In this particular case I have a hexagonal column and a tapered rectangular beam. PCA column looks like a good piece of software, unfortunatley the budget can't support the cost right now. I was hoping to do it the old fashioned way.
Not too bad as long as you don't have a moment <G>... the irregular column will likely have an unusual neutral axis and determining rebar stresses is not as trivial as it might appear...
Why don't you circumscribe a circular column in your hexagon and analyze that. It should be conservative and easy to find references for. For the tapered beam, check moments along several points along its length vs the section at that point. Don't forget to check shear at the ends. Be conservative in your moment estimation.
You know, now we have computers that analyze anything to the ounce. In the old days (which I unfortunatly remember), we tried to make complicated problems into simple ones using conservative techniques. It's still worth a try.
Thanks for the input. That is actually what I was planning on doing, but I was afraid I was over simplifying the problem. Now I feel better that approach, particularly in regard to the hexagonal column.
