Practical advanced analysis software for nonlinear inelastic dynamic analysis of steel structures

This paper presents a practical advanced analysis software which can be used for nonlinear inelastic dynamic analysis of space steel structures. The proposed software can predict accurately the nonlinear response of a steel structure by using only one element per member in structural modeling. Three types of element including both geometric and material nonlinearities are implemented in the proposed software: (1) catenary cable element; (2) truss element; and (2) beam-column element. An incremental-iterative solution scheme based on the Newmark method and the Newton-Raphson method is adopted for solving the nonlinear equations of motion. Several numerical examples are presented to verify the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed software in predicting the nonlinear response of steel structures. The proposed program is shown to be an efficient and reliable tool for daily use in design. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.