FEM-based design of steel structures - Design by Analysis
A paradigm shift in standardization and practice of structural design is necessary for further progress in the planning and execution of construction projects. The trend towards the integration of numerical FEM tools in CAD / CAM / CAE - systems leads to a progressive replacement of classical modelling and verification methods. Our professorship actively accompanies this transition by developing reliable and powerful calculation and verification methods for the numerically supported, non-linear calculation of steel and composite structures.
In particular, we deal with the following topics in this area:
- Modelling for the consideration of instabilities in beam, plate and shell structures of steel and aluminium constructions, including the effects of geometrical and structural imperfections;
- Development of descriptive models to capture the composite behaviour and long-term effects in steel-concrete composite structures;
- Development of calculation routines to determine the necessary safety components to achieve the required reliability indices in non-linear structural analyses;
- Use of data from geometric and metallurgical product monitoring to improve performance forecasts in the calculation of structures.
Through contact with industry and the work in the European standards committee on the new EN1993-1-14 "Design of steel structures with FEM", we aim to make our research results directly accessible to practice.