multiple times.
The individual operations are:

EIGE Internal stresses in composite and pre-stressed concrete due
to creep and shrinkage or construction stage (AQBS only)
STRE Stress determination according to elasticity theory Sectional
design based on ultimate plastic forces
DESI Determination of required reinforcement or relative loading ca-
pacity including shear safety for cracked conditions
NSTR Determination of stresses, strains and stiffness with consider-
ation of the material law, calculation of crack width and check
of absolute or the range of stresses
Saving results
Results of design (combination forces, reinforcements, stresses, utilisation fac-
tors) can be saved in the database. The reinforcement has its own case number
LCR. For more Details see record REIN. All other results will be saved under a
load case number either identical to the selected load case (TYPE (D) etc) or
specified with LCST for any superposition combination.
If an iteration with a static calculation of program STAR2 or ASE should take

place, then in most cases the records DESI, REIN and NSTR can be input di-
rectly in STAR2 or ASE. If the requirements to the design differ, then a batch type
iteration with ITER can be used instead (see manual with general instructions).
3.4 Important changes to the Version 2016

With an explicit selection of a design code, only those sections will be designed,
having a reference material matching the scope of the design code.
The printout has been completely redesigned in tabular form. This implied some
separations in multiple tables to get a better overview. The ECHO control has
been adopted.
AQUA creates now sections as finite elements. If this mesh should not be used
for the design, it may be deselected with CTRL FEM 0.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-3

3.5 NORM Default Design Code
NORM
Item Description Unit Default

DC Design code family LT EN
EN Eurocodes
DIN German Standard
OEN Austrian Standard
SIA Swiss Standard
AS Australian Standard
BS British Standard
IS Indian Standard
JS Japanese Standard
US US Standards (ACI etc.)
GB Chinese Building Codes
NF French Standard
I Italian Standard
E Spanish Standard
S Swedish Standard
DS Danish Standard
NS Norwegian Standard
SNIP Russian Standard
NZS New Zealand Standard
ET Egypt Building Code
MSZ Hungarian Standard
SFS Finnish Standard
NEN Netherlands Standard
NBN Belgian Standard
NBR Brazilian Standard
ZA South African Standard
NDC Designation of a specific design code Lt16 -

3-4 SOFiSTiK 2016


COUN Country code for boxed values within EN *
00 General EN
FR / F / 33 France
ES / E / 34 Spain
IT / I / 39 Italy
CH / 41 Switzerland
AT / A / 43 Austria
UK / 44 Great Britain
DE / D / 49 Germany
or any other valid TLD
CAT Category or Class Lt4 -/!

ALT Altitude above sea level m 0.0
WIND Wind zone Lt4 *
SNOW Snow zone Lt4 *
SEIS Seismic zone Lt4 *
WCAT Terrain category for wind Lt4 *
UNIT Selection of a set of units *
Many defaults for materials, superposition and design are selected according to
the selected design code and an optional country code and all the other data
provided with this record. It is therefore requested to specify this data with the
beginning of the project.
A redefinition of the design code after the definition of actions or load

cases have been defined or the editing of the INI-File to include missing
materials does not comply with the provisions of SOFiSTiK for a proper
use of the software.
It is possible to redefine the design code NORM temporarily for the design (eg.
concrete / steel) if the parameters of the actions remain the same. As this might
have some special risque, the user should use this option thoroughly.
Although there are still explicit code fragments in the software unavoidable,
many of the defaults are specified in so called INI-Files located in the SOFiSTiK
directory. The name of the matching INI-file is derived from the given data as
DC_NDC.INI.
Some properties (e.g. Eurocode) are dependant on national variants (boxed
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-5

values). Corresponding INI-files to EN 1992-2004 and EN 1993-2005 and the

country code may be used to select those values, as far as we have got notice
of them. The country code for example is valid for deviations in Hong Kong to
the British Standard or similar.
Some codes require or allow the selection of a category or class. This can
then be specified with CAT. The possible items are given in the INI-File. For
evaluations with historic design codes not available with an INI-file, the definition
of CAT USER allows to specify any name of the design code.
In the case of a subsequent modification of these classes or categories the

input which depends on the design code has to be checked and adapted if
necessary.
The extend to which the specified altitude, wind/snow or earthquake zone def-
initions are accounted for is described in the program manuals of the modules
using those values. The user should never assume that all regulations of the de-
sign codes are automatically fulfilled when selecting such a value. The possible
items and defaults are given in the matching INI-File. The resultant values which
result from the altitude or the wind/snow/earthquake zones have to be checked
in the corresponding programs in the case of a subsequent modification. E.g.
for some design codes the combination coefficients of the snow depend on the
altitude. In the case of a modification of the altitude combination coefficients
have to be adapted by the user if necessary.
If the user wants to suppress such a value completely he may specify it with
NONE.
The item UNIT will be processed only in AQUA or TEMPLATE. With a definition
of UNIT a set of units will be selected globally for all input and output data in
all other modules. The default is specified in the INI-file. Definitions with record
PAGE will be active only within the current module.
The following design codes are available as INI-Files and/or special program
code has been created to cope with special regulations. The marks A and B
indicate if this code has been implemented in AQB and BEMESS. For more
detailed information, especially which provisions of the codes have been imple-
mented, please check the manuals and the HTM-files of the design programs.
In many cases it is possible to add some clauses within short time within the
program or with CADINP.
3-6 SOFiSTiK 2016

EN - Eurocodes
Description UNIT Design

EN 1992-2004 EN 1992-1 (2004) 5 A,B
CAT AN/AP Building construction
Table 7.1N EN 1992-1-1
CAT B,C,D Bridges
EN 1993-2005 EN 1993-1 (2005) 5 A
CAT A Building construction
CAT B,C,D Bridges
EN 1994-2004 EN 1994-1 (2004) 5 A
CAT A Building construction
CAT B,C,D Bridges
EN 1995-2004 EN 1995-1 (2004) 5 A
EN 1999-2007 EN 1999-1 (2007) 5 A
EN 1992-1991 EN 1992-1 (1991) 5 A,B
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-7

DIN - Deutsche Norm

DIN EN1992-2004 DIN EN 1992-1-1/NA:2013 5 A,B
DIN EN 1992-2/NA:2013
CAT AN/AP/AV Hochbau Tabelle 7.1
DE
CAT B,C,D Brckenbau
DIN EN1993-2005 DIN EN 1993-1-1/NA:2010-12 5 A
CAT A Hochbau
CAT B,C,D Brckenbau
DIN EN1994-2004 DIN EN 1992-1-1/NA:2010 5 A,B
DIN EN 1994-2/NA:2010
CAT AN/AP/AV Hochbau Tabelle 7.1
DE
CAT B,C,D Brckenbau
DIN 1045-2008 DIN 1045-1 (2008) 0 A,B
CAT -/A/B/C/D/E/F (Tab. 18)
Klassifizierung von Nachweisbe-
dingungen
DIN FB102-2009 DIN Fachbericht 102 (2009) 0 A,B
CAT A/B/C/D/E (Tab. 4.118) Klassi-
fizierung von Nachweisbedingun-
gen
DIN FB103-2009 DIN Fachbericht 103 (2009) 2 A
CAT A/B/C/D/E (Tab. 4.118 des FB
102), Klassifizierung von Nach-
weisbedingungen
DIN 18800 Stahlbau (Nov. 2008) 2 A
CAT A/B
A voreingestellte berlagerung
DIN 18800
B voreingestellte berlagerung
DIN 1055-100
DIN 1052-2008 Holzbau (2008) 0 A
3-8 SOFiSTiK 2016


DIN 1045-1 DIN 1045-1 (2001) 0 A,B
CAT -/A/B/C/D/E/F (Tab. 18) Klas-
sifizierung von Nachweisbedin-
gungen
DIN FB102-2003 DIN Fachbericht 102 (2003) 0 A,B
CAT A/B/C/D/E (Tab. 4.118) Klas-
sifizierung von Nachweisbedin-
gungen
DIN 1045 Alte Norm (1988) 0 A,B
DAfStb hochfest.Beton (1995) A
DIN 4227 Alte Spannbetonnorm + Anhang A1 0 A
(1995)
DIN 18800-1990 Stahlbau (1990) 2 A
DIN 1052 Holzbau (1988) 0 A
DIN 1054 Grundbau (2005) 0
OEN - sterreichische Norm

OEN EN1992-2004 OENORM B 1992-1 (2011) 5 A,B
OENORM B 1992-2 (2008)
CAT AN/AP/AV Hochbau Tabelle 4 B
1992-1-1
CAT B,C,D Brckenbau B 1992-2
OEN EN1993-2005 OENORM B 1993-1-1 (2007) 5 A
CAT A Hochbau
CAT B,C,D Brckenbau
OEN 4700 Stahlbeton OENORM B 4700 (2001) 0 A,B
OEN 4750 Spannbeton OENORM B 4750 (2000) 0 A
OEN 4300 Stahl OENORM B 4300 (1994) 0 A
For the old design codes OEN 4200, OEN 4250, OEN 4253 no INI files exist.
The program AQB is so programmed that the appropriate design is done with
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-9

input of the design code. As materials BOE is input for concrete and BSOE for
steel.
3-10 SOFiSTiK 2016

SIA - Schweizer Norm

SIA 262 Schweizer Betonbaunorm (2013) 0 A,B
SIA 263 Schweizer Stahlbaunorm (2003) 2 A
SIA 265 Schweizer Holzbaunorm (2003) 0 A
SIA 162 Schweizer Stahlbetonnorm (1989) 0 A
BS - British Standard

BS EN1992-2004 NA to BS EN 1992-1-1:2004 (2005) 6 A,B
CAT AN/AP Building construction Ta-
ble 7.1N EN 1992-1-1
CAT B,C,D Bridges
BS 8110 British Standard Concrete (1997) 6 A,B
HK/852 country code Hong Kong
BS 5400 British Standard Concrete Bridge (1990) 6 A
CAT 0 without Prestress
CAT 1/2/3 Prestress for Class 1/2/3
IL/972 country code Israel
BS 5950 British Standard Steelwork (2001) 6 A
US - American Standards and Unified Building Code

US ACI-318-08 American Standard ACI / UBC (2008) 0 A,B
US ACI-318-02 American Standard ACI / UBC (2002) 0 A,B
incl. ACI-318-05
US ACI-318-99 American Standard ACI / UBC (1999) 0 A
US AASHTO-2010 American Highway (2010) 0 A
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-11


US AISC-2005 American Standard AISC (Steel) 2005 0 A
US AISC American Standard AISC (Steel) 1998 0 A
3-12 SOFiSTiK 2016

SNIP - Russian Standard

SNIP 52101 SP 52-101-2003 (2004) (Concrete) 0 A,B
SNIP 20301 SNIP II 03.01 - 84 (89) (Concrete) 0 A,B
SNIP 22381 SNIP II 23.81 (89) (Steel) 2 A
SNIP RK50333 SNIP RK 5.03-33-2005 (Concrete) 0 A
Kasakhstan
IS - Indian Standard

IS 456 Indian Standard (2000) (Concrete) 6 A
IS IRC18 Indian Roads Congress 6 A
Prestressed Road Bridges
IS IRC21 Indian Roads Congress Road Bridges 6 A
IS IRC112 Indian Roads Congress: Code of Practice for 6
Concrete Road Bridges (2011)
AS - Australian Standard

AS 3600 Concrete Structures (2009) 6 A,B
AS 4100 Structural Steel (1998) 6 A
AS 5100 Bridge Design (2004) 6 A
E - Instrucciones Espaniola

E EHE Instrucion de hormign estructural 0 A,B
Nivel de control de ejecucin:
EHE Normal
EHE_INTENSIO Intensio
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-13


EHE_REDUCIDO Reducido
3-14 SOFiSTiK 2016

I - Decreto Ministeriale Italiane

I DM-2008 Decretto Ministeriale 2008 0 A,B
CAT A1 Costruzioni Civili
CAT A2/A3 Ponti
I DM-2005 Decretto Ministeriale 2005 0 A,B
I DM-96 Decretto Ministeriale 9. gennaio 1996: 0 A,B
Parte I: Cemento armato normale e precom-
presso
Parte II: Acciaio
Parte III: Manufatti prefabbricati prodotti
Parte IV: Costruzioni composte d elemeti in met-
alli
Parte V: Per travi composte acciaio -
calcestruzzo
NF - AFNOR Association Francaise de Normalisation

NF EN1992-2004 Annexe Nationale la NF EN 1992-1-1/-2 5 A,B
CAT AN/AP Btiment Tableau 7.1NF
NF EN 1992-1-1/NA
CAT B,C,D Ponts
NF BAEL Regle techniques de conception et de cal- 0 A,B
cul des ouvrages et construction en beton
arm suivant la methode des tats limites.
BAEL/BPEL 91 revises 99
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-15

S - Svenska Boverkets Konstruktionsregler (BKR)

S EN1992-2004 National Annex to Eurocode 2 5 A,B
SS-EN 1992-1-1:2004/NA:2009,
SS-EN 1992-2:2005/NA:2009
CAT
A1 byggnader & skerhets"-klass 1
A2 byggnader & skerhets"-klass 2
A3 byggnader & skerhetsklass 3
B1 vegbruer & skerhets"-klass 1
C1 gangbruer & skerhets"-klass 1
D1 jernbanebruer & skerhets"-klass
1
2
3
S BBK-04 Boverkets Handbok om Betongkonstruk- 0 A,B
tioner
CAT 1/2/3 (Skerhetsklasslg/nor-
mal/hg)
S BRO-2004 Vgverket BRO 2004 0 A
DS - Danish Standard

DS EN1992-2004 National Annex to Eurocode 2 5 A,B
EN 1992-1-1 DK NA:2011
CAT
LE low safety & extended control
3-16 SOFiSTiK 2016


NE normal safety & extended con-
trol
HE high safety & extended control
LN low safety & normal control
NN normal safety & normal control
(default)
HN high safety & normal control
LR low safety & reduced control
NR normal safety & reduced control
HR high safety & reduced control
- safety acc. to EN 1990 DK NA:2011
consequences classes
- control acc. to EN 1992-1-1 DK NA:2011
inspection level
DS 411 Norm for betonkonstruktioner 0 A,B
CAT
trol
(default)
NR normal safety & reduced control
DS 411-bro Norm for betonkonstruktioner 3 A,B
Default for superpositions for bridges
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-17

NS - Norsk Standard

NS EN1992-2004 National Annex to Eurocode 2 5 A,B
NS-EN 1992-1-1:2004/NA:2008,
NS-EN 1992-2:2005/NA:2010
CAT
A1 bygninger & palitelighetsklasse
1
A2 bygninger & palitelighets-klasse
2
3
4
B vebruer (palitelighets-klasse 3)
C gangbruer (palitelighets-klasse
3)
D jernbanebruer (palitelighet-
sklasse 3)
NS 3472 Prosjektering av Stalkonstruksjoner 0 A
CAT 1/2/3/4 (Palitelighetsklasse) Liten
/ Middels / Stor / Saerlig stor
NS 3473 Prosjektering av Betongkonstruksjoner 0 A
CAT 1/2/3/4 (Palitelighetsklasse) Liten
/ Middels / Stor / Saerlig stor
3-18 SOFiSTiK 2016

SFS - Finnish Standard

SFS EN1992-2004 National Annex to Eurocode 2 5 A,B
SFS-EN 1992-1-1 NA:2007
CAT
trol
(default)
NR normal safety & reduced con-
trol
- safety acc. to SFS-EN 1990 NA
consequences classes
- control acc. to SFS-EN 1992-1-1
NA:2007 inspection level
SFS TA1992-2004 National Annex to Eurocode 2 for 5 A
bridges only
CAT B,C,D,E Bridges
NEN - Netherlands Standard

NEN EN1992-2004 NEN-EN 1992-1-1+C2/NB:2011 5 A,B
CAT AN/AP Building construction
Table 7.1N EN 1992-1-1
CAT B,C,D Bridges
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-19

NBN - Belgian Standard

NBN EN1992-2004 NBN EN 1992-1-1 ANB:2010 5 A,B
CAT AN1-AN3/AP1-AP3 Building
construction Table 7.1N EN
1992-1-1
CAT B1-B3,C1C3,D1-D3 Bridges
NBN EN1993-2005 NBN EN 1993-1-1 ANB:2010 5 A
CAT A1-A3 Building
CAT B1-B3,C1C3,D1-D3 Bridges
MSZ - Magyar Szabvny

MSZ UT414 Code of Roadbridges 0 A,B
NZS - New Zealand Standards

NZS 3101 Concrete Structures Standard (1995) 6 A,B
ET - Egypt Reinforced Concrete Design Code

ET RC-2001 Based on description 0 A,B
Reinforced Concrete Design Handbook
Prof.Dr.Shaker El-Behairy, Ain Shams Univers.
GB - Chinese Standard

GB 50010 Chinese Standard for Concrete Structures (2002) 0 A
3-20 SOFiSTiK 2016

JS - Japan Standard

JS JRA Japan Road Association Standard (2002) 0 A
NBR - Brazilian Standard

NBR 6118-2003 Norma Brasileira, Projeto de estruturas de 5 A,B
concreto - Procedimento
CAT A Edifcios
CAT B Pontes rodovirias
CAT C Passarelas de pedestres
CAT D Pontes ferrovirias
ZA - South African Standard

ZA TMH7 Code of Practice for the Design of Highway 6 A
Bridges and Culverts in South Africa (1989)
CAT 0 without Prestress
CAT 1/2/3 Prestress for Class 1/2/3
The following table describes the implemented features for the current steel and
timber design codes exceeding the simple stress check or the fully applied non-
linear analysis:
Design Code F-ASD LRD c/t dyn BDK

EN 1993-2005 - X X X X X
EN 1999-2007 - X X X X -
DIN 18800 (1990) X (X) X X DIN X
4132
DIN EN1993-2005 - X X X X X
DS 804/805 (2000/2004) X -
DIN 4113 (1980) - X - X - -
DIN FB103-2009 (2009) - X X X X -
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-21

Design Code F-ASD LRD c/t dyn BDK

DIN FB103-2003 (2003) - X X X X -
OEN 4300 (1994) - (X) - - - X
OEN EN1993-2005 - X X X X X
SIA 263 (2003) - - X X X -
BS 5950 (2001) - - - X - X
US AISC - - - X - -
US AISC-2005 - - - X - -
SNIP 22381 (1989) - - - - X -
AS 4100 - - - - - -
S BSK 99 - - - - - -
NS 3472 - - - - - -
EN 1995 (1994) X - - X - -
DIN 1052 (2004) X - - X - -
SIA 265 (2003) X - - X - -
NBN EN1993-2005 - X X X X X
where
F-ASD Factors for different permissible stresses

LRD Load resistance factor design
c/t Limit slenderness for plates
Centric buckling curves
dyn Fatigue stress
BDK Lateral torsional buckling (with program BDK)
The following table describes the implemented features for the concrete design
exceeding the design for bending and shear:
Design Code SK CC CZ VB CT CW DY
EN 1992-1991 X X - - X X X
EN 1992-2004 - X X - X X X
EN 1994-2004 - X - - X X X
DIN 1045 (1988) X X - - X X -
DAfStb hochfest.Beton
DIN 4227+A1 (1995) - X - X - X -
3-22 SOFiSTiK 2016

DIN 1045-1 (2001) X X X - X X X
DIN 1045-2008 (2008) X X X - X X X
DIN FB102-2009 (2009) - X X - X X X
DIN FB102-2003 (2003) - X X - X X X
DIN FB104-2003 (2003) - X X - - X X
DIN EN1992-2004 - X - - X X X
DIN EN1994-2004 - X - - X X X
OEN 4700 (2001) X X - - X X -
OEN 4750 (2000) - X - - X X -
OEN EN1992-2004 - X - - X X X
SIA 262 (2013) - X - - - X -
BS 8110 (1997) - - - - - X -
BS 5400 (1990) - - - - - X -
BS EN1992-2004 - X X - X X X
SNIP 20301 (1989) - - - - - X -
SNIP 52101 (2004) - - - - - X -
E EHE (1999) - - - - - X -
I DM-96 - - - - - - -
I DM-2005 - - - - - - -
I DM-2008 - X - - X X X
NF BAEL (1999) - - X - X X -
NF EN1992-2004 - X X - X X X
S BBK 04 / BRO 04 - - - - - X -
DS 411 - - - - - X -
DS EN1992-2004 - X X - X X X
SFS EN1992-2004 - X X - X X X
NEN EN1992-2004 - X X - X X X
NBN EN1992-2004 - X X - X X X
NS 3473 - X - - - - -
NS EN1992-2004 - X - - X X X
US ACI 318-99 (1999) X - - - - - -
US ACI 318-02 (2005) X - - - - - -
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US ACI 318-08 (2008) X - - - - - -
US AASHTO-2002 - - - - - - -
US AASHTO-2004 - - - - - - -
US AASHTO-2010 - - - - - - -
ET RC-2001 - - - - X - -
AS 3600 (2009) - X - - - - -
AS 5100 (2001) - X X - - - -
NZS 3101 (1995) - - - - - X -
GB 50010 - X - - - - -
IS 456 (2000) X - - - - X -
IS IRC 18 (2000) - - - - - X -
IS IRC 21 (2000) - X - - - X -
JS JRA - X - - - - -
NBR 6118-2003 - X - - X X -
ZA TMH7 (1989) - - - - - X -
where
SK Extra moments from slenderness

CC Creep and shrinkage coefficients
CZ Relaxation coefficients for tendons
VB Bond stress
CW Crack width by calculation of crack width
CT Crack width by tabulated stresses
DY Sway stress for fatigue checks
If a task is not provided with a special feature for a design code, the program will
use the provisions of the Eurocode instead. However not all provisions of the
design codes may be covered by a program or even described in above tables.
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3.6 CTRL Controlling the Calculation
CTRL

OPT A literal from the following list: LT !
Forces:
AXIA Type of bending
ACT Groups of actions
VRED Maximum haunches inclination
SMOO Special effects forces/moments
VERT Vertical factor
NLIM Relative normal force
ED relative eccentricity
Analysis:
FEM Usage of FE-sections
USEP utilisation level
EIGE Options for internal stresses
DESV Concrete shear design method
SVRF Sectional factor reinforcements
INTE axial strain and stress interaction
PIIA Prestress in stage II
VM Displacement of envelope line
CNOM Cover for all sections
ELIM threshold strain
IMAX Max. number of iterations
ETOL Tolerance for iterations
AMAX Maximum factor line-search
AGEN Relative precision line-search
VAL The value of the option -

VAL2 Optional second value -
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-25

Explanations of the CTRL-options
3.6.1 Forces
AXIA Type of bending
+1 = Uniaxial bending (VY=MZ=0)
(default for planar systems and without AQUA license)
if there are values for Vy and MZ, the resultant forces will be
designed as Vz and My to allow this option to be used for
circular sections in a 3D system.
+2 = Biaxial bending, uniaxial extreme fibre stresses in system of
principal axes
-1 = Uniaxial bending due to symmetry
(VY=MZ=0, IYZ=0, YS=YSMP=0)
This value is inforced for sections defined with symmetric
condition in AQUA. ZSYM is also a vaild input instead of -1.
-2 = Biaxial bending, uniaxial extreme fibre stresses in y-z sys-
tem of section
(default for three-dimensional systems)
-3 = Biaxial bending for all sections even those with ZSYM def-
inition in AQUA (y-z-system) This option is not consistent
and only applicable in very rare cases.
ACT Groups of actions (AQB/AQBS only)
0= Each basic action identifier is an own action
1= Actions of the same category are members of the same ac-
tion (default)
2= The actions within one row of the table at record LC are
treated as members of the same action.
SMOO Smoothing of moments at supports
0 = no smoothing
1 = principal bending only (default)
2 = principal and lateral bending
4 = apply also for moments from prestress (type PR, not
ZP,SP)
8 = also reduce prestress shear forces linear
+128 = do not apply any reference systems
+256 = do not convert shear forces at inclined normal axis
+512 = do not convert moments at inclined normal axis
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Smoothing of the moments occurs only if a support edge was

defined. The shear force becomes zero at the support.
VRED Inclination to be applied maximally for conversion of the shear force
in haunches.
(default: 0.3333, 0. = no conversion)
SVRF Factor for consideration of non-prestressed reinforcement with sec-
tion properties CS0 to CS15.
(default: 0.0 or the input value of CTRL RFCS from AQUA which is
not changeable for the gross section)
For creep and shrinkage the effect of the reinforcement may be
considerably, this may be suppressed with option CTRL EIGE 64.
VM Coefficient to account for forces resulting from shear force and and
torsion are to be considered for longitudinal reinforcement (shift
rule).
VAL From shear foce
0.0 = do not consider (current default)
>0= explicit value for cot() of truss angle
x[ %] = factor for values of shift rule
STD = offset value for shift rule only without
changing reinforcements
VAL2 From torsion
0.0 = do not consider (current default)
>0= explicit value for cot() of truss angle
<0= use value only for NSTR
CNOM Fixed value of the cover for all sections
In AQB within the record BEAM the user can define explicitly if this is a bending
or compressed member. The default value is depending on the orientation of
the gravity direction to the beam axis and the eccentricity of the load < ED and
the magnitude of the compression force > NGRE A r.
VERT Boundary value of maximum deviation of the beam axis from the
horizontal plane so that a beam is still classified as a bending mem-
ber.
(default: 0.3333)
The distinction between bending members and compression mem-
bers is essential for the consideration of the minimum reinforce-
ment of the statically necessary cross section. As the normal rules
of deciding (normal force eccentricity e/d < 3,5 and N > Nboun)
will fail near the point of zero moment, an additional criterion is
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-27

the horizontal and/or vertical orientation of the beam (Defined via

SYST GDIR in SOFiMSHA/SOFiMSHB). Thus the user is respon-
sible to identify horizontal compression members explicitly by input
in the BEAM record.
NLIM Lower limit of axial force relative to plastic axial force for "compres-
sion members" (0.001)
ED Relative eccentricity for boundary between compression and bend-
ing members, if not defined with record BEAM. (3.5)
3.6.2 Analysis Methods

FEM Usage of FE mesh of section
0 do not use it, use classical polygon data
1 use it, but do not save FE-results
2 use it and save FE results to child database
USEP utilisation level which should be checked Some checks work on
utilisation instead of stresses (for example plastic design N/Npl).
Keyword USEP controls the utilisation level above which a mark
should appear.
EIGE Options for determining internal stresses
(only AQBS, cf. record EIGE)
0 none (default)
1 Creep analysis loads are created for statically indeterminate
calculation.
2 Evaluate losses also for tendons without bond
4 constraining forces are calculated proportional to the stati-
cally determinate parts
8 Existing forces of the creep load case will not be erased
16 The internal stresses of load cases which cause creep will
be taken into account in the new calculation. (Superposition
instead of individual quantities, e.g. for graphics)
32 do not deactivate creep for tensioned sections
64 do not activate reinforcement, even if QWF is set to 1.0
256 Create only initial strains for a non-linear analysis
512 Suppress factorization of creep factors to defined elasticity
modulus of concrete
SAFE Selection of safety factors according EN 1992-2 B.105
VAL2: 0 = none, 1 = shrinkage, 2 = creep, 3 = both
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(EIGE itself may select a default, which could be deactivated

later with CTRL EIGE)
SUM Use the summation approach according Ruesch (old DIN
4227)
EN10 Use the Eurocode EN 1992-1-1:2004+AC:2010 resp. EN
1992-2:2005+AC:2008
MC90 Use the CEB-FIP Model Code 1990
MC10 Use the fib Model Code 2010
INTE Non linear axial strain effects and Shear/axial stress interaction
0= do not take into account
1= isotrope reduction of stresses
2= Prandtl flow rule for stresses (default)
3= preference of shear stress (At solid sections option 1 to 3
are identical.)
4= non-linear axial strain effects (axial stiffness + plastic strain)
5= 4+1
6= 4+2
7= 4+3
REIN Treatment of reinforcements
FIX No increase of any reinforcements
FIXL No increase of longitudinal reinforcements
FIXS No increase of shear link reinforcements
PIIA Parameters of cracked condition (only to be used from experienced
users!)
First Value for DESI , second value for NSTR. The values have to
be defined before the design task. Defaults are 7 and 5.
Values sum up from:
1= Cracked conditions will be used
2= Statically determinate forces will be subtracted an
initial strain will be calculated for tendons
(Alternative: total forces + stress increase)
4= Extra straining of concrete due to prestressing will
be considered
8= Level arm of tension zone will be computed with
total force instead of an incremental calculation
16 = do not use stress increments for shear force
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-29

32 = Area of the composite mortar is not effective after

grouting (Default for OeNORM B4700 and B4750)
64 = Use eigenstresses as initial strain.
N10 = set relative factor of normal force to 1.0

MY10 = set relative factor of bending moment y to 1.0
MZ10 = set relative factor of bending moment z to 1.0
REST = reset previous input of N10,MY10 or MZ10. The
input of N10 to MZ10 are cumulative options to
get for example the bearable moment for a given
normal force or other cases which might be useful
for capacity design.
DESV Method for shear design of cracked sections
0 Shear only based on the sectional values
1 Shear from the difference of longitudinal forces for flanges
(see DIN 1045-1, 10.3.5., ENV 1992 6.2.4.)
2 Shear from the difference of longitudinal forces for all type
of shear cuts
3 Maximum from option 0 and 2
4 as 0, but deactivate fall back based on uncracked shear
NRIL Use the inclination according Eq. 12.15 of German
Nachrechnungsrichtlinie
Default: 1
The difference of the longitudinal forces may be only calculated
if the sections are similar, i.e. they are equal, derived from the
same template or interpolated. Further the moments and shear
forces have to match. This will be checked by a comparison of the
difference of the moments an the mean value of the shear. This
will be exact for sections with constant transverse loading, but for
biaxial bending or second order effects, deviations may be larger
and have to be below the limit established by VAL2 (Default 10[%] )
ELIM Threshold strain for design in o/oo (0.002)
Only sections with internal forces and moments whose elastic edge
strains are numerically larger than EGRE are designed.
ETOL Precision when determining the internal forces and moments
3-30 SOFiSTiK 2016

(default: 0.0001)
IMAX Maximum number of iterations
(default: 50)
AMAX Maximum factor for line-search
(default: 1000)
AGEN Relative precision of line-search
(default: 0.2)
Inputs on the method of iteration (IMAX, AMAX, AGEN) should only be made in
exceptional cases.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-31

3.7 BEAM Selection of the Elements to be Designed
See also: TEND, LC

BEAM

FROM First element number or / LT 1
GRP for group selection
SLN for structural line
REF for geometric axis
TO Last element number or selector / LT FROM
INC Increment of element number 1
TYPE Element type (See explanations) LT BEAM
X X value of beam section or station on axis [m] 1001 -
XE 2nd value to define an intervall [m] 1001 -
no input = all sections
NCS Section number (!)

BETA Coefficient of effective/buckling length *
BETS Same for secondary transverse bending BETA
STYP Bitpattern of properties of the section -
1 Discontinuity for EIGE loads
2 Design for shear without mini-
mum reinforcement
LAMS Coeff. equiv. stress range reinforcements 1.0

LAMT Coeff. equiv. stress range tendons 1.0
LAML Coeff. equiv. stress range shear links 1.0
LAMC Coeff. equivalent stress range concrete 1.0
CS Content of CSi data: LT NUM

NUM explicit construction stages
AUTO construction stages as in section
AUTX extended stages from section
AS given longitudinal reinforcement
ASV given shear link reinforcement
3-32 SOFiSTiK 2016


CS0 Construction stage nr for phase 0 (netto) -
CS1 Construction stage nr for phase 1 (ideal) -
... ...
BEAM selects or defines the sections or elements to be designed. Only one

type of elements can ever be processed in one input block. The following are
considered to be of the same type:
BEAM,FLEX,COMP beam elements of database

TRUS truss elements of database
CABL cable elements of database
SECT ... SHEA external sections
These types can be defined:
BEAM = beam elements

FLEX = beam elements as bending members
COMP = beam elements as compression members (cf. 2.5.2 or
CTRL)
TRUS = truss elements
CABL = cable elements
SECT = external section in bending members

SCOM = external section in compression members
FACE = support face
HFAC = support face, hinged support
IFAC = support face, indirect support
SHEA = external section, shear section
With the types FLEX and COMP, the otherwise valid differentiation between
compression and bending members with respect to the orientation to the grav-
ity is overwritten. AQB checks however eccentricity and magnitude of the axial
force in every section against the selection. If CS0 is selected, the default of
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-33

TYPE is changed to FLEX.
Storage of non-linear stiffnesses with the record NSTR is possible only for the
group belonging to type BEAM.
If an X value or range is selected, only the corresponding sections are designed;

X can not be used to interpolate sections. If only TYPE is specified, all of the
elements of this type are selected. If a value is assigned to NCS, then the
program uses for design this section even in the case if another cross section is
stored in the database.
Instead of element numbers it is also possible to specify a primary or secondary

group with literal GRP or a structural line with literal SLN or a bridge axis with
literal REF. The group or axis designation is then to be specified at position TO,
INC has no meaning in those cases. If the referenced element is an axis, the
values CS0 to CS1 may be specified as the name of a variable at the axis with
a maximum of 4 characters, defining the values along the axis.
The coefficient length BETA is used for designing according to the overall effec-
tive length. For a beam element it is relative to the beam length, for a structural
line relative to its total length. It may be entered positive or negative. Only
positive values will enable some buckling design.
If the section has the same buckling curve for y and z bending, the values BE-
TA/BETS are taken for the strong and weak axis, if they are different, the values
BETA/BETS are for the buckling in the local z resp. y directions.
Entering this value does not imply however that all aspects of stability design
are automatically fulfilled. As SOFiSTiK is designed to perform investigations of
the entire frame structure, only a few possibilities are programmed for this type
of design. At the present time there is available:
beams which are intended to be centrally compressed (truss braces or per-

pendicular to the plane of a frame) in accordance with DIN 18800 Part 2.
Further information may be found in the notes on the record STRE.
for the design with additional moments according to:
DIN 1045 17.4.3
NORM B 4700 2.4.3.
ACI 318 and IS 456
This design is intended only for certain ranges of slenderness, which will be
checked. In principal there will be always a two axis design. Printout of the
additional moments is only available for forces of combinations.
3-34 SOFiSTiK 2016

for the design according to the eurocode additional moments will be estab-
lished based on a simplified model column method, but this method is rather
uneconomical for small excentricities (e/d < 0.1) or long columns (l>15d).
Printout of the additional moments is only available for forces of combina-
tions.
Independent from the sign there are the following other effects:
For tendons the increment of the force will be bounded by the bond limits as
given in chapter 13 of the DIN 4227.
Additional properties of the section will be defined by STYP. These are:
1 If CTRL EIGE 1 is given, then a kink should be adopted at this

point during calculation of curvatures.
2 The minimum shear reinforcement will be suppressed for all
cuts
The coefficients LAMC, LAMT and LAMS are used to convert the stress range
evaluated with the program into a damage equivalent stress range. There are
the following possibilities:
> 0.0 for the conversion and check of eq = < k /
< 0.0 for simplified design checks < || k /
= 0.0 to deactivate the fatigue design check
3.7.1 External sections

In general, the user processes only the results of the database or individual
external forces and moments of the load case zero. In order to be able to use
the extensive possibilities for forming combinations, of creep stages and of shear
designs, it is possible to define an external static system which is defined and
managed independently of the existing system.
This system is described by means of the external sections. The user must de-
fine every section with a beam number FROM and with an x value in increasing
order and a section number. When such a section has been defined, all further
inputs of TYPE SECT are interpreted as the defaults.
The system is stored separately in the database, and can be reactivated for later
computing runs with BEAM TYPE SECT.
Since tendons and internal forces and moments are also stored under the de-
fined beam type in the database, both the load cases and the tendons must be
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-35

entered after the beam sections.
For an example of this, see 5.2.3. Bridge Design.
3.7.2 Construction stages

For the description of construction stages the user has to select an arbitrary but
unique numbering scheme. Each change of the section, installation or grouting
of tendons should have its own number. The recommended scheme is to use
numbers 10,20 etc. for constructional phases, while 11,21 are used for post
stressing and 15,25 for the grouting process. With AQBS every beam or beam
section can be assigned up to 31 different cross sections for determining stress
(e.g. gross, net, ideal). These are designated as gross and construction stage
sections CS0 to CS31.
Each section in AQUA may have up to 9 construction phases, each with a con-
struction stage number. If BA0 is defined with the literal AUTO, all CS values de-
fiend in AQUA will be used to define the construction stages, for literal AUTX the
values in AQUA will trigger the stages +0,+1 and +5. The definition of higher
construction stages may be done with multiple continuation lines as described
below. Every row with the literal CS+X will shift the assigned CS numbers by 10,
i.e. the second line defines the values for CS10 to CS19:
BEAM 1001 1099 CS0 10 CS1 11 ......

CS+X CS0 101 CS1 102
Every load case is also assigned to a distinct construction stage. Its forces are
acting on the section whith the highest construction stage less or equal than the
stage of the load case. It is also possible to assign a load case to an explicit
stage (e.g. BA3), this allows to use different construction stages in one load
case or to select always the second construction stage for the poststressing.
Further for every tendon three construction stage numbers are defined (values
ICS1 to ICS3). Each tendon can be installed, grouted, or extended to a particular
stage. Unless the very first tendon is allowed to have ICS1=ICS2, because the
program has to distinguish between the estates before and after the extrusion
very carefully. The following conventions are in effect for the stage SAi:
Empty duct
Tendons with SAi < ICS1 or SAi > ICS3 are present only with their duct as
deductional area.
3-36 SOFiSTiK 2016

Unextruded tendon
Tendons with SAi > ICS1 and SAi < ICS2 are calculated with their steel area
without bond and with their duct as deductional area. In ultimate load design,
the prestressing is calculated with a constant value, without a strain increment.
Extruded tendon
Tendons with SAi > ICS1 and SAi > ICS2 are calculated with their steel area into
the compound and with a deductional area of the same size. For redistribution
due to change in cross section, CTRL EIGE 2, the tendons with ICS2=SAi are
taken into account. ICS2=0 defines tendons with immediate bond.
In the following fictitious construction stage progressions, the appropriate char-

acteristic values are suggested. Assignment of the load cases to these sections
is naturally left up to the user:
1.1. Prestressed concrete girder with later bond

Tendon ICS1=0, ICS2=1
Sections CS0=0 Net cross section
CS1=1 Ideal cross section
2.1. Prefabricated, prestressed concrete part with stranded wires in
immediate bond
2.2. On-site concrete completion with material 2
Tendon ICS1=ICS2=0
Sections CS0=10 Prefabricated part without
on-site poured concrete
Tendon in immediate bond
CS1=20 Prefab + site-poured concrete
Tendon in bond
3.1. Prefabricated, prestressed concrete part with stranded wires (0)
in immediate bond
3.2. Building-in of additional tendons (11) with later bond in prefabricated
part production
3.3. Poured concrete completion at the construction site and building-in of an
additional tendon (21)
Strands ICS1=0, ICS2=0
Tendon (1) ICS1=11, ICS2=12
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-37

Tendon (2) ICS1=21, ICS2=22

Sections CS0=10 Prefab part w/o site concrete
Strands in immediate bond
Tendon (1) as a hole
Tendon (2) as a hole
CS1=11 Prefab part w/o site concrete
before first tendon in bond
CS2=12 Prefab part w/o site concrete
Strands in immediate bond
Tendon (1) in bond
Tendon (2) as hole
CS3=21 Prefab + insitu concrete
before second tendon in bond
CS4=22 Prefab + insitu concrete
All tendons in bond
These properties can also be defined in different ways, so that the user can
hold to a methodology which suits him in large systems with many stages of
construction progress. The order in which tendons are considered depends only
on the relative positions of the ICS numbers with respect to the SA numbers.
Always the highest used CS number of the load cases will be employed for cal-
culations at the total section (e.g. nonlinear, cree and shrinkage etc.) Checks for
building stages should therefore be checked or include the CS value as speci-
fication at COMB. Forces and primary strains will be converted to the selected
reference if necessary.
Definition of the prestressing sequences SAi:

The stress of tendons is active only for those cases where the tendons are really
active. This is rather complex as the forces from prestress are acting on the sec-
tion just before the one where they enter. For the definition of the prestressing
sequences SAi following points are to be considered therefore:
It is strongly recommended to supply two construction stage numbers for

any post-tensioning stage, one for the section, the post-stress is acting on,
the second for the grouted section with bond. It is also expected that for
post-stressing the numbers ICS1 are lower than ICS2. Old definitions with
3-38 SOFiSTiK 2016

ICS1=ICS2 will be corrected automatically to ICS1=ICS2-1 with a warning.

The default for the CS-section of a combination is now derived from the load
cases used in that combination. (This might have an severe impact on those
cases, where the desired section type is not addressed by any load case for
EIGE, ULTI or NSTR.)
If a tendon is not yet used in a CS-section, it will not have its initial stress
value. If it is included, there is still the factor of prestress effective especially
for the very first construction phase. The contribution of decompression of
tendons without bond have been eliminated.
3.7.3 Specification of reinforcements

BEAM may be also used to specify a discrete reinforcement pattern for a system
as needed for non-linear analysis or the determination of relative bearing capac-
ities. When selecting the beams by number and x-value you may specify at CS
the literals AS for the longitudinal reinforcement or ASV for the shear links. At
Position CSi you may now enter the reinforcement values in AS[ mm2 ] 1020 resp
ASV[ mm2 /m] 1021 for the layers of reinforcement with the number i. As a further
enhancement, missing x-values will be interpolated.
BEAM SLN 1 0 e 5 CS AS CS1 5[cm2 ]

REN RMOD SAVE
It has to be noted, that for accounting the existing reinforcements for the sec-
tional values with STRE and EIGE, the intended reinforcement distribution case
LCR has to be selected with record REIN!
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-39

3.8 TEND Tendons (AQBS only)
See also: BEAM, LC

TEND

NO Beam number 1
NOB Tendon number 1
MNO Material number of tendon + 1
1000 number of deductional material 1
ICS1 Prestress stage building-in 1
ICS2 Prestress stage extrusion 1
ICS3 Prestress stage removal 0
X x value on beam axis m 0
Y y value in section coordinate system 0
Z z value in section coordinate system 0
ZZ Tension force kN 0
AZ Area of tendon mm2 0
NY Gradient of tendon in y direction 0
NZ Gradient of tendon in z direction 0
YHR y value of centre point of duct Y
ZHR z value of centre point of duct Z
AHR Area of duct mm2 AZ
DZ Effective diameter mm *
AR Reference area for design of crack width m2 -
UZ Circumference of tendon for crack width mm *
TEMP Temperature for a hot design degC 0
Tendons are generally defined with the program TENDON. For special cases
and external sections, however, they can also be specified directly. The tendons
need to be entered in order by beams and beam sections. The x values need to
be specified with a precision of 1 mm.
The stress phases are the numbers of time stages in the progress of a con-
struction stage, and are assigned to individual sections during the CS inputs of
the BEAM record. For tendons with immediate bond, the correct specification is
ICS2 0.
3-40 SOFiSTiK 2016

If a load case of TYPE PR is given an adjusting factor in a combination, then the

tension forces are also multiplied by this factor.
For the shear check it is necessary that the tendons lie within the cross section.
Otherwise the proportional tensile force is computed wrongly. It is not there-
fore possible to combine all tendons into one single one which lies then outside
of the cross section. AQB checks the situation of the tendon with a tolerance
which corresponds to the radius of the prestressed steel area. External tendons
without bond that are supposed to be excluded from this examination must be
defined with ICS2 9999.
The values DZ and UZ are preset to the corresponding values of an individual

beam. For UZ, the literal BUND can be used to call the formula
p
U = 1.6 AZ (3.1)
If AR is defined as positive, then an additional calculation of the crack width

is done for this tendon alone. For this design, tension members are calculated
into the total reinforcement with the factor min(1.0,0.09/AR). This is to satisfy
the requirement that tension members with delayed bond can only be calculated
within a square with sides of 30 cm. AR can be input as a negative value, if
only the amount to be calculated is desired. If individual tendons are not to be
calculated in or designed at all for the crack width, then AR should be defined
with a large negative value.
NY and NZ are the corresponding inclinations of the prestress cable in respect

to the axis of the beam (tangent) :
NY = dY/ dX
(3.2)
NZ = dZ/ dX
Hint:
Older versions of AQB used only m as basic unit for this record. This has been
changed from Version 12.47 to the more common unit mm (or others selected
via PAGE UNII) as within TENDON. Old definitions will be flagged with an error
13 or 14.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-41

3.9 LC Selection of the Load Case to be Designed
See also: COMB, S

LC

NO Number of the load case / LT -
TYPE Name of action LT -
CST Cross section type for stresses / LT *
nnnn number of a construction stage
GROS gross cross section
CS0 construction stage section 0
REF Reference point of the stored forces and LT PART
moments is the centre of
GROS the total gross section
EFFE the effective section
PART the partial gross section
EFPA the effective partial section
NULL origin of sectional coordinates
TITL Name of the load case Lt24 *
GAMU Unfavourable safty factor *

GAMF Favourable safty factor *
PSI0 Combination coefficient standard *
PSI1 Combination coefficient frequent *
PSI2 Combination coefficient quasi-permanent *
PS1S Combination coefficient non-frequent *
GAMA Safety factor accidental *
APAR Partition of action: G, P, Q, A or E LT *
SUP Superposition within action LT *
FAT Special enlargement for fatigue LT -

DIN naccording DIN FB 102 A 106.2
LC is used to select the load cases to be designed. The first item NO may be
specified with a number, an expression with wildcard symbol (eg. "1??00") for
3-42 SOFiSTiK 2016

load case numbers or the name of a load case type (action). In the latter cases
all load cases matching the criteria will be selected. Especially interesting are:
(D) Ultimate Design combination

(A) Ultimate accidental combination
(E) Ultimate Earthquake combination
(P) Service: Quasi permanent combination
(F) Service: Frequent combination
(N) Service: Non-frequent combination
(R) Service: Rare (characteristic) combination
(H) Comb. of principal loading
(HZ) Comb. of principal+supplemental loading
(PT) permanent load combination e.g. for timber
(LT) long term load combination e.g. for timber
(MT) middle term load combination e.g. for timber
(ST) short term load combination e.g. for timber
(VT) very short term load combination e.g. for timber
The load type is the name of the action to which the load case belongs. The
default are the already defined values, but it is possible to redefine all properties
temporarily.
The most important actions are predefined with the INI-file of the design code.
However any combination of up to 4 characters are possible, but 48 reserved
names with destinated meanings are used to trigger special effects in AQB for
the superposition. AQB saves results in the data base of the design for all
combinations (COMB) with an explicit LCST given and for all single load cases
with one of the above types assigned. If a load case should be classified only
temporarily the type (-) may be used.
Normal Add. Spec. Remark

Gg ZGg SGq dead load
G1g Z1g S1q primary dead load
G2g Z2g S2q secondary dead load
Pg ZPg SPq Prestress
Cg ZCg SCq Creep and shrinkage
Qq ZQq SQq variable load
L ZL SL life load (L in analog mode L_T (TS),
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-43

Normal Add. Spec. Remark

ZL in analog mode L_U (UDL) )
W ZW SW Wind (use ZW for Bridges)
Sq ZS SS Snow (use ZS for Bridges)
Rg ZR SR Earth pressure, Water Pressure
Fq ZF SF Settlements (ZF = expected, SF = possible)
T ZT ST Temperature
A ZA SA Accidential
B ZB SB Construction, Maintenance
(ZB = resistance of bearings,
SB = Exchange of bearings)
E ZE SE Earthquake (ZE = Service, SE = Design)
g
Load case is permanent (always added)
q
Load case is conditional (added if unfavourable)

Load cases are conditional excluding each other
Further it is possible to subdivide each action in categories selected with a char-

acter from A to Z, each having distinguished combination coefficients or safety
factors. This will be appended with an underscore to the name of the action.
With CTRL ACT one may select how to treat the corresponding actions. CTRL
ACT 2 will trigger that load cases within the same row of the table above are
considered to belong to the same action, thus within a combination the action L
will then select ZL and SL load cases too.
Note:
Prestressing is only taken into consideration when a load case with that type
of action is selected. The factor in the combination will be also applied to the
tension force itself if the action does not have a category. With category 0 or 1
these define the factor for pre-tensioning or post-tensioning only. Beside this the
factor max not be specified differently, only the first definition is taken.
When designing individual load cases with prestressing, therefore, all load cases
must be given a prestress action type.
With a definition of FAT DIN the sectional forces of this load case will be mag-
nified based on the location of the section with a factor between 1.40 and 1.75
3-44 SOFiSTiK 2016

according to paragraph A 106.2 of DIN FB 102. Unfortunately the information

about the start and the end of a span is hardly defined. AQB will use the higher
factors therefore only if the beam contains a section with the attribute face
towards the respective end of the span.
The definition of the section type and reference is an essential input to cal-
culate the stresses with the appropriate section. This can be done either by a
global construction stage number or by the section defined explictly in the BEAM
record. he default for CST is CS1 for all load case types except G1 and PR; for
these the default is CS0. Load cases with undefined CS sections are assigned
to the gross section. Therefore, when the CS values are not defined in the BEAM
record, all load cases operate on the gross section.
TITL can be used not only to title a load case which is to be newly defined, but
can also make a later change or expand the name of a load case which is stored
in the database. AQB has various ways of using load cases:
1. No specification for LC
If nothing is specified for LC, all load cases stored in the database are
designed individually. External forces and moments S are processed sep-
arately as load case 0.
2. Specification for LC only
When LC is specified, only these load cases are designed.
3. LC and S
If internal forces and moments are defined after any LC record, they are
saved under this load case and are included in the remaining calculation.
This option not only permits the definition of load cases for sections, but also
allows the inclusion of additional forces and moments in the calculation for
individual sections, even without static design to an existing system. This
causes deletion of results stored under the same load case number.
4. LC and COMB
If design combinations are selected in addition, then only these combina-
tions are designed. The load case types are evaluated only in connection
with these combination regulations. The input of COMB supplements the
possibilities of the program MAXIMA, and allows calculation with divided
safety coefficients, or selection from among traffic load cases.
The internal forces and moments of the load case, if any, must be input immedi-
ately following the LC record. Internal stresses are automatically deleted when
internal forces and moments are input.
The combination coefficients and safety factors will be usually defined with the
generation of the load case. A definition in AQB will be only of temporarily
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-45

influence and will not account for any defaults by specifying a load case type.
Only in those cases where forces and moments are defined in AQB explicitly,
the defaults from the corresponding INI-file will be taken.
The items APAR and SUP define the superposition of load cases within an ac-
tion. The default will be taken from the action. However if only one of the values
is specified, the other value will be reset to its default value.
APAR Remark
G permanent action (without PSI-values)
P Prestress (without PSI-values)
Q variable action
A accidental action
E Earthquake action
SUP Remark
PERM use always / permanent
COND conditional (only taken if unfavourable)
EXCL mutually exclusive
UNSI unfavourable sign (eg earth quake)
USEX mutually exclusive with unfavourable sign
ALEX mutually exclusive permanent cases
3-46 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.10 S Internal Forces and Moments
See also: LC
S

NCS Cross section number 1
NO Element number 1
X X value [m] 1001 0
N Axial force [kN] 1101 0
VY Shear force [kN] 1102 0
VZ Shear force [kN] 1102 0
MT Total torsional moment [kNm] 1103 0
MY Bending moment [kNm] 1104 0
MZ Bending moment [kNm] 1104 0

MB Warping moment kNm2 1105 0
MT2 Secondary torsional moment [kNm] 1103 0
Y Reference coordinates [mm] 1011 *

Z Reference coordinates [mm] 1011 *
REF Designation of a sectional point Lt8 -
These records can be used to define individual internal forces and moments for
a separate design.
The forces and moments defined with S are normally saved under load case
number 0. The values NO and X are then needed only for identifying the output.
If a load case is given with LC, the internal forces and moments are stored
under the latest defined load case. In this case the section NCS is used only to
define the reference coordinates, and the forces and moments must be input in
increasing sequential order by beam number and x value. Negative x values are
interpreted as dimensions from the beam end.
Axial force and bending moments are referenced to the centroid, torsional mo-
ment and shearing forces to the centre of shear of the section. If a specification
for Y or Z is made, however, then all internal forces and moments are relative
to the so-defined reference point in the section coordinate system. They are
immediately transformed to the centroid or the centre of shear. The torsional
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-47

moments the sum from the Saint-Venant part and the secondary torsion from
warping torsion.
Forces and moments without a load case are always expected without the static
determined part of the prestress forces, defined in AQUA for example. However
if load cases or combinations are used, the forces and moments are always the
total sum of all contributions.
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3.11 COMB Definition of Load Case Combinations
See also: LC
COMB

EXTR Extreme values of the combination LT MAMI
SOLO Individual without checks
MAX Maximum
MIN Minimum
MAMI Maximum and Minimum
SUM Add all values together
AND Continuation, add load cases
see more types at remarks
SCOM Internal force/moment for extreme value LT MY
N Axial force
VY Shear force component
VZ Shear force component
MT Torsional moment
MY Bending moment
MZ Bending moment
SFAC Factor for internal force/moment 1.0/*
LC1 Load case number or load type / LT -

F1 Factor for LC1 1.0
LCST Load case number for results -
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-49


CST Section type for EIGE / DESI / NSTR LT/ *
GROS Gross section
nn explicit construction stage
CS0 Construction stage section 0
...
CS99 Construction stage section 99
TITL Name of the combination Lt24 *
AQBS normally performs its design operations for the selected load cases. With
COMB, combinations of the load cases can be defined instead, as are used in
partial safety theory in many international codes or prestressed concrete.
The combinations must be input before the particular design request is specified,
and will stay in effect for later operations as well, until a new definition is made.
For each combination you may define a load case number LCST to store results.
Then the results are stored under this load case number. These are:
Combined forces and moments (not at EIGE) (incl. all special effects and
transformations)
Stresses for each material and selected stress points or the centre of every
shear cut for STRE. For shear stress in concrete we store for the reference
stress the shear stress due to lateral shear stress only.
Eigenstresses in case of EIGE
non-linear stresses for DESI and NSTR
You may also define for every block of combinations two special load case num-
bers via the combinations GMAX and GMIN with LCST. Then the maximum and
minimum values of the results will be stored via this load case numbers in the
same format.
If TITL is not selected, AQB constructs a name of its own from the involved load
cases.
For each load case a number can be specified; then the load case which is
addressed thereby is added up without regard for its type. As an alternative, a
load type can also be addressed (see record type LC); then all load cases of this
type are addressed and combined as selected within the action definition. e.g:
For the types G1, G2, PR and C, all of the contributing components are
3-50 SOFiSTiK 2016

added together (permanent loads). Load type G includes all of the G1 and
G2 load types.
For the type Q, S, F all components will be added if their contribution is
unfavourable (alternate action). This is also valid for ZG, Z1, Z2, ZP, ZC, ZQ
and SG, S1, S2, SP, SC, SQ.
In the cases of all other types, out of all the load cases of the same type,
only the one which yields the least favourable contribution is used. Typical
examples are alternative load cases max-My and min-My, which come from
a development of extreme values or an evaluation of influence lines.
ATTENTION: This behaviour may be changed via the INI-File for any predefined
or user defined action type. Each load case selection may have an additional
factor applied. If there are more than six load cases, then they must be input
with a second record, with the entries AND and EXTR.
With a special superposition type the user may apply the factors for a special
load case combination using safety factors and combination coefficients. There
are available:
Design combination favourable/unfavourable:
MAXD/MIND/MAMD
X
S = g Gk + q,1 Qk,1 + q, 0, Qk, (3.3)
Accidental design combination favourable/unfavourable:
MAXA/MINA/MAMA
X
S = g,A 0,g Gk + A Ad + 1, Qk,1 + 2, Qk, (3.4)
Earthquake design combination favourable/unfavourable:
MAXE/MINE/MAME
X
Se = Gk + A Aed + 2, Qk, (3.5)
Rare (characteristic) combination for serviceability:
MAXR/MINR/MAMR
X
Ss = Gk + Qk,1 + 0, Qk, (3.6)
Frequent combination for serviceability:
MAXF/MINF/MAMF
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-51

X
S = Gk + 1, Qk,1 + 2, Qk, (3.7)
non frequent combination for serviceability:
MAXN/MINN/MAMN
X
S = Gk + 01 Qk,1 + 1, Qk, (3.8)
Quasi permanent combination for serviceability:
MAXP/MINP/MAMP
X
Sp = Gk + 2, Qk, (3.9)
For the variable actions Q the first given load case will be treated with the special
combination value, all other will be assigned the right most coefficients. As any
individual load case may have different combination values, one may select such
a value explicitly via a literal for the factor e.g. as follows (see also MAXIMA):
GAM / GAMA
GAMU GAMF
PSI0 0 PSI1 1
PSI2 2 PS1S 01
PSIG / 0 PSIA 0
PSIU 0 PSIF 0
PS1G / 1 PS1A 1
PS1U 1 PS1F 1
PS2G / 2 PS2A 2
PS2U 2 PS2F 2
P1SG / 01 P1SA 01
P1SU 01 P1SF 01
KFI k XSI
(EN 1990, Tab. B.3) (EN 1990 equ. 6.10b)
XSIG / XSIA
XSIU XSIF
KFG k / XKFI k
KFG0 k 0 / KFG1 k 1 /
KFG2 k 2 / KFGS k 01 /
XKGG k / XKGA k
XKGU k XKGF k
3-52 SOFiSTiK 2016

ATTENTION: The definition of an explicit factor will always overwrite any other
default factor without any reference on the type of superposition. Further the
leading action will not be selected automatically as within MAXIMA! AQB is de-
signed to allow the build of explicit combinations to find maximum reinforce-
ments.
The ACI requires that these combinations to be investigated:
1.4 G + 1.7 L
1.05 G + 1.275 L + 1.43 E
0.9 G + 1.43 E
With the use of appropriate factors, the superposition can also be defined ac-
cording to maximum corner stresses. If the factor of the axial force is defined as
1.0, then the factors of the moments are given by the ratio of area to moment of
resistance.
In the case of structural frames, for instance, a load case with a large axial force
may be left out of consideration in the maximum combinations of internal forces
and moments, if its moment proportion has a small effect or a favourable one.
Here, those load cases which yield the maximum value 1.0MY0.15N can be
incorporated into the design. (The value 0.15 must be selected appropriately for
the section.) This can be accomplished with the input :
COMB MAX MY 1.0 ; MAX N 0.15 G 1.0 L 1.0

COMB MAX MY 1.0 ; MAX N -0.15 G 1.0 L 1.0
With the use of appropriate factors, the superposition can also be defined ac-
cording to maximum corner stresses. If the factor of the axial force is defined as
1.0, then the factors of the moments are given by the ratio of area to moment of
resistance.
These factors do not act on the forces of the combination itself. They will be
considered only to decide if a load case acts favourable or not. The seldom
case where the factors act also on the combination forces, can be accomplished
through the input of the following EXTR values:
FSUM, FMAX, FMIN, FMAM, FSOL, FSMA, FSMI and FSMX
The following input defines a combination of a moment multiplied by 1.5 and an

axial or shear force multiplied by 1.0.
COMB FMAX MY 1.5 LC1 ...
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-53

The factors do not act on secondary forces and from reasons of consistency on
internal forces of type prestress.
Other variations are possible, there is however only one factor per section force
allowed. In the case where more factors have been defined, they must be set
before the actual combination record with the keyword FSOL.
COMB FSOL MY , MZ 1.5

COMB FSOL VY , VZ 1.1
COMB FSOL N 1.0
COMB FMAM MY LC1 ...
Certain additional moments may be specified according to the design codes.

With the literal MCR as load type there will be a minimum moment My , which
yields a tension equal to the mean tensile strength for a given centric stress
according to ACI / AASHTO / DIN 1045-1 / OEN B4750 12.5 (Robustness) etc.
Deviations are given in:
DIN Fachbericht 102 uses the lower 5 % fractile value (selected by CLAS in
record NORM)
AASHTO uses the upper fractile value (modulus of rupture) This is to be
selected for NORM US.
With load case type DMR an additional moment is specified for control of crack-
ing in accordance with DIN 4227 or the DAfStb guideline.
E
M1 = 5 105
d
or (3.10)
E
M2 = 15 105
d
DMR creates only additional MY moments; with DMRZ, additional moments for
MZ can be defined also. Except that, additional constant moments DMY and
DMZ are available. They correspond to a temperature difference of 1 degree.
3-54 SOFiSTiK 2016

DM1
DM2
DM2
DM1
Figure 3.1: Additional moments for control of cracking
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-55

3.12 EIGE Determination of Internal Stresses (AQBS only)
EIGE

MNO Material number !
PHI Creep factor or / LT *
consistency class KS / KP / KR or
Prestress 1000h-relaxation factor
EPS Shrinkage coefficient (note neg. sign!) *
REL Relaxation factor according to Trost 0.80
T Duration of period dys 0.0
RH Relative humidity or maturity %/ LT 40
ARID = 45 % dry environment
INTE = 50 % inner rooms
TEMP = 55 % moderate environment
TROP = 67 % tropical or maritime
TEMP Temperature of concrete or time factor degrees 20
T0 Minimum age for loading dys 7
TS Age at start of drying dys 0
GRP Group number all
With EIGE, redistributions of internal stresses are calculated. The parameters

may be defined separately for each material and group. The construction phase
section which will be used for the redistribution should be selected with COMB or
LC. Without explicit definition, the section will be selected following the highest
used construction phase of the activated load cases. (Accounting for creep after
grouting of the tendon).
The most common case is the analysis of shrinkage and creep and tendon-
relaxation, but many other effects like non uniform temperature distributions may
be handled as well.
The results are secondary strains and stresses in the section. They are stored
under the load case number of the individual load case, or under the load case
number LCST of the record COMB. These results are deleted, if internal forces
and moments are defined with S for this load case, or if new loads will be defined.
The integral sectional forces may be added to the external forces only informally.
3-56 SOFiSTiK 2016

The cross section for which the design should be computed can be defined in
the record LC for a single load case or with the COMB record. If this is not
the case, then the the design is always done with the section with the highest
active construction stage. This default has to be checked thoroughly for complex
structures !
If PHI or EPS is not defined, these values will be established based on the
environment conditions (humidity, temperature), the age of the concrete at time
of loading, the cement class and the effective thickness A/U. For these values
AQB uses the design code associated to the material and not that of the design
task, because we need very specific material data for this. However, one of the
more general methods may be selected with CTRL EIGE.
For Bridges EN 1992-2 defines in section B.105 safety factors for delayed long
term strains to be used, "However, when safety would be increased by overes-
timation of delayed strains, and when it is relevant in the project, the creep and
shrinkage predicted on the basis of the formulas or experimental determinations
should be multiplied by a safety factor." Thus the user has to select these factors
via a definition of CTRL EIGE SAFE. The provisions of the German NA to apply
these factors always for the shrinkage is activated automatically if a bridge class
has been selected.
If T is defined, these basic values PHI and EPS will be modified according to
the evolution in time given by tables or formulas in the design codes. For those
design codes relying on the summation approach (DIN 4227, Japanese and Chi-
nese Code) the delayed elasticity will be incorporated automatically. If one wants
to apply the time evolution function to be applied to the explicit given PHI/EPS-
values, one has to use a negative value for T. For the first creep interval, the
value T0 will control the age for the concrete for creeping and the amount of
shrinkage which has been occurred between TS and T0. If we need the total
shrinkage (e.g. for deformations or stresses with reinforcements) a separate
unloaded shrinking time interval has to be introduced.
The value of TEMP defines then either the temperature in Celsius (0 to 80 de-
gree) during the creep step or, if defined negative the temperature of a thermal
treatment before the creep step. For special cases a definition with an explict
unit allows to specify an explicit scaling factor for the effective age of the con-
crete.
The influence of the temperature on the tendon relaxation (EN 1992-1-1, 10.3.2.)
should be accounted for with an explicit Factor for PHI. The formula (10.2) given
in EN 1992-1-1 yields for Tmax equal to 80 degrees a rapid (43.3 times accel-
erated) relaxation, that the method given in many technical papers to apply an
immediate loss of 4% is precise enough. For very special cases a definition with
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-57

increased time increment values according to that formula can be specified.
For analysis SUM with delayed elasticity (old DIN and Japan and China) the
parts from delayed elasticity are always added if T is specified and applied for
all primary creep results with the corresponding negative value. The order of the
load numbers must correspond to the chronological course in this case. Higher
load case numbers must describe therefore later creep stages. If the PHI value
is given as 0.0, the part from delayed elasticity is suppressed. If one wishes to
determine only the re-creep, a small value must be entered at PHI.
Further it has to be taken care of, that the effective concrete age is based on the
slowly hardening cement, instead of the new coefficients (kz = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5), the
original factors from Rsch (kz = 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) have to be used.
If an Indian design code is selected, than RH will be treated as maturity accord-

ing to table 2 of IRC 18 defining PHI, while EPS is derived from the time T0
according to table 3. There are no time effects available however in this case.
AS 3600 / 5100 provide curves and final factors for creep and shrinkage based
on the effective depth, the environmental conditions and the concrete strength.
Not included are temperature, cements with other sulphate contents or high
stresses. With a definition of EC at PHI a switch to the Eurocode-Formulas may
be achieved.
With the setting CTRL EIGE 1, curvature loads for calculating the statically in-
determinate shares from creep and shrinkage are stored. As a rule, multiple
creep stages are required in that case (e.g. 3 to 5) because STAR2/ASE do
not know the stresses or the forces at the end of an interval. If necessary, the
relaxation parameters can be altered in AQB. If this load case is not calculated
with STAR2/ASE, the calculation for AQB remains unrestrained i.e. statically
determined.
If the centre of a part of a cross section has tensile stresses, the creeping coeffi-
cients are reduced with the utilisation of this stress to the mean tensile strength.
(See CTRL EIGE 32)
As a time dependent elasticity modulus is only to be used for loadings acting at

that given time. All creep defomrations are referenced to the tangent modulus
at the age of 28 days. The concrete itself has secant and tangential modulus
defined, but as all the sectional values have been established with secant values,
the creep factors have to be modified accordingly. With CTRL EIGE 512 this
behavior may be deactivated.
3-58 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.13 STRE Linear Stresses and Plastic Forces
STRE

SMOD Type of check / material number LT/ E
E = elastic stresses
B = resistance for forces
C = resistance of cross sections
D = suggested dimensions
DG = select section from a group
STYP Tabulated limiting stresses LT -
SC Max. normal stress compression N/ mm2 -

ST Max. normal stress tension N/ mm2 SC
SBC Max. edge stress bending compression N/ mm2 SC
SBT Max. edge stress bending tension N/ mm2 ST
SBBC Max. corner stress bending compression N/ mm2 SBC
SBBT Max. corner stress bending tension N/ mm2 SBT
SI Max. principal tensile stress N/ mm2 -
SII Max. principal compressive stress N/ mm2 -
TAU Max. shear stress N/ mm2 -

SV Max. equivalent stress N/ mm2 -
TAUS Max. shear stress longitud. welds N/ mm2 -
SSTM Max. shear/tension torsion middle area N/ mm2 TAU
SSEM Max. shear/tension separate middle area N/ mm2 TAU
SSKM Max. shear/tension combined middle area N/ mm2 TAU
SSER Max. shear/tension edge N/ mm2 TAU
SSKR Max. shear/tension combined edge N/ mm2 TAU
CC Max. normal stress compressive zone N/ mm2 (SC)

CBC Max. edge stress compressive zone N/ mm2 (CC)
CBBC Max. corner stress compressive zone N/ mm2 (CBC)
LIMA Limit for decompression or zone a/b N/ mm2 *
ZMAX Max. prestressing steel stress N/ mm2 *
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-59


ZDIF Max. stress range prestressing steel N/ mm2 -
SCMG global safety class factor -
Notes on SMOD:
E: Evaluation of maximum stresses for every force principal and von
Mises yield stress in all sectional points.
B: Evaluation of the utilisation factors for every individual component
and a simplified linear superposition of the linear total utilisation.
C: Evaluation of the utilisation factors for every individual component
and a complex interaction of these components.
In all cases the elastic stress will be evaluated, as this is required to define a
sectional class. If the section is in class 3, the allowable stresses will be checked
and their utilisation is save to the data base as relevant utilisation. If the section
is in class 1 or 2, the resistance of the cross section for any individual force is
calculated and for option P a simple linear addition of all utilization degrees will
be saved to the database as total utilisation, while option C will store a complex
interaction based on the provisions of the Eurocode (1993/1999).
Additional tables for every section if ECHO TABS has been set which is also the
default value. Loadcases with the extreme values of stresses or utilisation
factors may be created in the data base by a preceding COMB GMAX/GMIN.
D: Suggested dimensions
Depending on the section class an estimate for the required dimen-
sions of the cross section is made based on allowable stresses or
plastic sectional capacities. For rectangle, circle, and steel shapes
a rather detailed analysis is performed, while for all other sections,
a linear scaling factor for the dimensions factor is evaluated. In
the cases of rectangular sections, the width or height can be fixed
when defining the section. Option DE will use only the allowable
stresses for the dimensioning.
DG: Similar to option D. However sections will be selected from a group
of sections. A group is defined via a sequence of cross section
with continuous section numbers and increasing load capacities.
The first section of a group will differ only in the last digit of the
current section number. If sections with numbers 8,9,10,11 and 12
are defined, then the program may select instead of section 8 and 9
any of these numbers while for sections 10, 11 and 12 only the last
3-60 SOFiSTiK 2016

three sections will be used. This Option is especially useful if one

wants to select a different sequence for British or American shapes
(e.g. UC 305 x 305 x 97 before UC 254 x 254 x 132). Option DGE
will use only the allowable stresses for the dimensioning.
Stresses from the combinations are stored if LCST is specified in the record
COMB. Without COMB, the stresses of the individual load cases are saved, if
they were specifically defined with a design type (e.g. LC type (D)).
A literal can be entered for STYP. Then the permissible stresses and any special
features of the codes are preset. Explicit input of the limiting stresses is now only
necessary in special cases.
An explicit different value for a stress, for example should only be used to answer
what if questions. Normally the defined values of AQUA should be used via
the unspecified literals H.
STRE D / DG is not able in general to perform a final selection of the section as

the change of the section will yield other loads and forces and moments.
A number can also be specified for SMOD. In that case the permissible stresses
for the material which corresponds to this number is defined differently. SMOD
0 describes the stresses of all materials. However, this does not start the stress
check itself. That has to be done with a later record which has a normal input
for SMOD.
The permissible stresses are set in the sequence of the records entered. All un-
defined materials are set to the values specified in the final STRE input. If STRE
is activated more than once, all material definitions must be entered before the
corresponding STRE record. STRE only with the material number causes a
calculation of the stresses with the option E.
For steel and aluminium a literal from the following table can be input. Then the
values with [ N/mm2 ] are set accordingly.
STYP SC ST SBC SBT SBBC SBBT TAU SV TAUS
DIN 18800 Teil 1 3.81

bzw. NORM B 4600
bzw. DIN 4113:
H Stresses depending upon material load case H

140 160 140 160 140 160 92 160 135
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STYP SC ST SBC SBT SBBC SBBT TAU SV TAUS

210 240 210 240 210 240 139 240 170
etc.
HZ Stresses depending upon material load case HZ
160 180 160 180 160 180 104 180 150
240 270 240 270 240 270 156 270 190
etc.
S Stresses with increased corner values (DIN 18800)
resp. without material safety (DIN 4113)
SZ Stresses with increased corner values (DIN 18800)
DIN 18800 Teil 1/2 11.90:

NORM B 4300:
F Yield strength with safety factor (e.g. 1.1)

FF full yield strength without safety factor
The design for axially compressed beams in accordance with DIN 18800 Part
2 / EC 3 is also included under the stress design in AQB, since it is normally
used for lateral shifting perpendicular to the plane of the structure and for truss
braces.
For the design based on ultimate forces, the utilisation level of every individual
component will be analyzed first, the a linear and a more sofisticated interaction
rule will be applied. We use the EC 3 / BS for section classes 1 and 2 (see
). DIN 18800 has different Interaction formulas, but allows the usage of other.
More precise values may be obtained via NSTR.
For design codes with globale safety class factors, it is possible to specify such
a factor at STRE, either as number for STYP or as separate item SCMG. Then
all admissable stresses and plastic resistances will be multiplied with this factor.
For timber all admissible stresses have been defined with the material definition
in AQUA, so only the Literal H has to be specified to select these values. For
design according to DIN 1052 old the literal HZ may be also selected which will
produce values raised by 25 %. For very special cases you may select arbitrary
factors via the item GRZA (2nd Order Theory or older versions of the design
3-62 SOFiSTiK 2016

code).
According EN 1995 / DIN 1052-2008 AQUA has defined five factors (kmod) for
variant load durations. All load cases may have a type corresponding to that
duration. AQB will then select the correct factor depending on the load cases
involved in the combination.
Design in accordance with DIN 1052 old is done in this form:
n < permssbe n (tenson nd compresson)
permss. b
n + b < permss. b
permss. n
permss. b
n + b < permss. b
permss. n
as well as
< permss. (tenson nd compresson)
permss. t
+ t < permssbe t
permss.
or
permss. t
+ t < permss. t
permss. permss.
With that the interaction conditions are verified for m=1 and m=2. The value
for permissible t can be tuned with TAUW. It should be pointed out that this
type of stresses will be checked only for the outer borders of the cross section.
For torsional stresses in the middle area as it will occur for a boxed section the
torsional stress is limited to the TAU value as it is also used for the shear force.
Design according to EN 1995 or DIN 1052-2008 combines the bending stress of

My and Mz via a special combination factor. Further there are reductions of the
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-63

compressive strength and bending strength due to axial and lateral buckling.
n m,0,d
+ b + km b < m,0,d (3.11)
kc c,0,d
The interaction for compressive members according to EN 1995 or DIN 1052-

2008 with the following formula is only evaluated if no buckling length is speci-
fied.
n m,0,d
n + b + km b < m,0,d (3.12)
c,0,d c,0,d
For checks according to EN 1992 or DIN Fachbericht 102 it can be entered at

STYP:
VH Set LIMA 0.00 for tensile stresses in concrete for the check of
decompression, else as BH. Depending on the category of the
structure, this has to be checked for non-frequent, frequent or
quasi-permanent actions. The value will be checked only in the
prestressed tensile region.
BH For rare (characteristic) or non-frequent combinations:
0.60fck for compressive stresses in concrete
0.80fyk for stresses in concrete steel
0.75fpk for stresses in prestressing steel (EC)
0.80fpk / 0.90 fyk for stresses in prestressing steel (DIN)
VZ For quasi permanent actions:
0.45fck for compressive stresses in concrete (if creep and shrink-
age is essential)
0.65fpk for stresses in prestressing steel (DIN 11.1.4),
otherwise as BH
BZ For rare (characteristic) actions:

fctm for tensile stresses in concrete for classification (DIN) other-
wise as BH
BX According FB 102, II-4, 4.4.0.3, (5)P + (6)P. the principal ten-
sile stresses under a frequent combination is checked against
ftck,0.05
For designs in accordance with DIN 4227 Part 1, the following can be entered
as STYP for the serviceability limit:
VH Full prestress with principal loads
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VZ Full prestress with principal and additional loads

VA Full prestress building conditions
VB Full prestress building conditions including restraint (Part. 15.1.)
VT Full prestress transport conditions (as A + Part. 15.5)
BH Limited prestress (Bridges) with principal loads

BZ Limited prestress with principal and additional loads
BA Limited prestress building conditions
BB Limited prestress building conditions including restraint
BT Limited prestress transport conditions
EH External post-stress without allowance for tensile stresses in the

concrete
EZ External post-stress without bond (only tendon stresses checked)
EB for external post-stress in a construction stage with allowed ten-
sions of 3.0/3.5 MPa for B35/45.
CC -999 must be input if no decrease of the prestress in the pre-compressed

compressive zone should take place.
Tendons without bond (R=0.0 in AQUA) have higher admissible stresses accord-
ing to DIN 4227 part 6.
For designs in accordance with Austrian Norm OeNorm 4250 or B 4253 the
following can be entered as STYP for serviceability conditions:
VH Full prestressing generally (table 2/3, rows 1/2/3/7)

VZ Under conditions 11.2.1.2 (table 2, rows 1/2/3/8/9)
VA Before applying all permanent loads (table 2, rows 4/5/6)
VB Construction stage (table 3, rows 1/2/3/4/5/6)
VT Non favourable superposition (table 3, rows 1/2/3/8/9/10)
VX Rail bridges (OENORM 4253, LK I)
BH Limited prestress (table 2, rows 1/2/3/11/12/13)

BZ Under conditions 11.2.1.2 (table 2, rows 1/2/3/14/15/16)
BA Before applying all permanent loads (table 2, rows 4/5/10)
BB Construction stage (table 3, rows 1/2/3/4/5/6)
BT Non favourable superposition (table 3, rows 1/2/3/14/15/16)
BX Rail bridges (OENORM 4253, LK II, V AND VI)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-65

For design according to BS 5400 you may enter:
VH for Class 1 members

BH for Class 2 members (Post-tensioned)
BZ for Class 2 members (Pre-tensioned)
For design according to IRC 18 you may enter:
VH for Service (7.2): 0.33fck compression, 0.0 tension

BH for Temporary (7.1): 0.50fck compression, 0.05fck tension
3.13.1 Shear Design- STRE UL

Some design codes allow a design for shear of concrete sections based in an
uncracked model. These are the old German DIN 4227 or the first amendment
to the German "Nachrechnungsrichtlinie" of the German Ministry of Transport
(2015). In all cases the stress at the extreme fiber of the section is not allowed
to exceed a certain value.
For the latter the definition of STRE U has to be selected. As in the

"Nachrechnungsrichtlinie" the allowable stresses depend on the existence
of flanges in the tensile zone and the provided shear links, AQB checks the
center of all shear cuts for flanges to decide which value is to be taken for the
values SBZ and SI. ECHO SHEA YES will print only the maximum values and
the obtained limit values. With ECHO SHEA FULL, the shear cuts are printed
for those sections fulfilling the longitudinal stress limit, wit ECHO SHEA EXTR
all shear cuts will be printed.
For DIN 4227 the input of define STRE E UL does not only start the design of the
stresses in Zone a, but also the limiting stresses for shear design under cracked
condition in Zone b using DESI. For this reason, the meanings of some values
have been changed. Here the values TAU, SV and TAUS stand for values from
Table 9, lines 56, 59 and 61, and the values SSTM to SSKR stand for the values
from lines 53, 50, 54, 52, and 55. So a design is done when one of the shear
stress or principal tensile stress components exceeds the following limits:
V > SSEM
or T > SSTM or SSER
or V+T > SSKM or SSKR
As the value SSEM is also used for the specification of the inclination of the truss
model, a full shear analysis should be triggered by specifying SSKR 0.001.
The base values for shear stress for phase 2 require
3-66 SOFiSTiK 2016

V < TAU
and T < SV
and V+T < TAUS
and < CC (Webs) resp. CBC (Flanges)
If no record STRE has been defined with ULnn, the entire shear design is done
by DESI in cracked conditions. Otherwise a differentiation is made between
Zones a and b depending upon the maximum uniaxial extreme fibre stress LIMA,
and only sections in Zone b are designed. For the stresses found with STRE,
transitions of the limits are noted only in Zone a. Specification of GRZA 0 will
perform both types of design, using the specified stress limits, but the required
reinforcement is taken only from the design for zone b.
3.13.2 Minimum Reinforcement - STRE RL

With STRE E RL the check can be selected according to 7.3.2 EN 1992-1 or
11.2.2. of DIN 1045-1 resp. 6.7.3 of DIN 4227-A1. The design may be per-
formed for either side of the section as well as for individual parts of the section
selected with a CUT-definition within AQUA.
The volume of the tensile stresses is evaluated for the design combination which
yields the tensile strength of the concrete. From that a required reinforcement is
evaluated, which is covered with the defined reinforcement layers and a reduced
area of the tendons. Item SD is used for the crack width in mm according to
Table 20 (default 0.3), SZ may be used to specify a factor k explicitly, at SBZ
an explicit factor for the tensile strength may be specified. LIMA is the limit
value of the tensile stresses (default -1 N/mm2 ). The distinction between the
two formulas 7.2 and. 7.3 for the evaluation of k_c requires an intelligence not
available in AQB. AB considers the ratio between the area of the tensile zone to
the product of the height of the tensile zone and the minimum web thickness to
interpolate between the two formulas.
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3.14 REIN Specification for Determining Reinforcement
See also: DESI

REIN

MOD Spread of constant reinforcements LT SECT
SECT only in section
BEAM in beam
SPAN in span
GLOB in all active beams
TOTL in all beams
RMOD type of reinforcement case LCR LT SING
ACCU as minimum reinforcement
SING Single calculation
SAVE Save as minimum reinforcement
SUPE Superposition with minimum rein-
forcement
NEW New definition (special cases
only)
LCR Number of reinforcement distribution 1
ZGRP Grouping of prestressing tendons 0
SFAC Factor for continuous reinforcement 1.0
P6 Parameter for determining *

P7 reinforcement *
P8 (See notes) *
P9 *
P10 *
P11 0.20
P12 *
TITL Title of the design case LT24 -
Any number of types of reinforcement distribution can be stored in the database.

The last defined number LCR is used to save the calculated reinforcement for
graphics and for nonlinear analysis. LCR=0 is reserved for the minimum rein-
forcement and can not be addressed directly, but the definition of some literals
allows to specify the influence of the current run to this global minimum rein-
3-68 SOFiSTiK 2016

forcements:
ACCU The existing LCR reinforcement is taken as minimum reinforce-

ments. This type may be used multiple times. If the last or single
definition of LCR is of type ACCU, a superposition of reinforce-
ments is performed.
SING The gloabl minimum reinforcement is not changes.
SAVE ignores the global minimum reinforcement and overwrites it with
the current reinforcement.
SUPE superposes the global minimum reinforcement with the current
reinforcement.
With record BEAM it is possible to specify an existing layout of reinforcements

which can be used for the analysis of existing structures. To use any reinforce-
ment detailing for ideal sections in STRE or EIGE, the appropriate factors of the
selected LCR have to be specified explicitly!
There is also a control flag CTRL REIN, defining if the reinforcements should be
increased or not. The latter to be used for the analysis of existing structures.
SUPE cannot be used during an iteration, since then the maximum reinforce-
ment for an iteration step will not be able to be reduced. ASE/STAR2 therefore
ignore a specification of SUPE, as long as convergence has not been reached.
AQB can update or superpose the reinforcements at a later time: with REIN
RMOD SUPE but without any DESI input. A specification of BEAM, SPAN,
GLOB or TOTL under MOD refers to interpolated sections or sections with the
same section number. For all connected ranges with the same section, the
maximum for the range multiplied with SFAC is incorporated as the minimum
reinforcement. The design is done separately in each case for each load, how-
ever, so that the user can recognize the relevant load cases. As the existing
reinforcement has a considerable impact on the shear design, AQB will perform
an intermediate superposition after the design for normal force and bending mo-
ments. However, use of minimum reinforcement in ultimate load design has
also a detrimental effect on the shear reinforcement, since the lever of internal
forces is reduced. The user can take the appropriate precautions by specifying
a minimum lever arm in AQUA.
Since this latter effect is especially strong with tendons, AQBS can give special
effect to the latter in ultimate load design. This option is controlled with ZGRP:
ZGRP = 0 Tendons are considered with both their area and their pre-
stressing. Normal reinforcement is specified at the minimum
percentage.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-69

1 2 3 4
SECT1 Sect.2 SECT1
SECT
BEAM
SPAN
GLOB
Figure 3.2: Distribution of reinforcements
The relative loading capacity is found.

ZGRP > 0 Tendons are specified with their full prestressing, but with their
area (stress increase) only in so far as necessary. Normal
reinforcement is installed only if the prestressing steel alone is
not sufficient.
A required area of prestressing steel is determined.
ZGRP < 0 Tendons are applied with their prestressing, only in so far as
necessary, otherwise the same like ZGRP > 0.
If ZGRP < > 0 has been specified, the tendons are grouped into tendon groups.
The group is calculated by the integer part from dividing the identification number
of the tendon by ZGRP. For the printout the groups are identified by characters
to distinguish them from the reinforcement layers. Group "P" contains the total
area and the prestress forces only, group Z is the group 0 which is always
applied with its full area, while groups "A" to "D" identify the optional groups.
3-70 SOFiSTiK 2016

Any group number higher than 4 is assigned to group "D". The use of different
steel materials in the same group may lead to slightly inconsistent results and
will be flagged with a warning.
Assume that tendons with the numbers 1,11,12,21,22 and 101 have been de-
fined. With the appropriate inputs for ZGRP, the following division is obtained:
ZGRP 0 All tendons are minimum reinforcement

ZGRP 10 Tendon 1 is group Z and minimum reinforcement
Tendons 11 and 12 are group A and optional
Tendons 21 and 22 are group B and optional
Tendon 101 is group D and optional
ZGRP 100 Tendons 1,11,12,21 and 22 are group Z and minimum rein-
forcement
Tendon 101 is group A and optional
An example of the effect can be found in Section 5.1.6.3.
Notes: Parameters for determining reinforcement

The following parameters are not to be changed by the user in general:
Default Typical
P7 Weighting factor, axial force 5 0.5 - 50
P8 Weighting factor moments -2 -2
When designing, the strain plane is iterated by the BFGS method. The
required reinforcement is determined in the innermost loop according to
the minimum of the squared errors.
MN ( (N N)2 + F1 (MY MY)2 + F2 (MZ MZ)2 )
F1 = P7 (zm zmn)P8
F2 = P7 (ym ymn)P8
The default value for P8 leads to the same dimensions for the errors. The
value of P7 has been determined empirically. With symmetrical reinforce-
ment and tension it is better to choose a smaller value, with multiple layers
and compression a larger one. For small maximum values of the reinforce-
ment the value of P7 should be increased.
Default Typical
P9 Factor for reference point of strain 1.0 1.0
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-71

Default Typical
P10 Factor for reference point of moments 1.0 0.2-1.0
Lack of convergence in the design with biaxial loading can generally be at-
tributed to the factors no longer shaping the problem convexly, so that there
are multiple solutions or none. In these cases the user can increase the
value of P7 or can vary the value of P10 between 0.2 and 1.0, for individual
sections. In most cases, however, problems are caused by specifying the
minimum reinforcement improper.
P11 Factor for preference outer reinforcement
Reinforcement which is only one third of the lever arm, is allowed to be
maximum one third of the area of the outer reinforcement. P11 is the factor
to control this. For biaxial bending P11=1.0, for uniaxial bending P11=0.0
3-72 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.15 DESI Reinforced Concrete Design, Bending, Axial

Force
See also: REIN, NSTR

DESI

STAT Load condition and code LT *
NO Save reinforcement only
SERV Serviceability loads
ULTI Ultimate loads
NONL Non-linear analysis combin.
ACCI Accidental combination
KSV Control for material of cross section *
KSB Control for material of reinforcements *
AM1 Minimum reinforcement for beams % *

AM2 Minimum reinforcement for columns % *
AM3 Minimum reinforcement % *
statically required cross section
AM4 Minimum reinforcement depending % *
on normal force (eg. EN 1992 9.12N)
AMAX Maximum reinforcement %/ LT *
FIX The current reinforcements will
be fixed as maximum.
FIXL The current longitudinal rein-
forcements will be fixed as maxi-
mum.
FIXS The current shear reinforcements
will be fixed as maximum.
SC1 Safety coefficient concrete bending *
SC2 Safety coefficient concrete compression *
SCS Safety coefficient concrete shear *
SS1 Safety coefficient reinforcing steel *
SS2 Safety coefficient structural steel *
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-73


C1 Maximum compression o/ oo *
C2 Maximum centric compression o/ oo *
S1 Optimum tensile strain, see below o/ oo *
(= limit for symmetric reinforcements)
S2 Maximum tensile strain o/ oo *
Z1 Maximum effective compressive strain of o/ oo *
prestressing steel
Z2 Maximum effective tensional strain of pre- o/ oo *
stressing steel
SMOD Design mode shear LT *
NO No shear design
TVS Deductional shear stress / stress limit N/ mm2 *
MSCD Maximum tensile longitudinal stress N/ mm2 *
KTAU Shear design for plates / LT *
K1 not staggered for normal slabs
(DIN 1045 17.5.5. equ. 14)
K2 not staggered for slabs with
evenly distributed loading
(DIN 1045 17.5.5. equ. 15)
K1S like K1, but staggered
(DIN 1045 17.5.5. Table 13 1a)
K2S like K2, but staggered
num coefficient k for equ. 4.18 EC2
0.0 no shear check
TTOL Tolerance for the limit values 0.02

TANA Lower and upper limit for inclination of *
TANB struts of shear design (tan = 1/cot ) *
SCL Plasticity control for steel and composite 3

sections
1 No limits on steel stress
3-74 SOFiSTiK 2016


2 Outmost compressive yield
stress is limited
3 Compressive stress is limited to
the yield value
4 Yield stress will be applied as
limit in the tensile and compres-
sive region
DELR Redistribution for ductiles x/D-Limit 1.0
Design may be performed for various safety concepts. When designing for ul-
timate load or combinations with divided safety factors, the load factor must be
contained in the internal forces and moments. One way to accomplish this is
with the COMB records.
With KSV and KSB will be controlled the material law. As the correct default is
taken from the INI-file selected with the design code NORM, it is only for very
special cases that you may enter:
EL linear elastic, but without tension if concrete

ELD linear elastic with added material safety factor from AQUA
SL serviceability without safety factors
SLD serviceability with added material safety factor from AQUA
UL ultimate design without safety factors from AQUA
ULD ultimate design with safety factors from AQUA
CAL Calculatoric mean values
CALD Calculatoric mean values with safety factors from AQUA
PL plastic nominal without safety factors
PLD plastic design with material safety factors from AQUA
The safety factors referenced above refer to the values defined with the material
in AQUA. Without D only the factors defined in the INI file or the explicitly de-
fined values SC1 to SS2 of the DESI record are applied. However the additional
safety factor for high strength concrete of DIN will be applied additionally. The
printout will flag global safety factors.
With Option D we have to distinguish between two different cases:
If the values defined in DESI are < 1.0 or negative or SC1 is not equal SC2
(e.g. ACI or odl DIN) or the design code has special provisions for that
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-75

(SNIP), the safety factors are multiplicative. Printed stresses contain only
the safety factors of the materials.
In all other cases the value from the material will be taken instead of the de-
fault value of DESI. However if the safety factor is explicitly defined with DESI
with a value > 1 the option D will be deactivated with a warning. (Attention:
has been changed Sept. 2008)
If a design without any safety factors is required, all saftey factors have to be
specified as 1.0 which will then change the default for KSV/B to UL.
PL resp. PLD will modify for some design codes (DIN, EC, ACI) the stress strain
law to a constant equivalent stress block, i.e. the stress value and the strain
range will be modified according to the provisions of those codes.
With the special definition of SS1 NRIL the safety factors of the reinforce-
ments will be set to 1.05 and 1.10 according to the provisions of the German
Nachrechnungsrichtlinie, also the ordinates of those reinforcements will be
reduced then by an offset of 20 resp. 10 m.
The minimum reinforcements AM1 to AM4 are preset according to the design
code (INI file) and apply to all cross sections; they are input as a percentage of
the section area.
The relevant value is the maximum of the minimum reinforcements:
- Absolute minimum reinforcement (AM1/AM2)

- Minimum reinforcement of statically required section
- Minimum reinforcement defined in cross section program AQUA
- Minimum reinforcement stored in the database
Note:
The statically determined portion of the forces and moments of prestressing is
always deducted when determining the external forces and moments. This con-
tribution is found from the location of the tendons and their tensile force. AQB
only: A specification of the bifurcation factor BETA in record BEAM is changed to
additional moments according to DIN 1045 17.4.3 resp. Eurocode 4.3.5.6. resp.
DIN 1045 neu 5.6.4. resp. OeNORM B 4700 2.4.3. or other design codes. The
design will always generate both bending axis. The output of the extra moments
is given with the forces of the combinations.
Defaults for strain limits and safety coefficients depend on the selected design
code and the type of load combination. They may be specified in the INI-file of
3-76 SOFiSTiK 2016

the design code. If SC1 and SC2 are defined different (e.g. old DIN 1045, ACI),
then the safety factors of the reinforcements will be also interpolated if SS1 is
equal to SC1.
The maximum strain depends on the stress-strain curve. The value of 2.2 is
reduced for example at the old DIN or high strength concrete automatically. The
EN and the DIN suggest to limit the strain also for the midpoint of compressive
flanges. This option may be selected by defining a value of C2 as positive (select
teh control) or negative (disable the control).
The values Z1 and Z2 do not limit the range of possible strains, but the maximum
corresponding values are used as strain increments for the tension members in
the section. This is necessary, for instance, when designing with partial pre-
stressing under DIN 4227 Part 2.
According to EN 1992 5.5 (4) or DIN 1045-1 8.2/8.3 (3) the height of the com-
pressive zone should be limited to achieve a certain ductility. (e.g. not larger
than 0.45 d, or 0.35 d for high strength concrete). As the maximum compressive
strain is fixed (3.5 o/oo), this is equivalent to the request that the steel strain has
at least a value of S1 (4.278 for x/d=0.45). If this is not fulfilled a compressive
reinforcement is needed and a minimum shear link according to DIN 1045-1
13.1.1. (5) has to be provided. A negative definition of S1 either explicitly or via
the INI-file will define the value of S1 depending on the strength of the concrete,
the ductility and the required degree of redistribution = DELR. This is especially
required if redistribution of moments is intended.
An equivalent formulation is given in OENORM 4700, where it is requested that

the steel should reach the yield strength. AQB fulfills also a more general rule,
that the compressive reinforcement is not allowed with a larger value than the
tensile reinforcement. Thus AQB provides symmetric reinforcements for all de-
sign codes when the steel strain does not exceed the value of S1, fulfilling the
request for ductility in that way.
This design operation is also suitable for non-reinforced sections. In that case
the program produces internal forces and moments which are in the same pro-
portion to each other as the external forces and moments. The safety factors
SC1 and SC2 have to be defined dependent on the design code. The program
then shows the relative load carrying capacity and prints a warning if this should
fall below 1.0.
The shear design finds the lever of internal forces for all load cases with com-
pression and tension forces in the section, and finds the shear stress and shear
reinforcement resulting from shearing force and torsion. The shear stress limits
are set automatically depending on SMOD and the material. Deviating values
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-77

for the shear stress limits can be defined within AQB with a record STRE (under
4227 only) or TVS. Since in case of excess of the shear stress limits no design
more occurs, this can be exceeded onto own responsibility of the user with a
tolerance.
For the reduction of the shear capacity for tensile members the normal stress
pc is limited to the value MSCD. The default is selected with the mean tensile
strength fctm .
Consideration of the shift of the envelope line of the tensile force (shift rule)
depends upon the CTRL option VM. The ratio Ved/Vrd,max and the value of the
shift will be saved to the database.
If a section is to be considered as a plate has already been defined with the

section itself. The definition of KTAU is thus only effective for those sections.
For sections with tendons, the bond stress for every tendon will be evaluated
according to DIN 4227 chapter 13 as the increment in tendon force divided by
the periphery and the length given by BETA in record BEAM. (Use negative
factors for bending members)
3-78 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.16 NSTR Non-linear Stress and Strain
See also: REIN, DESI

NSTR

KMOD Load condition and stiffness evaluation !
SERV Stress evaluation without
ULTI change of stiffness for
ACCI this selected load condition
NONL for more options see remarks
KSV Control for material of the cross section, *
KSB for reinforcements and tension stiffening *
KMIN Minimum stiffness 0.01
KMAX Maximum stiffness 4.00
ALPH Numerical damping factor 0.4
FMAX Numerical acceleration factor 5.0
CRAC Design for crack width / decompression LT NO

NO no check
YES calculate crack width
TAB limitation of steel stress
DECO decompression around tendons
CW Crack width or height of decompression mm *
BB Duration factor 2 (0.5 to 1.0) 0.5
resp. t of DIN 1045 new (0.25)
resp. reduction acc. 3.2.2. B4700 (0.0)
resp. tension stiffening stress for BS
resp. Factor of SNIP 2.03.01
resp. factor k2 of the Spanish EHE
HMIN Minimum height of zone (nominal cover) mm 0.0
HMAX Maximum height of tension zone m 0.8
CW- Crack width or factor above mm/ CW
FFCT Factor on mean tensile strength -
CHKC Stress to be checked for concrete / MP -

CHKT Stress to be checked for tendons / MP -
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-79


CHKR Stress to be checked for reinforcement / MP -
CHKS Stress to be checked for structural steel / MP -
all values either explicit in MPa or
relative (+) to material strength fy / fc
relative (-) to material strength ft / fck
an absolute strain value
FAT Fatigue design check LT -

DINF according to DIN / DIN-FB
SIGS Allowable stress sway for reinforcements N/ mm2 *
TANS Inclination of struts for reinforcements 0.756
TANC Inclination of struts for concrete stress 0.571
DUMP File name for the creation of the history of Lt96 -

the non-linear stresses for a sequence of
dynamic load cases (DYNA CTRL RLC)
With NSTR a non linear stress and strain evaluation determination is performed.
This contains checks in the cracked estate or nonlinear checks in general.
Byproducts are the determination of stress ranges or crack widths and non
linear stiffnesses, to be used in subsequent analysis with STAR2 / ASE or DYNA.
Defining CHK options will check the stresses in the section or reinforcements.
A violation of these limits will be marked, but no countermeasures will be taken
like an increase of reinforcements, as the non linear dependencies doe not allow
to solve this easily.
The calculation can be carried out with different material values and safeties.
This is controlled by the definition of the load condition. A default for this state
is only provided if the definitions to DESI and NSTR give a unique selection.
The load condition selects then the defaults for KSV and KSB, which may be
overwritten explicitly. Meant in this case:
EL linear elastic, but without tension if concrete

ELD linear elastic with material safety factor
SL nominal serviceability without material safety factor
SLD serviceability design with material safety factor
UL ultimate nominal without material safety factor
3-80 SOFiSTiK 2016

ULD ultimate design with material safety factor

CAL Calculatoric mean values
CALD Calculatoric mean values with safety factors from AQUA
PL plastic nominal without material safety factor
PLD plastic design with material safety factor
TS0 nominal serviceability with tension stiffening (only at KSB)
Then we have the following defaults (Please check always):
Serviceability KSV=KSB=SL
Ultimate limit state Is defined in the INI file (e.g.
KSV=SLD, KSB=SL)
Accidental (ACCI) KSV=KSB=SL
Non linear (NONL) KSV=KSB=CAL
Different iterative possibilities are provided to determine the stiffness (see

STAR2 Section 2.7.5). The load condition can be specified by a prefix of S,
U, A or N.
S1 Secant stiffness from given curvatures

SN Secant stiffness from given moments
K0 Plastic strains without iteration
K1 Plastic strains from given curvatures
KN Plastic strains from given moments
T0 Tangent stiffness without iteration
T1 Tangent stiffness from given curvatures
TN Tangent stiffness from given moments
3.16.1 Design for Structural Steelwork (DIN 18800, EN 1993)

Nonlinear Design
NSTR ULTI
It will be checked if the forces can be supported by calculating internal forces

with non-linear stress strain relations. As the strains are finite, this is not a
plastic analysis and the hardening effects may be used as stated in EN 1993-
1-5 Appendix C. A warning will be printed, if the resistance is not sufficient.
Clause (755) of DIN 18800 part 1 respective (123) in part 2 require that M
< 1.25 Mmax,elastic for some selected cases. This may be deactivated with
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-81

KMIN 0.
NSTR S1 KSV PLD
Very large (fully plastic) strains will be created. Internal forces will not always
have the same ratio to the given moments and shear forces, but a mean
value as a relative bearing capacity will be printed. Clause 755 will be applied
directly unless KMIN > 0 is given explicitly. This option is mainly intended to
obtain points of a complete interaction curve, but not for checks for a given
set of forces and moments.
Design plastic-plastic
When iterating with ASE / STAR2 and NSTR a calculation according to the
yield zone theory is possible. A limit on the plastic moment as requested for
the plastic hinge method is not necessary and should be deactivated with
KMIN 0.
The design check of the c/t-ratio has differences for the elastic design and the
design tasks elastic-plastic or nonlinear (plastic-plastic):
If the yield strength is not reached, the section will be checked against the
slenderness of class 3, respective the augmented values for small stresses.
If the yield stress is exceeded, the limit values of sectional classes 2 (NSTR
SERV/ULTI) or 1 (all other NSTR options) will be checked . If these limits are
exceeded, the section will be classified as class 4.
Is the section classifed as class 4, the non effective parts according EN 1993-
1-5 will be calculated and taken into account.
3.16.2 Design for Reinforced Concrete

To calculate the correct strain condition, knowledge of the actual existing re-
inforcement is needed. If the latter was not defined in AQUA as the minimum
reinforcement or with BEAM as current reinforcement, then an appropriate DESI
record needs to have been calculated in advance. The most recently determined
distribution of reinforcements for each case is saved in the database. This is not
valid, however, for internal forces and moments of the load case 0 !
Specifying a value for CRAC will perform a check of the crack width and/or the
limit diameter with the diameters and distances defined in AQUA and possible
reference areas. Non specified distances are calculated for a linear reinforce-
ment based on the total area and the specified diameter, but not larger than the
maximum allowed value taken from the INI-file. If required, AQB will try to fulfill
the requirements by an increase of the provided reinforcements, unless CTRL
3-82 SOFiSTiK 2016

REIN FIX/FIXL has been specified.
The parameter CW is in nearly all cases the necessary crack width (wk, cal) and
will be preset accordingly. The utilisation factor for the crack width is the ratio
of the achieved crack width to the requested value. If CW is defined as 999 the
increase of the reinforcements will be deactivated and the utilisation factor is the
absolute crack width.
Tabulated Stresses (TAB)

Currently there are some design codes implemented defining an admissable
stress depending on the diameter and either the distance or the reinforcement
ratio for a simplified design:
EN 1992 2004 (Table 7.2 / 7.3)

DIN 1045-1 (Table 20 / 21)
OEN 4700 (Tables 8 to 10)
BAEL (Material only), AS 5100, Egyptian design code
In all cases it is possible to specify a direct admissable stress value with SIGS.
EN 1992 / DIN 1045 / B 4700:

CW is the necessary crack width (wk, cal), with a default of 0.2 mm. The re-
duced values for restraining loading of thick cross sections under EC 2 must be
converted by the user (e.g. by wk = 1.3/1.7 0.2 = 0.15). The item BB has to be
specified as 0.5 for long term and 1.0 for short term actions. Other coefficients
will be derived from that value, e.g. EN 1992 kt = 0.2+0.4 BB.
If FFCT is not given explicitly a minimum value of 3 MPa is assumed in Germany

as mean tensile strength.
DIN 1045-1 does not need any other factors for the crack width itself. For non-
linear methods including Tension Stiffening however formulas are given in Paper
525 of DAfStB section 8.5 (page 36), BB is used to specify the value t .
For B 4700 the value BB will control an interpolation between tables 7/8 and
9/10. BB=1 selects mostly constraining, while BB=0 (default) selects mostly
loading (no constraint).
Because not only the codes to the crack width but also their interpretation
change continuously, it is very probable that with different versions different re-
sults show up.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-83

DIN 4227:
The more recent design check according to Appendix A1 is selectable via record
STRE. NSTR calculates the obsoleted original form where CW is the factor for
environmental conditions. The following values can be used:
Environment 1 CW = 1.0 (default)

Environment 2 CW = 0.75
Environment 3 CW = 0.50
BS 5400 / IS 456:
These design codes classify three possible crack width values (0.30, 0.20 and
0.10 mm). For the analysis we need the nominal cover Cnom of table 13 (BS
5400-4) resp. table 16 of IS 456 to be specified at item HMIN. The tension
stiffening effect is introduced by a stress of BB at the height of the centroid of
the reinforcement.
We have the following possibilities, where the value of Cnom should be specified
with item HMIN in [ mm] :
BS 5400 according equ. 25 is applied if this design code has been selected.
The ratio (1-Mq/Mg) can be taken from the permanent load cases within a
combination. If single load cases are used, the parameter BB may be used
to specify an explicit ratio. The value of Cnom has to be specified with HMIN,
there is no default.
For BS 8110 and IS 456 we have the following: If BB is defined as the tensile
stress a reduction of the strain is performed based on the triangular tensile
stress distribution. If BB = 0, the approximation of BS/IS for rectangular
sections is used instead.
AS 5100 / 3600:
For these design codes, BB defines with values of 1 or 2 the allowable steel
stress according to the SLS or the permanent effects following AS 5100 clause
8.6.1.(c). For tendons an additional check for 200 MPa on the stress increments
according 8.6.2. is performed if the tensile stress of the concrete exceeds the
tensile strength. Explicit values for the stresses may be specified also with BB,
where the original enum of the table has to be shifted to the fractional part. (eg.
190.2). The printout will show either the concrete stress with a preceeding c
or the tendon stress with a preceeding t.
3-84 SOFiSTiK 2016

SNIP 2.03.01:
For the design you have to select a crack width. The calculation of the crack
width is done for the completed crack pattern according to equation 144. The
input value BB is used for an explicit parameter , which is in general preset by
the concrete class.
EHE:
This Spanish design code is rather similar to the Eurocode (BB is factor k2). It
classifies four possible crack width values (0.40, 0.30, 0.20 and 0.10 mm). But
then then formulas for the effective height and the crack distance and the mean
strain quite different. Thus there is no dependency on the bond properties of
the reinforcements. The distance of the longitudinal bars is always taken as 15
, because we have not enough information available for more details. Tension
stiffening is treated as with EC 2.
Check for Decompression (DECO):

The check of the decompression for the cracked section is controlled by the
definition of NSTR SERV CRAC DECO CW hh, where hh at item CW is the
distance to the ducts outer perimeter. The default value for hh is 100 mm, but
the INI-file may contain a formula. The strain in these critical points will be
printed and saved to the database.
3.16.3 Iteration Methods

Calculation of non-linear stiffnesses in AQB with other values than S0 is suc-
cessful only if another program like ASE, STAR2 or DYNA is called again with a
new iteration as a restart, and this process is repeated until convergence occurs.
Thus it is recommended to define these records within ASE or STAR2 and to de-
fine the number of iterations there. Within the procedure WPS/SPS it is possible
to call several programs in turn with the option PROG ITER which is optimized
however for the use with STAR2 (cf. AQB 5.2.2. prefabricated column).
An analysis of unloading or the hysteresis of load cycles is not possible today

for beam elements!
Selection of the optimum iteration method is not easy, because the selected
type of stiffness update determines the iteration and convergence behaviour. In
most cases the use of KMOD S1 or SN will be straight forward. KMOD SN is
the fastest method for slightly nonlinear problems, while S1 is suited for highly
loaded systems where it may happen that the ultimate load capacity of a section
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-85

is exceeded within an iteration step. For the methods K0, K1 or KN the stiffness
will be kept constant, but plastic strains are calculated, to be used as extra load-
ing as initial strains similar to a temperature loading. Using this approach the
failure of the system is no longer given by an instability detected during the so-
lution of the equation system, but by monotone increasing deformations, which
have to be checked carefully therefore.
The user should start with SN for lightly loaded systems and with S1 for more
heavily loaded systems, and should then shift to K1 or K0 if necessary. When
there are many similar systems, it pays to find the optimum method by experi-
mentation.
To prevent endangering the iteration procedure, only changes of stiffness of a

certain magnitude are permitted. A value of 0.4 for ALPH means that in each
step the stiffness can decrease at most to 0.4 times its last value, or increase
at most to 1/0.4 times its last value. ALPH is preset to 0.4 in ASE / STAR2, but
to 0.01 in AQB itself. Independently of that, the stiffnesses remain limited to the
range between KMIN and KMAX, referenced to the elastic stiffness.
With critical systems, which exceed their loading capacity in the course of the it-
eration, it may be necessary to limit the maximum acceleration factor with FMAX.
A value of less than 1.0 damps the iteration procedure. A value of 0.0 turns the
procedure off. The default of FMAX is 2.0 at a calculation with NSTR KMOD SN
and CTRL INTE 4.
3.16.4 Fatigue / Stress Range

For coupling joints and other constructions it may be required to design for fa-
tigue with a given stress range. This can be easily accounted for by defining
several load cases for the same section. If the fatigue check needs also the per-
manent stress, you should include one load case of type MAXP in the analysis.
To save the stress range in the database an extra load case number is required
to be specified via COMB GMAX LCST ...
AQB will keep track of maximum and minimum stress and will compare the re-
sulting difference with a given threshhold value specified for concrete and Steel
with AQUA. A value of SIGS from this record will limit the values of all reinforce-
ments to that given value. Such a global definition will deactivate some specific
stress modifications of the design codes however.
Unless a definition of CTRL REIN FIX/FIXL has been specified, AQB will in-
crease the area of passive reinforcements accordingly, if the limit value for the
reinforcements is exceeded. But there will be no reanalysis of the load cases
with the changed values. All printed results are therefore valid for the reinforce-
ment before the analysis. Special notice should be given to the fact, that without
3-86 SOFiSTiK 2016

a preliminary design only the minimum reinforcements for longitudinal and shear
links are used.
For the fatigue design check according to DIN 1045-1 resp. DIN FB-102 the Lit-
eral FAT DINF should be entered, further definitions might be done with records
LC and BEAM or within the material definition (AQUA).
It might be helpful to increase the volume of print out via ECHO NSTR EXTR in
such cases.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-87

3.17 ECHO Control of the Extent of Output
ECHO

OPT A literal from the following list: LT FULL
SECT Static properties of section
FORC Forces and moments
COMB Combinations and their forces
STRE Elastic stresses
DESI Design
NSTR Non-linear stresses
EIGE Finding internal stresses
SHEA Shear design
CRAC Limitation of crack width
FAT Fatigue Design
C2T c/t slenderness ratio
USEP Used participle factors
REIN Reinforcements
TABS Tabular summaries
SSUM Maximum forces and moments
LC Individual load cases
BSEC Sections
STAT Overview of CPU time
FULL All options except for LC, BSEC
VAL Value of output option LT FULL

OFF nothing computed / printed
NO no output
YES standard output (default in gen-
eral)
FULL full output
EXTR extended output
SELE Output mask LT4 *
3-88 SOFiSTiK 2016

With ECHO the volume of the output is controlled. While the default (YES) cre-
ates a minimum printout with the most important data in a single line, the defi-
nition of a pure option with (the default input) value FULL will created additional
but still compact output.
The value EXTR will create as much information as possible, which will be split
in several tables in general. Some special options will be availabe separately by
special items.
The record name ECHO must be specified with each input record to avoid am-
biguities with the the record names.
The meaning of the ECHO options in brief follow (more information in ):
ECHO BSEC
NO Only sections explicitly selected with BEAM
YES All sections selected for printing
FULL All sections
ECHO LC
NO Only extreme values of stresses / reinforcement
YES Load case 0 and combination (superposition) load cases
FULL All single load cases
ECHO SECT
NO Table is omitted
YES Output for construction stage sections
EXTR Output for all sections as well as cross section parts of the
tendon groups
ECHO FORC
NO Table is omitted
YES Only the forces and moments for load case 0
FULL Forces and moments of the selected load cases
EXTR Forces and moments of the combinations
COMP additional forces and moments for every material for compos-
ite sections (available only within AQBS)
ECHO SSUM
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-89

Prints maximum forces and moments per section for all load
cases
YES Only one line per section
FULL Max and min per section
EXTR Max and min also for every load case
ECHO COMB
YES Table of the combinations is output
FULL Internal forces and moments of combinations are output
EXTR Factors of the superposition will be printed
ECHO EIGE
YES Output of effective creep and shrinkage coefficients, resulting
forces and moments and stresses
FULL Creep-inducing forces of partial section per creep load case
with applied creep coefficients Internal forces of partial sec-
tion, total resultant forces, shear force components and de-
termined strain and curvature modifications
EXTR Additional output of the evaluation of the creep coefficients.
ECHO STRE
OFF no print at all
NO print only stresses above limits
YES Main values / + / / / /
FULL including stress components of the individual forces
EXTR Stresses in stress points (SELE)
ELEM Stresses in important points (SELE)
FAT Enable Fatigue design check of stresses
ALL Stresses in all sectional elements (SELE)
ECHO SHEA
YES Only maximum values are output
FULL Uncracked stage I:
All sections in zone A are output
Cracked stage II:
All sections are output
Output of ratios of available to permissible shear force / tor-
3-90 SOFiSTiK 2016

sional shear force

EXTR Cracked stage I:
All sections in zone B are output, additional in zone A the
stresses of the sections are output
ECHO TABS
ECHO TABS prints detailed tables of the stresses for every
beam section. It is treated as a bit encoded number which
contains the following options:
NO Table is omitted (default)
TEND Single prestress tendons instead of groups (1)
SIG Normal stresses (2)
TAU Shear stresses (4)
FAT Stress ranges for normal and shear stresses (8)
ECHO USEP
This option controls the output of used utilisation factors
YES Printout of the values after a check (default)
FULL Printout of detailed values
ECHO DESI
NO Table is omitted
YES Table will be output
FULL Lever arm of the internal forces and tension force after dis-
placement of the envelope line will be output.
EXTR Additionally the stresses in the tendon groups in beam beam
section as well as the max. and min. edge strains for the
materials
ECHO REIN
NO Tables are omitted
YES Only table with the maximum reinforcement
FULL Table with the maximum reinforcement and individual design
(distribution of deformation, shear etc.)
EXTR Reinforcement for each rank for NSTR (crack width) as well
as extended output of the maximum reinforcement (only
when GLOB and TOTA are in effect)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-91

ECHO NSTR
YES Internal forces, stresses and location of neutral axis, effective
stiffness
FULL In addition strains and curvatures and maximum and mini-
mum stresses
EXTR Strains and stresses for all materials and in selected stress
points of the section
ELEM Strains and stresses for all selected elements in section
COMP Tensile and compressive components including internal lever
STIF Plastic strains and tangential stiffness for nonlinear analysis
SEFF Show effective stiffness as ratio instead of elasticity moduli
ECHO FAT
YES Print checks for beam sections exceeding the limits
FULL Print checks for all beam sections
EXTR Print checks for all selected stress points of the section
ELEM Print checks for all selected elements in section
ECHO C2T
OFF No check, but evaluation of be for NSTR
NO No output, utilisation c/t ratio is printed
YES only plates with exceeding c/t ratios
FULL maximum untilisation of c/t ratios
EXTR All c/t values for all plates for buckling
The output of the c/t ratio depends on the type of the check:
STRE E (sectional class 3 resp. elastic-elastic)
The output is printed in the table Stresses, if
ECHO C2T is defined.
STRE C (sectional class 1 or 2, elastic-plastic)
The advanced check for section class 1 or 2 is
done only in case of plasticized areas.
If these areas do not appear, then the check
elastic-plastic is done here also.
NSTR ULTI (sectional class 1 or 2 resp. table 15 DIN 18800
part1, elastic-plastic)
The output is printed in the table Nonlinear
Stresses, if ECHO C2T is defined.
3-92 SOFiSTiK 2016

NSTR ULTI (sectional class 4)

The effective width or thickness is printed in the
table with NSTR EXTR
ECHO CRAC
NO Output is only a remark on achieved crack width or stress
utilisation.
YES Output of the state with the final reinforcement Total tension
zone and all elements after the increase
FULL as YES and additional output of the state with available rein-
forcement
EXTR additional output of all iterative steps
3.17.1 Output masks)

All elements (parts) of a cross section are marked from program AQUA with a
literal with up to 4 characters. The output of selected values (polygon points,
reinforcement etc.) contains in a first step only the elements which match the
mask SELE.
SELE is a literal with up to 4 characters which may contain wildcard-symbols.

These are:
* for any number of any characters

? for any character
for example the literal
A* includes all words who start with A

?0 includes all words with two characters with second character
0
1??0 includes all words with 4 characters with first character 1
and last character 0
* can be any word
*A or any other with any character after * are equivalent to the
literal up to *.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-93

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AQB

Design of Cross Sections

AQB Manual, Version 2016-11

Copyright 2015 by SOFiSTiK AG, Oberschleissheim, Germany.

HQ Oberschleissheim Office Nuremberg

T +49 (0)89 315878-0 T +49 (0)911 39901-0

This manual is protected by copyright laws. No part of it may be translated, copied or

1 Task Description 1-1

2 Theoretical Principles 2-1

2.8.1 General Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30

3 Description of Input 3-1

3.6 CTRL Controlling the Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25

SOFiSTiK 2016 iii

1. Creep and shrinkage analysis (AQBS only)

Computed stresses, reinforcement and stiffnesses can be stored back in the

SOFiSTiK 2016 1-1

database, and they can both be graphically represented or be addressed by

The small version of AQB is included in the general SOFiSTiK-Licence. It allows

1-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

2.1 Internal Forces and Cross Section

Figure 2.1: Coordinate system

2.1.2 Internal Forces and Moments

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-1

All options can be deactivated by the record CTRL.

2.1.3 Cross Sections

Construction methods such as those of prestressed concrete or composite

AQUA allows therefore the definition of up to 9 construction stages which may

2-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

The determination of the secondary stresses also makes it possible to create

2.2 Stress Analysis by the Theory of Elasticity

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-3

the corner stresses are shown separately here.

2.2.2 Partial Cross Sections

MyCS = Myb Nb (zsCS zsb ) (2.8)

MzCS = Mzb Nb (ysCS ysb ) (2.9)

2-4 SOFiSTiK 2016

3. For any particular partial cross section of a material, all components of

2.2.3 Limit Stresses

Depending on the declaration of the allowable stress type, additional specialities

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-5

2.3 Design of Sections

2-6 SOFiSTiK 2016

Figure 2.2: Section classes

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-7

c/t-limits (EN 1993-1-1 5.5.2 (9))

2.3.2 Utilisation Levels

2-8 SOFiSTiK 2016

the expressions are equivalent.

Some Remarks for the applied linearisation:

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-9

importance, we use always the equation 6.18.

Mred = Mp,d (1 ) (2.15)

or (transverse bending of double-T shape, Eq. 6.38)

or (tube, analytical instead of empirical formulas of Eurocode, which differ

2-10 SOFiSTiK 2016

combination of Eq. 6.2, it is not relevant in case of medium to higher utilisa-

Figure 2.3: Utilization level of section classes

2.3.3 Buckling Limit

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-11

The design is performed by means of a degree of utilization of the buckling load.

2.3.4 Special Treatment of EN 1999

2.4 Secondary Stresses (Creep and Construction Stages)

2-12 SOFiSTiK 2016