The best steel structure design software: Analysis steel frame design software of structural design software is the solution with higher quality structural analysis of all kinds of steel constructions and metal. With them, you can analyze the assembly of buildings, bridges, towers, rail beams, scaffolding, etc.
List of the 5 Best Steel Structure Design Software
To have a basic understanding of what type of best steel structure design software we can use, we have decided to integrate a list with some of the best and those that offer results with successful precision.
1. CYPECAD
Cypecad has been designed to be able to accurately form the dimensions of reinforced concrete and metal structures for both buildings and civil works. These structures can be made up of different materials such as concrete, metallic or mixed beams or pillars, slab foundations, screens, and walls, etc.
These metal bras may be subjected to fire or horizontal and vertical elements, which is why these possible adversities are included in the design and calculation program.
This program also calculates the dimensions and checks the metal joints that are included in the anchor plates to approve their welding and bolting. Among the advantages of using this structural design software are:
- Reliability and simplicity in modeling and data entry.
- Generates a list of all the structural elements of the industrial project.
- Includes all the necessary documentation to deliver the projects (construction plans, calculation memory, and descriptive memory).
- It is the only program that performs the verification of the basal shear.
2. Tekla
The structure models created with Tekla software are designed to highlight the most accurate and reliable information that can be found, achieving a successful construction execution.
You will be able to work with all the materials and structures that you imagine, being you the one who sets the limits on the complexity of its composition. With this steel structure design software, new building structures have been designed, such as football stadiums, maritime platforms, residential buildings, and even bridges and skyscrapers.
Using this software, you will get some excellent benefits for your creations, such as:
- Collaboration and integration thanks to the open approach in BIM.
- Modeling of all the materials included in the project.
- Handling of all structures, including the most complex and the largest.
- Creation of the exact models you want to build.
- It will allow you to easily develop the information fluently, from the beginning of the design to the construction site.
3. Autodesk Robot
Autodesk is considered one of the most complete metal structure calculation programs on the market, becoming the Best Steel Structure Design Software for calculating, designing, and simulating metal structures at an international level. Among its benefits you can find:
- MEF technology (calculation and design by finite elements) allows us to analyze the construction as a whole and divide it into parts to study them in isolation.
- You will be able to calculate the steel joints, wooden structures, reinforcement sections, etc.
- Absolute reliability in the results, perfectly integrating with its interface BIM and MEP structural design softwares for architectural and construction design.
- Algorithm system allowing us to analyze multiple structural configurations so that you can quickly choose which is the best design.
- Includes different codes, standards, and materials worldwide, making it the international software par excellence.
- It can be presented in up to 14 different languages.
4. SAP2000
SAP2000 is a special steel building design software for modeling, analyzing, and dimensioning any finite element structure, with a 3D graphical interface.
You will be able to model, analyze, and size the set of materials of any metallic engineering. It has maximum reliability and precise calculation power, making many engineers choose it as a daily work tool.
It includes great versatility in modeling structures, being able to use it for the construction of dams, industrial and maritime structures, bridges, and, in general, in any type of infrastructure that needs analysis and measurement of dimensions. You can handle from simple static models for 2D analysis to complex styles that require advanced analysis.
Among the advantages you can find:
- A wide selection of templates to start design projects quickly and easily. You will be able to use parametric models for structures such as 2D and 3D lattices, stairs, dam and tube structures, etc.
- Ease of defining custom views and elevations to view and manipulate the analytical and physical models.
- The grids can be drawn through a Cartesian, cylindrical, or generic reference, rolling in any direction or being placed at any starting point chosen in the model.
- Automatic calculation meshes can be generated. You just have to select an object and choose the mesh generator you want.
- It also automatically generates seismic and wind applications in reference to the bases in international regulations.
The calculation of metal profiles includes the optimization of the dimensions of the elements and the necessary regulations to check and size. You will be able to see the results of any element interactively, being able to update the same results after changing the parameters automatically.
5. Midas Software
Midas is a Steel Structure Design Software to model, comprehensively design, and analyze metallic structures, forming the specialty of all this great steel building design software. It is used for civil engineering as the last generation tool for finite elements to apply them in solving structural, geotechnical, and mechanical engineering problems.
With the addition of Midas Civil, a module for solving structural engineering problems, you will be able to design the construction of bridges, with the capacity for 3D modeling and 2D analysis and details.
The advantages of using Midas are many, but among them, you can benefit:
- Unlimited number of elements / nodes / load combinations.
- Advanced algorithms of elements such as cables, rigid plates, variable section beams, etc.
- Significant increase in the analysis speed using the multifrontal solution.
- Heat analysis.
- Mobile Uploads.
What Are the Structural Reforms in Buildings?
Formally speaking, they refer to a series of construction processes that aim to modify a certain structure. Consequently, these modifications will not be merely superficial but will affect the building’s very foundations.
Likewise, the construction processes involved are not the same as those that would be carried out in the reform of a house, for example.
When reform of these characteristics is carried out, it is usually because the conditions of a building’s habitability are at stake, which can lead to landslides, subsidence, or even collapse.
Resolving this threat should be left in the hands of qualified professionals who will usually take considerable time to get the job done.
In many cases, buildings that undergo structural reform are not ready for direct living.
It would be the case of those who suffer the consequences of an earthquake or of those that are, for example, more than a century old.
However, these kinds of reforms can also be commissioned by members of a neighborhood community who, after an inspection, have received a warning from the competent administrations.
In this case, the renovations can be carried out without the owners having to abandon the houses forcibly.
What is the Rehabilitation of Building Structures?
The rehabilitation of the structures depends on the causes that originate it. If a building is affected by an earthquake, it can be consolidated again, leaving it as it was before.
If you also want to prevent a new earthquake, you can increase its overload capacity.
However, these reforms can also be limited to detecting design errors in the building itself and correcting them to avoid fatal consequences.
And the same would happen if the building does not comply with the current building regulations for one reason or another.
The processes involved in reform are many and very varied. For example, at the time of consolidating concrete structures again, connections between beams and columns could be added, those elements that have been irretrievably damaged could be replaced, or concrete frameworks reinforced.
Beyond that, these processes may also include measures relating to the restoration of the masonry.
In certain cases, these are considered structural in nature and, when the building is inhabited and not threatened by any possible catastrophe, they are the most common.
These include the reinforcement of wall panels and columns or pillars that have been built with brick. The increase in the connections between the thickness of reinforced concrete and the masonry itself, the strengthening of walls, and so on.
Beyond these examples, structural renovations in buildings can be considerably complicated.
It all depends on the building in question. For example, if it is a historic one that also has a rich architecture, the reform may lead to the consolidation of all kinds of vaults, arches, and other subtle elements.
On the other hand, the possibility of reinforcing wooden structures must be taken into account. Many buildings, especially if they are old, were built largely using this material.
The consequent problem is that, with the passage of time, wood tends to suffer negatively from moisture damage, especially if it is not properly treated.
Given this situation, efforts will be made to reduce all kinds of deformations and, later, increase the wood’s loadbearing capacity. This can be achieved, among other possibilities, by applying carbon fiber sheets or fiberglass structures.
In reality, in renovations of this category, fibers of all kinds are very normal, also those made of aramid or steel.
Each of them brings different qualities to the structure where it is applied. Those made of aramid, for example, increase resistance to violent vibratory shocks, which is why they are suitable for preventing the consequences of an earthquake.
What Are the Results of Structural Reforms in Buildings?
In general, there are three objectives to be achieved through these reforms.
1. The first would be to increase the deformation capacity of one or more structures present in the building.
This is how it gains resistance when receiving the stakes of an earthquake or any type of impact. The structure may, in fact, become deformed but not for that reason to crack or sink.
2. A second objective would be to increase the resistance to bending types in relation to key structural elements such as concrete columns.
If these pillars do not meet this requirement, the entire building is in serious danger. Reinforcing concrete structures requires professional companies for the job.
3. The third objective would also be to increase the resistance of other equally important elements such as the roof beams.
If these three goals are achieved, the basic structure of the building will be safe. Then, to be fully habitable, it would be necessary to take care of all those processes related to the masonry.
Once you have reached this point, you already know the basic implications of structural reforms in buildings. We hope this information has been helpful to you.
Conclusion
Designing and building metal structures with this list of Best Steel Structure Design Software will make you solve all the structural conflicts that arise in the simplest way possible. Depending on the type of construction, you can choose one or the other, adapting them to your projects to end up offering a guaranteed success.
