Steel Calculator

The SAFI Steel Calculator is a simple and efficient stand alone program which is used to verify or optimize simple structures such as continuous beams and columns. It is also used efficiently as a validation tool to verify design results of specific elements of a larger model created by other structural design software packages.It has won the 2000 Merit Award given by the Modern Steel Construction magazine of the AISC to selected high quality products.The program optimizes or verifies predefined parametric models according to the Canadian CAN/CSA-S16-01 and CAN/CSA-S6-00 design codes, the American ASD-89 and LRFD-99 codes and the European EC-3 code using standard CISC, AISC or European sections or parametric section shapes libraries created with the core SAFI engine (SAFI 2D or SAFI 3D). Design optimization and automatic section selection features make economic and quality steel structures a reality.To account for steel shape availability, the program can also perform verifications on all section shapes of a given category.Predefined models include :Cantilever beam.Simple beam with most support conditions.Continuous beam with up to four spans.Column with offset loads with most support conditions.Gerber beam (continuous beam with two cantilever).The various design parameters such as unbraced length, bending coefficients and second order effects coefficients can be customized to tune-up the models. Load combinations are created automatically by the program according to various methods such as the NBCC, BOCA, UBC, ASCE 7 and EuroCodes. Load patterns for continuous beams are also be carried out automatically by the program. Load combinations and load patterns can be edited, added or removed to tune-up the models.Graphical tools are provided to validate the models, section dimensions and loads. Design and Verification Features The program calculates the bending, compression, tension, shear and combined resistance of predefined parametric models based on the results of a linear analysis. Deflections are also verified according to user defined criterions.Singly symmetric, asymmetric and built-up section shapes are covered for all design codes with special care given when designing for combined stresses using the ASD code.The program optimizes the section shapes to minimize the weight of the elements of the model. This optimization is performed with respect to the complete or customized lists of standard section shapes as well as any user defined library of standard and parametric sections shapes created with the core SAFI engine (SAFI 2D or SAFI 3D).Geometrical limits can be defined to control the dimensions and properties of the section shapes selected by the optimization engine. The optimization engine optionally checks various deflection criterions in the section selection process.