Civil Engineering and ConstructionComputer Aided Structural Analysis and Design
A finite element model will return a tidy set of member forces whether its supports, releases and load paths are right or badly wrong, and the software cannot tell you which. This course teaches engineers to build analysis models they can defend. Delegates start from the stiffness method that sits underneath every package, then move through idealising frames, trusses and slabs, choosing element types, meshing plates and shells, and modelling supports, releases and rigid links. Load cases and combinations to SANS and Eurocode practice follow, with second order effects and modal checks. Each stage ends with hand verification: equilibrium sums, deflection estimates and sanity checks on reactions. Delegates leave able to set up, interrogate and document a structural model, and to pass its results into member design without blind trust in the output.
Course objectives
- Explain the matrix stiffness method that underlies finite element structural software
- Idealise real buildings and frames into analysis models with appropriate members, nodes and supports
- Select beam, plate, shell and solid elements and a mesh density suited to the question being asked
- Define load cases and combinations consistent with SANS 10160 and Eurocode load provisions
- Interpret second order, buckling and modal results and recognise when they govern
- Verify computer output by hand using equilibrium, deflection estimates and reaction checks
- Transfer analysis results into member design checks and document the model for review
- Identify common modelling errors that produce plausible but incorrect results
Who should attend
- Graduate and junior structural engineers
- Civil engineers moving into building and industrial structures
- Structural technologists who prepare analysis models
- Checking engineers reviewing consultant calculations
- Design office leads setting modelling standards
Course outline
- 01The stiffness method behind the software
- 02Idealising structures into analysis models
- 03Element types and meshing of plates and shells
- 04Supports, releases, rigid links and diaphragms
- 05Load cases, patterns and combinations
- 06Second order effects, buckling and modal analysis
- 07Hand checks and verification of output
- 08From analysis results to member design
- 09Model documentation and peer review
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 6 November 2026 | Online | Online | R8,500 per delegate | |
| 28 December 2026 to 1 January 2027 | Dar es Salaam, Tanzania | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate | |
| 8 to 12 March 2027 | Port Louis, Mauritius | Classroom | USD 1,325 per delegate |
Computer Aided Structural Analysis and Design
From R8,500