Frequently asked questions

About the software

Can I model slabs, walls and elastic foundations yet?

Slabs, walls and shells, yes. They all run on the same four-node shell element, and the meshing that goes with them is in the same release. Bars, beams and 3D frames, with supports, springs, releases and rigid arms, have been there from the start.

Elastic foundations are half here. A line support — a Winkler stiffness per unit length along a member or along one edge of a slab — is live, which covers grade beams, strip footings and a wall bearing on ground. A bed under the face of a slab or raft is the part still to land. See Elastic foundations.

Can I get a model in and out?

Yes. IFC structural analysis models import and export, which is what BIM and detailing tools hand over. SAF 2.2 workbooks import and export, which is the interchange format SCIA, RFEM and others speak. DXF imports as a reference drawing to snap against — geometry to draw over, not geometry that becomes members. Result tables go out as CSV or .xlsx, and the report as PDF. Import and the .elproj project file are on every plan; export to other formats needs Pro.

Does my model get uploaded to solve it?

No. The finite element core is C++ compiled to WebAssembly and runs in your browser, on your own CPU. There is no solve server and no queue. Project data leaves your machine only to sync, back up and share, and only when you are signed in — see the privacy policy.

Does it work offline?

Modeling, solving, checking and report generation all work with no connection, on a project you have already opened on that device. Sync, sign-in and collaboration need the network. See Working offline.

How big a model can it handle?

The practical ceiling is your machine's memory rather than a licence limit. The free plan caps the solved system at 500 degrees of freedom, which suits frame work but not meshed surfaces — see Plans and limits.

Which browsers work?

Current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari. Two WebAssembly builds ship: a threaded one, which needs the browser to grant cross-origin isolation, and a single-threaded one it falls back to automatically where that is unavailable or where the nested workers a thread pool needs cannot be created. A slow solve beats a dead one — but an up-to-date browser is meaningfully faster. See System requirements.

Does it run on a Mac, on Linux, on a Chromebook or on an iPad?

Yes. Elementarium is a web application: anything that runs a current browser runs the whole solver, including a tablet or a phone. The solver is compiled to WebAssembly and runs on x86 and ARM alike. There is nothing to install and no administrator rights are needed, which is what makes a locked-down office laptop or a university lab machine usable. See Working across devices.

Is there a desktop version to install?

No, and none is planned. The browser is the desktop version: the finite element core runs in it at close to native speed, and modeling, solving, checking and reporting all work offline on a project you have already opened.

Can I import an IFC model?

Yes, the structural analysis view of an IFC2X3, IFC4 or IFC4X3 file: nodes, members, plates, supports, releases, sections, materials, load cases, combinations and loads, in whatever units the file declares. A file that holds only the architectural model (IfcBeam and IfcColumn solids) is refused with a message saying so, because deciding where a member's analysis axis runs is an engineering decision, not an import step. Most BIM tools export the analytical model as a separate option. On Pro the project exports back as an IFC4 structural analysis view. See IFC structural models.

Can I import a model from SCIA Engineer or RFEM?

Yes, through SAF or IFC. Elementarium reads and writes SAF 2.2 workbooks — the open, spreadsheet-based Structural Analysis Format that SCIA Engineer, RFEM and a number of other packages exchange models in. Geometry, members with their sections and releases, plates with openings, rigid arms, materials, load cases, groups, combinations and the loads themselves all travel. Anything a file carries that cannot yet be represented is reported as a warning on the import rather than dropped silently. See Import and export formats.

Can I analyse a 2D frame?

Yes. Elementarium is a three-dimensional solver, so a plane frame is modelled in a plane and its out-of-plane degrees of freedom are restrained — otherwise the frame is free to fall over sideways and the solver reports a mechanism. It is one operation on the nodes, and Plane frames in a 3D solver shows the three ways to do it.

About the results

How do I know the solver is right?

Do not take our word for it. Every element type is exercised against closed-form solutions before anything merges, but that is our floor, not your evidence: export the model as a SAF workbook and run it somewhere else, check one member by hand, and read Element formulations to see what each element assumes.

Why is my moment negative?

Almost certainly a sign convention, not an error. $N$ positive is tension, so gravity columns report negative axial force. The sign of $M_y$ depends on which way the member's local $z$ points, which is set per member, and members drawn in opposite directions have opposite local axes. The diagram's side is the reliable reading: it is drawn on the tension side. The whole convention is in Sign conventions.

The moment at my column is enormous. Is that real?

If it is a point support in a plate, no — it is a singularity, and it grows every time you refine the mesh. Read at the face of the support rather than at the node. Integrating the moment field across a design strip is the other standard answer; a section-cut tool for doing it in the app is on the roadmap, so today that is a hand calculation from the contour or the element table. See Choosing element size.

Why does my result change when I refine the mesh?

It should. A coarse mesh is artificially stiff, so refining increases deflections and peak stresses until they converge. If halving the element size changes your governing number by more than a couple of percent, the mesh is not yet fine enough to quote.

Does it do nonlinear analysis?

Geometric nonlinearity, yes. Second-order analysis solves $[K+K_g(u)]u=f$ by iteration, capturing P-Delta and P-delta, with EN 1993-1-1 §5.3 sway, bow and mode-shaped imperfections applied as an initial deformation of the model.

Material and contact nonlinearity, no — no yielding, no cracking, no supports that lift off. Those are on the roadmap. Four analysis types are available today: linear static, modal, linear buckling and second-order.

Can I do a seismic analysis?

Partly. Modal analysis gives natural frequencies, periods, mode shapes and participating mass, with a mass target so that extraction continues until 90% of the mass participates in each direction — which is what EN 1998-1 asks for. What is not in this release is what comes next: response spectrum and time-history analysis. The modal result is the input they need, not a substitute for them. Equivalent lateral forces from a code can of course be applied as an ordinary load case.

Which units does it use?

Whichever you choose for the project; SI internally. Every value is converted on entry and back for display, so switching a project's unit system redisplays the model rather than re-entering it, and the report carries a legend saying which unit every quantity is in. Surface results are per unit width — kNm/m, not kNm — which is the single most common unit error in slab design. See Units.

About design checks

Which codes are implemented?

Two strength modules, both for steel, and serviceability beside them:

• EN 1993-1-1 §6.2–6.3 — cross-section and member resistance: flexural, torsional and lateral-torsional buckling, Class 4 effective sections and web shear buckling.
• AISC 360, Chapters D to H — member strength, LRFD or ASD, including compression and lateral-torsional buckling.
• Serviceability — member deflection to the national annex tables, EN 1990:2023 or IBC Table 1604.3, timber deflection with creep to EN 1995-1-1, storey and overall drift to EN 1990 or AISC 360, and a floor-frequency screen.

Around forty national annexes carry the partial factors. Concrete design is not implemented — a concrete member can be modelled, meshed, loaded and solved, but Elementarium will not verify it against EN 1992-1-1. That is the next design module.

Anything a module does not verify is raised as a message on the check itself, so what is missing is visible on the check rather than only in this FAQ.

Can it design reinforced concrete?

Not yet. A concrete slab, wall or beam can be modelled with its real section and material, meshed, loaded and solved, and every moment and membrane force is reported per unit width — but there is no EN 1992-1-1 module, so reinforcement is a hand calculation from those results. Concrete design is the next design module. Timber and aluminium strength checks are not in the beta either; their deflection is checked by the serviceability modules.

Which national annexes are supported?

Around forty entries, grouped by family: the base EN recommended values plus a named annex for every EU and EFTA country and several beyond, the United States (IBC / AISC 360, where LRFD or ASD replaces ${\gamma }_M$), Brazil (ABNT NBR 8800), Switzerland (SIA 26x) and a custom entry with nothing prefilled. Where an annex departs from the recommended ${\gamma }_M$ values — Germany, Italy, Norway, the UK — its own values are carried. See National annexes.

Can I see how a utilisation ratio was calculated?

Yes, and this is the point. Every check expands to show the governing combination, the clause applied, the substituted formula and the intermediate values — classification, resistances, partial factors. See Design checks.

Does a passing check mean the design is adequate?

No. Checks verify the member you assigned against the clauses cited — and the clauses cited are less than a full code. Neither module covers connections, foundations, fire or fatigue, and each states the clauses it leaves out on the check itself. Nor do they exercise engineering judgement about whether a clause applies. That responsibility stays with the engineer who signs the design, as set out in the terms of service.

About the product

It is in beta. Should I use it on real work?

That is your call. It solves, checks and reports today. It is also a beta: features may change, there is no uptime SLA, and concrete design is missing. Verify results as you would with any tool, name a version of the model behind anything you issue, keep exports of anything that matters, and read Beta status.

What happens to my projects if I stop paying?

Nothing is deleted, and every project stays editable. A model over the free cap of 500 degrees of freedom does not solve until you resubscribe. The .elproj project file downloads on every plan; IFC, SAF and table export need Pro, so make those exports before the subscription ends. Resubscribing restores everything. See Pausing or cancelling.

Do you train AI on my models?

No. Your geometry, loads and results are not used to build models, statistics or datasets of any kind. The commitment is in the privacy policy.

Where is my data stored?

In the European Union. Application hosting, project storage and backups are in the EU, everything travels over TLS, and stored projects and backups are encrypted at rest. Solving never involves transmission at all, because it happens in your browser. The plain-language version is on the security page; the binding one is the privacy policy.

Am I locked in?

No. On Pro a project exports as an IFC4 structural analysis model and as a SAF 2.2 workbook that SCIA Engineer, RFEM and others read, and as a full PDF calculation package; result tables go out as CSV or xlsx. Cancelling deletes nothing and every project stays editable; a model over 500 degrees of freedom just does not solve on Free. The .elproj project file downloads on every plan; IFC, SAF and table export are Pro, so take those out before you cancel. See Import and export formats and Pausing or cancelling.

How many devices can I use it on?

As many as you sign in on. The subscription follows the engineer, not the machine, and every device gets the full solver with the same projects synced between them. There is no per-device seat. See Working across devices.

Is there a student plan?

Yes. Verify an institutional email address from your account settings and the free account becomes a student account, with ten times every free quota: 5,000 degrees of freedom, 30 cloud projects and 10 design checks per project. No card and no proof beyond the address; the verification is renewed yearly because institutional mailboxes are reclaimed after graduation. See Student accounts.

Is there an API or scripting?

A small one. Tools › Scripting console opens a command line in the workspace with commands to add and list nodes, elements and boundary conditions, and it writes to the model like any other editing surface. It is not a documented API and it is not stable yet; a proper scripting API with results access is on the roadmap. Today the reliable programmable route in and out is the SAF workbook — a spreadsheet, which a script can write.

Something is missing that I need. Will you add it?

Possibly — the roadmap is driven by what engineers actually ask for. Mail [email protected]; it reaches the person who writes the solver.