Objective
LTBeam is a software which deals with the elastic "Lateral Torsional Buckling of Beams" under bending action about their major axis.
LTBeam is a software to be used for the Design of Steel Structures. It has been developed by CTICM (Centre Technique Industriel de la Construction Métallique - France) in the frame of an european research project partially funded by the European Community for Steel and Coal (ECSC Project N° 7210-PR183 : "Lateral torsional buckling of steel and composite beams" - 1999-2002).
Description
The lateral torsional buckling phenomenon (LTB) appears when the bending action reaches a critical level. It generates suddenly and simultaneously a lateral bending deformation and a longitudinal torsional deformation along the unrestrained length of beam.
LTBeam calculates the elastic critical moment Mcr and provides useful information about the buckling mode for various loading and restraint conditions. Mcr is generally needed in regulatory codes for resistance checks of structural members to lateral torsional buckling.
LTBeam applies to straight single- or multi-span beams, under simple bending about their strong axis, with doubly - or mono-symmetrical cross-sections about this plane of bending. Lateral restraints against LTB may be discrete or continuous, full or elastic, and may concern the lateral displacement, the torsional rotation, the lateral flexural rotation and the warping. As the loading, lateral restraints may be applied at a distance above or beneath the shear centre of the cross-sections.
LTBeam is rather designed to deal with steel beams, but others materials can be used, on condition that appropriate properties be input.
Minimum System Requirements
LTBeam is developed for Windows environment and has been successfully tested on Windows 9x, NT, 2000 and XP configurations.
For Windows Vista, it is strongly recommended to install LTBeam outside the Program Files directory, for instance in a root directory such as C:\LTBEAM; doing this, the application should work correctly.
To use the help file of the software under Windows Vista, the WinHlp32.exe file from Microsoft is required. See Windows Help program (WinHlp32.exe) for Windows Vista.
- 14 Mb of free disk space,
- a 32768 colors palette (16 bits colors) or higher,
- 500 MHz minimum speed recommended.
Current release: v1.08 - January 2009 (read releaseinfo.txt for the changes)
Installation
Unzip the downloaded file and run SETUP.EXE, after having uninstalled any existing former version.
Working language in LTBeam
LTBeam is normally installed with English as working language. LTBeam can also work in French. To turn to French,
- choose the item "Options" in the menu "Tools",
- select "Français" in the tab "General",
- click the button "OK".