In the ultimate configuration of the steel joint design, you have the option to modify the limit plastic strain for welds.
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![Steel Connection Rigidity and Its Influence on Structural Design](/en/webimage/051432/3972404/Rigidity-caseA.png?mw=512&hash=3be64e68ab2956fd2b92f0afa1559b3a8c72b468)
Understanding steel connection rigidity is crucial in structural design. Often, connections are treated as strictly pinned or rigid, but this can lead to uneconomical or even dangerous designs. Explore how Dlubal Software's RFEM and Steel Joints add-on help verify connection stiffness and moment resistance, ensuring safer and more economical designs.
![Supporting Structure](/en/webimage/040038/3505659/1_Tragkonstruktion.jpg?mw=512&hash=b2147bfe692511de7b1da8159becc11136d10522)
In this article, a lap joint of a ZL purlin on a monopitch roof is modeled and designed using the Steel Joints add-on, and compared with the load-bearing capacity table of the manufacturer.
![Running Steel Joint Design](/en/webimage/030019/3272843/7_calculaiton.png?mw=512&hash=d4da9e78f2ced1add1ae39c3756578cd5568ddcd)
The advantage of the RFEM 6 Steel Joints add-on is that you can analyze steel connections using an FE model for which the modeling runs fully automatically in the background. The input of the steel joint components that control the modeling can be done by defining the components manually, or by using the available templates in the library. The latter method is included in a previous Knowledge Base article titled “Defining Steel Joint Components Using the Library". The definition of parameters for the design of steel joints is the topic of the Knowledge Base article “Designing Steel Joints in RFEM 6".
![Editing Steel Joint](/en/webimage/030012/3272726/1._Steel_Joint.png?mw=512&hash=1dac5a5280780ec7f5c77fa1f5bda2f347d4c0ba)
Steel connections in RFEM 6 are defined as an assembly of components. In the new Steel Joints add-on, universally applicable basic components (plates, welds, auxiliary planes) are available for entering complex connection situations. The methods with which connections can be defined are considered in two previous Knowledge Base articles: “A Novel Approach to Designing Steel Joints in RFEM 6" and “Defining Steel Joint Components Using the Library".
![Add-on "Steel Joints for RFEM 6" | Component Library](/en/webimage/043097/3898884/steel_joints_components.png?mw=512&hash=e4f835906155863fc7019d5043b22e553dc766f9)
- Numerous component types, such as base and end plates, web angles, fin plates, gusset plates, stiffeners, tapers, or ribs for easy input of typical connection situations
- Universally applicable basic components (such as plates, welds, bolts, auxiliary planes) for modeling complex connection situations
- Graphical display of the connection geometry with dynamic updating during the input
- Wide range of cross-section shapes: I-sections, U-sections, angles, T-sections, hollow sections, built-up cross-sections and thin-walled sections
- Library in the Dlubal Center with a large number of program-side template connections, including user-defined templates
- Automatic adaptation of the connection geometry based on the relative arrangement of the components to each other – even in case of subsequent editing of the structural components
![Feature 002820 | Limit Plastic Strain for Welds](/en/webimage/050344/3881226/1.png?mw=512&hash=9d7f6c198b6d4ae6ee8f2fa8bca75f85579e14c9)
In the ultimate configuration of the steel joint design, you have the option to modify the limit plastic strain for welds.
![Component "Base Plate"](/en/webimage/050345/3936120/50345.png?mw=512&hash=3bd641cb1a2445804b338855e4debfc40c6563e9)
The "Base Plate" component allows you to design base plate connections with cast-in anchors. In this case, plates, welds, anchorages, and steel-concrete interaction are analyzed.
![Feature 002688 | Component "Auxiliary Solid"](/en/webimage/044430/3642272/44430_EN.png?mw=512&hash=a3c65bb2e2fb9a83b69b7ccd9da0d719aac74c7b)
Plates and structural elements can be precisely cut using the "Auxiliary Solid" component in the Steel Joint add-on. Within this component, you can use the shapes of a box, a cylinder, or any cross-section as a guide object.
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