The Paper will describe an interactive CAD environment developed for structural engineering applications. Generally Engineer Designers and Designer/Draftsmen are very familiar with graphic representation and drawing production. Generalised analysis techniques have been limited in the past to alpha numeric input techniques with graphic visualisation and verification. The Software Package allows the extension of a CAD environment as an input media for analysis/design tools for structural engineers. The software has been developed for a Micro MS.DOS environment utilising industry standard graphics facilities and languages. This Package forms a shell around a highly sophisticated elasto plastic analysis system which is being utilised for structural steel design to the new British Standard 5950. The system is being developed with the facility to interface into generalised analysis packages. These techniques are showing significant increases in productivity and the applications are easy to use. A design study is undertaken to assess the productivity enhancements achieved by these techniques. Various examples are investigated across a range of problem characteristics. The influence of second order elastic-plastic effects is considered with particular reference to the analysis and design of steel structures.

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