Composite steel beams are a sustainable structural system due to their efficient use of materials and enhanced performance characteristics. By combining steel and concrete, these beams leverage the strengths of both materials: steel provides high tensile strength, while concrete offers excellent compressive strength. This synergy reduces the overall amount of material needed, leading to lower resource consumption and waste. Additionally, the use of recycled steel and concrete in these beams further minimises environmental impact. Overall, their durability, recyclability, and resource efficiency make composite steel beams a sustainable choice for modern construction.
Image credit: © Dirk Lindner
Designing composite steel beams presents several challenges across structural analysis and workflow integration. Structural analysis of composite beams must account for web openings and the effects of concrete shrinkage on deflection calculations. Advanced analysis poses more intricate questions, such as determining the impact of axial force in composite beams with cutouts in the slabs, conducting floor vibration studies for composite floor systems which are particularly susceptible to vibrations. These analyses require sophisticated methods to ensure accuracy and confidence. Workflow challenges further complicate the process due to the lack of integrated analysis and design solutions, necessitating significant manual effort to redefine beam properties, loads, and support conditions, which is both time-consuming and error prone.
Manually calculating available and effective widths from global models for composite beam designs and manually calculating positions of intermediate restraints to primary beams during the construction stage are yet another set of tedious and error prone operations. Accurately modelling composite stiffness of beams in FE models for precise post-construction deflection assessments often involves manual adjustments to individual beam stiffnesses, demanding considerable time and effort in projects.
Image credit: © Paul Carstairs / Arup
Oasys GSA and
Oasys Compos together offer a robust solution for the design of composite beams. GSA is a finite element
structural analysis software package with advanced capabilities to handle various geometries, loads, and analyses. Its powerful modelling and meshing capabilities allow for detailed analysis of beam and floor systems, including floor cutouts. The powerful and intuitive footfall analysis module in GSA lets engineers analyse the most complex composite beam floor systems for vibration studies. Compos specialises in composite steel beam design, computing key strength and serviceability results. It provides fine-grained control over inputs like web opening layouts, stud arrangements, and material properties, delivering detailed outputs across numerous beam sections.
Meshing of floors with cutouts in GSA
The upcoming release of GSA will feature a robust link with Compos, enabling engineers to manage and coordinate composite beam designs within GSA while maintaining access to detailed calculations in Compos. This integration allows intuitive setting of web openings, shear studs, decking, and reinforcement properties and presents the key analysis results, all in the global GSA model.
Oasys Compos model
The composite stiffnesses of individual beams are also updated with the analysis, allowing for quick further checks of post-construction deflection and floor vibrations. Compos files for all the beams in the global model are automatically created and can be opened from within GSA, offering quick access to the detailed beam design results in Compos. This seamless integration enhances productivity during detailed design stages. Early-stage scheme designs directly in Compos, hence boosting efficiency across all project stages.
Footfall analysis in GSA
Composite steel beams represent a sustainable building solution, combining the strength of steel with the efficiency of concrete to reduce material usage and enhance structural performance. Oasys Structural engineering software, with its advanced analysis and design capabilities, offers a modern and robust solution for these beams. The seamless integration of tools like GSA and Compos ensures precise and efficient design processes. With a long-standing legacy of providing innovative software solutions, Oasys continues to empower engineers
in creating sustainable building systems that meet the demands of contemporary construction.
Modelling of a composite beam floor system in GSA
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