Aqua 1

AQUA
Materials and Cross Sections
SOFiSTiK 2016
AQUA
Materials and Cross Sections
AQUA Manual, Version 2016-11

Software Version SOFiSTiK 2016
Copyright © 2015 by SOFiSTiK AG, Oberschleissheim, Germany.
SOFiSTiK AG
HQ Oberschleissheim Office Nuremberg

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Germany Germany
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info@sofistik.de
www.sofistik.de
This manual is protected by copyright laws. No part of it may be translated, copied or

reproduced, in any form or by any means, without written permission from SOFiSTiK AG.
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 Münzner
Contents | AQUA
Contents
Contents i
1 General 1-1
1.1 Task Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
1.2 Types of sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
1.2.1 Static Properties of Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
1.2.2 Standard Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
1.2.3 Freely Defined Thin-walled Cross Sections . . . . . 1-1
1.2.4 Freely Defined Solid Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . 1-2
1.2.5 Freely Defined FE Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
1.2.6 Selection of Section Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
1.3 Creating variants of sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
2 Theoretical Principles 2-1

2.1 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
2.2 Holes and Composite Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
2.3 Coordinate System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
2.4 Normal Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
2.5 Effective Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
2.6 Warping and Shear Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
2.7 Torsional Moment of Inertia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
2.8 Shear Stresses in Solid Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
2.8.1 Finite Element Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
2.8.2 Boundary Element Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
2.8.3 Force Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
2.8.4 Equivalent Hollow Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
2.8.5 Shear Cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
2.9 Shear Stresses in Thin-Walled Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
2.10 Plastic forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
2.11 Program Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22
Literature 2-23
3 Input Description 3-1

3.1 Input Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
3.2 Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
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AQUA | Contents
3.3 Input Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

3.4 CTRL – Control of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
3.5 Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
3.6 NORM – Default Design Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
3.7 MATE – Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-34
3.8 MAT – General Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
3.9 MLAY – Layered Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
3.10 NMAT – Non-linear Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
3.10.1 Invariants of the Stress Tensor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
3.10.2 Material Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
3.10.3 Non-linear State Variables (hardening parameters) 3-54
3.10.4 VMIS Viscoplastic Material Law . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
3.10.5 DRUC Viscoplastic Material Law . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
3.10.6 MOHR Viscoplastic Material Law . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
3.10.7 GRAN Hardening Plasticity Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
3.10.8 SWEL Swelling Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-69
3.10.9 FAUL Oriented Shear Planes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-72
3.10.10 ROCK Material with oriented Shear Plane . . . . . 3-74
3.10.11 UNDR Undrained Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-75
3.10.12 LADE Elasto-plastic Material Law . . . . . . . . . . . 3-83
3.10.13 MEMB Material Law for Polyfabrics/ Textiles . . . . 3-85
3.10.14 User Defined Material Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-86
3.11 BMAT – Elastic Support / Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-89
3.12 HMAT – Material Constants HYDRA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-92
3.12.1 Hydraulic Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-93
3.12.2 Heat Conduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-94
3.12.3 Hydration of Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-96
3.13 CONC – Properties of Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-98
3.13.1 Eurocode / DIN 1045-1 / OEN B 4700 . . . . . . . . 3-99
3.13.2 DIN 1045 old / DIN 4227 / DIN 18806: . . . . . . . . 3-102
3.13.3 ÖNORM B 4700 / B 4750 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-103
3.13.4 Swiss Standard SIA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-104
3.13.5 French BAEL-99 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-105
3.13.6 Spanish EHE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-105
3.13.7 Swedish BBK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-105
3.13.8 Danish DS 411 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-106
3.13.9 Norwegian NS 3473 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-106
3.13.10 Italian design codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-106
3.13.11 Hungarian design codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-107
3.13.12 British Standard BS 8110 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-107
3.13.13 American concrete institute ACI 318M . . . . . . . . 3-107
3.13.14 Brasilian NBR 6118-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-108
ii SOFiSTiK 2016
Contents | AQUA
3.13.15 Australian AS 3600 and New Zealand NZS 3101 . 3-108

3.13.16 Japanese Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-109
3.13.17 Chinese Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-109
3.13.18 Indian Standards IS / IRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-109
3.13.19 Egyptian Standard ET RC-2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-110
3.13.20 Russian Standard SNIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-110
3.13.21 Linear Elastic Concrete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-111
3.14 STEE – Properties of Metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-112
3.14.1 Structural Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-113
3.14.2 Aluminium alloy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-124
3.14.3 Reinforcing and Prestressing Steel . . . . . . . . . . 3-127
3.14.4 Relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-136
3.14.5 Bond Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-137
3.14.6 Stress-Strain Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-138
3.15 TIMB – Timber and Fibre Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-140
3.16 MASO – Masonry / Brickwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-147
3.17 SSLA – Stress-Strain Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-149
3.18 MEXT – Extra Material Constants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-154
3.18.1 AIR - Air Contact Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-154
3.18.2 CNOM - Nominal Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-154
3.18.3 CRW - Crack width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-155
3.18.4 EIGE - Parameters for Creep-Coefficients . . . . . . 3-155
3.18.5 KR - Equivalent roughness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-156
3.18.6 TEMP - Temperature environment . . . . . . . . . . . 3-157
3.19 BORE – Soil or Bore Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-158
3.20 BLAY – Layer of the Soil Strata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-159
3.21 BBAX – Axial Beddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-162
3.22 BBLA – Lateral Beddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-164
3.23 BTAB – Foundation pressures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-167
3.24 SMAT – Properties for Springs and Beam Hinges . . . . . . 3-169
3.24.1 Material type charakteristics and examples . . . . . 3-173
3.25 SFLA – Force-Displacement Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-180
3.26 SVAL – Cross Section Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-186
3.27 SREC – Rectangle, T-beam, Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-189
3.28 SCIT – Circular and Tube Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-194
3.29 TUBE – Circular and Annular Steel Cross Sections . . . . . 3-196
3.30 CABL – Cable Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-197
3.31 SECT – Freely defined Cross Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-201
3.31.1 Parametric Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-204
3.31.2 FE-Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-207
3.32 CS – Construction Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-209
3.33 SV – Additional Cross Section Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-211
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AQUA | Contents
3.34 POLY – Polygonal Cross-Section Element / Blockout . . . . 3-214

3.35 VERT – Polygon Vertices in Absolute Coordinates . . . . . . 3-216
3.36 CIRC – Circular Cross Section Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-218
3.37 CUT – Shear and Partial Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-219
3.38 PANE – Thin-Walled Cross Section Element . . . . . . . . . . 3-226
3.39 PLAT – Thin-Walled Cross Section Element . . . . . . . . . . 3-229
3.40 WELD – Welded Shear Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-232
3.41 PROF – Rolled Steel Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-234
3.42 SPT – Points for Stresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-245
3.43 NEFF – Non effective parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-247
3.44 WPAR – Parameters for Wind Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-250
3.45 WIND – Coefficients for Wind and Wave Loading . . . . . . . 3-251
3.46 LAY – Reinforcement Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-254
3.46.1 Properties of reinforcement elements . . . . . . . . . 3-254
3.46.2 Rules for the treatment of layers . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-257
3.47 RF – Single Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-259
3.48 LRF – Line Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-260
3.49 CRF – Circular Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-262
3.50 CURF – Perimetric Reinforcement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-264
3.51 TVAR – Template Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-266
3.52 INTE – Interpolation or Variants of Sections . . . . . . . . . . 3-268
3.53 IMPO – Import of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-270
3.54 EXPO – Ansi Export of Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-271
3.55 ECHO – Extent of Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-272
4 Description of Output 4-1

4.1 Information about the Design Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
4.2 Material Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
4.3 Bedding Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
4.4 Overview of the Cross Section Values and Types . . . . . . . 4-8
4.5 Cross Section Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
4.6 Cross Section Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
4.7 Wind Coefficients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19
4.8 Integral Equation Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
4.9 Spring Characteristic Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20
iv SOFiSTiK 2016
General | AQUA
1 General
1.1 Task Description

AQUA calculates the properties of cross sections of any shape and made out of
any material. The cross section properties for a static analysis are determined,
as well as characteristic magnitudes for the calculation of normal and shear
stresses. Cross sections need to be defined before input of the static system or
the dimensioning with AQB.
After definition with AQUA, the cross sections can be represented graphically
with ResultViewer.
There are four types of cross sections, depending on the complexity of the de-
sign task. Without a licence for AQUA only the first two types may be defined
(AQUA-light).
1.2 Types of sections

1.2.1 Static Properties of Cross Sections
All static properties of cross sections are directly specified. This includes shear
deformation areas and stress resistance values. The values may be taken from
other cross sections with a multiplication factor. These cross sections are mainly
used in the static calculations. Their usage in AQB is strongly restricted.
1.2.2 Standard Cross Sections

A standard cross section (Rolled steel shapes, Rectangle, T-beam, annular sec-
tions, cables) is always defined with a single command. All cross sectional prop-
erties, including the torsional moment of inertia, are available. Due to the known
geometric structure, most of the property values may be calculated in a direct
way, allowing to skip the time consuming detailed analysis of the shear or plastic
resistance only available with an AQUA license. In many cases it is also intended
to have these simpler values taken from tabulated data in the literature. On the
other side variability and locations of design points are thus limited. A detailed
analysis or a combination with other cross section parts is only possible for the
rolled steel shapes.
1.2.3 Freely Defined Thin-walled Cross Sections

A freely defined thin-walled cross section may contain any number of thin ele-
ments, whose thickness is much smaller comparative to its length. A thin ele-
SOFiSTiK 2016 1-1

AQUA | General
ment assumes that the variation of the normal stress and most shear stresses
over the thickness are negligible. This has the consequence that the moment
of inertia about the weak axis also vanishes. Available elements are panels,
standard steel shapes and welded joints, as well as reinforcements.
Section moduli for all stresses are available at all points of the cross section.
Torsional moment of inertia and warping resistance, as well as centre of shear
and shear deformation areas, are determined for open or closed shapes, but
they can also be specified explicitly for special cases. Composite cross sections
can be defined.
1.2.4 Freely Defined Solid Cross Sections

A freely defined solid cross section consists of any number of outer and inner
perimeters in the form of circles or polygons, as well as of reinforcement ele-
ments. Structural steel shapes can be integrated.
Section moduli for all stresses are only available at distinct points of the cross
section. The torsional moment of inertia, the centre of shear and the shear de-
formation areas can be calculated, or they can be input separately. The warping
resistance can not be determined. Composite sections or effective widths of the
polygons can be defined.
1.2.5 Freely Defined FE Cross Sections

A freely defined FE cross section will be imported from a FE mesh available in
a separate external data base. Stress points, reinforcement elements or shear
cuts may be added then. The import may also activate a temperature field for
the section (e.g. hot design).
All sectional values including warping are evaluated. Section moduli for all forces
and moments are available for all element mid points. Composite sections may
be defined.
1.2.6 Selection of Section Type

The user has to decide on his own authority, which type of sectional description
to choose. Due to the established restrictions a standard cross section may
have more sectional data available than a poorly defined general cross section.
A thin walled section has much in common with a standard frame analysis, while
the solid section requires a continua solution. This means that the simplifications
of the thin walled approach allow a faster, more robust and more extensive so-
lution, but neglects local effects, which may become visible within a continua
solution with integral equations or finite elements.
1-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

General | AQUA
For example it is to be noted, that for a thin hollow box, the shear stress of the
continua solution is not really constant across the web thickness and may have
higher intensities at the corners which might require a smoothing of the contour.
On the other side a thin walled section has problems to take account of the
positive effect of the fillets of a thin rolled steel shape which has a considerable
contribution to the torsional strength.
The checks for the c/t ratio for steel sections are much more easily performed
with a thin walled section and the modelling of discrete dowels is only possible
with this type of approach.
In general problems have to be expected if a section is not modelled with the op-
timum method. Especially very thin plates with stiffeners modelled as polygons
need a very high numerical effort.
1.3 Creating variants of sections

Due to the fact that most cross sections are build up according to certain rules,
AQUA supplies several definition possibilities for these instances:
• You may describe the section via CADINP variables within a block, which is
then used multiple times.
• You may interpolate between two sections linearly
• You can define a cross section template consisting of several construction
points. Other points are referenced hierarchically to those original points.
You can then generate other cross sections by changing these points.
• You may describe the position of those construction points by a 3D model
with curved reference lines.
It is also possible for AQUA to update all interpolated or otherwise generated

sections with a single command (INTE).
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AQUA | General
1-4 SOFiSTiK 2016

Theoretical Principles | AQUA
2 Theoretical Principles
2.1 Materials
Properties of materials must be distinguished according to whether they are to
be kept as close as possible to real values (e.g. for dynamic calculations) or to
be used with a safety coefficient for calculating an ultimate load-bearing capacity.
A small, but subtle contradiction is given by the fact, that many design codes

use a factor of 10.0 to convert the density of a material t/ m3 into the weight

kN/ m3 . To avoid any confusion about that SOFiSTiK has established the fol-
lowing rules:
• All weights have to be specified as the 10 time value of the mass, as it is also
done in the Eurocode. This value will be saved to the database.
• Thus masses for dynamic or thermal analysis will be always determined with
a factor of 0.1.
• If the design code or the user allows for more exact loadings, the factor of the
self weight has to be defined according to the locally effective value of the
gravity (e.g. 0.980655 instead of 1.0 for the reference location at 45 degree
latitude and sea level).
• For imperial units it has to be distinguished between mass (b) and a force
(bƒ , ps, ks). The conversion is using the reference location, thus the above
specified load factor should be used.
Whereas the safety factors were formerly assigned more-or-less at random,

sometimes to the load and sometimes to the material, more recent regulations
(Eurocode) provide a clearer separation between safety factors for the loads and
factors for the material.
Since the material safety factors still depend on the nature of the load or the type
of design, AQUA generates and stores only the genuine properties of the mate-
rial. However, AQUA accounts for some safety factors which are independent of
the particular loading case, such as long term reduction factors.
Nevertheless, a safety coefficient can be entered in AQUA for each material; this
is used in AQUA for calculating the full plastic section forces and moments, and
can be used in AQB for the strain checks.
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-1

AQUA | Theoretical Principles
2.2 Holes and Composite Sections

Any type of hole will be generated automatically if polygons or circles overlap. A
true hole is now defined with material number 0. To avoid any ambiguities, some
rules have to be followed however:
• A polygon/circle may create a hole in another area only if it has a different

material number and at least one vertex of the periphery within the other
area. The latter is only true provided that the edges of the two polygons
maintain a minimum distance of 0.5 [ mm] apart.
• If a polygon/circle is completely within another area, it will always create a
hole, if the areas overlap partly the sequence of the input will decide: The
area defined last will be considered ”in front of” and will create a hole in the
area laying behind.
2.3 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 in general at the positive boundary of the section
(from the end of the bar to the beginning).
The coordinate system of the section is identical with the local beam coordinate-
system, i.e. the local x-axis is along the beam on the line between the nodes,
the y- and the z-axis are right handed perpendicular to it. The z-axis defines
the main bending direction and is in general oriented downwards in the gravity
direction.
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 (0) - This point may be given either by the centroids of the sec-
tions (centric beam) or it is defined by the origin of the sectional coordinate
system (beam with a reference axis). Support conditions in the nodes thus
are always specified for the beam axis position!
• Centre of gravity (S) - This point is the reference for the normal force and
the bending moments.
• Shear centre (M) - This point is the reference for the transverse shear force
and the torsional moment. The section will rotate about that point in general.
If we have a rotation about a fixed point (e.g. by a bracing) this point has to
be specified explicitly and it will coincide with the beam axis in many cases.
Deviations between these points will create changes in the moments between
2-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

support and end of beam. On the other side it is possible to describe a com-
plete geometry with any eccentricities and unsymmetrical haunched beams and
construction stages with ease.
S
M
Figure 2.1: Coordinate system
Figure 2.1 depicts beam and sectional coordinate systems:
x, y, z Local beam coordinate system, freely selectable, is defined relative

to the global coordinate system by the definition of the beam.
y’, z’ sectional coordinate system for minimum moment of inertia (=co-
ordinate system shifted to the centre of gravity)
For rotations the sign is always defined by the rotation about the local x-axis.
This is clockwise if you look in the direction of the beam and it is counter clock-
wise if looking on the positive face. Sections will be saved in the database with
the periphery in that same orientation. The sign of the radius of a circular arc
is defined positive if the area is increased compared to the secant, and it is
negative if the area is decreased as in the case of a fillet.
2.4 Normal Stresses

The load-bearing behaviour of a generic bar without foundation according to the
1st order theory, yet with warping, can be described with a differential equation
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-3

matrix:
     
 
F Fy Fz F 

    p






     
 V 
 
py

 Fy Fyy Fyz Fy 
   
E ·   · y
= (2.1)

zV  pz
 Fz Fyz Fzz Fz  
  
 

  
 
 
 

   
m + Gt ϑ

 V 
F Fy Fz F ϑ

with the following definitions:
 , y , z displacements parallel and perpendicular to the bar

Θ rotation about the axis of the bar
p , py , pz loads parallel and perpendicular to the bar
m torsional load
The rest of the parameters are static properties of the cross section (geometrical
area moments). Since it is impractical to incorporate all of the static properties
into the calculation, certain standardisations are normally adopted:
• The axial force refers to the centre of gravity of the beam, i.e.
Fy = Fz = 0 (2.2)
• Bending takes place about the principal axes, i.e.
Fyz = 0 (2.3)
• Warping can occur freely in the cross section, i.e.
F = 0 (2.4)
• The torsional moment and the shear forces refer to the centre of shear,
i.e.
Fy = Fz = 0 (2.5)
Conversely, the conditions in 2.2 through 2.5 can be used in determining the
centre of gravity, the orientation of the principal axes, the free moduli of warping
and the centre of shear.
The determination of the area moments is relatively simple and shall not be
described in any further detail.
2-4 SOFiSTiK 2016

The normal stresses of a bar cross section can be described by means of

Swain’s expression and the normalized warping:
My z + Mz yz

N Mz y − My yz Mb
σ = + ·z− ·y+ · (2.6)
A 2
y z − yz 2
y z − yz CM
2.5 Effective Width

The so-called effective widths are used in literature for modelling the effects
which derive from the diaphragm action of the plate of a T-beam or a box cross
section. The concept of an equivalent substitute width with constant normal
stress naturally demands different approaches depending on the task at hand
(statics, design).
AQUA is able to define the non-effective areas directly by means of polygonal

elements. AQUA then stores the cross section values for the total cross section
as well as for the effective cross section. Static analysis usually refers to the
effective parts, whereas prestressing refers to the total cross section.
The effective widths are not taken into consideration during shear stress calcu-
lations due to many consistency reasons.
2.6 Warping and Shear Stresses

In case of warping due to torsion (primary or secondary) and shear force, the
cross section no longer remains plane. A deflection  occurring at the cross
section in the longitudinal direction induces shear stresses.
All the problems of the elasticity theory can be analysed by use of the force
method or the displacement method. While the force method is frequently used
in calculations by hand, the displacement method is better suited for process-
ing with the computer. Both procedures are implemented in AQUA for solid
cross sections. The latter are by default computed by means of the displace-
ment method and in particular the Finite Element Method (FEM). Alternatively,
the Boundary Element Method (BEM) could be also activated. Certain simplifi-
cations of the following equations can be made in case of thin-walled sections
which facilitate a quick solution of all tasks. These sections are therefore always
analysed by the matrix displacement method.
A general formulation for the cross section warping  according to the displace-
ment method conforms to the equilibrium condition
∂2  ∂2 

∂σ
G · + = − (2.7)
∂y 2 ∂z 2 ∂
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-5

and the boundary condition
τy ny + τz nz = 0 (2.8)
where the shear stresses are given by

∂ ∂ϑ

τy = G · −z· (2.9a)
∂y ∂
∂ ∂ϑ

τz = G · +y· (2.9b)
∂z ∂
The right side of 2.7 can be computed for example by 2.6. Assuming constant
normal force and constant cross section properties, one gets:
∂σ Vz z − Vy yz Vy y − Vz yz Mt2
− = 2
· z + 2
· y + ·  (2.10)
∂ y z − yz y z − yz CM
These equations will be approximated by AQUA either with the Boundary Ele-
ment Method (BEM) or the Finite Element Method (FEM).
For the Saint Venant’s torsion problem (∂Θ / ∂ = 1) the right side of 2.7 is iden-
tical to zero and the following boundary condition applies:
∂
= z · ny − y · nz . (2.11)
∂n
2.7 Torsional Moment of Inertia

The torsional moment of inertia according to the displacement method t is de-
rived by
Z Z

t = y 2 + z 2 − (∂/ ∂y)2 − (∂/ ∂z)2 dF (2.12)
As long as AQUA does not solve the differential equation 2.7, only an estimate
of the torsional moment of inertia is possible. The last equation shows that
the polar moment of inertia can be substituted for t in case of warp-free cross
sections
t ≤ p = y + z . (2.13)
For all cross sections Eq. 2.13 provides an upper limit, which e.g. is about 10%
above the exact value for a square.
2-6 SOFiSTiK 2016

A better approximation is given by Saint Venant:

A4
T = (2.14)
4 · π 2 · y + z

This value is exact for circular and elliptical cross sections. For compact solid
cross sections this value provides a good approximation.
In case of open sections, however, it is sensible to consider a correction accord-

ing to W IENECKE [23] in consideration of the cross section perimeter, which has
been implemented in AQUA.
Deviations in rectangular cross sections with sides a and b:
a/b 1/1 2/1 10/1

exact 0.140 0.458 3.13 ×b4
Saint Venant 0.152 0.486 3.01 ×b4
Wienecke 0.124 0.418 3.24 ×b4
For hollow cross sections with more than 30% inner perimeters, an equivalent
hollow cross section based on the external and internal perimeters is used for a
more refined estimate.
For composite sections Eq. 2.14 is used for each partial cross section and the
components are added.
2.8 Shear Stresses in Solid Sections

The calculation of shear stresses for solid sections in AQUA requires that the
user specifies the method to be used and the positions that have to be checked.
This challenging problem can be solved with a variety of methods, which is con-
trolled by the CTRL option STYP:
CTRL STYP FEM Finite Element Method - for all shear related cross-
sectional properties (default)
CTRL STYP FEMX Finite Element Method as described above, but with
a secondary database containing the section mesh
in a subfolder
CTRL STYP BEM 1 Boundary Element Method only for t and location of
shear centre ysc ,zsc
CTRL STYP BEM 2 Boundary Element Method for torsion and Force
Method for shear using shear cuts
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-7

CTRL STYP BEM 3 Boundary Element Method for torsion, shear defor-
mation areas are also determined
CTRL STYP FORC Force Method
Hint
The default of version 2014 can be set with CTRL STYP BEM.
In post-cracking (state II) analysis, AQB always employs the force method with
proportional axial force. In case of composite cross sections options BEM 2
and BEM 3 should be used with caution. The input of explicit shear sections is
required as a rule.
2.8.1 Finite Element Method

Basics
The Finite Element Method for solid (thick) sections is an innovative approach
which uses a 2D discretisation of the cross-sectional domain, thus formulat-
ing the main differential warping problem into a discrete system of equations
using the connectivity of the mesh (AQUA produces only quadrilateral ”QUAD”
meshes). AQUA solves the four main unit warping problems (MT1 = 1.0, Vy = 1.0,
Vz = 1.0 and MT2 = 1.0) and derives from that the unit shear stress distributions
resulting under each loading condition. These results are then being used for
obtaining several entities such as:
• T torsional resistance (for primary torsional moment MT1 )
• Cm warping resistance (for bi-moment Mb )
• Cms warping shear resistance (for secondary torsional moment MT2 )
• Ay shear deformation area in the y-direction (for Vy )
• Az shear deformation area in the z-direction (for Vz )
• Ayz shear deformation area in the yz-plane
• ysc , zsc location of the shear centre
• mn , m minimum and maximum warpings
• higher quantities such as Ay , Az , Ayy , Azz , ry , rz

(required for second order analysis)
Hint
The Finite Element Method is the default method of computation in version
2016 for all polygonal thick cross-sections.
2-8 SOFiSTiK 2016

If necessary, one could switch to any of the remaining analysis methods by

means of the CTRL option prior to the definition of a cross-section or in the
cross-section editor.
It is also worth noting that cross-sections defined in version 2014 when re-
opened in version 2016 will automatically be converted by default to FEM cross-
sections with the following conversion scheme:
CTRL STYP 0 ⇒ CTRL STYP FORC

CTRL STYP 1 to 3 ⇒ CTRL STYP FEM
CTRL STYP 15 ⇒ CTRL STYP FEMX
CTRL STYP 5 ⇒ CTRL STYP BEM 1
General Advantages
The Finite Element Method has several numerical and performance-related ad-
vantages over the methods previously available in AQUA:
• provides a more stable and accurate approach for the elastic computation
of torsional, shear force and warping dependent properties and stresses
• provides a nonlinear incremental approach for the computation of plastic
and other nonlinear properties. FEM yields plausible values for the plastic
shear forces and the plastic torsional moment
• provides a more accurate estimation of the elastic limit forces Ne , My,e ,
Mz,e , Mb,e for general cross-sections
• allows the direct computation of arbitrary geometry and complexity of hot

sections with HYDRA (thermal time-dependent analysis)
• provides symmetrical meshing of singly or doubly symmetrical cross-
sections, thus ensuring that symmetry of results is maintained and re-
duces numerical fluctuations of derivatives (centroid, shear centre, points
of symmetrical warping etc.)
• enables a detailed visualization of stresses and warpings with WINGRAF
/ Result Viewer over the entirety of the domain
As with the remaining methods, one can also define none-effective parts, various
isotropic / anisotropic material models, shear cuts, reinforcements and construc-
tion stages which shall be taken into account when constructing and meshing,
interpolating, computing and post-processing the model.
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-9

Secondary CDB
Upon activating the extended control option CTRL STYP FEMX the gener-
ated cross-sectional mesh shall be saved into a databank which is located
in a subdirectory pertaining to the project, entitled projectname_sections.
For example, Section 1 would then be saved in the following database:
projectname_sections\section_0001.cdb. The created database is an impor-
tant feature which is necessary for HYDRA if the section is to be later on used in
a thermal analysis or in a column design. It is not recommended to activate this
option unless one is explicitly interested in the physical output details of the anal-
ysis as its creation may demand considerable additional HDD space and writing
time. Out of optimization reasons, the default setting is CTRL STYP FEM ensur-
ing that the mesh for each cross-section shall be created and kept only for the
period of the analysis.
Databases with meshes could be also imported into AQUA using the SECT FEM
definition for a freely defined cross-section. The user is also allowed to import
sectional systems meshed by SOFiMSHC 2D as a whole or group-wise via the
same principle.
Graphical Results Output

If the input option SECT LTAU is defined by the user, WINGRAF could access
the secondary CDB containing the mesh and visualize the therein saved unit
shear stresses over the entire domain of the cross-section. The four unit shear
stress profiles (MT1 = 1.0, Vy = 1.0 , Vz = 1.0 , MT2 = 1.0) shall be then grouped
as load cases starting with the predefined LTAU number and consequently each
further increasing by one. WINGRAF allows in addition to that the definition
of shear cuts in the section, along which the unit results could be colourfully
displayed.
The Animator could be used for a general graphical overview too. For most
general purposes, the Result Viewer would always extract the boundary warp-
ings/stresses along those quad edges belonging to the outer contours of the
domain and save them in the main project database, ready for visualization un-
der the tree.
Hint
Explicitly defined stress points and single reinforcement bars shall not nec-
essarily be meshed in such a way that AQUA will always create a FE node
at those locations. Therefore results at those points are usually obtained
via interpolation of results belonging to the surrounding quads.
2-10 SOFiSTiK 2016

Mesh Quality
The quality of the FEM analysis depends entirely on how fine the underlying
model is to be discretized, i.e. the number of quad elements the mesh con-
sists of. By default, AQUA aims at providing a sufficiently reasonable mesh in
order to obtain mechanically reasonably accurate results for all cross-sectional
elastic and plastic values, especially for steel shapes. One has to however note
that the last requirement is very difficult to be fulfilled for any possible input.
It is also a matter of compromise between accuracy, computational time and
demand. More geometrically complex and involving, especially multi-domain /
multi-material composite sections might need further mesh densification in the
zones of stress concentration, interfaces and fillets. Same applies to sections
which are to be subsequently undergoing thermal analysis with HYDRA, where
acceptable results can only be obtained with finer meshes. Before meshing a
model, AQUA determines for each subregion of the domain a corresponding
mesh size which is to be applied, also termed ”h-value”.
Hint
The cross-sectional FE-mesh provided by AQUA using the default mesh
parameters is in most cases sufficient to obtain mechanically reasonably
accurate results of all cross-sectional elastic and plastic values.
For the cases where a denser or a coarser mesh is required on an overall level,
a control option is provided by means of which the user could :
• factorize the ”h-values” of all geometrical regions by the same predefined

factor CTRL HDIV factor [ -] . For example a factor of 0.5[ -] would mean
that each subdomain is to be scaled down to 50% of its originally defined
by AQUA mesh density. Same effect could be achieved by the alternative
input 50 [ %] . A factor greater than 1.0[ -] or 100[ %] can be also applied.
• a direct input of a global mesh size by CTRL HDIV mesh size [ mm or m] .
In this case AQUA determines the ratio of the input value to the internally
computed ”h-value” and applies the quotient as a factor on that region.
Since the mesh size cannot be uncontrollably rescaled, AQUA has fixed allow-
able internal limits in the range [ 0.1 ... 5.0] or [ 10% ... 500%] . Any value in-
putted beyond this scope forces the program to rescale it to the nearest extreme
and yield a warning.
It is more than recommended to use the first option since an estimate of the
”h-values” is quite cumbersome and is a function of several complex invariable
criteria.
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-11

Hint
Reducing the mesh could result in overwhelmingly long analysis time, large
databases and excessive data output.
In order to avoid various meshing problems, one should bear in mind that poly-
gons must not intersect each other at one or more singular points. It is thor-
oughly possible for polygons to intersect each other in various fashions, provided
that the intersections are continuous and generated intersection points are not
singular points.
Integration Schemes
When integrating any FE-related properties, AQUA/AQB would always employ
a Lobatto-integration scheme. For some very special cases, further integration
schemes are available using CTRL SINT. The options are :
1 Integration scheme using only quad mid points (useful for fine meshes)
2 Integration scheme using only quad nodes
3 Lobatto-integration scheme with nodes and quad mid-points (default)
Hint
It is always recommended to use the Lobatto-Integration scheme (default
setting) in order to achieve optimum result accuracy at the cost of a neg-
ligibly higher computational time. Nevertheless, the user should be aware
that this option also produces the most output as both FEM quad nodes
and quad mid-points are being considered and additionally saved into the
database.
Advanced FEM analysis

The FEM method also allows for several far more complex effects such as plas-
ticity to be considered by the analysis of a cross-section:
1. CTRL OPT PLAS

The analysis of the shear related plastic properties (MT1,p , Vy,p , Vz,p ,
MT2,p ) for thick (solid) FEM cross-sections is a complex task, especially if
these values are to be computed in a mechanically exact manner. It should
be noted that in real engineering applications, shear does not exist on its
own and plastic values, required for interaction purposes and checks, are
often of controversial nature and in many cases it is recommended to refer
2-12 SOFiSTiK 2016

to standard tabulated values. There is a handful of resources on the topic,

but it is in nearly all the cases left to the engineer to take an adequate deci-
sion as to which plastic forces and moments would mostly suit the nature of
his needs. In order to allow for that, the following three methods have been
implemented into AQUA for CTRL OPT PLAS:
0 take all plastic values from standard cross-sectional tables
1 compute plastic shear-related properties using a FE-method of
scaling the elastic shear stresses flux (default)
2 calculate plastic shear-related properties using a nonlinear incre-
mental displacement controlled FEM approach
+1*16 replace current method’s computed Vy,p and Vz,p by plastic
forces based on the scaled elastic shear areas
It is of importance to note that:
• Standard steel (solid or AQUA-light solid) profiles PROF obtain their
plastic values by default directly from section tables:
SECT 1 MNO 1
PROF 1 TYPE IPE 300 DTYP S
SECT 2 MNO 1
PROF 2 TYPE IPE 300 DTYP TABS
PROF 3 MNO 1 TYPE IPE 300

PROF 4 MNO 1 TYPE IPE 300 DTYP S
PROF 5 MNO 1 TYPE IPE 300 DTYP TABS
irregardless of whether the profiles are embedded or not in the definition

of a SECT. In the example above all 5 sections shall be treated equally
in terms of elastic and plastic computation. Enforcing the CTRL PLAS
0 option is here unnecessary and will not affect anything. PLAS 1 and
PLAS 2 will be suppressed if called.
• Freely defined sections with SECT obtain their plastic values by default
according to the method they are computed with:
CTRL STYP FEM

CTRL PLAS 2
SECT 6 MNO 1
PROF 6 TYPE IPE 300
POLY OPZ MNO 2
VERT 1 200 -200
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-13

VERT 2 200 +200
CTRL STYP FEMX

CTRL PLAS 17
SECT 7 MNO 1
PROF 7 TYPE IPE 300
POLY OPZ MNO 2
VERT 1 200 -200
VERT 2 200 +200
CTRL STYP BEM 3

SECT 8 MNO 1
PROF 8 TYPE IPE 300
POLY OPZ MNO 2
VERT 1 200 -200
VERT 2 200 +200
In the above example, section 6 shall be analyzed by FEM (also default

if nothing else specified) using the enforced plastic method PLAS 2.
Section 7 will likewise be handled by FEM with the enforced condition
of using the standard method PLAS 1 (default if nothing else specified)
in combination with the condition of using elastic shear areas for Vy,p
and Vz,p . Section 8 shall be computed by BEM, therefore none of the
PLAS controls related to FEM is relevant here.
If the CTRL PLAS 0 option is explicitly activated for the three sections
above, sections 6 and 7 will obtain only the plastic values of the PROF
definition in them, disregarding any further elements in the section defi-
nition which might lead to dangerously small and thus erroneous plastic
values. Users are thus advised to use PLAS 0 only in cases where a
single profile is to be analyzed. Finally, section 8 will remain unaffected.
• Any of the obtained in AQUA plastic characteristic values can be over-
written or rescaled if needed as per cf. SV.
AQUA also possesses a highly advanced algorithm for calculating the plas-
tic shear-related properties using a nonlinear incremental displacement
controlled FEM approach. The latter consists in applying a unit kinematic
deformation once at a time onto the cross-section in its principal axis and
gradually increasing that deformation until the ultimate plastic capacity is
reached, i.e. the tangential elasto-plastic stiffness does not change signif-
icantly with increasing deformation. Full plastification does not necessar-
ily mean all of the Gauss points becoming plastic. The algorithm would
currently find consecutive elasto-plastic equilibrium states along the fun-
damental path and compute the resulting plastic force/moment, stiffness,
2-14 SOFiSTiK 2016

residuals and incremental warpings. Whenever the iterative increments are

within small tolerances, the algorithm is deemed to have converged and
the plastic values are written into the database. WPS shall cater for correct
guiding output during the analysis. Both characteristic and design plas-
tic values are being computed by the algorithm. Non-effective parts and
construction stages are being disregarded in the analysis, i.e. converged
plastic values are only applicable to the final cross-section.
The current implementation of the CTRL PLAS 2 plastic algorithm em-
ploys the von Mises2D plastic material model for isotropic/anisotropic steel
and concrete materials (default) and the Tsai-Wu2D model for anisotropic
timber-like materials under plastification.
For visualization of the plastified cross-sectional areas (by means of
Wingraf), corresponding secondary element groups are generated auto-
matically in the cross-section database. The latter are automatically cre-
ated provided STEU PLAS 2, STEU STYP FEMX and the additional option
QNR LTAU are activated for the current cross-section. The naming conven-
tion for the secondary groups is based on the literal of the computed plastic
force, extended by an identifier for the current state (fyd = design state, fyk
= characteristic state).
The example input below illustrates the activation of the advanced algorithm
with the forced condition of overwriting the computed plastic shear forces
with the ones obtained from the elastic shear areas.
Example input file: aqua.dat/english/plastic.dat
Hint
Please note that CTRL PLAS 2 method is currently still under devel-
opment. Therefore it is highly recommended not to fully rely on the
results it produces, even though the method is based on mechanically
exact assumptions. Depending on the mesh size and the complexity
of the cross-section, analysis time might vary widely and impede the
computational speed of your project. Convergence is also not fully
guaranteed under all circumstances.
Thermal FEM analysis

FEM cross-section of arbitrary shape and material composition can be easily
used for time-dependent thermal analysis with HYDRA. The user is kindly ad-
vised to consult the manual of HYDRA and in particular the definitions of SECT
and MEXT in AQUA for more detailed information on the underlying workflow.
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-15

2.8.2 Boundary Element Method

The analysis with the displacement method employs either the Finite Ele-
ment Method or the Integral equation method (also termed Boundary Element
Method) developed by K ATZ [9]. While the FE mesh may be imported or auto-
matically generated in AQUA, for the second method, the cross section contour
is discretized into multiple so-called ”boundary elements”. A linear formulation
of the warping is made for each element and the boundary condition is satisfied
by a Galerkin weighted residual.
Both methods compute the warping function over the cross section and on this
basis the shear stresses due to shear force and torsion, as well as nearly all
sectional values like the torsional inertia, the location of the shear center and
the shear deformation areas.
The number of elements determines the accuracy of the solution. In the case
of a square, for instance, the unit lateral warping on all the axes of symmetry
is zero. A non-vanishing solution can therefore be obtained only by defining at
least four elements per side. AQUA uses each polygon edge as one element,
which can be further subdivided depending on its size. Duplicate edges are
automatically removed. As the results along the edges will vary only linearly, it
is strongly recommended to use the input value CTRL HMIN or the item SMAX
in POLY in order to have a coarse subdivision visible.
Internally a finer subdivision is however needed. Since a finer subdivision in-

creases the computational time with a power of two or three, the subdivision
should not be made too fine. The user can control the mesh size as absolute or
relative by CTRL HDIV / SDIV.
CTRL SDIV 0 No subdivision

CTRL SDIV 1 maximum 1/2
etc.
Under no circumstances are the results of this method to be accepted uncrit-

ically. It is a numerical approximate method. Local singularities of the shear
stresses, such as those at re-entrant corners for example, can generate rather
high stresses.
2-16 SOFiSTiK 2016

2.8.3 Force Method

The force method is implemented in AQUA only for ”statically determinate”, i.e.
simply connected cross sections. For multiple connected cross sections, the
user must either know the location of zero shear stress or specify the distribution
of the shear to the multiple segments of the cut. Since in cracked sections the
common usage is the force method, the distribution values are needed in any
case for reinforced concrete sections. The displacement method allows however
to establish reasonable estimates for many cases.
Torsional stress analysis is not elementary even for the force method (stress
function with soap film analogy). The resistance areas for the torsional shear
stresses are therefore prescribed by two values per section. The first value
defines the shear at mid-area (Bredt’s equivalent section). The second value
defines the increase along the cut:
τm = Mt · WT m ; Δτ = Mt · WT d (2.15)
Figure 2.2: Shear section
The default is one of the following two values, depending on whether the cross
section is a hollow one or an equivalent hollow one:
1 1
WT m = ; WT d = · min(b, d) (2.16)
(2 · Ak · b0 ) t
The sign of the shear stresses is based on the orientation of the cut relative to
the shear centre.
The shear force components are calculated by the classic formula

V S
τ = · (2.17)
 b
However, each of the four initial values is inadequate in this formula:
• V is only valid for prismatic beams with constant normal force

• I has to be generalized with Swains formula
• For S the separated part of the cross section is not known for multiple con-
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-17

nected sections.
• Shear stress does not need to be constant across the width b
The separated part of the cross section is based on the positive face the one
to the left of the cut’s direction on the positive side. During this calculation any
missing partial sections are automatically filled in. It is therefore extremely im-
portant to input the sections correctly, and especially to maintain their sequence.
For special cases, such as dowel outline joints, deductible areas, equivalent
hollow cross sections, multiply connected cross sections etc., the component of
the shear force for each partial cut can be provided by a factor.
Multiply connected cross section types require special considerations:
Figure 2.3: Shear sections in hollow cross section
Similarly difficult is the processing of cross sections consisting of several poly-

gons, either inner perimeters or composite cross sections, not dissected by the
polygonal shear cut. In such cases AQUA examines all points of the polygon to
see whether they are inside or on the boundary of the already evaluated partial
section. Openings must therefore always be defined according to the polygons
that surround them. In case of composite cross sections it may be helpful to pay
attention to the cut direction or the sequence of the polygons.
In the definition of cuts across several materials the user must take care that
each segment of the cut has the correct material number, because a cut will
dissect only parts having the same material number. It makes a difference for
the horizontal shear in a composite flange if a dowel is before or behind the cut.
2-18 SOFiSTiK 2016

Cuts through cross sections with ”open air” between their parts can not be anal-
ysed as the section does not hit any elements. A similar problem occurs if a cut
has the wrong material number. This may happen especially with the standard
cuts through the centre of gravity.
Figure 2.4: Problem case
Some additional advice applies to oblique cuts. Since the shear force at an
oblique cut does not vary significantly compared to the straight cut, however the
width of the cut does. Since the selection of an inappropriate cut direction can
result in the analysis of too small shear stresses.
The stress evaluation with the displacement method always uses the gross sec-
tion while the force method may only use the effective part of the section. The
latter is the default behaviour. But with CTRL SCUT +8 you may switch to the
full section if needed.
2.8.4 Equivalent Hollow Cross Sections

While DIN 1045 still allows the calculation of torsional stresses according to state
I, both DIN 4227 and EC2 allow for their calculation on an equivalent hollow
cross section. As long as AQUA does not use the FEM or BEM method, the
force method is used in conjunction with the definition of an equivalent hollow
cross section.
2.8.5 Shear Cuts

The user normally uses the command CUT to define a so called cut through the
sectional geometry where a check of the shear stresses should take place. Each
cut is assigned an identification, which consists of three characters. The cut can
be defined parallel to an axis or as a free form polygon line. Every segment
has its own material number and it will only cut through cross section elements
with the same material number. Gaps between the segments will be closed by
means of virtual connections. The width of the substitute torsional cross section
is available as a special option for the description of equivalent hollow cross
sections of reinforced and prestressed concrete. Two partial cuts are generated
for each section in this case.
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-19

If the user does not supply any input, one or two axis-parallel cuts will be created
through the centre of gravity. This is generally not sufficient even for a simple
T-Beam, nor for composite sections, where the reference material number of
the section is not necessarily represented at that location. The user will see a
warning for general sections therefore.
CTRL SCUT allows the user to control how many of these standard cuts will be
generated (0/1/2).
The cut can dissect the cross section at several locations creating partial cuts.
Each partial cut has a direction s and three defined points of interest: beginning
(A), middle (M) and end (E):
Figure 2.5: Shear section
The internal forces perpendicular to the cut M and N act in such way that positive
axial forces cause tensile stresses across the cut, and positive moments cause
tensile stresses at the End-Point.
The shear stressing is described primarily by the section moduli of the shear
stresses at the three points. Additional values are calculated for the design of
links in reinforced concrete structural elements:
• A mean torsional shear stress which, after being multiplied by the width of
the partial section, must be covered by reinforcement. This corresponds to
a section modulus for the shear flow.
• The total cut width, by which the shear stresses due to the shear force must
be multiplied in order to obtain the shear flow from shear force.
These distinctions are very significant to the definition of equivalent hollow cross
2-20 SOFiSTiK 2016

sections.
2.9 Shear Stresses in Thin-Walled Sections

The calculation of shear stresses in thin walled sections is however much eas-
ier as opposed to the shear analysis of solid continua. i.e. there are closed
solutions possible which do not depend on the subdivision of elements. The
theoretical background has been developed and published by S CHADE [16].
AQUA uses the deformation method in the frame of a simplified FE model for
thin-walled sections in all cases. The CTRL option STYP has in here no effects
at all, but you may specify explicit values via SV.
2.10 Plastic forces

The calculation of fully plastic forces is a very complex task. The single values for
each force component may be evaluated easily, but the interaction of all forces
and moments is a rather extensive numerical problem. With AQUA/AQB one
has the following choices:
• Estimates for standard sections (AQUA-light)

Plastic normal force and bending moments can be evaluated precisely. For
the plastic shear force Vy,p the plastic shear area is taken according to Eu-
rocode including the additional fillet areas, which is a deviation from the
simpler formulas given in DIN 18800 for steel shapes. For Vz,p the fil-
lets are ignored. For Mt,p a more conservative approximation is used for
thin walled sections, whereas for thick sections, the exact solution given by
Bäcklund/Akesson is used. It should be also noted that plastic forces and
moments for tabulated profiles shall always be transformed into the rotated
system if the profiles are rotated around their default state.
• Evaluation of plastic forces using the real geometry (AQUA - Full Version)
For thin walled sections of arbitrary shape and composition, the plastic nor-
mal force and bending moments are evaluated precisely. Plastic shear forces
Vy,p , Vz,p may be evaluated rather well (neglecting some plastic shear centre
effects). The method that AQUA currently uses for this purpose is based on
scaling the elastic stresses to their yield limit, which does in the general case
provide a slight, but negligible overestimation of the exact theoretical values,
as in the case of Mt,p .
For thick walled sections of arbitrary shape and composition, either com-
puted by BEM or FEM, the plastic normal force and bending moments are
evaluated precisely. For torsion however, it is difficult in the very general case
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-21

to clearly distinguish between open and closed sections. For thick polygo-
nal sections, a pure sum of areas would lead to significantly overestimated
values for all shear problems.
With standard BEM, as well as with FEM solely in combination with CTRL
PLAS +16, AQUA will use the shear deformation area for Vy,p and Vz,p , being
up to 20% on the safe side.
If standard FEM is used (PLAS 1), AQUA will apply a scaling based on the
elastic torsional and shear stress in the section, thus partially overestimating
both torsional and shear plastic values (see also Section 2.8.1). It is very
often questionable how these values (in particular the plastic shear) compare
to standard tabulated values. In reality, each resource uses a slightly different
mechanical definition of the area that is to be considered as fully plastic
and active. Nevertheless, using the PLAS 1 method is for design purposes
adequate, safe and computationally not expensive. If a mechanically correct
analysis is sought after, PLAS 2 method could be enforced to deliver the
required, exact plastic values, but at the price of a higher computational cost
(not recommended for a general use).
Finally, enforcing PLAS 0 for standard steel sections (also default in AQUA)
is highly recommendable for design purposes.
• Evaluation of nonlinear interaction values for the real cross-section geometry
(AQB - record NSTR)
With this method, all prerequisites like compatibility, yield criteria and equi-
librium are fulfilled. However the evaluation is always done for a distinct
force/moment combination. Thus the limiting value has to be found itera-
tively.
2.11 Program Limits

The following program limits hold:
Materials 999
Materials per cross section 31
Cross sections 9999
Reinforcement layers 10
Polygon vertices per polygon 255
Shear sections per cross section 255
2-22 SOFiSTiK 2016

Literature | AQUA
Literature
[1] Baugrund-Institut. Nichtlineare Stoffgleichungen für Böden und ihre Ver-

wendung bei der numerischen Analyse von Grundbauaufgaben. Mitteilun-
gen Heft 10 des Baugrund-Instituts Stuttgart, 1979.
[2] T. Benz. Small-strain Stiffness of Soils and Its Numerical Consequences.
PhD thesis, Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Geotechnik, 2006.
[3] M.A. Chrisfield. Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Struc-
tures. Volume I, Essentials. Wiley & Sons, 1991.
[4] M.A. Chrisfield. Non-linear Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Struc-
tures. Volume II, Advanced Topics. Wiley & Sons, 1997.
[5] C.S. Desai and J.T. Christian. Numerical Methods in Geotechnical Engi-
neerin. Chapter 2, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1973.
[6] J.M. Duncan and C.Y. Chang. Nonlinear analysis of stress and strain in soil.
J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. ASCE 96, 1970.
[7] Fédération internationale du Béton. fib Model Code for Concrete Structures
2010. Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn, Berlin, 2013. ISBN 978-3-433-03061-5.
[8] C. Galliot and R. Luchsinger. A simple non-linear material model for pvc-
coated polyester fabrics. Tensinews Newsletter, 18, 2010.
[9] C. Katz. Self-Adaptive Boundary Elements for the Shear Stress in
Beams. BETECH 86, Boundary Element Technology Conference 1986
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge U.S.A., 1986.
[10] R.L. Kondner and J.S. Zelasko. A hyperbolic stress strain relation for sands.
Proc. 2nd Pan. Am. I-COSFE Brazil 1, 1963.
[11] H.B. Kupfer and K.H. Gerstle. Behavior of concrete under biaxial stresses.
Journal of the Engineering Mechanics Division, 4:853–866, 1973.
[12] P.V. Lade. Failure Criterion for Frictional Materials in Mechanics of Engi-
neering Materials. Chap 20 (C.s.Desai,R.H.Gallagher ed.) Wiley & Sons,
1984.
[13] M.M. Maksimović. Mehanika Tla. Gradjevinska knjiga, 1995.
[14] D.M. Potts and L. Zdravković. Finite Element Analysis in Geotechnical En-
gineering: Theory, volume 1 of Finite Element Analysis in Geotechnical
Engineering. Thomas Telford, 1999.
[15] P.W. Rowe. The stress-dilatancy relation for static equilibrium of an assem-
SOFiSTiK 2016 2-23

AQUA | Literature
bly of particles in contact. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.

Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 269(1339):500–527, 1962.
[16] D. Schade. Zur Berechnung von Querschnittswerten und Span-
nungsverteilungen für Torsion und Profilverformungen von prismatischen
Stäben mit dünnwandigen Querschnitten. Z. Flugwiss.Weltraumforschung
11 , 167-173., 1987.
[17] T. Schanz. Zur Modellierung des mechanischen Verhaltens von Reibungs-
materialien. Habilitationsschrift, Institut für Geotechnik der Universität
Stuttgart, 1998.
[18] A.W. Skempton. The pore-pressure coefficients A and B. Géotechnique, 4:
143–147, 1954.
[19] O.K. Søreide. Mixed hardening models for frictional soils. PhD thesis, Nor-
wegian University of Science and Technology, 2003.
[20] K. Terzaghi. Theoretical Soil Mechanics. Wiley, 1948.
[21] A. Verruijt. Grondmechanica. Delftse Uitgevers Maatschappij, 1983.
[22] M. Wehnert. Ein Beitrag zur drainierten und undrainierten Analyse in der
Geotechnik. PhD thesis, Universität Stuttgart, Institut für Geotechnik, 2006.
[23] U.J. Wienecke. Zur wirklichkeitsnahen Berechnung von Stahlbeton- und
Spannbetonstäben nach einer konsequenten Theorie II.Ordnung unter all-
gemeiner Belastung. Dissertation Technische Hochschule Darmstadt,
1985.
[24] W. Wittke. Grundlagen für die Bemessung und Ausführung von Tunnels
in quellendem Gebirge und ihre Anwendung beim Bau der Wendeschleife
der S-Bahn Stuttgart. Veröffentlichungen des Institutes für Grundbau, Bo-
denmechanik, Felsmechanik und Verkehrswasserbau der RWTH-Aachen,
1978.
[25] W. Wittke and P. Rissler. Bemessung der Auskleidung von Hohlräumen in
quellendem Gebirge nach der Finite Element Methode. Veröffentlichungen
des Institutes für Grundbau, Bodenmechanik, Felsmechanik und Verkehr-
swasserbau der RWTH-Aachen , Heft 2, 1976.
[26] P. Wittke-Gattermann. Verfahren zur Berechnung von Tunnels in
quellfähigem Gebirge und Kalibrierung an einem Versuchsbauwerk. Dis-
sertation RWTH-Aachen, Verlag Glückauf, 1998.
[27] O.C. Zienkiewicz and I.C. Cormeau. Visco-Plasticity - Plasticity and Creep
in Elastic Solids - a Unified Numerical Solution Approach. In International
Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, volume 8, 1974.
[28] O.C. Zienkiewicz and R.L. Taylor. The Finite Element Method, volume 2.
McGraw Hill, London., 1991.
2-24 SOFiSTiK 2016

Input Description | AQUA
3 Input Description
AQUA allows the user to define general cross sections with arbitrary geometry
and materials. For simple sections and materials you do not need a special
license, but for all sections starting with record SECT you need a license for
AQUA.
Before defining a section you have to specify the materials. Materials are ad-
dressed by an arbitrary number. Please note, that by keeping track of construc-
tion phases in AQBS, it is assumed that materials with higher material numbers
were added at a later time.
A standard section is defined by just one input record. All sectional values will be
calculated including torsional and shear properties. The maximum components
for all stresses are known, but a detailed analysis at different locations within the
section will not take place.
SVAL Sections without geometry

SREC Rectangular sections, plates, T-beams and joists
SCIT Circular and annular sections via Diameter / Thickness
TUBE Tubular sections
PROF Rolled Steel shapes
CABL Cable sections
SECT General section (AQUA licence required)
With AQUA cross sections can be redefined at any time during the processing
of the project without affecting other defined sections. However if any material
definition is made, all existing cross sections are deleted. The distributions of
reinforcements and stresses are deleted too, unless otherwise specified with
CTRL REST.
Freely defined cross sections always start with the record SECT, which specifies
the cross section number. All subsequent input records describe this one cross
section, which may consist of several partial cross sections (external perime-
ter, inner perimeter, reinforcement layout etc.). The input for a cross section is
concluded either by the next SECT record or by two END records.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-1

AQUA | Input Description
3.1 Input Language

The input occurs in a free format with the CADINP input language (see the
general manual SOFiSTiK: ’Basics’).
3.2 Units
SOFiSTiK programs offer the possibility to carry out all input and output of data
in engineering units. A number of unit sets are provided for this purpose, which
are preset according to the design code used in the given project. This default
can additionally be changed for each program run separately using the keyword
PAGE. More information about unit sets can be found in the general SOFiSTiK
manual, section ’Units’.
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).
For sections the units for all dimesnions are expected in [ mm] in general, the
unit sets 0, 3 and 4 expect [ m] , the Unit-Set 1 [ cm] . For reinforcement areas
values are expected in [ cm2 ] , the unit sets 6 and 7 expect [ mm2 ] .
The following unit sets are provided:
0= Standard units (m, kN, sec with some historic deviations)

1= German buildings (sections in cm, system in m)
2= German steel construction, (sections mm,cm2 ,dm4 , system in m)
3= Bridge construction (like 0 but internal forces in MN instead of kN)
4= Soil Mechanics (m, kN, sec)
5= Structural Engineering (sections in mm, system in m)
6= Metric system (All dimensions in mm, loads in kN)
7= Mechanical (All dimensions in mm, loads in N)
3-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

8= imperial (US-Units, inch, foot, lbs, kip)
The default unit set (UNIT) of a corresponding design code is described in the
record NORM at the respective design code in the tables.
3.3 Input Records

The following records are defined:
Record Items
CTRL OPT VAL VAL2
NORM DC NDC COUN CAT ALT WIND SNOW
SEIS
MATE NO E MUE G K GAM GAMA
ALFA E90 M90 OAL OAF SPM FY
FT TYPE TITL
MAT NO E MUE G K GAM GAMA
ALFA EY MXY OAL OAF SPM TITL
MLAY NO T0 NR0 T1 NR1 T2 NR2
T3 NR3 T4 NR4 T5 NR5 T6
NR6 T7 NR7 T8 NR8 T9 NR9
TITL
NMAT NO TYPE P1 P2 P3 P4 P5
P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 P11 P12
BMAT NO C CT CRAC YIEL MUE COH
DIL GAMB TYPE MREF H
HMAT NO TYPE TEMP KXX KYY KZZ KXY
KXZ KYZ S NSP A B C
QMAX TK TITL
CONC NO TYPE FCN FC FCT FCTK EC
QC GAM ALFA SCM TYPR FCR ECR
FBD FFAT FCTD FEQR FEQT GMOD KMOD
GC GF MUEC TITL
STEE NO TYPE CLAS FY FT FP ES
QS GAM ALFA SCM EPSY EPST REL1
Table continued on next page.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-3

Record Items
REL2 R K1 FDYN FYC FTC TMAX
GMOD KMOD QS TITL
TIMB NO TYPE CLAS EP G E90 QH
QH90 GAM ALFA SCM FM FT0 FT90
FC0 FC90 FV FVR FVB FM90 OAL
OAF KMOD KMO1 KMO2 KMO3 KMO4 KDEF
TMAX RHO TITL
MASO NO STYP SCLA MCLA E G MUE
GAM ALFA SCM E90 M90 OAL OAF
FCN FC FT FV FHS FTB TITL
SSLA EPS SIG TYPE TEMP EPST TS MUET
MNRB FCTF
MEXT NO EXP TYPE VAL VAL1 VAL2 ...
VAL9
BORE NO X Y Z NX NY NZ
ALF TITL
BLAY S MN0 ES MUE DES VARI PMAX
PMAL C PHI
BBAX S1 S2 K0 K1 K2 K3 M0
C0 TANR TAND KSIG D0 D2 CA0
CA2
BBLA S1 S2 K0 K1 K2 K3 P0
P1 P2 P3 PMA1 PMA2 CL0 CL1
CL2 CL3 SM0 SM2
SVAL NO MNO A AY AZ IT IY
IZ IYZ CM YSC ZSC YMIN YMAX
ZMIN ZMAX WT WVY WVZ NPL VYPL
VZPL MTPL MYPL MZPL BCYZ TITL
SREC NO H B HO BO SO SU
SS MNO MRF MRFL RTYP ASO ASU
DASO DASU DASS A AMIN AMAX ASL
INCL REF YM ZM IT AY AZ
3-4 SOFiSTiK 2016

Record Items
BCYZ SPT BEFF TITL
SCIT NO D T SA SI MNO
MRF MRFL RTYP ASA ASI DAS A
ASL IT AY AZ TITL
TUBE NO D T MNO BC TITL
CABL NO D TYPE INL MNO F K
W KE TITL
SECT NO MNO MRF ALPH YM ZM FSYM
BTYP BCY BCZ KTZ TITL
- CS NO TITL ATIL
- SV IT AK YSC ZSC CM CMS AY
AZ AYZ LEVY LEVZ MNO DEFF FACE
FACG AG
- POLY TYPE MNO YM ZM DY DZ SMAX
EXP REFP REFD REFS
- - VERT NO Y Z R PHI TYPE EXP
REFP REFD REFS
- CIRC NO Y Z R MNO EXP
REFP REFD REFS REFR
- NEFF TYPE YMIN ZMIN YMAX ZMAX MNO WIDT
NO SMIN SMAX
REFI RFDI RFSI REFA RFDA RFSA
- CUT NO YB ZB YE ZE NS MS
WTM WTD MNO MRF LAY ASUP
OUT TYPE VYFK VZFK INCL BMAX
BRED BCT MUE SXE TANA REFA
RFDA RFSA REFE RFDE REFS
- PANE NO YB ZB YE ZE T MNO
REFA RFDA RFSA REFE RFDE RFSE
R PHI OUT FIXB FIXE TYPE
AS ASMA LAY MRF TORS DAS
A
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-5

Record Items
- PLAT NO YB ZB YE ZE T MNO
R PHI OUT FIXB FIXE TYPE
- WELD NO YB ZB YE ZE T MNO
- PROF NO TYPE Z1 Z2 Z3 MNO ALPH
YM ZM REFP REFD REFS REFR
DTYP SYM REF MREF VD VB
VS VT VR1 VR2 VB2 VT2
CW BCYZ WU1 WU2 WU3
- SPT NO Y Z WTY WTZ WVY WVZ
SIGY TEFF CDYN SIGC TAUC MNO
FIX REFP REFD REFS
- SFLA NO U F S SH FP TYPE
LEV TITL
- WPAR CS KR ICE TRAF YMIN YMAX ZMIN
ZMAX YREF ZREF
- WIND ALPH CWY CWZ CWT REF CHYD CLAT
S AG VR0 V0 ... VR19 V19
- RF NO Y Z AS ASMA LAY MRF
TORS D AR SIG TEMP REFP
REFD REFS
- LRF NO YB ZB YE ZE AS ASMA
LAY MRF TORS D A DIST AR
R PHI
- CRF NO Y Z R PHI AS ASMA
LAY MRF TORS D A DIST AR
REFP REFD REFS REFR
- CURF H EXP AS ASMA LAY MRF
TORS D A DIST AR CENT
TVAR NAME VAL SCOP CMNT
3-6 SOFiSTiK 2016

Record Items
INTE NO NS0 NS1 S NREF ICS ...
ICS9
IMPO MAT SECT FROM
EXPO MAT SECT TO PASS
ECHO OPT VAL VAL2
The records HEAD, END and PAGE are described in the general manual
SOFiSTiK: ’Basics’.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-7

SREC SCIT
Figure 3.1: General parameters
3-8 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.4 CTRL – Control of Analysis
CTRL
Item Description Unit Default

OPT A literal from the following list: LT FULL
REST Restart options
(like deletion of data at restart)
FACE Standard view on section
POS = positive face
NEG = negative face
or numerical value
RFCS Minimum reinforcement for com-
puting ideal cross section values
HMIN max. length of polygon edges
HDIV Mesh density scaling for FEM /
max. element size for BEM
SDIV relative element size for BEM
SINT Special Options for FEM / BEM
HTOL max. stitch of circular arcs
STYP Method of shear computation for
solid sections
PLAS Method of plastic shear computa-
tion for FE solid sections
SCUT Number of standard shear sec-
tions
FIXL max. factor for thickness step for
buckling panel detection
REFD Control for the input of references
VAL The value of the option − *

VAL2 Additional value for the option − *
The CTRL options may be defined at any location within the input data. However
if they are intended to be different for individual sections it is mandatory to define
them before the sections intended to use them. Within a restart CTRL REST 3
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-9

all defined options will be effective for all reanalyzed sections.
CTRL REST controls what AQUA should do with existing data in the database.
As default AQUA will erase everything if materials are defined, and only the
minimum reinforcements, limit stresses and beam stiffness if only sections are
defined. This is usually the best choice to avoid unforeseeable results. In some
cases though it is desirable to process these results further. This can take place
without problems only, if the assignment of the layers and the use of the material
numbers in the individual cross sections are not changed.
0 delete old values in the database (default)

1 keep old values in the database
2 Keep all values, even if material is changed,
implies a possible reanalysis of the sections.
CTRL REST 2 nn will reanalyse section nn.
3 Reanalyse all sections
CTRL FACE defines the standard view on the section. While the physical orien-
tation in space is only specified by the orientation of the local beam coordinate
system, the possible values for graphical views on the section are defined that
the literal POS and all positive numbers define a view on the positive face (i.e. in
the inverse direction of the beam or axis) while the literal NEG and all negative
values define a view on the negative face (ie. along the direction of the beam or
axis) :
POS y-axis to the left, z-axis downwards (default)

NEG y-axis to the right, z-axis downwards
1,3 rotation by 0 or 180 degrees (y-axis horizontal)
2,4 rotation by 90 or 270 degrees (y-axis vertical)
>4 rotated against the default by VAl degrees
CTRL RFCS controls whether minimum reinforcement should be considered in

the calculation of the cross section values:
0 do not consider
1 consider for composite sections (default)
2 consider for all sections (also for SCIT, but not for SREC)
3 consider also effect on dead load (the weight of the concrete should
be reduced in that case)
+4 do not assign reinforcement to any partial section
3-10 SOFiSTiK 2016

HMIN defines a maximum allowed length for linear or circular polygon edges.
(Default: no limit)
HTOL defines the maximum allowed stitch (error) of an approximation of a cir-

cular arc by a polygon.This is applicable to fillets and arcs. Default: 2[mm] .
HDIV defines a maximum element length for the boundary elements (BEM). In
case of FE cross-sections, HDIV shall be interpreted as mesh density scaling.
There are two alternative ways of applying a scale factor on the mesh density :
• HDIV factor [ -] - for example a factor of 0.5 [ -] would mean that each
subdomain is to be scaled down to 50% of its originally defined by AQUA
mesh density. Same effect could be achieved by the alternative input
50[ %] . A factor greater than 1.0 [ -] or 100[ %] can be also applied.
• HDIV mesh size [ mm or m] - a direct input of a global mesh size.
In this case AQUA determines the ratio of the input value to the internally
computed ”region element size” and applies the quotient as a factor on
that region.
Since the mesh size cannot be uncontrollably rescaled, AQUA has fixed allow-
able internal limits in the range [ 0.1 ... 5.0] or [ 10% ... 500 %] . Any value
inputted beyond this scope forces the program to rescale it to the nearest ex-
treme and yield a warning.
SDIV defines a relative desired element length per edge for the boundary ele-
ments. For finite elements this should be kept to the default of 0 and if not so,
the value will be ignored.
0 no explicit subdivision
1 maximum 1/2
2 maximum 1/4
3 maximum 1/8
4 maximum 1/16
5 maximum 1/32 (Default BEM)
A snap distance (always in m) for the detection of cross section parts connecting
together can be defined additionally at item VAL2. The value SDIV 4 0.001
defines 1 mm, as snap measure.
The detailed background of STYP and SCUT are explained in Section 2.8.
STYP controls the analysis of shear stresses in solid sections:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-11

STYP FEM Finite Element Method - for all shear related cross-
sectional properties (default)
STYP FEMX Finite Element Method as described above, but with a sec-
ondary database containing the section mesh in a sub-
folder
STYP BEM 1 Boundary Element Method only for It and location of shear
centre ysc ,zsc
STYP BEM 2 Boundary Element Method for torsion and Force Method
for shear using shear cuts
STYP BEM 3 Boundary Element Method for torsion, shear deformation
areas are also determined
STYP FORC Force Method
Hint
The default of version 2014 can be set with CTRL STYP BEM.
PLAS defines the method of plastic shear computation for FE solid sections:
0 take all plastic values from standard cross-sectional tables

1 compute plastic shear-related properties using a FE-method of scaling
the elastic shear stresses flux (default)
2 calculate plastic shear-related properties using a nonlinear incremen-
tal displacement controlled FEM approach
+1*16 replace current method’s computed Vy,p and Vz,p by plastic

forces based on the scaled elastic shear areas
The controls are of high importance and one should be first familiar with their
background. Therefore the user is kindly advised to consult Sections 2.8 and
2.10 of the AQUA manual for a detailed description of the control options and
their peculiarities.
SINT controls for the type of FEM integration scheme:
1 element center only (useful for fine meshes)

2 element nodes only
3 Lobatto integration with nodes and element centers (Default)
Thin walled sections are always calculated with a FEM-type method. For thick
walled sections the more advanced algorithms may create high stress values at
3-12 SOFiSTiK 2016

singularities. To disable these values for the design, it is possible to select STYP
with option 1, defining that for all shear cuts the simplified values according to the
force method are used. If options 2 or 3 are used, the integral mean values will
be used for this case and all other stress points will get the calculated values.
SCUT controls the generation of the two standard cuts parallel to the coordinate
axis and the standard stress points:
+0 do not generate default shear cuts

+1 create main shear cut at gravity center
+2 create both default shear cuts at gravity center
+8 shear is evaluated according to the force method for the gross sec-
tion instead of the effective section.
and the control for stress points (VAL = VAL+16*nn)
+0 do not generated stress points

+1 corner points with maximum distance (Points 1:4)
+2 Intersection of principal axis with section (Points 5:8)
+4 Intersection of principal axis with convex hull (Points 5:8)
+8 with original coordinate system instead of principal axes
+16 use only z-ordinates (uni-axial bending)
As the input of references is best done with relative offsets (default: CTRL REFD
1), the export however with the actual absolute coordinates, the input CTRL
REFD 0 allows to change the default to the definition in absolute coordinates.
In that case it is also allowed to make a reference to an element defined later
in the input stream, but all coordinates will be taken exactly as they have been
specified. Reference IDs should be unique within every element type. As long
as the sections are only defined via CADINP in specified sequence, same Ids
may be used however. With CTRL REFD 2+xx the algorithm may be changed
to the old purely sequential scheme for test purpose.
3.5 Materials
SOFiSTiK supports a large number of different material descriptions. All will be
addressed by a unique material number and should in general be usable every-
where. The default for the material type and any national deviant parameters
is established dependent on the selected design code NORM. In some cases
parameters may be also changed by the selection of a country code. All values
may be modified explicitly if required.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-13

The basic properties are entered via the records:
NORM Selection of a design code or a design code family

MATE General material definition including strength
CONC Concrete material
STEE Steel and other metallic materials
TIMB Timber/lumber and Fibre materials
MASO Masonry / Brickwork
MLAY Layered composite material for QUAD elements
These records are mutually exclusive but may be enhanced by other records:
BMAT Elastic support

NMAT Non-linear material properties for MAT/MATE (ASE/TALPA for
QUAD and BRIC elements)
HMAT Material definitions for HYDRA (Thermal or Seepage problems)
SSLA Uniaxial strain-stress law for materials CONC/STEE/TIMB/MASO
MEXT Special material properties
Input of material is possible in all parts of the program system. However, it is

self-evident that not all parameters are used for all types of analysis or system.
Each material has a standard name given by its classification, which might be
extended by the user. If the user wants to replace the standard completely, he
has to start his own text with an exclamation mark (e.g. ’!my own Text’) or to
quote it a second time (eg. " ’my own Text’ ").
Properties of materials must be distinguished according to whether they are

properties which are close to the realistic behaviour (e.g. for dynamic cal-
culations) or to which have some lower or upper limit to be multiplied with a
safety factor for the calculation of an ultimate load-bearing capacity. Whereas
the safety factors were formerly assigned more-or-less at random, sometimes
to the load and sometimes to the material, more recent regulations (Eurocode)
provide a clearer separation between safety factors for the loads and factors for
the material. However, since the material safety factors still depend on the na-
ture of the load or the type of design, it will not be possible to define all safety
factors with the material itself.
SOFiSTiK provides therefore the definition of:
• Properties and safety factors for the standard design

• Mean values or calculation values and safety factors for nonlinear service-
ability and deformation analysis
3-14 SOFiSTiK 2016

If some design codes (DIN 18800, DIN 1045-1) apply additional safety-factors
to the mean values, this may be defined with the stress-strain relation via SSLA.
The safety factor defined with the material will thus be used only for the full
plastic forces in AQUA.
Note: The following pages are valid in all details only for AQUA, for other pro-
grams (SOFiMSHB) deviations are possible due to older versions with missing
or changed items.
Note: Hints for material properties of strange materials may be found on the
internet at www.azom.com (The A to Z of Materials).
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-15

3.6 NORM – Default Design Code
NORM

DC Design code family LT 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 Lt16 -

3-16 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 Lt4 -/!

ALT Altitude above sea level m 0.0
WIND Wind zone Lt4 *
SNOW Snow zone Lt4 *
SEIS Seismic zone Lt4 *
WCAT Terrain category for wind Lt4 *
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.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-17

Some properties (e.g. Eurocode) are dependant on national variants (boxed

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.
3-18 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 3-19

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 Brückenbau
DIN EN1993-2005 DIN EN 1993-1-1/NA:2010-12 5 A
CAT A Hochbau
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
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 Überlagerung
DIN 18800
B voreingestellte Überlagerung
DIN 1055-100
DIN 1052-2008 Holzbau (2008) 0 A
3-20 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 - Österreichische 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 Brückenbau B 1992-2
OEN EN1993-2005 OENORM B 1993-1-1 (2007) 5 A
CAT A Hochbau
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 3-21

input of the design code. As materials BOE is input for concrete and BSOE for
steel.
3-22 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 3-23


US AISC-2005 American Standard AISC (Steel) 2005 0 A
US AISC American Standard AISC (Steel) 1998 0 A
3-24 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 3-25


EHE_REDUCIDO Reducido
3-26 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 3-27

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 & säkerhets"-klass 1
A2 byggnader & säkerhets"-klass 2
A3 byggnader & säkerhetsklass 3
B1 vegbruer & säkerhets"-klass 1
C1 gangbruer & säkerhets"-klass 1
D1 jernbanebruer & säkerhets"-klass
1
2
3
S BBK-04 Boverkets Handbok om Betongkonstruk- 0 A,B
tioner
CAT 1/2/3 (Säkerhetsklasslg/nor-
mal/hög)
S BRO-2004 Vägverket 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
3-28 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 3-29

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
3-30 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 3-31

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
3-32 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
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-33

3.7 MATE – Material Properties
MATE

NO Material number − 1
E Elastic modulus MP *
MUE Poisson’s ratio (between 0.0 and 0.49) − *
G Shear modulus MP *
K Bulk modulus MP *
GAM Specific weight kN/ m3 25
GAMA Specific weight under buoyancy kN/ m3 *
ALFA Thermal expansion coefficient 1/ ◦ K E-5
E90 Anisotropic elastic modulus kN/ m3 E

M90 Anisotropic poisson’s ratio − MUE
OAL Meridian angle of anisotropy deg 0
about the local x axis
OAF Descent angle of anisotropy deg 0
about the local x axis
SPM Material safety factor − 1.0

FY Design strength of material MP -
FT Ultimate strength of material MP -
TYPE Material type for default values LT -

TITL Material name Lt32 -
MATE defines Materials which cannot be defined by CONC, STEE, TIMB or

BRIC otherwise. The number of these materials must not be used for other
materials.
With the definition of a literal at TYPE from the following list, default values will
be selected:
GLAS, ESG Floatglass, toughened safety glas

VSGh, VSGv laminated glas (horiz./vertical usage),
3-34 SOFiSTiK 2016

TVG semi-tempered glas

Cu, Pb, Mg, W, Zn Copper, Lead, Magnesia, Wolfram, Zinc
BRAS, BRON brass, bronce
BRIC, SLBR, CLIN brick, sand-lime-brick, clinker
IGYP, GYPS isolat. gypsum, standard gypsum plaster
MOGY, MOCH, MOCE gypsum/chalk/cement mortar
ASPH, BITU Asphalt, Bitumen
CARP, WOOL Carpet, Felt/Wool
CORK, LINO Cork, Linoleum
EPOX, PHEN, PEST Epoxid-, Phenol-, Polyester resin
ACRY, PC, PTFE Acryl, Polycarbonat, Polytetrafluorethylen
PVC, PMMA Polyvinylchlorid, Polymethylmethakrylat
POM, PA Polyazetat, Polyamid/Nylon
PEHD. PELD Polyethylen high/low density
PS. PP, PUR Polystyrol, Polypropylen, Polyurethan
RUBB, NEOP, EBON Rubber, Neopren, Ebonit
EPDM, PSUL, BUTA Ethylen-Propylenedien,Polysulfid,Butadien
SI, SILA Silicone, Silica
FOAM, FOAS, FOAU foamed rubber, silicone, urethan
FOAC, FOAR, FOAE foamed PVC, PUR, PE
The mechanical properties of those materials are not always known with a dis-
tinct value or even suitable for a linear material description at all!
For geotechnical design the TYPE may be specified by the Unified Soil Classifi-
cation System (USCS) :
GW, SW well graded gravel / sand

GP, SP poorly graded gravel / sand
GM, SM gravel / sand with significant silt
GC, SC gravel / sand with significant clay
ML, MI, MH silt with low, intermediate, high plasticity
CL, CI, CH clay with low, intermediate, high plasticity
ROC1, ROC2 crystal rock, sediment rock
ROC3, ROC4 light sediments, porous rock
For fine grained soils the effect of the liquidity index will be defined by the uniaxial
strength FY, which may be preset by appending a literal to the type:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-35

:P plastic ( 0.5 < c < 0.75; FY < 120kN/ m2 )

:S stiff ( 0.75 < c < 1.0; 120kN/ m2 < FY < 300kN/ m2 )
:H hard ( 1.0 < c ; 300kN/ m2 < FY < 700kN/ m2 )
:F Fully hard ( 700kN/ m2 < FY )
Further TYPE may be used to preset fluid material constants (depending

strongly on the temperature) for:
AIR Air (1 bar, 20 deg Celsius)

H2O Water (1 bar, 10 deg. Celsius)
CO2, O2, N2 Carbondioxid, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Methane
HE,NE,AR,KR,XE,SF6 Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, Sul-
furhexafluorid
where MUE is the kinematic viscosity ν [ m2 /sec] . Sometimes it is more

convenient to define the elastic constants by other values than the Elasticity
modulus, the Shear modulus and the Poisson ratio. You may transform your
values by the following formulas:
E Elastic modulus
Es subgrade modulus (horizontally constrained)
K Bulk modulus
G Shear modulus
μ Poisson’s ratio
E E
K = G = (3.1)
3(1 − 2μ) 2(1 + μ)
9·K ·G 3K − 2G
E = μ = (3.2)
(3K + G) 6K + 2G
(1 − μ)
Es = E · (3.3)
(1 + μ)(1 − 2μ)
3 · K · E 3 · K · (1 − 2μ)
G = G = (3.4)
9 · K−E 2 · (1 + μ)
If not specified, missing values will be calculated according to these formulas. It

is, however, possible to define non-consistent constants. If no values are given,
E defaults to 30000 MPa and MUE to 0.0.
3-36 SOFiSTiK 2016

Orthotropy may be defined via material and thickness of QUAD elements. (see
record QUAD in SOFiMSHA and manuals to ASE and TALPA).
The material law of a transversal orthotropy according to Lechnitzky has one

direction that has different properties, while the description in the plane perpen-
dicular to this direction remains isotropic. This covers most practical problems
like timber and rock. Unfortunately the designation of the general material con-
stants for timber materials is not compatible with that convention, so we strongly
recommend to use TIMB for the description of timber materials.
The principal values E and μ are related to the isotropic plane, while E90 (MAT
still old literal EY) acts normal to that plane and μ90 and G90 (attention: input
parameter G) describe the transverse straining behaviour between normal di-
rection and isotropic plane. With z being the normal direction we have:
σ σy σz
ε = −μ· − μ90 · (3.5a)
E E E90
σy σ σz
εy = −μ· − μ90 · (3.5b)
E E E90
σz (σ + σy )
εz = − μ?90 · (3.5c)
E90 E
E
μ?90 = μ90 · (3.5d)
E90
It should be noted, that poisson’s ratios μ90 and μ90∗ are no longer limited by
an upper bound of 0.5 (this would hold for the isotropic case). According to
the formula given above, their relation is determined by the ratio of the elasticity
moduli; this preserves symmetry of the stress strain matrix, which is required to
fulfill elemental equilibrium.
The order of the indices of stress and strain components for subsequent equa-
tions is defined as:
[  y z y z yz ] general three-dimensional case

[  y y z ] plane stain condition, axial symmetry
[  y y ] plane stress.
With axial symmetry x denotes the axis of rotation while y represents the radial
and z the tangential direction.
Furthermore holds:
E1
E1 = E , E2 = E90 , μ1 = μ , μ2 = μ90 , G1 = , G2 = G (3.6)
2(1 + μ1 )
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-37

General three-dimensional case:

The three-dimensional material matrix is obtained by inversion of the strain
stress relations and reads (z being the direction normal to the isotropic plane):
1−n·μ2 μ1 +n·μ2
 
2 2 μ2
E · E1 · 1+μ ·m E1 · 0 0 0
 1
( 1+μ1 ) ·m ( 1) m
μ +n·μ2 1−n·μ2
 
μ2
 E1 · 1 2
E1 · 1+μ 2·m
 
E1 · 0 0 0
 (1+μ1 )·m ( 1) m 
μ μ2 1−μ1
 
D=

 E1 · m2 E1 · m E2 · m
0 0 0
 (3.7)
 

 0 0 0 G1 0 0

 

 0 0 0 0 G2 0

0 0 0 0 0 G2
E1
n = , m = 1 − μ1 − 2 · n · μ22 (3.8)
E2
Plane strain conditions:

Here we have in difference to the three-dimensional case, the y direction defined
as normal to the isotropic plane. The reduced material stiffness matrix yields:
1−n·μ2
 
2 μ2
E · E1 · 0


1
( 1+μ1 ) ·m m

μ 1−μ1

E1 · m2 E2 · 0
D= m (3.9)
 


 0 0 G2 

μ1 +n·μ2
 
2 μ2
E1 · E1 · 0
(1+μ1 )·m m
E1
n = , m = 1 − μ1 − 2 · n · μ22 (3.10)
E2
Plane stress conditions:

Here we have in difference to the three-dimensional case, the y direction defined
as normal to the isotropic plane. The material stiffness matrix is obtained via
3-38 SOFiSTiK 2016

inversion of the reduced three-dimensional strain-stress matrix and reads:

 
E1 E1 ·μ2
0
 1−n·μ22 1−n·μ2
2 E1

 
E1 ·μ2
D= E2
0 , n = (3.11)

1−n·μ 2 1−n·μ2

E2
 2 2 
0 0 G2
Axial symmetry:
A general case of anisotropy does not need to be considered since axial symme-
try would be impossible to achieve under such circumstances. A case of interest
in practice is that of a stratified material in which the rotational axis x is normal
to the plane of isotropy. For such a case the material stiffness matrix reads:
1−μ2
 
 μ2 (1 + μ1 )
n
1
0 μ2 (1 + μ1 )

μ2 (1 + μ1 ) μ1 + nμ22 
 
2
1 − nμ 0
D=A· 2  (3.12)
 G90 

 0 0 A
0 

μ2 (1 + μ1 ) μ1 + nμ22 0 1 − nμ2 2
E2 · n E1
A= , n= , m = 1 − μ1 − 2 · n · μ22 (3.13)
(1 + μ1 )·m E2
Skew orthotropy:
Consideration of ’skew’ orthotropy is also possible. In geological terms, the
three-dimensional orientation of the isotropic plane is defined by means of the
meridian and descent angle. They describe the deviation of the steepest de-
scent to the north direction and the inclination of the layers. Mathematically, the
angles are equivalent to the first and third of the Eulerian angles. The trans-
formation is defined by two rotations, the north axis (N) corresponding to the
element y-direction and the G-axis corresponding to the element z-direction.
Axes K, N and G form a right handed Cartesian coordinate system.
The transformation is defined as follows:
1. Rotation of axes K and N by meridian angle OAL about G-axis

2. Subsequent tilting of the rotated system (K’, N’, G’=G) by descent angle
OAF about axis K’.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-39

Figure 3.2: Skew orthotropy
Apart from 3D continuum elements these transformation rules apply to shells

and plates, as well.
For planar systems (TALPA) the value OAL defines the slope of the stratification,
i.e. the angle between the element x-direction and the stratification direction.
Input for OAF is not evaluated for the plane case.
For axial symmetry input of OAF and OAL is not evaluated (see above: axial
symmetry).
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3.8 MAT – General Material Properties
MAT

E Elastic modulus kN/ m2 *

MUE Poisson’s ratio (between 0.0 and 0.49) − 0.2
G Shear modulus kN/ m2 *
K Bulk modulus kN/ m2 *
GAM Specific weight kN/ m3 25
ALFA Thermal expansion coefficient 1/ ◦ K E-5
EY Anisotropic elastic modulus Ey kN/ m2 E

MXY Anisotropic poisson’s ratio m-xy − MUE
OAL Meridian angle of anisotropy about the local deg 0
x axis
OAF Descent angle of anisotropy about the local deg 0
x axis
SPM Material safety factor − 1.0
TITL Material name Lt32 -
Materials which can be used for SVAL or QUAD and BRIC elements may be
defined with the record MAT and MATE. The number of the material must not be
used for other materials.
The differences between the two records are mainly the used dimensions. MATE
is analogue to CONC,STEE etc. (MPa) and has additional strength values, while
MAT uses (kN/m2 ) analogue to NMAT. MAT has older item names for the or-
thotropic parameters.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-41

3.9 MLAY – Layered Material
MLAY

NO Number of composite material − 1
T0 Thickness of first layer ∗ !
NO0 Material number of first layer − !
T1 Thickness of second layer ∗ !
NO1 Material number of second layer − !
...
T9 Thickness of 9th layer ∗ -
NO9 Material number of 9th layer − -
TITL Material Designation Lt32 -
With MLAY you may define for QUAD elements a composite layered material
with up to 10 layers. Each layer may be defined with a positive absolute thick-
ness or a negative relative one. The total thickness of the element will be cal-
ibrated to the sum of the thicknesses of the material definition. If some layers
have negative thickness only these layers will be adapted. Otherwise a uniform
scaling will take place.
If you have a sandwich element with two outer laminates with a given thickness
for example:
MLAY 1 0.02 1 $ upper laminate $

-1.00 2 $ interior laminate $
0.02 1 $ lower laminate $
then this data will be applied to match two QUAD elements with a total thickness
of 0.10 or 0.15 as follows:

0.06 2 $ interior laminate if 0.10 total $$
thickness $
0.02 1 $ untere Deckschicht $
0.11 2 $ interior laminate if 0.15 total $$
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thickness $
0.02 1 $ lower laminate $
For non-linear calculations a material definition with mean values is stored.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-43

3.10 NMAT – Non-linear Material
NMAT

TYPE Kind of material law LT !
LINE Linear material
VMIS von Mise law, optional viscoplas-
tic extension
DRUC Drucker-Prager law, optional vis-
coplastic extension
MOHR Mohr Coulomb law
GRAN Hardening Plasticity Soil
SWEL Swelling
FAUL Faults in rock material
ROCK Rock material
MISE Mise / Drucker Prager law
GUDE Gudehus law
LADE Lade law
MEMB Textile membrane
USP1 to USP8 and USD1 to USD8 re-
served for user defined material
models
UNDR Undrained Stress Analysis
P1 1st parameter of material law ∗ -

P2 2nd parameter of material law ∗ -
P3 3rd parameter of material law ∗ -
P4 4th parameter of material law ∗ -
... ...
P12 12th parameter of material law ∗ -
The types of the implemented material laws and the meaning of their parameters
can be found in the following pages.
3-44 SOFiSTiK 2016

In a linear analysis the yield function for the non-linear material is merely eval-
uated and output. This enables an estimation of the non-linear regions for a
subsequent non-linear analysis.
If TYPE LINE is given, the material remains linear.
3.10.1 Invariants of the Stress Tensor

For the present chapter, as long as not specified differently, the following con-
ventions hold.
• The first principal invariant of the Cauchy stress tensor σ is defined as:
1 = σ + σy + σz (3.14)
1
• The deviatoric stress tensor can then be established as s = σ − 3
1:
1
s = σ − (3.15a)
3
1
sy = σy − (3.15b)
3
1
sz = σz − (3.15c)
3
with its second and third principal invariants:
1
J2 = (s2 + s2y + s2z ) + τy
2
+ τyz
2
+ τz
2
(3.16a)
2 
J3 = s sy sz + 2τy τyz τz − s τyz
2 2
− sy τz 2
− sz τy (3.16b)
A related set of quantities is frequently adopted for the description of yield sur-
faces of cohesive frictional materials:
1
p= (3.17a)
3
p Æ
q = 3 J2 (3.17b)
1/ 3
1

r=3 J3 (3.17c)
2
p and q are referred to as hydrostatic stress and deviatoric stress, respectively.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-45

A third set of widely used invariants (ξ, ρ, θ) describe a cylindrical ccordinate

system, the Haigh-Westergaard stress space:
1
ξ= (3.18a)
sqrt3
p Æ
ρ = 2 J2 (3.18b)
p
3 3 J3 π
cos (3θh ) = 3/ 2
with 0 ≤ θh ≤ + (3.18c)
2 J2 3
(3.18d)
In this documentation, unless stated otherwise, for the Lode angle θ an alterna-
tive definition is adopted:
p
3 3 J3 π π
sn (3θ) = − 3/ 2
with − ≤θ≤+ (3.19)
2 J2 6 6
3.10.2 Material Parameters

Non-linear material parameters have to be selected very carefully. Especially for
soil and rock mechanics the values of the site have to be used, at least for the
final design. There are some values available in literature (e.g. EC7, DIN 1055
part 2, EAU), but these values are hardly usable for a non-linear FEM analysis.
If we cite some of the values here, we deny any responsibilities for the correct
selection of values for any current project.
Angle of friction
The angle of friction is zero for most fine grained cohesive soils under undrained
conditions. Friction angles larger than 40 degrees are encountered rarely.
Note: A slope without cohesion world cannot be steeper than the material’s
ultimate friction angle.
Cohesion
The cohesion as well as the friction have to be clearly distinguished for drained
and undrained conditions. For fine grained soils a pore pressure is created
for sudden loading which decreases the possible friction considerably. As time
passes, the water will leave the soil, the friction increases, but the cohesion will
be reduced by a factor up to 10.
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Dilatancy
Dilatancy denotes the volumetric plastic deformation behavior of a material sam-
ple under shear. The quantity which is used to describe the dilatancy effects is
called the dilatancy angle ψ:
• ψ<0 plastic deformation associated with reduction of material vol-

ume (compaction)
• ψ=0 volume-neutral plastic deformation (holds, e.g., for steel)
• ψ>0 plastic deformation associated with volume increase
For soil materials, the plastic deformation behavior depends on the material’s
effective density, which in turn changes with the material’s loading state - there-
fore, the dilatancy angle is in fact not a constant quantity. This coherence is
described by the well-established stress dilatancy theory (R OWE [15]), which
links the mobilized dilatancy angle ψm to the actual shear straining level, the
latter being characterized by the mobilized friction angle φ0m (cf. section NMAT
Hardening Plasticity Soil Model - GRAN).
In soil mechanics usual way to qualitatively illustrate the dilatancy effects of nor-
mally (NC) and overconsolidated soil (OC) is to idealize the soil with an assembly
of spherical particles (Fig. 3.3). In case of a loosely packed soil any shear de-
formation will result in a denser packing of the particles, followed by a volume
decrease, also know as the contraction (Fig. 3.3a). This process is character-
ized by the negative angle of dilatancy ψ. On the other hand, shearing of the
initially densely packed soil is only possible if the volume increases (Fig. 3.3b).
This process is also know as dilatation and it is characterized by the positive
dilatancy angle.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-47

ψ>0
ψ<0
σ0 σ0
τ τ
ΔV < 0 ΔV > 0
(a) Loosely packed soil: (b) Densly packed soil:

Contraction ⇒ ψ < 0 and ΔV < 0 Dilatation ⇒ ψ > 0 and ΔV > 0
Figure 3.3: Model of soil as spherical particles assembly: Contraction and dilata-
tion under shear
The easiest way to understand the mechanical interpretation of the dilatancy an-
gle is to look at the behavior of the soil under a plane-strain conditions subjected
to shear τy (Fig. 3.4).
0
σyy
τy
ϵ̇pyy ψ
p
γ̇y
1
Figure 3.4: Mechanical interpretation of the dilatancy angle ψ for a soil under a
plane-strain conditions
From the Figure 3.4 it follows

ϵ̇pyy
tn ψ = p , (3.20)
γ̇y
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where ϵ̇pyy is the plastic strain rate in y-direction describing the change in volume
and γ̇py is the plastic shear strain rate.
The internal friction of a densely packed granular material is composed of a

sliding friction between the grains increased by an additional resistance as a
result of the granular interlocking. The effect of the dilatancy on the mechanical
behavior of the soil, or more precisely on the friction angle can be illustrated
by the sawtooth model shown in Figure 3.5 (M AKSIMOVI Ć [13]). It is assumed
that the friction angle of the non-compacted soil, when the volume gradient is
zero (constant volume), is a constant value and it describes only the friction
resistance of the grains. This angle is called critical state friction angle and
usually denoted as φ0c . For the densely packed soil as a result of the interlocking
between the grains, the sheering does not develop along a straight horizontal
plane s − s, but along the sawtooth planes t − t with the angle of inclination
ψm , called the mobilized dilatancy angle. The friction angle mobilized along the
imaginary horizontal shear plane s − s, φ0m , can now be determined as the sum
of the friction angle along the inclined shear planes t − t , φ0c , and mobilized
dilatancy angle, ψm , defining the inclination of t − t planes, i.e.
φ0m = φ0c + ψm . (3.21)
σ0
φ0m
τ t
t
ψm
s s
s s
ψm
t t 0
ψm φcs
Figure 3.5: Sawtooth model for dilatancy
For the triaxial stress state the dilatant soil behavior is more complicated than
the one described by the sawtooth mechanism but the overall behavior is qual-
itatively similar. In case of the triaxial stress state, the relationship between the
mobilized dilatancy angle and the plastic strain rates can be described as follows
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-49

ϵ̇p
sin ψm = , (3.22)
γ̇p
were ϵp represents the plastic volumetric strain and γp = ϵp1 − ϵp2 − ϵp3 is the mea-
sure of the plastic shear strain.
Figure 3.6a schematically shows the differences in the behavior of the normally
consolidated (NC) and heavily overconsolidated (OC) soils in drained triaxial
experiment. As aforementioned, under shear normally consolidated soils exhibit
contractive behavior, while the overconsolidated soils have a tendency to expand
(dilatation) after some small initial range of contraction. For NC soils deviatoric
stress - axial strain curve will monotonically grow until the shear strength qcs is
reached. On the other hand, OC soils reach their peek shear strength qpek at
a maximal dilatation (maximal inclination of the ϵ − ε curve), followed by the
reduction of the shear stiffness up to the remaining level qcs corresponding to
the zero volumetric strain gradient. This state is also know as the critical state.
q φ0m
qpek φ0pek
OC φ0cs
qcs
NC φ0ƒ
φ0μ
ϵ ϵ
ϵ ϵ

dϵ
ψm → 0
contraction dilatation
dϵ m OC
max. dilatancy ψpek

ϵ ϵ
ψmn
ψm = 0
NC
(a) Deviatoric stress q vs. axial strain ϵ (b) Mobilized friction angle φ0m vs. ax-
and volumetric ϵ vs. axial strain ε for ial strain ε and volumetric ϵ vs. axial
NC and OC soils strain ε for OC soils
Figure 3.6: Drained triaxial experiment
3-50 SOFiSTiK 2016

Figure 3.6b shows the dependency of the mobilized friction angle ψ0m on the level
of axial shear strains for the OC soils. The value φ0ƒ marks the transition between
the contractive and dilatant behavior (a.k.a. phase transformation). Above this
level of straining, the behavior of the soil is purely dilatant. The value of φ0ƒ is in
between the critical state friction angle φ0cs and the grain-to-grain friction angle
φ0μ . The friction angle range [φ0μ , φ0cs ] is not larger than a couple of degrees
(W EHNERT [22]). For dense soils, the value of the φ0ƒ will be closer to the φ0μ . For
loose soils as well as for the case of the plain-strain conditions the value of φ0ƒ
will be closer to the upper limit, i.e. to the value φ0cs . Peak friction angle φ0pek
corresponds to the maximal dilatancy, i.e. ψpek .
Evidently the dilatancy is not a constant value - it depends on the stress level.
Most advanced soil models recognize this fact by incorporating models which
can take into consideration stress dependent dilatancy angle. One of the most
famous dilatancy models is a model according to R OWE [15]. This model estab-
lishes the relationship between the mobilized dilatancy angle ψm and mobilized
friction angle φ0m as follows
sin φ0m − sin φ0ƒ
sin ψm = . (3.23)
1 − sin φ0m sin φ0ƒ
Mobilized friction angle φ0m represents the measure of the stress and it can be
computed as
σ10 − σ30
sin φ0m = . (3.24)
2c · cot φ − σ10 − σ30
Rowe’s Eq. 3.23 is plotted in Fig. 3.7.
ψm [ ◦ ]
ψpek
0 φ0m [ ◦ ]
φ0ƒ φ0pek
ψmn
Figure 3.7: Mobilized dilatancy angle - mobilized friction angle relationship accord-
ing to R OWE [15]
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-51

Classical elasto-plastic material models (e.g. MOHR, DRUC) adopt a constant

dilatancy angle. If the dilatancy has considerable effects (e.g. due to arch action)
the predominant loading situation should be assessed carefully. As a coarse rule
of thumb, for dense soils a value of +φ/ 2, for middle dense soils a value of 0.0
and for loose soils a value of −φ/ 2 can be adopted.
In contrast, the advanced theoretical setting of the Hardening Plasticity Soil

model directly incorporates a loading state dependent variation of the dilatancy
angle according to the above mentioned stress dilatancy theory (cf. subsec-
tion 3.10.7).
Uniaxial Tensile Strength

As tensile stresses are not allowed in soils in general, a tension cut off will be
applied for most soils. However, it might be advisable to define a small uniaxial
tensile strength for numerical reasons. e.g. if the soils becomes stress free at
the surface.
Characteristic values
DIN 1054-100 Appendix A gives characteristic values for soils as follows:
Soil type Designation Density Weight Weight cal φ0

DIN 18196 wet buoan.

kN/ m3 kN/ m3
Sand, low silty SE as well as loose 17.0 9.0 30.0◦

sand,
gravely sand, SU with U < 6 mid.dense 18.0 10.0 32.5◦
uniform or poorly dense 19.0 11.0 35.0◦
graded
Gravel, Boulder, GE loose 17.0 9.0 32.0◦
stones with small mid.dense 18.0 10.0 36.0◦
sand content, dense 19.0 11.0 40.0◦
uniform or poorly
graded
Sand, Gravely- SW, SI, SU, loose 18.0 10.0 30.0◦
Sand,
Gravel, well GW, GI with mid.dense 19.0 11.0 34.0◦
graded 6 < U < 15 dense 20.0 12.0 38.0◦
Sand, Gravely- SW, SI, SU, loose 18.0 10.0 30.0◦
Sand,
3-52 SOFiSTiK 2016

Soil type Designation Density Weight Weight cal φ0

DIN 18196 wet buoan.

kN/ m3 kN/ m3
Gravel, GW, GI with mid.dense 20.0 12.0 34.0◦

well graded U>15, as well dense 22.0 14.0 38.0◦
as GU
Saturated weight = weight buoyancy + 10.0
Soil type Design. Condit. Weight cal φ0 c0k ck

DIN kN/ m2 kN/ m2
18196
Anorganic fine TA soft 18.0 * * *
grained cohesive stiff 19.0 * * *
soils with high hard 20.0 * * *
plasticity
(wL > 50%)
Anorganic fine TM and soft 19.0 20◦ 0 5
grained cohesive UM stiff 19.5 20◦ 5 25
soils with hard 20.5 20◦ 10 60
intermediate
plasticity
(50% ≥ wL ≥ 35%)
Anorganic fine TL and soft 20.0 27◦ 0 5
grained cohesive UL stiff 20.5 27◦ 5 25
soils with low hard 21.0 27◦ 10 60
plasticity
(wL < 35%)
organic Clay OT and soft 14.0 * * 5
organic Silt OU stiff 17.0 15
Peats without HN and 11.0 * * 5
preloading HZ
Peats with 13.0 * * 20
moderate
preloading
Weight with buoyancy = weight - 10.0
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-53

Soil type Design. Condit. Weight cal φ0 c0k ck

DIN kN/ m2 kN/ m2
18196
*) only based on tests
3.10.3 Non-linear State Variables (hardening parameters)

General non-linear material laws are normally influenced by the loading history.
Therefore, for every load step material point state-variables are stored to the
data base, that can be visualized with WinGRAF during post-processing. Sub-
sequently, the meaning of the stored values is shortly explained.
Plastification number
Value of the corresponding yield function for the uncorrected (=linear elastic)
stress state, possibly scaled to stress units. If >0 the material undergoes plasti-
fication. The value is computed for each loading step anew. Therefore, regions
that possibly have plastified previously, still can get values < 0 in a subsequent
loading step. For GRAN the value of the MOHR yield function is computed, here.
For the ’Hardening Plasticity Soil’ (GRAN) material model, the plastification num-
ber is an identifier that holds more detailed information about the current state
of loading (see section ’Hardening Plasticity Soil Model’) - instead of storing the
current value of the yield function, only.
Volumetric hardening variable

Plastic volumetric strain ϵp,de = ϵ̇p,de (scalar value), accumulated from corre-
R
sponding strain rates.
ϵ̇p, = ϵ̇p, + ϵ̇p,y + ϵ̇p,z (3.25)
Deviatoric hardening variable

Plastic deviatoric strain ϵp,de = ϵ̇p,de (scalar value), accumulated from cor-
R
responding strain rates. It reflects the volume neutral (shearing) portion of the
plastic deformation.
v v
t2t 1
u u
ϵ̇p,de = ė2p, + ė2p,y + ė2p,z + γ̇2p,y + γ̇2p,yz + γ̇2p,z (3.26a)
3 2
v
t2 1
u
2 2 2
= ϵ̇p, − ϵ̇p,y + ϵ̇p,y − ϵ̇p,z + ϵ̇p, − ϵ̇p,z + γ̇2p,y + γ̇2p,yz + γ̇2p,z
9 3
3-54 SOFiSTiK 2016

where
ϵp,
ėp, = ϵ̇p, −
3
Mobilized friction angle φm

Measures the degree of shearing strain based on the Mohr-Coulomb criterion.
Computed according to:
σ10 − σ30
sin φm = (3.27)
2c · cot φ − σ10 − σ30
Utilization level
Ratio  ≡ φm / φnp ≤ 1 , where the material input parameter φnp marks the maxi-
mum (ultimate) friction angle (np - input) .
3.10.4 VMIS Viscoplastic Material Law

Elastoplastic material according to von MISE with associated flow rule and op-
tional viscoplastic extension.
Application range
Metals and other materials without friction. Simulation of creep effects.
Parameters
VMIS Description Unit Default

P1 Yield stress kN/ m2 !

P2 Hardening modulus (tangent modulus) kN/ m2 0.0
P10 Type of creep law (overstress function) − 0
0 no viscous effects, elasto-plastic
1 Perzyna model
P11 Creep parameter, exponent m ≥ 1.0 − 1.0
P12 Viscosity η ≥ 0.0 kNs/ m2 0.0
The yield condition reads

p Æ
ƒ= 3 J2 − p1 ≤ 0 (3.28)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-55

Formulation of the viscoplastic material behaviour is based on the Perzyna

model. Accordingly, the viscoplastic strains are defined by
Z t
p
Δϵ = ϵ̇p dτ
t0
t
∂g(σ, κ)
Z
= λ̇ · dτ (3.29)
t0 ∂σ
t
〈(ƒ (σ, κ))〉 ∂g(σ, κ)
Z
= · dτ
t0 η ∂σ
In case of an associative flow-rule (e.g. von Mise material) the plastic potential
g equals the yield function. The overstress function  reads

ƒ (σ, κ)m

, ƒ ≥0
〈〉 = (3.30)

0 , ƒ <0
This frequently used form can be calibrated to reproduce a wide range of time-
dependent material phenomena adequately.
References
The implementation of this material model essentially adopts concepts and
strategies from C HRISFIELD [3], C HRISFIELD [4], Z IENKIEWICZ AND TAYLOR [28]
and Z IENKIEWICZ AND C ORMEAU [27].
3.10.5 DRUC Viscoplastic Material Law

Elastoplastic material with a conical yield surface according to DRUCKER/
PRAGER and an optionally non-associated flow rule. The model is extended
by means of a cut-off criterion for tensile stresses (tension limit) and features a
viscoplastic option.
Application range
Soil and rock with friction and/ or cohesion. Modelling of time-dependent effects
(e.g. short term strength)
Parameters
DRUC Description Unit Default

P1 Friction angle φ [ ◦] !
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DRUC Description Unit Default

<0 inner cone
≥0 outer cone

P2 Cohesion c kN/ m2 !

P3 Tensile strength ƒt kN/ m2 0.0
P4 Dilatancy angle ψ [ ◦] 0.0
P5 unused - -
P6 Plastic ultimate strain ϵp,de, h 0.0
P7 Ultimate friction angle φ [ ◦] P1

P8 Ultimate cohesion c kN/ m2 P2
1 Perzyna model
Formulation of yield condition and plastic potential using stress invariants:

2 sin φ Æ 6c cos φ
ƒ=p · 1 + J2 − p ≤0 (3.31a)
3 (3 ± sin φ) 3 (3 ± sin φ)
2 sin ψ Æ
g= p · 1 + J2 (3.31b)
3 (3 ± sin ψ)
This formulation describes a cone in principal stress space that either embraces
the MOHR yield surface (- sign) or is embraced by and tangential to it (+ sign).
For a description of the material’s viscoplastic extension, please refer to NMAT

VMIS.
Tension cut-off
By default, the Drucker-Prager yield surface is accomplished by a tensile stress
limit of R ANKINE style
ƒ = σ ,, − ƒt ≤ 0 (3.32)
where σ ,, denotes the vector of principal stresses and ƒt the entered tensile
strength.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-57

Calibration based on uniaxial and biaxial strength

For subsequent derivations we use a slightly modified variant of yield condition
eq. 3.31a, adopting the hydrostatic stress p (eq. 3.17a) and the deviatoric stress
q (eq. 3.17b). Additionally, we focus on the case of the outer cone (- sign).
2 sin φ 6 cos φ
ƒ= · 3p + q − ·c ≤0 (3.33)
(3 − sin φ) (3 − sin φ)
The DRUCKER/ PRAGER yield surface features two strength parameters φ and
c which can be derived from two failure conditions, one for the uniaxial and one
for the biaxial compression limit state, respectively.
Given the uniaxial compressive strength ƒc , the corresponding failure stress

state renders
 
−ƒc
  1
σ ,m = 
 0 
 ⇒ p=− ƒc ; q = ƒc (3.34)
3
0
For many materials, in particular concrete, an increased strength ƒc2c =  · ƒc can

be observed in biaxial compression tests, cf. K UPFER AND G ERSTLE [11]. In
this notation we have introduced the amplification factor . The corresponding
biaxial stress state at failure thus renders
 
− · ƒc
  2
σ b,m = 
 − · ƒc 
 ⇒ p=−  · ƒc ; q =  · ƒc (3.35)
3
0
! !
The corresponding failure conditions ƒ (σ ,m ) = 0 and ƒ (σ b,m ) = 0 constitute
a set of two equations, which can be solved for the two material parameters φ
and c to be determined.
Hence, inserting eq. 3.34 and 3.35 into eq. 3.33

sin φ (3 − sin φ)

!
− + · ƒc − c =0 (3.36a)
3 cos φ 6 cos φ
sin φ (3 − sin φ)

!
−2 + ·  · ƒc − c = 0 (3.36b)
3 cos φ 6 cos φ
3-58 SOFiSTiK 2016

and straight forward manipulation finally yields the desired relations

3 − 3
snφ = (3.37a)
5 − 3
1 − snφ
c = · ƒc (3.37b)
2 · cosφ
Hint
In the absence of experimental data, F ÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DU
B ÉTON [7] proposes the following relation for the biaxial strength ƒc2c
ƒc [MP]

ƒc2c = 1.2 − ·ƒc (3.38)
1000
| {z }

Assuming normal strength concrete,  ≈ 1.16. Consequently, from eq.

3.37a and eq. 3.37b:
φ ≈ 10◦ and c ≈ 0.42 · ƒc (3.39)
References
strategies from Z IENKIEWICZ AND TAYLOR [28] and C HRISFIELD [4].
3.10.6 MOHR Viscoplastic Material Law

Elastoplastic material with a prismatic yield surface according to MOHR-
COULOMB and a non-associated flow rule. The model is extended by means of
a cut-off criterion for tensile stresses (tension limit) and features a viscoplastic
option.
Application range
Soil and rock with friction and/ or cohesion. Modelling of time-dependent effects
(e.g. short term strength).
Parameters
MOHR Description Unit Default

SOFiSTiK 2016 3-59

MOHR Description Unit Default


P5 unused - -
P6 Plastic ultimate strain ϵp,de, h 0.0
P7 Ultimate friction angle φ [ ◦] P1

P8 Ultimate cohesion c kN/ m2 P2
1 Perzyna model
Formulation of yield condition and plastic potential using stress invariants:

1 sin θ sin φ

Æ
ƒ = 1 sin φ + J2 cos θ − p − c cos φ ≤0 (3.40a)
3 3
2 sin ψ Æ
g= p (3 ± sin ψ) · 1 + J2 (3.40b)
3
Special comments
The following expressions are better suited for checking the yield criterion:
1 − sin φ 2c cos φ
ƒ = σ1 − · σ3 − (3.41)
1 + sin φ 1 + sin φ
For a description of the material’s viscoplastic extension, please refer to NMAT

VMIS.
References
The implementation of this material model essentially adopts concepts
and strategies from Z IENKIEWICZ AND TAYLOR [28], C HRISFIELD [4] and
Z IENKIEWICZ AND TAYLOR [28].
3.10.7 GRAN Hardening Plasticity Soil
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Extended elastoplastic material with an optimized hardening rule (single and

double hardening) for soil materials.
Application range
Realistic stiffness and hardening behavior of soil, settlement analysis.
Parameters
GRAN Description Unit Default




P5 Stiffness modulus Es,reƒ (GRAN-extended) kN/ m2 *
P6 Lateral earth pressure coefficient K0nc − 1 − sin φ
(GRAN-extended)

P9 Modulus for primary loading E50,reƒ kN/ m2 !
P10 Exponent m ≥ 0.0 − 0.7
P11 Failure factor 0.5 < Rƒ < 1.0 − 0.9

P12 Reference pressure preƒ > 0.0 kN/ m2 100.0
The extended version of the GRAN-model (two-surface model, double harden-

ing) is activated by specification of the oedometric stiffness modulus Es,reƒ (P5)
- only in this case the lateral earth pressure coefficient K0nc (P6) takes effect. In
case no input of Es,reƒ is provided, the basis version of the GRAN material model
(single-surface model, single hardening) is adopted.
The hardening rule is based on the hyperbolic stress-strain relationship pro-

posed by KONDNER AND Z ELASKO [10], which was derived from triaxial test-
ing. Hardening is limited by the material’s strength, represented by the clas-
sic MOHR/COULOMB failure criterion. Additionally, the model accounts for the
stress dependent stiffness according to equations (4-6). A further essential fea-
ture is the model’s ability to capture the loading state and can therefore auto-
matically account for the different stiffness in primary loading and un-/reloading
paths.
In the subsequent notation, compression and contraction are defined as nega-

tive; for the principal stresses the relation σ1 ≥ σ2 ≥ σ3 holds. Accordingly, for the
triaxial state index 3 denotes the axial and index 1 the lateral direction.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-61

q = σ1 − σ3 [kN/ m2 ]
-1200
-1000
σ1 -800
← MOHR
-600
-400
-200
σ3
-1000 -800 -600 -400 -200 0
Mohr-Coulomb
σ2 p [kN/ m2 ]
Figure 3.8: Mohr-Coulomb
Summary of essential features:
• deviatoric hardening based on the hyperbolic stress-strain relationship ac-

cording to KONDNER AND Z ELASKO [10]
⇒ plastic straining prior to reaching shear strength
parameter : E50,reƒ ; Rƒ
• Shear capacity (Mohr-Coulomb failure criterion)
parameter : φ; c
• optional accounting of dilatant behaviour (non-associated flow)
parameter : ψ
• stress dependent stiffness
parameter : m; preƒ
• loading dependent stiffness
⇒ differentiation between primary loading and un-/reloading
parameter : Er ; μ (elastic, from MAT/MATE record)
• optional limitation of tensile stress (tension cut-off)

parameter : ƒt
The extended version (GRAN-extended) enhances the model by an additional

hardening two-parameter cap surface. An appropriate calibration of the cap’s
hardening and shape parameters is done automatically, based on the input of
physically sound input parameters - and, hence, allows for
• a realistic modelling of the contractant behaviour and stiffness during primary

compression (oedometric testing) ⇒ plastic straining
3-62 SOFiSTiK 2016

q = σ1 − σ3 [kN/ m2 ]
-1200
-1000
σ1 -800
← MOHR
-600
-400
-200
σ3
-1000 -800 -600 -400 -200 0
Mohr-Coulomb
σ2 p [kN/ m2 ]
Figure 3.9: Mohr-Coulomb
σter
• preservation of a realistic stress ratio K0nc = σ
, e.g. according to Jaky
as K0nc = 1 − sin φ
parameter : Es,reƒ ; K0nc ; (m; preƒ )
Strength and hardening properties

According to KONDNER AND Z ELASKO [10], the axial strain ϵ3 - deviatoric stress
q behavior of granular soil under drained triaxial conditions can be approximated
well by a hyperbolic relation:
−ϵ3
q = σ1 − σ3 = , (3.42)
b −  · ϵ3
with
1
= E ' 2 · E50 , (3.43a)
b
1 qƒ
= q = , (3.43b)
 Rƒ
where q is the asymptotic value of the deviatoric stress and E is the initial
stiffness. D UNCAN AND C HANG [6] extended this formulation by introducing the
limit value to the deviatoric stress q in form of the ultimate deviatoric stress
qƒ = q · Rƒ . The ratio between qƒ and q is given by the failure factor Rƒ , which is
smaller than 1.0.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-63

1
E =
1 b
q =

E50
qƒ
σ1 − σ3
E
ε3
Figure 3.10: Kondner stress-strain behaviour
Stress dependent stiffness

Granular materials show a stiffness behaviour that is dependent on the stress
state (and the compactness of the packing). Extending the approach from (Ohde
1939, 1951) - which was derived from oedometric testing - by cohesive terms
the oedometric modulus’ magnitude depends on the effective axial stress state
according to:
σ3 [kP]
reƒ
σ reƒ Es
1.0
ε3 [−]
Figure 3.11: Ohde stress-strain behaviour
m
|σ3 | · sin φ + c · cos φ

Es = Es,reƒ · (3.44)
preƒ · sin φ + c · cos φ
Parameter m generally varies between 0.4 and 0.75.
In contrast to oedometric test conditions, lateral expansion is not constrained
3-64 SOFiSTiK 2016

under triaxial conditions. Due to the changed boundary conditions the triaxial
modulus’ stiffness E50 deviates from the stiffness modulus. E50 is defined as
secant stiffness that corresponds to a 50-percent mobilisation of the maximum
shear capacity (figure 1). Choosing the smaller compressive stress σ1 as ref-
erence stress, a relation anlogous to equation (4) can be established for the
stiffness evolution of the triaxial modulus E50 (Kondner & Zelasko 1963, Duncan
& Chang 1970), which is then used in the model equations (1) to (3).
m

E50 = E50,reƒ · (3.45)
An analogous approach for the elastic un-/reloading stiffness yields:

m

Er = Er,reƒ · (3.46)
From empirical observations E50,reƒ ≈ Es,reƒ .
Plastic volumetric strain (triaxial stress states)

Like other plasticity models, the Hardening Plasticity Soil model incorporates a
relationship between activated plastic shear strains ϵp and corresponding plastic
volumetric strains ϵp, . The according flow rule in rate form reads
ϵ̇p, = ϵ̇p · sin ψm (3.47)
For the Hardening Plasticity Soil model, the so-called mobilized dilatancy angle
ψm is defined from the well-established stress dilatancy theory (R OWE [15]) as
(Fig. 3.12)
sin φm − sin φcs
sin ψm = , (3.48)
1 − sin φm sin φcs
see also subsubsection 3.10.2. Therein, the critical state friction angle φcs marks
the transition between contractive (small stress ratios with φm < φcs ) and dilatant
(higher stress ratios with φm > φcs ) plastic flow. The mobilized friction angle φm
in Eq. 3.48 is computed according to
σ10 − σ30
sin φm = (3.49)
2c · cot φ − σ10 − σ30
At failure, when φm ≡ φ , also the dilatancy angle reaches its final value ψm ≡ ψ .
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-65

Accordingly, from Eq. 3.48 the critical state friction angle can be derived as
sin φ − sin ψ
sin φcs = (3.50)
1 − sin φ sin ψ
SOFiSTiK performs the computation of the critical state friction angle φcs auto-
matically on basis of the user specification for the final angles φ and ψ .
It has been recognized that in some cases the Rowe’s model for dilatancy angles
(Eq. 3.48) can overestimate the contractive behavior of the soil at low mobilized
friction angles, φm < φcs . As a remedy, several researchers have developed
modified formulations based on the original Rowe’s model. Some of these mod-
els which are implemented in SOFiSTiK are described below.
One of the models which do not require additional input parameters is the model
according to S ØREIDE [19] which modifies the Rowe’s formulation by using the
scaling factor sin φm / sin φ (Fig. 3.12)
sin φm − sin φcs sin φm
sin ψm = · . (3.51)
1 − sin φm sin φcs sin φ
This method is activated with the TALPA/ASE commands TALPA: CTRL MSTE
EMAX 2 and ASE: CTRL MSTE W4 2.
W EHNERT [22] proposed a model based on a lower cut-off value ψ0 for the mod-
ification of the Rowe’s formulation from Eq. 3.48 at low mobilized friction angles
(Fig. 3.12)

sin ψ0 ; 0 < ψm ≤ ψRoe

m
sin ψm = sin φm − sin φcs . (3.52)

 ; ψRoe
m
< ψm ≤ ψ
1 − sin φm sin φcs
This dilatancy model obviously requires a specification of an additional parame-

ter ψ0 . TALPA / ASE commands TALPA: CTRL MSTE EMAX 1 EMIN ψ0 or ASE:
CTRL MSTE W4 1 W5 ψ0 will deactivate the original Rowe’s model and activate
the model acc. to W EHNERT [22].
Consideration of a constant dilatancy angle ψm ≡ ψ , i.e. the deactivation of

relationship from Eq. 3.48, can optionally be requested by specifying TALPA:
CTRL MSTE EMAX 0 or ASE: CTRL MSTE W4 0 in the corresponding TALPA /
ASE run (Fig. 3.12).
3-66 SOFiSTiK 2016

ψm [ ◦ ]
Rowe
Soreide
20
Wehnert, ψ0 = −3◦
Constant
ψ = 10
φcs
0 φm [ ◦ ]
5 15 25 φ = 35
ψ0
-10
-20
Figure 3.12: Comparison of models for mobilized dilatancy angle ψm implemented

in SOFiSTiK for φ = 35◦ and ψ = 10◦
Hint
It should be noted that for saturated soils under undrained conditions, the
evolution of excess pore water pressures shows a pronounced sensitivity
regarding the volumetric deformation behavior of the soil phase. As a con-
sequence, when carrying out corresponding simulations using the 2-phase
model, the dilatancy model parameters should be carefully selected. Ide-
ally, model parameters should be calibrated according to laboratory tests.
For more information regarding the effect of different modeling approaches on

the volumetric deformation behavior of soil under undrained conditions, also re-
fer to the documented benchmark “Triaxial Consolidated Undrained (CU) Test”
in VERIFICATION_MANUAL_MECHANICAL: BE48.
Nonlinear state variables

• Plastification number
Identifier for the current material state of loading:
0 elastic
+2 deviatoric hardening
+4 volumetric hardening (cap)
+8 material failure (Mohr-Coulomb)
Example: For the current loading stage, a material point experiences hard-
ening in both ’directions’ and finally reaches the failure limit. The
corresponding value of the identifier amounts to 14=2+4+8.
• Deviatoric hardening variable → section 3.10.3
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-67

• Volumetric hardening variable → section 3.10.3

• Mobilized friction angle φm
Measures the degree of shearing strain based on the Mohr-Coulomb crite-
rion. Computed according to equation (9).
• Utilization level
Ratio  ≡ φm / φnp ≤ 1 , where φnp is the maximum (ultimate) friction angle
provided as material input parameter.
• Isotropic pre-consolidation stress
Hydrostatic stress pc marking the highest state of compression that was
reached in loading history (cap); the hydrostatic stress being defined as
p ≡ σ + σy + σz / 3 .

• Mobilized dilatancy angle ψm

Used dilatancy angle for the current loading stage. Computed according to
equation (9), if dilatancy theory is activated. Otherwise equal to material
input parameter: ψm = ψ .
Special comments
The model can easily be calibrated according to triaxial/oedometric test data.
Therefore, deformation behaviour of the material prior to failure can be captured
with a good accuracy. This feature, combined with the consideration of specific
stiffnesses for primary and un-/reloading, respectively, constitutes a significant
progress when compared to the behaviour of classic elasto-plastic soil material
models. Consequently, GRAN is particularly suited for tasks that require more
precise settlement predictions.
If no precise data is available, then the following estimations may be used for an
approximation of the properties of normally consolidated soil:
preƒ = 100 kP (3.53a)

m ' 0.4 . . . 0.7 (3.53b)
Rƒ ' 0.7 . . . 0.9 (3.53c)
E50,reƒ ≈ Es,reƒ (3.53d)
Er,reƒ ' 3 · E50,reƒ (3.53e)
As a consequence of the GRAN hardening plasticity formulation, Poisson’s ratio

MUE ( MAT/MATE ) should be chosen to mimic the elastic loading behavior (i.e.
unloading, reloading) of the soil skeleton, only. The actual evolution of lateral
stresses during primary loading is controlled by the hardening plasticity formula-
tion itself. Therefore - as opposed to common practice with elastic-ideal plastic
3-68 SOFiSTiK 2016

material models, where calibration for primary loading behavior often results in
values MUE>>0.3 - for the hardening plasticity formulation suitable values of
MUE are significantly lower, usually in the range from 0.2 to 0.3. For higher val-
ues, the development of volumetric strains is prone to be overestimated (also at
the cost of model performance).
References
strategies from S CHANZ [17], B ENZ [2], KONDNER AND Z ELASKO [10], D ESAI
AND C HRISTIAN [5] and D UNCAN AND C HANG [6].
3.10.8 SWEL Swelling Soil

Application range
Additional parameters to account for swelling of soils due to stress disturbance
(unloading).
Parameters
SWEL Description Unit Default

P1 Swelling modulus Kq h 3.3

P2 Swelling limit stress (absolute value) |σc | > 0 kN/ m2 10.0
(magnitude of smallest compressive stress
below which no further increase of swelling
occurs)

P3 Historical swelling equilibrium stress (abso- kN/ m2 2000.0
lute value) from oedometer testing |σ0,hst | >
|σc |
P4 Viscous extension: retardation time η ≥ 0.0 h 0.0
Relationship between stress and swelling strains of the final state:






0 σ < σ0
σ


q
ϵ∞ = −p1 · log10 σ0 ≤ σ ≤ −p2 (3.54)
 σ0
σc



log10 −p2 < σ

σ0
where
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-69

 1..3
σ principal normal stresses
σ0 equilibrium state of stress w.r.t. swelling (initial condition), trans-
formed to the direction of the principal normal stresses σ
Special comments
Swelling of soils is a complex phemomena that is influenced by various fac-
tors. There are two swelling mechanisms of practical importance that can be
distinguished - for both processes the presence of (pore-) water is a common
prerequisite. The first mechanism is termed as the ”osmotic swelling” of clay
minerals, which basically is initiated by unloading of clayey sedimentary rock.
The second mechanism takes place in sulphate-laden rock with anhydride con-
tent. In this case the swelling effects are due to the chemical transformation of
anhydride to gypsum- which goes along with a large increase in volume (61%).
For both described mechanisms a principal dependency between the increase

in volume, caused by swelling, and the state of stress was observed both in
laboratory and in in-situ experiments. The formula employed represents a gen-
eralization of the 1-dimensional stress-strain relationship that HUDER and AM-
BERG derived from oedometer tests for the final state. Here the time dependent
evolution of the swelling process is not considered.
Upper Limit
Test Data
Grob (Eq.2)
1.0
σc = −2 kN/ m2 0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5 εq [%]
0.4
kq = 0.33 % 0.3
0.2
0.1
-800 -700 -600 -500 -400 -300 -200 -100 0 100 200
σ [kN/ m2 ]
Figure 3.13: Swelling process
The equilibrium stress state with respect to swelling σ0 is defined by means

of the GRP record. For this we use the option PLQ in order to reference a
(previously calculated) load case as ”primary state for swelling”. This state is
regarded as an equilibrium state with respect to swelling (normally in-situ soil
3-70 SOFiSTiK 2016

prior to construction work). I.e. swelling strain increments caused by an even-

tual ”unloading” from the historical equilibrium state σ0,hst to this new ”primary
state” σ0 have already occurred. Swelling strain increments in the course of
construction work are only due to unloading related to the new ”primary state
for swelling” σ0 :
q q q
(Δ) ϵ∞ = ϵ,tot − ϵ,hst
σ σ0
§ ª § ª
= −p1 · log − −p1 · log
σ0,hst σ0,hst (3.55)
σ

= − p1 · log
σ0
The constitutive equation reproduced above is limited to the final (stationary)

state, i.e. it relates the evolved swelling strains to the stress state that is present
at time t = ∞ . To account for time dependent behaviour, the relation is extended
to the time scale by a formal viscous approach. Correspondingly, the rate of
swelling strains is defined as
ϵq∞ (σ)−ϵq
q
ϵ̇ = (3.56)
η
with the retardation time η as a viscosity parameter and ϵq denoting the swelling
strains that have developed at the considered time t . In rheological terms this
approach can be interpreted as a parallel coupling of a ’swelling’ and a dashpot
device.
The time dependent response can be calibrated via the retardation time η (P4) -
the greater η the more accentuated is the retardation in the evolution of swelling
strains. For η = 0 the response is instantaneous, identical with the non-viscous
(instationary) case. Furthermore, for t → ∞ the model’s response converges to
the instationary solution - independent of the adjusted retardation time η . This
property enables application of the viscous model also for stabilisation of the
solution process, even if one is not explicitly interested in modelling time effects.
The SWEL record is specified in addition to a linear elastic or elastoplastic basic

material.
Anisotropy is not possible with this model.
References
strategies from: W ITTKE -G ATTERMANN [26], W ITTKE [24], W ITTKE AND
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-71

R ISSLER [25], B AUGRUND -I NSTITUT [1], and Z IENKIEWICZ AND TAYLOR [28].
3.10.9 FAUL Oriented Shear Planes

Application range
Complementary definition of oriented shear planes, anisotropic elasto-plastic
material law.
Parameters
FAUL Description Unit Default

P1 Friction angle φs , shear plane [ ◦] !

P2 Cohesion cs , shear plane kN/ m2 !

P3 Tensile capacity ƒt,s , shear plane kN/ m2 0.0
P4 Dilatancy angle ψs , shear plane [ ◦] 0.0
P5 Meridian angle of shear plane (OAL) [ ◦] 0.0
P6 Descent angle of shear plane (OAF) [ ◦] 0.0
P5 Streichwinkel der Kluftebene (OAL) [ ◦] *
P6 Fallwinkel der Kluftebene (OAF) [ ◦] *

P9 Tensile fracture energy Gƒ kNm/ m2 0.0
The shear stress over the designated shear plane and corresponding plastic
strain development is controlled by means of the yield condition ƒ1 and plastic
flow rule g1 according to
ƒ1 = tn φs · σ − cs + τ ≤ 0 (3.57a)
g1 = tn ψs · σ + τ (3.57b)
where:
σ stress acting normal to shear plane,

τ maximum shear stress acting in the direction of the shear plane.
The tensile stress normal to the plane is limited by the additional cut-off criterion
ƒ2 = σ − ƒt,s ≤ 0 (3.58)
where again:
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σ stress acting normal to shear plane.
Nonlinear state variables

Shear plane hardening variable: Effective plastic shear strain in the plane of the
shear joint.
Special comments
This material law may be specified up to three times in addition to the material
law of the base material (elastic, MOHR, DRUC). This allows for the considera-
tion of different distinct fault directions. Increasing the number of specified shear
planes per material, also increases the number of possible equilibrium states for
a material point - this may possibly affect the stability of the overall equilibrium
iteration process.
Specification of meridian angle OAL and descent angle OAF follows the instruc-
tions given in the descriptions for input records MAT/MATE. For planar systems
the value OAL directly defines the slope of the stratification, i.e. the angle be-
tween the local x direction and the global X direction. Input for OAF is not eval-
uated for the plane case.
For P9>0 a scalar damage model with exponential softening of the tensile
strength is applied. The softening obeys
§ ƒt,s ª
ƒt,s = ƒt,s · ep −  · (3.59)
Gƒ
where  denotes the crack opening. In this context, the tensile fracture energy
Gƒ represents an objective material parameter. In order to minimize discretiza-
tion dependent spurious side effects, a characteristic element size is incorpo-
rated into the softening formulation. This requires, however, a sufficiently fine
finite element discretization in the corresponding system domains.
In case of P9=0 a tension cut-off with respect to ƒt,s without consideration of

softening is executed.
References
strategies from C HRISFIELD [4] und Z IENKIEWICZ AND TAYLOR [28].
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-73

3.10.10 ROCK Material with oriented Shear Plane

Application range
Anisotropic elasto-plastic material with oriented shear plane.
Parameters
ROCK Description Unit Default

P1 Friction angle φs , shear plane [ ◦] !

P2 Cohesion cs , shear plane kN/ m2 !

P3 Tensile capacity ƒt,s , shear plane kN/ m2 0.0
P4 Dilatancy angle ψs , shear plane [ ◦] 0.0
P5 Inclination of shear plane α, [ ◦] 0.0
angle against x-axis (0 − 180)
P6 Friction angle φr , rock [ ◦] !

P7 Cohesion cr , rock kN/ m2 !

P8 Tensile capacity ƒt,r , rock kN/ m2 0.0
P9 Dilatancy angle ψr , rock [ ◦] 0.0
Shear plane:
ƒs1 = tn(p1) · σ − p2 + τ ≤ 0 (3.60a)

gs1 = tn(p4) · σ + τ (3.60b)
ƒs2 = σ − p3 ≤ 0 (3.60c)
where:
σ stress acting normal to shear plane,

τ maximum shear stress acting in the direction of the shear plane.
Rock material (Mohr-Coulomb):

1 sin θ sin φ

Æ
ƒr = 1 sin φ + J2 cos θ − p − c cos φ ≤ 0 (3.61a)
3 3
2 sin ψ Æ
gr = p (3 ± sin ψ) · 1 + J2 (3.61b)
3
3-74 SOFiSTiK 2016

Special comments
The mpdel allows to specify the strength of the rock as well as the capacity of a
predominant shear plane, which is are defined by the angle P5. The flow rule of
the hear failure is non-associated if P4 is different from P1.
References
strategies from C HRISFIELD [4] and Z IENKIEWICZ AND TAYLOR [28].
3.10.11 UNDR Undrained Soil

If there is no possibility for drainage of water from soil pores because the bound-
aries of the soil have been sealed-off, or because the loading rate is so high
and the permeability is so low that the outflow of water is neglectable, no con-
solidation of the soil will take place. In this case the soil behavior is dominantly
undrained and hence undrained stress analysis can be performed.
Application range
For soils saturated with water with low permeability and high loading rate and
when the short term behavior has to be assessed.
Parameters
UNDR Description Unit Default

P1 Skempton’s B-parameter − 0.978
Limits: 0.909 ≤ B ≤ 0.998
Undrained Soil
Soil is a porous material consisting of solid particles which together represent
the grain skeleton. The pores can be filled with fluid (commonly water) and air.
Hence we talk about soil as a three phase system (Figure 3.14).
The solid particles occupy the volume Vs . An important basic parameter of soil
is the porosity n, which is defined as the ratio of the volume of the pores Vn and
the total volume of the soil V (Figure 3.14b), i.e.
Vn
n= . (3.62)
Vs
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-75

V Air n
Vn n
V Water n
V 1
Solid
Vs 1−n
Particles
(a) Soil element (b) Volume and porosity

Figure 3.14: Soil as three phase system
As aforementioned, a part of pore volume is usually occupied by water V while

the rest is filled with air V . When the volume of air in pores approaches zero,
i.e. V → 0, the water completely occupies the pore space (Vn = V ) and we
speak of soil fully 1 saturated with water.
For the following, unless stated otherwise, we restrict ourselves to the soils sat-
urated with water.
Let us consider an element of soil saturated with water subjected to some ex-
ternal total force P acting on a plane with area A (Figure 3.15). These external
forces are transmitted by a pore water pressure p and by stresses in the par-
ticles. The stresses in the particles are a result of the the concentrated forces
acting on the contact points between the grains and the pressure in water en-
compassing the grains (Figure 3.15a). Assuming that the particle stiffness is
much higher than the stiffness of the soil skeleton as a whole, it follows that the
soil element can deform only by sliding and rolling in the contact points between
the particles. Hence the deformation of the soil skeleton depends solely on the
concentrated forces acting on the contact points between the particles.
Having aforementioned in mind, inside the soil element we can construct a sur-
face s − s which crosses trough the points of contact between the soil particles
(Figure 3.15a). Due to the relatively small size of soil particles, the s − s sur-
face does not differ much from the plane and hence it has an area As which is
approximately equal to A. The contact forces acting on s − s can be resolved
into tangential and normal component N , acting in the direction of the force P.
Assuming that the contact areas between the soil particles are practically points
(their area is negligible compared to A), the pressure in the water p will also act
1 As will be illustrated below, a complete saturation with V = 0 is a theoretical concept
rather than a realistic option. When we use the terminus saturated soil, it should be thought of
as quasi-saturated.
3-76 SOFiSTiK 2016

P
P
s s As ≈ A
s s
p
N0
(a) Soil element (b) Forces and stresses acting on s − s

Figure 3.15: Effective stress principle
on the surface s − s over the entire area As ≈ A. We can now write the equilibrium
equations for the surface s − s in the vertical direction (Figure 3.15b) as follows:
X
P= N0 + p · A . (3.63)

Dividing Eq. 3.63 with A and introducing the notation σ = P/ A and σ 0 = N0 / A we
P

get:
σ = σ 0 + p . (3.64)
Eq. 3.64 represents the basis for one of the fundamental principles of soil me-
chanics postulated by Karl Terzaghi - the principle of effective stress. This prin-
ciple states that the total normal stress σ comprises of effective normal stress
σ 0 and pore water pressure p . The effective normal stress σ 0 is a measure
of contact forces of granular material and hence, under the assumptions stated
above, it governs the deformation of soils.
Hint
The Therzaghi’s effective stress principle is based on three main assump-
tions:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-77

(Hint continued...)
1. Soil is saturated with water
2. Soil particles are very stiff compared to the soil as a whole
3. Contact areas between the soil particles are very small
For standard saturated soil these assumptions are valid; however for rock
some of these assumptions may not hold. In this case the compressibility of
rock must be taken into account and therefore Eq. 3.64 should be modified
to take this fact into an account.
The Terzaghi’s principle generalized for a three-dimensional body reads: the to-
tal normal stresses in a saturated soil consist of two parts: effective normal
stresses and pore (water or fluid) pressures (T ERZAGHI [20]). The effective
shear stresses are equal to the total shear stresses since the resistance of pore
water (fluid) to shear is neglegible. This can be described by the following equa-
tions:
σ = σ0 + p ,  = {, y, z} (3.65a)

0
τjk = τjk , j, k = {, y, z} , j 6= k (3.65b)
where:
σ, τ total normal and shear stresses,

σ0, τ0 effective normal and shear stresses,
p pore (water) stress (negative for pressure).
Writing the Eqs. 3.65 in matrix form, the total stress increments can be ex-
pressed as
Δσ = Δσ 0 + Δσ  , (3.66)
where:
h iT
Δσ 0 = Δσ0 Δσy0 Δσz0 Δτy Δτz Δτyz , (3.67a)
h iT
Δσ  = Δp Δp Δp 0 0 0 . (3.67b)
Effective stress increments are
Δσ 0 = D0 · Δϵ , (3.68)
where D0 denotes the elasticity matrix of the soil skeleton, as described in MATE.
Pore stress comprises of two parts: steady-state pore stress ps and excess
3-78 SOFiSTiK 2016

pore stress pe :
p = ps + pe . (3.69)
The rate of change of the steady-state part of the pore stress Δps is equal to
zero and hence the rate of change of pore pressure Δp is equal to the rate of
change of excess pore pressure Δpe , i.e.
Δp = Δpe . (3.70)
In the undrained conditions the relative movement between the water (fluid) and
soil skeleton is negligible and therefore the strains are the same for each phase
of the soil. Hence, for the water stress increments we can write:
Δσ  = D · Δϵ , (3.71)
with D representing the pore water stiffness matrix which is given by:
 
1 1 1 0 0 0
 
1 1 1 0 0 0 
 

 

1 1 1 0 0 0 
D = Ke ·   . (3.72)
 

 0 0 0 0 0 0 

 

 0 0 0 0 0 0 

0 0 0 0 0 0
Ke is a constant and represents the equivalent bulk modulus of the pore fluid
(water). Substituting Eq. 3.72 into Eq. 3.71, and having in mind Eqs. 3.67b
and 3.73, we can write the relationship between the rate of excess pore water
pressure Δpe and the rate of volumetric strain Δϵ
Δpe = Ke · Δϵ + Δϵy + Δϵz = Ke · Δϵ .

(3.73)
The modulus Ke is related to the bulk modulus of the pore water K . This rela-
tionship is examined next.
In an elementary volume V of saturated soil under undrained conditions the pore

water occupies a volume V = n · V and the solid soil particles occupy a volume
Vs = (1 − n) · V , where n is the porosity (Figure 3.14) . The total volume change
in the soil ΔV is equal to the change of volume in the soil particles ΔVs plus the
change of volume in the pore water ΔV , i.e.
ΔV = ΔVs + ΔV . (3.74)
Since the soil particles are assumed to be incompressible (ΔVs ≈ 0), the change
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-79

of the volume V can take place only on the account of the change of poros-
ity. Since the soil is saturated with water and under undrained conditions, the
change of porosity is only possible if the water in the pores changes its volume.
Taking this into an account and dividing Eq. 3.74 with V , the total volume change
per unit volume of soil Δϵ reduces to:
ΔV ΔV
Δϵ ≈ = ·n . (3.75)
V V
The change of volume in the pore water per unit area of pore water, ΔV / V ,
is directly proportional to the change of pore water pressure Δpe and inversely
proportional to the bulk modulus of pore water K . Now the volumetric strain of
soil can be written as
Δpe
Δϵ ≈ ·n . (3.76)
K
Comparing Eqs. 3.73 and 3.76 the relationship between the equivalent bulk
modulus of the pore water Ke and the bulk modulus of the pore water K can
finally be established P OTTS AND Z DRAVKOVI Ć [14]:
K
Ke ≈ . (3.77)
n
Writing the effective stress principle given by the Eq. 3.66 in terms of the
isotropic stress p = (σ1 + σ2 + σ3 )/ 3, and taking into consideration Eqs. 3.68
and 3.71, we get
K K
Δp = Δp0 + Δpe = K 0 Δϵ + Δϵ ⇒ K = K 0 + , (3.78)
n n
where K 0 = Δp0 / Δϵ is the bulk modulus of soil skeleton, while K = Δp/ Δϵ rep-
resents the undrained total bulk modulus of soil.
The equivalent pore water bulk stiffness K / n can be defined by the bulk mod-
ulus of the soil skeleton K 0 and the Skempton’s B-parameter, which is conve-
nient since the Skempton’s B-parameter can be measured experimentally in the
undrained triaxial test. It is for this reason that the Skempton’s B-parameter is
chosen as an input parameter (parameter P1) for the undrained material prop-
erties 2 .
In the undrained triaxial compression test where the soil sample is subjected
to the isotropic compression (Δσ1 = Δσ2 = Δσ3 ), Skempton’s B-parameter repre-
2 S KEMPTON [18] has expressed the pore pressure change Δpe occurring under changes
in total principle stresses Δσ1 and Δσ3 by the equation: Δpe = B · [Δσ3 + A · (Δσ1 − Δσ3 )].
He termed the coefficients A and B as “Pore-pressure Coefficients“, also know as “Skempton’s
A and B Coefficients“.
3-80 SOFiSTiK 2016

sents the relationship between the change of pore pressure Δp and the change
of isotropic total stress Δp = (Δσ1 + Δσ2 + Δσ3 )/ 3, i.e.
Δp = Δpe = B · Δp . (3.79)
Combining Eqs. 3.79 and 3.78 we can finally obtain the relationship between
the equivalent bulk modulus of the pore water and the bulk modulus of the soil
skeleton K 0 trough Skempton’s B-parameter3
K B
Ke = = · K0 . (3.80)
n 1−B
Theoretically, for soils fully saturated with water, K is equal to the bulk modulus
0
of pure water K . In many applications the water is assumed to be an incom-
pressible fluid (K = ∞), which would then imply that the saturated soil is also
0
incompressible (K = ∞). This corresponds to the value B = 1, which also marks
the upper limit for the Skempton’s B-parameter. This limit value describing fully
incompressible behavior of the pore water ( K / n → ∞, when B → 1; Eq. 3.80)
and saturated soil cannot be reached within a FE calculation due to the singu-
larity of the stiffness matrix which then occurs.
However, fully incompressible behavior of the water is not realistic - water has a
very large but finite bulk modulus K 0
= 2·106 kN/ m2 , and hence the bulk stiffness
of the pore water K / n is always finite, even if the soil is fully saturated. It follows
that Skempton’s B-parameter in real applications is always smaller than one.
Hint
Moreover, full saturation is also not feasible in reality. Practically, it is not
possible to squeeze out the pore air volume V completely. Since the ’stiff-
0
ness’ of air is considerably smaller than the bulk stiffness of pure water K ,
even a very small fraction of remaining pore air volume has a significant
impact; the resulting equivalent bulk modulus of the pore fluid K / n shows
very high sensitivity with respect to the degree of saturation S = V / Vn .
This relationship can be approximated by the following expression (V ER -
RUIJT [21]):
0
1 S 1−S K K · p0 1
= + ⇒ Ke = = · , (3.81)
K 0
K p0 n (1 − S) · K
0 +S·p
0 n
where p0 is the absolute pressure in the water, considered with respect to

vacuum (p0 = 100kN/ m2 ).
3K
/ n = B · K .
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-81

(Hint continued...)
For illustration: despite an almost complete saturation of 99.9%, i.e. S =
0
0.999, this relation indicates a ratio of K / K ≈ 20 – the compressibility of
the pore fluid is about 20 times higher than the one of pure water!
To avoid potential numerical problems associated with very high stiffness values
in FE calculations, the following upper limits are used in the program:
K / n 500
≤ 500 ⇒ B≤ ≈ 0.998 . (3.82)
K0 501
On the other hand, in order to have the realistic computational results (B ≈ 1),
the pore water stiffness K / n must be substantially larger than the stiffness of
the soil skeleton K 0 . Therefore the lower limits are set to
K / n 10
≥ 10 ⇒ B≥ ≈ 0.909 . (3.83)
K0 11
Default values for bulk stiffness of pore water and Skempton’s B-parameter are
K / n 45
= 45 ⇒ B= ≈ 0.978 . (3.84)
K0 46
Very often, the stiffness of the pore water K / n is expressed in terms of the
undrained Poisson’s ratio ν , the bulk modulus of the soil skeleton K 0 and the
effective Poisson’s ratio ν 0 : 4
K 3(ν − ν 0 )
= · K0 . (3.85)
n (1 − 2ν )(1 + ν 0 )
It follows from Eqs. 3.85 and 3.80 that the undrained Poisson’s ratio and the
Skempton’s B-parameter are not independent of each other. They are con-
nected by the following expressions
3ν 0 + B(1 − 2ν 0 ) 3(ν − ν 0 )
ν = ⇔ B= . (3.86)
3 − B(1 − 2ν 0 ) (1 + ν )(1 − 2ν 0 )
The fully incompressible behavior of the saturated soils represented by B = 1

corresponds to ν = 0.5.
Once the bulk stiffness of pore water K / n is know so is the pore water stiffness
matrix D , and the total stresses increments can be related to strains:
Δσ = (D0 + D ) · Δϵ . (3.87)
4E
 = G · (1 + ν ) , K = E / [3(1 − 2ν )]
3-82 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.10.12 LADE Elasto-plastic Material Law

Elasto-plastic material according to LADE with non-associated flow rule.
Application range
All materials with friction including rock and concrete (module ASE, 3D solid
elements)
Parameters
LADE Description Unit Default

P1 Parameter η1 − !
P2 Exponent m − !
P3 Uniaxial tensile strength ƒt kN/ m2 0.0
P4 Parameter η2 for flow rule − P1/10
P5 Compressive strength (cap) kN/ m2 -
P6 Tensile failure strain ϵt h -
m
p

ƒ= 13 − 27 + η1 · · 3 ≤ 0 (3.88a)
1
m
p

g= 13 − 27 + η2 · · 3 (3.88b)
1
with
p = 103.32kN/ m2 atmospheric air pressure,
1 = −(σ1 − P3 )−(σ2 − P3 )−(σ3 − P3 )
3 = −(σ1 − P3 )·(σ2 − P3 )·(σ3 − P3 )
Special comments
Due to their non-physical nature, calibration of the LADE model parameters
may not be obvious at first sight. For this reason, the basic procedure for a
material with known uniaxial tensile and compressive strength (e.g. concrete)
is described in the following. Of particular interest is the section of the three-
dimensional yield surface with one of the principal planes (-> ”Kupfer Curve”).
Parameter m (exponent) affects the curvature (convexity) of the yield surface

towards the hydrostatic axis - the larger m the stronger the curvature. In this
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-83

manner m determines the shape of the intersection curve. For most types of
concrete a value of m between 1.0 and 2.0 is reasonable.
Using the known quantities of uniaxial tensile and compressive strength and the
chosen parameter m, parameter η1 can now be determined from the condition:
For the stress state corresponding to the uniaxial compressive stress limit the
yield condition must be fulfilled.
We rewrite the yield function as:

m
13

|1 |

η1 = −27 · (3.89)
3 p
The considered stress state is defined by (translated reference system):
σ = σ = − ƒt
σ = − (ƒt + ƒc )
(3.90)
1 = σ + σ + σ
3 = σ · σ · σ
Where ƒt (= P3 ) and ƒc are the magnitudes of the uniaxial tensile and compres-
sive strength, respectively, 1 and 3 the required invariants for this stress state.
Substituing into the rewritten yield function yields the yet unknown parameter η1 .
The following table contains exemplary parameters for selected concrete types,
derived from the procedure described above (classification according to EC2,
Ultimate Limit State).
Strength fcd P3 (fctk;0.05 ) P2 P1

class [ kN/m2 ] [ kN/m2 ] [ -] [ -]
C20/25 13333 1500 1.0 24669.11

1.5 324095.87
C30/37 20000 2000 1.0 43466.02
1.5 689515.99
C40/50 26667 2500 1.0 63426.77
1.5 1153410.57
C50/60 33333 2900 1.0 88162.15
1.5 1778218.62
By specification of parameter P5 the model can optionally be extended by a

spherical cap (in principal stress space) that limits the volumetric compressive
3-84 SOFiSTiK 2016

stress to a maximum value. This can be meaningful in particular for mainly

hydrostatic compression. The cap is defined by:
q q
ƒ= σ1 2 + σ2 2 + σ3 2 − P5 2 + P5 2 + P5 2 ≤ 0 (3.91)
The optional parameter P6 defines a linear decay of the material’s tensile capac-
ity after the initial tensile strength ƒt has been exceeded, such that ƒt (ϵt ) = 0.
If not specified, the behavior is ideally plastic, the tensile strength remains at
the initial value ƒt (tension cut-off). The tension model is suitable for monotonic
loading, only.
References
strategies from L ADE [12].
3.10.13 MEMB Material Law for Polyfabrics/ Textiles

Parameters
MEMB Description Unit Default

P1 Tensile strength (yielding capacity), P1=0.0 kN/ m 0.0
is interpreted as ’no input’ = no limitation
P2 Factor for compression stiffness − 0.0
0.0 no compressive stress possible
1.0 full compressive stress possible
> 0, < 1 intermediate values for scaling
the elasticity modulus
P3 Variation of warp stiffness kN/ m 0.0

P4 Variation of fill stiffness kN/ m 0.0
P1 and P2 should not be used for standard membranes. P1 can be used to limit
the maximum tension force, e.g. for geo textiles.
The failure of a membrane under pressure is generally activated in ASE

via SYST...NMAT JES. For linear elastic membrane materials only NMAT
MEMB must be set in AQUA. Examples for lineare membrane materials siehe
ase.dat\english\membranes\atrium.dat.
With P3 and P4 the nonlinear yarn warp-fill material law according to G AL -

LIOT AND L UCHSINGER [8] can be activated. P3 (ΔE ) and P4 (ΔEƒ )
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-85

define the nonlinear variation of the stiffness in warp and fill direction
depending on the stress ratio σ and σƒ (warp fill) . Example see
ase.dat\english\membranes\nonlinear_warp_fill_behaviour.dat.
Please notice that in input MAT the E modulus must be input in kN/m2 but the
values NMAT MEMB P1+P3+P4 are in kN/m, see atrium.dat.
σ σƒ
γ = q γƒ = q (3.92)
σ 2 + σƒ 2 σ 2 + σƒ 2
Stress-strain relation:
−νƒ
    
1
ϵ  (γ ) E (γ )   σ
 =  E−ν  (3.93)
ƒ 1
ϵƒ E (γ ) Eƒ (γƒ ) σƒ
with the stress-ratio depending warp and fill stiffness:

1

E (γ ) = ΔE γ − p + E1:1  (3.94)
2
1

Eƒ (γƒ ) = ΔEƒ γƒ − p + E1:1 ƒ (3.95)
2
3.10.14 User Defined Material Laws

Parameters for user-defined material laws (USP1..USP8 und USD1..USD8)
For the advanced user the modules TALPA (for QUAD-elements) and ASE (for
BRIC-elements) offer the possibility to plug in self-developed non-linear mate-
rial models via an interface (currently only for WINDOWS-OS). The following
paragraphs describe the interface in detail.
The user-defined material models have to be provided in a Dynamic Link Library

(DLL) with arbitrary name. The variable SOFISTIK_USERMATDLL must be set
with the name of this DLL. This can either be done by specification of
SET SOFISTIK_USERMATDLL=my_material
at the CMD-command prompt or via adding the entry
SOFISTIK_USERMATDLL=my_material
3-86 SOFiSTiK 2016

into the SOFISTIK.DEF file. In both cases the user defined material models,
in the DLL my_material.dll, are loaded at run-time. The interface routine itself
reads:
NMAT3D \ _USD ( Ss , SsPrim , deltaSn , SnIe , StateV , Mtype ,

ParMat , ElcMat , D , C , Ctrl , deltaTime , $$
iNonl ,
iUpd , iErr , NrEl , iGP )
Input parameters:
Parameter Dim Type Description

Ss 6 Double Elastic stress tensor (trial stress)
[ xx,yy,zz,xy,xz,yz]
SsPrim 6 Double Stress tensor primary state
deltaSn 6 Double Strain increment related to primary state
SnIe 6 Double not used
StateV 10 Double State variables
Mtype 1 Integer Identifier for material type
USP1-USP8 -> 101-108
USD1-USD8 -> 109-116
ParMat 12 Double Non-linear material parameters P1-P12
ElcMat 16 Double Elastic material constants from record
001/No:1, @1-@14 (where appropriate
multiplied with factor of stiffness FACS!).
Additionally FACS at pos 15 and, as the case
may be thickness of QUAD-element at pos
16.
D (6,6) Double Elastic material stiffness matrix
C (6,6) Double Elastic compliance
Ctrl 5 Single Control values from CTRL MSTE- record
deltaTime 1 Double not used
NrEl 1 Integer Element number
iGP 1 Integer Identifier for Gauss-Point
Return values:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-87

Parameter Dim Type Description

Ss 6 Double Updated stress tensor
SnIe 6 Double not used
StateV 10 Double Updated state variables
D (6,6) Double Updated (tangential) material
stiffness matrix
iNonl 1 Integer =0 for linear-elastic response
=1 for non-linear response
iUpd 1 Integer =0 no update of stiffness matrix
=1 update of stiffness matrix (only ASE)
iErr 1 Integer Error indicator
=0 no error
=1 error -> program terminates
=-99 no user defined material model
provided -> program terminates
3-88 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.11 BMAT – Elastic Support / Interface
BMAT

C Elastic constant normal to surface Cs kN/ m3 0.

CT Elastic constant tangential to surface Ct kN/ m3 0.
CRAC Maximum tensile stress of interface kN/ m2 0.
YIEL Maximum stress of interface kN/ m2 -
MUE Friction coefficient of interface − -
COH Cohesion of interface kN/ m2 -
DIL Dilatancy coefficient − 0.
GAMB Equivalent mass distribution t/ m2 0
TYPE Reference LT -

PESS Plane stress condition
PAIN Plane strain condition
HALF Circular disk at half space
CIRC Circular hole in infinite disk
SPHE Spherical hole in infinite space
NONE no reference
MREF Number of a reference material − NO
H Reference dimension m !
(thickness H or radius R)
BMAT defines for an existing material (e.g. MATE/CONC/BRIC) properties for

elastic support. For a QUAD element it is thus possible to select for a founda-
tion the properties of the plate and the soil within a single element number. For
pure supporting materials, BMAT is the second step transforming the elasticity
constants from a material to support constants by including a geometric dimen-
sion and a specify geometry rule. This step is also necessary if one wants to
define just the constants. However for this case a direct definition of a value at
the element is much more straight forward. The bedding approach works ac-
cording to the subgrade modulus theory (Winkler, Zimmermann/Pasternak). It
facilitates the definition of elastic supports by an engineering trick which, among
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-89

others, ignores the shear deformations of the supporting medium. The bedding
effect may be attached to beam or plate elements, but in general it will be used
as an own element. (see SPRI, BOUN, BEAM or QUAD and the more general
description of BORE profiles)
The determination of a reasonable value for the foundation modulus often

presents considerable difficulty, since this value depends not only on the ma-
terial parameters but also on the geometry and the loading. One must always
keep this dependance in mind, when assessing the accuracy of the results of an
analysis using this theory.
The subgrade parameters C and CT will be used for bedding of QUAD elements
or for the description of support or interface conditions. A QUAD element of a
slab foundation will thus have a concrete material and via BMAT the soil prop-
erties attached to the same material number. The value C is than acting in the
main direction perpendicular to the QUAD surface in the local z-direction, while
CT is acting in any shear direction in the QUAD plane.
If subgrade parameters are assigned to the material of a geometric edge (GLN),

spring elements will be generated along that edge based on the width and the
distance of the support nodes.
Instead of a direct value you may select a reference material and a reference di-
mension for some cases with constant pressure based on the elasticity modulus
and the Poisson ratio μ[1] :
• Planar layer with horizontal constraints e.g. for modeling elastic support by
columns and supporting walls (plane stress condition):
E 1 E 1
Cs = · Ct = · (3.96)
H (1 + μ)(1 − μ) H 2(1 + μ)
• Planar layer with horizontal constraints for settlements of soil strata (plane
strain condition):
E (1 − μ) E 1
Cs = · Ct = · (3.97)
H (1 + μ)(1 − 2μ) H (1 + μ)
• Equivalent circular disk with radius R on an infinite halfspace:

E 2
Cs = · (3.98)
R π(1 + μ)(1 − μ)
• Circular hole with radius R in infinite disk with plane strain conditions (bedded
pipes or piles):
3-90 SOFiSTiK 2016

E 1
Cs = · Ct = Cs (3.99)
R (1 + μ)(1 − 2μ)
• Spherical hole with radius R in infinite 3D elastic continua:

E 2
Cs = · Ct = Cs (3.100)
R (1 + μ)
Including a dilatancy factor describing the volume change induced by shear de-
formations, we have for the bedding stresses the following equations depending
on the normal and transverse displacements:
σ = Cs · (s + DL · t ) τ = Ct · t (3.101)
Non-linear effects are controlled by CRAC, YIEL, MUE and COH:
Cracking: Upon reaching the failure stress, the interface fails in

both the axial and the lateral direction. The failure load
is always a tensile stress. If the bedding reaction is ap-
plied to a QUAD element, a deformation in the direction
of the local z-axis will create compressive (negative)
stresses.
Yield load: Upon reaching the yield stress, the principal deforma-
tion component of the interface increases without an
increase of the stress.
Friction/cohesion: Defining a friction and/or a cohesion coefficient, the lat-
eral shear stress can not become larger than:
Friction coefficient * normal stress + Cohesion
Please note, that before reaching this limit the stiff-ness
CT will produce the shear stress only if a deformation
is present.
If the principal interface has failed (CRAC), then the lateral bedding acts only if
0.0 has been entered for both friction- coefficient and cohesion.
The non-linear effects can only be taken into account by a non-linear analysis.
The friction is an effect of the lateral bedding, while all other effects act upon the
principal direction.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-91

3.12 HMAT – Material Constants HYDRA
HMAT

NO Material number − !
TYPE Type of material law LT *
DARC Seepage (Darcy, linear)
FORC Seepage (Forchheimer, nonlin.)
MISS Seepage (Missbach, nonlin.)
FLOW General diffusion (e.g. vapor)
FOUR Heatflow (Fourier, linear)
Hydration of concrete:
JONA Jonasson model
HSCM ”Shrinkage-Core” model
WESC Danish model acc. to Wesche
TEMP Temperature or pore pressure level ∗ 0

KXX Isotropic permeability or conductivity ∗ 0.
KYY or anisotropic permeability/conductivity ∗ KXX
KZZ or parameters A,B (Forchheimer), ∗ KXX
KXY or parameters C,M (Missbach) ∗ 0.
KXZ ∗ 0.
KYZ ∗ 0.
S Specific Capacity/Storage coefficient ∗ 0.
NSP effective porosity or moisture grade − 0.
Parameters for Hydration

A Constant a for JONA / HSCM / WESC − *
B Constant b for JONA / WESC − *
C Constant c for WESC − *
QMAX Maximum heat quantity for hydration kJ/ m3 0.
TK Reference time h 15
TITL Designation of material Lt32 -
HMAT allows to specify three individual sets of constants for three tasks dif-
3-92 SOFiSTiK 2016

fusion, seepage and heat flow for a material. Material properties have to be
selected according to literature or experimental data. But some rough estimates
(without warranty) are given here.
For any material there might be up to 15 different sets of materials for different
temperatures [ ◦ Celsius] or pore water pressures [ kPa = kN/m2 ] . With a
nonlinear analysis the material values will then be interpolated between those
values.
3.12.1 Hydraulic Parameters

For seepage (DARC,FORC,MISS) the unit for conductivity (KXX, KYY, KZZ) is
[ m/sec] , for storage coefficient (S) [ m3/m] . TEMP is the pressure in [ kPa] .
e.g. Hydraulic permeability (acc. Dyck, Peschke):
Type of soil k [ m/sec]

Sandy gravel 3·10−3 ... 5·10−4
Gravelly sand 1·10−3 ... 2·10−4
Medium sand 4·10−4 ... 1·10−4
Silty sand 2·10−4 ... 1·10−5
Sandy silt 5·10−5 ... 1·10−6
Silty clay 5·10−6 ... 1·10−8
Clay ≈ 10−8
Positive pressures represent saturated flow regions while negative values de-
scribe unsaturated soils. Conductivities and Capacities will be interpolated. Free
surface problems also use a variation of the porosity to account for the effective
capacity of the free surface.
Material values may be defined isotropic or anisotropic depending on a stress

state from the database. This is performed by additional data given with the
same material number and the types FVOL, FSIN or FSIT. The difference be-
tween FSIN and FSIT is given by the fact that FSIN modifies the values across
the crack, while FSIT does this perpendicular to the crack. It is recommended
to use a linear stress field for that purpose and not a plasticity field.
Within HYDRA the user has the possibility to define material properties for the
elements either via a given material number (engineering constructions) or via
the nodes (element material number = 0), especially for ground water models.
Both methods may be used together within the same system. For a general
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-93

diffusion according to potential theory, the unit for conductivity (KXX, KYY, KZZ)
is [ sec/m] , for storage coefficient (S) [ kg/m3/Pa] =[ sec2/m] .
3.12.2 Heat Conduction

Heat conduction according to the equations of Forier (FOUR). The unit for con-
ductivity (KXX, KYY, KZZ) is [ W/K/m] , for storage coefficient (S) specific capac-
ity*Density [ J/Km3 ] . TEMP is the temperature in degree Celsius or Kelvin, which
may be selected with an explicit unit in the table headder.
e.g.:
Material Conductivity Capacity Elongation Emission

λ [ W/Km] c [ J/kgK] coeff. [ -] rate ε[ -]
P.concrete 0.14 ... 1.20 1050
LW concrete 0.70 ... 1.20 1050
concrete 1.60 ... 2.10 1050 1.0·10−5
brickwork 0.50 ... 1.30 950 0.93
insulation 0.020 ... 0.090 850 -
steel 50 850 1.2·10−5 0.06 . . . 0.67
copper 380 850 1.6·10−5 0.04 . . . 0.78
aluminum 200 850 2.4·10−5 0.05 . . . 0.30
timber 0.13 ... 0.20 2500 0.18·10−3
Water 0.58 4187
(S = c·ρ)
If the materials have been defined with CONC, STEE, TIMB, BRIC or TYPE at
MATE, all constants will be preset for FOUR according EN 12524. For concrete
and timber a definition of NSP will select the moisture ratio.
With explicit definition of a TEMP-value it is possible to create and modify tabu-

lated values. The default is to use the formulas defined in the Eurocode.
The thermal conductivity of the concrete is given by an upper (A=1.0) and a

lower (A=0.0) limit. The special effect for S is the evaporation of pore water.
3-94 SOFiSTiK 2016

4500
1.80
4000
1.60
3500
1.40
3000
1.20
2500
1.00
S [kJ/m3/K]
0.800 2000
0.600 k [W/m/K] 1500
0.400 1000
0.200 500
0.0 0.0
[ C] [ C]
100.00
200.00
300.00
400.00
500.00
600.00
700.00
800.00
900.00
100.00
200.00
300.00
400.00
500.00
600.00
700.00
800.00
900.00
0.00
0.00
1000.00
1200.00
1000.00
1200.00
1100.00
1100.00
Figure 3.16: Conductivity and Capacity of Concrete
50.0
18000
45.0
16000
40.0
14000
35.0
12000
30.0
k [W/m/K] 10000
25.0
8000
20.0
15.0 6000
S [kJ/m3/K]
10.0 4000
5.00 2000
0.0 0.0
[ C] [ C]
100.00
200.00
300.00
400.00
500.00
600.00
700.00
800.00
900.00
100.00
200.00
300.00
400.00
500.00
600.00
700.00
800.00
900.00
0.00
0.00
1000.00
1200.00
1000.00
1200.00
1100.00
1100.00
Figure 3.17: Conductivity and Capacity of Structural Steel
1.50 k [W/m/K] 7.00

1.40 6.50
1.30
6.00
1.20
5.50
1.10
5.00
1.00
4.50
0.900
4.00
0.800
3.50
0.700
0.600 3.00
0.500 2.50
0.400 2.00
0.300 1.50
0.200 1.00
0.100 0.500
S [kJ/m3/K]
[ C] [ C]
100.00
200.00
300.00
400.00
500.00
600.00
700.00
800.00
900.00
100.00
200.00
300.00
400.00
500.00
600.00
700.00
800.00
900.00
0.00
0.00
1000.00
1200.00
1000.00
1200.00
1100.00
1100.00
Figure 3.18: Conductivity and Capacity of Timber
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-95

3.12.3 Hydration of Concrete

For the hydration of concrete it is required to know the maximum heat release
QMAX, a function for the effective age of concrete (see HYDRA CTRL TEFF)
and a formula for the hydration degree α governing all other properties. There
are numerous possibilities with different parameters. All of them have in com-
mon:
TEMP Eine Referenztemperatur [ ◦ C] 10

QMAX The maximum heat quantity [kJ/ m3 ] !
TK The reference time τk [ h] 15
S The exponent for maturity function 1.00
acc. Saul
TYPE JONA
Function of Jonasson, an extension to the Byfors definition:

τ

α = ep b n 1 + (3.102)
τk
Examples of those constants a,b and τk can be found in Appendix A of Heft

512 of the German DAfStB, printed with the input record HMAT but the general
rule is that you need tests! Unfortunately there are publications with exchanged
parameters a and b.
A,B Parameters a and b [ -[ -1.15,-1.00
The values have to be determined from experiments, values for the total heat in
the literature are often defined in [ kJ/kg] . However the following values might
give a rough idea:
Q-max [ kJ/m3] a b τ k [ h]
B25 (Heft 512 DAfStB) 167700 -0.925 -0.42 41.82
B35WU (Heft 512 DAfStB) 135750 -1.185 -1.00 17.53
B35 (Heft 512 DAfStB) 105940 -1.605 -1.00 37.46
3-96 SOFiSTiK 2016

TYPE HSCM
”Shrinkage-Core” model:
 · (τ − τk )
α = τ > τk (3.103)
1 +  · (τ − τk )
τk is a period with very low chemical reaction, named d in the original formula.
Values for a mass concrete are given by Dussinger:
τk = 2.88[h]  = 0.029[1/ h] (3.104)
TYPE WESC
Danish model according to Wesche:
b
τk

α = ep − (3.105)
τ
ƒcc (t) 0
β = =  · ep c · t −0.55 c = c1 ·

(3.106)
ƒcc (28d) z
The water cement ratio w0 /z has to be incorporated in the input value c. Please
note that parameter a is used in the original with two different meanings. The
following parameters for the Wesche model can be found in the literature.
Q-max [ kJ/kg] a c1
w0 /z 0.35 0.55 0.75
Z 55 / Z 45 F 380 1.10 1.15 1.20 -1.50
Z 45 L / Z 35 F 295 1.20 1.30 1.40 -2.80
Z 35 L 216 1.30 1.50 1.70 -4.40
Z 25 1.50 1.90 2.30 -7.10
Values for a mass concrete (Z 35L) are given by Dussinger:
τk = 24.87[h]
b = 0.84[−]
0 / z = 0.68[−] (3.107)
 = 1.63[−]
c1 = −4.4[−] ⇒ c = −4.4 · 0.68 = −2.99
Hint: If the maturity function according to Saul is used, the exponent s there
might be specified with item S.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-97

3.13 CONC – Properties of Concrete
CONC

NO Material number (1-999) − 1
TYPE Type of concrete (see remarks for list): LT *
C, LC regular / light-weight
FCN Nominal strength class (fck /fck /fc ’ etc.) N/ mm2 *
FC Compressiv strength of concrete N/ mm2 *

FCT Tensile strength of concrete N/ mm2 *
FCTK Lower fractile strength value N/ mm2 *
EC Elastic modulus N/ mm2 *
MUE Poisson’s ratio or shear modulus − 0.2
GAM Unit weight kN/ m3 25
ALFA Thermal expansion coefficient 1/ ◦ K 1E-5
SCM Typical material safety factor − *
TYPR Type of service state line LT *
LINE constant elastic modulus
A,B short time lines (EN 1992)
FCR Strength for non-linear analysis N/ mm2 *
ECR Elastic modulus for servicability N/ mm2 *
FBD Design bond strength N/ mm2 *
FFAT Fatigue strength fcd,ƒ t N/ mm2 *
FCTD Design tensile strength N/ mm2 *
FEQR Equiv. tensile strength after cracking N/ mm2 0.0
FEQT Ultimate tensile strength N/ mm2 0.0
GMOD Shear modulus N/ mm2 *
KMOD Bulk modulus N/ mm2 *
RHO Density kg/ m3 *
GF Fracture energy (MC 2010, 5.1.5.2) N/ mm *
MUEC Friction in cracks − *
TITL Material designation Lt32 *
3-98 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.13.1 Eurocode / DIN 1045-1 / OEN B 4700

According to Eurocode EN 1992 and other design codes derived from that the
following types are available:
C = regular concrete
LC = light-weight concrete
As the German DIN Fachbericht anticipates the design rules of the upcoming
Eurocode, but references cite explicitly the old DIN 1045-1, it is recommended
to specify the correct material type with C_EN or CDIN unambiguously.
The cylindrical strength is always to be input for FCN. The default value is 20.
Some properties are dependent on so called boxed values or other national reg-
ulations. The definition of NORM is used to select those variants. The possible
values for example are given in table 3.1 and 3.2 of EN, resp. table 9 and 10 of
DIN 1045-1 resp. table 4 of OEN B 4700 and not repeated here in detail.
FCN = ƒck 12 16 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
ƒck,cbe 15 20 25 30 37 45 50 55 60
FCN 55 60 70 80 90 100
ƒck,cbe 67 75 85 95 105 115
The default values for strength and elastic modulus are derived as follows:
FC = 0.85 · ƒck
2/ 3
FCT = 0.3 · ƒck (ƒck < 55)
= 2.12n((ƒck + 8)/ 10+ 1) (ƒck > 55)
EC = 9500(ƒck + 8)0.3 (EN 1992-1992)
EC = 22000(ƒcm / 10)0.3 (EN 1992-2004)
FBD = 2.25 · ƒct,0.05 / γ (Tbl. 5.3.)
The coefficients αcc and αc for the long term strength effects are defined in
the national annexes. The Eurocode suggests values between 0.8 and 1.0 and
recommends as default the value of 1.0. However SOFiSTiK uses a default
on the safe side of 0.85, if not specified explicitly in the INI-file according to
the national annex. An explicit definition of FC = αcc ·FCN is possible of cause.
However, for the fatigue, bond or tensile strength values all corrective factors
and the safety should be included in the input data.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-99

For the elasticity modules we have to distinguish between a secant modulus Ecm
(Input value EC of this record) for elastic deformations, especially constraining
forces and a tangential modulus Ec0,28 = 1.05 Ecm or Ec0,28 = Ecm / α , used for
creep and nonlinear analysis (input item ECR) where Heft 525 of DAfStb chapter
9.1 provides:
α = 0.8 + 0.2ƒcm / 88 < 1.0 (3.108)
The value ECR may be also defined with an explicit unit [-] as factor to the
default value, as recommended in Heft 600 of DAfStB with 0.85 for non lnear
analysis.
For light-weight concrete (LC) according to density RHO has to be defined ex-
plicitly in kg/ m3 . GAM and EC will then be defined appropriately.
Ecm = Ecm · (ρ/ 2200)2 (3.109)
For light-weight concrete, the tensile strength and bond values and limit strains
will be scaled by a factorη1 . For the ultimate limit stress strain law the bilinear
version is selected. The different coefficients for natural sand and other com-
ponents are selected by AQUA automatically based on the defined weight and
strength.
The fatigue strength may be specified with item FFAT. The formula given in the
EN 1992-1-1 Gl. 6.76 is dependent on a some parameters not fully known here:
The number of load cycles, the kind of the cement, the age at the time of the
design and its own safety factor. Thus the user has to specify the final value
directly:
ƒck

ƒcd,ƒ t = k1 · βcc (t0 ) · ƒcd · 1− ; k1 = 0.85 / 1.0
250 (3.110)
p
28/ t0 )
βcc (t0 ) = e s(1−
; s = 0.20(R) / 0.25(N) / 0.38(S)
For detailed analysis of concrete according to appendix 1 you need to know the
kind of cement. You may specify this by appending a literal to the concrete grade
N normal cement (α = 0.0)

S slow hardening cement (α = -1.0)
R fast hardening / high strength cement (α = +1.0)
In case of a fire design it is required to distinguish between quartzitic and cal-

careous aggregates. For the second case an additonal character C may be
appended to the cement type: NC, SC and RC.
3-100 SOFiSTiK 2016

The usual stress-strain curve of the C types is the parabolic-rectangular stress-

strain diagram. For non-linear analysis or deformation analysis, there are other
types A/B available, following the expression:
σ k · n − n2
= (3.111)
ƒc 1 + (k − 2) · n
with
n = ϵ/ ϵc1
(3.112)
k = Ec0 · ϵc1 / ƒc
For fc the value fck +8 is used for the curves A and B . The maximum strain is
limited according to the strength. The B line does not possess a descending
branch, and it is thus possibly more stable numerically. The C line has its stress
values even for very large strains and will be the most robust case.
The safety factors SCM are preset to 1.5 (in Italy to 1.6). However, they should
be selected at the design explicitly, because they are dependent on the loading
combinations. For concrete with high strength the factor will be increased by γ’,
which will be incorporated in the strain-stress laws immediately, to allow a global
safety factor to be used for the design.
For non-linear analysis with a unified safety factor according to DIN 1045-1 the
strength of the concrete will be reduced to a value of 0.85αfck , while those of
the reinforcements will be raised. These non linear analysis stress-strain laws
are generated automatically for DIN 1045-1. For DIN EN1992 these alternate
curves have to be selected with SSLA CALC 1.3 for CONC and STEE explicitly.
For steel fibre concrete according to DBV-Merkblatt (Oct. 2001, 4.2) it is allowed
to use higher concrete tensile bending strength values for elements not thicker
than 60 cm. If desired the user has to enter that value of FCTD explicitly. (with
a factor of 1.6-d). However only if a value is given for FEQR or FEQT the tensile
strength of the concrete is applied for the design and nonlinear analysis. Values
are defined as follows:
ƒ ƒ
FCTD = ƒ,ctd = ƒ,ctk,ƒ  · αct / γct
ƒ ƒ
FEQR = ƒeq,ctd, = ƒeq,ctk, · αct · αsys / γct
ƒ ƒ
FEQT = ƒeq,ctd, = ƒeq,ctk, · αct · αsys / γct
αcƒ = 0.85 (C) / 0.75 (LC)

αsys = 1.0 =⇒ 0.8 (d = 15 =⇒ 60 cm, Bild 4.1)
ƒ
γct = 1.25(≥ F0.6)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-101

With these values the stress strain laws according to pictures 4.2 or 4.3. of the
DBV paper are created.
The increased saftey factor according 2.4.2.5 EN 1992 (2004) for cast in place
piles with kf = 1.1 has to be specified by the user explicitly.
3.13.2 DIN 1045 old / DIN 4227 / DIN 18806:

The old DIN can be addressed with:
B = regular concrete (DIN)

LB = light-weight concrete (DIN)
SB = pre-stressed concrete (DIN)
The default FCN is 25 for B and LB, and 45 for SB. FCT is defined by:
FCT = 0.25 · FCN2/ 3 (3.113)
Defaults in accordance with old DIN 1045 / DIN 4227 / DIN 18806:
FCN 10 15 25 35 45 55
FC:
B (DIN 1045) 7 10.5 17.5 23 30
B (DIN 4227) - - 15.0 21 33
FBD: -
B (DIN 1045) 1.4 1.8 2.2 3.0
EC 22000 26000 30000 34000 37000 39000
as well as the following high-strength concretes:
FCN 65 75 85 95 105 115

FC 40.0 45.0 50.0 55.0 60.0 64.0
EC 40500 42000 43000 44000 44500 45000
The density has to be specified in case of light-weight concrete. The default

for GAM and EC then complies with DIN 1055. A bilinear stress-strain curve is
usually employed for light-weight concrete.
For detailed analysis of creep and shrinkage according to DIN 4227 you need
the kind of cement and the consistency. You may specify this by appending a
Literal to the class of concrete
3-102 SOFiSTiK 2016

KS Normal cement (Z35 F/Z 45F) consistency stiff

KP Normal cement (Z35 F/Z 45F) consistency plastic
KR Normal cement (Z35 F/Z 45F) consistency soft
SL slow hardening cement (Z 25, Z35L / Z45L) / stiff
PL slow hardening cement (Z 25, Z35L / Z45L) / plastic
RL slow hardening cement (Z 25, Z35L / Z45L) / soft
SR very fast hardening cement (Z 55) / stiff
PR very fast hardening cement (Z 55) / plastic
RR very fast hardening cement (Z 55) / soft
DIN 4227 has some contradictions about the bond stress. Chapter 13 gives
values which correspond quite well to the ratios given in table 7 of appendix A1.
But these values do not match those given at DIN 1045 Table 19. Thus we have
decided to enlarge the FBD values for concrete SB by a factor of 1.43. With that
amendment the value may be used for the bond design according to chapt. 13
of DIN 4227.
For standard concrete a parabola-rectangular stress-strain diagram will be se-

lected. SCM will default to 1.00. If you analyse composite sections you might
want to change the value. High strength concrete will have lesser ultimate
strains.
3.13.3 ÖNORM B 4700 / B 4750

Although the OENORM B 4700 calls itself close to Eurocode, it deviates just
with the classification of concrete based on the cubic strength instead of the
cylindrical strength. As the designation is C resp. LC the user has to select the
option NORM OEN.
B = regular concrete based on cube strength (ÖNORM 4700)

LB = light-weight concrete on cube strength (ÖNORM 4700)
C = regular concrete on cylindrical strength (ÖNORM 4700)
LC = light-weight concrete, cylindrical strength (ÖNORM 4700)
The default FCN is 25 resp. 20.
Defaults in accordance with OeNORM B 4700:
FCN 20.0 25.0 30.0 40.0 50.0

FC 15.0 18.8 22.5 30.0 37.5
FCT 1.9 2.2 2.6 3.0 3.5
EC 27500 29000 30500 32500 35000
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-103

SCM is preset to 1.5, FCTK to 0.7 · FCT.
3.13.4 Swiss Standard SIA

The SIA 262 (2003) is very similar to the Eurocodes, but there are numerous
deviations (E-Modulus, bond strength, stress-strain law). As type we have there-
fore:
C = cylindrical strength of regular concrete (SIA 262)

LC = cylindrical strength of light-weight concrete (SIA 262)
The design strength is calculated according section 4.2.1.2 and 4.2.1.3 with two
factors ηƒ c and ηt . The first factor is applied for the definition of FCN automati-
cally. As the second factor is depending on the design situation it can be modi-
fied similar to the Eurocode with a boxed value ALF-CC beforehand or later.
The elastic moduli are calculated based on the mean strength. For light-weight
concrete the values are corrected depending on the specific weight. The default
stress-strain diagram is always according to the deformation stress strain law of
EC-2, even for the design. SCM will be preset with 1.5.
FCN = ƒck 12 16 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
ƒck,cbe C 15 20 25 30 37 45 50 55 60
ƒck,cbe LC 13 18 22 28 33 38 44 50 55
According to the old SIA 162 (1989) as type we have
SIAB = cube strength of regular concrete (SIA 162)

SIAL = cube strength of light-weight concrete (SIA 162)
The elastic moduli are the mean values from Figure 31 in Section 5.18 of SIA.
Half of the elasticity moduli are used for light-weight concrete. The default
stress-strain diagram is the parabolic-rectangular one in accordance with Eu-
rocode 2 / DIN 1045 / OeNORM B 4200 / SIA 162. SCM will be preset with
1.2.
FCN 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0

FCN-min 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 30.0
FC 6.5 10.0 13.0 16.0 19.5 23.0
FCT 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.5 2.5 2.5
EC 29000 31000 33500 35000 36000 37000
3-104 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.13.5 French BAEL-99

The ”Association francaise de normalisation” has published with the BAEL 91
(Rgle techniques de conception et de calcul des ouvrages et construction en
beton arm suivant la methode des tats limites) a design code with similar reg-
ulations as the Eurocode but also with some deviations in several points. We
have implemented the revision of 1999.
This code allows a characteristic strength of the concrete depending on the age
of the concrete and a calculation strength depending on the duration of the load-
ing t , to be defined by the user explicitly. Further we have:
FC = 0.85/Θ · ƒck
Θ = 1.00 (t > 24 h)
Θ = 0.90 (24h > t > 1 h)
Θ = 0.85 (1h > t )
FCT = 0.6 + 0.06 · ƒck (ƒck < 60)
= 0.275 · ƒck 2/ 3 (ƒck ≥ 60)
EC = 11000 · ƒck 1/ 3
FBD = 0.60 · Ψs 2 · ƒct,0.05 / γ ; Ψs = 1.5
High strength concrete up to 80 is defined in appendix F. These have modified

stress-strain-laws.
There is also a class DUCT for the UHPRFC Ductal FM. For the stress strain
law the values GF is taken as w0.3/lc.
3.13.6 Spanish EHE

The Spanish EHE (Instruccin de hormign estructural) is very similar to the Eu-
rocode. Deviations are mainly in the designations, the elastic modulus and in
the design algorithms itself.
HA = Hormigón masa/armado 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50

HP = Hormigón pretensado 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50
3.13.7 Swedish BBK

The Swedish BBK has rather complex provisions for the safety factors, which
are influenced by the safety class (see NORM) and are different for the elasticity
modulus and the strength. The new release (2004) uses now the designations
according to the EC, but keeps the safety concept of the old BBK. Then we have:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-105

C = 16, 20, 25, 28, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 54, 55, 58, 60
LC = 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
As the BBK does not state any details about the transition zone in the work law,
the user has the possibility to influence with FCR between 0.6FCK and 1.0FCK
the shape of this curve.
3.13.8 Danish DS 411

The Swedish BBK has very complex provisions for the safety factors, which are
influenced by the safety class (see NORM). The following types are available:
C = 16, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
For E-modulus and tensile strength specific formulas are provided in the design
codes. For the design it is allowed to use a rectangular stress block, but the
default is the Parabula-Rectangle-Diagram.
3.13.9 Norwegian NS 3473

The classification of the Norwegian concretes NS is based on the cylindrical
strength. Avilable values are 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 /45 / 55 / 65 / 75 / 85 / 95. For
Lightweight concrete (LNS) the highest strength class is 75.
3.13.10 Italian design codes

The design code ”Decreto Ministeriale Italiane” published in 1996 as well as
the 2005 version of the ”Norme Tecniche” classifies the concrete based on the
cubic strength Rck. Even the Version of 2008 favours this type of strength.
CAN = 2008 regular concrete with cube strength fk (γ=1.50)

CAL = 2008 light weight concrete with cylindrical strength fck
(γ=1.50)
CAN = 2005 regular concrete with cube strength Rck (γ=1.90)
CAN = 1996 regular concrete with cube strength Rck (γ=1.60)
CAP = 1996 prestressed concrete with cube strength Rck (γ=1.50)
The default values for design strength and elastic modulus are as follows:
FC = 0.83 · 0.85 · Rck (1996) = 0.85 · ƒck (2008)

FCT = 0.27 · Rck 2/ 3 (1996) = 0.30 · ƒck 2/ 3 (2008)
0.3
EC = 5700 · Rck 1/ 2 (1996) = 22000 · (ƒcm / 10) (2008)
FBD = 2.25 · ƒct,0.05 / γ
3-106 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.13.11 Hungarian design codes

The classification of the Hungarian design codes is based on the cylindrical
strength. Avilable values are 16 / 20 / 25 / 30 / 35 / 40 / 45 / 50 / 55.
3.13.12 British Standard BS 8110

As type we have:
BS = normal weight concrete BS 8110
The nominal strength FCN is the cube strength. The design strength is obtained
by
FC = 0.67 FCN (3.114)
British Standard employ a parabolic rectangle curve, starting from a design

p
cube strength β = FC/0.67 with 0.24 β strain at full plasticity and an initial
p
stiffness of 5.5 β according to Figure 2.1. The safety factor SCM is preset to
1.5. The bond strength will be set to the non-physical maximum value for table
p
3.28 of BS 8110 of ƒc .
For Hong Kong slight modifications to British Standards are selected with the
p
country code 852. The initial stiffness will then be 5.0 β.
3.13.13 American concrete institute ACI 318M

As class we have the specified compressive strength fc ’ in MPa:
ACI = normal weight concrete ACI 318M
The test values of the cylindrical strength have to exceed the class value by a
certain amount based on the standard deviation. Chapter 5.3 specifies default
values for this required distance as 7.0, 8.5 and 10.0 MPa for class values of fc ’
up to 21, until 35 and above.
Æ
As the value of ƒc 0 should not exceed the value of 25/3 MPa in general and dif-
ferent reductions have to be Æ
applied for lightweight concrete, we use the tensile
stress to define the value of ƒc 0 . The modulus of rupture fr is the upper fractile
value of the tension strength. ACI 9.5.2.3 defines:
q
ƒr = 0.75 · ƒc 0 < 0.75 · 25/ 3 (3.115)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-107

or for lightweight concrete:

q
ƒr = 0.70 · mn( ƒc 0 , 1.8 · ƒct−m )
q (3.116)
ƒr = 0.70 · 0.75 · ƒc 0
The ratio
Æ
of the fractiles is thus 1.26. The mean value fct−m will be preset to
0
0.5 · ƒc . All other values will be derived from this value by a factor. If needed
the lower fractile may be given, which will then set the upper value. But this
value is only used for those cases where explicitly the value fr is used within a
formula.
The bond strength will be set to the non-physical maximum value for chapter
p
12.2 of ACI 318 to a value of ƒc .
3.13.14 Brasilian NBR 6118-2003

As class we have NBR or C, where the used cement type and the consistency
(Abatimento de acordo) according NBR NM 67 is appended to the strength class
for detailed analysis of creep and shrinkage:
KS Normal cement (CP I and CP II) consistency stiff (0-4 cm)

KP Normal cement (CP I and CP II) consistency plastic (5-9 cm),
default
KR Normal cement (CP I and CP II) consistency soft (10-15 cm)
SL slow hardening cement (CP III and CP IV) / stiff
PL slow hardening cement (CP III and CP IV) / plastic
RL slow hardening cement (CP III and CP IV) / soft
SR very fast hardening cement (CP V-ARI) / stiff
PR very fast hardening cement (CP V-ARI) / plastic
RR very fast hardening cement (CP V-ARI) / soft
The modulus of elasticity is given by Ec = 5600 · fck 1/ 2 and Ecs = 0.85Ec . The
design curve is a Parabola-Rectangle with 0.85 · fcd, as tensile strength we have
fct,m = 0.3 · ƒck 2/ 3 ; fct,knƒ = 0.7 · fct,m ; fct,sp = 1.3 · fct,m . Bond strength fbd =
η1 · η2 · η3 · fctk,nƒ /γc ; η1 =2.25.
3.13.15 Australian AS 3600 and New Zealand NZS 3101

TYPE AS or TYPE NZS selects the respective standard. The characteristic com-
pressive strength (i.e. 20, 25,32, 40, 50 or 65 MPa) can be entered using FCN
(e.g. CONC TYPE AS FCN 50). Only selected material parameters are currently
pre-defined explicitly for AS and NZS standards. The modulus of elasticity is a
function of the mean strength value which is not provided in these design codes.
3-108 SOFiSTiK 2016

Therefore the modulus of elasticity is estimated similar to the EC.
3.13.16 Japanese Standards

Japan has few official standards. As type we have the values from the books of
the Japan Road Association (2002):
JIS = Japan concrete
The nominal strength FCN (21 to 60) as well as the elasticity and shear modulus
are given in table 3.3.3 (JRA). The design strength is 0.85 fcn .
3.13.17 Chinese Standards

According to GB 50010-2002 we have:
GB = Standard and high strength concrete
The nominal strength FCN (15 to 80) and the the design strength are taken from
table 4.1.3./4. Youngs modulus is derived from 4.1.5.
3.13.18 Indian Standards IS / IRC

As type we have:
M = Generic type for all design codes

IS = Indian Standards IS 456 (10 bis 80)
IRC = Indian Roads Congress IRC 21 (15 bis 60)
With the IRC 112 a complety new design code has been released, which is
strongly related to the Eurocode EN 1992. The nominal strength FCN is now
the cylindrical strength. However there are a lot of deviations in the coefficients,
which are not all described here. For example the mean strength fcm is defined
as fck +10 and the tensile strength is about 13% less. More details may be found
in the chapter for the Eurocode.
The nominal strength FCN is the cube strength in the IS 456 / IRC 21. The
design strength there is obtained by
FC = 0.67 FCN (3.117)

p
The elasticity modulus is preset according to IS to 5000 · ƒck , for IRC accord-
ing to table 9. For the Indish Standards the default is the ”limit state method”
which uses a standard parabola rectangle diagram. The working stress method
((IRC resp. Annex B of IS 456) may be selected via the type CE. The mean
p
tensile strength is preset to 0.7 · ƒck , the safety factor SCM to 1.5. The bond
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-109

strength will be set according to chapter 26.2.1.1. of IS 456.
3.13.19 Egyptian Standard ET RC-2001

As type we have:
CET Standard concrete of the quality 15,20,25,30
where
SCM = 1.5
GAM = 24.0
Æ
EC = 4400. · ƒck
FC = 0.67 · ƒck
Æ (3.118)
FCT = 0.8 · ƒck
Æ
FCTK = 0.6 · ƒck
Æ
95%ƒctk = 1.0 · ƒck
Æ
FBD = 0.3 · ƒck / 1.5
3.13.20 Russian Standard SNIP

This design code has a wide range of classifications. Thus the user has to enter
some specific values in some cases. Especially the safety factors for the loads
are depending on the environmental conditions and are not to be defined with
the material here.
SNIP Concrete with compressive strength class

10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
as well for old SNIP 2.03.01 with possible appendices
to the class value:
T thermal treatment
TW thermal treatment in Autoclave
A fine granular concrete group A (grain > 2.0)
AT thermal treatment fine granular group A
B fine granular concrete group B (grain < 2.0)
BT thermal treatment fine granular group B
W fine granular in Autoclave
LSNI Light weight concrete with compressive strength class the prop-
erty ”porous” may be selected by appending a letter ”P” to the
class value.
3-110 SOFiSTiK 2016

The compressive and tensile strength is selected according to tables 5.1-5.3.

The elasticity modulus is taken from table 5.4.
3.13.21 Linear Elastic Concrete

A linear elastic material without tensile stresses is specified for CE. This can
be used for analysis of stress distributions of foundations or older design codes
with the working stress method. FC is the allowed compressive stress in those
cases. The modulus of this stress strain law should be less than EC in general
and may be specified with Item ECR.
TYPE=B,C,LC,SIA TYPE=LB
σ[N/ mm2 ] σ[N/ mm2 ]
ƒc ƒc
ε [%◦ ] ε [%◦ ]
−2.0 −3.5 −2.0 −3.5
σ[N/ mm2 ] TYPE=BS σ[N/ mm2 ] TYPE=CE
ƒc ƒc σ
E=
ε
ε [%◦ ] ε [%◦ ]
ε −3.5 −2.0 −3.5
TYPR=C,R,RS TYPR=B
σ[N/ mm2 ] σ[N/ mm2 ]
ƒc ƒc
ε [%◦ ] ε [%◦ ]
εc1 εc −2.2 εc
Figure 3.19: Stress strain law
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-111

3.14 STEE – Properties of Metals
STEE

TYPE Type of the material (see remarks) LT *
S Structural steel
B Reinforcing steel
Y Prestressing steel
AL Aluminium alloy
CLAS Steel class or quality ∗ *
FY Yield strength (f0.01 or f0.02 ) N/ mm2 *

FT Tensile strength N/ mm2 *
FP Elastic limit N/ mm2 *
ES Elastic modulus N/ mm2 *
MUE Poisson’s ratio − 0.3
GAM Unit weight kN/ m3 *
ALFA Thermal expansion coefficient 1/ K *
SCM Typical material safety factor *
EPSY Permanent strain at yield strength o/ oo *

EPST Ultimate strain o/ oo *
REL1 Coefficient of relaxation (0.70 fpk ) % *
REL2 Coefficient of relaxation (0.55 fpk ) LT/ % 0
R Relative bond strength − *
K1 Bond coefficient for crack width EN 1992 − 0.8/R
FDYN Allowed stress range N/ mm2 *
FYC Compressive yield strength (f0.02 ) N/ mm2 FY
FTC Compressive strength N/ mm2 FT
TMAX Maximum plate thickness mm *
GMOD Shear modulus N/ mm2 *
KMOD Bulk modulus N/ mm2 *
TITL Material name Lt32 *
3-112 SOFiSTiK 2016

There are some, but not very rigorous checks about the usage. While struc-
tural steel types (e.g. S 235, ST, AL etc) can be used only for cross sections,
prestressing steel is only allowed for reinforcements, cables and tendons.
3.14.1 Structural Steel
FY FT EPST FP EPSY ES GAM

Eurocode:
EN 1993-1-1
Tab. 3.1 t ≤ 40 mm
* S 235 235 360 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275 275 430 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355 355 490 - - - 210000 78.5
S 450 440 550 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275N 275 390 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355N 355 490 - - - 210000 78.5
S 420N 420 520 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460N 460 540 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275M 275 370 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355M 355 470 - - - 210000 78.5
S 420M 420 520 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460M 460 540 - - - 210000 78.5
S 235W 235 360 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355W 355 490 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460Q 460 570 - - - 210000 78.5

Eurocode:
EN 1993-1-1
Tab. 3.1 40 < t < 80 mm
S 235T 215 360 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275T 255 410 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355T 335 470 - - - 210000 78.5
S 450T 410 550 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275NT 255 370 - - - 210000 78.5
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-113


S 355NT 335 470 - - - 210000 78.5
S 420NT 390 520 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460NT 430 540 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275MT 255 360 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355MT 335 450 - - - 210000 78.5
S 420MT 390 500 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460MT 430 530 - - - 210000 78.5
S 235WT 215 340 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355WT 335 470 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460QT 440 550 - - - 210000 78.5

Eurocode:
EN 10025-6 TMAX ...
∗) ∗)
S 500Q - - - 210000 78.5
∗) ∗)
S 550Q - - - 210000 78.5
∗) ∗)
S 620Q - - - 210000 78.5
∗) ∗)
S 690Q - - - 210000 78.5
∗) ∗)
S 890Q - - - 210000 78.5
∗) ∗)
S 960Q - - - 210000 78.5
∗)
Material values in dependence on the defined max. thickness TMAX
For structural steel that should get the material values of the product standard
EN 10025-2 till -6 the plate thickness TMAX has to be input. E.g. the input
STEE 1 S 355 TMAX 80

STEE 2 S 355M TMAX 100
defines in the first case the limit values of the stiffness for the structural steel of
the quality 355 according to EN 10025-2 for the plate thickness of 63 mm < t
≤80 mm and in the second case the limit values of the stiffness for the structural
steel of the quality 355M according to EN 10025-3 for the plate thickness of 80
mm < t ≤100 mm.
Note: In the National Annexes the material values may be specified differently.
3-114 SOFiSTiK 2016


DIN:
ST 33 190 330 - - - 210000 78.5
ST 37 240 370 - - - 210000 78.5
ST 52 360 520 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 40 (t ≤ 40 mm):
* S 235 240 360 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275 275 430 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355 360 510 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460 460 600 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 80 / 100 (40 < t ≤ 80 / 100 mm):
S 235 215 340 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275 255 410 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355 335 490 - - - 210000 78.5
* GU 52 260 520 - - - 100000 72.5
GU 17 240 370 - - - 210000 72.5
GU 20 300 500 - - - 210000 72.5
GU 200 200 380 - - - 210000 72.5
GU 240 240 450 - - - 210000 72.5
GU 400 250 390 - - - 169000 72.5

OENORM:
ST 44 285 430 - 230 -.2 206000 78.5
ST 55 355 540 - 285 -.2 206000 78.5

SIA: TMAX 40 (t ≤ 40 mm):
* S 235 235 360 - - - 210000 78.5
S 275 275 430 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355 355 510 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460 460 550 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 100 (40 < t ≤ 100 mm):
S 235 215 340 - - - 210000 78.5
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-115


S 275 255 410 - - - 210000 78.5
S 355 335 490 - - - 210000 78.5
S 460 430 530 - - - 210000 78.5

British
Standard: TMAX 16 (t ≤ 16 mm):
BS 275 275 430 - 205000 78.5
BS 355 355 500 - - - 205000 78.5
BS 460 460 550 - - - 205000 78.5
TMAX 40 (16 < t ≤ 40 mm):
BS 275 265 430 - 205000 78.5
BS 355 345 500 - - - 205000 78.5
* BS 460 440 550 - - - 205000 78.5
TMAX 63 (40 < t ≤ 63 mm):
BS 275 255 430 - 205000 78.5
BS 355 335 500 - - - 205000 78.5
BS 460 430 550 - - - 205000 78.5
TMAX 80 (63 < t ≤ 80 mm):
BS 275 245 430 - 205000 78.5
BS 355 325 500 - - - 205000 78.5
BS 460 410 550 - - - 205000 78.5
TMAX 100 (80 < t ≤ 100 mm):
BS 275 235 430 - 205000 78.5
BS 355 315 500 - - - 205000 78.5
BS 460 400 550 - - - 205000 78.5
TMAX 150 (100 < t ≤ 150 mm):
BS 275 225 430 - 205000 78.5
BS 355 295 500 - - - 205000 78.5

EA:
EA 37 235 360 - - - 210000 78.5
3-116 SOFiSTiK 2016


EA 42 275 430 - - - 210000 78.5
EA 52 355 510 - - - 210000 78.5

BSK TMAX 16 (t ≤ 16 mm):
BSK 235 235 340 - 210000 78.5
BSK 275 275 410 - 210000 78.5
BSK 355 355 490 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 355N 355 470 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 355M 355 450 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 420 420 500 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 460 460 530 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 40 (16 < t ≤ 40 mm):
BSK 235 225 340 - 210000 78.5
BSK 275 265 410 - 210000 78.5
BSK 355 345 490 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 355N 345 470 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 355M 345 450 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 420 400 500 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 460 440 530 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 63 (40 < t ≤ 63 mm):
BSK 275 255 410 - 210000 78.5
BSK 355 335 490 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 355N 335 470 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 355M 335 450 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 420 420 500 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 460 430 530 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 80 (63 < t ≤ 80 mm):
BSK 275 245 410 - 210000 78.5
BSK 355 325 490 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 355N 325 470 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 100 (80 < t ≤ 100 mm):
BSK 235 215 340 - 210000 78.5
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-117


BSK 275 235 410 - 210000 78.5
BSK 355 315 490 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 355N 315 470 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK TMAX 50 (t ≤ 50 mm):
BSK 460Q 460 550 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 500Q 500 590 - 210000 78.5
BSK 550Q 550 640 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 620Q 620 700 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 690Q 690 770 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 100 (50 < t ≤ 100 mm):
BSK 460Q 440 550 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 500Q 480 590 - 210000 78.5
BSK 550Q 530 640 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 620Q 580 700 - - - 210000 78.5
BSK 690Q 650 760 - - - 210000 78.5

NS TMAX 40 (t ≤ 40 mm):
NS 235 235 360 - 210000 78.5
NS 275 275 430 - 210000 78.5
NS 275N 275 390 - 210000 78.5
NS 275M 275 380 - 210000 78.5
NS 355 355 510 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 355N 355 490 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 355M 355 470 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 420N 420 540 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 420M 420 520 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 460N 460 570 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 460M 460 550 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 460Q 460 570 - - - 210000 78.5
TMAX 80 (40 < t ≤ 80 mm):
NS 235 215 340 - 210000 78.5
NS 275 255 410 - 210000 78.5
3-118 SOFiSTiK 2016


NS 275N 235 370 - 210000 78.5
NS 275M 255 360 - 210000 78.5
NS 355 335 490 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 355N 335 470 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 355M 335 450 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 420N 390 520 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 420M 390 500 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 460N 430 550 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 460M 430 530 - - - 210000 78.5
NS 460Q 440 550 - - - 210000 78.5

DM-96 TMAX 40 (t ≤ 40 mm)
FEI 360 235 360 - - - 206000 78.5
FEI 430 275 430 - - - 206000 78.5
FEI 510 355 510 - - - 206000 78.5
TMAX 63,80,100 (t > 40 mm):
FEI 360 210 340 - - - 206000 78.5
FEI 430 250 410 - - - 206000 78.5
FEI 510 315 490 - - - 206000 78.5
TMAX 40 (t ≤ 40 mm):
FEG 400 180 - - - 206000 78.5
FEG 430 225 - - - 206000 78.5
FEG 520 255 - - - 206000 78.5

MSZ:
S 37 230 370 - 200 - 206000 78.5
S 45 290 450 - 240 - 206000 78.5
S 52 350 520 - 280 - 206000 78.5
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-119


AISC/ASTM; 200000 78.5
A 36 250 400
A 42 290 415
A 50 345 450
A 53 240 415
A 290 290 415
A 345 345 450
A 415 415 520
A 450 450 550
A 500A 230 310
A 500B 290 400
A 500C 315 425
A 500D 250 400
A 514 689 758 (TMAX 63,152 mm)
A 517 689 793 (TMAX 63,152 mm)
A 242 340 480 (COR-TEN, TMAX 19,25,102 mm)
A 588 340 480 (COR-TEN, TMAX 4,6,8 mm)
A 992 345 450
A 70W 485 586
A 100W 690 760

ABNT:
NBR 250 250 400 205000 78.5
NBR 350 350 450 205000 78.5
NBR 415 415 520 205000 78.5

Australian: Flats and Sections:
AS 400 400 520 TMAX 17 (0 mm < t ≤ 17 mm)
AS 400 380 520 TMAX 100 (17 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
3-120 SOFiSTiK 2016


AS 350 360 480 TMAX 11 (0 mm < t ≤ 11 mm)
* AS 350 340 480 TMAX 40 (11 mm < t ≤ 40 mm)
AS 350 330 480 TMAX 100 (40 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
AS 300 320 440 TMAX 11 (0 mm < t ≤ 11 mm)
AS 300 300 440 TMAX 17 (11 mm < t ≤ 17 mm)
AS 300 280 440 TMAX >17 (17 mm < t)
AS 250 260 410 TMAX 11 (0 mm < t ≤ 11 mm)
AS 250 250 410 TMAX 40 (11 mm < t ≤ 40 mm)
AS 250 230 410 TMAX >40 (40 mm < t)
Hexagons, Rounds and Squares:
AS 400 400 520 TMAX 50 (0 mm < t ≤ 50 mm)
AS 400 380 520 TMAX 100 (50 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
AS 400 360 520 TMAX >100 (100 mm < t)
AS 350 340 480 TMAX 50 (0 mm < t ≤ 50 mm)
* AS 350 330 480 TMAX 100 (50 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
AS 350 320 480 TMAX >100 (100 mm < t)
AS 300 300 440 TMAX 50 (0 mm < t ≤ 50 mm)
AS 300 290 440 TMAX 100 (50 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
AS 300 280 440 TMAX >100 (100 mm < t)
AS 250 250 410 TMAX 50 (0 mm < t ≤ 50 mm)
AS 250 230 410 TMAX >50 (50 mm < t)

JIS
JIS 400 235 400 TMAX 40 (t ≤ 400 mm) 200000 77.0
400 215 400 TMAX 100 (40 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
(SS 400, SM 400 and SMA 400W identical)
JIS 490 315 490 TMAX 40 200000 77.0
490 295 490 TMAX 100 ( 40 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
JIS 520 355 520 TMAX 40 200000 77.0
520 335 520 TMAX 75 (40 mm < t ≤ 75 mm)
520 325 520 TMAX 100 75 mm < t ≤ 100 mm
(SM 520, SM 490Y and SMA 490W identical)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-121


JIS 570 450 520 TMAX 40 200000 77.0
570 430 530 TMAX 75 (40 mm < t ≤ 75 mm)
570 420 530 TMAX 100 (75 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)

IS/IRC
IS 250 250 250 - - - 211000 77.0

GB GB 50017-2003
Q 235 215 360 TMAX 16 210000 78.5
235 205 TMAX 40 (16 mm < t ≤ 40 mm)
235 200 TMAX 60 (40 mm < t ≤ 60 mm)
235 190 TMAX 100 (60 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
345 310 490 TMAX 16 210000 78.5

345 295 TMAX 35 (16 mm < t ≤ 35 mm)
345 265 TMAX 50 (35 mm < t ≤ 50 mm)
345 250 TMAX 100 (50 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
390 350 520 TMAX 16 210000 78.5

390 335 TMAX 35 (16 mm < t ≤ 35 mm)
390 315 TMAX 50 (35 mm < t ≤ 50 mm)
390 295 TMAX 100 (50 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)
420 380 570 TMAX 16 210000 78.5

420 360 TMAX 35 (16 mm < t ≤ 35 mm)
420 340 TMAX 50 (35 mm < t ≤ 50 mm)
420 325 TMAX 100 (50 mm < t ≤ 100 mm)

SNIP SP 52-102 (Table B.5) / SNIP II-23-81, 2 (Table 51)
3-122 SOFiSTiK 2016


C 235 230 350 TMAX 20 206000 78.5
235 220 350 TMAX 40 (20 mm < t ≤40 mm)
245 240 360 TMAX 20 206000 78.5
245 230 360 TMAX 30 (20 mm < t≤ 30 mm
255 240 360 TMAX 20 206000 78.5
255 230 360 TMAX 40 (20 mm < t≤ 40 mm)
275 270 370 TMAX 10 206000 78.5
275 260 360 TMAX 20 (10 mm < t≤ 20 mm)
285 270 380 TMAX 10 206000 78.5
285 260 370 TMAX 20 (10 mm < t≤ 20 mm)
345 315 460 TMAX 20 206000 78.5
345 305 450 TMAX 40 (20 mm < t≤ 40 mm)
345 280 440 TMAX 80 (40 mm < t≤ 80 mm)
345 260 420 TMAX 100 (80 mm < t≤ 100 mm)
345K 335 460 TMAX 10 (4 < t≤ 10 mm) 206000 78.5
375 345 480 TMAX 20 206000 78.5
375 325 470 TMAX 40 (20 mm < t≤ 40 mm)
390 380 525 TMAX 50 (4 < t≤ 50 mm) 206000 78.5
440 430 575 TMAX 30 (4 < t≤ 30 mm) 206000 78.5
440 400 555 TMAX 50 (30 mm < t≤ 50 mm)
590 575 670 TMAX 40 (10 < t≤ 40 mm) 206000 78.5
The specifications which are a part of the steel quality and are printed in italics
(e.g. T, T8, 4) describe the thicknesses. They have to be input by the user only
in the case of a CADINP input.
The strength values especially for the high strength steels may vary depending
on the manufacturer and the alloy considerably, a check of the assumed values
against the actual values is strongly recommended.
The maximum allowed plate thickness may be specified via TMAX, reducing
the strength values according to the design codes. As different strength values
within the section may lead to consistency problems for some design tasks, we
allow only for a unified approach based on the maximum thickness. It will be
checked during the generation of sections. For many grades one may append
an identifier for a maximum plate thickness for a direct definition.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-123

Attention: The maximum thickness will be also used to control if the design of
a composite section with DESI in AQB will allow compressive strains beyond the
yield limit. For sections of classes 3 and 4, this limit will be observed by default.
For sections of class 1 or 2, the strain becomes unlimited by definition of TMAX
0.0.
The safety factor SCM is preset to 1.1 for most structural steel materials. The
safety factor becomes effective immediately for the calculation of the full plastic
internal forces of steel and composite sections.
For the Russian design steel the defaults are provided according to the control
procedure GOST 27771 (γ = 1.025). These values are almost identical to those
of the old SNIP, however the latter document provides higher values for thinner
elements and in some cases for rolled steel in a separate column. All these
extensions have to be specified by the user explicitly.
For the Hungarian MSZ the default values are not valid for all possible derivatives
of the material. Further the strength to be used for the design is given as FP as
a rounded value obtained from FY and a safety factor depending on the strength
itself.
3.14.2 Aluminium alloy
FY FT EPST BC np TMAX
AWP 3004 180. 220 10 B 23 6.0
AWP 3005 150. 170 10 B 38 6.0
AWP 3103 120. 140 20 B 31 25.0
AWP 5005 95. 125 20 B 25 12.5
AWP 5052 160. 210 40 B 17 40.0
AWP 5049 190. 240 30 B 20 25.0
AWP 5454 220. 270 20 B 22 25.0
AWP 5754 190. 240 30 B 20 25.0
AWP 5083 250. 305 30 B 22 40.0
AWP 6061T4 110. 250 120 A 23 12.5
AWP 6061T6 240. 290 60 B 23 12.5 / 80.0
AWP 6082T4 110. 205 120 A 25 12.5
AWP 6082T6 240. 295 60 B 25 6.0 / 12.5 /100.0
AWP 7020T6 280. 350 90 A 19 12.5
AWP 8011 110. 125 20 B 37 12.5
3-124 SOFiSTiK 2016

AW 6060T5 120. 160 80 B 14 5.0 / 25.0

AW 6060T6 140. 170 80 A 16 15.0
AW 6060TX 150. 195 80 A 18 3.0 / 25.0
AW 6060DT 160. 215 120 A 20 20.0
AW 6061T4 110. 180 120 B 8 25.0
AW 6061T6 240. 260 80 A 55 20.0
AW 6063T5 110. 160 70 B 13 3.0 / 25.0
AW 6063T6 160. 195 80 A 24 25.0
AW 6063TX 180. 225 80 A 21 10.0 / 25.0
AW 6063DT 190. 220 100 A 31 20.0
AW 6005T6 200. 250 80 A 20 5.0 / 10.0 / 25.0
AW 6106T6 200. 250 80 A 20 10.0
AW 6082T4 110. 205 140 B 8 25.0
AW 6082T5 230. 270 80 B 28 25.0
AW 6082T6 260. 310 100 A 25 5.0 / 15.0
AW 6082ER 240. 295 100 A 17 15.0 / 40.0
AW 6082DT 240. 310 100 A 17 5.0 / 20.0
AW 7020T6 275. 350 100 A 19 15.0 / 40.0
AW 7020DT 280. 350 100 A 18 20.0
Eurocode
AC 42100 147. 203 20.
AC 42200 168. 224 15.
AC 43000 63. 126 12.5
AC 43300 147. 203 20.
AC 44200 56. 119 30.
AC 51300 70. 126 20.
FY FT EPST FP EPSY TMAX

DIN:
AL 18 80 180 - 60.0 * -
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-125

FY FT EPST FP EPSY TMAX

AL 20 100 200 - 88.0 * -
AL 22 160 215 144.5 * -
AL 25 180 250 - 144.5 * 5.0
AL 27 140 270 - 110.5 * -
AL 28 210 275 - 168.0 *
AL 31 230 310 - 229.5 * 20.0
AL 35 290 350 - 246.5 * 30.0
EC 9 and the new DIN 4113 (2002) use the American system for classification
of aluminium alloys. As there are more than 300 different materials available,
with significant differences of properties, the user should check the thickness
limit and strength parameters thoroughly. For the default values the following
scheme has been used:
• For plates we use the type AWP to distinguish them properly from the profile
and tubes. For untreated alloys only the number of the alloy is necessary.
• For tubes and profiles the type AW is used and either ER or DT (drawn tubes)
or the important criteria of the heat treatment as T4, T5, T6 or TX for T66
has to be appended to the alloy as characters.
• For the castings the case of a cocille and temper F or T6 has been selected
as default.
As the reduction of the strength in the HAZ is depending on the welding process
and the thickness, the user has to define a separte Materialnumber for those
regions with a explicitly reduced values for FY and FT.
DIN 4113 requires the stress for aluminum to be reduced for creep effects ac-
cording to chapter 6.3 with a factor c between 0.8 and 1.0. As the exact evalua-
tion would be rather complex, this is accounted for by the global factor of safety
1/c. The default on the safe side is a value of 1.25. Better values have to be
specified explicitly by the user.
A reduction for generally higher temperatures has to be specified explicitly, but

the reduction for the fire case is available via the stress strain law.
The values ES and GAM are for all classes with 70000 [ MPa] and 28.0 [ kN/m3]
preset, the values FP and EPSY are selected according to the data of table 10
of the DIN 4113.
3-126 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.14.3 Reinforcing and Prestressing Steel
FY FT EPST FP EPSY ES GAM REL1

Eurocode
B 220A 220 340 0 - - 200000 78.5
B 220B 220 340 0 - - 200000 78.5
B 220C 220 340 0 - - 200000 78.5
B 450A 450 472.5 25 - - 200000 78.5
B 450B 450 486 50 - - 200000 78.5
B 450C 450 517.5 75 - - 200000 78.5
B 500A 500 525 25 - - 200000 78.5
B 500B 500 540 50 - - 200000 78.5
B 500C 500 575 75 - - 200000 78.5
B 550B 550 594 50 - - 200000 78.5
B 600B 600 648 50 - - 200000 78.5
Y 1100 900 1100 3.5 - - 205000 78.5 ENC3
Y 1030 835 1030 3.5 - - 205000 78.5 ENC3
Y 1230 1080 1230 3.5 - - 205000 78.5 ENC3
Y 1450C 1100 1450 6.0 - - 130000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1570C 1300 1570 6.0 - - 205000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1670C 1385 1670 6.0 - - 205000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1770C 1470 1770 6.0 - - 205000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1860C 1545 1860 6.0 - - 205000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1770 1520 1770 6.0 - - 195000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1860 1600 1860 6.0 - - 195000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1960 1685 1960 6.0 - - 195000 78.5 ENC2
Y 2060 1600 2060 6.0 - - 195000 78.5 ENC2
Y 2160 1770 2160 6.0 - - 195000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1700 1460 1700 6.0 - - 195000 78.5 ENC2
Y 1820 1565 1820 6.0 - - 195000 78.5 ENC2

DIN:
BST 220 220 340 - - -.2 210000 78.5
BST 420 420 500 - - -.2 210000 78.5
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-127


BST 500 500 550 - - -.2 210000 78.5
PST 835 835 1030 7 735 -.2 205000 78.5 3.3
PST 1080 1080 1230 6 950 -.2 205000 78.5 3.3
PST 1100 1100 1450 6 - - 130000 78.5 7.5
PST 1375 1375 1570 6 1150 -.2 205000 78.5 7.5
PST 1420 1420 1570 6 1220 -.2 205000 78.5 2.0
PST 1470 1470 1670 6 1250 -.2 205000 78.5 7.5
PST 1570 1570 1770 6 1300 -.2 195000 78.5 7.5

OENORM:
BSOE 240 240 360 17 - .4 210000 78.5
BSOE 420 420 500 10 - .4 210000 78.5
BSOE 500 500 550 10 - .4 210000 78.5
BSOE 550 550 620 10 - .4 210000 78.5
BSOE 600 600 670 10 - .4 210000 78.5
PSOE 835 835 1030 7 - -.2 205000 78.5 3.3
PSOE 1080 1080 1230 6 - -.2 205000 78.5 3.3
PSOE 1375 1375 1570 6 - -.2 205000 78.5 7.5
PSOE 1420 1420 1570 6 - -.2 205000 78.5 2.0
PSOE 1470 1470 1670 6 - -.2 205000 78.5 7.5
PSOE 1570 1570 1770 6 - -.2 195000 78.5 7.5

SIA:
B 500A 500 525 20 - - 205000 78.5
B 500B 500 540 45 - - 205000 78.5
B 450C 450 520 65 - - 205000 78.5
Y 1030 830 1030 20 - - 205000 78.5 4.0
Y 1100 900 1100 20 - - 205000 78.5 4.0
Y 1230 1080 1230 20 - - 205000 78.5 4.0
Y 1570 1300 1570 20 - - 205000 78.5 4.0
Y 1670 1440 1670 20 - - 205000 78.5 4.0
3-128 SOFiSTiK 2016


Y 1770 1520 1770 20 - - 195000 78.5 2.5
Y 1860 1600 1860 20 - - 195000 78.5 2.5

BBK-04:
KS 260 260 - 50 - - 200000 78.5 ≤ 32
KS 500 500 - 50 - - 200000 78.5 ≤ 32
KS 600 600 - 50 - - 200000 78.5 ≤ 32
KSY 1030 835 1030 35 - - 205000 77.0 4.0
KSY 1670 1470 1670 35 - - 205000 77.0 4.0
KSY 1770 1500 1770 35 - - 205000 77.0 4.0
KSY 1860 1650 1860 35 - - 205000 77.0 4.0
KSY 2060 1790 2060 35 - - 205000 77.0 4.0

DS-411: ∅
BDS 410 410 - - - 200000 78.5 ≤ 32
BDS 500 500 - - - 200000 78.5 ≤ 32
BDS 550 550 - - - 200000 78.5 ≤ 32

NS-3473: ∅
BNS 500 500 - - - 200000 78.5 ≤ 32

BAEL-99:
FEE 215 215 215 - - 200000 78.5
FEE 235 235 235 - - 200000 78.5
FEE 400 400 400 - - 200000 78.5
FEE 500 500 500 - - 200000 78.5
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-129


DM-96:
FEB 22 215 335 - - 200000 78.5
FEB 32 315 490 - - 200000 78.5
FEB 38 375 450 - - 200000 78.5
FEB 44 440 540 - - 200000 78.5
FEB 39 390 440 - - 200000 78.5
Norme-2005
FEB 450 450 540 - - 200000 78.5
Norme-2008
FEB 450A 450 540 22.5 - - 200000 78.5
FEB 450C 450 540 67.5 - - 200000 78.5

MSZ:
B 240B 240 380 210 - 200000 78.5
B 360B 360 500 310 - 200000 78.5
B 500B 500 600 420 - 200000 78.5
Y 1030 830 1030 720 - 195000 78.5
Y 1230 1080 1230 920 - 195000 78.5
Y 1670 1435 1670 1230 - 195000 78.5
Y 1770 1520 1770 1320 - 195000 78.5
Y 1860 1580 1860 1375 - 195000 78.5

EHE:
B 400 400 440 50 - - 200000 78.5
B 500 500 550 50 - - 200000 78.5
Y 1570 1340 1570 35 - - 205000 78.5
Y 1670 1420 1670 35 - - 205000 78.5 2.0
Y 1770 1500 1770 35 - - 205000 78.5 2.0
Y 1860 1580 1860 35 - - 205000 78.5 2.0
Y 1960 1670 1960 35 - - 195000 78.5 2.0
Y 2060 1750 2060 35 - - 195000 78.5 2.0
3-130 SOFiSTiK 2016


British
Standard:
SBS 250 250 250 - - 200000 78.5
SBS 460 460 460 - - 200000 78.5
SBS 500 500 500 - - 200000 78.5
PSBS 1570 1256 1570 -5 - - 205000 78.5 8.0
PSBS 1620 1296 1620 -5 - - 205000 78.5 8.0
PSBS 1670 1336 1670 -5 - - 205000 78.5 8.0
PSBS 1720 1376 1720 -5 - - 205000 78.5 8.0
PSBS 1770 1416 1770 -5 - - 205000 78.5 8.0
PSBS 1860 1488 1860 -5 - - 205000 78.5 8.0
South Africa
TMH7:
SABS 250A 250 250 - - 200000 78.5
SABS 450B 450 450 - - 200000 78.5
SABS 500B 500 500 - - 200000 78.5

ACI/
AASHTO:
SACI 40 280 420 - - 200000 78.5
SACI 50 350 560 - - 200000 78.5
SACI 60 420 620 - - 200000 78.5
SACI 65 460 460 - - 200000 78.5
SACI 70 490 560 - - 200000 78.5
SACI 75 520 690 - - 200000 78.5
SACI 80 550 725 - - 200000 78.5
PSAC 160 1100 1250 - - 207000 78.5 2.0
PSAC 250 1730 1730 - - 197000 78.5 8.0
PSAC 270 1860 1860 - - 197000 78.5 8.0

NBR
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-131


CP 25 250 300 - - 210000 78.5
CP 40 400 440 - - 210000 78.5
CP 50 500 550 - - 210000 78.5
CP 60 600 660 - - 210000 78.5
CA 85 850 1050 - - 200000 78.5
CA 150RN 1280 1500 6.0 - -2 195000 78.5 7.5
CA 150RB 1350 1500 6.0 - -2 195000 78.5 3.0
CA 160RN 1360 1600 5.0 - -2 195000 78.5 5.0
CA 160RB 1440 1600 5.0 - -2 195000 78.5 2.0
CA 170RN 1490 1700 5.0 - -2 195000 78.5 5.0
CA 170RB 1580 1700 5.0 - -2 195000 78.5 2.0
CA 175RN 1490 1755 3.5 - -2 185000 78.5 7.0
CA 175RB 1580 1755 3.5 - -2 185000 78.5 2.5
CA 180RN 1530 1800 3.5 - -2 185000 78.5 7.0
CA 190RN 1610 1900 3.5 - -2 185000 78.5 7.0
CA 190RB 1710 1900 3.5 - -2 185000 78.5 2.5

IS/IRC
SIS 240 240 240 - - 200000 78.5
SIS 415 415 415 - - 200000 78.5
SIS 500 500 500 - - 200000 78.5
PSIS 800 800 1000 7 800 -.5 200000 78.5 2.5
PSIS 1050 1050 1250 6 1000 -.5 200000 78.5 2.5
PSIS 1350 1350 1650 6 1320 -.5 200000 78.5 8.0
PSIS 1500 1500 1800 6 1440 -.5 200000 78.5 8.0
PSIS 1600 1600 1900 6 1520 -.5 195000 78.5 8.0
FY FT’ FT FP EPSY ES GAM REL1

GB.
SGB 235 210 235 - - 210000 78.5
SGB 335 300 335 - - 200000 78.5
SGB 400 360 400 - - 200000 78.5
3-132 SOFiSTiK 2016

FY FT’ FT FP EPSY ES GAM REL1

PSGB 1470 1040 400 1470 - - 210000 78.5 5.0
PSGB 1570 1110 410 1570 - - 205000 78.5 5.0
PSGB 1670 1180 410 1670 - - 205000 78.5 5.0
PSGB 1770 1250 410 1770 - - 205000 78.5 5.0
PSGB 1570S 1110 390 1570 - - 195000 78.5 5.0
PSGB 1720S 1220 390 1720 - - 195000 78.5 5.0
PSGB 1860S 1320 390 1860 - - 195000 78.5 5.0

GBJ:
SGB I 235 235 - - 210000 78.5 8.0
SGB II 335 335 - - 210000 78.5 2.5
SGB IV 380 835 - - 190000 78.5 5.0
PSGB IV 751 835 - - 190000 78.5 5.0

AS/NZS:
SAS 250 250 250 - - 200000 78.5
SAS 400 400 400 - - 200000 78.5
SAS 450 450 450 - - 200000 78.5
SAS 500 500 500 - - 200000 78.5
PAS 1030 840 1030 - - 200000 78.5 3.0
PAS 1670 1340 1670 - - 205000 78.5 1.0
PAS 1700 1360 1700 - - 205000 78.5 1.0
PAS 1790 1468 1790 - - 195000 78.5 2.0
PAS 1830 1500 1830 - - 195000 78.5 2.0
PAS 1870 1533 1870 - - 195000 78.5 2.0

JIS:
SJS 235 235 380 - - 200000 77.0
SJS 295 295 440 - - 200000 77.0
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-133


SJS 345 345 490 - - 200000 77.0
SJS 390 390 560 - - 200000 77.0
PSJS 930 0.80ft 930 - - 200000 77.0
PSJS 1030 0.80ft 1030 - - 200000 77.0
PSJS 1080 0.80ft 1080 - - 200000 77.0
PSJS 1180 0.80ft 1180 - - 200000 77.0
PSJS 1420 0.93ft 1420 0.84ft 15 200000 77.0
PSJS 1470 0.93ft 1470 0.84ft 15 200000 77.0
PSJS 1520 0.93ft 1520 0.84ft 15 200000 77.0
PSJS 1620 0.93ft 1620 0.84ft 15 200000 77.0
PSJS 1720 0.93ft 1720 0.84ft 15 200000 77.0
PSJS 1860 0.93ft 1860 0.84ft 15 200000 77.0
FY FT EPST FP EPSY ES GAM TMAX

ET RC-2001
SET 350 350 240 350 200000 78.5 40.
SET 450 450 280 450 200000 78.5 40.
SET 520 520 360 520 200000 78.5 36.
SET 520M 520 450 520 200000 78.5 -
SET 600 600 400 600 200000 78.5 36.
FY FT FP FYC ES GAM γs
SP
52-101-2003
SNIA 240 235 400 190 235 - 200000 78.5 1.10
SNIA 300 300 500 235 300 - 200000 78.5 1.10
SNIA 400 400 500 320 400 - 200000 78.5 1.13
SNIA 500 500 600 345 460 - 200000 78.5 1.15
SNIB 500 410 500 290 360 - 200000 78.5 1.20
RK 5.03-
3-134 SOFiSTiK 2016

33-2005
SNIA 600 600 800 360 540 - 200000 78.5 1.15
SNIA 800 800 1000 360 575 - 200000 78.5 1.15
SNIA 1000 1000 1000 360 600 - 200000 78.5 1.20
SNIP
2.03.01:
SNIA I 225 235 175 225 - 210000 78.5 1.05
SNIA II 280 295 225 280 - 210000 78.5 1.05
SNIA III 365 390 290 365 - 200000 78.5 1.10
SNIA IV 510 590 405 450 - 190000 78.5 1.15
SNIA V 680 788 545 500 - 190000 78.5 1.15
SNIA VI 815 980 650 500 - 190000 78.5 1.20
SNIA VII 980 1175 785 500 - 190000 78.5 1.20
SNIB I 410 1000 290 375 - 170000 78.5 1.20
SNIB 1000 850 1000 680 500 - 200000 78.5 1.20
SNIB 1100 915 1100 730 500 - 200000 78.5 1.20
SNIB 1200 1000 1200 785 500 - 200000 78.5 1.20
SNIB 1300 1050 1300 835 500 - 200000 78.5 1.20
SNIB 1400 1170 1400 940 500 - 200000 78.5 1.20
SNIB 1500 1250 1500 1000 500 - 200000 78.5 1.20
For the steel type B it is possible to attach to the grade extra characters defining
the ductility:
A Reinforcing bars with standard ductility (cold deformed)

B Reinforcing bars with high ductility (warm deformed)
C Reinforcing bars with very high ductility (warm deformed)
For the German steel type BST the characters SA/SB resp. MA/MB for bars
resp. meshes allow also to select between new DIN 1045-1 and old DIN 1045.
The safety factor SCM is preset for most reinforcing and prestressing steels to
1.15 and 1.05 (BS) respectively. The safety factor becomes effective immedi-
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-135

ately for the calculation of the full plastic internal forces of steel and composite
sections.
For non-linear analysis with a constant safety factor according to DIN 1045-1 the
strength of the concrete will be reduced, while those of the steel will be raised.
For this a special serviceability stress-strain law is generated with a safety factor
of 1.3.
The Russian SNIP has a reduced strength for shear links and inclined bars. This
value is taken from the value FP. In the very general case, it might be necessary
to use a separate material with a reduced strength.
For the hungarian MSZ the defualt values are not valid for all possible derivatives
of the material. Further the strength to be used for the design is given as FP as
a rounded value by the minimum from FY/1.15 and FT/1.3.
Attention:
Some material parameters may depend on other parameters not known to the
program. E.g. the dynamic stress range of the reinforcements is not only de-
pending on the diameter TMAX of the bars but also on the curvature and the
type of the material of the duct (steel, plastic). In all those cases it is necessary
to use different material numbers and to specify the deviating values explicitly.
3.14.4 Relaxation
Relaxation of tendons is implemented in AQUA/AQB as a product. While the
time factor is specified in AQB, AQUA defines the stress dependant factor for the
reference time of 1000 h. This may be accomplished either by a linear relation
established by two values at 0.55·fpk and 0.70·fpk or via selected literals for item
REL2 as quadratic function according to CEB / EN1992 or the general function
according to BPEL annexe 2 or AS 3600.
Literal 0.60 · ƒpk 0.70 · ƒpk 0.80 · ƒpk

CEB model code 1990
CEB1 4.00 % 8.00 % 12.00 % normal
CEB2 1.00 % 2.00 % 5.00 % improved
CEB3 2.00 % 4.00 % 6.67 % bars
Euronorm EN 1992 (2004)
ENC1 5.39 · ρ1000 · e6.7μ (t/ 1000)0.75(1−μ) 10−5 ordinary (ρ1000 = 8.0)
ENC2 0.66 · ρ1000 · e9.1μ (t/ 1000)0.75(1−μ) 10−5 low relaxation(ρ1000 =2.5)
ENC3 1.98 · ρ1000 · e8.0μ (t/ 1000)0.75(1−μ) 10−5 bars (ρ1000 =4.0)
3-136 SOFiSTiK 2016

Literal 0.60 · ƒpk 0.70 · ƒpk 0.80 · ƒpk

Eurocode EC 2 < 2004
ECL1 4.50 % 8.00 % 12.00 % ordinary
ECL2 1.00 % 2.50 % 4.50 % low relaxation
ECL3 1.50 % 4.00 % 7.00 % bars
BPEL 91
RN Annexe 2 8.00 % Annexe 2 relaxation normale
TBR 2.50 % très basse relaxation
0.0 % 1.00 % AS 3600/5100
AS 0.0 % 2.00 % Rb (Chapter 6.3.4)
0.0 % 3.00 %
at 0.40 fpk
IRC 0.0 % 5.00 % IRC 112
IRCL 0.0 % 2.50 %
at 0.50 fpk
In Germany the values of the general technical approval. The values of a typical
approval are provided as default, but may be redefined with MEXT if required.
3.14.5 Bond Properties

The bond properties are specified highly different within the codes. They depend
both on the concrete and the steel properties. When defining the concrete the
maximum bond stress for optimal bond properties is specified. The value R
defines then the relative bond strength for this steel as specified in:
Tab. 6.2 EN 1992-1-1 ( R = 0.3 ÷ 0.8)

Tab. 15 DIN 1045-1 ( R = 0.3 ÷ 0.8)
Tab. 7 DIN 4227 A1 ( R = 0.3 ÷ 0.9)
ğ 9.3.1 GB 50010 (R = α/0.14 = 0.737 ÷ 1.077)
If different bond properties should be applied, different materials have to be

specified. The bond value is needed for
• Minimum reinforcements
• Crack width
• Fatigue
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-137

• Limitation of stress increase for tendons
The relative bond properties are mainly intended in the design codes to account
for the reduced values of tendons. But it should also account for different diame-
ters and properties of passive reinforcements. For the crack width a mean value
has to be used where the diameter and the bond properties become effective.
Please see also remarks for FBD in record CONC.
The second coefficient is used for those design codes using special values not
clearly deductible from the relative bond coefficients alone. This is especially
the base version of the Eurocode, but also the russian SNIP:
ğ 4.14 SNIP 2.03.01 ( K1 := η = 1.0 ÷ 1.4)

ğ 7.2.12 SP 52-101 ( K1 := φ2 = 0.5 ÷ 0.8)
The defaults are given in principal in the following table. However, there are
some deviations depending on the design code and the strength possible:
R K1
Reinforcing steel 1.0 0.8
Prestressing steel 0.75 1.6
3.14.6 Stress-Strain Relations

The stress-strain law may have up to 4 segments:
• Up to the proportional limit (FP/ES,FP)

• Up to the yield limit (EPSY,FY) EPSY may be defined absolute (positive) or
relative to the strain limit (negative)
• Up to the tensile strength (EPST,FT)
• Constant to the nearly infinity (1000 o/oo)
Depending on the steel type and grade the values EPSY and EPST as well as
FP will be preset. With explicit definitions you may suppress:
• If FP is not lesser than FY the first part will be omitted.

• If EPST is not greater than EPSY the third part will be omitted.
More general stress-strain laws are specified via record SSLA.
In general the stress-strain laws are identical for serviceability and ultimate limit
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design. However, for reinforcing steel according to EC2 and DIN 1045-1 there
are numerous explicit changes.
As the safety factor concept will not generate an affine curve for the ultimate
state, the safety factor will be applied immediately.
Although the tensile strength for reinforcement steel with standard ductility will
be reached at 25 o/oo, it is not allowed to use this in the design according to DIN
1045-1. The stress strain laws for design and non linear analysis differ therefore
for those materials.
Figure 3.20: Stress Strain Laws
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-139

3.15 TIMB – Timber and Fibre Materials
TIMB

TYPE Type of material LT *
see following table
CLAS Quality class / Strength − *
type of matrix for compound fibres
EP Elastic modulus parallel to fibre N/ mm2 *

G Shear modulus N/ mm2 *
E90 Elastic modulus normal to fibre N/ mm2 *
QH Poisson’s ratio yz (polywood panels) − *
QH90 Poisson’s ratio xy / xz (solid wood) − *
ALFA Temperature elongation coefficient 1/ ◦ K 0.0
SCM Material safety factor − 1.3/*
FM Bending strength N/ mm2 *
FT0 Tensile strength parallel to the fibre N/ mm2 *
FT90 Tensile strength normal to the fibre N/ mm2 *
FC0 Compressive strength parallel to fibres N/ mm2 *
FC90 Compressive strength normal to fibres N/ mm2 *
FV Shear strength at center (shear force) N/ mm2 *
FVR Shear strength at the edge (torsion) N/ mm2 *
FVB Shear strength for plate bending N/ mm2 *
FM90 Bending strength normal to fibres N/ mm2 *
G90 Shear modulus for plate bending N/ mm2 *
OAL Meridian angle of anisotropy degree 0.0
OAF Descent angle of anisotropy degree 0.0
KMOD Strength modification permanent loading − *

KMO1 or long term loading − *
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KMO2 or middle term loading − *
KMO3 or short term loading − *
KMO4 or very short term loading − *
KDEF modification for long term deflections − *
TMAX maximum thickness for plates mm *
RHO characteristic density kg/ m3 *
TITL Material designation Lt32 *
TIMB allows the definition of all materials with a preferred fibre orientation. As
type you have the timber classes of Eurocode, respective DIN, OENORM and
SIA and the German compound fibre types. As the EN 1995 does not specify
any strength values, those values have to be specified for all other countries
explicitly.
With the EN 1995 (EC5) and the derived design codes correction factors kmod
have been introduced for the permissible stresses and kdeƒ for the deformations.
The distinct value is depending not only on the material but also on the service
class and the duration of the loading. The following table shows the values for
solid timber, however there are much more values available within the program
and the user may change theses values explicitly.
Service Class
Class of load duration
1 2 3
permanent 0.60 0.60 0.50
long term 0.70 0.70 0.55
medium term 0.80 0.80 0.65
short term 0.90 0.90 0.70
very short term 1.10 1.10 0.90
k-def 0.60 0.80 2.00
The service class may be either specified in general with the definition of the
design code NORM or be appended to the class definition with a colon. The
input of TIMB C 30:2 selects a solid soft wood of strength class 30 and the
service class 2.
The base values of the strength are given in EN 338 resp. EN 1194. But the
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transverse shear strength FV has to be defined reduced as kcr · ƒ accounting

for cracks. In Germany this coefficient has been selected to provide the same
shear strength for all strength classes.
Types and defaults:
TYPE CLAS Explanation

EN 1995, DIN 1052-2004:
C 14 / 16 / 18 / 20 / Solid soft wood
22 / 24 / 27 / 30 / Tab. F5
35 / 40 / 45 / 50
D 30 / 35 / 40 / 50 / Solid hard wood
60 / 70 Tab. F7
GL 24 / 28 / 32 / 36 homog. laminated timber Tab.F9
24C / 28C / 32C / 36C combined laminated timber Tab.F9
PLY 25 / 40 / 50 / 60 Plywood Tab. F11/F12
PART 1/4/5/6/7 Particle board,
Tab. F15/F16/F17/F18
OSB 2/3/4 OSB, Tab. F13/F14
FIB HB Hardboard Fibre board
MHB Medium hardboard
MDF Medium density
SB Soft Fibre board
SIA 265:
C 20 / 24 / 27 / 35 / 45 Solid soft wood, Tab. 6
D 30 Solid hard wood (Beech / Oak)
GL 24H / 28H / 36H homog. laminated timber Tab. 7
24K / 28K / 36K combined laminated timber Tab. 7

DIN 1052 A-1
S 7 / 10 / 13 Timber, Sorted acc. DIN 4076
MS 10 / 13 / 17 Timber, Sorted acc. DIN 4076
BS 11 / 14 / 16 / 18 glued laminated timber
DIN 1052 old
NA 1/2/3 Soft wood
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BS 1/2 glued laminated timber
LA/LB/LC Hard wood
ÖNORM B3001
FTK/L/BE spruce,fir,pine / larch
beech,oak
GFK/CFK/ Values strongly depend Glas-/Carbon-/Synthetic-
SFK on fibre properties! compound fibre materials
EP 40000 / 5000 12.5 Epoxid resin
UP 30000 / 4500 12.5 Unsaturised poliester resin
VE 20000 / 3500 10.7 Vinil ester resin
There are many composite materials in timber constructions. Although a precise

treating is possible with composite sections or MLAY, the design codes provide
equivalent materials for that purpose. As the strength is no strongly dependant
on the thickness of the construction part, the definition of that value with TMAX
is mandatory.
The description of a transverse orthotropy material law has one direction that
has different properties (fibre direction), while the description in the plane per-
pendicular to this remains isotropic. The law defined with TIMB is formal equiv-
alent, however not identical with that defined via MATE. If x is chosen as this
special direction it holds:
σ (σy + σz )
ε = − μ90 · (3.119)
E E90
σy σz σ
εy = − μ· − μ?90 · (3.120)
E90 E90 E
σz σy σ
εz = − μ· − μ?90 · (3.121)
E90 E90 E
E
μ?90 = μ90 · (3.122)
E90
It should be noticed, that the poisson’s ratios μ90 and μ90 ∗ are no longer bound
to 0.5 and are strongly connected to the ratio of the elasticity moduli, as the
resulting stress-strain matrix has to be symmetric.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-143

The order of the indices of stress and strain components notation is defined as
follows:
[ x y z xy xz yz ] general three-dimensional case

[ x y xy z ] plane strain condition, axial symmetry
[ x y xy ] plane stress
For the axial symmetric case x denotes the axis of rotation while y represents
the radial and z the tangential direction.
Furthermore holds:
E1 = E90 , E2 = E , μ1 = μ90 , μ2 = μ , G1 = G90 , G2 = G (3.123)
General three-dimensional case:

The three-dimensional material stiffness matrix is obtained by inversion of the
strain-stress matrix and reads (z being the direction normal to the isotropic plane
= fibre direction):
μ1 +n·μ2

2 μ2
E1 · 1−n·μ2 2

E1 · 1+μ ·m E1 · 0 0 0
(1+μ1 )·m ( 1)

m
μ +n·μ2 1−n·μ2

μ2
E 1 · 1 2
E1 · 1+μ 2·m

E1 · 0 0 0
(1+μ1 )·m ( 1) m

μ2 μ2 1−μ1

D = E1 · m E1 · m E2 · 0 0 0 (3.124)

m

0 0 0 G1 0 0

0 0 0 0 G2 0

0 0 0 0 0 G2
E1
n = , m = 1 − μ1 − 2 · n · μ22 (3.125)
E2
Plane strain conditions: The x direction is defined as the fibre direction (=normal
to the isotropic plane). The reduced stress-strain matrix yields:

μ
E2 · 1−μ1 E1 · m2

m
0
μ2 1−n·μ 2
E1 · 1+μ 2·m

E1 · m 0
( 1)

D = (3.126)

0 0 G2
E · μ1 +n·μ2 2

μ2
1 (1+μ )·m E1 · m
0
1
E1
n= , m = 1 − μ1 − 2 · n · μ22 (3.127)
E2
Plane stress conditions: The x direction is defined as the fibre direction (=nor-
3-144 SOFiSTiK 2016

mal to the isotropic plane). The material stiffness matrix is obtained via inversion
of the reduced strain-stress matrix and reads:
 
E1 ·μ2
E2

0
 1−n·μ22 1−n·μ2
2

E1 ·μ2

 E1
D = 

E1
 , n =
0  (3.128)
1−n·μ 2 1−n·μ2 E2
 2 2 

0 0 G2
Axial symmetry:
The general case of anisotropy does not need to be considered since axial sym-
metry would be impossible to achieve under such circumstances. A case of
interest in practice is that of the fibre direction parallel to the rotational axis x, i.e.
the x direction is normal to the plane of isotropy. For such a case the material
stiffness matrix reads:
1−μ2

μ2 (1 + μ1 ) μ2 (1 + μ1 )

1

n
0

μ2 (1 + μ1 ) μ1 + nμ22

2
1 − nμ 0
D = A · 2 (3.129)
G90

0 0 A
0

μ2 (1 + μ1 ) μ1 + nμ2 0 1 − nμ22
2
E2 · n E1
A = , n = , m = 1 − μ1 − 2 · n · μ22 (3.130)
(1 + μ1 ) · m E2
Definition of fibre direction:
Depending on the element type we have slightly different orientations of or-

thotropy:
For beams the fibre direction is identical with that of the beam axis.
For planar systems (TALPA) the value OAF is the angle between the fibre direc-
tion and the element x-direction. The values E90 and μ90 then hold within the
isotropic plane whose normal is given by the (skew) fibre direction.
For shells and plates it might be possible (eg. plywood) that there are fibres in
both x and y direction. The anisotropy effects thus reduces to different shear
moduli for in plane membrane shear (Gm=0.5E90 /(1+μ)) and the transverse
shear force directions (G). This may be accomplished either with an explicit
definition E90 == E or with a layered material (MLAY). For the case of vertical
boards tied together, you may use the orthotropy factors of thickness description
(→ QUIAD) or use a 3D model.
In three-dimensional systems (continuum elements) the default fibre direction
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-145

is the element z-direction. Other fibre directions can be specified by defining

the three-dimensional orientation of the isotropic plane (=plane, whose normal
direction is the fibre direction) via meridian and descent angle, known from ge-
ology (compare MATE).
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3.16 MASO – Masonry / Brickwork
MASO

STYP Type of brick stone LT SB
CL Clay brick
CS Calcium silicate/lime sand
LC Lightweight concrete
C concrete brick
AC aerated concrete
MS manufactured stones
NS Natural stones
SCLA Strength of brick stone N/ mm2 *
MCLA Group or strength of mortar N/ mm2
i,ii,iia,iii,iiia Standard mortar
DM Thin bed mortar
LM21,LM36 Light mortar
numerical Qualified mortar
FK Compressive strength fk N/ mm2 *

FB Compressive brick strength fb N/ mm2 *
FM Mortar strength fm N/ mm2 *
FVK0 Adhesional shear strength fk,0 N/ mm2 *

FV Maximum shear strength N/ mm2 *
FT Tensile strength N/ mm2 *
FTB tensile brick strength N/ mm2 *
SCM Material safety factor − *
E Elastic modulus N/ mm2 *
G Shear modulus N/ mm2 0.4E
MUE Poisson’s ratio − 0.25
ALFA Temperature elongation coefficient 1/ K *
TITL Material name Lt32 *
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The parameters follow EN 1996-1-1. It is to be defined in the national annex if

the properties are based on experiments (i) or on calculatoric values (ii) specified
with table 3.3 and formulas 3.1 to 3.2. In both cases there are groups 1 to
4 depending on the holes in the brick, which have to be defined appended to
STYP with a colon (eg. SB:3)
In all those cases where the design code describes a reduction of the K-value,
this may be defined with a definition like 80[%] for FK.
AQUA supports the German national annexe. Table Na.4 for HLzA/B etc. is
selectable with group 2, table NA.5 for HLzW etc. is selectable with group 3.
Table NA.9 is selectable for solid bricks (Vn, Vbn, Vm, Vmb) with group 1, solid
bricks (Vbl S und Vbl SW) with group 2, solid bricks (V und Vbl) with group 3 and
hollow bricks (Hbl S und Hbn) with group 4.
For masonry according to BS 5628-1/2 the Literals "‘BS-1"’ resp. "‘BS-2"’ with
the group identifier A to D appended with a colon has to be given for the STYP
definition. Selectable are the mortar designations I to IV. FT is the tensile
strength for bending according Table 3 ”parallel to bed joints”, FV is the ver-
tical shear strength according pict. 2 and clause (25, part 2), FV0K is the basic
shear value according clause 25 part 1, FBT is the bending tensile strength ac-
cording Table 3 ”perpendicular to bed joints”. FT and FBT vary considerably
and should therefore be specified.
There are not yet any specific design routines available.
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3.17 SSLA – Stress-Strain Curves
SSLA

EPS Strain value o/ oo -
or type of state in a headder record LT
SERV Serviceability
ULTI Ultimate Limit
CALC Calculatoric values
SIG Stress value N/ mm2 -
or safety factor in headder record −
TYPE Type of vertex LT POL
POL discontinuous slope Neigung
SPL continuous slope
LIM no extension
EXT extension to infinite strains
TEMP Temperature level grd 0
EPST Thermal strain o/ oo -
EPSS Scaling or shifting of ordinates − -
SHIF shift by -EPST
<0 shift by EPSS*EPST
>1 scale with creep factor
TS Tension Stiffening for Reinforcement LT -

I Initial crack
II Completed crack pattern
I_S I for short time loading
II_S II for short time loading
I_F I but first crack at fctk,0.05
I_FS I_S but first crack at fctk,0.05
MUET Reinforcement ratio As/Abeƒ ƒ − -
MNRB Material number of the concrete − 1
FCTF Factor for tensile concrete strength fctm − 1.0
Stress-Strain curves define the dependency of the stress from the strains. They
are required for the design and nonlinear analysis. There are three different
types to be distinguished:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-149

• SERV Curves for the serviceability based on mean values.

• ULTI Curves for the ultimate resistance based on the design values.
• CALC Curves for a nonlinear analysis.
For a nonlinear analysis it is most reliable and most economical to use the
method of double book keeping (Quast) where the true deformations are evalu-
ated based on the mean values and the ultimate capacity is evaluated separately
with the design values. This is congruent to the classic approach of a linear anal-
ysis and a design as a post processing step. EN 1992-1 covers this in section
5.8.(3) with the very first sentence or the more detailed hints in the German NA
to this subject. This is controlled in AQB/ASE/STAR2 with an input of:
DESI ULTI KSV ULD ULD ; NSTR SERV KSV SL SL
For stability problems it might be requested to apply a safety factor on the stiff-
ness too. If this factor is included in the stiffness or at the load is a matter of
taste, but the nonlinear nature of the problem does not allow to use the same
factor on either side of the equations. This is controlled in AQB/ASE/STAR2 with
an input of:
DESI ULTI KSV ULD ULD ; NSTR ULTI KSV SLD SLD
While the mean values of the concrete are specified in the design codes, there
is no definition for the reinforcing steel. A common assumption is to increas
the strength by a factor of 1.1. As this is comparable to the safety factor and
a yielding will decrease the stiffness considerably it is also common practice to
use the option SLD SL instead.
However, it might be desirable to perform design and nonlinear analysis within

a single run. Then special curves are needed based on design values of the
strength, but a stiffness based on the mean values with a special saftey factor.
This is controlled in AQB with an input of:
NSTR NONL KSV CALD CALD
EN 1992-1 covers this in section 5.8.(3) with the second and third sentence. As
the German NA provides an alternate version in section 5.7 with a global system
safety of 1.3, the user has to decide between those two methods by the definition
of the safety factor for the CALC curve. The default is according to 5.7. It has
to be pointed out, that this method does not include any safety on the stiffness.
Thus there are three possibilities to include that:
• Reduction of the ECM according Heft 600 DAfStB with 0.85, to be specified
3-150 SOFiSTiK 2016

with TVAR ALF-CE 0.85 SCOP DESI

• Division of the total curves by a factor 1.3, which is not provided here
• Ultimate load analysis with a factor of 1.3 and stress-strain curves without a
safety factor
If the default stress-strain curves are not applicable, stress-strain curves must
be defined immediately after the input of the material. For special applicationes
each set may have multiple temperature levels, to be defined in ascending order
of temperature. A stress-strain curve starts with one of the possible headers:
SSLA SERV safety_factor [ LIM/EXT] [ TEMP tempval]

SSLA ULTI safety_factor [ LIM/EXT] [ TEMP tempval]
SSLA CALC safety_factor [ LIM/EXT] [ TEMP tempval]
The safety factors are predefined as specified with the material, but may be
changed if needed. In particular it is possible to modify a standard stress-strain
law with an own safety factor, by defining a header record only. The design
codes use the safety factors quite differently, some materials will be divided by
the safety factor in total, others reduce only the maximum stress value and keep
the elasticity modulus. A positive safety factor will select the first case, while
a negative value will select the second one. For the standard design tasks the
material safety factors are chosen by AQB depending on the loading condition
and design code.
For the CALC curves we have a slightly other rule to account for the German NA.
A negative safety factor will activate the curve according to chapter 5.7, while a
positive safety factor will trigger the rule according to chapter 5.8 with a safety
factor γce for Ecm . This factor is predefined in the INI-file, but may be overwritten
as boxed value with a TVAR GAM-CE. A safety factor of 0.0 will deactivate the
calculatoric curves.
The stress-strain curve follows. Each consists of several data points in an or-
dered sequence. For each data point it is specified whether it should behave as
a vertex (linear polygon line) or it should be part of a smooth curve (quadratic or
cubic parabola).
The user must make sure that a sufficiently large strain range gets covered
and that the zero point constitutes a data point of its own. Strains outside the
defined range will have for TYPE EXT the last defined stress value and will use
the tangent at the last point, provided this has a positive elasticity module. If the
TYPE is specified as LIM, stresses outside the defined range will become zero,
which however lead to trouble in numerical behaviour of non-linear iterations.
On the other hand the stresses outside the defined range are extrapolated by
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-151

an input of TYPE EXT. Default is EXT, however for ultimate limit state of concrete
it is LIM.
Figure 3.21: Stress-Strain Curves
For concrete without explicit data points and without Temperature it is possible
to define with EPSS a factor for the strains. This may be used to account for
creep effects as specified in the EN 1992 with 1+ϕ. It should be noted however,
that in this case the creep becomes also effective for variable actions.
For a fiber or a FE-section the general analysis method will account for temper-
atures according to the Eurocodes EN 1992 to 1999 automatically. However for
special cases it is also possible to define between 2 and 15 discrete temperature
levels TEMP, to be interpolated. EPST defines the thermal elongation for that
temperature, the default will be taken from the Eurocode.
For a zonal method, the section will be subdivided in several zones (polygons)
by different material numbers, where every zone has a constant average tem-
perature to be specified for each of these materials with TEMP. One may shift the
stress strain curve wih a definition of EPSS SHIF by the thermal strain allowing
to activate all eigenstresses directly without the need to define a temperature at
the section itself in detail.
The contribution of the concrete between the cracks (Tension Stiffening) may be
taken into account by a modification of the stress strain law of the concrete or
the steel. With a single record SSLA SERV a modification of the reinforcement
stress strain law for that purpose is possible. However a solution is only possible
if the ratio of reinforcement is large enough to avoid the complete rupture of the
reinforcement, which is equivalent to the requirement that the initial crack stress
in the reinforcement must not exceed the yield limit.
The reinforcement ratio MUET is only determined in advance for an annular

section (or those with a similar evenly distributed reinforcement). For all other
3-152 SOFiSTiK 2016

cases, the design task should adopt the stress strain law accordingly.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-153

3.18 MEXT – Extra Material Constants
MEXT

NO Number of material − 1
EXP Name of an exposure class Lt4 -
TYPE Type of constant LT !
VAL Value of material constant ∗ -
VAL1 First additional material value ∗ -
VAL2 Second additional material value ∗ -
VAL3 Third additional material value ∗ -
VAL4 4th additional material value ∗ -
With MEXT you may define special material values for any type of material.
The values may be assigned to different regions (edges) of the material with
separate values. This is defined by a freely selectable literal EXP. Defaults for
those values may be specified in the INI-file. It has to be checked individually to
which extend the defined data is really used in the analysis modules.
The follwong idents for TYPE are allowed:
3.18.1 AIR - Air Contact Ratio

The value AIR defines the air contact ratio between 0.0 and 1.0 to be used for the
creep and shrinkage process. Up to 10 values may be defined for the individual
construction stages.
3.18.2 CNOM - Nominal Cover

The value CNOM defines the nominal cover for reinforcements. This value is
defined in many design codes based on the exposure class and my be provided
3-154 SOFiSTiK 2016

within the INI-files. The full range of tables may become quite lareg however.
3.18.3 CRW - Crack width

The crackwidth CRW is used for the design of the crackwidth.
3.18.4 EIGE - Parameters for Creep-Coefficients

The coefficients cording EN 1992-1 for concrete are defined as follows:
VAL coefficient βc0 for exponent of creep evolution (0.30)

VAL1 coefficient βc1 for creep (1.00)
VAL2 coefficient βc2 for creep evolution (1.00)
VAL3 coefficient βcd1 for drying shrinkage (1.00)
VAL4 coefficient βcd2 for drying evolution (1.00)
VAL5 coefficient βc1 for autogenous shrinkage (1.00)
VAL6 coefficient βc2 for autogenous shrinkage evolution (1.00)
The coefficients according EN 1992-2 B.104 are defined as follows:
VAL coefficient ϕd0 for B.104.4 eq. B.127 (1000 / 3200)

VAL1 coefficient βbc1 for B.104.3 eq. B.125 (1.00)
VAL2 coefficient βbc2 for B.104.3 eq. B.126 (0.37 / 0.40)
VAL3 coefficient βcd1 for B.104.1 eq. B.124 (1.00)
VAL4 coefficient βcd2 for B.104.1 eq. B.124 (0.007 / 0.021)
VAL5 coefficient βc1 for B.104.1 eq. B.122 (1.00)
Warning
! There are no practical experiences for the procedure according to EN

1992-2 B.104. The use is recommended only with caution in exceptional
cases. The feature can be activated by adding "H" next to the concrete
class, e.g. C 60H.
Explicit coefficients for tendon relaxation according to EN 1992-1 is required as

a table. The default for ENC2 in Germany is a typical table for low relaxation
steel from a general technical approval (abZ). The definition of an explicit table
starts with a headder without EXP with up to 9 descending time values. The
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-155

following records contain on ascending order the losses in percent for selected
ratios of Ri/Rm. As EXP the literal "‘Rnn"’ has to be specified, where nn ist the
ration of Ri/Rm in percent.
The default German table would be defined as follows:
MEXT 12 TYPE EIGE EXP - VAL 1000000 500000 5000 $$

1000 200 10 1
12 TYPE EIGE EXP ' R55 ' VAL 1.2 1.0
12 TYPE EIGE EXP ' R60 ' VAL 2.8 2.5 1.2
12 TYPE EIGE EXP ' R65 ' VAL 5.0 4.5 2.0 $$
1.3
2.0 1.0
3.0 2.5 1.2
5.0 4.0 2.0 1.0
3.18.5 KR - Equivalent roughness

With KR, VAL defines the equivalent roughness according to Table 7.13 of EN
1991-1-4, which is especially needed for wind and wave loading on circular sec-
tions:
Surface Roughness Surface Roughness

k [ mm] k [ mm]
glass 0.0015 galvanised steel 0.2
polished metal 0.002 spinning concrete 0.2
smooth painting 0.006 cast in situ 1.0
concrete
spray painting 0.02 rough timber 2.0
blasted steel 0.05 rust 2.0
cast iron 0.2 masonry 3.0
Hint: In table 4 of DIN 1055 part 4 slightly larger values are defined for k. The
value VAL1 is the friction coefficient to be used for forces from flow along a
surface, especially along a beam axis.
3-156 SOFiSTiK 2016

Surface Frictional value

smooth (e.g. Steel, smooth concrete) 0.01
rough (e.g. rough concrete, tar roofs) 0.02
very rough (e.g. corrugated, ripped, folded) 0.04
3.18.6 TEMP - Temperature environment

With type TEMP the temperature environment and the transition conditions are
defined:
VAL The temperature itself with default unit [ C ◦ ]

VAL1 The thermal resistance α with default unit [ W/ K/ m2 ]
VAL2 The emmission grade ϵ for the Boltzmann law [ − ]
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-157

3.19 BORE – Soil or Bore Profile
See also: BLAY, BBAX, BBLA, BTAB

BORE

NO Number of the soil profile − 1
X Coordinates of the start point [m] 1001 0.0
Y [m] 1001 0.0
Z [m] 1001 0.0
NX Direction of the soil profile − *
NY Default: in gravity direction − *
NZ (since not available in AQUA: NZ=1.0) − *
ALF Rotation angle of the local axis degree 0.0
HGWL lowest ground water level [m] 1006 0.0
HGWH highest ground water level [m] 1006 0.0
TITL Title of the soil profile LT32 *
With BORE a soil or bore profile is described defining material layers along an
axis. The use of which is different.
• General description of soil mechanic strata

• Properties of the constrained soil modulus for the analysis of settlements or
a half space modelling with HASE.
• Soil bedding modulus for the pile elements. These values are derived from
the soil modulus above by a multiplication with a form factor with typical
values between 0.5 and 2.0. More precisely the soil modulus is transferred
to a Winkler bedding constant [ kN/m3 ] by a division with some structural
dimension and is then integrated by a multiplication with the width of the pile
section. Please refer to the explanations of the record BBLA for formulas
and examples.
For simple regular cases it is also possible to define design stresses for the soil
pressure with record BTAB. These values are than applicable without reference
to the strata data.
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3.20 BLAY – Layer of the Soil Strata
See also: BORE

BLAY

S Ordinate along the profile axis [m] 1001 *
MNO Material number from this ordinate − *

ES Stiffness modulus from this ordinate kN/ m2 1096 *
MUE Poisson’s ratio −
VARI Type of stiffness ES variation within a layer Lt4 CONS
CONS constant
LINE linear
PARA parabolic

DES Increment of ES within a current layer kN/ m2 1096 *

PMAX Max. pressure at pile foot kN/ m2 1096 *

PMAL Max. lateral pressure kN/ m2 1096 *

C Cohesion kN/ m2 1096 *
PHI Soil-Pile friction angle deg *
GAM Specific weight kN/ m3 *
Hint
PHI, GAM and GAMA are not supported at the moment for the HASE cal-
culation.
BLAY is used for the definition of the soil layers of a corresponding BORE profile.
This data is then used in program HASE for the determination of the stiffness
and resistance properties of soil and piles.
The following example illustrates the functionality of the BLAY command:
BORE NO #nb X #x Y #y Z #z
BLAY S #s1 ES #Es1 VARi para PMAX #P1
BLAY S #s2 ES #Es2 VARi line DES #dEs2 PMAX #P2
BLAY S #s3 ES #Es3 VARi cons PMAX #P3
BLAY S #s4
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-159

Figure 3.22: Distribution of BLAY properties along the BORE axis
Bore profile #nb consist of three soil layers
• First layer L1 starts at the depth #s1 and ends at the next defined depth #s2.
L1 is assigned a parabolic stiffness distribution. Since there is no explicit
stiffness increase #dEs1 defined, a continuous distribution is realized - the
concluding stiffness value will be equal to the stiffness value of the subse-
quently defined BLAY (#Es2).
• Second layer L2 has a linear stiffness distribution. This time, #dEs2 is de-
fined, so the concluding stiffness value will be #Es2+#dEs2.
• Third layer L3 has a constant stiffness distribution with the value #Es3.
If there is only one BLAY defined, then the ending depth is by default 999m. If
the number of BLAY record is larger than 1, the last BLAY defines the ending
depth S while the other properties of this BLAY are ignored.
Apart from stiffness modulus ES, all other properties of the BLAY record (MNO,
MUE, PMAX, PMAL, C, PHI) are constant within a layer.
Stiffness modulus ES and Poisson’s ration MUE can alternatively be set by ref-
erence of a material number, where corresponding elastic material properties
are defined. If within the same BLAY record MNO and ES and/or MUE are de-
fined, the values defined within BLAY have precedence over those defined by
material MNO. If the Poisson’s ratio MUE is defined and larger than 0.0, then
ES is interpreted as the elastic modulus, and a Boussinesq method is used in
program HASE (see HASE manual for more details).
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By default (no input) the non-linear resistance properties (PMAX, PMAL and C)
are switched off, meaning that the x-pile nodal forces are not limited (elastic
analysis). As in the default case, the input of a resistance property smaller or
equal zero will result in the x-pile contact forces to be unlimited. Any input of the
resistance properties larger than zero will activate the non-linearities along the
x-pile.
Hint
• As a prerequisite for a meaningful soil-layer interpolation, all defined
bore profiles (BORE) within a grid must have the same number of layers
(BLAY).
• For a consistent input of the BLAY-resistance properties it is required
that within a layer of each of the used bore profiles the resistance prop-
erties be either defined or undefined. Otherwise the interpolated prop-
erties can have unpredictable values. In other words, the input where
the resistance properties within a layer for some bore profiles are de-
fined, while for the others are not defined, will most likely yield unde-
sired results.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-161

3.21 BBAX – Axial Beddings
BBAX

S1 Start ordinate [m] 1001 *
S2 End ordinate [m] 1001 999.99

K0 Constant value of pile bedding kN/ m2 0
K1 Parabola variation 1096 0
K2 Linear variation ” 0
K3 Quadratic variation ” 0
M0 Load value (e.g. negative skin friction) [kN/ m] 1095 0
C0 Maximum skin friction [kN/ m] 1095 0
TANR Soil/pile friction angle coefficient −
TAND Soil/pile dilatancy angle coefficient −
KSIG Lateral pressure coefficient − 0.0
D0 Constant rotational stiffness [kNm] 1099 0
D2 Linear rotational stiffness [kNm] 1099 0

CA0 Constant axial damping kNsec/ m2 12200
CA2 Linear axial damping [kN] 1101 0
PMAX Max. pile foot force (Extended Piles, only) 0
Hint
The ordinates S1 and S2 are measured along the axis of the bore profile,
defined with the BORE command.
The axial bedding describes the skin friction of the pile in dependence from the
deformation and from the lateral bedding force of the pile. A positive value of the
load M0 acts on the pile in the direction of the pile head.
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skin friction
displacement
Figure 3.23: Axial bedding
Further explanations for the axial beddings are contained in the record BBLA.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-163

3.22 BBLA – Lateral Beddings
BBLA

S1 Start ordinate [m] 1001 *
S2 End ordinate [m] 1001 999.99

K0 Constant value of the pile bedding kN/ m2 0
K1 Parabola variation 1096 0
K2 Linear variation ” 0
K3 Quadratic variation ” 0
P0 Form factors as variation along − 1
P1 the periphery − 1
P2 − 1
P3 − 1
PMA1 Maximum compression at S1 [kN/ m] 1095 -
PMA2 Maximum compression at S2 [kN/ m] 1095 -

CL0 Constant lateral damping kNsec/ m2 12200
CL1 Parabola variation ” 0
CL2 Linear variation ” 0
CL3 Quadratic variation ” 0
SM0 Constant mass distribution [t/ m] 1181 0
SM2 Linear variation of mass distribution [t/ m] 1181 0
Hint
The ordinates S1 and S2 are measured along the axis of the bore profile,
defined with the BORE command.
Elastic supports have many related parameters. Therefore those values are
combined to special property elements for a geometric line.
All the corresponding GLBA and GLBL records follow the GLN record in the
order defined by the s ordinate. All data for the s ordinate refer to the parametric
system of coordinates. The default is the global z axis, if the line consists only
of a start point without geometry segments.
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Within a section the bedding is interpolated:

1/ 2 2
z − z1 z − z1 z − z1

K = K0 + K1 · + K2 · + K3 · (3.131)
z2 − z1 z2 − z1 z2 − z1
The pile bedding at the beginning of the section is K0, and the one at its end is
K0+K1+K2+K3. The individual values correspond to constant, parabolic, linear
and quadratic distributions. The default value for S1 is the latest S2 value. The
Figure 3.24: Parts of the bedding
initial default is -999.99.
The factors for the variation along the periphery are effective in the four quad-
rants (angle of 0, 90, 180 and 270 degrees). The angle refers to the local z
axis. For linear analyses the factor (P0+P2)/2 is used for the principal bending
(MY,VZ), while (P1+P3)/2 is used for the transverse bending (MZ,VY).
P0=P1=P2=P3=1.0 (linear) P0=P2=0.5, P1=P3=1.0 (linear)

P2
P2
P1 y P3 P1 y
P3
P0
P0
z z
P2 P2
y y
P3 P3
P1 P1
P0 P0
z z
P1=1.0, P0=P2=P3=0.5 (non-linear) P1=0.0, P0=P2=P3=0.5 (non-linear)
Figure 3.25: Distribution of the bedding in transverse direction
The form factor is generated from the fact that the acting bedding force pL per
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-165

length is given by the following simplified relation from the deformation uL :

Es
pL = D · C · L = D · · L (3.132)
Deƒ ƒ
According DIN we have e.g. Deƒ ƒ = min(D,1.0). For more complex cases where
the bedding stress is not uniform but more like a cosine, there are of course
other values possible. Therefore several design codes recommend to use any
value between 0.5 and 2.0 to get the most unfavourable results. Thus SOFiSTiK
will not change the prescribed values in any kind.
For the bedding in axial direction a similar form factor may be defined based on
a shear modulus instead of the stiffness modulus following the relation:
Es
pA = π · D · C ·  = π · D · ·  (3.133)
2 · (1 + μ) · Deƒ ƒ
Thus the factors cancel each other in general and it is sufficient to use the
stiffness modulus Es for the axial bedding as well. In most cases the maximum
skin friction is the more essential part of the relation. However some value has
to be specified, otherwise there would be no skin friction at all.
Further there is a a rather sophisticated approach for the interaction of both

directions available. The friction has very different causes:
σ = KSG · σ + K() · [() + TAND · ()] (3.134)
τ = K() · () < TANR · σ + C0 (3.135)
The first part of the pressure is described by the vertical earth pressure and the
horizontal pressure coefficient. The second part is given by the elastic constants
which consist of a stiffness and a dilatation.
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3.23 BTAB – Foundation pressures
See also: BORE

BTAB

OPT Input option: LT8 -
B foundation width
S soil pressure
A6.x:y soil table A6.1 - A6.8, with optional
appendix for the conistency y (only
tables A6.6 - A6.8):
:S stiff
:H semi-hard
:F hard
D embedment depth [m] 1006 *

V1 design stress at width b1 kN/ m2 1089 *









FACS Factor on stresses (see DIN A6.4) − 1.0
BTAB allows the definition of design soil pressures which might be specified
instead of the geotechnical design for simple regular cases.
There are following input possibilities:
• The user defines only one value for the soil pressure V1 without specifying
any options for OPT
BTAB OPT - V1 240
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-167

• The user defines for OPT explicitly a literal for the table in DIN 1054: A6.1,
A6.2, A6.5, A6.6, A6.7 or A6.8 with optional appendix for the conistency (only
for tables A6.6 - A6.8). E.g.:
BTAB OPT A6 .1
or
BTAB OPT A6 .6: F
• The user defines a Header-Record with OPT B and the desired width values
V1 to V10, followed by an arbitrary number of soil pressures (OPT S) per
depth D for the selected width values. E.g.:
BTAB D OPT V1 V2 V3 V4 V5
- B 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
1.0 S 210 210 210 210 210
2.0 S 280 420 560 700 700
3.0 S 380 520 660 800 800
4.0 S 480 620 760 900 900
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3.24 SMAT – Properties for Springs and Beam Hinges
See also: SFLA

SMAT

NO Number of spring material − !
LTYP Link type − *
STD Standard spring
IHNG Implicit Hinge
PMM PMM interaction
MTYP Material type − PLAS
PLAS Elasto-plastic, anisotropic
PISO Elasto-plastic, isotropic harden-
ing
PKIN Elasto-plastic, kinematic harden-
ing
HYPE Hyperelastic
Link capacity
P+ Tension (≥ 0) [kN] 1101 -
P- Compression (≤ 0) [kN] 1101 -(P+)
VY+ Shear Vy (≥ 0) [kN] 1102 -
VY- Shear Vy (≤ 0) [kN] 1102 -(VY+)
VZ+ Shear Vz (≥ 0) [kN] 1102 -
VZ- Shear Vz (≤ 0) [kN] 1102 -(VZ+)
MY+ Bending My (≥ 0) [kNm] 1104 -
MY- Bending My (≤ 0) [kNm] 1104 -(MY+)
MZ+ Bending Mz (≥ 0) [kNm] 1104 -
MZ- Bending Mz (≤ 0) [kNm] 1104 -(MZ+)
SNO Reference cross-section − -
SNIV Safety level LT C
C characteristic values
D design values (material safety
incl.)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-169


Interaction
ALPH Interpolation exponent My-Mz − 0.0
P1 unused
P2 unused
TITL Designation of spring material LT32 -
General
SMAT defines spring material with the corresponding properties (header record).
The definition of the material spring law is followed directly after by the command
SFLA, so that the SMAT and SFLA provide complete definition of the material
properties.
LTYP
The following link types are available:
STD Standard spring material with the SARB types P, PT, M.

IHNG Material for the definition of the force-displacement relationship of the
beam end reactions (Implicit Hinge) (see also SARB TYPE).
PMM Special material definition for the consideration of the P-My-Mz inter-
action. Available are the reactions analog to IHNG; the reactions My
and Mz are additionally coupled by the interpolation exponent α (see
ALPH).
If the link type is not explicitly defined, the evaluation is carried out based on the
following input, in particular based on the subsequently defined SARB types.
MTYP
The following material types are available:
PLAS Anisotropic elasto-plastic material law. For the initial loading the ma-
terial reaction is developed according to the defined work law (plastic
hardening). Unloading and reloading on the other hand are linear
elastic actions and are defined by the unloading/ reloading modulus
Er of the work law. The anisotropic model distinguishes tension and
compression, with mutually independent hardening behavior in the
respective directions. The provided work law may be non-symmetric,
3-170 SOFiSTiK 2016

featuring different branches in tension and compression.

PISO Elasto-plastic material law with isotropic hardening. Similar to PLAS,
except that the evolution of plastic hardening strains is not differenti-
ated according to tension and compression; plastic strains developed
during tension are effective with respect to compressive hardening
and vice versa.
This type of material is usually accompanied by a work law with sym-
metric branches for tensile and compressive response – its function-
ality, however, is not restricted to the symmetric case.
PKIN Elasto-plastic material law with kinematic hardening. For the kine-
matic hardening rule, the initial elastic range is preserved during
plastification – in contrast to the isotropic and anisotropic hardening
cases. In this model, the hardening effect is represented by a shift
rather than by an extension of the elastic domain.
This type of material is usually accompanied by a work law with sym-
metric branches for tensile and compressive response exhibiting pos-
itive final gradients – its functionality, however, is not restricted to the
symmetric case.
HYPE Hyperelastic material law. The material reaction develops according
to the defined work law, both for loading and unloading processes.
Since there is no differentiation between loading and unloading paths,
there is no plastic deformation – the material behaves elastic.
The material types PISO and PKIN are not available for the link types IHNG and
PMM.
For further information regarding the respective material type characteristics,

please refer to subsection 3.24.1.
Link capacity
For the individual link reactions the upper and lower limits of the capacity can be
defined. These limits can then be referenced by the corresponding work laws
(see SFLA) during their definition 5 .
The values for the tension P+ and compression capacity P- play a special role.
With the definition of these capacities it is possible to formulate other reactions
R with respect to the axial load of the link element. The input of the normal
force dependent family of work law curves (see SFLA LEV) for the reaction R
5 Thisdefinition alone does not cause the actual limitation of the corresponding permissible
reaction force. The actual reaction, and with it the possible limitation of the permissible force,
must be defined together with the corresponding work law.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-171

describes an interaction between the actual acting normal force and the reaction
R ( P-R interaction). For P ≥ P+ or P ≤ P− due to the interaction the reaction is
R ≡ 0.0; for the normal force levels in between, the permissible reaction R is
described by the user specified family of the work laws.
As an alternative to the direct input of the capacities it is possible to reference

a cross-section trough the input of SNO. In this case the capacity values of the
cross- section for the chosen safety level SNIV (characteristic/design) are used.
Individual capacities can optionally be overwritten with the corresponding explicit
definition.
The capacity values are taken into consideration for the IHNG and PMM link
types.
ALPH
The interpolation exponent α ≥ 1.0 describes the interaction between the My
and Mz reactions according to
α α
My Mz

+ ≤1 (3.136)
My,m Mz,m
For example, with ALPH = 1.0 a linear interpolation between My and Mz is carried
out. With the increase of the exponent the fullness of the interpolation curve
increases as well; with ALPH = 2.0 the interpolation curve corresponds to an
ellipse.
The default value ALPH = 0.0 defines a decoupled behavior of the My and Mz
reactions ( mathematically this corresponds to α → ∞ in Eq. 3.136)
The interpolation exponent EXP is only active for the PMM link type.
3-172 SOFiSTiK 2016

200
-200
P
-400
-600
-800
-1000
-300 300
-200 200
-100 100
0 0
My 100 -100 Mz
200 -200
300 -300
Figure 3.26: P − My − Mz Interaction
3.24.1 Material type charakteristics and examples

In the example folder ase.dat/english/spring the differences between AQUA-
SMAT...MTYP PLAS-PISO-PKIN-HYPE are illustrated. For additional informa-
tion see ase.dat/english/spring/a1_spring_overview.dat.
The four examples:
ase.dat/english/spring/spring_law_1_plas.dat
ase.dat/english/spring/spring_law_2_piso.dat
ase.dat/english/spring/spring_law_3_pkin.dat
ase.dat/english/spring/spring_law_4_hype.dat
use the same SMAT work laws, as shown in Figure 3.27. The only difference is
that the work law for PKIN has an increasing end-tangent, see remarks to PKIN
in Figure 3.28. Normal plastic work laws (MTYP PLAS+PISO+HYPE) should
have a horizontal end-tangent to clearly define the final strength (Figure 3.27a).
The four material types PLAS, PISO, PKIN and HYPE result in a different
response under a single cyclic loading. Resulting spring force-displacement
curves are illustrated in Figure 3.28.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-173

P [kN] P [kN]
500.0
200.0
(5)
0.0 0.0
u [mm] u [mm]
-400.0
-200.0
0.0
200.0
400.0
-400.0
-200.0
0.0
200.0
400.0
-200.0
-500.0
P P
(a) MTYP PLAS+PISO+HYPE (b) MTYP PKIN

Figure 3.27: Spring work laws
PLAS Anisotropic hardening

Plastic deformation induced hardening effects an extension of the elastic stress
domain. The anisotropic model distinguishes tension and compression, with
mutually independent hardening behavior in the respective directions. Tension
hardening, e.g., does not affect the current compressive strength 6 . The yield
function reflects an according differentiation between tensile and compressive
behavior:


for σ ≤ 0

|σ| − ƒ
y,c εp,c
ƒ :=

(3.137)
for σ > 0

σ − ƒy,t εp,t
In the example (Figure 3.28a), the initial tensile hardening (1) is followed by
an unloading step to σ = 0 (2). So far, no compressive hardening has been
triggered. Therefore, the continued unloading path follows the initial loading
path defined by the compressive branch of the work law (3).
Isotropic Hardening
In contrast to the anisotropic approach, plastic strains are effective for hardening
irrespective of their direction (compression/ tension). Tensile plastification, e.g.,
also induces compressive hardening and vice versa.7 Consequently, the yield
6 This assumption particularly holds for materials that exhibit different and quasi-
independent mechanisms for tensile and compressive behavior, e.g., concrete. The work laws
in this case are usually non-symmetric for tension and compression.
7 Work laws for isotropic hardening are usually symmetric for tension and compression –
functionality, however, is not restricted to the symmetric case.
3-174 SOFiSTiK 2016

N [kN]
springelement 10
(1)
300.0
200.0
100.0
0.0
(2)
v [mm]
-200
-150
-100
-50
50
100
150
200
-100.0
-200.0
-300.0
(3) (4)
(a) MTYP PLAS (b) MTYP PISO

N [kN]
400.0
(1) Federelement 1001 N [kN]

springelement 10
(7)
300.0
(5)
200.0 200.0
(6)
100.0
0.0
v [mm]
-200
-100
100
200
300
0.0
v [mm]
(5 0 )
-100
-50
50
100
150
-100.0
-200.0
-200.0
0
(1 )
(c) MTYP PKIN (d) MTYP HYPE
Figure 3.28: Result for MTYP PLAS-PISO-PKIN-HYPE
function adopts the same hardening variable tensile and compressive behavior:


for σ ≤ 0

|σ| − ƒ
y,c −κp
ƒ :=

(3.138)
for σ > 0

σ − ƒy,t κp

κp := m εp,c , εp,t (3.139)
In the example (Figure 3.28a), the initial tensile hardening (1) is followed by an
unloading step to σ = 0 (2). For compression, the so far developed hardening
strain is also effective, causing a correpondingly extended elastic domain (4).
PKIN Kinematic Hardening

For many materials, it can be observed that plastic straining in tension also
induces a reduction of the compressive yield strength for a subsequent com-
pressive loading (and vice versa). For steel materials, this effect is known as
Bauschinger effect.
The kinematic hardening model aims at describing this effect and defines plastic
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-175

N [kN]
Federelement 1001
400.0
200.0
0.0
v [mm]
-400
-300
-200
-100
100
200
300
400
-200.0
-400.0
Figure 3.29: Kinematic Hardening for cyclic loading
hardening as a translation of the initial yield strength ƒy0 without changing the
extension of the initial elastic domain. Mathematically, this notion is adopted by
introducing the so-called back stress q as a function of the plastic deformation
εp . 8 The yield function reads now

ƒ := σ − q εp − ƒy0 (3.140)
The adopted kinematic hardening model is characterized by the following condi-

tions:
• Initial loading follows the the original work law.

• The extension of the initial elastic stress space, defined by the initial yield
strength ƒy0 , remains unchanged.
• The allowable stress space is limited by the final tangents of the defined work
law.
• For sufficient plastification in positive or negative direction, the end tangent
is reached. Possibly, a stretching of the nonlinear portion of the work law
beyond ƒy0 is performed, siehe Figure 3.31.
Subsequently, we describe the response based on the provided work law ac-
cording to Figure 3.28c. Important is the first point in the work law (5) that
defines the length of the unloading part. The unloading part from point (1) does
not end at σ = 0 but at point (6). From there first the linear part is attached to
reach (5’). Then the nonlinear part of the worklaw (5)-(1) is streched (5’)-(1’) and
added to reach the lower end tangent of the negative part of the worklaw at (1’)
8 Worklaws for kinematic hardening are usually symmetric for tension and compression and
exhibit positive final gradients.
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(end tangent = green line in Figure 3.31).
For multiple cyclic loading with increasing load factor PKIN shows the typical
kinematic hardening force-displacement curve (see Figure 3.29).
Figure 3.30 shows the kinematic hardening for a curved work law without linear
part (fy=0).
N [kN]
Federelement 1001
300.0
200.0
100.0
0.0
v [mm]
-200
-100
100
200
300
400
-100.0
-200.0
-300.0
Figure 3.30: Kinematic Hardening for curved work law
The stretching of the nonlinear part of the work law for a curved work law with
linear part (fy=60) is demonstrated in figure 3.31. In a first unloading the new
zero point of the work law is reached (red circle). If at that point the original
work law curve would be added, you would never reach the lower end tangent
(two upper pictures). Therefore the nonlinear part of the work law is streched to
reach the lower end tangent (lower picture).
HYPE Hyperelastic
The response is nonlinear elastic, without plastic deformation. Upon load rever-
sal, HYPE follows the same path as in the loading phase (7) (Figure 3.28d).
GAP
Provision of an optional gap is accomplished independent of the work law by
defining a corresponding GAP spring property (e.g. via SOFIMSHA: SPRI).
A provided gap is symmetrically effective both for tension and compression. The
magnitude of the gap is not affected by possible plastic deformation, it remains
constant (cf. Figure 3.32).
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-177

P [kN]
400.0
200.0
0.0
u [mm]
-600.0
-400.0
-200.0
0.0
200.0
400.0
600.0
-200.0
-400.0
P
P [kN]
400.0
200.0
0.0
u [mm]
-600.0
-400.0
-200.0
0.0
200.0
400.0
600.0
-200.0
-400.0
P
P [kN]
400.0
200.0
0.0
u [mm]
-600.0
-400.0
-200.0
0.0
200.0
400.0
600.0
-200.0
-400.0
P
Figure 3.31: Stretching of the nonlinear part of the work law
For material type MTYP PKIN, gap functionality is not supported.
Example file: ase.dat/english/spring/spring_law_1_plas_gap.dat
CRAC
An optional tensile strength can be provided independent of the work law via
definition of a corresponding CRAC spring property (e.g. SOFIMSHA: SPRI).
In contrast to a tension limitation by means of a corresponding work law defini-

tion, CRAC assures that
• upon reaching the specified cracking strength, the transferable tensile force
drops to zero.
• continued loading is accompanied by corresponding crack-growth.
• upon load reversal, the crack-opening must be completely reversed before
compressive forces can be transfered again.
For material type MTYP PKIN, this functionality is not supported.
Example file: ase.dat/english/spring/spring_law_1_plas_crac.dat
3-178 SOFiSTiK 2016

N [kN]
300.0
springelement 10
200.0
100.0
0.0
v [mm]
-100
-50
50
100
150
200
250
300
-100.0
-200.0
-300.0
Figure 3.32: Spring work law with GAP
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-179

3.25 SFLA – Force-Displacement Laws
See also: SMAT

SFLA

NO obsolete → SMAT NO − *
U Displacement [mm] or Rotation [mrd] ∗ !
F Force [kN] or Moment [kNm] 1
∗ !
or performance level label LT4 -
S Type of supporting point ∗ POL
POL Polygon point, sharp bend
SPL C2 -continuous point (cubic
spline)
or slope (stiffness) [kN/ m] , [kNm/ rd] ∗ -
SH Hardening modulus [kN/ m] , [kNm/ rd] ∗ -
FP Elastic (proportional) limit [kN] , [kNm] 1
∗ -
TYPE Type of reaction, categorized according to LT -

link type
LEV Normal force reference level [%] , [−] -
TITL obsolete → SMAT TITL LT32 -
General
With SFLA work laws for individual reactions of the spring material (→ SMAT)
can be defined. The work low describes the loading path under the uniaxial
monotonic loading. The material reaction under unloading and reloading condi-
tions takes place according to the chosen material type (→ SMAT MTYP).
These work laws consist of up to 20 (U,F) points with segments interploated

linearly or with cubic splines. The input of of the points must be made in such a
way that U is arranged in monotonically ascending order.
1 In the case that corresponding link capacities have been defined via SMAT, a relative input
of F in [%] oder [−] is recommended. Doing so, a value < 0.0 refers to the MIN-values while
a value > 0.0 refers to the MAX-values of the capacities corresponding to the respective type
of reaction.
3-180 SOFiSTiK 2016

Hint
Partial material safety factors are not considered separately; they must be
incorporated in the specified work laws.
Hint
For strains beyond the defined range, a linear continuation using the tan-
gent of the bounding defined curve point is assumed (linear perturbation).
This holds both for tensile and compressive branches of the curve; a con-
tinuation from the tension domain into the compression domain and vice
versa is not performed, however.
TYPE
Depending on the link type (→ SMAT LTYP) the following reaction types TYPE9
are available:
STD (Standard spring):
P Spring normal force

PT Spring transverse force
M Spring moment
For the link types IHNG (Implicit Hinge) or PMM the following reaction types are
valid:
N Normal force
VY Shear force Vy
VZ Shear force Vz
MT Torsinal moment Mt
MY Bending moment My
MZ Bending moment Mz
LEV
The formulation of a normal force-dependent reaction R (P-R interaction) is
made possible by defining a family of work laws. Each family of curves is there-
9 The reaction type TYPE must be specified at the input of the first point of the line. This
definition is retained for the subsequent points, until a change of the type occurs. This change
of type at the same time marks the beginning of a new work law or the beginning of the new
family of work laws (see LEV)).
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-181

fore characterized by a defined normal force reference level LEV10 . The input of
the reference level is carried out relative to the link capacity SMAT P+/ P- (in [%]
or as factor [−] ).
Hint
The definition of a family of curves must take place according to the mono-
tonically increasing normal force reference level LEV.
The pictures 3.33 and 3.34 show for example the definition of a family of curves
for the reaction My and the resulting P − My interaction diagram.
MyM[kNm] S U
400.0
S U
S U
S U
200.0
S U
S U
-U -S 0 S U
0.0
-U -S
phi-yM[mrad]
-20.0
-10.0
0.0
10.0
20.0
-U -S
-U -S -200.0
-U -S
-U -S
-U -S
-400.0
P-level=M -1000.0[kN] P-level=M -980.0[kN]
P-level=M -70.2[kN] P-level=M 0.0[kN]
P-level=M 100.0[kN]
Figure 3.33: P − My Family of curves
P [kN]
-400.0
-200.0
200.0
400.0
0.0
My [kNm]
0.0
-500.0
-1000.0
phi-y,pl= 0.0[mrad] phi-y,pl= 0.8[mrad]
Figure 3.34: P − My Interaction

10 The reference level LEV must be specified at the input of the first point of each family of
curves. This definition is retained for the subsequent points of the curve, unit a change of the
LEV occurs. This change marks the beginning of a new family of curves. A change in the
reaction type TYPE completes the definition of the family of curves for the previous TYPE.
3-182 SOFiSTiK 2016

Special work laws

For some common work laws a special definition in a single input line is possible:
• Hinge: All velues are zero.

• Linear elastic law: Only input of S.
• Bilinear (elastic-ideal plastic): Input of S and F.
• Trilinear: Input of S, FP (proportionality limit), SH (hardening modulus) and
F (plastic limit)
• Plastic limit (Limitation of the capacity): Only input of F.
Performance Limits
To categorize and simplify the evaluation of the link reaction (Performance), a
work law along the deformation axis can optionally be divided in arbitrary sec-
tions, also know as Performance Intervals. The subdivision takes place by the
definition of the Performance Limits, which mark the interval boundaries.
The input of the performance limits is automatically adjusted to the actual work
law definition by entering the corresponding pairs of U and F values:
• U is the deformation value of the criterion, F is a free identifier of up to 4

letters. Example: ”S” for marking the deformation limit of the serviceability
limit sate.
• The input of the criteria must be arranged according to U in monotonically
increasing order.
• Limit for U = 0 must be specified.
The following input example sets 5 performance limits for the previously defined
My work law11 (see also Figure 3.33).
$ link material : $
SMAT NO 112 LTYP IHNG P+ 100 P - -1000 MY+ 400 $$
TITL ' Plastic Hinge '
...
$ family of curves for reaction My : $
...
$ curve for P - level 0.2*( P -) = -200 kN : $
SFLA S 400000 SH 20000 FP 0.8 [ -] F 1.0 [ -] LEV $$
-0.2 [ -] TYPE MY
11 The
points FP and F of the trilinear work low are defined relative (80% and 100%, re-
spectively) to the moment capacity MY+, defined in SMAT command.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-183

$ corresponding performance limits : $

SFLA U -10.0 ' -U '
SFLA U -5.0 ' -S '
SFLA U 0.0 '0 '
SFLA U 5.0 'S '
SFLA U 10.0 'U '
...
Thus, the following options for the performance are possible, depending on the
actual deformation  [mrd] :
< U−  < −10.0

U− , S− −10.0 <  < −5.0

S− , 0 −5.0 <  < 0.0
(0, S) 0.0 <  < 5.0
(S, U) 5.0 <  < 10.0
>U  > 10.0
In addition, the special cases:
U−  = −10.0
S−  = −5.0
0  = 0.0
S  = 5.0
U  = 10.0
In case of the family of curves, additionally the following is to be noted:
• Generally, for each work law of a family of curves corresponding performance

limits can be specified.
• Within one family of curves, the consistency of the performance limits must
be ensured, i.e.
– The number of limits with U < 0.0 must be the same for all work laws of
the family of curves.
– The number of limits with U > 0.0 must be the same for all work laws of
the family of curves.
– The limit identifiers (labels) are the same for all the work laws of the family
of curves (the first input of the performance limits sets the identifiers for
the entire family of curves).
• The performance limits specified for one work law of a family of curves are
carried over recursively on all defined work laws (with lower normal force
3-184 SOFiSTiK 2016

reference level) of the same family, until the next normal force reference level
with the associated performance limits occurs.12
12 For example, to create a set of performance limits, which should be valid for the entire
family of curves, it is only required to specify these limits at the end of the complete definition
of the family of work law curves.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-185

3.26 SVAL – Cross Section Values
See also: SREC, SCIT, TUBE, CABL, SECT

SVAL

NO Cross-section number − 1
MNO Material number or preferred beamtype −/ LT 1
CENT centric beam
BEAM excentr. beam (Reference axis)
TRUS only truss (no bending)
CABL only cables

A Cross section area m2 1012 1.0

AY Shear area for y m2 1012 -

AZ Shear area for z m2 1012 -

IT Torsional moment of inertia m4 1014 *

IY Moment of inertia y m4 1014 A3 /12

IZ Moment of inertia z m4 1014 IY

IYZ Moment of inertia yz m4 1014 0

CM Warping modulus m6 1016 0
YSC Coordinates of shear centre [mm] 1011 0
ZSC Relative to the gravity centre [mm] 1011 0
YMIN Ordinate of the left edge fibre [mm] 1011 *

YMAX Ordinate of the right edge fibre [mm] 1011 *
ZMIN Ordinate of the top edge fibre [mm] 1011 *
ZMAX Ordinate of the bottom edge fibre [mm] 1011 *

WT Shear stress due to Mt = 1.0 1/ m3 1018 *

WVY Shear stress due to Vy = 1.0 1/ m2 1017 *

WVZ Shear stress due to Vz = 1.0 1/ m2 1017 *
TITL Cross section designation Lt24 -
This record allows the input of cross sections without the corresponding geomet-
ric data, which are necessary of course in detailed stress analysis, yield zone
theory or reinforced concrete dimensioning. Thus they can be used only for the
3-186 SOFiSTiK 2016

static analysis.
With NO and a Literal for MNO you may also subsequently specify which el-
ement type should be selected for elements with automatic type selection with
that section. This definition can be redefined at any time for any existing section.
All other input values will be ignored in that case.
If IT is defined as zero, special attention should be paid so that the torsional

degree of freedom does not lead to undefined rotation capability during the as-
sembly of the total static system (Error message: Parts of the system can move
freely.).
The default for IY is equivalent to a rectangular section with a width of 1 m and

the given area A.
In accordance with Saint Venant’s estimate, the default value for the torsional
moment of inertia is
A4
T = (3.141)
4 · 2 · (y + z )
This value is exact for circular and elliptical sections.
Deviations for a rectangular section:
a/b 1/1 2/1 10/1

exact 0.140 0.458 3.13
approx. 0.152 0.486 3.01
The defaults for ymin up to zmax assume as a first guess a rectangular cross
section and apply then appropriate corrections from the radius of gyration.
SVAL can also be used for defining a modified cross section. This can be done
either by using a negative NO to modify an already defined cross section, or by
making a copy of an existing cross section by means of a negative MNO. The
values A through CM may be then then defined with a unit of [−] ,[0/ 0] or [0/ 00]
as factors for the corresponding values, and are thus preset to 1.0[−] . The new
cross section has no geometric properties any more.
Example:
PROF 1 HEB 300

PROF 2 HEB 300
SVAL -1 IT 0.5 [ -]
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-187

SVAL 3 -2 IT 0.5 [ -] IZ 9000 [ cm4]

SECT 4; SV IT 0.5 [ -] ; PROF 1 HEB 300
Cross section 1 receives 50% of the torsional moment of inertia. The geometry
of the cross section gets erased. Cross section 3 has 50% of the torsional mo-
ment of inertia of cross section 2 and a slightly higher Iz but no geometry. Cross
section 2 was not modified. Cross section 4 is a cross section with IT reduced
by half and with complete geometry. (Only possible with AQUA license)
3-188 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.27 SREC – Rectangle, T-beam, Plate
See also: SVAL, SCIT, TUBE, CABL, SECT

SREC

NO Cross section number − 1
H Total height [mm] 1011 -
B Width for rectangular, T-beam [mm] 1011 1000
HO Thickness of the plate (upper part) [mm] 1011 0
BO Width of the plate (upper part) [mm] 1011 0
SO Offset of reinforcement position - [mm] 1024 H/10
SU Offset of reinforcement position + [mm] 1024 SO
SS Offset of side reinforcement [mm] 1024 SO
MNO Material number − *
MRF Material number of reinforcement − *

MRFL Material link reinforcement − *
RTYP Reinforcement subtype LT *
CORN single points at corner
CU perimetric reinforcement
SYM symmetrical reinforcement
ASYM asymmetrical reinforcements
for more options see below

ASO Minimum reinforcement position - cm2 1020 0

ASU Minimum reinforcement position + cm2 1020 0
DASO Diameter of top reinforcement [mm] 1023 *
DASU Diameter of bottom reinforcement [mm] 1023 DASO
DASS Diameter of side reinforcement [mm] 1023 DASO
A Distance of reinforcements [mm] 1011 *
AMIN Minimum distance of reinforcements [mm] 1011 *
AMAX Maximum distance of reinforcements [mm] 1011 *

ASL Area of shear link reinforcements cm2 / m 1021 *
INCL Inclination of shear links cot|deg 0
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-189


REF Location of local coordinate origin LT C
C gravity centre
Y+/Y-/M in beam direction
right/left/middle
Y+Z-/Y-Z-/Z- in beam direction up-
per right/left/middle
Y+Z+/Y-Z+/Z+ in beam direction lower
right/left/middle
Y+P/Y-P/PM in beam direction plate
right/left/middle
SC shear centre
YM explicit offset of the mid point [mm] 1011 -
ZM explicit offset of the mid point [mm] 1011 -
IT Torsional moment of inertia −/ m4 *

AY Shear deformation area for VY −/ m2 0.
AZ Shear deformation area for VZ −/ m2 0.
BCYZ Buckling curve selector LT *
SPT Number of stress points (0/ 2/ 4/ 6) LT 0
BEFF Width of equivalent hollow section [mm] 1011 *
TITL Cross section designation Lt32 *
Depending on the definition of values one of the following section types is gen-
erated:
H Plate with implied width of 1 m or width BO

H,B Rectangular cross section
H...BO T-Beam cross section
Figure 3.35: Dimensions of the Cross Section
3-190 SOFiSTiK 2016

When nothing is input for REF, the origin of the coordinate system of the cross
section is assumed to be at the gravity centre. This is of relevance for beams
with a reference axis. The required dimensions of the cross section can be
calculated by AQB. For this task, B or H can be input negative when only that
dimension should be changed.
The distribution of the reinforcement is controlled with the option RTYP, the diam-
eter DASO/U, the distance A and some entries for maximum distances between
bars of the selected INI-File of the design code. A definition of the total numbers
of bars is possible by the usage of the unit [-] for ASO resp. ASU.
Columns:
CU ASO as layer 0 at all 4 sides with bar spacing (circumferential)
SYM ASO as layer 0 each at upper and lower side, however if the
distance is greater than MaxBarDistanceC (300 mm), same
as U
SZM ASO as layer 0 each at right and left side, however if the dis-
tance is greater than MaxBarDistanceC (300 mm), same as
U
CORN ASO as layer 0 concentrated in the corners, bars between ac-
cording to the selected design code
CORN:n as CORN, but bars in corners with multiplicity of n (1≤n≤7)
CORN:nZ as CORN:n, but oriented left/right
CORN:nB as CORN:n, but with bundles (bars with a larger equivalent
p
diameter D · n)
In all cases the diameter will be preset to the smallest allowed value from the
INI-File (MinBarDiameterC = 12mm), and the absolute minimum reinforcement
according to the number of bars (total minimum of 4) with that diameter.
As the reinforcement is saved as single bars, there will be some maximum al-
lowable distances AMAX established in the design codes for columns, bending
members and torsional members. The bars in the corners are positioned with
the minimum distance AMIN, along the layouts with A. Unless AMAX is defined
quite large, intermediate constructive bars will be inserted with that maximum
distance in between.
Beams:
ASYM two main layers ASU at lower (1) and ASO at upper (2) side,
optional intermediate bars in layer (3) at the sides
ASZM similar to [ASYM] but right (1) and left (2)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-191

Figure 3.36: Reinforcement as Single Bars
If the distance of the reinforcement layers (1) and (2) becomes greater than the
limit MaxBarDistanceT (350 mm), additional reinforcement at the side of the web
will be introduced with layer (3). Although this is mandatory for torsion, you might
suppress this by entering a zero value for IT or a large value for AMAX, but then
these sections will not be designable for torsion any more. This layer (3) may
become partially active for biaxial bending for the ultimate design.
Further we introduce a reinforcement at the lower side of the plate with layer
number 4, if the upper layer is within the topmost third of the plate height.
The cover of the reinforcement from the side edge is preset to the minimum
cover from the upper or lower edge, but not larger than one-fourth of the width.
It may be changed with item SS.
Please note, that DIN 1045-1 uses the cover of the compressive reinforcement
(effective distance - D/2) as a limit for the lever arm during the shear design
of the cracked section. Thus the diameter has always an effect on the shear
design.
For ASL a minimum value for the shear links may be specified. The default is
zero for symmetric reinforcements (compression members) and taken from the
design code otherwise. As some design tasks require to distinguish between
the minimum and the provided reinforcements, the definition should specify only

the minimum reinforcements. The value may be specified in cm2 / m 1021 or

cm2 / m2 1022 or as ratio in [-].
MRF = 0 must be specified for unreinforced concrete sections. The input of MRF
or MRFL is not allowed for steel or timber cross sections.
The full height of the web and the entire plate are used in determining the tor-
sional moment of inertia and the torsional shear stresses; for the equivalent
hollow cross section used in computing the torsion reinforcement only the web
or only the flange is used, depending on which part is larger. The check of the
shear stress due to shear force takes place at the most unfavourable location
(at the height of the gravity centre for the web or at the intersection of web and
3-192 SOFiSTiK 2016

flange). To avoid constraint torsion for concrete constructions the effective tor-
sional moment of inertia can be reduced by IT explicitly or with the unit [%] to a
relative value. A value of 0.0 is allowed but may lead to kinematic systems.
By default, shear deformation areas are always computed – independent of the

material type – and accounted for consistently for beam analysis according to
Timoshenko-theory. This behavior can be overruled by explicit specification of

the respective shear deformation areas Ay and AZ with a value in m2 or by a
factor with the explicit unit of [%] . Specifying 0.0 deactivates the effect of shear
deformation areas for the beam analysis.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-193

3.28 SCIT – Circular and Tube Sections
See also: SVAL, SREC, TUBE, CABL, SECT

SCIT

D Outer diameter [mm] 1011 -
T Thickness (0.0 = solid section) [mm] 1011 -
SA Outer reinforcement offset [mm] 1024 T/10
SI Inner reinforcement offset [mm] 1024 SA
MNO Material number of cross section − *

MRFL Material of shear reinforcement − MRF
RTYP Reinforcement subtype COLU
COLU Column
HOOP hooped column
BEND Bending member

ASA Outer reinforcement cm2 1020 -

ASI Inner reinforcement cm2 1020 -
DAS Diameter of reinforcement [mm] 1023 28
A Maxium distance of reinforcements or [mm] 1011 *
count[-] on bars

ASB Area of shear link reinforcements cm2 / m 1021 *
IT Torsional moment of inertia −/ m4 *

AY Shear deformation area for VY −/ m2 *
AZ Shear deformation area for VZ −/ m2 *
The distance SI is taken relativ to the inner radius for an annular section, but on
the outer radius for a solid section. Reinforcement may be also specified with
explicit unit in [cm2 /m]. There will be at least four locations for the reinforce-
ments. The default will provide six bars, the number is controlled with item A. If
that value is defined negative or with the explicit unit [-], the given value is taken
as the number of bars directly.
3-194 SOFiSTiK 2016

Figure 3.37: Circular cross section
Bending members do not have a minimum longitudinal reinforcement, while

columns do not have a minimum shear link area. If a bending member with
a longitudinal minimum reinforcement is required, an explicit value for A will trig-
ger this. If a column should get a minimum shear link, the explicit definition of

ASB in cm2 / m 1021 or cm2 / m2 1022 or as ratio in [-]is required.
The definition of CTRL RFCS in AQUA is also effective for the SCIT section.
Values for IT, AY and AZ are either absolute values or if defined with unit [%] as
factors to the theoretical values.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-195

3.29 TUBE – Circular and Annular Steel Cross Sections
See also: SVAL, SREC, SCIT, CABL, SECT

TUBE

D Outer diameter [mm]
T Wall thickness [mm] 0
(0= solid circle)
MNO Material number of cross section − 1
BC Buckling strain curve LT a/c
0 (none),
a (warm),
b (cold)
c (solid circle)
d (special purpose only)
e (old AISC for special purpose)
Shear deformations are always considered. Deviations of those values have to

be defined via SCIT or SECT/CIRC/SV or SVAL.
Figure 3.38: Circular Cross Section
3-196 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.30 CABL – Cable Sections
See also: SVAL, SREC, SCIT, TUBE, SECT

CABL

NO Section number − 1
D Nominal diameter [mm] -
TYPE Type of cable section (see remarks) LT -
INL Type of Inlay LT FE
FE, FEN, FEC = Fiber Inlays
SE, SES, SEL = Steel Inlays
MNO Material number of a prestressing steel − 1
F Sectional or fill factor − *

or metallic cross section area mm2
K Rupture or cable factor − *
or characteristic breaking load kN
W Weight factor (kg/m/mm2 ) * 100 ∗ *
or weight kg/ m
KE Loss factor (clamping of endpoints etc.) − 1.0
REF Reference of factors F/K/W LT *
DIN according to DIN 3051
EN according to EN 12385-4
Cables without a type will be taken as a round steel bar. The following cable
types are available:
6x7 EN 12385-4 Tab. 5

8x7 EN 12385-4 Tab. 6
6x19 EN 12385-4 Tab. 7
8x19 EN 12385-4 Tab. 8
6x36 EN 12385-4 Tab. 9
8x36 EN 12385-4 Tab. 10
6x35N EN 12385-4 Tab. 11
6x19M EN 12385-4 Tab. 12
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-197

Figure 3.39: Cable Sections
6x37M EN 12385-4 Tab. 13

17x7 EN 12385-4 Tab. 14
18x7 EN 12385-4 Tab. 14
34x7 EN 12385-4 Tab. 15
35x7 EN 12385-4 Tab. 16
1x7 DIN Spiral cable with 7 wires

...
3052 DIN 3052 Spiral cable 1x7

3055 DIN 3055 Stranded cable 6x7
3056 DIN 3056 Stranded cable 8x7
3057 DIN 3057 Strand 6x19 Filler
3058 DIN 3058 Strand 6x19 Seale
3059 DIN 3059 Strand 6x19 Warrington
3060 DIN 3060 Strand 6x19
3-198 SOFiSTiK 2016

3061 DIN 3061 Strand 8x19 Filler

3062 DIN 3062 Strand 8x19 Seale
3063 DIN 3063 Strand 8x19 Warrington
3064 DIN 3064 Strand 6x36 Warrington-Seale
3065 DIN 3065 Strand 6x35 Warrington covered
3068 DIN 3068 Strand 6x24 Standard
3069 DIN 3069 multiple Strand 18x7
3070 DIN 3070 Flat strand 10x10
3071 DIN 3071 multiple Strand 36x7
VVS Pfeifer full locked coil cables (DIN)

VVS-1 BTS full locked coil cables in opposite/crosslay stranding
VVS-1P BTS full locked coil cables in equal lay/compound stranding
PE-nnn Pfeifer cables PE-3 to PE-100 (Y 1450C)

PG-nnn Pfeifer cables PG-5 to PG-125 (Y 1770C with ES 160000)
PV-nnn Pfeifer cables PV-40 to PV-2000 (Y 1570C with ES 160000)
The ultimate forces of the cables are obtained only based on the tensile strength
values given above)
DINA-nn Stahlton cables DINA-13 to DINA-199 (Y 1670C with ES

205000)
HIAM-nn Stahlton cables HIAM-56 to HIAM-421 (Y 1670C with ES
205000)
Cable sections differ from circular sections in several reducing factors which are
preselected for the specific design code and the type of inlay:
FE = Fibre inlay
FEN = Natural fibre inlay
FEC = Chemical fibre inlay
SE = Steel inlay
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-199

SES = Steel cable inlay

SEL = Steel strand inlay
In the Eurocode EN 12385-4 appendix A to C the definitions of the factors are

given:
Metallic cable section A0 = C · d2
Minimum ultimate force F0 = K · d2 · ƒr
Weight per length M = W · d2
In DIN 3051 part 3 the factors have been defined in a different way as:
d2 · π
Metallic cable section qm = ƒ · 4
Minimum ultimate force Fmn = k · Fr = k · qm · σz
Weight per length G = qm · 
The loss factor ke taking into account the type of fixing of the cable endings is
defined elsewhere e.g. in DIN 18800. The formula given in EN appendix A.2 for
the ultimate force for cables with diameters larger than 60 mm is not applied. It
does not contain a strength and is not applicable in general cases.
The user has to check all factors in detail, as they depend on the type of anticor-
rosive lining and the intended usage (e.g. for cableways). Cable sections may
only be used for cable elements or automatic elements, which derive their type
from the cable section type.
ATTENTION: Prestressing steel cables have a different safety factor for concrete
and steeel design. Please be sure that the value is selected properly or specify
the correct value with the steel material. The correct modulus of elasticity is
not given in the DIN or EN, but has to be taken from the manufacturers data.
Common values are:
Fully locked cables 160 ± 10 kN/mm2

Spiral cable Galfan EN 12385 160 ± 10 kN/mm2
Spiral cable stainless steel EN 12385 130 ± 10 kN/mm2
Strand ropes 100 ± 10 kN/mm2
3-200 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.31 SECT – Freely defined Cross Sections
See also: CS, INTE, SV, POLY, CIRC, PANE, PLAT,

PROF, Reinforcement, CUT, SPT, SFLA, WIND, WPAR
SECT

MNO Material number for cross section − 1
MRFL Material link reinforcement − *
ALPH Angle of rotation Degrees 0
YM Offset of all cross section ordinates [mm] 1011 0
ZM Offset of all cross section ordinates [mm] 1011 0
FSYM Suppress rotation of principal axes LT NO
YES IYZ always set to zero
NONE IYZ set to zero when smaller than
0.001·(IY+IZ)
BTYP preferred beam type LT BEAM
CENT centric beam
BEAM excentr. with reference axis
TRUS only truss (no bending)
CABL only cables
COMP centric compressive member
COLU excentr. column
BCY Buckling strain curve for y-y axis LT *
BCZ Buckling strain curve for z-z axis LT BCY
KTZ Small part addition (presently not used) − *
TITL Cross section designation Lt32 -
FEM Name of a Data base containing a FEM Lt96 -

mesh of the section
LTEM Load case of a temperature field − -
T Time value of the temperature field sec last
LTAU Loadcase number of the FEM database in − 9900
which the unit shear stress distributions are
saved (for each construction stage 4 load
cases)
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-201

Freely defined cross sections always begin with the record SECT, which defines
the cross section number. All subsequent input records describe this one cross
section, which may consist of several partial cross sections (external outline, in-
ner perimeter, reinforcement arrangement etc.). The input for each cross section
ends either by the next SECT record or by the END record.
Freely defined cross sections are divided into three groups (see 1.1):
* solid cross sections

* thin-walled cross sections
* FE-sections
A coordinate system y - z is established for every SECT definition, the origin of

which is in general on the reference axis defined by the two nodes of a beam.
All coordinate data of the input records which follow a SECT record refer to
this coordinate system. The directions of the axes are identical to those of the
local beam element and defined in accordance with Chapter 2.1 (y to the left,
z downward). The local coordinate axes y’ and z’ of a centric beam are only
shifted parallel to the cross section coordinate system, so that the origin is at the
centre of gravity of the cross section.
Prestressing Tendons (AQBS, GEOS) always refer to the input coordinate sys-
tem. It may be appropriate to take this into account when selecting the zero
point.
If desired, however, it is also possible to rotate the cross section by any angle or
into the direction of the principal axes as well as to translate it (items ALPH, YM
and ZM). The definition of ALPH will force AQB to do the stress analysis for the
rotated principal axis system. The input of CTRL AXIS -2 within AQB has then
no effect on this section any more.
On the other hand a definition of FSYM YES will suppress the rotation of the
principal axis completely. This is intended for sections describing only half of a
full symmetric section, but may have very dangerous effects if applied to general
sections. The value of Iyz has considerable effects on deformations and also
forces within constrained systems. This option enforces also uniaxial bending
(Vy=0, Mz=0) within AQB.
With BTYP you may specify your preferred beam element type for that section.
This info may be used for the mesh generation and the specifivcation of minimum
reinforcements.
For the design of a reinforced concrete cross section with AQB, it is always
necessary, to specify the location of the intended reinforcement - single, linear,
3-202 SOFiSTiK 2016

or perimetric reinforcement- by means of the records RF, LRF, CRF or CURF.

Freely defined cross sections cannot be dimensioned with STB/STBA. MRF de-
fines the material number of reinforcement. Only if the link reinforcement has a
different quality of material a combined value is to be entered. Then this com-
bined value represents the default for the records CUT.
ALPH can be used to rotate the cross section about the x axis. A value of 999
for ALPH causes a rotation of the cross section in the principal directions by an
angle less or equal to 90 degrees. During all rotations, it is not the reference co-
ordinate system but the cross section elements that are rotated. The material
number should, in general, be specified by SECT. The declaration of a material
number with individual cross section elements is only appropriate for composite
cross sections. In case of composite sections, ideal cross section values are
calculated, based on the material defined in SECT; e.g.:
(A · E)
A = (3.142)
Ereƒ
There are some other properties controlled by the type of the reference material.
For timber and steel shear deformation areas and stresses will be calculated in-
cluding also ideal section values, while for concrete the classical concrte design
techniques will be applied.
All cross section elements are addressed with an arbitrarily selected identifi-
cation number, which has up to four characters in general. In AQB and Re-
sultViewer you may specify a mask to select specific elements for the output.
You might for example then select all elements with a zero at the end.
The buckling strain curve can be input for checks according to DIN 18800 and
EC3. The permissible input values are 0 (none), a, b, c or d. Appropriate tech-
nical knowledge is required for making this choice in case of general cross sec-
tions. AQUA, however, attempts to model most cases with the following de-
faults:
strong weak
axis axis
Profiles without welding joints
Annular and SH-shapes a a
U, L and solid circle shapes c c
Double T-shapes h/b > 1.2 t ≤ 40mm a b
t > 80mm d d
others b c
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-203

strong weak
axis axis
all others
I-strong > 1.67 · I-weak and
I-t < 0.50 · I-weak
tmax ≤ 40 mm b c
tmax > 40 mm c d
I-strong < 1.67 · I-weak or
I-t > 0.50 · I-weak
tmax ≤ 40 mm b b
tmax > 40 mm c c
The buckling curve ”e” may be input to select the old AISC-curve with the Euler
hyperbola for λ > 0.5 and a quadratic parabola for the plastic region. The safety
factors have to be large enough for this curve!
Hint
For some records (e.g. TVAR and PROF) it makes a difference if those
records are defined within a section or separately. A definiton of SECT 0
will allow to terminate the current section.
3.31.1 Parametric Sections

It is very common, especially in the bridge design, that very similar sections
are derived from a template. AQUA will therefore not only allow this parametric
approach, but it will also store the parametric information along with the cross
section in the database, in order to allow easy prototyping.
Primary solution for that task are formula expressions to be defined for any coor-
dinate or permanent radius (CIRC, CRF) with up to 256 characters in the form of
”=formula”. These formulas will be saved with the section and may be reevalu-
ated for any section with different values along an axis (see GAX/GAXP) or with
explicit definitions locally with TVAR commands.
The following variables will be predefined for an axis:
#S_ACT The actual distance along the axis

#INCR The inclination to the right as arcus
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#INCL The inclination to the left as arcus

#S_XI(x) Array of s-values of the support lines along the axis
#S_XI(2.5) is the S-value in the middle of 2nd and 3rd support
Then we may define coordinates relative to up to three other reference points.

As a reference you may use every stress point, polygon vertex, panel or circular
element. The reference is done via this explicit 4-character identifier. The spec-
ified coordinates are relative to that reference. However if the coordinates are
not a formula and either CTRL REFD 0 has been specified or the reference is
preceeded by an @ the coordinates are taken as absolute, which is used for the
export of sections.
It is also possible to specify the position of the reference point by an axis, for that
case the reference has to be specified as the ID of that axis with a colon prefix,
e.g. ”:AX_0”. The local coordinates (y,z) are then given by the 3D-distance to
the same parameter on the reference axis projected in the plane of the section.
If points with multiple identifiers are present, then only the first occurrence of
that point is used and the others are neglected. If a reference point is not part of
the section itself, you should use the material number 0 for it. However, you may
have an arbitrary number of nested references, i.e. a reference point may use a
reference itself. For thin walled elements start and end point may be addressed
by a reference with an index.
As the references may be used on single points, start points and end points, the
following examples use a generic description. Thus REF holds for REFP resp.
REFA or REFD.
Case 1: Carthesian References
PT PTZ
PT z
z
PT0 PTY
y y
Figure 3.40: Carthesian References
• You may define the coordinates relative to the reference point in absolute
Cartesian coordinates y and z (left picture) by specifying:
REF PT0
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-205

For a derived instance the relative distance is kept as an absolute value or

taken from the given formula for this type of reference.
• You may define the coordinates relative to two reference points in absolute
cartesian coordinates y and z by specifying:
REF PTY PTZ
Now the y-ordinate is taken relative to PTY while the z-ordinate is taken
relative to PTZ. If a reference of only one coordinate is desired the reference
of the other coordinate may be specified as ’0000’ relative to the origin of
the coordinate system. As shortcut it is also possible to specify only a single
reference with a preceeding > to inherit only the right ordinate y or a ˆ for
the elevation value (z).
• It is also possible to specify negative references. The coordinates will then

be used with an alternate sign, allowing easy description of mirroring.For the
coordinates itself, the double of the coordinate values of the mirroring center
or line have to be specified. (yne =2•ymrr -yorg )
REF -PTY Mirroring to a point

REF PTY -PTY Mirroring to the y-axis
REF -PTY PTY Mirroring to the z-axis
Case 2: Polar References

PTD
PTD
PT0 PT0
Figure 3.41: Polar References
The point PTD (at item REFD, RFDA or RFDE) defines the direction of the refer-
ence relative to the PT0 point- Instead of a point it is also possible to specify the
name of a variable or a formula containing the angle of the direction in radians:
”=#VARNAME”
The y-coordinate is then measured in the radial direction along, while the z-
coordinate is perpendicular and positive to the left. The input is done via:
REF PT0 ∼PTD absolute coordinates

REF PT0 +PTD affine scaling only along direction
REF PT0 *PTD affine sclaing in both directions
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For a variant construction the (+) will maintain the ratio of distances in the radial
direction and maintain the value perpendicular to that.
Case 3: Constructional References

PT3
PTD
PT0 PT
Figure 3.42: Constructional References
If three points are given, then the third point may be provided with a prefix oper-
ator defining the distance or elevation to be taken from that point and searching
the corresponding point on the line REF-RFD:
REF PT0 PTD >PT3 Distance (y)

REF PT0 PTD ˆ PT3 Elevation (z)
REF PT0 PTD PT3 Perpendicular point
If for the first two cases the third point is specified as the point itself, this will
create points with the same selected coordinate, which is needed for example
for points with a fixed distance, but a height depending on the cross inclination.
For a circle you may specify an additional point. The distance of this point to the
centre will then specify the radius of the circle. For steel shapes the angle of
orientation is used in a similar way.
REF .... REFR PTR
Examples showing most of these features are given with AQUA31.DAT to

AQUA33.DAT in the example directory AQUA.DAT.
3.31.2 FE-Sections
For advanced design tasks like a hot design it is not sufficient to describe the
section just by its outer contour. For such cases it is necessary to us a finite
element mesh of the section. These meshes may be generated by AQUA or may
be imported from a secondary database. The secondary database will contain in
general also temperature distribution fields. It is also possible to clone a section
from the same database, which is especially useful for sections with different
reinforcement layouts based on the same thermal master analysis, performed
only once. The defintion of the name ”SECT:nnn” will use a FE-mesh of this
section nnn directly. In that case an import of reinforcements via RF is also
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-207

possible.
The section will be converted to single integration points given by the center of
all QUAD elements. These may be imported group wise with POLY to specify
any construction sequences or in total if no such definition is made.
As this feature allows the evaluation of all sectional values for any type of section
(e.g. secondary torsion for a solid section) it is the most general type of section
definition. All additional elements (Stress points, reinforcements, shear cuts) are
defined as usual.
With the definition of LTAU the unit warping and the shear stress distributions will
be saved to the original database. So it becomes possible to view those results
with WING/WINGRAF.
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3.32 CS – Construction Stages
See also: SECT

CS

NO First active number in − *
construction sequence
TITL Title of construction stage LT32 -
ATIL Last active number in − -
construction sequence
LTEM Load case of a temperature field − -
T Time value of the temperature field sec last
With CS you may specify a cross section for (up to 9) construction stages. All
elements following this record will be added within that stage. The current con-
struction stage will also contain all the elements of the previous construction
stages.
If part of the section is active only temporarily, a value for ATIL may be specified.
This is then the last construction stage where this part is active. The CS-stage
records have to be given in monotonic ascending sequence of NO, but for this
case multiple records with the same NO value may be given. However the des-
ignation should be given with the first record of such a CS block.
10 20 21 22 24 30 40 ∞
Figure 3.43: Construction Process
The picture above defines a construction process. As phase 21 has no impact

on the section itself it does not need to be defined. The same holds for any other
construction phase like pre-stress stages. The input scheme is given by:
CS 10 ; black section parts, QGroup 1

CS 20 ATIL 22 ; red section parts, QGroup 2
CS 22 ATIL 24 ; blue section parts, QGroup 3
CS 24 ATIL 39 ; yellow section parts, QGroup 4
CS 30 ; green section parts, QGroup 5
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-209

This will generate 6 construction stages::
NO is the total section for the final phase 40, QGroup "‘C040"’
NO.1 is the 1st construction stage, phases 10-19, QGroup "‘C010"’
NO.2 is the 2nd construction stage, phases 20-21, QGroup "‘C020"’
NO.3 is the 3rd construction stage, phases 22-23, QGroup "‘C022"’
NO.4 is the 4th construction stage, phases 24-29, QGroup "‘C024"’
NO.5 is the 5th construction stage, phases 30-39, QGroup "‘C030"’
The definitions of ATIL for phases 20 and 22 will be extended automatically to

the next defined construction stage, only for phase 24 the end value has to be
specified explicitly. The transition to the final stage may be defined either by an
explicit construction stage 40 or by the latest removal of any other phase. There
is no generation of intermediate values, a CS 20 ATIL 33 will not generate a
construction stage at 34.
The specified QGroups are the primary and secondary groups assigned to the
elements in the secondary database of the section (CTRL STYP FEMX only)
The construction stages are assigned to the individual elements with the group
definition of the analysis program, a construction stage number defined there
is inserted between the defined numbers here. The number NO will be incre-
mented by default. You may want to use larger gaps to allow prestressing stages
to be mixed in. With the construction stages defined in AQUA as 10, 20 and 30
the selection of stage 25 would use the 20-section and all tendons up to stage
25.
For every construction stage it is also possible to specify with SV for every mate-
rial a factor for the elasticity and the shear modulus after the CS record. Further
it is possible to specify a construction phase as hot design phase, if the section
is imported with a HYDRA analysis.
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3.33 SV – Additional Cross Section Properties
See also: SECT

SV

IT Torsional moment of inertia m4 1014 -1.0

AK Area of Bredt’s box m2 1012 *
YSC Coordinates of the shear center in the LT/ ∗ *
ZSC reference coordinate system LT/ ∗ *

CM Warping modulus m6 1016 *

CMS Warping shear modulus m4 1014 *

AY Shear deformation area y m2 1012 *

AZ Shear deformation area z m2 1012 *
AYZ Shear deformation area yz *
LEVY Minimum lever arm for VY [mm] 1011 -
LEVZ Minimum lever arm for VZ [mm] 1011 -
MNO Material number for the following option − *

DEFF effective thickness of sectional part [mm] 1011 2A/U
FACE Factor E-modulus for construction stage − 1.0
FACG Factor G-modulus for construction stage − FACE
AG Additional weight [kN/ m] 1191 0.0
NPLT Plastic tensile axial resistance [kN] 1101 *

NPLC Plastic compressive axial resistance [kN] 1101 *
VYPL Plastic shear y-y resistance [kN] 1102 *
VZPL Plastic shear z-z resistance [kN] 1102 *
MTPL Plastic primary torsional resistance [kNm] 1103 *
MYPL Plastic bending y-y resistance [kNm] 1104 *
MZPL Plastic bending z-z resistance [kNm] 1104 *

MBPL Plastic bimoment resistance kNm2 1105 *
MT2P Plastic secondary torsional resistance [kNm] 1103 *
In general, these cross section properties will be computed automatically. You

only have to specify explicit deviations.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-211

AK defines the area of the equivalent hollow cross section according to Bredt.
This value is used for determining the longitudinal reinforcement and the link
reinforcement due to torsion. However, in general AK should be defined implicitly
by specifying the torsion resisting reinforcements.
An absolute value (0. or positive) can be input for IT. If a negative value is
input, the moment of inertia computed by the program is multiplied by a factor.
The value -0.5, for example, results in a cross section with 50 percent of the
torsional moment of inertia.
YSC and ZSC can define a mandatory centre of rotation or, in case of only one
value, a restraining plane. The literal ’C’ can be used in both cases to set this
ordinate to the value of the center of gravity.
If shear deformations are not to be taken into account, despite a detailed shear
stress evaluation, AY, AZ , AYZ and CMS should be set to ”0.”
For shear force dimensioning in state II, minimum lever arms can be specified
with LEVY and LEVZ, in order to obtain more economical results (e.g. 0.90d) or
cover extreme cases (e.g. moment=0). Positive values are absolute, negative
values are relative to the height or width of the section.
For the analysis of creep and shrinkage effects an effective depth deƒ ƒ is re-
quired. This value is defined by the area of the section A and the length of the
periphery U which has air contact by the formula 2A/U. The air contact ratio
may be defined for the vertices of a polygon and for circles. If not otherwise
stated, outer peripheries will have a ratio of 1.0 and inner peripheries of 0.0.
However you may specify the value for every material within a section via record
SV explicitly.
For construction stages it is possible to define with SV MNO two factors for the
elasticity and the shear modulus. They will be mainly used for the evaluation
of the sectional values. A consistent treating in AQB for all effects is still under
investigation.
In many practical cases it is recommended that the user defines his own plastic
forces and moments or limits the ones computed by AQUA if special consider-
ations are to be taken into account. The latter could easily be achieved either
by a direct input of the plastic value that shall directly overwrite the one com-
puted by AQUA, or by defining a fractional part by means of [ -] resp. [ %] in the
frame of the CadInp language, thus scaling the default one. For example, setting
MBPL to 0.8[ -] would result in AQUA using 80% of the originally computed plas-
tic bimoment. The default for each entry is 1.0[ -] or 100%, i.e. unless explicitly
defined by the user, AQUA would not change the value of a plastic force or a
3-212 SOFiSTiK 2016

moment.
It is worth noting that only characteristic plastic forces and moments could be
defined or altered in such a way. If so, AQUA will produce a corresponding
design value by dividing the input value by the material safety factor.
If a composite section is present or a section whose material reveals anisotropic

behavior (different yield strengths in tension and compression), the meaning of
NPLC and NPLT might become of importance. In this case, AQUA would use
the value of NPLT for the plastic axial capacity in tension and NPLC for the fully
compressed plastic section. For none-composite, homogenous sections, only
the input of NPLC is required and applicable to the entire section.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-213

3.34 POLY – Polygonal Cross-Section Element / Blockout
See also: SECT, CIRC, VERT, CUT, SPT

POLY

TYPE Type of polygon LT O
O Polygon via VERT definition
OPY same symmetric w.r.t y-axis
OPZ same symmetric w.r.t z-axis
RECT centric rectangle
with width/height DY/DZ
REC+ positive rectangle
(eccentric position below)
REC- negative rectangle
(eccentric position above)
GRP Group of a FE-Mesh selected
with SECT FEM
MNO Material number (0 = hole) − (SECT)
or the group to be imported for GRP
YM coordinate offset for the polygon [mm] 1011 0

ZM coordinate offset for the polygon [mm] 1011 0
DY Size of the rectangle [mm] 1011 !
DZ Size of the rectangle [mm] 1011 !
SMAX Maximum edge length of polygon [mm] 1011 -
EXP Literal of exposure class for that edge Lt4 -
Unless a REC*-type has been selected, the record POLY must be followed by the
input of the polygon vertices with VERT . The sequence of the polygon (clock-
wise or counter-clockwise) has no effect. The polygon will be closed by the pro-
gram automatically. In case of symmetry, the polygon is extended by mirroring
before being closed.
A hole is automatically created when polygons or circles overlap, a true hole is

thus defined by a polygon or circle with material number 0. The definition of a
special inner polygon with the same material number or the formerly common
method of combining several polygons (outer perimeter and inner perimeters)
into one single polygon by making two passes along the same edge should be
avoided.
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The input of YM and ZM causes a corresponding shift of the given polygon. The
coordinates of VERT or DVER refer then to the shifted (by YM, ZM) coordinate
system. The symmetry data also refers to the shifted coordinate system. Thu,
similar openings can be generated easily.
A rectangle can easily be defined by means of a special type. These define a

rectangle with sides DY and DZ, with its centre or upper or lower midside point
at the coordinates YM,ZM.
AQB prints stresses only in the defined polygon or stress points. Thus a coarse
sub division of longer edges might be useful. This can be done with a value
SMAX or as an alternate way with the value PHI at VERT. However in this case
it is recommended for symmetrical polygons to define additional vertices on the
symmetry axis to allow a subdivision of the closing edges. For the REC*-types
SMAX is preset to DZ/4.
The exposition class EXP allows the definition of special material parameters
(MEXT) to individual poygon edges. The value specified here becomes the de-
fault for that polygon.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-215

3.35 VERT – Polygon Vertices in Absolute Coordinates
See also: SECT, POLY, Parametric-Sections

VERT

NO Designation of the polygon vertex Lt4 *
Y Coordinates of the polygon vertex [mm] 1011 0
Z relative to YM, ZM [mm] 1011 0
R Radius [mm] 1011 -
PHI Maximum sector angle Degrees *
TYPE Type of vertex LT *
O Outer perimeter
TP Intersection of tangents
EXP Literal of exposure class / Lt4 *
Degree of air contact (0.0 to 1.0)
from that point
REFP Reference point Lt8 *

REFD Reference direction point Lt8 *
REFS Reference initial coordinates for templates Lt8 *
(see also POLY)
NO is used for identification during any output of stresses. If nothing is input,

AQUA generates internal numbers in sequence.
The distances between adjacent polygon vertices must be at least 0.0001 m.

The polygon is defined by the sequence of the vertices, not by their numbers.
The number of points is limited to 255 per polygon.
If a radius is specified, there are two possibilities:
• for tangential points a fillet is created at that vertex with the given radius. If
the radius is defined negative, a chamfer is created instead with the value of
R used as a distance along the edges.
• for other cases additional points are inserted between this and the previously
defined vertex in order to simulate a circular arc with an angle < 180 degree.
The aperture angle is defined by CTRL HMIN/HTOL. If R is positive, the area
of the polygon will be increased. With an explicit definition of PHI however,
3-216 SOFiSTiK 2016

explicit vertices will be generated. In that case the sign of PHI will define the
orientation of the arc.
Non effective areas can be defined by means of NEFF-areas, where parts of

the polygons within those areas become non effective for selected forces by the
internal introduction of deductional polygons.
The old method of short cuts within the polygon definition sohould not be used
any more. There non effective points are specified either with the definition of
NEFF or INEF for the TYPE of the vertex or by giving values for YEFF or ZEFF
to introduce additional vertices at these limits automatically.
The sectional values of the total sections are only used for the calculation of
the area as well as the torsional stress and the integral equation solution. All
geometrical moments of inertia are computed based on the effective parts only
(refer to the AQB manual). It is to be noted that the effective width is actually
dependent on the load case and the on the purpose of design.
The exposition class EXP allows the definition of special materialparameters

(MEXT) to individual poygon edges. For the degree of air contact the geometric
mean value is used. i.e. if one of the two vertices of an edge has the degree
0.0, the total edge will have this value.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-217

3.36 CIRC – Circular Cross Section Elements

CIRC

NO Designation of the circular element Lt4 *
Y Coordinates of the centre point in the [mm] 1011 0
Z reference coordinate system [mm] 1011 0
R Radius of the circle [mm] 1011 -
MNO Material number (composite sections) − (SECT)
0 hole
EXP Literal of exposure class / Lt4 -
Degree of air contact (0.0 to 1.0)
REFP Reference point for center Lt8 -

REFD Reference direction point Lt8 -
REFS Reference initial coordinates Lt8 -
REFR Reference radius point Lt8 -
Figure 3.44: Circular Cross Section
Internal sequential numbering takes place when nothing is input for NO. NO can
be selected arbitrarily. When CIRC is overlapping another material, a whole of
that material is automatically calculated.
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3.37 CUT – Shear and Partial Sections
See also: SECT, POLY, CIRC, Parametric-Sections

CUT

NO Designation of shear or partial section Lt3 !
YB Ordinates of the cut segment [mm] 1011 *
ZB [mm] 1011 *
YE [mm] 1011 *
ZE [mm] 1011 *
NS Normal forces perpendicular to section [kN/ m] 1111 0.

MS Moment perpendicular to section [kNm/ m] 1112 0.

WTM Torsional resistance for the centre 1/ m3 1018 *

WTD Additional resistance for the edges 1/ m3 1018 *
MNO Material number of the section − (SECT)

MRF Material no of shear reinforcement − (SV)
LAY Shear reinforcement layer − 1
ASUP Minimum shear reinforcement ∗ *
OUT Output options LT MAE

NONE no output or
M,A,E,MA,ME,AE,MAE
TYPE Type of section (see remarks) LT *
VYFK Partial factor for shear force VY − *

VZFK Partial factor for shear force VZ − *
INCL Inclination of links w.r.t. bar axis cot|deg 90

BMAX Width of the equivalent hollow section ∗/ LT *
BRED Deductible width due to hollow pipes etc. [mm] 1011 0.
CINT Roughness coefficient of construct. joint − *
MUE Friction coefficient of construct. joint − *
SXE ”crack spacing parameter” für AASHTO ∗ 0
TANA Minimum inclination of truss diagonal − -
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-219


REFA Reference point for start point Lt8 -
RFDA Reference direction point for start point Lt8 -
RFSA Reference initial coordinates for templates Lt8 -
for start point (see also POLY)
REFE Reference point for end point Lt8 -
RFDE Reference direction point for end point Lt8 -
RFSE Reference initial coordinates for templates Lt8 -
for end point (see also POLY)
With a CUT one specifies a part of the section to be used for shear design and/or
the minimum reinforcement or crack width of a partial section. The input of
shear sections is necessary for the checking of shear stresses in concrete cross
sections. Without input for CUT, up to two axis parallel sections are defined
through the gravity centre (see CTRL STYP). As these do not necessarily pass
through the smallest width of the tensile zone, a warning is issued when the
user enters complicated polygons without shear sections. It is the responsibility
of the user to define enough shear cuts to account for all unfavourable locations
within a section.
The TYPE of the cut defines some important properties for the design. The
following values are available:
• ACT Only for the crack width design

• WEB Web of a cross section
WRED Web with reduced allowed strength
• FLAN Flange of a cross section
FFUL Flange with enhanced strength allowance
• JOIN Construction joint
INDE indented shear joint
ROUG rough shear joint
EVEN even shear joint
SMOO smooth (very even) shear joint
The coefficients CINT and MUE are defined in EN 1992 or DIN 1045-1
(2008). For design according to the old DIN 1045-1 (ch.10.3.6) the value
CINT has to be specified with the value of βct > 1.
• SLAB For special cases (e.g. hollow plates) it is possible to design a cut
3-220 SOFiSTiK 2016

of any section like a plate.
In general the definition of WRED / FLAN is expected to describe structured

sections, while WEB / FFUL is defining a compact section. There are some
design tasks requiring the knowledge of the minimum web thickness, which is
found by scanning the shear cuts of type WEB.
For DIN 1045 (1978) this info is used to allow the shear region 3. However in this
case, the requested minimum height of 30 cm may override a definition here.
AASHTO 2005 distinguishes for the shear design (5.8.3.) between two alter-
nates depending on the presence of sufficient minimum shear reinforcement. If
less minimum reinforcement should be provided, a ”crack spacing parameter”
has to be specified depending on the maximum aggregate size ag [ mm] and a
maximum distance between longitudinal crack reinforcements s :
35
se = s < 2000mm (3.143)
g + 16
The definition of the sign of the section, its internal forces and torsional resis-
tances can be seen in the following figure. The sign of INCL applies to a rotation
from the bar axis towards the normal direction n. A cut can be defined
Figure 3.45: Sign Definitions for Shear Cut
parallel to the axis by the input of YB or ZB only. In such cases the literal S can
be used for describing the location of the centre of gravity.
However, the cut can also be defined by the input of multiple segments each with
same identifier NO and two points (YB,ZB) and (YE,ZE). Then every segment
may treat a different material and shear link properties. Intermediate segments
not cutting any part of the section are not to be defined.
In this case some additional rules should be followed:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-221

Figure 3.46: Shear cuts for the web
• A shear cut should always separate a complete part of the section.

• The separated part is on the left of the cut segment for CTRL FACE POS
(default), where left is taken relative to the direction A-E.
• The separated part is on the right of the cut segment for CTRL FACE NEG,
where right is taken again relative to the direction A-E.
• It is recommended to separate the simpler part of a section. Holes in the
separated parts as well as any additional other parts should be avoided.
They may be properly detected only if defined in the correct sequence.
Figure 3.47: Shear cuts for the outer flange
3-222 SOFiSTiK 2016

Hint: The possibilities shown here for the inner flange can treat a transverse
shear Vy only with the complete methods (CTRL STYP BEM 1 / 2 / 3 or higher).
Figure 3.48: Shear cuts for the inner flange
Additionally for each edge, not only special torsional resistances can be defined
for each edge, but a proportional factor for the shear force as well. This makes it
possible to describe outer dowel joints, reduced web widths, and cuts in multiply
connected sections. These factors specify the portion of the total shear force
V·S/I applied to the partial cut. The integral equation algorithm (CTRL STYP
BEM 1 / 2 / 3) will establish these factors based on the integrals of the shear
stress along the cuts automatically. For a manual definition the sign is very
important and it has to be assured that the sum of the factors is 1.0. If the center
of the separated part has the same ordinates that the center of the section, no
shear can be calculated any more based on the force method.
BMAX defines whether an equivalent hollow cross section should be used (e.g.
for reinforced concrete cross sections). If the cut width is greater than BMAX,
the found cuts are automatically subdivided into two partial cuts, each of them
processing the external width of the equivalent hollow cross section. The width
can be defined directly in m, but two literals can be defined too:
EC2 The substitute width A/U in accordance with EC2 is used.

DIN An inscribed circle is estimated due to the area and the moment of
inertia. A sixth of the diameter is used.
The default value of BMAX for steel or wooden sections and multiple cuts from
several CUT records is 999. (no consideration), and for all other cuts EC2 or DIN
depending on the material type. An increase in this value results in a smaller
equivalent cross section, thus leading to greater shear reinforcement but smaller
shear stress. Design of the shear reinforcement only takes place for cuts when
a genuine or an equivalent hollow cross section has been defined.
The following defaults apply for WTM and WTD: If the cross section has inner
perimeters, or an equivalent hollow cross section has been defined by means of
BMAX, then a closed cross section is assumed. WTM is then computed based
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-223

on Bredt’s area as 1./(2.·AK·b), and WTD is assumed zero. If neither of these

conditions is satisfied, WTM is assumed zero, WTD is set equal to b-min/IT and
the middle output point is omitted.
For precise calculations in accordance with the theory of elasticity, the shear
stress values can be computed by means of the integral equation method (CTRL
STYP BEM 2 / 3).
The effective width for the shear force can be reduced by BRED. This is appro-
priate, for example, when ungrouted ducts weaken the web and the width must
be reduced accordingly.
The forces N and M perpendicular to the cut are only used to describe the stress.
There will be no design for bending and normal force with the links as reinforce-
ment. Thus a tensile force may lower the required link area while the total steel
area becomes higher.
Attention!
In cracked state the reinforcement is used in the shear checks only when it
is situated inside the separated polygon. In particular, a partial area without
reinforcement leads to a shear stress 0.0 if it is in the tensile zone! Therefore
we use a minimum shear stress which is taken from the uncracked state and a
reduction factor based on the lever arms.
The individual segments of one cut are treated separately during the design. The
extreme values of reinforcement of every shear cut, which are stored separately
for each rank of links, are always per physical section, the following rules apply:
• If a cut intersects multiple webs of an articulated section, the obtained rein-

forcement has to be placed in every web, The total shear link area is n times
the printed value for n webs.
• If a cut in a compact section intersects the equivalent hollow section twice,
the reinforcement is the double of the most unfavorable segment. This as-
sures, that the total reinforcement is computed by superposition of the shear
and torsion components as required by some design codes.
• Cuts having the same link rank enter the maximum value to the resulting
reinforcement. This value has to be place then in every segment. A typical
case are multiple cuts for the same web referencing the same shear link.
• Cuts having different link ranks enter the results separately for each rank
with the corresponding maximum. Different link ranks should thus always be
used when different reinforcement is to be placed in the individual parts of
the cut, e.g. for multiple webs of a hollow section.
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The minimum reinforcements ASUP may be specified in cm2 / m 1021 which is

referred to the length or with or in cm2 / m2 1022 or as ratio in [-] which is referred
to the length and the width of the cut as specified in most design codes. If not
defined, the default according to the design code will be selected. If ASUP is de-
fined as zero, it will be tried not to use any shear links (slabs and beams of minor
importance). A special minimum reinforcement enlarged by a factor of 1.6 ac-
cording the Nachrechnungsrichtline resp. DIN_EN 1992-1-1 9.5b or DIN 1045-1
13.2.3 (5) as ”articulated sections with pretensioned tensile flanges” requires
the definition of Literal ’PFLA’ for ASUP. As some design tasks require to dis-
tinguish between the minimum and the provided reinforcements, the definition
should specify only the minimum reinforcements.
Shear in composite cross sections

Special attention should be paid when making shear cuts through composite
cross sections. First, it holds generally that a shear cut should cut through parts
with the same material number. In case a segment cuts through several mate-
rials, one should input several cuts with the same number but different material
numbers. On the other side it has to be checked thoroughly, that all areas not
cut directly are associated to the correct side of the cut.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-225

3.38 PANE – Thin-Walled Cross Section Element
See also: SECT, SPT, Parametric-Sections, Reinforce-

ment
PANE

NO Designation of the panel element Lt4 *
YB Coordinates of start point [mm] 1011 (YE)
ZB * Default: YE,ZE of the last element [mm] 1011 (YA)
YE Coordinates of the end point [mm] 1011 YB
ZE [mm] 1011 ZB
T [mm] 1011 -
MNO − (SECT)
Panel thickness
Material number (composite sections)

R Radius mm -
PHI Maximum sector angle degree 15
OUT Output point LT MAE

NONE no output or
M,A,E,MA,ME,AE,MAE or NONE
FIXB Location of clamped edge from start ∗ *

FIXE Location of clamped edge from end ∗ *
TYPE Special Options LT -
NEFF not effective
NCHK no stress check to be applied
3-226 SOFiSTiK 2016


NNCH both options

AS reinforcement positive in cm2 /m cm2 / m 1021 -

ASMA negative in cm2 cm2 1020 -
LAY LT 0
MRF Material number of reinforcement − (SECT)
TORS Torsional action (see Reinforcement) LT ACTI
PASS / ACTI / ADDI
DAS Diameter for crack width [mm] 1023 -
A Distance between the bars [mm] 1011 1[ m]
Figure 3.49: Thin-walled cross section element
Uniform normal and shear stresses are generally assumed across the thickness
of thin-walled elements. Therefore the moment of inertia about the longitudinal
axis (B-E) is zero. The shear stresses due to torsion, however, are distributed
linearly across the thickness. The thickness is considered likewise for the max-
imum stress. A mixture of the cross section elements POLY or CIRC inside a
cross section is not permitted.
The transmission of shear is only possible at interconnected elements. The

program does not recognise any penetrations of thin- walled elements. In the
determination of shear stresses, elements are considered to be connected with
each other when their coordinates are no further than 0.5 mm (or snap defined
by CTRL SCUT) apart.
If NO is not specified, then an internal sequential numbering will take place. OUT
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-227

specifies for which points (Middle M,Beginning A,End E) results are requested.
(See AQUA, AQB)
If a radius is specified, additional straight elements are generated in order to

simulate a circular arc (180◦ maximum). The aperture angle is defined as less
than PHI per segment (Default defined by CTRL HMIN/HTOL). The orientation
of the arc is defined by the sign of PHI respective R. Positive values describe an
arc rotating about the positive x-axis.
For a buckling design it is necessary to define the boundary conditions (free,

built-in) and to combine several plates to an integral field. To allow this we have
the convention that plates will be combined if
- they meet in the same plane

- do not deviate in thickness more than a factor of 1.25 (may be changed
with CTRL FIXL)
- deviate in their identification only within the 4th character
- do not have stiffeners at the end points
As stiffener we declare all plates intersecting with an angle greater than 45 de-
grees. The length of the plate has no influence. A stiffener will move the location
of the built-in face by the projection of its thickness to the inner of the plate.
The user may define the built-in face with an explicit value measured from the
beginning or the end respectively, which may be defined by the following rules:
- The literal FREE defines a free end

- positive values define a support towards the interior of the plate
- negative values define a support outside of the plate. This feature is
necessary to describe fields subdivided in individual plates.
- very large values (larger than the length) or the literal OFF will deacti-
vate the check.
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3.39 PLAT – Thin-Walled Cross Section Element
See also: SECT, WELD, PROF, SPT, Parametric-Sections

PLAT

NO Number of the plate element Lt4 *
YB Coordinates of the start point A in the [mm] 1011 *
ZB reference coordinate system [mm] 1011 *
* Default: YE,ZE of the last element
YE Coordinates of the end point E in the [mm] 1011 YB
ZE reference coordinate system [mm] 1011 ZB
T Plate thickness [mm] 1011 -

R Radius [mm] 1011 -

PHI Maximum sector angle degree 15
OUT Output point LT MAE

NONE no output or
M,A,E,MA,ME,AE,MAE
FIXB Location of clamped edge from start [mm] 1011 *

FIXE Location of clamped edge from end [mm] 1011 *
TYPE Special Options LT -
NEFF not effective
NCHK no stress check to be applied
NNCH both options
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-229

Uniform normal and shear stresses are generally assumed across the thickness
of thin-walled elements. Therefore the moment of inertia about the longitudinal
axis (A-E) is zero. The shear stresses due to torsion, however, are distributed
linearly across the thickness. The thickness is considered likewise for the maxi-
mum stress. A mixture is permitted only with section elements PROF or WELD,
but PROF must be defined as thin-walled.
The transmission of shear is only possible at interconnected elements. The

program does not recognise any penetrations of thin- walled elements. In the
determination of shear stresses, elements are considered to be connected with
each other when their coordinates are no further than 0.5 mm (or snap defined
by CTRL SCUT) apart.
If NO is not specified, then an internal sequential numbering takes place. OUT

specifies for which points (Middle M, Beginning A, End E) results are requested.
(See AQUA, AQB)
If a radius is specified, additional straight elements are generated in order to

simulate a circular arc (180◦ maximum). The aperture angle is defined as less
than PHI per segment (Default defined by CTRL HMIN/HTOL). The orientation
of the arc is defined by the sign of PHI respective R. Positive values describe an
arc rotating about the positive x-axis.
Figure 3.50: Thin-walled cross section element
For a buckling design (c/t, section class 4) it is necessary to know the effective
length c. This value is defined for every plate by the location of the supports,
which may be defined by the following rules:
- The literal FREE defines a free end

- positive values define a support towards the interior of the plate
3-230 SOFiSTiK 2016

- negative values define a support outside of the plate. This feature is

necessary to describe fields subdivided in individual plates.
- very large values (larger than the length) or the literal OFF will deacti-
vate the check.
Figure 3.51: Support definitions for a subdivided field
PLAT ' 1011 ' -250 0 -210 0 T 10 FIXA +0 FIXE -460

PLAT ' 1012 ' -210 0 +210 0 T 10 FIXA -40 FIXE -40
PLAT ' 1013 ' +210 0 +250 0 T 10 FIXA -460 FIXE +0
If the user does not specify distances explicitly, it will be tried to guess the sup-
port condition and to combine consecutive plates to a single field if the following
conditions hold:
- they are connected and do not have a bend

- do not deviate in thickness more than a factor of 1.25 (may be changed
with CTRL FIXL)
- deviate in their identification only within the 4th character
- do not have stiffeners at the end points. As stiffener we declare all plates
intersecting with an angle greater than 45 degrees. The length of the
plate has no influence. A stiffener will move the location of the built-in
face by the projection of its thickness to the inner of the plate.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-231

3.40 WELD – Welded Shear Connection
See also: SECT, PANE, PLAT, PROF

WELD

NO Designation of the element Lt4 *
YB Coordinates of the beginning point in the [mm] 1011 *
ZB reference coordinate system [mm] 1011 *
* Default: YE,ZE of the last element
YE Coordinates of the end point in the [mm] 1011 YB
ZE reference coordinate system [mm] 1011 ZB
T Effective thickness [mm] 1011 -

This element connects thin-walled section elements PLAT and PROF shear-
resistant, without influencing the section values for bending and normal force.
Thus one can describe:
- Longitudinal seams of welded joints (T>0)

- Buckling fields of thin-walled sections (T>0)
- Shear bonds in composite sections (T < 0)
- Trussed walls (T < 0)
For real welds the equivalent seam thickness is to be used for T. The element
is then used for the determination of the shear stresses in welds. The use of a
special material number, which is not used otherwise within the section is not
allowed.
For bracing walls the effective thickness T is given through the shear stiffness
3-232 SOFiSTiK 2016

Sd of the frame divided by the product of the WELD-shear modulus and the
length of the shear connection in the section plane. T = Sd /(G·L)
If NO is not specified, an internal sequential numbering takes place.
The coordinates of the end points must be placed exactly within 0.5 mm (or snap
defined by CTRL SCUT) to the end points of the corresponding elements.
Figure 3.52: Modelling of longitudinal weld
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-233

3.41 PROF – Rolled Steel Shapes
See also: SECT, PLAT, WELD, SPT, Parametric-Sections

PROF

NO Number of the shape / section Lt4 *
TYPE Profile type (see next page) LT IPE
Z1 Identifier of shape ∗ *
Z2 Additional identifier of shape ∗ -
Z3 Additional identifier of shape ∗ -
MNO Material number of shape − (SECT)
ALPH Angle of rotation about reference point Degrees 0

YM Coordinates of reference point [mm] 1011 0
ZM [mm] 1011 0
REFP Reference point for total shape Lt8 -
REFD Polar direction of reference point Lt8 -
REFS Reference initial coordinates for templates Lt8 -
(see also POLY)
REFR Reference point for rotation Lt4 -
DTYP Representation − S
T thin-walled
S solid (thick) cross section
TP T positive z ordinates only
SP S positive z ordinates only
(bisected shapes not for L,T,Z
and SH profiles)
TABT thin-walled (light version)
TABS solid (light version)
TATP TP (light version)
TASP SP (light version)
SYM Symmetric option LT -

o-o Central symmetry to origin
3-234 SOFiSTiK 2016


y-y Axial symmetry to y axis
z-z Axial symmetry to z axis
QUAD Three times mirroring
REF Location of shape‘s reference point LT *

C Gravity center
SC Shear center
Y+Z-/Y-Z-/Z- top right/left/middle
Y+/Y-/M right/left/middle
Y+Z+/Y-Z+/Z+ lower right/left/middle
MATI Material of a filling for hollow sections − 0
VD Explicit definition of height D ∗ -

VB Explicit definition of width B ∗ -
VS Explicit definition of web thickness S ∗ -
VT Explicit definition of flange thickness T ∗ -
VR1 Explicit definition of root radius R1 ∗ -
VR2 Explicit definition of root radius R2 ∗ -
VB2 Explicit defnition of lower width B2 ∗ -
VT2 Explicit lower flange thickness T2 ∗ -
(dimensions are in units, which are stipu-
lated by the profile type)
CW Wind coefficients LT *

DIN detailed distribution of DIN
EC simplified values of Eurocode
BCYZ Explicit definition for a buckling stress curve LT *
(see record SECT)
Record PROF may be entered without a preceding SECT. In that case a sec-
tion with the given shape-number NO will be generated. If no AQUA licence
is available or if selected explicitly via DTYP a section with simplified sectional
properties is generated (AQUA-light-version). This is in particular valid for:
Torsional inertia, shear deformation areas and warping torsion

no detailed comparative stresses.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-235

The actual list of shapes can be printed by an incomplete input. If nothing is

selected you will get a list of possible shapes, if you have selected a shape type
you will get the list of all shapes of that type, if you have selected only partial
identifiers you will get the set of matching shapes.
List of tabulated European shapes: Example

I Double T-Beam with inclined flanges I 300
DIN 1025 Blatt 1 I 80 to I 600
IPE Double T-Beam with parallel flanges IPE 270
DIN 1025 Blatt 5 IPE 80 bis IPE 600
HE European shapes with parallel flanges HE 300 M
HE 300 B
HE 400 299
HEAA extra light version HEAA 200
HEA wide double T-Beams, light version HEA 300
HEB wide double T-Beams, normal version HEB 200
HEM wide double T-Beams, heavy version HEM 600
HSL extra light type HSL 100
HD wide column shapes HD 320 97.6
HL special large sizes HL 1000 AA
HP wide shapes with uniform thickness HP 220 57.2
U Channels with inclined flange (DIN 1026) U 300

UPE Channels with parallel flanges UPE 100
UAP Channels of Arbed Saarstahl UAP 200
T T-shapes with inclined web/flange T 80
TB T-shapes heavy version TB 60
Z Z-shape acc. to DIN 1027 Z 100
L hot formed L-shapes, all identifiers allowed
thickness at second position: L 20 3
thickness at third position: L 90 60 8
CDL cold formed L-shapes, all identifiers allowed
SH hot formed hollow sections (EN 10210-2)
SHC cold formed hollow sections (EN 10219-2)
all identifiers width x height (20 to 600)
thickness at third position
3-236 SOFiSTiK 2016

List of tabulated European shapes: Example

Hint: there are various variations with different
radii
if needed please specify VR1 and VR2
BAR Round bars according EN 10060 BAR 100
WARM Hot manufactured tubes (EN 10210) WARM 711 8.0
COLD Cold manufactured tubes (EN 10219) COLD 711 8.0
CDS Cold manufactured shapes (EN 10162) CDS 100 80 6
BARQ Quadratic steel bars (EN 10059) BARQ 100
BARF Flat steel bars (EN 10058) BARF 100 10
List of other international tabulated shapes: Example

UB Universal Beam Section of British Steel 3 Identifiers
UC Universal Column Section of British Steel 3 Identifiers
UBP Universal Bearing Pile 3 Identifiers
RSJ Joists 3 Identifiers
W American W-Shape of AISC 2 Identifiers

WT halfed W-shape
M American M-Shape of AISC 2 Identifiers
MT halfed M-shape
S American S-Shape of AISC 2 Identifiers
ST halfed S-shape
HPus American HP-Shape of AISC 2 Identifiers
C_us American Channels of AISC 2 Identifiers
MCus AISC Miscellaneous Channels of AISC 2 Identifiers
L_us American angles of AISC 3 Identifiers
PIPE American pipes standard / extra / double 2 Identifiers
JIS Japanese shapes 3 Identifiers

MBis Indian MB - shape 1 (2) Identifiers
HBis Indian ISHB - shape 1 Identifier
MCis Indian MC - shape 1 Identifier
L_is Indian angle - shape 3 Identifiers
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-237

List of other international tabulated shapes: Example

Shapes according to Australian / New Zealand AS / NZS 4600
UBas UB shapes 2 values
UCas UC shapes 2 values
UBPas UBP shapes 2 values
PFCas PFC shapes 1 values
L_as EA and UA shapes 2 or 3 values
Specify thickness as actual value!
SHas SHS and RHS shapes 3 values
CCas CC shapes (cold formed) 3 values
CAas CA shapes (cold formed) 3 values
GOST Russian I-Shapes (GOST 8239) GOST 30

Parallel Bending-Shape (GOST 26020) GOST 12 B 2
Parallel Column Shape (GOST 26020) GOST 30 K 3
Parallel high strength shape (GOST 26020) GOST 45 S 2
U_gost Russian U-Shape (GOST 8240) U_GO 30
Parallel U-Shape (GOST 8240) U_GO 30 P
L_gost Russian L-Shape (GOST 8509/8510) L_GO 60 60 8
List of sheet pile shapes: Example

(See SYM to define singel pile or wall)
LARS Larssen-U-shapes from Hoesch LARS 603
AU Arbed / Arcelor U shapes AU 17
PAL Arcelor cold deformed U-shapes PAL 31 40
PAU Arcelor cold deformed U-shapes PAU 24 50
PU U-Shapes PU 12
L 3S / JSP 3
HOES Hoesch Z-Shapes HOES 1705

AZ Arbed Z-Shapes AZ 28
PAZ Arcelor cold deformed Z-Shapes PAZ 55 70
PZ SkylineSteel Z-Shapes PZ 35
3-238 SOFiSTiK 2016

Profiles are primarily tabulated geometric types. Exotic shapes may be defined
via explicit values VD to VR2. But you have to specify a basic type of the shape
and the normally required identifiers in any case. If you select non tabulated
identifiers (e.g. HEM 172), all explicit dimension values have to be specified.
Cold formed shapes (CDS) may be defined as U, Z, C or OMEGA shapes by

defining the values of the width B and/or the grps T positive or negative: This
Figure 3.53: Cold Formed Shapes
input always defines polygons or thin-walled section elements and not any fixed
cross section properties. Therefore the analysis of thin-walled section types is
performed with small deviations from the tabulated cross section values. For
torsional values with very thin shapes with significant fillets, more severe devi-
ations may occur. The default for DTYP is changed to T, if beforehand a thin
walled element in that cross section has been defined. If the profile is included
(oartly or complete) in concrete (also core concrete) a hole in the surrounding
concrete is created automatically unless MREF is specified with zero.
If NO is not specified, internal sequential numbering takes place.
By default profiles are oriented with their legs in the direction of the y and z
coordinate axes, so that the y axis shows the larger moment of inertia. Channels
(U-Profiles) are oriented with their opening to the right. Angles (L-Profiles) stand
like the letter L (height Z1, width Z2, but the values can be interchanged). ALPH
can rotate the cross section about the x axis. When nothing is input for REF, the
reference point of the shape (YM,ZM) is located at the gravity centre for double
T and SH-shapes, left outside at mid-height for Channels, bottom left outside for
Angles and top middle for T-shapes. The coordinates of these reference points
and the angle of rotation may be defined with reference to other points, but the
shape and its size itself may of course not be influenced by other reference
points of. The shapes can be coupled with other cross section elements, but
then the type of element must match. Thus thin walled elements (PANE, PLAT,
WELD) may be combined only with DTYP D profiles, while thickwalled elements
are allowed with DTYP V profiles, overlapping definitions with other materials
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-239

Figure 3.54: Standard orientation of shapes
will generate automatic holes. And it must be kept in mind that the transfer of
shear forces for thin walled profiles is only possible at ends, vertices, or at the
centre point (Double T and Channels). In case of solid cross sections the edges
must lie exactly on top of each other. As can be seen in the following example,
the bisected shapes must therefore be positioned on the outer edge of the other
profile’s web.
Figure 3.55: Transmission of shear
Examples of Thin-walled Profiles:

a) Cross girder made out of 4 bisected HEB 400:
SECT 1
PROF 101 HEB 400 ALPH 0 DTYP T
102 HEB 400 ALPH 90 DTYP T
b) Cross girder made out of 2 bisected HEA 300:
SECT 1
3-240 SOFiSTiK 2016

Figure 3.56: Cross girder made out of 4 bisected HEB 400
PROF 101 HEA 300 ZM -145 DTYP TP ALPH $$

180.
102 HEA 300 ZM 145 DTYP TP
WELD 200 150 -7 150 7 14
200 -150 -7 -150 7 =
Figure 3.57: Cross girder made out of 2 bisected HEA 300
c) 2 216/3.6 pipes with strengthening of 4 mm:
SECT 1
PLAT 101 120 -106.2 120 106.2 3.6 R $$
-106.2
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-241

101 120 106.2 120 -106.2 3.6 R $$

-106.2
102 -120 -106.2 -120 106.2 3.6 R $$
-106.2
102 -120 106.2 -120 -106.2 3.6 R $$
-106.2
PLAT 201 120 -110 -120 -110 4.0
202 120 110 -120 110 =
connections
WELD 300 120 110 120 106.2 6.0
300 -120 110 -120 106.2 =
300 120 -110 120 -106.2 =
300 -120 -110 -120 -106.2 =
Figure 3.58: Double pipe cross section
For the combination of solid polygon items, one has to check that the polygon
components are perfectly aligned with each other along their edges, so that the
shear connection can be identified. For the definition of the following section one
has to stipulate the exact coordinates and the exact height of the second divided
HEM 1000:
SECT 2 TITLE ' Double Cross '

PROF 10 HEM 1000 ALPH 0 YM 0.0 ZM 0.0 $$
DTYP S
PROF 11 HEM 1000 ALPH 90 YM +10 .5 ZM 0.0 $$
DTYP SP VD 1008 -21
PROF 12 HEM 1000 ALPH 270 YM -10.5 ZM 0.0 $$
DTYP SP VD 1008 -21
PROF 13 HEM 500 ALPH 0 YM 0.0 ZM -504.0 $$
DTYP SP
DTYP SP
3-242 SOFiSTiK 2016

DTYP SP
PROF 16 HEM 500 ALPH -90 YM -504.0 ZM 0.0 $$
DTYP SP
133
132
103 134
102
152 112
123 163
104 124 164

OO
SM
154 114
153 113
122 162
105
144 106
142
143
Figure 3.59: Double Cross
A defined profile is mirrored three times with SYM QUAD. With the input
PROF 101 L 50 50 8 YM 10 ZM 10 DTYP T SYM QUAD
following cross section combined from the profiles L 50x50x8 results.
Remarks for the sheet piles:

The geometry of the shapes can be modelled only roughly. The most important
data is the weight of a single pile Z3 in kg/m and a few more dimensions. AQUA
will create the locks as equivalent solid sections such that the total area (based
on a weight of 7850 kg/m3) is achieved. Input of R1 is the half diameter of the
lock (U-shapes only), R2 is the angle of the web against the horizontal length of
the wall and B2 may be used to specify the width of the ”upper” flanges. For
the sheet piles the input for SYM defines:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-243

Figure 3.60: Combined Cross Section
none single pile

z-z Wall with 1 m width (locks not fixed)
o-o Wall with 1 m width (locks are fixed, only for U shapes)
3-244 SOFiSTiK 2016

3.42 SPT – Points for Stresses

SPT

NO Designation of the point Lt4 *
Y Coordinates of the point in the [mm] 1011 0
Z reference coordinate system [mm] 1011 0

WTY Torsional stress tau-xy due to Mt=1 1/ m3 1018 -

WTZ Torsional stress tau-xz due to Mt=1 1/ m3 1018 -

WVY Shear stress tau-xy due to Vy=1 1/ m2 1017 -

WVZ Shear stress tau-xz due to Vz=1 1/ m2 1017 -
SIGY Stress in transverse direction [MP] 1092 -
TEFF Effective thickness [mm] 1011 *
CDYN Notch and loading type LT -
SIGC allowed stress range σ -d(−1) [MP] 1092 *
p
TAUC allowed stress range τ -d(−1) [MP] 1092 σ/ 3
MNO Material number for composite sections − (SECT)
(= 0 if it is a pure reference point)
FIX Degree of restraint for c/t check − -
REFP Reference point Lt8 -

(see also POLY)
Additional output points for normal and shear stresses or arbitrary reference
points may be defined with SPT. The design for fatigue is only possible with those
points. A stress point will create its own stress results in the database visible with
WinGRAF along a beam or may be addressed in MAXIMA for the superposition
of stresses at that point. For most cases the evaluation of maximum stresses
might be sufficiently performed with all polygon vertices and the intermediate
points of the thin walled elements.
If the user does not select stress points, automatic points may be created con-
trolled by CTRL SCUT. For construction stages it should be noted, that these
points will be generated for the final section. If those points will be in a non
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-245

effective part of the section for a single construction stages, no stresses will be
obtained for those points.
The normal stresses can be calculated from the X and Y coordinates using
Swain’s formula.
The shear stresses are calculated by the following expressions:
τy = Mt · Wty + Vy · Wy

τz = Mt · Wtz + Vz · Wz (3.144)
r
τ= (τy
2 + τ2 )
z
The stress coefficients will be determined completely for thin walled sections
if the stress point is within a sectional element. If the Integral equations are
active for the shear stress (CTRL STYP BEM) you will get unit shear stress for
all polygon vertices and stress points inside a polygon. For some design tasks
an effective width is needed, which will only be provided automatically for thin
walled sections.
For the fatigue design according to DIN 15018/4132 you may also specify liter-
als for item CDYN indicating the working conditions and notch types (B1W0 to
B6K4) as well as explicit allowed stress values SIGC and TAUC.
For the fatigue design according to DS 804 / DS 805 the notch groups (WI, WII or
WIII as well as KII, KII, KIV, KV, KVI, KVII, KIIX(!), KIX and KX) may be selected.
SIGC and TAUC are as stress sways the double value of those of the first row of
the tables of appendix 6. Precise defaults are available for S 235 and S 355 (DS
804), smaller class values will be treated according to the formulas of DS 805.
Specifying only SIGC and TAUC will select the check of the absolute stress
range as required for solid sections.
For the stress superposition in MAXIMA, the corners and edge-mid points of the
encased rectangle will be available for all sections without the need of a SPT
definition.
For a plate buckling design via a c/t ratio it is necessary to define the effective
thickness TEFF and two stress points with identical identifier describing the end
points of the plate. The points have to be defined at the mid line at the location
of the built in effect. For a free end the definition FIX FREE can be given.
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3.43 NEFF – Non effective parts
See also: SECT

NEFF

TYPE Not effective for (any combination from:) Lt4 YZN
N Normal force
Y,MZ y-ordinate = bending Mz
Z,MY z-ordinate = bending My
V without interpolated vertices
SIG automatic based on stresses
YMIN Start ordinate of the NEFF region [mm] 1011 -9999
ZMIN Start ordinate of the NEFF region [mm] 1011 -9999
YMAX End ordinate of the NEFF region [mm] 1011 +9999
ZMAX End ordinate of the NEFF region [mm] 1011 +9999
MNO Material number (no definition = all) − -
WIDT optional thickness of a rectangle [mm] 1011 -
NO Designation of the non effective part Lt4 1
SMIN stress in point (YMIN,ZMIN) [MP] 1092 -

SMAX stress in point (YMAX,ZMAX) [MP] 1092 SMIN
REFI References for the point Lt4 -

RFDI (YMIN,ZMIN) Lt4 -
RFSI Lt4 -
REFA References for the point Lt4 -
RFDA (YMAX,ZMAX) Lt4 -
RFSA Lt4 -
With NEFF it is possible to define parts of polygons or an FE section or a thin

walled section to be non effective for different types of forces or moments. The
default NYZ, deactivating all longitudinal stress components is the correct choice
for elements which are not effective at all (e.g. local buckling). If the non uniform
distribution of longitudinal stresses is to be modeled, the normal force should
remain effective. AQB uses the total section for the normal force due to prestress
and all creep and shrinkage evaluations. For the shear stiffness the total section
is used in all cases, but the non effective parts have a constant shear stress due
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-247

to the non existing longitudinal stress.
In general the implemented method will generate multiple deductional areas if

the windows overlap, so this must be avoided.
For the definition of the NEFF-area it is possible to define the corner points
(ymin,zmin) and (ymax,zmax) of a rectangular window or with a specification of
WIDT a rectangle along a line from (ymin,zmin) to (ymax,zmax).
The NEFF window will create additional polygon vertices for the entries and exits
points. This option may be deactivated with an extra character "‘V"’ appended to
the TYPE. For NEFFs defined within a construction stages this option is always
enforced.
For sections of class 4 the procedure in the design code deactivates the non
effective areas beforehand.
357.14
-357.14
Figure 3.61: Stresses at an effective section
This can be facilitated by defining non effective areas in AQUA beforehand al-
lowing a simple stress check or even an interaction of ultimate forces in AQB.
This reduction (e.g. EN 1993-1-5) is dependent on the stresses and thus in

general an iterative process. AQUA does not use sectional forces to be used for
a not yet existing section but an explicit stress distribution The most simple case
is to assume a maximum uniform compressive stress, just by selecting SMIN
without any coordinates. (EN 1993-1-5 4.3 (3))
For uni-axial bending the stress is defined by just two points on the principal axis
hitting the elastic center of the section.
But even for bi-axial bending the stress plane may be defined by just two points
if we require that the stress does not vary perpendicular to the connecting stress
defining line. The exact values may be obtained from an iterative analysis with
3-248 SOFiSTiK 2016

AQB NSTR. As the linear stress in any point is defined by:
SMIN(YMIN,ZMIN)
Figure 3.62: Stress definition with two points on the stress line perpendicular to
the neutral line
σ = E · [ε0 + (z − zs ) · ky − (y − ys ) · kz

(3.145)
The stress for two arbitrary points (not required to be within the section) sym-
metric to the centroid along the stress line may be taken as

σmn (ys −  · kz , zs +  · ky ) = E · ε0 +  · ky2 +  · kz2 (3.146a)

σm (ys +  · kz , zs −  · ky ) = E · ε0 −  · ky2 −  · kz2 (3.146b)
r
 = h/ ky2 + kz2 (3.146c)
Accounting for eccentricity acc. EN 1993-1-1 6.2.2.5 is done automatically for

beams with a reference axis.
These NEFF are effective for thin walled sections and solid section with defined
c/t-stress points.
This option is not yet available for the section editor.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-249

3.44 WPAR – Parameters for Wind Loading
See also: SECT, POLY, PROF, WIND

WPAR

CS Construction stage no − 0
KR Absolute roughness [mm] *
default according to material (MEXT)
ICE Thickness of ice cover or marine growth [mm] 1011 0
TRAF Height of additional area of wind attack due [mm] 1011 0
to traffic
YMIN Explicit dimensions of wind attack area [mm] 1011 *
YMAX (* = dimension of section) [mm] 1011 *
ZMIN [mm] 1011 *
ZMAX [mm] 1011 *
YREF Reference point for Windforces [mm] 1011 *
ZREF (* = Half of height/width) [mm] 1011 *
For the analysis of wind loading you may specify different parameters of the wind
loading for construction stages. This is mainly the wind attack area due to ice,
traffic and building extensions. The effectiveness of these definitions has to be
aligned to the selection of reference length in record WIND.
The reference point of the wind forces will be by default in the geometric midpoint
of the section. Its location relative to the shear center of the section may create
extra torsional moments. In special cases you may even redefine the complete
set of wind coefficients. The selected CS-number is valid for all consecutive
stages selected in SOFiLOAD with a group.
Currently the roughness is only used for circular sections.
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3.45 WIND – Coefficients for Wind and Wave Loading
See also: SECT, POLY, PROF, WPAR

WIND

ALPH Angle for load application (-180≤ α ≤180) Degrees *
or type of derivative: LT
H1, H2, H3, H4, A1, A2, A3, A4
CWY Lateral drag coefficient cd − *
CWZ Vertical lift coefficient cl − *
CWT Torsional moment coefficient cm − *
REF Reference dimension LT BH
B always the width
H always the height
BH H for CWY, B for CWZ, BH for CWT
WB as B but in rotated reference
WH as H but in rotated reference
WBH as BH but in rotated reference
CHYD Hydrodynamic coefficient Cm − 2.0

CLAT Transverse driving coefficient − 0.8
S Strouhal number − 0.15
VR0 reduced velocity U/ (ƒ · B) − -
V0 and values of the derivative − -
... with up to 20 pairs per record
VR19 − -
V19 − -
The force coefficients are needed for the calculation of wind or wave loads in
dependence of the flow direction. For circular sections very detailed values are
known depending on the Reynolds number and roughness and available within
the programs. But there are some explicit definitions possible (e.g. cables al-
ways with Cd = 1.2). As there are no directional dependencies in that case, a
single record is sufficient and the resulting force is given by the equation from
Morrison:
1 ∂U
Fd = ρ · Cd · B · U2 + ρ · Chyd · A · (3.147)
2 ∂t
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-251

These force components act always in the flow direction. If a value for cz is
specified, this force is calculated with the absolute value of the cosine, allowing
to describe simple cases also with a single record.
For other section types more complex force coefficients may be needed, defining
forces transverse to the flow direction or torsional moments depending on the
angle of attack of the flow. Than CWY to CWT have to be defined depending on
an angle. These values have to be stipulated according to an angle sequence.
Curves are extended for angles outside the range 0 to 90 or 0 to -180, if they
were not defined explicitly for this range. More than a total of 99 values will not
be permitted however. For rectangular sections and standard steel shapes again
detailed values are known and available as default. For the latter interpolating
curves are generated automatically.
It is especially important to consider the exact definition of the coefficients, be-

cause the literature often uses very different coefficients. In wind engineering
the generally used coordinate system is to align the x-axis in wind direction and
the z-axis vertical to the top:
• The angle for load application is the angle against the (lateral) local y-axis
of the cross section. 0 degrees correspond to an angle from left to right in
negative direction of the y-axis, +90 degrees from below to above in direction
of negative z-axis. This definition corresponds to the normal designations,
yielding forces in negative direction with the positive signs of the force coef-
ficients.
+ cwz
α < 0° + cwt
y
WI N D α = 0° + cwy
α > 0°
z
Figure 3.63: Angle of attack of wind
• The References WB, WH and WBH are similar to their counterparts without
the W, but the coefficients CWY and CWZ are in wind direction and trans-
verse upwards as measured in a wind tunnel. They are converted to the
values of the schema mentioned above.
• The coefficients are be to determined from wind-tunnel tests or numerical

flow simulations. In order to expand the band width with regard to smaller
modifications (e.g. ice arrangement), the flow areas for lateral and vertical
flows are recommended to determine separately. For torsion both dimen-
sions are then used. Thus is valid:
3-252 SOFiSTiK 2016

+ cl + cl
+ cm + cm
α < 0° α > 0°
y y
WI N D + cd + cd
z z
Figure 3.64: Blade angle in wind tunnel
py = − q · cy · (zm − zmn)

pz = − q · cz · (ym − ymn)
(3.148)
mt = − q · ct · (ym − ymn) · (zm − zmn)
pt = − q · ct · (zm − zmn)
These definitions seem to be strange, with an input to REF one can also stipulate
either the height or the width as reference for all coefficients. It has to be stated
however, that this will disable a sound interpolation and some of the WPAR
effects. The reason is that for an interpolation of a section the wind coefficients
will not be interpolated but copied from the start section. Thus, if the values are
all taken on the width, a change of the height will not change any wind force.
Many values specified in the literature may be generalized easily if defined with
the REF BH.
For extended analysis it is also possible to define the derivatives according to

Scanlan. For every defined angle up to eight consecutive records with up to 20
data pairs may be defined.
1 ξ0 Bα 0 ξ

L
Fm = 2
ρU B KH1 + KH2 + K H3 α + K H4
2 2
(3.149)
2 U U B
1 ξ0 Bα 0 ξ

M
Fm = ρU B2 2
KA1 + KA2 + K A3 α + K A4
2 2
(3.150)
2 U U B
All these values are thus referenced on the total chord width b. When importing
data it has to be taken care or the fact, that Scanlan used the half chord B
and his vertical force is defined positive downwards. Thus not only the values
have to be corrected, but also the sign of H2,H3,A1 and A4 has to be changed.
The derivatives of the specified wind coefficients are used to create asymptotic
values of the curves for static loading (K=0).
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-253

3.46 LAY – Reinforcement Layers
See also: SECT, RF, LRF, CRF, CURF

LAY

NO Number of layer (0-9) − 0
TID optional text identifier of layer Lt4 -
TYPE Type of layer LT *
MIN Minimum reinforcement
OPT optional reinforcements
SEQ sequential reinforcements
MRF Material number of reinforcement − (SECT)
Longitudinal reinforcements are organized in groups by Layers. For the design

all elements of a single layer will be activated in total to achieve a useful distribu-
tion for all layers together.To achieve this in a consistent manner, all elements of
layer must have the same material and type and should be activated in the same
embedding material and construction stage. This is achieved easily by specify-
ing a LAY before defining the elements. The definition of a short text (TID) may
be used to clarify the location of the layer for the print. The default for TYPE is
MIN for Layer 0 and 9 for all other layers.
3.46.1 Properties of reinforcement elements

The reinforcement elements and its distribution are defined by means of five
parameters. The diameter should be always defined.
AS is the reinforcement base value (units see below)

ASMA is the maximum reinforcement in the same unit (if only ASMA
is defined, AS = ASMA will be assumed.)
LAY is the ident of the layer type (M for type MIN, S for type SEQ, Z
for type OPT) and the layer number (0-9).
The default is taken from the preceding LAY record.
D is the diameter of an individual bar
A is the distance between the bars or the number of bars.
DIST The distribution of the bars within the element
In general, all reinforcements are saved as single bars to allow unlimited usage
of the sections for non linear design. Several possibilities for the distribution are
3-254 SOFiSTiK 2016

available via item DIST.
EVEN generates a bar in the middle of all segments, thus all areas
have the same weight.
FULL generates bars at the start and end point and between
INS omits the start and end point.
ADJA omits the end point only.
ADJE omits the start point only.
NONE generates a distributed line or circular reinforcement.
The following scheme shows the distribution of the reinforcement bars e.g. in
the case of the partitioning of the line reinforcement in four segments:
B E
EVEN
FULL
INS
ADJA
ADJE
Figure 3.65: Distribution of bars
With DIST NONE a continuously distributed reinforcement is created, which is

not recommended any more. In that case a reinforcement/length is created with
AS/A, where A is preset to 1.0. A total reinforcement value may be obtained for
this special case with A=0.0.
In all other cases of DIST the value of A is preset with the maximum reinforce-
ment bar distance specified in the INI-file, respective a maximum distance of
400 mm. Negative definitions of A will be taken directly as number of bars.
For the reinforcement area and especially to distinguish the behaviour with an
interpolated section three cases are distinguished, controlled primarily by the
definition of a specific unit.

mm2 defines the total reinforcement area

mm2 / m defines the grade of reinforcements
[−] defines a factor on the single bar with Diameter D
(Units [o/ o] and [o/ oo] have the same effect)
If AS is not defined, the total area of reinforcements will be obtained by the count
on the generated single bars.
The three most important variants of the input of a line reinforcement with rein-
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-255

forcement AS and the maximum reinforcement ASMA are realized in the cross
section editor. The corresponding inputs for AQUA are:
1. Input of the quantity of the reinforcing bars
LRF ' L1 ' XB 220. ZB 470. YE -220. ZE 470. LAY1 M1 $$

DIST EVEN $ $
D 20 A 4 [ -]
Over a line length of 440 mm 4 reinforcing bars with the diameter 20 are
generated respectively in the middle of the four segments. The reinforce-

ment AS which is to be considered is used automatically with 12.56 cm2 .

The maximum reinforcement ASMA can be input with cm2 .
2. Input of the reference length A and of a grade of reinforcements AS,ASMA
LRF ' L2 ' XB 220. ZB 470. YE -220. ZE 470. LAY M2 $$

DIST EVEN $ $
D 20 A 100.
Over a line length of 440 mm the reinforcement bars with diameter 20

should be considered respectively in the middle of the corresponding seg-
ment using the reference length A 100 mm. In this case the program de-
termines four segments with a length of 110 mm. Without an explicit input

the program generates automatically 3.14 cm2 per reinforcement bar for
the reinforcement AS. This corresponds to a grade of reinforcement AS of

28.56 cm2 / m . The maximum reinforcement can be input with cm2 / m .
3. Input of the reference lenght A and a total reinforcement area for AS,ASMA
LRF ' L2 ' XB 220. ZB 470. YE -220. ZE 470. LAY M2 $$

DIST EVEN $ $
D 20 A 100. AS 12.56 cm2

Over a line length of 440 mm with a reference length A of 100 mm a total

reinforcement area of 12.56 cm2 (corresponds to 4 diameter 20) is given
for a diameter 20. In this case the progam determines four segments of

110 mm with a reinforcing bar in the middle of a segment with 3.14 cm2 .

The maximum reinforcement can be defined also in cm2 .
For the definition of perimetric reinforcements the first variant of the input of the
reinforcement with the quantity of the reinforcing bars is not possible. In the
cross section editor the variants 2 and 3 are available for the definition of the
reinforcement in analog mode.
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3.46.2 Rules for the treatment of layers

The ratios of the layers to each other are controlled by the layer type. There are
layers with the minimum reinforcement (MIN, M0 - M9) and optional layers (OPT,
Z0-Z9). M-layers have minimum reinforcement and, in the absence of any other
instructions, they are laid by at least the specified AS values. On the other hand,
Z-layers may be not activated at all. The layer number has no influence on the
selection of a particular layer by the dimensioning program. For ideal sectional
values in AQUA only the minimum values of the reinforcements will be used.
If, however, processing in the order of the layer numbers is desired, the layer
numbers S0 - S9 should be used as a special case. S-layers cannot be used
in combination with M- or Z-layers. As an exception to this rule, however, a
minimum reinforcement can be defined for the lowest layer by M0.
For special detailing purpose it is also possible to define shear links with the
layers B1 to B31 at LRF, CRF or CURF. For the analysis these definitions are
used only for presetting some values for CUT.
Each layer is allowed to have only one material number. For the further pro-
cessing to be consistent, it is also useful that every one layer lies only in one
material number since only then the right deduction areas or equivalent cross
section values can be determined.
Reinforcement with the same layer number is always laid in proportion to the
input AS-values. In general each layer can only be increased to the value where
its first reinforcement reaches its maximum value.
The following principal options are available to the user:
- symmetric reinforcement
Compression and tension reinforcement are defined symmetric with re-
spect to the gravity centre of the cross section and with the same layer
number. Minimum reinforcement requires layer type M.
- non-symmetric reinforcement
Compression and tension reinforcement are assigned different layer
numbers.
Torsional Longitudinal Reinforcement

The keyword TORS and the literal ACTI/ADDI can be used for each reinforce-
ment element to indicate that this reinforcement should be used for torsion. This
has the following effects:
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-257

• During dimensioning, the required torsional longitudinal reinforcement is

compared to the total active (ACTI and ADDI) areas divided by the periphery
length and is then made available with an increase of the involved layers.
The torsional reinforcement elements do not need to have the same layer
number (e.g. top/bottom). In case of an increase due to torsion, however,
each layer is increased as a whole, including reinforcements not activated
for torsion.
• Only the reinforcements designated with ACTI define the equivalent Bredt’s
box with its area. AQUA establishes itself a reasonable sequence of the ele-
ments and checks the defined area against the cross section area. The result
may be checked as shear section ”AKT” in the ResultViewer. If needed you
may change it with an explicit value with SVAL AK.
The effectiveness of the reinforcement is defined either as linearly distributed re-

inforcement directly in cm2 /m or in the form of single points with discrete spacing.
For the efficiency of the entire box the entire effective reinforcement is distributed
about the entire perimeter. Thus it is the users responsibility to check that the
predetermined distribution is sufficient for the torsional loading.
Crack Widths
The item AR can be used for each reinforcement element in order to introduce
additional properties for checking the crack width. D specifies already the di-
ameter for which the crack width must be maintained. AR defines the reference
area for a single check of the crack width, as required for instance by DIN 4227
10.2 Section 3. Here AR defines the reinforcement ratio μ-z by means of:
(AS · ƒ ctor)
μ−z = (3.151)
AR
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3.47 RF – Single Reinforcement
See also: SECT, LAY, LRF, CRF, CURF

RF

NO Designation of the element Lt4 *
Y Coordinates of the point [mm] 1011 0
Z in the sectional coordinate system [mm] 1011 0

AS Reinforcement cm2 1020 -

ASMA Maximum reinforcement cm2 1020 -
for more details see Reinforcement
LAY Layer LT (LAY)

MRF Material number of reinforcement − (LAY)
TORS Torsional contribution LT PASS
PASS no contribution
AKTI fully active
ADDI partially active
i.e. active but not defining Akt
D Diameter [mm] 1023 -

AR Reference area for cracked widths m2 1012
SIG Prestress (after creep and shrinkage) [MP] 1092 0

TEMP Temperature for hot design degC *

(see also POLY)
If a FEM section with a temperature field has been selected, the temperatures
TEMP will be interpolated from that mesh. If the master section is within the
same data base, a definition of RF without coordinates will import all the rein-
forcements matching the selection criteria specified wit NO (e.g. "‘A?" or "‘*").
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-259

3.48 LRF – Line Reinforcement
See also: SECT, LAY, RF, CRF, CURF

LRF

NO Designation of the reinforcement line Lt4 *
YB Coordinates of the start point [mm] 1011 *
ZB in the sectional coordinate system [mm] 1011 *
YE Coordinates of the end point [mm] 1011 YB
ZE in the sectional coordinate system [mm] 1011 ZB


ASMA Maximum reinforcement cm2 1020 *
for units and details see Reinforcement

MRF Material number of reinforcement − (LAY)
AKTI fully active
A Reference length for AS and ASMA [mm] 1011 1.0[ m]
or number of bars / [−]
DIST Distribution of bars LT EVEN
AR Reference area for cracked widths [mm] 1011 -

3-260 SOFiSTiK 2016

Item Description Unit

[mm] 1011
Default
R Radius for arrangement in arc -
PHI Angle for arrangement in arc Degrees 15.
b b
Figure 3.66: Line reinforcement
The default for YB and ZB are the last defined values of YE and ZE of the
previous line reinforcement.
If a radius is input, then single reinforcement points are defined on the arc ( <
180 degree) above the defined chord. For each segment the aperture angle is
set smaller than PHI (default from CTRL HMIN/HTOL), the orientation of the arc
is defined by the sign of PHI or R.
The points are always arranged in the middle of the considered sectors. Hence,
the beginning and the end point of the arc are not reinforcement points. If an
angle of 180 degrees is subdivided into 30-degree segments, the single points
lie at angles 15, 45, 75 as well as 105, 135 and 165 degrees.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-261

3.49 CRF – Circular Reinforcement
See also: SECT, LAY, RF, LRF, CURF

CRF

NO Designation of the reinforcement circle Lt4 *
Y Coordinates of the center of the circle [mm] 1011 0
Z in the sectional coordinate system [mm] 1011 0
R Radius of the reinforcement circle [mm] 1011 -
PHI Single angle Degrees -


ASMA Maximum reinforcement cm2 1020 *
Units and details see Reinforcement

MRF Materialnumber of reinforcement − (LAY)
AKTI fully active
A Reference length of AS and ASMA [mm] 1011 1.0[m]
or number of bars / [−]
AR Reference area for crack widths [mm] 1011 -
R Radius for arrangement in arc [mm] 1011 -

PHI Angle for arrangement in arc Degrees 15.

(see also POLY)
REFR Reference radius point Lt4 -
When PHI is input, only a single reinforcement point is created at the corre-
3-262 SOFiSTiK 2016

sponding location. (PHI: 0 = at the z axis, -90 = at the y axis).
Figure 3.67: Circular Reinforcement
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-263

3.50 CURF – Perimetric Reinforcement
See also: SECT, LAY, RF, LRF, CRF

CURF

H Inset of reinforcement from perimeter cm/ mm -
EXP Literal of the exposure class Lt -
adds to H the values defined at MEXT with
CNOM+D/2


ASMA Maximum reinforcement cm2 1020 -
for units and details see Reinforcement

MRF Materialnumber of reinforcement − (LAY)
ACTI fully active
A Distance of bars [mm] 1011 *
AR Reference area for cracked widths [mm] 1011 -
CENT Centring factor − 1000
CURF can be used to define circumferential reinforcement for the last defined
polygon. The distance may be defined by two components, a constant offset
H and a variant cover defined for the material with MEXT CNOM. Any input for
EXP will add the value CNOM+D/2 for all edges. If no CNOM is defined only H
is used as true cover.
For the exposition class a match is defined using the wild card rules. Thus if
all edges should be treated a value of "‘*"’ or equivalent has to be specified.
Any other definition will create a reinforcement only for those edges matching
the selection criteria. Thus it is possible to define different reinforcements for
different edges. The definitions for the distribution DIST will be applied for any
connected number of edges.
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The value of A specifies the maximum distance of the generated single rein-
forcements. However, unless DIST INS is specified, at least one reinforcement
bar is placed at each corner. The meaning of AS, ASMA may be pre length, in
total or by bar and are controlled by the unit (eg. mm2 or cm2 / m). If definition
of A as number of bars is not possible here. The use of the line reinforcement
LRF with the radius R and the angle PHI is recommended for polygonal circles
instead of the perimetric reinforcement.
Figure 3.68: Circumferential reinforcement - Polygon
Because it is useful for the design method that the centre of reinforcement co-
incides with the centre of the cross section, AQUA attempts to change the re-
inforcement distribution with a least-square method so that this aim is fulfilled.
The sum of the perimetric reinforcement is kept unchanged, however the rein-
forcement densities are increased or decreased at the single edges. With CENT
0.0 or definition of AS as per bar the method can be deactivated.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-265

3.51 TVAR – Template Variables
See also: SECT

TVAR

NAME Name of a variable Lt16 !
VAL Value of the variable or Lt64 !
expression in the format ”=expression”
SCOP Scope of variable − *
If specified, the variable will be saved to the
database
CMNT Comment to the variable Lt32 -
SOFiSTiK variables, defined via STO# or LET# are globally valid. For more
complex tasks like template section generation, it becomes necessary to define
variables valid only within a scope. TVAR allows a very general definition of
those numeric variables within a freely selectable scope. The definition of literals
or the definition of tables or functions is not possible.
TVAR without the definition of a scope saves the value for the current section.
Thus the use of this variable becomes possible for template formulas even if
that variable is not defined globally. Multiple definitions should be used for very
special cases only.
Variables used for a section have a complex hierarchy:
• Highest Rank have variables defined along an axis during interpolation along
the axis.
• Secondary rank have all variables defined in public scopes (0 to 99999),
either with CADINP and LET# or with TVAR and an explicit scope.
• Finally for all variables the default-value will become effective, which is the
value which has been defined at the time when the section has been created.
If no other scope has been used, this will be the value defined with TVAR for
the section. These values are saved with the section in the database and
will be updated with every INTE command.
The name of the variable may be followed by a simple numerical index. For VAL
it is also allowed to specify a list of up to 8 values, which will be then assigned
to the following indices:
3-266 SOFiSTiK 2016

TVAR INC ( 0) 0.05

TVAR ALF '= ARC ( ATN ( +#INC , +1 ) ) , ARC ( ATN ( - #INC , -1) ) ' $$
SCOP 1
There is a range of Variables in the Euro-codes allowing to adopt national factors

called boxed values. They are defined in the INI files in general. A survey of the
accepted names is given in the file master.ini.
For special cases, these values may be defined with TVAR. If for example a
reduction of the elasticity modulus for the CALC curve is required, it is possible
to specify factors ALF-CE and GAM-CE :
TVAR ALF - CE 0.85 SCOP DESI

TVAR GAM - CE 1.25 SCOP DESI
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-267

3.52 INTE – Interpolation or Variants of Sections
See also: SECT

INTE

NO Number of new section −/ LT !
ADD Insert a section definition
ALL Rebuild all cloned sections
NS0 Number of 1st reference section − -
NS1 Number of 2nd reference section −/ LT -
S Interpolation or station value − -
NREF Number of a beam reference axis − -
ICS Shift of construction stages − 0
ICS2 − *
...
ICS9 − *
Sections may be interpolated or derived or inserted in the current section. INTE

will change the coordinates of a master section either by interpolation with a
second section or by variables along an axis. In a second step all defined ref-
erence rules of the master section will be applied. All non geometric data is
taken from the master section, thus the interpolation between two sections will
not necessarily be identical if the sections are exchanged.
• If NO is defined positive a new section will be generated.

• If NO is defined as Literal ADD, an already defined or newly interpolated
section section will be inserted within the current section definition. This is
especially useful for those cases where sections exist from a general import
and have to be amended with additional data.
For the elements to be inserted there is:
• Just copy a section definition. For a cross section template currently defined
variables (TVAR) may be evaluated. This method is selected by entering
NS0 only. If an identical copy is wanted NS1 may be defined as literal CLON.
• You may use linear interpolation between two sections having an identical
layout. For this method two cross section numbers and an interpolation factor
3-268 SOFiSTiK 2016

S (0 for NS0, 1 for NS1) have to be stipulated.

• Last but not least you may extrude a cross section template NS0 with ref-
erence points along a general curved axis. This is selected by entering a
reference number NREF of the beam axis, the common station value S for
all the axes and the reference cross section NS0.
With all methods, the construction stage numbers may be canged with a defini-
tion of ICS to ICS9. If only ICS is defined all higher construction stages will be
shifted accordingly.
You may also work on all sections marked as to be interpolated in the database,
by specifying a section number NO as ALL or zero. Depending on the speci-
fication of NREF, all sections along that axis or along all available axis will be
treated. When performing this action AQUA will use free section numbers above
100 and above the cross section template for the new sections. These sections
are deleted and reassigned if this procedure is repeated and will be printed in
detail only if ECHO SDEF EXTR is given.
AQUA will check the generated sections against duplicates and may use a sec-
tion multiple times. A definition of INTE 0 1 will suppress this behaviour.
It is also possible to interpolate typed standard sections. When inserting such

sections, however only the geometric definitions will be inserted into the current
section.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-269

3.53 IMPO – Import of Data
IMPO

MAT Number of a material ( ALL = all) −/ LT -
SECT Number of a section ( ALL = all) −/ LT ALL
FROM Name of a database to read from Lt255 !
TO specify a new section number − -
CS a new first construction stage − -
With the record IMPO you may import materials and sections from a database to
the current project database. The imported sections may obtain a new section
number and the first construction stage may be shifted to a different number.
The import is done before any other input data is treated, an imported section
therefore thus may have a different type of material with the same number. An
import of materials will delete all existing materials and sections unless CTRL
REST 2 has been defined before the IMPO-record.
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3.54 EXPO – Ansi Export of Data
EXPO

MAT Number of a material ( 0 = all) − 0
SECT Number of a section ( 0 = all) − 0
TO Name of a file to write to Lt96 *
PASS Password of the CDB to be exported Lt16 -
With the record EXPO you may export the materials and sections in the
database to an input file for AQUA. This may be useful in special cases. If MAT
or SECT is defined negative, then the export of materials and cross sections is
deactivated respectively.
If the filename is not specified the data will be appended to the most recently
defined file or a file with the name project_AQU.DAT is generated.
The units of the values will be set to the current setting of UNIE from record
PAGE. The language of the new file will be the same as the current CADINP
input file.
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-271

3.55 ECHO – Extent of Output
ECHO

OPT A literal from the following list: LT FULL
MAT Material parameters
SNO Saving options at section
SECT Cross section elements
REFP Generated elements and refer-
ences
SDEF Cross section values restart
SYST System statistic
PICT Properties of Pictures
IEQ Edges of the topological analysis
WIND Wind coefficients
SPRI Spring characteristic curves
BORE Bore profile values
FULL Select all options
VAL The extent of the output LT FULL

OFF nothing computed / output
NO no output
YES regular output
FULL extensive output
EXTR extreme output
VAL2 Additional value − -
In case of no ECHO input all options are set to YES (ECHO MAT has NO). The
input of the option alone is therefore sufficient for increasing the value to FULL.
The record name ECHO must be entered for every record.
MAT
NO Only name of design code and materials
YES Material constants
3-272 SOFiSTiK 2016

FULL Plus stress-strain curves of the materials

EXTR Plus thermal and hydraulic material constants
The ECHO-options may be defined anywhere in the data record, the last defi-
nition will be applied to all sections. However it is possible with a definition of
ECHO SNO n1 n2 to remember the currently active values for the print out of
sections n1 to n2.
SECT
YES Overview of cross section values only
FULL Plus the most important values for each cross sec-
tion
EXTR Plus the individual elements of the cross section
added
REFP
NO No printout
YES For section templates all references of coordinates
are added to the printout
FULL The generated reinforcement bars will be printed
EXTR The generated FE-points will be printed
SDEF
YES The cross sections which have been input in this cal-
culation run only
FULL plus the unmodified cross sections in the database
EXTR plus all interpolated sections
SYST
YES Statistics of total sum of sections and masses in the
system (only available for restart)
PICT
NO No pictures to be included
YES Nice pictures with shading
FULL Contours including basis static elements
EXTR Detailed picture including labels
With input VAL2 one may switch from the automatic orientation
to an explicit orientation of the sectional coordinate system. For
the values from 1 to 4, the y-axis is aligned to the left-hand side,
downwards, to the right-hand side, upwards. Other values are
SOFiSTiK 2016 3-273

taken as rotation angle in degrees.

IEQ
NO No additional printout
FULL Detailed printout of the analyzed topology of the sec-
tion for the mesh generation or the integral equation
method.
WIND only in connection with ECHO QUER
NO No output
YES Values and graphic of the wind coefficients
SPRI
NO No output
YES Values and graphic of the spring characteristic curve
BORE
NO No output
YES Table with the bore profile values
3-274 SOFiSTiK 2016

Description of Output | AQUA
4 Description of Output
4.1 Information about the Design Code

The output begins with the information about the used design code:
Default design code is ... The used design code is output here.
class The class input at NORM CAT is printed
here
(e.g. safety class according to the design
code).
Altitude above sea level
Wind zone
Snow load zone
Earthquake zone
4.2 Material Properties

Only the material numbers with the material designations are printed with the
default ECHO MAT NO. The tables of material properties are output with ECHO
MAT YES.
General Material Properties
No. Material number

Youngs-modulus Elastic modulus for deformation analysis
(DIN 1045-1 Ecm !)
Poisson-Ratio Poisson’s ratio
Shear-modulus Shear modulus
Compression modulus Compression modulus
Weight Specific weight
Weight buoyancy for soil mechanics only
Temp.elongat.coeff. Temperature elongation coefficient
Young-modulus E-90 Anisotropic elastic modulus
Poisson Ratio m-90 Anisotropic Poisson’s ratio
Nordic angle Meridian angle of anisotropy
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-1

AQUA | Description of Output
Inclination angle Descent angle of anisotropy

Safetyfactor Material safety
calc strength fy Design strength
ult. strength ft Ultimate strength
Concrete Material
Strength fc Design strength

Nomin. strength fcn Nominal strength (cube or cylinder
strength)
Tens. strength fctm Middle tensile strength
5% t. strength fctk Fractile of tensile strength
95% t. strength fctk Fractile of tensile strength
Bond strength fbd
Service strength
Fatigue strength
Steel Material
Yield stress fy Yield point

Compr.yield val. fyc Compression yield value
Tens. strength ft Tensile strength
Compr.strength fc Compression strength
Ultim. plast. strain Ultimate strain
relative bond coeff. Relative bond coefficient
EC2 bondcoeff. K1 Bond coefficient K1 from EC2
Hardening modulus
Propotional limit
Dynamic stress range
max. thickness Maximum material thickness
Relaxation at .55ft Relaxation coefficient at 0.55·ft
Relaxation at .70ft Relaxation coefficient at 0.70·ft
4-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

Timber Material
Bending strength fm Bending strength

Tensile strength ft,0 Tensile strength in fibre direction
Tensile strength ft,90 Tensile strength vertical to fibre direction
Compr.strength fc,0 Compressive strength in fibre direction
Compr.strength fc,90 Compressive strength vertical to fibre di-
rection
Shear strength fv Shear strength
Shear strength fv,T Torsional strength
Masonry / Brickwork
Compr. strength fc,0 Nominal strength

Compressive strength
Tens. strength ft Tensile strength
Shear strength fv
Adhesional strength
Tensile brick strength
Layered Material (MLAY)
Layer thickness Layer thickness in m

Material No. Material number and material designation
Nonlinear Material
Nonlinear accord. van Mises (viskopl.) (NMAT VMIS)

Yield stress fy
Hardening modulus
Viscosity law
Exponent creep law
Viscosity
Nonlinear accord. Drucker-Prager (NMAT DRUC)
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-3

Friction angle
Cohesion
Tensile strength ft
Dilatancy angle
Ultim. plast. strain Ultimate plastic strain
ultimate frict. angle Ultimate friction angle
ultimate cohesion
Viscosity law
Exponent creep law
Viscosity
Nonlinear accord. Mohr-Coulomb(3D) (NMAT MOHR)

Friction angle
Cohesion
Tensile strength ft
Dilatancy angle
ultimate cohesion
Nonlinear accord. Granular Hardening (NMAT GRAN)

Friction angle
Cohesion
Tensile strength ft
Dilatancy angle
reloading modulus
Exponent
ultimate factor
Reference pressure
4-4 SOFiSTiK 2016

Nonlinear accord. Swelling (NMAT SWEL)

Swelling isotropic Isotropic swelling moduus
min. stress limit
equilibrium stress
Viscous retardation
Nonlinear accord. Discrete Fault (NMAT FAUL)

Fault friction angle
Fult cohesion
Fault tens. strength Fault tensile strength
Fault dilatation
Nordic angle
Inclination angle
Nonlinear accord. Rock/2D-Mohr-Coulomb (NMAT ROCK)

Fault friction angle
Fault cohesion
Fault tens. strength Fault tensile strength
Fault dilatation
Nordic angle
Friction angle
Cohesion
Tensile strength ft
Dilatancy angle
Nonlinear accord. Gudehus (NMAT GUDE)

Friction angle
Cohesion
Tensile strength ft
Dilatancy angle
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-5


ultimate cohesion
Nonlinear accord. Lade (NMAT LADE)

Parameter P1
Parameter P2
Tensile strength ft
Parameter P4
Parameter P7
Parameter P8
Nonlinear accord. Textile-Membrane (NMAT MEMB)

Parameter P1
Parameter P2
The defined stress-strain curves are output by ECHO MAT FULL. With ECHO
MAT EXTR, the standard curves are output as well:
eps (o/oo) Strain in o/oo

sig-m (MPa) Stress-strain for serviceability
sig-u (MPa) Stress-strain for ultimate load
sig-r (MPa) Stress-strain for calculated mean values
E-t (MPa) Tangential elastic modulus at this location
safetyfactor Material safety
The tangential elastic modulus is given in each case for the following range of
the stress-strain curve.
Elastic bedding (record BMAT)
No. Material number

Cs[ kN/m3] Elastic bedding principal direction
Ct[ kN/m3] Elastic bedding transverse direction
ft[ MPa] Tensile strength
4-6 SOFiSTiK 2016

fy[ MPa] Yield stress

tan[ -] Friction coefficient
c[ MPa] Cohesion
dil[ -] Dilatancy coefficient
w[ kN/m3] Mass density
Thermal or hydraulic material constants (record HMAT)
No. Material number

TEMP Temperature or pore pressure level
S [ J/Km3] Specific storage coefficient
Kxx[ W/Km] Permeabilities or conductivities
Kyy[ W/Km]
Kzz[ W/Km]
4.3 Bedding Profiles

If bedding profiles were entered with the records BORE, BLAY, BBAX, BBLA,
then the output of the values is released with ECHO BORE YES. Where the
labels mean the following:
Bore Profile No. Bore profile number with designation
X[ m] Coordinates of the bore place (start point)

Y[ m]
Z[ m]
dX[ -] Direction of the bore profile
dY[ -]
dZ[ -]
a[◦] Rotation angle of the local axis
S[ m] Ordinate along the profile axis

Mat Material number from this ordinate
s[ m] Starting and/or ending depth

K0-a,K1-a,K2-a,K3-a Constants of the foundation profile
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-7

M0 Skin friction in kN/m

C0 Maximum skin friction in kN/m
TANR Soil/pile friction angle in degrees
TAND Dilatation angle in degrees
KSIG Lateral pressure value
K0-t,K1-t,K2-t,K3-t Constants of foundation profile in tangen-

tial direction (lateral) in kN/m2
P0,P1,P2,P3 Factors for circumferential variation
Pmax Maximum foundation value at starting and
ending depth in kN/m
4.4 Overview of the Cross Section Values and Types

In the usual case (ECHO SECT YES), an overview of all the cross section prop-
erties is output at the end of each calculation. Where the abbreviations mean
the following:
Cross-section static properties
No Cross section number

Mat Material number of the cross section
MNs Material number of the reinforcement
A Cross section area
It Torsional moment of inertia
Ay/Az/Ayz Shear deformation areas
Iy/Iz/Iyz Area moments of inertia
ys/zs Coordinates of the gravity centre
ysc/zsc Coordinates of the shear centre
modulus Elastic and shear moduli
g Specific weight
In case a description was defined (which is the default for standard cross sec-
tions), then it is appended after each cross section number.
After the calculation of the system a summary of the cross section types can be
printed then via a restart and ECHO SYST YES:
4-8 SOFiSTiK 2016

Summary of all sections
No. Cross section number

Total Length
Total Weight
max. Length
Title
4.5 Cross Section Properties

If ECHO SECT FULL is defined, a list of additional values is output for each
defined cross section. (cross section moduli, partial cross section areas, etc.).
Following a repetition of the cross section properties from the overview, the prin-
cipal moments of inertia and the locations of the principal axes are output.
Cross section properties are also released separately for each material in the
case of composite sections. For cross sections with effective width, the total
cross sectional properties of the unrestricted effective cross section are also
released.
In case the materials have safety factors, then some analysis methods require
that the stiffness to to be reduced by the safety factors. As this would result in
totally different values for composite cross sections, an extra table for the design
sectional values was introduced.
For the detailed output of cross sections it is important to know, if it refers to a

restart. This is because in such a case only the newly defined cross sections
get printed out. Even in the case, however, one can output all the cross sections
with ECHO SDEF FULL.
The following data are output in the table of additional cross section properties:
Additional static properties of cross section
alfa-T Thermal expansion coefficient

ymin,ymax Maximum & minimum section coordinates
zmin,zmax (relative to the gravity centre)
hymin,hzmin Minimum lever arm for shear reinforcement
AK Core cross section for computing the tor-
sional reinforcement
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-9

AB Concrete cross section area for reinforce-

ment ratios
MoL Material number of the link reinforcement
1/WT Maximum shear stress due to torsional mo-
ment 1
1/WT2 Maximum shear stress due to secondary
torsional moment MT2=1
1/WVy Maximum shear stress due to shear force
VY=1
1/WVz Maximum shear stress due to shear force
VZ=1
The table of cross section values for warping contains:
Sectional values for warping
Wmin Minimum value of the unit lateral warping

Wmax Maximum value of the unit lateral warping
CM Warping modulus
CMS Warping shear modulus
ASwyy Warping area integral w·y·y
ASwzz Warping area integral w·z·z
ry Sectional dimension (Iyyy +Iyzz )/Iyy -2ym
rz Sectional dimension (Izzz +Iyyz )/Izz -2zm
The table of the effective static properties and table of the design values of cross
section are printed then:
Effective static properties of cross section

g Specific weight
4-10 SOFiSTiK 2016

Partial cross sections

g Specific weight
Design values of cross section

g Specific weight
The fully plastic internal forces are output for steel or composite sections with
STEE reference.
Design forces and moments
N[ kN] Axial force

Vy[ kN] Shear forces
Vz[ kN]
Mt[ kNm] Torsional moment
My[ kNm] Bending moments
Mz[ kNm]
y[ m] Plastic centre of gravity
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-11

z[ m]
BUCK Buckling strain curves y and z axis or
COMB for identification of combinations
The table contains the states:
C characteristic values fully plastic

E characteristic values elastic (reaching the yield stress)
D design values fully plastic
F design values elastic (reaching the design yield stress)
The first line contains the single forces and moments (Points A and B of the
interaction diagram). The plastic forces are followed by the values of point C
marked as COMB. (For most composite cross sections point C of the interaction
curve is given by double the value of the axial force in point B.)
As long as the tensile and compressive strengths of the material do not match,
the values will be denoted with an inverse sign, whereas shear force and tor-
sional moments are based only on the other strength.
If prestressed reinforcement has been defined, the internal forces due to pre-
stress are output.
An additional table includes the output of the design data. The values which are
printed at thet-p, thet-y, thet-z and thet-yz are with masses multiplied moments
of inertia (= rotational masses).
Additional Design Data
Mat Material number (only for composite sec-

tions)
periphery-O/-I Outer and inner area
deff Effective thickness for creep and shrinkage
t-min Minimum plate thickness in mm
t-max Maximum plate thickness in mm
SMP Weight addition for small parts in percent
thet-p Mass moment of inertiaρ·(Iy +Iz )=ρ·Ip
thet-y ρ·Iy
thet-z ρ·Iz
thet-yz ρ·Iyz
4-12 SOFiSTiK 2016

If reinforcement has been defined, then the output for each layer includes the
sum of the input steel areas, the upper and lower limits of the reinforcement,
and the gravity centre of the reinforcement.
Reinforcement global values
Layer Layer number

mS Material number of cross section
mR Material number of reinforcement
area Sum of the input steel areas
lower-A Lower limit of steel areas
= zero for extra positions
= minimum value for M-position
= maximum value of next lower position
in case of sequential position numbering
upper-A Upper limit of steel areas

yL Location of gravity centre of the layer
zL
L-tors Torsional effectiveness
If the position is laid by a factor of 1.0,
the accounted torsional reinforcement is
area/L-tors (cm2 /m)
N-p Statically determinate prestressing axial
force
M-p Statically determinate prestressing mo-
ment
4.6 Cross Section Elements

Additionally to the cross section values also the individual elements of the cross
sections are printed as well with ECHO SECT FULL. Most descriptions are al-
ready familiar from the input description. If reference points were defined, then
these references are printed with ECHO REFP FULL in the corresponding ta-
bles.
Polygon or Polygon hole
Id Polygon point number
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-13

Mat Material number

eff Effectiveness (- = not effective)
y Coordinates of the polygon
z
r Fillet radius
1/WMy,Mz Inverses of the section moduli for bending
My and Mz (Swain’s formula)
1/WT Shear stress due to torsional moment
Mt=1.0
1/WVy,1/WVz Shear stress due to shear force Vy or
Vz=1.0
Solid: first row = τy , second row = τz
Thin: first row = 0, second row = τ
W0 Unit warping
exp Exposition class or degree of air contact
Rectangular cross-section/T-beam
H/B Height and width

Ho/Bo Upper heigth/width of the cross section
Aso/Asu Reinforcement above/below
As-type Ditribution type of the reinforcement
Do/Du/Ds Bar diameter above/below/on the side
So/Su/Ss Reinforcement distance above/below/on
the side
a/a-min/a-max Distance of bars
B-eff Width of the equivalent hollow section
incl Inclination of shear links
Ass Area of shear links
Circular/annular cross section
Ra Outer radius
Ri Inner radius
Rsa Radius of the outer reinforcement
4-14 SOFiSTiK 2016

Rsi Radius of the inner reinforcement

Asa Outer reinforcement
Asi Inner reinforcement
D Diameter of the reinforcement
a Distance of bars
Tube/Cable Cable factors
D Nominal diameter
T Wall thickness for tube
Type Cable type
strands Number of strands
wire Number of wires per strand
W*100 Weight factor
C Sectional or fill factor
K Rupture or cable factor
ke Loss factor
Zr,k/Zr,d Failure load
Following table is printed additionally for cables:
Circular element
Id Designation
Mat Material number
ym Distance of the strand to the overall centre
of
zm gravity of the cable
R Radius of the strand
exp Exposition class
Rolled steel Profile designation
D[ mm] Profile height

B[ mm] Profile width
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-15

s[ mm] Web thickness

t[ mm] Flange thickness
r[ mm] Radius transition arch web - flange
yr[ mm] Coordinates of the profile reference point
zr[ mm] within the cross section
[ grd] Rotation
Cuts for shear design
Id. Section number

Type Type of section
WEB/WRED Web with/without shear re-
gion 3
FLAN/FFUL Flange with/without shear re-
gion 3
Mat Material number of the partial section
beta Parameter of friction in construction joint
mue Friction coefficient of construction joint
y-A/z-A Coordinates of the partial section
y-E/z-E
b0/bt Width of section / effective width
1/WTm/1/WTd Reciprocal torsional stress moduli
FVy/FVz Proportion factors for shear force
Ns/Ms Lateral bending internal forces
MoR Material number of the link reinforcement
Lay Layer of the link reinforcement
Asl Minimum link reinforcement
beta inclination of links w.r.t. bar axis
Stress output locations on shear cuts
Id. Point designation

Mat Material number
y Coordinates of the point
z
4-16 SOFiSTiK 2016


Mt=1.0
1/WVy/1/WVz Shear stress due to shear force Vy or
Vz=1.0
sig-t Stress in transverse direction
W0 Unit warping
Construction and Selected Result Points
Id. Point designation

Mat Material number
T Temperatur
y Coordinates of the point
z
A Effective area
t Thickness
sigma-t Prestress
1/WMy/1/WMz Inverses of the section moduli for bending
My and Mz (Swain’s formula)
Mt=1.0
1/WVy/1/WVz Shear stress due to shear force Vy or
Vz=1.0
W0 Unit warping
sig/tau-dyn Permissible range of steel stresses or
notch type
Thin elements or Longitudinal weld
Id. Designation
Mat Material number
y-A/z-A Coordinates of beginning
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-17

y-E/z-E Coordinates of end

t Thickness
w-B/w-E Unit warping at beginning/end
1/WT/1/WT2 Shear stress due to MT=1.0 or MT2=1.0
1/WVy/1/WVz Shear stress due to VY=1.0 or VZ=1.0
xS Distance of buckling from end points
dimensionless, in relation to the plate
length
Single point reinforcement
Id. Designation
Mat Material number of reinforcement
y Coordinates of the reinforcement
z
T Temperature
sigma Prestress
As Base value or minimum reinforcement
As-max Maximum reinforcement
Lay Layer number
D Diameter
a Distance of bars
Ar Reference area for cracked widths
Distributed reinforcement or Shear Links
Id. Designation
No Identification number
ya/za Beginning point of the linear reinforcement
ye/ze End point of the linear reinforcement
Lay Layer number
4-18 SOFiSTiK 2016

D Diameter
a Distance of bars
Dist Distribution of bars
Circular reinforcement
Id. Designation
ym/zm Coordinates of reinforcement centre
R Radius of the circular reinforcement
Lay Layer number
D Diameter
a Distance of bars
Dist Distribution of bars
4.7 Wind Coefficients

The parameters of wind loading defined in record WPAR are output as follows
(ECHO WIND YES):
Areas of wind attack
CS Construction stage number

rel.roughnss Relative roughness
iceing Thickness of ice cover
traffic Height of additional area of wind attack due
to traffic
y-min Dimensions of wind attack area
y-max
z-min
z-max
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-19

The table of wind coefficients is output for steel profiles (record PROF) or in case
of an explicit input with WIND:
Hydrodynamic Coefficients for Wind and Wave Loading
alpha Angle for load application

cw-y Lateral coefficient
cw-z Vertical coefficient
cw-t Torsional coefficient
ref Reference dimension
c-m Hydrodynamic coefficient
c-lat Transverse driving coefficient
Strohal Strouhal number
a-gallop Galloping-Coefficient
4.8 Integral Equation Method

The output of the analyzed topology of the cross sections for the integral equa-
tion method reads:
Detected Geometry of section for Integral equation system
Reg Region
edge Boundary number
node-a Start node
node-b End node
M area number
MNo Material number
Conn. Hint to a connecting edge
YA, ZA Coordinates at beginning
YE, ZE Coordinates at end
4.9 Spring Characteristic Curves

With SFLA it is possible to define a direct non-linear law for forces or moments
for every spring. It is printed then with ECHO SPRI YES:
4-20 SOFiSTiK 2016

Explicit force deformation rule
Number Number of the spring characteristic curve

u[ mm] or [ mrad] Displacement or rotation
or [ o/oo] or [ 1/km] or strain or curvature
Typ the defined TYPE of the line is printed here
SOFiSTiK 2016 4-21

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AQUA

Materials and Cross Sections

AQUA 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

2 Theoretical Principles 2-1

3 Input Description 3-1

3.3 Input Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

3.13.15 Australian AS 3600 and New Zealand NZS 3101 . 3-108

SOFiSTiK 2016 iii

3.34 POLY – Polygonal Cross-Section Element / Blockout . . . . 3-214

4 Description of Output 4-1

1.1 Task Description

1.2 Types of sections

1.2.2 Standard Cross Sections

1.2.3 Freely Defined Thin-walled Cross Sections

SOFiSTiK 2016 1-1

1.2.4 Freely Defined Solid Cross Sections

1.2.5 Freely Defined FE Cross Sections

1.2.6 Selection of Section Type

1-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

1.3 Creating variants of sections

It is also possible for AQUA to update all interpolated or otherwise generated

SOFiSTiK 2016 1-3

1-4 SOFiSTiK 2016

Whereas the safety factors were formerly assigned more-or-less at random,

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-1

2.2 Holes and Composite Sections

• A polygon/circle may create a hole in another area only if it has a different

2.3 Coordinate System

2-2 SOFiSTiK 2016

Figure 2.1: Coordinate system

Figure 2.1 depicts beam and sectional coordinate systems:

x, y, z Local beam coordinate system, freely selectable, is defined relative

2.4 Normal Stresses

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-3

with the following definitions:

 , y , z displacements parallel and perpendicular to the bar

• Bending takes place about the principal axes, i.e.

• Warping can occur freely in the cross section, i.e.

Fy = Fz = 0 (2.5)

2-4 SOFiSTiK 2016

The normal stresses of a bar cross section can be described by means of

2.5 Effective Width

AQUA is able to define the non-effective areas directly by means of polygonal

2.6 Warping and Shear Stresses

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-5

and the boundary condition

τy ny + τz nz = 0 (2.8)

where the shear stresses are given by

2.7 Torsional Moment of Inertia

2-6 SOFiSTiK 2016

A better approximation is given by Saint Venant:

In case of open sections, however, it is sensible to consider a correction accord-

Deviations in rectangular cross sections with sides a and b:

a/b 1/1 2/1 10/1

2.8 Shear Stresses in Solid Sections

SOFiSTiK 2016 2-7

2.8.1 Finite Element Method

• T torsional resistance (for primary torsional moment MT1 )

• Cm warping resistance (for bi-moment Mb )