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CUFSM 4.04
Elastic Buckling Analysis of
Thin-walled Members
with general end boundary conditions
Thin-walled members, by their very
nature, have the potential to suffer from a variety of cross-section
stability problems. CUFSM employs the semi-analytical finite strip
method to provide solutions for the cross-section stability of such
members. The software has been successfully used by researchers,
educators, students, and practicing engineers. While CUFSM is most commonly used for thin-walled cold-formed steel members, it has also been
used for a large variety of other materials and applications. In this latest version the solution has been expanded to allow for general end boundary conditions.
Find the local, distortional
and global buckling load of your member now! Use CUFSM.
Background
The semi-analytical finite strip method is a variant of the more
common finite element method. A thin-walled cross-section is discretized
into a series of longitudinal strips, or elements. Based on these strips
elastic and geometric stiffness matrices can be formulated. The
procedure is readily recognizable by anyone who has studied matrix
analysis of structures, but is specialized to apply to plate
deformations beyond conventional beam theory. A paper describing the
finite strip method, as implemented in CUFSM3 is available (pdf) and now the new features of CUFSM4, which covers general end boundary conditions are also deatiled (pdf). The solution allows a user to explore all potential
cross-section instabilities in a given member in an expedient and
interactive manner.
What's new (version 4.04)
CUFSM 4.04 repreents a major change from CUFSM 3.12 that has been available for the last 4 years. CUFSM now applies to members with general end boundary conditions. The constrained finite strip method (cFSM) is also fully implemented in this version. Due to the changes some interface changes and improvements were also completed - the most major of which was to split "lengths and boundary conditions" on to their own page. The cFSM implemented in CUFSM is discussed briefly in this paper and this paper and the cFSM idea is also
discussed further here.
Tutorials
Formal tutorials created and proofed by the writers of CUFSM are not yet availabl; however graduate student in the Thin-walled Structures Group have created new tutorials for CUFSM4 that can serve to help users learn the new capabilities and modified interface for CFUSM4.
..Videos frrom Kara Peterman: Signature curve, cFSM
..Powerpoint tutorial from Jiazhen Leng:
CUFSM
For more tutorials See CUFSM 3.12 for tutorials all functions available in CUFSM 3.12 are available in CUFSM 4 though the interface has been updated in some cases.
Download
CUFSM version 4.03
Standalone
version for PCs
Windows 32-bit
Installation is a 2-step process
1. Download and install Matlab component runtime engine
2. Download and install CUFSM4.04 setup
Windows 64-bit
Installation is a 2-step process
1. Download and install Matlab component runtime engine
2. Download and install CUFSM4.04 setup
Mac OS X version currently not available.
Matlab open
source version for any platform
Download all m-files4.04 source
Installation:
unzip the files to the directory of your choice. To run in matlab open
the file cufsm4.m and then hit the run button on the toolbar in the
matlab editor, OR, change directory in matlab to the directory you
unzipped the files into by selecting the "..." button after the current
directory listing, and then type "cufsm4" in the command window.
License and Distribution
CUFSM is open
source, Academic
Free License v 1.2. Please provide a reference to the author (Ben Schafer) and
note the version you are using.
Archive
of older CUFSM versions are also available for download. Contact schafer@jhu.edu
with problems. |
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Referencing CUFSM
CUFSM is open source, see license. However users of the software are
asked to reference the software when they publish results using CUFSM.
The currently recommended reference is the following summary paper:
Li, Z., Schafer, B.W. (2010) “Buckling analysis of cold-formed steel members with general boundary conditions using CUFSM: conventional and constrained finite strip methods.” Proceedings of the 20th Int;l. Spec. Conf. on Cold-Formed Steel Structures, St. Louis, MO. November, 2010. (pdf)
Direct Strength Method
The Direct Strength Method is a design method for cold-formed steel
members that uses cross-section elastic buckling solutions, determined
by tools such as CUFSM, as the primary input to the strength prediction.
The Direct Strength Method was created in the Thin-walled Structures
Research Group and much more information can be found on this page:
DSM homepage.
Archive
All older versions of CUFSM,
including supporting materials are available in the
archive. Note CUFSM v2.5
and v2.6 provide standalone versions that run well on older PCs. CUFSM 3.12 is currently supported for XP PCs and available here.
Sponsors
Note, the materials developed to
support CUFSM and the program CUFSM were both developed, in part,
through the sponsorship of research projects with the American Iron and
Steel Institute ( www.steel.org ) and
the National Science Foundation (
www.nsf.gov ). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material (or through this software)
are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
National Science Foundation or the American Iron and Steel Institute.
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