Using RC Design Functions 4 – Umom and new MaxAx function

Posted on 21/07/2013 by dougaj4

Previous post in this series.

Download latest version of RC Design Functions6.

Previous posts in this series have looked at elastic design functions.  We now move on to functions for ultimate limit state (ULS) analysis of reinforced concrete sections:

  • UMom: ULS analysis of rectangular reinforced concrete sections with two layers of reinforcement under combined bending moment and axial load. Australian and ACI codes.
  • UMomPF:  As UMom but for codes using a partial factor approach; Eurocode 2, BS 5400 and BS 8110.
  • MaxAx:  New.  Moment magnification factor for slender columns, and maximum axial load, including slenderness effects (AS 3600 only).

Input for the functions is shown below:

uMom-in
Output from the UMom function is controlled by the parameters: Out1 and Out2, as for the EStress functions, with 11 columns (selected by Out1) and up to 17 rows (selected by Out2).  Alternatively a complete column may be displayed by entering the function as an array function, with Ctrl-Shift-Enter.
Umom output columns 1 to 6:uMom-out1
Umom output columns 7 to 11: uMom-out2
UMomPF provides similar functionality for Eurocode 2 and BS 5400 and BS 8110: uMomPF-out
The new MaxAx function provides 3 alternative outputs (controlled by the Out1 parameter):

  1. the moment magnification factor for a specified axial load (Out1 = 1, default)
  2. the maximum axial load for a specified eccentricity, (Out1 = 2)
  3. loading line to the maximum axial load, for a specified eccentricity (Out1 > 2)

uMomMaxAx-out

Graph of average column stress for maximum axial load against slenderness ratio (Le/r), generated using the MaxAx function:

StressvLe

The “Interaction Diagram” sheet uses the Umom and MaxAx functions to create an interaction diagram, using the input on the Umom Input sheet.
uMomInt-Diag

Further details of input and output options are given on the download file:
RC Design Functions6.

Posted in Beam Bending, Concrete, Excel, Newton, UDFs, VBA | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Concrete ULS spreadsheet update-2

Posted on 17/07/2013 by dougaj4

The concrete ULS design spreadsheet last posted at: Concrete ULS spreadsheet update has been updated to fix a problem encountered with non-symmetrical reinforcement using the Eurocode 2 rectangular stress block.

Download from ULS Design Functions.

Typical input and output interaction diagram are shown below for a simple rectangular section with asymmetric reinforcement.

Umom Input

Umom Input

Umom Interaction Diagram

Umom Interaction Diagram

Posted in Beam Bending, Concrete, Excel, Newton, UDFs, VBA | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Rain, Steam and Speed

Posted on 14/07/2013 by dougaj4
Rain, Steam and Speed; JMW Turner

Rain, Steam and Speed; JMW Turner

Rain, Steam and Speed - detail

Rain, Steam and Speed – detail

Joseph Mallord William Turner and Isambard Kingdom Brunel were the leading British practitioners in their respective fields in the 19th Century.  Their works came together in Turner’s painting “Rain, Steam and Speed”, which depicts Brunel’s Maidenhead Railway Bridge over the Thames, which at the time of its construction was the longest span and flattest masonry arch structure in the World.

The painting is discussed here:


with a longer discussion of Turner’s works portraying the Industrial Revolution here:

Brunel’s work on the Maidenhead Railway Bridge is described at this site:

Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide

which includes a wide range of historical images and texts relating to the bridge.

Brunel's design for Maidenhead Railway Bridge

Brunel’s design for Maidenhead Railway Bridge

Brunel's design for Maidenhead Railway Bridge

Brunel’s design for Maidenhead Railway Bridge

Posted in Arch structures, Bach, Historic Bridges, Newton | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Concrete ULS spreadsheet update

Posted on 10/07/2013 by dougaj4

The ULS Design Functions spreadsheet has been updated with the addition of provision for the Eurocode 2 rectangular stress block.  The new spreadsheet can be downloaded from:  ULS Design Functions.zip (including full open-source code).

For more details see: ULS Analysis of Concrete Beams; now with added units

Typical input screen:

ULS Design Functions-2

Posted in Concrete, Excel, Newton, UDFs, VBA | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Sydney Opera House and Peter Rice

Posted on 05/07/2013 by dougaj4

This year is the 40th anniversary of the opening of the Sydney Opera House, and to mark the occasion the ABC and the Sydney Opera House Trust have put together an interactive web site documenting the history of the structure:
The Opera House Project

Have a look at the Youtube video below for background on what the site has to offer, and how and why it was made:

or go direct to the Operahouseproject site below, (note that if you are running IE 10 you will get a message telling you to “upgrade” to a more modern version, like IE 9; it worked without problems for me in Chrome).

OperHouse1

Coincidentally, I discovered on Colin Caprani’s site a video on the life and works of Peter Rice, who spent a significant part of his early career working on the design and construction of the Opera House roof structures in London and Sydney.

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