Automatic reinforcement of precast concrete floors

Specifically for the calculation of precast concrete floors and beams, there is now MatrixLigger. Under the hood, the same calculation heart of MatrixFrame but with additional functionalities, such as prestressing, phasing, shear plane calculation, fire resistance testing and deflection design. Not per floor, but in one run for all floors within a project.

For the automatic reinforcement of precast concrete floors, several solutions are floating around in the Benelux, knows Jan Willem Fokkema of Matrix Software. "The majority of that software is based on an old model. MatrixLigger is a modern alternative with an incredibly intelligent calculation heart. This makes it the ideal calculation software for structural engineers of wide slab floors, hollow core slabs and ribbed floors. You put data into it at the front end, then a reinforcement proposal automatically rolls out."

XML file format

Matrix's software can handle XML. "In fact, we talk XML," Fokkema emphasizes. "When you save a project in our software, it saves an XML file. It's the open data format used throughout the construction world to send data from one application to another. So no conversion needs to take place for our software. That's pretty unique. Through an API, our users can also provide all kinds of standard commands, such as 'create load combinations', 'perform a test deflection' or 'make a reinforcement proposal'. You can set it all up personally."

CAD/CAM integration

"With MatrixLigger integrated into our CAD/CAM solution IC-Prefab, it is possible to design floors at lightning speed," continues Fokkema. "With the push of a button, we automatically finish the elements. This takes into account all preconditions set by the production site: element dimensions, fitting plates, lattice girders, reinforcement diameters, reinforcement combinations, strand patterns, and so on. The results can then be shared in a representative report with clients, chief structural engineers and controlling structural engineers."

All of Matrix's software, including MatrixLigger, can be fully integrated into other solutions, according to Fokkema. "It opens the door to hang our software under a configurator, for example. Or you can connect it to applications such as Revit, Tekla, Grasshopper and Dynamo. The calculations are performed 'under the hood' by our software, but the results are displayed directly in the relevant software. We find that many companies are increasingly relying on that, and that's what we've been capitalizing on for years."