IDEA StatiCa for Long Span Structures

Every project contains complex connections. Dealing with those connections is challenging and requires thorough design and assessment, which can be almost impossible without proper tools. 

With IDEA StatiCa, you can visualize complex connections in 3D and design them with confidence for long span structures, including:

• Stadiums & arenas
• Exhibition halls
• Airport terminals & aircraft hangars
• Railway stations
• Large industrial buildings such as factories and warehouses
• And more

1. Model global frame in global analysis software
2. Transfer nodes & load combinations via Checkbot
3. Design & code-check in IDEA StatiCa Connection
4. Create report in 3 clicks

• Approximately 2,500 tons of steel were engineered, produced, preserved, and assembled to create the new roof of a stadium
• A 600-ton, 170-meter-long truss forms the showstopper arch spanning the spectator stand, constructed from circular hollow sections with partly welded, partly bolted connections
• The wide span and construction over the existing stadium meant large movements, with joints needing to slide freely up to 250 millimeters in both directions 

• A large aircraft hangar maintenance facility in Pampanga, Philippines, in a typhoon prone, high seismic zone
• Roof uplift pressures of 3.5 kPa and wall pressures of 3.18 kPa from 260 kph design wind speeds, plus significant seismic forces at truss to column connections
• End plate connections using plates up to 50mm thick and M56 bolts, with individual connections weighing up to 1.6 tonnes
• IDEA StatiCa's Bill of Materials was used to estimate total connection tonnage, replacing labor intensive plate by plate manual calculations, with results matching manual checks

• Designing double curved dome's varying pipe angles and fork joint connections, where each joint required different, precise detailing due to the curvature
• Verifying verified the bottom ring joints against a required normal force of 2818 kN while meeting strict conditions like galvanizing sinkholes, fully welded connections, and bolted only site assembly
• For the diagonal bracing, IDEA StatiCa Connection resolved fabrication tolerance sensitivity and the problem of galvanizing holes weakening critical cross-sections, delivering perfectly welded plates without needing those holes

• A rarely used pinned base connection needed software that could account for pin hole tolerances after fabrication
• A joint with 13 members converging at irregular angles was designed in hours using IDEA StatiCa
• Saved connection templates cut engineering time by roughly 20 percent across 150+ similar connections
• Shared IDEA StatiCa Viewer links let the detailing team inspect models directly and build in Tekla, replacing 2D sketch based approvals

• Design all connections considering high vertical loads, complex connection details, and increased seismic requirements
• Import internal forces from global analysis software avoiding transfer errors
• Analyse highly stressed joints and assess stress distributions