FAQ:

„I have changed the language of ConSteel to „X”, and some phrases are still in „Y” language. Am I doing something wrong?”

No, in the current, 9th version of ConSteel, changing the languages may need some explanation. Currently, languages can be changed in three places, for different purposes:

    1. Language of the user interface can be changed in the Options-Languages dialog. When starting a new model, by default, ConSteel always choses the last used language. By changing it, all of the text content on the screen and on the dialogs will be translated, but to apply the changes, the program needs to be restarted.

The following languages are available at the moment, in ConSteel 9:

English, German, Hungarian, Romanian, Russian, Slovenian, Polish, Spanish, Slovak, Portuguese, Serbian, Turkish, Chinese, Bulgarian, Greek and Italian

    2.  Language of default model scripts can be set when starting a new model. These model scripts are generated with the creation of a new model file, and they can only be changed by manually modifying them. For example, this function is useful, when it is destined that the Documentation has to be generated with spanish language, but we want to use english during the designing process. By selecting spanish for these scripts at the creation of a new model, they will appear in the documentation  with the selected language later.

The following phrases belongs to default model scripts:

-Default names of layers

-default names of certain types of supports and end-releases

-Default names of Loads, Loadcases and Load combinations

    3.   Documentation language can be chosen on the New Document dialog, and it can be changed later at any time during the process of the documentation of a model. Language of a finished document can also be changed to any of the available languages.

Naturally, user defined headings and text chapters will not be translated with the change of the documentation language.

Video
Tutorial about the generation of meteorological loads in ConSteel 9

-Automatic meteorological generation for 3D structures
-Automatic determination of the necessary meteorological load cases
-Wind load parameters (internal and external pressure, wind friction) settings acc. EC1
-Snow load parameters settings acc. EC1

Link:
Automatic meteorological load generation in ConSteel 9

Tips & tricks

     After running a Global check of the sturcutre, the result table on the bottom of the screen has a feature to select specific load combinations for the next Analysis.

To do this, selection of desired load combinations is needed. (As on all tables in ConSteel, multiple selection of different load combinations can be performed easily using Ctrl+select, or Shift+select features of Windows) With a right click on the selected combinations, a dialog will pop up that says „Select only these combination for the Analysis”  (picture below)

This feature of ConSteel can be very useful when working on a model with a lot of loadcases (wind in different directions, with and without internal pressure, snow,seismic etc.), hundreds of load combinations can be generated by the EN, and many of these combinations are irrelevant. Running an Analysis on all of the load combinations can take a lot of time, what could be saved, if the relevant load combinations are calculated only. To find them, it is necessary to know, that in ConSteel two types of load combinations can be used for calculation, and it can be decided on the „Analysis parameters” dialog which one to use:

-1. Calculate load combinations: direct calculation of previously created load combinations (can be used for first, second order, buckling, and vibration analysis too, but the running time is slower because of the huge amount of possible load combinations)

-2. Calculate simplified combinations by superposition: calculation of load combinations by superposition of the results of load cases (can be used for first order analysis only, but the running time is faster since only the load cases are calculated directly during the analysis, and load combination results are calculated by postprocess)

Fastest way of finding the relevant load combinations:

1, The first time when analysis is being performed use the Calculate simplified combinations by superposition option.

2, Under the global checks tab, design should be performed, and on the results table, selection of the load combinations with significant utilization should be selected. The limit value for significant utilization (accordingly the number of the selected load combinations which are applied for analysis) is the choice of the designing engineer, but it is generally true, that where first order utilization is low, stability problems will not appear.

3, The next run of analysis can be performed  using the Calculate load combination option only for the previously selected combinations, parameters can be extended (second order, buckling analysis…)

     To demonstrate the speed of this process, a simple example will be shown using the previously shown technique of finding relevant load combinations versus  when running all of the combinations:

The model that is being used, a simple structure, a steel hall with 20x40 m layout dimensions, a 7 m spine and 5 m corner height. 

Beside the Deadload and installations on the structure, Windload, snow, and exeptional snow loadcases were generated. There were: 

-27 load cases defined

-which are produced 143 load combinations in persistent and transient design situations

The running time of the whole design process on a laptop, using both the Calculate simplified combinations by superposition and Calculate load combination option:

-Analysis (using Calculate simplified combinations by superposition for all load combinations) 16 seconds

-Global check (first order, for all load combinations) 84 seconds
-Selection of load combinations with utilization higher than 30% for the analysis --13 load combinations all together (instead of  the original 143)

-Analysis (using the Calculate load combination option on previously selected load combinations) 28 seconds

-Global check (second order and buckling) 25 seconds

Total time: 2 minutes 33 seconds

The running time of the whole design process on a laptop, using only the Calculate load combination option on the analysis parameters panel:

-Analysis (using Calculate load combination option for all load combinations) 3:58 minutes

-Global check (second order and buckling) 3:26 minutes

Total time: 7 minutes 24 seconds

     So after all, on a relatively small model like we used, this design method can save a lot of time during the analysis, which can speed up the design process of a structure.
Even so, at the very end of designing a structure, it is advisable to run the analysis using the Calculate load combinations option for all load combinations.