PolyBeam still has the simplicity known from WinBeam, and is ideal for small projects involving beams. In addition to the well-known features from WinBeam, Polybeam has a few new features such as:
- Plastic hinges
- Load combinations
- Eurocode 2, 3 and 5 design check
- Natural Frequency Analysis
- Eurocode 3 fire design check
Plastic hinges
Plastic hinges allows for a redistribution of sectional forces when the capacity of a statically indeterminate beam is reached in one section. In some cases, this can increase the capacity of the beam by more than 20%. This redistribution can be avoided by manually entering a moment of inertia of the beam.
Load combinations
Load combinations allow the user to define both SLS and ULS load combinations by multiplying the characteristic loads by a user defined factor. With this addition it is easier to design the beam. If the user doesn’t define any load combinations, then all loads will be applied to the structure like WinBeam and the both ULS and SLS will be determined.
Eurocode design check
Steel, timber and concrete beams can be designed according to Eurocode for shear, bending moment, lateral torsional buckling and other relevant design checks, this feature makes it easy to choose the most optimal section.
Natural frequency analysis
With this new feature it is possible to determine whether the beam is prone to vibrations. This is often of interest with floor separations and staircases.
Eurocode 3 fire design check
The steel beam can be designed for shear, bending moment and lateral torsional buckling for the standard time-temperature curves (R30, R60, R120) or for a user determined steel temperature.