Latest release information
General |
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A 94-page manual covering SuperBeam and ProSteel is available for £5.95 + P&P. This replaces the previous DVD box manuals and reinstates much of the technical background information that was in the earlier A5 manuals. Orders for this manual are handled by Lulu, a print on demand service - please allow 7-10 days for delivery. Do not send orders for manuals to us as we will have to return them to you. |
Hollow sections - warning! |
Hollow sections can be hot finished or cold formed. HF hollow section calculations are only applicable to hot-finished sections. On more recent releases we print 'HF' next to the section name to emphasise this. Cold-formed sections have lower capacities and should not be substituted for hot-finished sections without explicitly checking their adequacy. Corus supply two grades of cold-formed section, Strongbox® 235 and Hybox® 355. The Steel Construction Institute Advisory Desk note AD271 states "... it is strongly recommended that Strongbox 235 sections should not be used in structural applications; in particular where designs must comply with building regulations and/or design codes" |
What's a PFC?
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More recent steel data files include additional section types. PFC stands for Parallel Flange Channel, a channel section in which the inner and outer faces of the flanges are parallel. See SCI Publication 210: Parallel Flange Channels - Section Properties and Member Capacities, 1996. IPE and HE are Euronorm I sections. A SFB (Slimflor Fabricated Beam) former comprises a UC section with a plate projecting 100mm either side welded on to the lower flange. An ASB (Asymmetric Beam) section is a rolled I section with the bottom flange 110mm wider than the top flange. |
Column base plate sizing |
A query has been raised re base plate sizing. ProSteel calculates the base plate thickness using the minimum base plate size, which is a function of the section size and concrete strength. If you make the base larger, the additional area is ignored. This is all in accordance with BS5950, but one user has pointed out that when designing mezzanine floors the base area is often determined by the permissible load on the subgrade below the slab, less an allowance for load dispersal through the slab. In such cases the base plate thickness should be calculated by using the actual size and actual stress under the whole plate which will give a greater plate thickness than ProSteel indicates. In such cases you will need to calculate the base plate thickness manually. |
Mezzanine floor column effective lengths |
Please note that the effective lengths for columns supporting internal platform (mezzanine) floors are given in Annex D Table D1. The factors rang from 0.70L to 4.00L. The ProSteel design dialog lets you type in your own effective length factor as well as selecting the standard values from the drop-down list. If you are involved in mezzanine floor design we would strongly advise you to obtain a copy of BRE Digest 437 - available from BRE Bookshop |
Latest releases
Details of changes made in ...
2011 . 2010 . 2009 . 2008 .... 2004 . 2003 . 2002 . -2001
2011 changes
Release 5.41g, 10 Nov 2011Users whose activation key ends in B11-D12 can download this release using the Miscellaneous, Check Website for Updates option within the program. How to use the web updates facility |
Changes affecting item (beam/bearing/column) notesYou will see a new button to the top right of the notes pane in each of the item edit dialogs. When pressed, any notes text is redisplayed in the same editor window used for text pages. Press OK to return to the item edit dialog. A change has been made to the way in which item notes are handled:
Further connection checking and design changesIn release 5.42f we tightened up the calculation of bolt bearing resistances, calculating a reduced resistance where the end or edge distance was less than 2d. We are now calculating the vertical and horizontal loads arising from the load being carried by the connection, and from these the direction of the resultant load. The bolt end distance is now taken as the distance from the bolt centre measuring along this line until the edge of the beam web or cleat/plate is reached. This change has the effect of increasing the bolt bearing capacity where the end or edge distance is less than 2d. Where the end and edge distances are >=2d nothing changes. Other changes
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Release 5.41f, 23 Aug 2011 |
Connection checking and design changes
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Release 5.41e, 2 May 2011 |
Two minor fixes:
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Release 5.41d, 18 Jan 2011 |
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