Load combinations

Combinations of loads will be generated automatically based on the safety and combination factors shown in the Load groups dialogue .

How to automatically generate the combinations

To automatically generate the combinations:

At the beginning, the table won’t contain any combinations. Click . The following dialogue appears.

Some NA to Eurocode allow you to generate the ULS combinations according to ‘Eq. 6.10‘ or the less conservative equations ‘Eq. 6.10a and 6.10b’.
The second option (‘Eq. 6.10a and 6.10b’) generates twice a much combinations (= longer calcualtion time) but often leads to more economical solutions.
For European countries where the national annex doesn’t allow the choice between Eq. 6.10 and Eq. 6.10a&b, the appropriate equation is applied automatically.
Indicate which load combinations should be generated. We distinguish classic combinations of loads according to
- the ultimate limit state
  - ULS FC for the fundamental combinations
  - ULS SC for seismic combinations
  - ULS FI for fire combinations
- the combinations in the service limit state
  - SLS RC for rare combinations
  - SLS FC for frequent combinations
  - SLS QP for combinations quasi-permanent
Hit “OK” to generate the combinations.
Use the tab pages to browse through all the combinations by limit state.
This keeps an overview of all the combinations that are generated in the project.

To create a custom combination:

Give the combination a name.
Indicate the type of combination.
This way Diamonds knows which safety coëfficients for the materials to use during the design.
Impose the combination factor ψ and the partial safety factor γ for each load group.

Select the combination you want to edit and click on . The same dialogue as in “How to create a custom combination” appears.
Make the necessary edits.

To delete a combination:

select it from the list and click .
If you want to delete several combinations at once, use the CTRL– or SHIFT-key on your keyboard while making the selection. The selected combinations are marked in light blue.
- With the CTRL-key, you select two combinations in which Diamonds also selects intermediate combinations.
- With the SHIFT-key, you can select them one by one.

Select with SHIFT

Select with CTRL

With the button you can export the combinations for later use in another project.
To import a previously saved set of combinations, click the button .
Note that the import of combinations only works, if the Load groups dialogue contains the exact same load groups. If even a name of the laod group is spelled incorrectly, the import will not work.