ideCAD Structural handles structural crack control primarily through its Serviceability Limit State (SLS) assessments, which automatically verify crack width and deflection limits for reinforced concrete elements like beams and slabs. Crack Control & Analysis Features The software integrates crack analysis directly into the design workflow, ensuring structures meet international code requirements (such as EN 1992-1-1 ) for durability and aesthetics. Deflection & Cracking Tab : Within the design dialogs, you can access specific tabs to review calculated crack widths and ensure they stay within permissible limits. Automatic Calculation : It computes instantaneous and long-term deflections considering the cracked state of members. Fiber Model Analysis : Advanced analysis for columns and other elements uses a fiber model , which provides more accurate results for performance and crack-related failures. Visual Inspection Structural Inspection tab allows you to quickly identify elements that fail crack or reinforcement checks. Elements with insufficiencies are flagged in for immediate review. How to Access Crack Results To review crack-related data in ideCAD Structural Analysis + Design (F9) to generate structural results. Navigate to the Ribbon Menu Structural Inspection Concrete Design dialog for the specific element type (e.g., Beams or Slabs). Deflection & Crackings tab to see the calculated (crack width) values against the code-specified limits. Structural Performance & Risky Buildings For existing structures, ideCAD includes a Risky Building Analysis that evaluates the current state and structural risk, helping engineers determine if existing cracks indicate a need for strengthening or performance-based design. Download ideCAD Structural v10.93
The notification was a whisper that became a scream. Elara stared at the glowing screen, the black lines of the 3D model marred by a single, angry red zigzag. The IDEcad Structural Analysis software had done its job. It had found the crack. "The shear wall on the eastern core," she murmured, zooming in. The numbers flickered below the image: Stress Ratio: 1.24. Failure Imminent. She didn't scream. She didn't slam her fist. She just reached for the emergency satellite phone, her hands utterly steady. Three days ago, she had overridden the safety parameters. The client, Novus Terra Development, had demanded a lighter, more "elegant" exoskeleton for the Arcadia Spire. "The software is too conservative," their lead architect had purred, his smile as thin as the steel he wanted to save. "It's just a simulation." Elara had caved. She had silenced the warnings, locked the critical load combinations, and told the virtual construction crew to pour the concrete anyway. Now, back in the quiet hum of her home office, she was watching the future die. She toggled the view. The crack wasn't just a line on a screen. In IDEcad’s physics engine, it was a living thing. She watched its propagation simulation: a hairline fracture at Floor 42, branching like lightning at Floor 55, then a catastrophic, sudden shatter at Floor 78. The render turned from a proud pinnacle of glass and steel into a digital avalanche of red and grey polygons tumbling into a virtual void. Her phone buzzed. A text from the site manager: "Pouring 78th floor slab tomorrow. All sensors nominal. Any final thoughts?" Final thoughts. Elara looked out her window at the real Arcadia Spire, just a skeleton of rebar against the sunset. It was beautiful. It was a lie. She didn't send the text. She opened the archived file, the one she'd named "Project_Phoenix_SAFE." For three sleepless nights, she had rebuilt the original design—the heavy, ugly, correct one with the cross-braced core and the redundant buttresses. The one Novus Terra had rejected. Her finger hovered over the "Export to Fabrication" button. If she sent this new model, it would mean admitting her error. It would mean lawsuits, blacklisting, the end of her career. On the screen, the red crack flickered, and for a moment, she imagined she could hear it—a low, groaning whimper of stressed steel and crushed aggregate, the sound a building makes a second before it learns to fly, straight down. She closed her eyes. In her mind, she saw the people who would be having dinner on Floor 78 tomorrow night in her alternate, cracked reality. A young couple celebrating an anniversary. A tired nurse coming home from a double shift. A child doing homework at a kitchen table. When she opened her eyes, she pressed "Export." The crack on the screen vanished. And Elara finally allowed herself to scream.
Crack Width Verification (Design Check): Ensuring the structure meets code requirements for crack control. Non-Linear Analysis: Simulating how cracks form under load to check ductility. Drafting/Annotation: How to represent or annotate cracks in the 2D drawings.
Here is a detailed breakdown of how ideCAD handles structural cracks: idecad structural crack
1. Crack Width Verification (TS 500 / Eurocode) In standard reinforced concrete design, "checking for cracks" means verifying that the width of cracks under service loads does not exceed the limits set by the design code (e.g., Turkish Standard TS 500 or Eurocode 2).
Where to find it: In the Concrete Design mode. The Process: When ideCAD runs the design/verification of a beam or slab, it calculates the w_k (characteristic crack width). Parameters: The software uses the effective tension area, steel stress, and bond characteristics to calculate this. How to view results:
Go to the Analysis Results or Design Results tab. Select the element (Beam or Slab). Look for specific output labels like "Crack Width Control" or "Çatlama Kontrolü" (in the Turkish interface). The software will usually display a ratio (e.g., 0.85). If the ratio is $< 1.0$, the crack width is acceptable. If it fails ($> 1.0$), you need to add more reinforcement or change the section size. Elements with insufficiencies are flagged in for immediate
Slab Mats: For raft foundations and mat slabs, ideCAD performs rigorous crack checks based on the reinforcement layout provided.
2. Non-Linear Analysis (Pushover & Cracking) For advanced seismic analysis (Performance-Based Design), ideCAD allows users to "look at" the structural behavior after cracking occurs. Concrete elements crack during an earthquake, reducing their stiffness.
Plastic Hinges: ideCAD defines plastic hinges for beams and columns. The behavior of these hinges includes the cracking phase. Pushover Analysis (Statik İtme): When you run a pushover analysis, the software calculates the capacity curve. The "cracking" point is the initial deviation from linear elasticity. Visualization: You can view the damage levels of elements. The software color-codes elements based on their state: Non-Linear Analysis (Pushover &
Elastic (No Crack/Damage) Cracked (Immediate Occupancy) Significant Damage (Life Safety) Collapsed (Near Collapse)
This allows you to visually see where structural cracks will likely form during a seismic event.