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2011 Edition
Manual
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DAA037740-1/0003
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LEGAL NOTICES ..................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................19
How to learn RAM Elements? ...................................................................................................................... 19
User Interaction Principle ............................................................................................................................ 19
Design in RAM Elements ............................................................................................................................. 19
Do you need assistance? ............................................................................................................................. 20
How to report bugs? ..................................................................................................................................... 20
RAM Elements and Windows Least-Privileged User Account (LUA) Approach ................................... 22
Description of the most significant changes from the LUA approach implementation ........................ 23
CHAPTER 1: GENERAL OVERVIEW .................................................................................27
Main Window ................................................................................................................................................. 27
The data explorer and the data panel ......................................................................................................... 29
Units ............................................................................................................................................................... 30
Entering nodes, members and shells ......................................................................................................... 30
How to create nodes? ................................................................................................................................................. 32
End nodes of physical members ............................................................................................................................ 33
Nodes generation tools .......................................................................................................................................... 33
Entering nodes coordinates in an Excel worksheet ............................................................................................... 33
How to create members? ............................................................................................................................................ 34
Selecting the nodes ................................................................................................................................................ 34
Connecting the members ....................................................................................................................................... 35
Templates .............................................................................................................................................................. 36
How to create shells? ................................................................................................................................................. 36
Assigning properties to nodes, members and shells ............................................................................... 37
Selecting the elements ................................................................................................................................................ 37
Entering the required information in the worksheet ................................................................................................... 37
Grouping members and shells .................................................................................................................... 38
Load cases and combinations .................................................................................................................... 39
Automatic generation of load combinations .............................................................................................................. 40
Entering loads for a load case ..................................................................................................................... 40
Display of data and results .......................................................................................................................... 40
Zoom and rotation ........................................................................................................................................ 42
Panning .......................................................................................................................................................... 42
Views .............................................................................................................................................................. 42
Selecting and hiding elements .................................................................................................................... 44
Other basic operations ................................................................................................................................. 44
Undo Command ......................................................................................................................................................... 44
Erasing elements ........................................................................................................................................................ 44
Erasing the contents of a worksheet ........................................................................................................................... 44
Delete duplicated elements and un-connected nodes ................................................................................................. 44
Segment Selection ...................................................................................................................................................... 45
General Configuration .................................................................................................................................. 45
AVW Conversor............................................................................................................................................. 46
CHAPTER 2: LOCAL AND GLOBAL AXES .......................................................................47
Coordinate systems ..................................................................................................................................... 47
Global coordinate system ............................................................................................................................ 47
Local coordinate system .............................................................................................................................. 47
Principal coordinate system ........................................................................................................................ 48
Element rotation............................................................................................................................................ 48
180 and 90 degrees rotation ........................................................................................................................................ 48
Rotating members at an angle ..................................................................................................................................... 50
Making a local axis parallel to a global axis ............................................................................................................... 50
Orientating a local axis toward a specific node .......................................................................................................... 51
Orientating a local axis parallel to a vector between two nodes ................................................................................. 51
Principal axes................................................................................................................................................ 52
Laterally restrained for torsion ................................................................................................................... 53
CHAPTER 3: PHYSICAL MEMBERS, STRUCTURE PURGING, SEGMENTATION AND
COMMANDS FOR ROTATING ELEMENTS ...................................................................... 55
Physical members ........................................................................................................................................ 55
Model purging ............................................................................................................................................... 61
Rotating elements of the Structure ............................................................................................................. 63
CHAPTER 4: END RELEASES AND TENSION OR COMPRESSION ONLY MEMBERS 65
Pin (hinges) at both ends of members ....................................................................................................... 65
Pin one end of a member ............................................................................................................................. 66
Fixing ends of elements ............................................................................................................................... 67
Fix one end of a member ............................................................................................................................. 67
Tension or compression only members .................................................................................................... 68
Pre-tension .................................................................................................................................................... 69
CHAPTER 5: CARDINAL POINTS, RIGID ZONE OFFSETS, RIGID FLOOR AND
PRESSURE ON FRAME MEMBERS.................................................................................. 71
Cardinal Points ............................................................................................................................................. 71
Rigid zone offsets ......................................................................................................................................... 72
Beams aligned to floor level (dropped floor) ............................................................................................. 75
Some advises in relation to the use of rigid zone offsets and cardinal points ...................................... 77
Simultaneous use of rigid offsets and hinges ........................................................................................... 79
Rigid floor ...................................................................................................................................................... 80
Entering Rigid floor .................................................................................................................................................... 80
Pressure on frame members ....................................................................................................................... 82
CHAPTER 6: CREATING SECTIONS AND MATERIALS .................................................. 83
Creating new sections ................................................................................................................................. 83
Parameters for the design of steel members ............................................................................................ 87
Laterally restrained for torsion: .................................................................................................................................. 87
Tapered Members ......................................................................................................................................... 88
Creating Materials......................................................................................................................................... 91
Importing and exporting sections and materials ...................................................................................... 93
CHAPTER 7: USING STRUCTURE TEMPLATES ............................................................. 97
Templates ...................................................................................................................................................... 97
Example 1: Creating a Truss ....................................................................................................................... 97
Example 2: Creating an entire structure .................................................................................................. 102
Completing data.......................................................................................................................................... 107
CHAPTER 8: OTHER ADVANCED SUBJECTS .............................................................. 109
Addition of load cases ............................................................................................................................... 109
Generation of load combinations ............................................................................................................. 112
Elastic supports .......................................................................................................................................... 114
Prescribed displacements ......................................................................................................................... 116
Self - weight ................................................................................................................................................. 117
Thermal loads ............................................................................................................................................. 118
Node generation ......................................................................................................................................... 119
Copy nodes ............................................................................................................................................................... 120
Linear generation of nodes ....................................................................................................................................... 121
Quadrangular generation of nodes ........................................................................................................................... 122
Circular generation of nodes .................................................................................................................................... 123
CHAPTER 9: ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................125
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 125
Frame Element ............................................................................................................................................ 126
Shell Element .............................................................................................................................................. 128
Rigid Diaphragm Constraints .................................................................................................................... 129
P-Delta Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 129
What is P-Delta effect? ............................................................................................................................................ 129
Small P-delta effect .................................................................................................................................................. 130
Large P-Delta effect ................................................................................................................................................. 130
P-Delta calculation methods .................................................................................................................................... 130
Iterative P-Delta Effects ........................................................................................................................................... 130
P-Delta effect in load combinations ......................................................................................................................... 131
Dynamic analysis, and P-Delta ................................................................................................................................ 132
Option to disregard P-Delta effects in members with loads along their span .......................................................... 132
Nonlinear (Incremental\Iterative) Analysis ............................................................................................... 132
Eigen Value Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 134
References ................................................................................................................................................... 135
CHAPTER 10: DYNAMIC SEISMIC ANALYSIS ...............................................................137
Modal Analysis ............................................................................................................................................ 137
Determination of the Dynamic Forces ...................................................................................................... 138
Methods of Modal Superposition ............................................................................................................................. 138
CQC Method ....................................................................................................................................................... 138
SRSS Method ....................................................................................................................................................... 138
ABS Method ......................................................................................................................................................... 138
Seismic results with sign...................................................................................................................................... 138
Entering Mass ............................................................................................................................................. 139
Seismic Loads ............................................................................................................................................. 140
Seismic analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 143
Seismic loads: response spectrum and earthquake acceleration ........................................................ 143
Load combinations ..................................................................................................................................... 143
Construction details ................................................................................................................................... 144
Seismic aspects in RAM Elements ........................................................................................................... 144
Seismic dynamic analysis of buildings .................................................................................................... 144
Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 146
Viewing mode shapes (Free vibration) ..................................................................................................... 146
CHAPTER 11: STEEL AND WOOD STRUCTURES OPTIMIZATION AND CODE CHECK
...........................................................................................................................................149
Optimization and code check .................................................................................................................... 149
Optimization ............................................................................................................................................................ 149
Verification or Code Check ..................................................................................................................................... 149
Optimization basis ...................................................................................................................................... 150
Section Collections..................................................................................................................................... 150
How RAM Elements chooses an optimum section ................................................................................. 150
Optimization process ................................................................................................................................. 150
Verification process ................................................................................................................................... 151
Steps for optimization/Verification ........................................................................................................... 151
Optimization with other criteria ................................................................................................................. 156
Appropriate section not found .................................................................................................................. 156
Non-steel or wood members ..................................................................................................................... 156
AISC and AISI sections .............................................................................................................................. 156
Optimization with default sections collections ....................................................................................... 156
CHAPTER 12: PRINTING GRAPHICS AND REPORTS .................................................. 157
Data reports ................................................................................................................................................. 157
Geometry data............................................................................................................................................. 157
Loads data ................................................................................................................................................... 157
List of Materials .......................................................................................................................................... 158
Parts List ..................................................................................................................................................... 158
List of Joints ............................................................................................................................................... 158
Analysis reports.......................................................................................................................................... 158
Analysis results .......................................................................................................................................... 158
Dynamic analysis........................................................................................................................................ 159
Design reports ............................................................................................................................................ 159
Steel design ................................................................................................................................................. 160
Reinforced concrete design ...................................................................................................................... 160
Wood design ............................................................................................................................................... 161
Report diagrams ......................................................................................................................................... 162
General commands for print report ........................................................................................................................... 164
Customizing the heading of a report ......................................................................................................................... 167
View diagrams on screen .......................................................................................................................... 168
Export diagrams to DXF ............................................................................................................................. 169
Print to file ................................................................................................................................................... 170
Print graphic ................................................................................................................................................ 171
Text Box ....................................................................................................................................................... 172
CHAPTER 13: IMPORTING AND EXPORTING DATA .................................................... 173
Importing ..................................................................................................................................................... 173
Exporting ..................................................................................................................................................... 173
DXF files ...................................................................................................................................................... 173
What are DXF files? .................................................................................................................................... 173
Exporting as DXF files ............................................................................................................................... 174
Importing a DXF file .................................................................................................................................... 175
Creating a DXF file ...................................................................................................................................... 175
Reading DXF files ....................................................................................................................................... 176
RAM Structural System Files .................................................................................................................... 178
Major differences between RAM Elements and RAM SS analysis ........................................................ 178
Importing STAAD.Pro files ........................................................................................................................ 179
Importing SAP2000 files ............................................................................................................................ 181
SDNF Files ................................................................................................................................................... 181
What are SDNF files? ................................................................................................................................. 182
Sending data to a SDNF file ....................................................................................................................... 182
Sending data to RAM BasePlate ............................................................................................................... 183
Export to RAM SBeam................................................................................................................................ 184
CHAPTER 14: INTEGRATED STRUCTURAL MODEL (ISM) .......................................... 187
What is ISM? ............................................................................................................................................... 187
Purpose ..................................................................................................................................................................... 187
ISM and Application Data ........................................................................................................................................ 187
ISM Sync Tools Overview .......................................................................................................................... 188
CHAPTER 15: SHELLS .................................................................................................... 191
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 191
The Shell Element ....................................................................................................................................... 191
Applications for the model ........................................................................................................................ 193
Generating quadrangular shells ............................................................................................................... 195
Generating general shell ............................................................................................................................ 197
Description .................................................................................................................................................. 198
Entering Shell Thickness ........................................................................................................................... 198
Entering Openings in Shells ...................................................................................................................... 199
Defining intermediate supports ................................................................................................................. 200
Defining local axes ..................................................................................................................................... 201
Defining the degree of segmentation (meshing) ..................................................................................... 202
Assigning Materials .................................................................................................................................... 203
Pressure on the Plates ............................................................................................................................... 203
Distributed loads on shell faces ................................................................................................................ 204
Shell interfaces ........................................................................................................................................... 205
Segmentation (meshing) of Plates ............................................................................................................ 205
Printing the results ..................................................................................................................................... 208
Shell stresses .............................................................................................................................................. 209
Internal forces in nodes ............................................................................................................................. 210
Corner Forces ............................................................................................................................................. 211
Face forces .................................................................................................................................................. 212
Graphic environment .................................................................................................................................. 212
Frame members (default) ......................................................................................................................................... 213
Stresses..................................................................................................................................................................... 213
Internal forces in nodes ............................................................................................................................................ 214
Smooth ..................................................................................................................................................................... 214
Envel and Max ......................................................................................................................................................... 215
Stresses on both sides of the shell ............................................................................................................................ 216
References ................................................................................................................................................... 216
CHAPTER 16: CREATING NEW TYPES OF SECTIONS WITH MACROS ......................217
Common parameters: ................................................................................................................................. 219
Default Units ............................................................................................................................................................ 219
Section type .............................................................................................................................................................. 219
Shape ........................................................................................................................................................................ 220
Design code .............................................................................................................................................................. 220
, Design formulation .......................................................................................................................... 221
Connection ............................................................................................................................................................... 221
Category........................................................................................................................................................ 222
Commentary ............................................................................................................................................................. 222
Section variables ........................................................................................................................................ 223
Prop AskUser .............................................................................................................................................. 224
Prop Section Shape .................................................................................................................................... 225
Node ......................................................................................................................................................................... 225
SetLine...EndLine .................................................................................................................................................... 226
Segment ................................................................................................................................................................... 227
SetSolid .................................................................................................................................................................... 229
Bars and Bar ............................................................................................................................................................. 229
Join ........................................................................................................................................................................... 230
Closed ...................................................................................................................................................................... 231
Line .......................................................................................................................................................................... 231
CHAPTER 17: CREATING STRUCTURE TEMPLATES ..................................................233
The TEXT.tpl file .......................................................................................................................................... 234
The TPL file.................................................................................................................................................. 234
TITLE ...................................................................................................................................................................... 234
VARIABLES ........................................................................................................................................................... 235
SELECT ................................................................................................................................................................... 236
LINE ........................................................................................................................................................................ 236
WEB......................................................................................................................................................................... 238
TEMPLATE ............................................................................................................................................................. 240
Example 1: Creating a template ................................................................................................................ 242
1) Create a 20x20-pixel drawing .............................................................................................................................. 242
2) Create a detailed 150x150-pixel bitmap drawing ................................................................................................. 243
3) Create the TPL file ............................................................................................................................................... 243
Example 2: Creating a template ................................................................................................................ 245
1) Create a 20x20-bitmap drawing ........................................................................................................................... 247
2) Create a detailed 150x150-pixel drawing ............................................................................................................. 247
3) Create the TPL file ............................................................................................................................................... 247
Using the Example 2 template ................................................................................................................... 250
CHAPTER 18: BUILDING STRUCTURES ....................................................................... 253
Generating deck or wall areas ................................................................................................................... 253
Generating Wind Load ............................................................................................................................... 257
Rigid floor diaphragm .............................................................................................................................................. 257
Generating wind loads ............................................................................................................................... 258
Generating masses for each floor ............................................................................................................ 260
CHAPTER 19: DESIGN AND DETAILING ....................................................................... 263
Design .......................................................................................................................................................... 263
Design and Detailing Modules .................................................................................................................. 265
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 265
Invoking the Modules ................................................................................................................................. 265
Using information from the main program ............................................................................................................... 265
Passing data of the main program to reinforced concrete beams, columns and footings. ................................... 265
Passing data to wall modules: ............................................................................................................................. 269
Organization of the Modules ..................................................................................................................... 270
General commands for all modules .......................................................................................................... 275
Navigation and Data Entry ......................................................................................................................... 276
Commands from the status bar ................................................................................................................................. 276
Zoom ........................................................................................................................................................................ 276
Font Size ................................................................................................................................................................... 276
DXF Options (ribbon) .............................................................................................................................................. 277
DXF files .................................................................................................................................................................. 277
Print graphics ............................................................................................................................................................ 277
Panning ..................................................................................................................................................................... 277
Data Entry ................................................................................................................................................................. 278
Results and verifications ........................................................................................................................... 279
CHAPTER 20: GENERAL DESIGN OF STEEL STRUCTURES ...................................... 281
Loads ........................................................................................................................................................... 281
Sections ....................................................................................................................................................... 282
Selection of the design code ..................................................................................................................... 283
Coordinate system used in design ........................................................................................................... 283
Design Parameters ..................................................................................................................................... 284
Design and optimization ............................................................................................................................ 285
Seismic Provisions Steel frame members ............................................................................................... 287
Steel Connections ...................................................................................................................................... 288
Output of results ......................................................................................................................................... 288
Screen output ............................................................................................................................................................ 288
Reports...................................................................................................................................................................... 289
CHAPTER 21: DESIGN OF HOT ROLLED STEEL MEMBERS (AISC-ASD-LRFD) ....... 293
Determination of a member with an AISC section .................................................................................. 293
CODE=HOTROLLED ............................................................................................................................................. 294
TYPE=LINEOPEN .................................................................................................................................................. 295
TYPE=LINECLOSED ............................................................................................................................................. 295
SetSolid..EndSolid .................................................................................................................................................... 295
Shape=<section shape> ............................................................................................................................................ 295
Second order analysis ............................................................................................................................... 296
Technical notes ........................................................................................................................................... 296
General ..................................................................................................................................................................... 296
Assumptions and restrictions for sections and elements .......................................................................................... 298
Tension members ..................................................................................................................................................... 299
Beams and other flexural members .......................................................................................................................... 299
Columns and other compression members ............................................................................................................... 299
Members subject to torsion ...................................................................................................................................... 299
Combined stresses .................................................................................................................................................... 300
Seismic Provisions ................................................................................................................................................... 300
Joint Code Check ..................................................................................................................................................... 301
Tapered members ....................................................................................................................................... 301
CHAPTER 22: DESIGN OF COLD-FORMED STEEL MEMBERS (AISI) .........................305
Technical notes ........................................................................................................................................... 305
Assumptions and restrictions for elements ............................................................................................................... 305
Tension members ..................................................................................................................................................... 306
Flexural members ..................................................................................................................................................... 306
Compression members ............................................................................................................................................. 307
Combined axial load and bending ............................................................................................................................ 307
Tubular members ..................................................................................................................................................... 307
Selection of the section for a cold-formed steel member ...................................................................... 308
CODE=COLDFORMED ......................................................................................................................................... 308
TYPE ....................................................................................................................................................................... 308
nd
2 order analysis ........................................................................................................................................ 309
Cold-formed steel design Flowcharts....................................................................................................... 310
CHAPTER 23: DESIGN OF STEEL MEMBERS (BS 5950) ..............................................317
Determination of a member with a BS section ........................................................................................ 317
CODE=HOTROLLED or CODE=BS_COLDFORMED ........................................................................................ 317
TYPE=LINEOPEN .................................................................................................................................................. 317
TYPE=LINECLOSED ............................................................................................................................................. 317
SetSolid..EndSolid ................................................................................................................................................... 317
FORMULATION=<formulation> ........................................................................................................................... 318
Load Combinations .................................................................................................................................... 318
Second order analysis ............................................................................................................................... 319
Technical notes ........................................................................................................................................... 319
Assumptions and restrictions for sections and elements .......................................................................................... 319
Tension members ..................................................................................................................................................... 321
Beams and other flexural members .......................................................................................................................... 321
Columns and other compression members ............................................................................................................... 322
Members subject to torsion ...................................................................................................................................... 323
Tapered members ....................................................................................................................................... 323
BS 5950 Flowcharts .................................................................................................................................... 326
CHAPTER 24: DESIGN OF HOT-ROLLED STEEL MEMBERS ACCORDING TO AS 4100-
1998 INC. SUPP 1-1999 ....................................................................................................337
Designing a member with AS Standard ................................................................................................... 337
CODE=HOTROLLED............................................................................................................................................. 338
TYPE=LINEOPEN .................................................................................................................................................. 338
TYPE=LINECLOSED ............................................................................................................................................. 338
SetSolid, EndSolid ................................................................................................................................................... 338
Shape=<section shape> ............................................................................................................................................ 338
Second order analysis ............................................................................................................................... 339
Technical notes ........................................................................................................................................... 339
General ..................................................................................................................................................................... 339
General assumptions ................................................................................................................................................ 340
Beams and other flexural members .......................................................................................................................... 340
Columns and other compression members ............................................................................................................... 342
Tension members ...................................................................................................................................................... 342
Combined stresses .................................................................................................................................................... 343
Varying cross-section members ............................................................................................................... 343
CHAPTER 25: DESIGN OF OPEN WEB STEEL JOIST (SJI-LRFD, SJI-ASD) ............... 345
Technical Notes .......................................................................................................................................... 345
CHAPTER 26: ACI-318 AND BS-8110 REINFORCED CONCRETE DESIGN ................. 347
Loads ........................................................................................................................................................... 347
Bar size series............................................................................................................................................. 347
CHAPTER 27: REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAM DESIGN ........................................... 349
Identifying Concrete Beams ...................................................................................................................... 349
Analysis ....................................................................................................................................................... 350
Cracked Section Factors ........................................................................................................................................... 350
Second Order Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 351
Reports and Window Output ..................................................................................................................... 352
Summary Report of Beam Design ............................................................................................................................ 352
Window Display of Reinforcement .......................................................................................................................... 356
Concrete Beam Design Module ................................................................................................................. 357
Home tab .................................................................................................................................................................. 357
Diagrams tab ............................................................................................................................................................. 360
Detailing tab ............................................................................................................................................................. 361
Configuration dialog ................................................................................................................................................. 362
Report of reinforced concrete beams....................................................................................................... 362
Technical Notes ACI Beams ...................................................................................................................... 365
General ..................................................................................................................................................................... 365
Limitations ................................................................................................................................................................ 365
Flexural Design ............................................................................................................................................. 365
Shear Design ................................................................................................................................................. 367
Torsion Design .............................................................................................................................................. 367
Detailing Requirements ................................................................................................................................. 368
Technical Notes BS-8110 ........................................................................................................................... 369
Flexural Design ......................................................................................................................................... 369
Shear Design ............................................................................................................................................. 369
Torsion Design .......................................................................................................................................... 370
Detailing Requirements ............................................................................................................................. 370
ACI 318-05 Beam Design Flowcharts ....................................................................................................... 371
BS-8110 Beam Design Flowcharts........................................................................................................... 376
CHAPTER 28: DESIGN AND DETAILING OF REINFORCED CONCRETE COLUMNS . 381
Design Steps ............................................................................................................................................... 381
1) Data input ............................................................................................................................................................. 381
2) Reinforcement Optimization ....................................................................................................................... 381
3) Verifications ................................................................................................................................................ 381
Reports and Window Output ..................................................................................................................... 383
Summary Report of Column Design ........................................................................................................................ 383
Window Display of Reinforcement .......................................................................................................................... 384
Concrete Column Design Module ............................................................................................................. 385
Home tab .................................................................................................................................................................. 385
Interaction diagram window .................................................................................................................................... 387
Detailing tab ............................................................................................................................................................. 388
Configuration dialog ................................................................................................................................................ 389
Report of reinforced concrete columns ................................................................................................... 389
Technical Notes .......................................................................................................................................... 391
1) General................................................................................................................................................................. 391
2) Limitations ........................................................................................................................................................... 392
3) Design Code ........................................................................................................................................................ 392
4) Loads ................................................................................................................................................................... 392
ACI 318-05 Technical Notes ....................................................................................................................... 392
1) Design of longitudinal reinforcement .................................................................................................................. 392
2) Slenderness effects ............................................................................................................................................... 393
3) Bending design .................................................................................................................................................... 394
4) Shear design ......................................................................................................................................................... 395
5) Special provisions for seismic design .................................................................................................................. 395
BS-8110 Technical Notes ........................................................................................................................... 396
1) Longitudinal Reinforcement design ..................................................................................................................... 396
2) Slenderness effects ............................................................................................................................................... 396
3) Bending design .................................................................................................................................................... 397
4) Shear design ......................................................................................................................................................... 397
ACI 318-05 Column Design Flowcharts .................................................................................................... 398
BS-8110 1997 Column Design Flowcharts ............................................................................................... 408
CHAPTER 29: FOOTING DESIGN AND DETAILING .......................................................413
Soil-footing-structure modeling ................................................................................................................ 413
Steps Design ............................................................................................................................................... 413
1) Input Data ............................................................................................................................................................ 413
Introduction
Welcome to RAM Elements, the structural engineers toolkit system, for analysis and design of
almost any type of structure or structural component complete with sophisticated design tools to help
you with your everyday analysis and design needs.
This program provides unequaled flexibility for the design and analysis of different types of 2D or
3D structures containing linear members and shell elements.
The types of analysis available are: First order (Linear Analysis), Second order (P-Delta Analysis)
and Dynamic (Seismic Analysis).
In addition, RAM Elements is also capable of designing hot-rolled or cold-formed steel members,
wood (sawn lumber and glulam) and reinforced concrete members using the AISC 360-05 ASD,
AISC 360-05 LRFD, AISC 360-10 ASD, AISC 360-10 LRFD, AISC 341-05, AISC 341-10, BS
5950-00, AISI 01 ASD, AISI 01 LRFD, AS4100-98, NDS 05 ASD, NDS 05 LRFD, ACI 318-99,
ACI 318-05 and BS8110-97 codes respectively. The program includes special modules for designing
spread footings, combined footings, reinforced concrete columns, retaining walls, concrete walls, tilt-
up walls, masonry walls, continuous beams and trusses. Additionally RAM Elements has links with
RAM Connection, a revolutionary tool that allows the fast design of steel connections inside or
outside RAM Elements, STAAD.Pro, the RAM Structural System and ProSteel (SDNF).
19
Introduction
20
Introduction
Select the desired options to create the compressed file and send it to our technical support.
RSSFeed
RAM Elements has a new welcome window when it is started (It can also be opened with the option
Help/Welcome Window in the main Menu). This pane displays items from a custom Bentley Really
Simple Syndication (RSS) feed. The feed items are used to provide timely information on new
updates, releases and general product news. The intent of this feature is to get timely and relevant
information to our users. The items in the list may be updated at any time so they should be checked
regularly for new announcements.
Clicking on a feed item will launch the default browser and load the associated web page (link), if an
internet connection is available on the computer. The RSS feed will be unavailable, if there is no
internet connection and a message will be displayed. If you are consistently only getting that message
or if RSS feed is unavailable it means you are missing important announcements and information.
21
Introduction
22
Introduction
limited user accounts. This strategy offers among other benefits reduced risks from malicious
software and accidental or incorrect configuration. [http://technet.microsoft.com/es-es/library/bb456992.aspx]
In previous versions, RAM Elements was installed providing all privileges to the installation folders
in order to achieve compatibility with the recent versions of operating systems.
With the aim to fulfill the requirements of the newest operating systems such as Windows Vista and
Windows 7, RAM Elements has undergone some changes for this new version, regarding the
management of the structure for program folders and user folders, so it behaves properly under the
least-privileged user account approach, avoiding errors due to security restrictions and allowing a
better organization of the data folders.
Configuration files such as local settings and print preferences will be created in another folder with
the path shown in the following table:
23
Introduction
The read/write folders that will contain users modified files are:
A summary of modifications made to the application data folders is shown in the following table:
24
Introduction
NOTE: A reminder that this version does not recognize hardware locks. Licensees of Bentleys RAM
International product line who are current subscribers under Bentleys SELECT Program agreement
should already have a SELECT license available to them. If a client is not under a SELECT
agreement and would like to upgrade to receive Version 10.0, they need to contact their Bentley
account manager or regional engineer.
25
Chapter 1: General Overview
Main Window
RAM Elements has a main window in which all the model geometric, section and load data is input,
manipulated and viewed. The main window is displayed below with all of the individual work areas
identified.
27
Chapter 1: General Overview
28
Chapter 1: General Overview
29
Chapter 1: General Overview
Select the data panel spreadsheet and the available tools will appear in the ribbon.
Units
It is always recommended to define the current unit system before entering any data.
To define it, in the Status bar, press the Units system button, will deploy a context menu, and then
select the unit system to be used:
30
Chapter 1: General Overview
There are several methods available to generate these elements. For example, you can import a model
from a DXF file, you can create it using templates, you can import it from RAM Structural System or
you can generate it manually.
In this chapter we will explain the manual entry of nodes, members and shells. Refer to the relevant
chapters of this manual for a description of the other methods available to create a model.
31
Chapter 1: General Overview
Go to the Nodes/Coordinates worksheet. You can click in the Nodes/Coordinates item of the
Explorer or if it is hidden you can use the Tabs (Nodes) and the corresponding buttons (Coordinates)
of the Data Panel.
Enter the node coordinate data in the worksheet. Note that while you are entering the coordinates, the
nodes are displayed graphically.
Use the tab button to move between cells on the same row and Enter to go to the next row of
cells.
When entering coordinates you can include the units of the coordinates. For example, if you are
working with meters for lengths in the SI units system, but you want to enter a coordinate in feet.
Then you can enter "10ft" and the program will automatically perform the conversion to the default
units (in this case [m]).
You can even combine different units. For example, you can enter 10'-6" and the program will
interpret this value as 10.5ft.
Some examples of acceptable data entry are given next:
10ft
10
10ft-6in
10-6
10ft-6
10ft-16cm
32
Chapter 1: General Overview
10m
10m-50cm
This feature can be applied in any worksheet of the Data Panel.
Press ESC if you want to cancel the entry.
It is only necessary to enter the nodes at the ends of physical members. The generation of
intermediate nodes or the nodes at the intersections of members will be described later.
See the description of all shortcuts and mouse operations pressing the help button menu
located in the right top corner of the main window.
On the Spreadsheet tab, in the Spreadsheet group is the Paste button . This button pastes the
information of the Clipboard to the active worksheet of the Data Panel. For example, you can
generate the nodes coordinates in Excel, copy them to the Clipboard and then paste them to the
Nodes worksheet using the indicated button.
33
Chapter 1: General Overview
This paste option can be applied to any worksheet of the Data Panel. For example, the user can
generate the springs for a mat-slab in Excel and then import them with this command.
For more information on how to use this command, press F1 and then go to General commands of the
worksheet.
It is also possible to copy the contents of a RAM Elements worksheet and paste it into another
application.
When you click on an element (node, member or shell), the previously selected elements are
unselected. Pressing the Shift key, the user can select (or unselect) several members without affecting
the previously selected elements.
You can select multiple members by enclosing the members in a rectangle created by click and
dragging the mouse from one corner to the other. In this case, pressing the Shift key enables the
selection of the elements within the area without affecting the selection state of the elements outside
the area.
34
Chapter 1: General Overview
You can select only the elements fully enclosed by the area using this technique. That is, in the case
of members, both nodes have to be enclosed in the rectangle, and in the case of shells, the four nodes
have to be enclosed.
If you press the Ctrl key instead of the Shift key while you are selecting members, all the
elements partially covered by the area (with at least one node in rectangle) will be selected.
The member will be automatically segmented for the analysis. See Chapter 3 for further details.
Remark. - Note that it is also possible to manually enter (directly in the worksheet) the information
(initial and final node numbers) for each member. It is also possible to generate the information in
Excel (for example) and use the copy-paste command to bring the data into RAM Elements.
35
Chapter 1: General Overview
Templates
Available structural templates allow for the rapid generation of members and nodes for specific types
of structures. This feature is explained in detail later in the manual but should be kept in mind when
creating typical structural components such as trusses.
The nodes have to be selected in the order shown in the figure. Then, press the indicated button to
generate them.
Note that you can create several shell elements if you select more than 4 nodes, as it is illustrated in
the figure below. Please note the required selection order of the nodes.
Press F1 to obtain more information related to the tool buttons of this worksheet.
Important! The shell elements are finite elements that need to be segmented to increment the
precision in the analysis. You can define the mesh size by clicking the button Segment Shells , to
get more information go to chapter of shells. To assign thickness Go to Shells/Thickness in the
worksheet. Note that for description the user can define if the shell is a slab or a wall.
36
Chapter 1: General Overview
For example, to assign the restraints to the support nodes you can proceed as follows:
1. Go to the Nodes/Restraints worksheet.
37
Chapter 1: General Overview
All the current data in a worksheet may be cleared using the button Delete . This tool button
does not erase the related elements. It only erases the properties or information of the current
worksheet.
38
Chapter 1: General Overview
For example, to select all the roof beams of the model shown in the figure above, select one instance
of the members and then press the button . The program will select all members with the same
Description(s) of the previously selected members.
To simultaneously select several groups select one instance (member or shell) of each group
using the Shift key and then press the button .
You can automatically generate default descriptions with the buttons , and for
39
Chapter 1: General Overview
You can use the Conditions toolbar (in the Status bar) to select the current load case or combination
for the entry or editing of loads
Conditions toolbar
Select the current load case, which will be associated with the loads to be entered.
Continue with the entry of the loads on nodes, members or shells as explained for other properties.
You can also copy the loads from one load case to the current load case. To do this, on the
Home tab, in the Load condition group, click the command Copy forces from another load case. This
command is very useful, for example, to create alternate loads in different spans of continuous
beams. You only have to create one load condition with the loads over all the spans and then copy the
loads to the other load cases. Then you can erase the loads over alternate spans in the two load cases.
This procedure can also be used for 3D structures with similar load cases.
40
Chapter 1: General Overview
RAM Elements can show almost all data and results in a graphical way. This is controlled through
the View tab and their different groups.
These buttons are applicable with the following display options (see Model properties and Analysis
toolbars):
1. Display of translations and rotations.
2. Display of reactions.
3. Display of masses.
41
Chapter 1: General Overview
Press the button Show Units in the Units System toolbar to view the units with all of the
displayed values.
Visualization toolbar
If you have a mouse wheel you can use it to rotate and zoom in or out the model.
By pressing the mouse right button , you can rotate the model in a similar way as many drawing
applications.
Double clicking the mouse wheel to activate the XY view.
Notice that you can modify the rotation increment for each rotation command in:
RE Button/General Configuration/ General /Mouse rotation sesibility.
Panning
You can move the view, pressing the mouse wheel button on the screen.
Views
Right click in the display area allows creating customized views using the option Customized views
from the pop-up menu. Views are divided in two types, general views and model views; both are
customizable trough the Organize option.
General Views
General views store angles (that determine the view point), zoom conditions, perspective and display
options (to display data or results). These views are available for all models and are shown as options
for the general views.
To create a new general view, presses right click on the model view and select the option General
from the Customized views section.
42
Chapter 1: General Overview
Model Views
On the model views menu you customize the views for the current model storing the element
selection, angles, zoom perspective and display options shown on the screen the time the view is
saved. These views are specific for each model and are shown as options for the customized model
view options.
To create a new model customized view, presses right click on the model view and select the option
Model view from the Customized views section.
The available tools for the Organize option for the views are:
Rename view:
Renames selected views with a new model name.
43
Chapter 1: General Overview
2. Press the button . To view the whole model press the same button again.
Erasing elements
If you want to delete nodes, members and/or shells, you have to first select them and then press the
Del key.
Process tab, in the Model adjustement group, press Purge and reconnect model button .
The purpose of this tool is:
1. To eliminate duplicated nodes and reconnect members to the remainder nodes.
2. To eliminate duplicated members (members with exactly the same connectivity)
3. Eliminate members with zero length and "floating" nodes (nodes not connected to elements)
It is recommended that this command be issued before performing an analysis. This will eliminate all
the unnecessary elements that can even affect the results of the analysis. This command acts over all
the elements in the entire structure, irrespective of which elements are currently selected.
Note also that for consistent output and reference, element numbering (nodes, members, shells, load
areas, etc) is maintained even if there are some elements that have been deleted. If you had a printout
44
Chapter 1: General Overview
before erasing these elements, you will be able to compare similar elements of the new model to the
ones of the initial model. However if you want to reorder the numbers of your elements, you can
select them and apply the Reassign numbers to selected elements button of the Spreadsheet tools.
Segment Selection
This tool is used when a node is located in the same physical space as a member, the member is
segmented and the node is incorporated. See Chapter 3 for further details. To use this tool go to the
Process tab, Model adjustment group.
General Configuration
Several general characteristics of the program may be configured using the option General
configuration. To access this option click the RE button.
45
Chapter 1: General Overview
AVW Conversor
One of the application tools in RAM Elements is the conversor of files from AVW file to a new
format ETZ. file of older versions (such as 7.0) must be converted to this new format. To use this
conversor the user must place the AVWConversor.exe in the folder BIN of RAM Elements. From
the command prompt call the EXE program following the parameters. It is used to convert a single
file or an entire directory. It creates a Log file named AVWConvertLog.txt.
The parameters are:
AVWConversor.exe < Complete file name in AVW Format > [/s]
AVWConversor.exe < Directory Path containing AVW files > [/s]
/s: Optional to convert files in Sub Directories.
For example to convert a single file follow the structure:
AVWConversor.exe "D:\Common\Test\Concrete.avw"
To convert a directory and subdirectories.
AVWConversor.exe "D:\Common\Test" /s
The new etz. format stores and retrieves model information in a new internally most organized and
optimized format and will assure you the compatibility back and fort with any new RAM Elements
program version.
46
Chapter 2: Local and Global Axes
J = initial node
K = final node
In frame members the data that is associated with the local axes coordinate system are:
Section orientation
Rigid offsets and releases
Some applied loads on the element (concentrated forces, distributed forces, and moments).
These loads can also be related to the global system.
Results: the analysis results are related to local, and principal, axes.
By default, RAM Elements orientates the frame members as follows:
Origin of local coordinate system is located at the J node (initial node).
47
Chapter 2: Local and Global Axes
Local 1-axis (axial axis) lies along the vector created between the J and K nodes. Notice that
this axis is automatically defined when the element is created.
Axis 3 is parallel to X-Z plane for horizontal members. In the case of vertical members with
axis 1 in the Y direction, axis 3 will be parallel to Z-axis. For sloped members, axis 3 will be
perpendicular to the plane formed by axis 1 and its projection over plane X Z.
Axis 2 is defined by the right hand rule with the thumb finger pointing toward 1-axis.
Axis 1 (longitudinal axis) will be ALWAYS located at the sections center of gravity
independent of the sections cardinal point (see chapter related to cardinal points).
Element rotation
There are several ways to rotate members to an angle other than the default orientation, these include:
Go to Members/Local axes.
48
Chapter 2: Local and Global Axes
49
Chapter 2: Local and Global Axes
Enter the angle to be rotated (in degrees) and press from the pop-up menu displayed right-
clicking on the spreadsheet.
50
Chapter 2: Local and Global Axes
Select the node to which the local axis should orient (point). Remember to press Shift, so as not to de-
select the elements (notice that only one node should be selected).
Note. Only one node should be selected. If several nodes are selected press Unselect all nodes
command from Home tab/Modeling group/Elements/Nodes option and then select the desired node.
Select the local axis (2 or 3) that should point to the node. Then press or .
The elements are now rotated with their local axis (axis 3 in this case) orientated to a node.
51
Chapter 2: Local and Global Axes
Select the local axis (2 or 3) that will be parallel to the vector. Then press or .
The selected local axis (axis 3 in this case) is orientated parallel to the vector.
Principal axes
As mentioned before, RAM Elements allows to set members local axes system different to the
principal axes.
This characteristic of the software allows to more easily setting the orientation of certain elements.
For instance, to use an L section, we have:
52
Chapter 2: Local and Global Axes
The analysis results provided by RAM Elements are given relative to the principal and local axes.
Forces are provided relative to the principal axes. For the code check the forces in the principal axes
are normally used. In the next section the user will find the way to change this.
Flag used to define the local axes or geometric axes to be used in the design of steel members instead
of the principal axes.
This flag is only applicable in steel members. When the option is enabled, the program assumes the
principal axes to be coincident to the local axes for the analysis. This is of particular importance in
angle or Z-shapes laterally restrained for torsion along their length, which can be designed on the
basis of the geometric axes (local axes) for bending. There are other design provisions and options in
the codes that have to be considered in the design of such members. See the chapters devoted to Steel
Design for further details.
53
Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
Physical members
Physical members are single continuous members such as girders that support multiple members
framing in along their length. RAM Elements allows the user to specify what constitutes a physical
member, regardless of the number of segments created along its span, and it provides result reports
accordingly.
As could be seen, physical members allow the creation of a structure model "as constructed", with
results accordingly. However, if not required, physical members do not have to be used in the model.
The decision to not consider physical members is indicated at analysis time by unselecting the
Automatically segment physical members and shells option in the Finite element model tab of the
analysis window (Process tab, Process group, Analyze model button).
If the user decides to use physical members in the model, it is recommended to view the finite
element model by selecting the command Finite Elements from the Analysis group, View tab,
explained farther down. This step will help to avoid unexpected or uncontrolled behavior in member
segmentation during the actual analysis.
The following example illustrates the process of defining a physical member. The user only needs to
define the nodes at the ends of a physical member and does not need to break the member at
intermediate nodes along the length.
Consider a continuous (physical) member between nodes 1 and 5, which is hinged at the ends.
Instead of defining four members between nodes 1-2, 2-3, 3-4 and 4-5 due to the geometry of the
problem, the user need to define one member between nodes 1 and 5.
physical members are modeled (i.e. the model does not represent the actual finite elements in the
model but rather the physical elements in the model) this option should be selected.
The segmentation of physical shells is automatically performed. It uses a Mesh Generator that
applies a fast and robust hybrid advancing-front and Delauny algorithm, obtaining high quality
elements with smooth grading size according to the length of the physical shells and user specified
sizes.
The segmentation can be done to members and/or shells (the normal procedure is to segment both,
members and shells).
If the option Segment shells is selected but the option Segment members is not, in some cases (for
example a shell enclosed with beams), there will be no continuity between the shell and members
because the nodes generated by the segmentation of the shell will not be joined to the members. If
both options are selected, there will be continuity in the model. Both cases are shown in the following
figures:
56
Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
Deformed shape of the model when only segmentation of shells is done. Note that there is no
continuity between the shell and the member in the lower part of the model.
Deformed shape of the model when segmentation is done to shells and members. Note the continuity
between the shell and the member at the lower part of the model.
The user can also view the actual finite element model by pressing the button Finite Elements, from
the View tab, Analysis group:
If the structure was not yet analyzed, the program will ask for a tolerance to build the FEM model
(note that the option is also available at the Analysis window):
57
Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
58
Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
In both Physical Elements and Finite Elements model segmentation, the user can define the advanced
options of optimization level and the Shape quality ratio, to improve the shape and size quality of
meshed elements.
The optimization level is used to improve shape and size quality of meshed elements and it can be set
to a number between 1 and 10. Level 3 is the default value that is a good balanced between quality
and CPU (analysis time) cost.
Shape quality ratio controls the trade-off between shape optimization and size optimization. The
default value is 0.6 that gives a slight preference to the shape quality over the size quality. It can be
set to any number between 0.1 and 1.0.
Note: The nodes generated with the Automatically segment physical members and shells feature are
not generated with floor number or restrictions of contiguous nodes.
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Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
1) Define the overall dimensions. 2) Define nodes at the sides to indicate the desired mesh.
Warning! The user must always check the number of subdivisions adopted by the program. The user
must always check the number of subdivisions adopted by the program. If elements dont have
enough subdivisions the results may be inacurate and even invalid. See chapter 14 for further details
and suggestions.
Note:
When importing RAM Structural System models, RAM Elements automatically maintains the
physical members defined in the RSS.
Warning! If the Automatically segment physical members and shells feature is used, it is advisable to
check the generated finite element model (FEM).
Due to the fact that segmentation always generates a mesh of quadrilateral elements, the division
between two nodes close to each other, will give an even number of segments considering a
minimum of two segments (even though if it is defined a maximum distance between nodes bigger
than this value).
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Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
a) Input shells and node (before segmentation) b) Output shells and nodes (after segmentation).
In the above model, the maximum distance between nodes was a quarter of the shell side length; but
because of intermediate nodes, two segments were created between them.
When nodes are too close to each other and at the same time the maximum distance between nodes is
big enough, the generated elements might be distorted in the FEM model. Although these elements
are valid, they cannot get accurate results in the model; therefore, the following warning message will
be shown:
'Quality (shape ratio) on one or more segments of shell "N" is too low.
There may be nodes that are too close on its edge.'
Model purging
The Process tab, Model adjustements group, has two commands available to assist the cleaning up of
the structure to avoid analytical errors:
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Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
Press the Purge and reconnect model button to join parts of the structure and eliminate duplicate
nodes and elements. It is best that this command be executed after generating copies of the structure,
and before analyzing the structure.
The function of this command is:
1. To eliminate duplicated nodes and reconnect the frame members to the node that remains.
2. Eliminate duplicated frame members (elements are considered as duplicated when they
connect to the same two nodes as another element).
3. Eliminate elements with zero length.
4. Eliminate nodes that do not have any elements connected to them.
When two nodes are superimposed, use to eliminate one of the two and reconnect the elements
to the node that remains.
Eliminate duplicated frame members. Frame members are considered as duplicated when they are
connected to the same nodes as other elements.
Press the Segment selection button to segment elements (members and shells). When a node is
located along a frame member axis, this command divides the frame member and then reconnects the
two elements to the node.
When a node is on a frame member, use to divide the frame member and connect the divided
elements to the node.
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Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
Note: The difference between the button and the button is that, with the first one it is
possible to view the Finite Element Model (FEM) keeping the original physical elements of the
model unaltered, while with the second button, the physical elements will be segmented (original
physical elements will be altered).
Caution: If the latter command is used on previously defined physical members, they will
permanently be segmented into smaller physical members. In the case of physical shells, the resulting
segmented shells will be divided once more for analysis if the shell division has been specified
entering the number of segments on both local axes. This double division is due to the fact that the
original entered numbers to indicate the shell segments on local axes are kept. It is suggested to
Select the elements to be rotated (nodes, members and shells) and choose the pivotal point of rotation
(take note of the coordinates of this point).
Execute the Rotate command, pressing the button at the Home tab, Modeling group:
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Chapter 3: Physical Members, Structure Debugging and Commands for Rotating the Structure
Choose the axis about which the structure will rotate, enter the pivotal point of rotation and the
angle of the rotation.
After the rotation is completed, verify the supports and orientation of the elements.
Nodes are rotated about the selected axis and do not remain in the same vertical or horizontal
plane. Be sure to check nodal coordinates once the rotation is complete.
Note: This command rotates the properties and loads defined in the local axis of the selected
elements. The rigid offsets of the selected elements will rotate as well with this command.
64
Chapter 4: End Releases and Tension or Compression Only Members
65
Chapter 4: End Releases and Tension or Compression Only Members
2.- Select the end to be released. Remember to press Shift to select the nodes without unselecting the
elements.
3.- Press the tool button Release moment and select the required option:
66
Chapter 4: End Releases and Tension or Compression Only Members
2.- Choose the tab Members/Hinges worksheet and select the tool
67
Chapter 4: End Releases and Tension or Compression Only Members
2.- Select the end to be fixed. Remember to press Shift to select the nodes without unselecting the
elements.
3.- Press the tool button Fix moment and select the required option:
To define the tension only, compression only or full axial rigidity members proceed as follows:
1.- Select the elements to be defined as tension or compression only members.
2.- Choose the Members/Hinges worksheet and select the tool to define the tension only
members, to define compression only members or to define full axial rigidity members.
68
Chapter 4: End Releases and Tension or Compression Only Members
All selected tension only and compression only members are shown when the display option
Hinges is pressed. This option is located in View tab inside the Model group in the main window.
It is important for to notice that this buttons only assign the axial stiffness to the members (i.e.
Tension or Compression). If besides it is needed to assign releases (e.g. cables, etc) these should be
assigned following the procedures showed above in Pin end Members
Pre-tension
In several cases cables and tensors are subjected to a pre-tension force. This option allows you to
consider the influence of the initial tension in the deformation and distribution of forces in the
structure. It is generally applied to members defined as tension only elements.
2.- Choose the Members/Loads/Pre-tension of cables and tensors worksheet and enter the value of
the pre-tension.
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Chapter 4: End Releases and Tension or Compression Only Members
If the display option Loads (show values) is selected all the members with pre-tension forces will be
displayed. This option is located in the View tab inside the Model group of the main window.
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
Cardinal Points
Cardinal points are used to define the members cross section axis location. This feature is normally
used to align members in the desired position. Common applications are to model eccentric members
or tapered members, which are aligned in relation to a center or a perimeter cross section axis.
The available cardinal points are described in the following figure:
Cardinal points defined along the perimeter (1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9), the center (5) or the center-of-gravity
of the section (0)
The default position is zero.
The steps required to assign cardinal points are:
1.- Select the desired members:
2.- Choose the Members /Cardinal Point worksheet and select the desired position for your members
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
The following example can illustrate graphically the function of the cardinal points with respect to a
tapered member:
Examples of different position of the cardinal points (a) tapered members with default position (0),
(b) tapered with position 2 (see the location of the member in relation to the nodes), and (c) tapered
members with position 2 and with axis rigid end (see next section).
RAM Elements offers two ways of considering rigid end zones, the first one takes into account axes
rigid ends in conjunction with cardinal points and the second one is considering rigid end offsets in
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
the three directions of the global axes (with the member cardinal point in the default position). It is
strongly suggested to adopt only one method for each structure depending on the particular
characteristics of the structure.
In the first method, the end offsets are considered when the sections dimensions overlap. The values
of the axis rigid end J and axis rigid end K are used to define the overlap distances. The clear length
of the member will be the distance between nodes less the rigid ends. The distributed or concentrated
loads on the member will be considered only for this length.
Axes rigid ends, Leff = clear length of the member, L = member length
Note that the loads and forces in the member will be provided always along the clear length
considering the axis rigid ends.
To enter members with rigid axis ends, proceed as follows:
1.- Define the members and assign their sections.
2.- Select the desired members.
3.- Choose the Members/Cardinal point worksheet and use the tool to create axis rigid ends:
The second method for defining rigid end offsets allows considering the offsets in any direction
independently of the longitudinal axis of the member. The offsets are defined in the global directions.
The user has many tools to define the desired offsets. See the help context for the details of the tools.
To model a rigid end zone with the second method proceeds as follows:
1.- Select sections that intersect each other
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
2.- Select the member and the node where the rigid end offset is required.
3.- Choose the Members/Rigid end offset worksheet and use the tool to create rigid end offset.
Note
The tool only works for segmented columns (not physical columns) and can enter column
eccentricities (offset columns) with any of the described methods. Considering the second method,
proceed as follows:
1.- Select the overall column
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
2.- Choose the Members/Rigid offsets worksheet and select to define the offset about in the local
75
Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
2.- Align the beams using the cardinal point options or the rigid offset option. If you are using
cardinal points, select its worksheet and use position 2 for the selected members.
If the Rigid end offsets worksheet is used, select the option Move section below axis 3 :
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
Note
The use of cardinal points or rigid end offsets to align beams to floor level may alter the distribution
of bending moments, see next section for further details.
Some advises in relation to the use of rigid zone offsets and cardinal points
It is important to mention that both methods can be used to define the member longitudinal axis at the
desired location. The method to be adopted will depend on the facility to define the required data for
the specific model to deal with. The cardinal points allow, in general, to define the axis location for
common locations as at the top or bottom of the section in an easier and automatic way (internally
the program adopts the required rigid offsets), while the rigid zone offsets may be suited for any
particular condition.
Select the option to display the rigid ends for the cardinal points in green and the rigid zone
offsets in red. This option is located I the View tab inside the Model group.
It is important to notice that the rigid zone offsets or cardinal points change the model. This
influences the results to be obtained.
Lets take for example a beam with two segments, a uniformly distributed load and the end supports
pinned.
The bending moment diagram will have the known shape:
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
Beam with two segmented pinned at both ends without rigid offsets or cardinal points.
If rigid offsets are included to align the beam at the floor level, the model will be changed.
Beam with two segments with rigid offsets or cardinal points. Note that the distribution of the
bending moments has changed and that an axial load is generated due to the eccentricity at the
supports.
The rigid offsets modify also the distribution of the bending moments in more complex models,
originating discontinuities at the locations of the concentrated loads from the beams framing into
them (see the following figure).
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
Model with rigid offsets with discontinuities in the bending moment diagram. Part of the moments
are taken by the rigid offsets.
It depends on the engineers judgment whether to adopt rigid offsets for the different members of a
model. In some cases their use will not be appropriate and the user may use them only for displaying
the 3D view of the structure in a more realistic way and not for the analysis.
Instability due to simultaneous use of rigid offsets and hinges around hinged supports.
The simultaneous use of rigid offsets and hinges in the case of joints between a beam supported on a
girder can influence the way the supporting girder resists the applied loads. In the case shown below,
the supporting beam will need to resist the rigid zone moment through its torsional stiffness. In many
cases this stiffness is not sufficient to adequately resist the applied load, and the rigid diaphragm
assumption is of no assistance to resist this torsion.
Cross section showing girder (in profile) supporting a beam (shown with single line) with a specified
rigid end offset. When rigid offsets and hinges are used in nodes between beams and girders, the
supporting girders experiences a torsion due to the beams reaction at the specified offset.
Therefore, it is suggested not to use rigid offsets and pinned beam where two beams intersect. They
can however be used simultaneously in beam-column joints.
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
Rigid floor
When a building is being analyzed the engineer can choose to model the structure with a Rigid floor
Diaphragm or Rigid Floor.
A Rigid floor diaphragm simulates the in-plane rigidity produced by the slab. This constrains all
nodes of a floor to translate (in X and Z-axes), and rotate (around Y) together, i.e. infinitely rigid link
between all nodes in the horizontal plane.
With a rigid floor all nodes of a floor translate as a whole in the in-plane directions
When a rigid floor is activated the vertical deformation of the beams (out of plane rigidity) isn't
affected.
Important! In order to use rigid floor diaphragm, it is necessary that the building height be orientated
along the Y-axis.
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
2.- Choose the Nodes/Rigid diaphragm worksheet and select the tool Assign rigid diaphragm number
to selected nodes
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Chapter 5: Cardinal Points, Rigid Zone Offsets, Rigid Floor and Pressure on Frame Members
4.- Repeat the same steps to enter the Rigid Floor number of the other floors.
Important!
A Rigid Floor diaphragm can only be used when all the nodes of a floor have the same Y coordinate.
The pressures on the frame members are entered in the Pres.X, PresY, PresZ columns.
Pres X: Pressure of the wind in the X direction.
Pres Y: Pressure of the wind in the Y direction.
Pres Z: Pressure of the wind in the Z direction.
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
Look for Home tab, Databases group and press the Sections button.
The following dialog window will be displayed:
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
The dialog window shows a combo box with the label Group, as can be seen in the following
figure:
The program installs sections databases by group and regions. In the left side of the window the
Tables for the current group are located, and they are determined by the shape of the sections
contained in the group. In the right side of the window there is the items list for each table.
The user cannot modify the databases (items, tables and groups) that are installed by the program. It
is possible to access to see items data and properties with the edition button , but without the
chance to modify this information. However, this dialog allows the user to create and edit own
groups, tables and items. The procedure to execute this is described as follows:
Press the button to add a New group to the database. After that, a name for the new group is
required in the displayed window:
Then, add a new Table by pressing the button. A new dialog will be displayed to enter the name
for the new table. It is also required to select the type of table, to perform this action press the
button and the following dialog will be shown:
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
Once the type of table is selected, a LEO file for the definition of the type of sections is assigned to
the table.
Press the button to create a new item (section) for the current table.
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
Enter the units system (1), the section name (2), the data to define the section geometry (3) and then
press OK (See below to for more details concerning valid section names).
The user must notice that when it is desired to add more items to the current table, the program
automatically uses the same type of section for the defined table. That is to say, for the example
shown in the previous figures, after adding a new section for the table Box 4L, the new item will be
defined from the same LEO file and the same data will be required.
These sections become part of the program database and can be used in all subsequent models.
Note that the available sections in the program database are shown with different colors:
American, in black (steel), gray (reinforced concrete) and yellow (wood).
British, in blue (steel) and gray (reinforced concrete).
Australian, in sea green (steel).
European, in dark blue (steel).
Indian, in magenta (steel).
Japanese, in red (steel).
Brazilian, in green (steel).
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
Note. American cold-formed sections per AISI code are named with the prefix aisi. The database
for American sections is provided with steel joists.
Names of the sections should consist of three parts:
1. Type of section (should or not contain space characters)
2. A space character
3. Designation or description (should or not contain space characters)
A valid name is for example PIPE 1-1_4x0.191, where PIPE is the section type (without space
characters) followed by a single space and 1-1_4x0.191, which is the designation of the section
(with or without spaces).
Type of sections is for instance, "W", "T2L", and "TUBE". The Type of Sections should not have
space characters.
Designation is a description of the dimensions of this profile i.e. 2x25x15, 15x22x1.5.
Designations can contain the division ("/") character, space characters, hyphens, dots and special
characters.
Important - the Type of Section groups the profile. That is to say that a profile named PIPE 1-
1_4x0.191 will be stored in the PIPE group. In case the PIPE group does not exist, RAM Elements
will create a new one. So if the user wants that the section belongs to one specific type of section, it
must have the same name exactly.
Examples of valid profile names are:
W 15x25
TUBE 15x10
TUBE 15_25
Non valid profile names are:
W15x25 (space character is missing)
At least the name must have one separation space character
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
The geometric axes 2 and 3 should be used instead of the principal axes 2' and 3' for angle beams
restrained laterally for torsion.
There are other design provisions on the codes that have to be considered in the design of such
members. See the chapter dedicated to Steel Design in this manual for further details.
Tapered Members
RAM Elements offers the possibility to consider tapered members with a linear variation of the
depth. The width of the section and its flange thickness are considered to be constant along the
member. Although the program can deal in the analysis with any type of section with variable depth,
the design is restricted to hot rolled steel members with a section that possesses at least one axis of
symmetry perpendicular to the plane of bending.
For this case, the user has to assign a section to the member following the usual steps illustrated in
the figure after selecting the desired members:
Then the initial and final depth of the member has to be provided. d0 is the depth at the J end of a
web-tapered member (see next figure) while dL is the depth at the K end of the member.
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
If d0=0 and dL=0, the program considers that the depth at the J end is equal to the specified depth of
the adopted section (d0=d). If d0>0 and dL>0 it is assumed that the section varies linearly from d0 at
the J end to dL at the K end.
Note that a one side tapered member can be achieved by using the section cross section cardinal point
or the member rigid end offsets as it is illustrated in the following figures:
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
Use the cross section cardinal point tool to align the section in position number 2. In this way the
section will be aligned at the top of the section.
Members with variable depth are subdivided in 6 sub-elements with an equivalent prismatic section.
Note that a special built up section type is provided with RAM Elements to facilitate the creation of
custom built-up tapered members. To create a new tapered section see the method formerly described
using the I_tapered section type. Note that no web depth is entered as it is assumed that the user will
specify the beginning and end web-depth data in the worksheet.
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
For more details about the design of tapered steel members see the chapters on Design of hot rolled
steel members (AISC or BS Codes).
Creating Materials
To create a new material, follow these steps:
Look for Home tab, Databases group and press the Materials button.
The following dialog window will be displayed:
The dialog window shows a combo box with the label Group, as can be seen in the following
figure:
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
The program installs materials databases by group and regions. In the left side of the window the
Tables for the current group are located, and they are determined by type of material contained in the
group. In the right side of the window there is the items list for each table.
The user cannot modify the databases (items, tables and groups) that are installed by the program. It
is possible to access to see items data and properties with the edition button , but without the
chance to modify this information. However, this dialog allows the user to create and edit own
groups, tables and items. The procedure to execute this is described as follows:
Press the button to add a New group to the database. After that, a name for the new group is
required in the displayed window:
Then, add a new Table by pressing the button. A new dialog will be displayed to enter the name
for the new table. It is also required to select the type of table. The following dialog will be shown:
Press the button to create a new item (material) for the current table.
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
It is posible to select any units system for entering the data as well as define each value with its
corresponding units. For further details see the help context.
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
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Chapter 6: Creating Sections and Materials
Notice that calculated section properties (i.e. area, inertia, etc) may be entered together with
geometric properties. These entered values will override the calculated ones if the Read Only
property is set to true. Missing section properties will be calculated. Note that when the property
Read Only is enabled, it preserves the imported properties and avoids overwriting them with the
properties calculated by the program. This feature is particularly useful with steel sections with
tabulated values slightly different from those calculated by the program, with a corresponding effect
on code check equations. See the Excel files with several available groups of sections and their
properties that are included in the Tables directory.
The steps to import data are as follows:
Define the required fields.
Input the data in a spreadsheet.
Copy the data to the clipboard.
Press the button in RAM Elements to paste the information into the database.
Remark
Other databases such as bolts and welds may be created and edited in a similar way to that applied for
sections and materials.
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
Templates
When a Template is executed, it automatically generates nodes, frame members and descriptions.
Additional information such as supports, sections, materials, etc. should be entered manually.
To execute a Template three steps are required:
1. Enter the nodes that the Template requires.
2. Select them in certain specific order.
3. Execute the Template and enter the information that it asks for, such as number of segments,
etc.
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
Note
The nodes can be entered in any order.
2.- Select nodes as required by the template
3.- Choose the Modeling group in the Home tab and select the tool Templates
4.- Select the Truss1 template in the group Mono-Slope and press OK.
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
5.- Enter the data required by the template. In this case, enter 3 in the number of segments.
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
Note
When using the templates it is very important the order in which nodes are selected.
Templates generally create meaningless descriptions such as "g1", "g2", "h1", etc. Therefore, you
should change them to more meaningful descriptions.
2.- Choose to Member/Connectivity and description worksheet and right-click in the Description
column to display the general commands of the worksheet. Choose Select elements that have the
same data as at the cursor location
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
3.- In the current worksheet select the tool Assign description and select the option
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
Note
Right-click and select the option of the general commands of the worksheet to replicate the
description of one element in the group selected.
Proceed as follows:
1.- Select the preferred units system. In this case, select Metric System
2.- Enter the reference nodes before calling up the Templates (meters)
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
Note
In the event you did not select the correct number of nodes; you'll get the "Select 6 nodes in the
illustrated order" message.
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
9.- Select the whole elements and copy these 3 times, each 5 meters in the Z direction. The copy
command is locate in the Modeling group in the Home tab.
10.- Use the Truss1 Template to generate the longitudinal trusses, selecting the nodes as shown in
the figure below
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
13.- Repeat previous steps to generate the other two trusses shown below.
14.- Enter the roof beams. For this purpose select the nodes as shown in the figure below
15.- Choose the Members\Connectivity and description worksheet, select the tool Generate members
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
Completing data
At this point, all the geometry of the structure was entered very quickly. The structure is ready to be
completed with other information such as supports, sections, materials, loads, etc.
2.- Choose to Members\Connectivity and description worksheet and use right-click in the Description
column to display the general commands of the worksheet. Choose Select elements that have the
same data as at the cursor location
3.- Choose the Members\Sections spreadsheet, select the section required and press
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Chapter 7: Using Structure Templates
Note
It is very important to assign meaningful descriptions. This will expedite structural modeling.
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
To add load conditions to the model, press the button, from the Load conditions group,
Home tab, and a dialog window will be open to enter new load conditions.
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
It is possible to add load conditions automatically with the button. This action displays a new
dialog window to choose the load condition:
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
With the button the user may access to the categories manager:
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
Note that the categories included in the list are set by default by the program and the user cannot
modify them. However, it is possible to create users own categories with the button; the user
may rename them with the button or delete them pressing the button.
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
Elastic supports
Elastic supports are modeled in the RAM Elements program using springs.
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
One possible method of calculating the spring stiffness is using the soil modulus of sub grade
reaction as follows:
K spring = Modulus of sub grade reaction* tributary area for the node
It is the users responsibility to obtain appropriate spring stiffness.
To enter the springs, proceed as follows:
Go to Nodes/Springs.
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
Enter the value of the spring in the adequate direction, select the value, right click on the spreadsheet
area and copy it pressing from the pop-up menu.
Notice that the tool to model footings is available to assist the user in the entry of the
appropriate values for the rotational and translational springs under a footing of known dimensions.
See the chapter of Footing Design and Detailing for more information.
Prescribed displacements
This option is used to apply specified ground displacements (translations and rotations) at joints that
are restrained. The different components of the displacements are specified in the global coordinate
system (TX, TY, TZ, RX, RY, RZ). Only the components that have restrained degrees of freedom
will be considered as loading the structure.
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
.
Enter the displacement/rotations in the restrained degrees of freedom.
Self - weight
RAM Elements calculates the self-weight of the elements (shells and/or members) in a structure. To
activate the self-weight calculation proceed as follows:
From the status bar select the load case that is going to include the self-weight loads.
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
Thermal loads
When there are differences of temperature in-between faces of the members, enter these loads in the
following way:
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
Temp 3 is the gradient per unit length of temperature in local axis 3. It causes bending about axis 2.
Node generation
RAM Elements has several methods of generating nodes. It is important for the user to know them in
order to optimize the time of the data input:
1. Use of templates. The user enters the nodes required to position the new portion of the
structure that will be generated including the nodes. This tool is very useful for trusses or
structures with typical geometry. For more details see Using Structure Templates.
2. Import from DXF files. This option allows to define the basic geometry (that is, the nodes and
frame members), transferring data between drawing programs and RAM Elements. This
option is particularly useful when the geometry is very complicated and the node coordinates
are not easily defined. The user can draw the structure in any drawing software and then
import the data in RAM Elements. For more details see chapter related to Importing and
Exporting Data.
3. Import from Excel and other spreadsheet applications. The RAM Elements Data Panel has
only limited functions to manipulate the data. Therefore, if the nodes coordinates follow
special functions like trigonometric or exponential functions, the user can generate the
coordinates in applications like Excel which are plenty equipped with those functions and
then transfer the data in RAM Elements. This is performed with the known "copy and paste"
operation very common in all applications.
For example, to generate nodes following the function y = (x - 1)^1.14, create the data in a
spreadsheet application:
Data generated in a spreadsheet like Excel. The data is selected and copied to the Clipboard.
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
In RAM Elements, go to Nodes/Coordinates, locate the area where the data are going to be
entered and press the paste button .
4. The use of special tools for the generation of nodes. The available tools are the following:
5. Copy nodes.
Lineal generation of nodes.
Quadrangular generation of nodes.
Circular generation of nodes.
Copy nodes
To copy nodes, proceed as follows:
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
Now, we have:
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Chapter 8: Other Advanced Subjects
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Chapter 9: Analysis
Chapter 9: Analysis
Introduction
The static analysis of a structure involves the solution of a set of linear equations that can be shown in
terms of the following form:
P=KD (Eq 1)
Where P is the matrix of generalized applied loads, K is the stiffness matrix of the structure and D is
the matrix of resulting displacements. For each load case defined by the user, there is a vector of
loads that generates a vector of displacements. The problem is more involved if non-elastic materials
are considered or if P-Delta effects are taken into account
RAM Elements is using an analysis engine, which is part of a general-purpose finite element analysis
library based on object-oriented programming architecture, developed completely by Bentley
Systems, LLC. It has been used mainly for linear-elastic, nonlinear-inelastic and Eigen analysis of
any type of framing systems. The analysis engine is built on a highly optimized matrix library that is
particularly tuned for sparse matrix computation and it is armed with a state of the art bandwidth
optimization technique based on Graph theory. The currently enforced bandwidth optimization
method is Reverse Cuthill-McKee Ordering algorithm. The bandwidth optimization provides a
substantial reduction in storage requirements and when it is combined with the direct sparse solvers,
the time to decompose large symmetric-profile matrices is greatly reduced.
RAM Elements currently supports the following type of analysis:
Static Linear Elastic Analysis
Static Nonlinear Elastic Analysis
Eigen Value Analysis
In addition the following list contains element types currently available for the users:
Frame element with 6 degrees of freedom (dof) at its both ends. Geometric nonlinear effects
can be included.
Tension or Compression Only frame elements
Quadrilateral Shell element with 6 dof at each corner (three translational dofs, two rotational
dofs and one drilling dof)
Linear Traslational with option to only compression springs and rotational springs.
In the subsequent sections, a brief description of these analysis capabilities and element types are
summarized. The user is referred to associated references given within the text for further
information.
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Chapter 9: Analysis
Frame Element
126
Chapter 9: Analysis
Eq. (2)
In which Ix, Iy, J, G, E and L are major moment of inertia, minor moment of inertia, St.
Venant torsion constant, shear modulus, elastic modulus and member length, respectively.
The terms x and y are shear correction terms to account for transverse shear deformations.
They are calculated as follows:
Eq. (3)
In which Asx and Asy are equivalent shear area for major and minor directions, respectively.
It should be noted that if x and y are zero, Eq. (2) is reduced to conventional stiffness
matrix for frame members.
Bending, shear and axial releases can be defined at element ends. Calculated stiffness matrix
and effects of loads applied to elements are modified due to releases.
Offsets\eccentricities can be defined at element ends in three separate directions. Calculated
stiffness matrix and effects of loads applied to elements are modified due to releases.
Temperature effects can be included by considering both axial and bending effects due to
relative temperature changes.
Axial pre-tensioning can be defined. Such effects can be used for applying axial pre-stress to
members or for considering member axial initial imperfections (for instance, due to
fabrication errors, members can be too short or too long, therefore, it creates initial strains
when placing these members into position)
Geometric nonlinear effects are considered (see Iterative P-Delta Effects) in element
formulation. In this case, a nonlinear (iterative) analysis is utilized.
Frame elements can be assigned as tension or compression only members. In this case, a
nonlinear (iterative) analysis is utilized.
Deformation at any point within an element is extracted after the analysis is completed. The
engine calculates these deformations at any point accounting for element end displacements
127
Chapter 9: Analysis
and loads applied. Shear deformations are not considered in the calculation of these
deformations.
For web tapered elements, a flexibility based formulation is adopted
Shell Element
A four-node shell element is developed and it consists of six degrees of freedom at each of the four
nodes: three translations, two rotations and one drilling degrees of freedom (see next Figure). The
element is capable of generating both in-plane and out-of-plane stiffness. The drilling degree of
freedom facilitates fixity of members that frame into the wall. Refer to References 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 for
further assistance. Triangular shell elements in which three nodes of the shell are co-linear should be
avoided if possible. They should only be used as a last resort and only in transition zones where is not
possible to fit a rectangular element. In those cases, the user is responsible of the results in these
triangular shells. Instead, the user is encouraged to use the automatic mesh generator during the
analysis to avoid inaccuracies due to the use of this element.
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Chapter 9: Analysis
Surface loads can be applied to the shell either in global system or in local system of the shell.
Only constant surface loads are allowed.
Geometric stiffness matrix (i.e. geometric nonlinear effects) is not calculated for shell
elements.
P-Delta Analysis
To analyze most structures it is necessary to take into account the P-Delta effect. This effect can be
considered either at the analysis stage and/or at the code check stage. The simplest method is to allow
RAM Elements to calculate P-Delta during the analysis stage.
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Chapter 9: Analysis
P- effect
This effect is also called a member instability effect because it increases the instability of the
members of a structure.
P- effect
This effect is also called structure instability effect because increases the instability of the structure.
Both P-delta moments combined are simply called the P-Delta effect.
P-Delta effect (also called P-Delta with axial-bending interaction) is a second order effect that causes
a non-linearly behavior of the structure.
The P-Delta effect generally decreases the structure and member stability. It should be taken into
account by the analysis, even if lateral displacements are small. P-Delta effects can be ignored only
when axial forces (tension or compression) are small and lateral displacements minor.
(equilibrium) is achieved. These effects can be interpreted as the effect of axial force on element
bending (i.e., axial-bending interaction) so that they create additional flexural moments and then it
leads to additional lateral displacements. The current implementation considers only axial-bending
interaction but it does not consider other effects such as torsion-axial force interaction, torsion-
bending interaction etc.
The current implementation has some limitations. They are summarized below:
It considers axial- bending interaction in members (1D element only). For some members if
such interaction is not significant (or axial loads in these members are not big enough to
create considerable P-Delta effects), one can disregard P-Delta effects. Beams, girders or
horizontal members are typical members where they are usually subjected to distributed loads
or point loads, and they usually carry low axial loads. If this is the case, one can ignore P-
Delta effects for these types of members. Note that this might also help to overcome some
convergence problem if encountered during analysis.
The P-Delta affect due to self-weight is always considered as if it were applied with
equivalent forces at end nodes.
No geometric stiffness matrix is calculated for shell elements.
The above procedure is generally referred to as large P-Delta. If one also wants to consider small P-
Delta effects, it is advised to divide frame members into two or three sub-elements. With this
modeling approach, small P-Delta effects are accounted for.
The geometric stiffness matrix for a frame element is given in Eq. 4. Note that it is referred to the
figure given in Frame Element section.
(4)
where P, L are axial force and member length, respectively. The reader is referred to Reference 1 for
further explanation.
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Chapter 9: Analysis
However, when a second-order analysis is performed, the results for a combination cannot be
calculated in the same way. Therefore, for load combinations P-Delta will be calculated in the
analysis results using the same iterative method as was used with the load cases as described above.
Therefore, load combinations are prepared before the analysis as opposed to ones created after the
analysis in the first-order analysis.
Option to disregard P-Delta effects in members with loads along their span
The current implementation for P-Delta application is in such a way that it considers axial- bending
interaction in members (1D element only). For some members if such interaction is not significant (or
axial loads in these members are not big enough to create considerable P-Delta effects), one can
disregard P-Delta effects for them. Beams, girders or horizontal members are typical members where
they are usually subjected to distributed loads or point loads, and they usually carry low axial loads.
If this is the case, one can ignore P-Delta effects for these members. Note that this might also help to
overcome some convergence problems during analysis.
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Chapter 9: Analysis
133
Chapter 9: Analysis
134
Chapter 9: Analysis
References
[1] Matrix Structural Analysis, McGuire, W., Gallagher, R.H., and Ziemian, R.D, 2 nd Edition, John
Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000
[2] Strength of Material, Part 1, Timoshenko, S., 3rd Edition, Van Nostrand, Princeton, N.J., 1955
[3] Formulas for Stress and Strain, Roark, R.J., and Young, W.C., 5th Edition, McGraw-Hill, New
York, 1975
[4] MacNeal, R.H., and Harder, R.L., (1988), A Refined Four-noded Membrane Element with
Rotational Degrees of Freedom, Computers & Structures, Vol. 28, No.1, pp. 75-84
[5] Ibrahimbegovic, A., Taylor, R. L., and Wilson, E. L., (1990), A Robust Quadrilateral membrane
Finite Element with Drilling Degrees of Freedom, International Journal for Numerical Methods in
Engineering, Vol. 30, 445-457
[6] Ibrahimbegovic, A. and Wilson, E. L., (1991), A Unified Formulation for Triangular and
Quadrilateral Flat Shell Finite Elements with Six Nodal Degrees of Freedom, Communications in
Applied Numerical Methods, Vol. 7, 1-9
[7] Taylor, R.L.,(1987), Finite Element Analysis of Linear Shell Problems, Proceedings The
Mathematics of Finite Elements And Applications, Academic Press, New York, pp. 211-223
135
Chapter 9: Analysis
[8] Long, C.S., and Groenwold, A.A., (2004), Reduced Modified Quadratures for Quadratic
Membrane Finite Elements, International Journal of Numerical Methods in Engineering, 31:837-
855
[9] Bathe, K.L., Finite Element Procedures, 1996
[10] Hughes, Thomas J.R., The Finite Element Methods: Linear and Static Dynamic Finite Element
Analysis, 1987
[11] Wilson, E.L., An Eigensolution Strategy For Large Systems, Computer and Structures, Vol.
16, No. 1-4, pp. 259-265, 1983
[12] Bathe, K.J., Wilson, E.L., Large Eigenvalue problems in Dynamic Analysis, Journal of
Engineering mechanics Division, ASCE, Vol. 98, No. EM6, 1972
136
Chapter 10: Dynamic Seismic Analysis
Modal Analysis
The Modal Analysis consists of the calculation of the period, frequencies and the undamped free
vibration mode shapes of the structure. Free vibration is only dependent on the rigidity of the
structure and its masses, not on the loads. The type of Modal Analysis performed by the program is
the Eigenvalue Analysis, which is an excellent insight to the behavior of the structure.
In this process the following equation has to be solved:
[K - T M] Z=0
Where K is the stiffness matrix, T is the diagonal matrix of eigenvalues, M is the diagonal mass
matrix and Z is the corresponding matrix of eigenvectors.
Each eigenvalue-eigenvector pair is called a natural vibration mode and they are calculated with a
numeric method of iteration (see more details of the modal analysis in the Analysis Chapter).
The number of Modes to be calculated will depend on the following factors:
The number of Modes specified by the user in the Analysis dialog window.
The number of mass degrees of freedom of the structure that considers both the translational
and rotational masses.
The output of the modal analysis given by the program consists of the following:
The list of the masses that are acting on the different nodes of the structure.
The mode frequencies, periods and maximum accelerations
The mass participation percentage that provides a measure of how important the Mode is in
the calculation of the response of the structure. This parameter is very useful for the
determination of the accuracy of the Modal Analysis
The total mass that is the sum of the masses in each degree of freedom that acts over the
whole structure.
The seismic response spectrum, which represent the ground acceleration in an earthquake in a
certain direction. It is given as a digitized response- spectrum curve. The function is displayed
in a graphical way.
The modal shapes for each Mode.
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The base reactions that are the total moments and reactions in global coordinates required by
the supports to resist the inertia forces originated by the response spectrum loading. They are
printed for each load combination, each Mode frequencies and for the modal combination.
CQC Method
CQC represents the Complete Quadratic Combination technique developed by Wilson, Der
Kiureghian and Bayo (1981) and is taken as the default method. It considers the statistical coupling
between closely spaced Modes caused by modal damping. Therefore the damping factor must be
greater than zero for this method.
SRSS Method
It combines the results by taking the square root of the sum of their squares. It is very similar to the
CQC method, considering a damping factor equal to zero. Therefore the damping factor is not
considered in this method.
ABS Method
It combines the results by taking the sum of absolute values. It is quite conservative and therefore not
commonly used.
The sign is obtained from the sum of the modal values multiplied together, but with one term in
absolute value. To the magnitude can be used one of the methods listed (CQC, SRSS or ABS).
For example when bending and axial loads are combined, the member design will not be accurate if
the moment diagram due to seismic loading does not reflect the true moment signs. We can consider
the case of a column in a building:
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Combination of dynamic loads with and without signs with other type of loads.
With the feature to calculate signs for the dynamic loads, the combination of loads will better reflect
the real behavior of the structure. It is important to mention that when signs are going to be
considered, the user has to create load combinations in the two opposite directions, for example in -X
and +X direction. Nevertheless, the user must be aware that the signs are only estimated and must be
used with caution.
Entering Mass
Modal shapes are automatically calculated when the structure contains a mass on at least one node.
Mass can only be entered at the nodes.
To enter mass, follow these steps:
1.- Select the nodes, which are to contain mass.
2.- Choose the Nodes\Masses worksheet and enter the value of the mass. Right Click on the
worksheet display the option to assign the value of the current mass to the group selected.
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Notes
Use the Mass command to display graphically the mass assignments for the selected degrees of
freedom. This command is located inside the Model group in the View tab.
It is important to note that there are two available tools to automatically generate masses for one or
several floors considering members and shells. Refer to the context sensitive help for the available
tools in the worksheet.
Seismic Loads
The dynamic response spectra analysis requires the following data:
Dynamic scale factor = Seismic acceleration/gravity constant.
Damping constant (in percentage).
Seismic Response spectrum.
To perform the seismic analysis, proceed as follows:
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1.- Create a load case for seismic forces. E.g. ex = Earthquake in X (positive direction) or ez =
Earthquake in Z. The load cases for the current model are showed in the status bar.
2.- Choose the Gen\Earthquake accelerator worksheet and enter the scale factor and direction of the
earthquake force, as specified by the code used.
Note
The seismic direction should be 0 degrees for an earthquake in global X, 180 degrees for an
earthquake in global -X, -90 degrees for an earthquake in global Z direction and +90 degrees for an
earthquake in global -Z direction. (This is only valid when the seismic is calculated with sign. In the
opposite case the results for the seismic for X and -X or for Z and -Z will be the same).
3.- Choose the Gen/Earthquake response spectrum worksheet and enter the response spectrum
specified by the code used for the design.
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It is possible to load response spectrum files using the tool , then a dialog window will
open to choose the file from a list of response spectrums of the program:
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Seismic analysis
As described previously the program performs modal dynamic analyses. This means that the seismic
dynamic load is represented by a response spectra (it is also possible to represent other dynamic
forces with a response spectra).
This kind of dynamic analysis is the most convenient for seismic design because most seismic
building codes include the response spectra to be used in the design of a building.
To perform a seismic design, the user must have the following information:
Seismic loads, i.e. the response spectra.
Load combinations where seismic load is included.
Construction details
Warning!
The program does not include the Tension only option in the dynamic analysis. All elements are
considered as carrying compression as well as tension in dynamic load cases.
Load combinations
Once a seismic load case in X, or in Z is created, the user should create the load combinations
required by the code. Note that RAM Elements allows the simultaneous analysis of load cases with
second order effects and dynamic load cases (these are calculated with a first order analysis). It is
important to note that the combinations that include both types of load cases will be analyzed in two
parts. The first one, considering all the non-dynamic cases where the second order effects will be
included, and a second one that will add all the dynamic cases calculated with a first order analysis.
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Construction details
It is important that the user understand the behavior of structures subject to seismic loads and the
design details that are required to provide a structure with the required ductility. Refer to the local
concrete and building code for the pertinent detailing information. The RAM Elements Reinforced
Concrete Design modules handle many of these details included in Chapter 21 of the ACI-318 Code.
As opposed to wind load (left), bending moments are always positive in a typical dynamic load case
(right). However, also is possible an option to obtain the seismic results with signs.
Reactions are always positive when the option seismic results with signs are not used.
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Often a building contains a slab which increases the horizontal rigidity of a floor (perpendicular
stiffness of the slab is taken as zero). This rigidity is represented by rigid floor diaphragm.
To model this rigid diaphragm proceeds as follows:
1.- Create a node (master node) in the mass center of each floor.
2.- Assign TX, TZ, and RY floor masses to the master node. These are the masses of the entire floor.
Note
In a floor, only the mass center node should have a mass. The other nodes should not have mass.
3.- Select all the nodes in a floor
4.- Choose the Nodes/Rigid floor diaphragm worksheet and select the tool to assign a floor
number to the selected nodes.
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Note
Notice that each floor should has a unique number in the structure.
Analysis
Analyze the structure using the Analyze model command. This command is located in the Process
group in the Process tab and also in the quick access toolbar.
1.- Select the command Modal Shapes to display the modal shape. This command is locate into
the Modal Shapes group in the View tab.
2.- Select the desired modal shape from the option Modes in the Status Bar.
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3.- Select the command Free Vibration to show the free vibration. This command is locate into
the Modal Shapes group in the View tab.
4.- To display vibration modes with 3D sections, select the option Rendering in the command
Modal Shapes and then the command Free Vibration to show the free vibration
5.- To display stress and vibration, select the option Stresses in the command Modal Shapes
and then the command Free Vibration to show the free vibration
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6.- To display normalized displacements of the selected mode, use the command Normalized
Displacements and select the normalized displacements required. This command is locate into
the Modal Shapes group in the View tab.
Note
It is necessary select the elements to be included in the modal shapes before to execute these
commands,
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1) Oversized sections will be changed to another section (normally with lower weight) from a
predefined group of sections that can adequately carry the imposed loads.
2) Sections that fail the code check will be changed to a section that passes the code check.
There are many optimization criteria that can be applied to these processes. The criterion to be
adopted will be defined with the list of sections to be considered (section collection). The order of the
sections in this list will determine the priority of each section to be considered for replacing the
current section.
Important. To optimize a structure, members with the same description (same group) should have
the same initial section.
RAM Elements will not optimize a structure if a group (or description) of members has different
sections assigned within that group.
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Optimization basis
The purpose of structure optimization is to find the optimum section that complies with the set of
criteria (weight, depth, width or any other criteria).
Important. Optimization and Verification assign the same section to all the elements of a group of
members (or description). That is, after optimization, all elements with description COL1 will have
the same section. Elements with BEAM1 description will have a common section that may differ
from COL1.
A section is assigned to each group of members. RAM Elements will assign the same section to all
elements with the same description.
Section Collections
A section collection is defined as a group of members that will be considered in the optimization. The
sections in a collection should be ordered according to the order in which they should be considered
in the optimization. Different types of sections can be used in the same collection (W, C etc), and
they can be designed by different codes (i.e., NDS, BS, AS, AISI and AISC)
RAM Elements will choose the section to replace from the section collection. The program will pick
the first section in the list that resists the applied loads within the deflection limits.
Note. Remember that the type of a section is defined by its name. That is, a "W 10x20" section has
"W" type, "Tube 15" has "Tube" type.
Optimization process
For each group (description) of elements, the program checks sections in the selected collection and
selects those that pass the code check (strength and deflection) for all the selected load conditions and
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for all the selected elements that belong to the same group. Once RAM Elements gets the first section
that meets these criteria, it is selected for a possible change.
Verification process
The Verification process is similar to the Optimization process. However, checks are made first to see
if the current section passes the code check. If that happens, it is left without modification. If the
current section does not pass the code check, then RAM Elements proceeds to the optimization
explained above.
Look for the Process tab and Process group. Then, execute Optimize model. Note that there is
another button in the quick access toolbar on the top of the main window.
The following dialog window will appear:
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To optimize/check following the criteria of Strength, in the tab with the same name:
1.- Check all groups of members (descriptions) desired to optimize.
2.- Then check the load conditions that members should resist. (Select the desired load combinations
that are included in the design or the unassigned types)
Optimization and verification processes may additionally check structure deflections or deformations
(lateral deflections are considered with the same limit).
To optimize/check following the criteria of Deflection, in the tab with the same name:
3.- Enable the deflection check.
4.- Select all groups of members desired to be optimized.
5.- Select the load conditions to check the deflections. (Only the service load conditions or the
unassigned ones may be selected to perform this check)
6.-Define the allowable deflections. Note that it is possible to enter absolute values or values in
function of the members length.
In the Collections for optimization tab, it is possible to define the sets of sections for the groups of
members to be optimized:
7.- Choose the section collection to consider in the optimization.
8.- Assign the collection(s) to the desired groups of members.
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The user can create new sections collections by pressing the button and
executing the following steps:
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Steps to create a new section collection for optimization. The Collection window is divided in
different areas. In the right area, the first panel displays a list of the available collections and the
second panel displays a list of sections in the currently selected collection.
a.- Press the button to create a new collection. Then enter a name for the collection in
the dialog window that appears. The name of the collection must be a valid and unique
filename. RAM Elements will create a text file with this name where it will save a list with
the sections names. The collection files can be edited using Notepad or any text editor.
The file is located in the Sets folder (in the main RAM Elements folder).
b.- Select one of the groups that contain the desired sections.
c.- Select the desired sections to be included in the collection with the mouse. (Ctrl + left
mouse button to select the sections).
d.- Press the button to add the selected sections to the new collection.
e.- Repeat steps (b) to (d) as desired. Note that when sections are added to a collection they
are not duplicated. That is, sections are not added if they already exist in the collection,
only one instance of a section can be in a collection.
f.- Sort the section in the list according to their weight or to other criteria. After finishing this
task, close the window.
9.- Finally, select the operation to be performed: Optimize or Check. In order to explain further
details, select Optimize. Then, press OK.
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Notes:
Some load conditions should only be used for deflection verification and others should only
be used for code check.
Notice that it is preferable to work with physical members for deflection check because
deflections are always calculated relative to the members end points.
Review the slopes graphically to see if they are within the given limits. This deflection check
is very important and it may be performed as part of the design process.
When optimization is finished, RAM Elements will present a list of suggested changes. Check all
approved changes and press Replace. RAM Elements will change the current sections to those
suggested.
Mark all changes agreed. Do not check the groups not desired to be changed. Then press Replace
button to make the suggested changes. Notice that the program informs the reason for the changes
(strength or deflection).
After the structure has been optimized, sections are changed and all analysis results will be lost.
Therefore, analysis and design of the structure must be performed again.
It is recommended to study the structure results and optimize the structure again, until the sections
used are satisfactory.
Important. Structure design is iterative. So the analysis-design cycle must be performed more than
one time.
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Warning. In the optimization of wood members, the user has to check that the assigned material is
adequate for all sections of the collection and the type of loads of the members. See the Wood Design
Chapter for more information.
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Data reports
The Data command has the following options:
Geometry data
This option allows printing all the structure geometric information like coordinates of the nodes, data
of members, geometric data for the design, etc. Like all the other reports, only the information of the
graphically selected members will be printed.
Loads data
This option allows printing all the information relative to node forces, distributed forces on members,
self-weight multipliers for load conditions, seismic loads, etc.
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List of Materials
This option allows obtaining a list of the selected materials with their respective quantities. These
quantities can be expressed in length or weight.
Parts List
This option prints the list of parts for the currently selected members.
List of Joints
This option prints the list of connections assigned to the joints. This list may be very useful for the
detailing and to know if there are still joints without connections.
Analysis reports
The Analysis command has the following options:
Analysis results
Before printing the reports, a window is displayed. This window allows the user to choose which
information will be printed. This window also allows you to choose the load conditions to be
included in the output.
Once all the information to be printed is set, press OK to obtain the printed report.
Note
Some print options require additional information in the form of additional parameters like the
number of stations along the member, or whether to group by elements, group by conditions, etc.
All the data and results that can be obtained are shown in the graphic below. The user must choose at
least one static or dynamic load condition.
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Dynamic analysis
The dynamic response results are displayed in this report. It also gives the calculated accelerations for
each vibration mode together with the percentage of mass participation. This report also includes a
graphic of the seismic response spectrum.
Design reports
The Design command has the following options:
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Steel design
Before printing the report, a window is displayed. This window allows you to choose between a
concise and a detailed report. It also allows you to choose the load conditions to be considered in the
design. For more details about the information given in each type of report, see the Reports section in
the Chapter devoted to the General Design of Steel Structures.
Window displayed prior to printing steel design reports. In this window the user can choose the kind
of report to be printed and the load conditions to be considered in the design.
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Window displayed prior to the printing of reinforced concrete design reports. In this window the user
can choose the code, the stirrups and the load conditions to be considered in the design.
The report gives information relative to the design of beams and columns like forces acting on
members, maximum, minimum and calculated reinforcement, spacing of stirrups, etc.
For a more detailed design of reinforced concrete columns and beams, use the respective detailing
module. Each detailing module has a more detailed report where the user can introduce more
information for a complete design.
Wood design
Before printing the report, a window is displayed. This window allows choosing between a concise
and a detailed report. It also allows you to choose the load conditions to be considered in the. For
more details about the information given in each type of report, see the Reports section in the Chapter
devoted to the Design of Wood Members.
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Window displayed prior to printing wood design reports. In this window the user can choose the kind
of report to be printed and the load conditions to be considered in the design.
Report diagrams
The Report command displays axial, shear, flexural and torsional forces as well as their
respective envelopes, translations and rotations for each selected member and load condition.
Before printing the report window is displayed where the user can choose the diagrams to be printed.
Note that the envelopes will consider only the selected load conditions. Also, this window allows you
to select the option to show the points where the values of the diagrams are zero, which is very useful
for reinforced concrete members.
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It is possible choose the number of diagrams per printing line, which varies between 1 and 6. The
default value is 2, which is recommended for reports in a letter size with portrait orientation. Note
that where more diagrams are included in a line, they will be smaller. It is advisable to perform a
small print test to determine if the chosen number is adequate for the current paper size and printer.
Warning!
The large number of figures that can be generated when multiple members and load conditions are
chosen in big structures may produce problems of memory and resources on the computer. It is
advisable to save the structure before executing this command and not to process more than
approximately one hundred diagrams each time. That is to choose the particular members you want
diagrams displayed for.
Once the type of diagrams and the load conditions are chosen, the user will be able to see on the
screen a preview of the report and continue with the printing.
The reports have icons and information that are very useful. Each time the user prints a report, a
screen similar to the one shown below will be displayed:
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Report screen
The characteristics and components of the report screen are explained next.
Print
Print the current report. In this case the standard dialog window for printing will appear
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Print configuration
Set all the print configuration parameters. The window that appears is the standard Windows
printer setup dialog. For more details refer to your Windows manual or to your printers
manual.
Select all
Select the complete report.
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Copy
Copy a selected block (Ctrl + C) to the Clipboard to read it from another program like Excel,
WordPad, etc.
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Report exported to Microsoft Word. Note that the export is done with the original formatting intact,
even graphics are exported.
Close
Close the report window.
Warning!
When exporting a report, RAM Elements automatically runs the respective software (Word or Excel).
This requires that the user must have this software properly installed on their computer.
Warning!
The user must be aware that the transfer of a report to Microsoft Word or Excel might take some
time, depending on the speed of the processor and the number of pages of the report.
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The View on screen command displays the member force diagrams for the member that was
selected first on the screen. The available member force options include the bending moments, shear,
axial forces, torsional moments, together with translation and rotation diagrams.
It is important to note that the envelopes that are displayed with this option are calculated only from
all the selected load combinations.
In the upper part of the displayed window the user will find two menus to choose the type of diagram
and the load condition to display in the diagrams.
Note that there is a track bar at the bottom of the window which allows you to chose any point along
the member and get the numerical value of the diagram at that point.
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The type of diagrams is chosen from the menus at the top of the window. Note the track bar at the
bottom of the window allows displaying the numerical values of the diagram at any point along the
member.
The Export to DXF command displays a screen very similar to that of the detailing modules
and includes an option to export the drawing as a DXF file.
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The screen is very similar to the ones of the detailing modules and includes an option to export the
drawing as a DXF file. .
Print to file
The command Print to file allows save the current graphic on the screen to a file in BMP or
JPG format.
A dialog window will appear were you should define the type of file BMP (Windows Bit Map) or JPG
(JPEG graphic). Additionally you can set the scale and the size (in pixels) of the graph.
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Notes
If the computer freezes or the printing is too slow, take into account the following suggestions:
Reduce the printing quality in RAM Elements.
Reduce the printing quality in your printer (see the printer manual).
Once you succeed in printing the graphic, you can increment the quality.
Install the last available driver for your graphics card and printer considering your current
operating system.
It is possible to observe small differences in the tones between the printed graph and the graph
displayed in the screen.
Print graphic
The command Print graphic allows printing the current graphic model on the screen.
If you have a color printer, the printout will be in the original colors. If you have a black and white
printer, the printout will be in gray tones. The user can change the print quality in the program
configuration option.
Press the RAM Elements button and select General configuration to display the Configuration
dialog.
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.
The Print tab allows to configurate the quality of printings .
Use the option Print in black & white printers or plotters to improve the quality of printings
for black and white printers.
The normal quality will give a standard print. Better qualities will require more resources of the
system.
Note
In the Configuration/ Print are also additional options such as: Assign logo to reports, Company
name and Address, and define the position of the model data properties that could or not be included
in the reports.
Text Box
This option allows entering any information that will be printed on the graphic output. This
information can be a title, a description, a comment, etc. This text box will be located in the top-right
side of the graphic model screen of RAM Elements and will be printed along with the graphic.
Text Box.
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Importing
DXF Importing from drawing software (MicroStation, Autocad, and others which create DXF
files)
RAM Structural System - Full Model: To import all members from a RAM Structural System
version 7.2x file and later.
RAM Structural System - Lateral Model: To import only lateral members from a RAM
Structural System version 7.2x file and later.
STAAD. Pro: Importing STAAD.pro model. The user must install the OpenSTAAD library
to import STAAD models.
SAP2000: Importing files s2K generated by SAP2000.
Note: With a RAM SS version 8.0 or later the user will be able to import models only for the current
version of RAM SS.
Exporting
DXF: exporting to drawing software (Autocad, MicroStation, etc.).
RAM Elements Neutral: exporting data to an ASCII text file.
SDNF: Exporting to steel detailing neutral file for detailing software.
RAM BasePlate: Exporting data of the selected column for the base plate design in RAM
BasePlate.
RAM SBeam: Exporting beam to RAM SBeam software.
It is also possible to import or export information to the databases, for more details see Chapter 6,
Importing and exporting sections and materials.
DXF files
DXF files allow interchanging only the basic geometry (that is, the nodes and frame members). This
is very useful for transferring data between drawing programs and RAM Elements.
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To export, use command Export - DXF from the menu accessed pressing the RAM Elements button.
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2. Draw using as many layers as desired. Note that the section and the material can be used to
nominate the layers.
3. Save the drawing as DXF file.
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From the menu accessed pressing the RAM Elements button, execute the command Import - DXF to
read the DXF file.
Important!
RAM Elements will automatically insert nodes at straight-line intersection points.
For instance, if RAM Elements locates a line as illustrated in the picture below-left, it will
automatically insert a node and will create an additional element as illustrated by the right picture.
(a) Line as drawn (b) Nodes and elements as created by RAM Elements
RAM Elements will automatically create joints when it is necessary.
For good results:
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1. All the frame geometry must be imported with the definition of the layer used in the drawing,
meaning that the sections and the material may be assigned from the layers.
2. All the shell geometry must be imported with the definition of the layer used in the drawing,
meaning that the thickness and the material may be assigned from the layers.
3. The graphic must be drawn in simple lines and 3Dfaces. If there are polylines, circles and
polygons, those must be exploded to lines before importing.
Full model This option will import all lateral and gravity members. All gravity beam and
brace members will be imported with pin conditions at their ends. Columns however will be
imported fixed at the top. Note that in RAM Elements the intersection of any two members
results in a node being created. For example, wherever a beam frames into another beam, the
supporting beam will be broken in two and a node will be inserted.
Lateral model This option will import only lateral members from the RAM SS model.
Member fixity and tributary loads will also be imported.
Foremost, RAM SS divides the model in gravity members and lateral load resisting members.
In RAM Frame, gravity members transmit only vertical reactions to the supporting lateral
members. They do not get considered further in the RAM Frame analysis. In RAM Elements
there is no separation of gravity and lateral members and the behavior of the structure is
analyzed all together (when the full model is imported).
Live load reduction. In RAM Structural System all of the live loads are analyzed. Then, when
performing a code check on a member the live load results (axial, bending, shear) are reduced
based on the LL reduction % for that specific member. In RAM Elements this cannot be done
so no reduction is applied at all.
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Cracked section factors. In RAM, it is possible to assign cracked section factors to walls
whereas it is not in RAM Elements. User can reduce the thickness or E value of the walls in
RAM Elements to have a consistent model.
Meshing, each program does its own wall meshing and while they use the same meshing
engine, the same results are not achieved even when using the same desired mesh size. This
can greatly affect the model stiffness.
P-Delta, the programs have completely different methods of performing P-Delta analysis
(RAM Frame - Global Stiffness method, RAM Elements - iterative method)
Horizontal diaphragms. In RAM Frame horizontal diaphragm constraints can be assigned to
sloping levels. This is not allowed in RAM Elements.
Rigid end zones. User can assign rigid end zones in RAM Elements but it is not automated as
it is in RAM Frame.
To import a STAAD.Pro model, select File/Import From/STAAD.Pro and select the model as shown
in the figure.
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The program will convert the selected model. In case of identifying elements that cannot be
converted the system will display a warning window detailing the conditions that could not be
imported.
Space between double angle The space between double angle and
sections channel sections is not considered in the
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sections imported.
SDNF Files
RAM Elements can export the structural data as a SDNF file. This file can be read by steel detailing
software that supports the SDNF format.
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To export, use command Export - SDNF from the menu accessed pressing the RAM Elements button.
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A dialog window will appear. Define the file name, the units and the member types.
Select the SDNF file version (2.0 or 3.0) to export.
Now it is possible to read the file with any detailing software that supports the SDNF file.
Some characteristics of the exported SDNF File:
Member description first line:
"Member number" "Cardinal point" "0 " "0 " Type field Piecemark field Revision level
field
The cardinal point number is according to the standards.
The "Type field" can only be COLUMN, BEAM or BRACE. By default, if the member nodes are
completely horizontal or vertical, the member will be reported as a beam or column, otherwise, as a
brace. The user may change this in the dialog window.
The "Piecemark field" contains the RE member description
The "Revision level field" is reported always as "0"
Length units: in the specified units
For tapered members, it is defined the following standard section name notation: W 14X74 and W
10X68 such as constants.
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Each column represents a load case in RAM SBeam. Each row represents a load case defined in the
current model. Only one target load case in RAM SBeam for each RAM Element load case can be
selected.
Blank rows are valid, the RE load case will not be included on the export. By default all the cells are
blank and it is not mandatory to select one (in this case no load cases will be exported). If the
selected member has loads that are not perpendicular, a warning will notify the user and those
loads will be ignored.
The RAM SBeam load cases are:
DL (Dead load).
CDL (Construction dead load).
LL (Live load).
CLL (Construction live load).
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Purpose
There are two related purposes for ISM:
The transfer of structural information between applications.
The coordination of structural information between applications.
To provide for the first purpose (transferring information), ISM provides a means of defining, storing,
reading and querying ISM models.
To provide for the second purpose (coordination of information), ISM additionally provides
capabilities to detect differences between ISM models and to selectively (based on user selection)
update either an ISM repository or an applications data to provide a user-controlled level of
consistency between the two data sets.
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The following table explains which tools to use for a given task:
If you need to use Description
this
tool
Create a new ISM Create to Repository transfers the current model
repository from an opened in RAM Elements and generates a new ISM
existing RAM Elements repository. This is the most common way in which a
model ISM repository is initially created.
Create a new RAM New from Repository creates a new RAM Elements
Elements model from an model from an existing ISM repository. This is used
existing ISM repository to transfer model data into other tools used for your
workflow.
Update an existing Update to Repository will coordinate changes made
repository to reflect to the model in the RAM Elements and coordinate
changes made in a RAM some or all of those changes with an existing ISM
Elements model repository.
Update an existing RAM Update from Repository allows you to update your
Elements model to reflect RAM Elements model with some or all of the
changes in an ISM changes which have been made to the ISM
repository repository.
When any of these tools are selected, the relevant dialog boxes are opened to select either a
application model file or an ISM repository for use. The Change Management environment is
typically used with the update tools to coordinate which changes are to be reflected in the models and
repository.
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The calculation method uses the force matrix and the general element adopted is rectangular with
four nodes.
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2.- Choose the Shells/Connectivity and Description worksheet and select the Create quadrangular
shell tool .
Note
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The order of selection of nodes is very important to correctly generate the plates and to establish their
local coordinates. Take the time to check the local axis orientation of the shells. Output such as top
and bottom reinforcing steel is all presented relative to the shells local axis orientation.
If the plates have not been generated as is expected press (Ctrl + Z) from the quick access toolbar
in order to undo the generation of plates and start over.
Node selection should be done in the following order:
a) First select the bottom row of nodes in the order indicated.
Please notice that the top and bottom rows of nodes should be selected in the same direction.
It is only necessary to define big physical units; the rest of the elements may be generated
automatically by controlling the degree of segmentation (meshing).
It is possible use the Create gap with selected shells and nodes tool to enter the gap size
between shells, previously the user must select the nodes of the shell and then enter the gap size.
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So is possible use the Merge selected shells to a single element tool to merge the selected plates
to a single element. For the shell selection the user must consider the following aspects: select shells
in the same plane, with the same thickness, must have the same material and the same loads assigned.
The program will show warning messages in case of failing any of these conditions.
2.- Choose the Shells/Connectivity and Description worksheet and select the Create shell tool
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Description
As with beams, the shells should be assigned a description immediately after create them.
The process for assigning the description is similar to that of beams and is explained below.
1.- Select the plates to be assigned a description, choose the Shells/Connectivity and Description.
Right click in the Description column ad select the option
2.- In the current worksheet select the tool to generate a common description for the group of
plates selected.
2.- Type the value of the thickness of the plate and replicate with the option of the general
commands of the worksheet.
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Note
To graphically view the description and thickness of the plates, active the commands Properties and
Materials from the Model group in the View tab. In the command properties is necessary that the
Shell thickness is selected.
2.- Type the values of the distances from the reference node to locate the openings, and the length
along each axis.
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Note
The user can define new openings selecting the tool to display a window with the options to
define the locations and the dimensions of the opening. To introduce new openings in more than one
shell, it is important to check that the selected shells have the same local axis.
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If it is required to assign only supports at ends of the shell, select the tool: .
To assign intermediate base supports select the tool: . A window will be displayed to define the
support type: fixed, pinned or compression only springs; the distance in which the intermediate
supports are going to be placed, extended from the external supports of the physical model. It must be
entered as a percentage (%) or an absolute length.
The user may introduce orientation of local axes of the shell directly in the worksheet or using the
following tools:
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The degree of segmentation can be defined using the Segment selection tool . This tool is
located into the group Model Adjustments in the Process tab.
In the window segmentation, the user should define the maximum distance allowed between nodes
and merge node tolerance; this means that any two nodes that are closer than this tolerance are
assumed to be single node and hence they are merged during generating the mesh for shells. When
boundaries are shared, they should have the same nodes generated after the meshing of the edge to
avoid duplicate nodes. The mesh is done from the boundary of the shell, and then other unstructured
points are generated in the shell.
To mesh shells the program uses an advanced meshing library to model shells with any openings
(Computing Objects SARL). The user may modify in the advanced options the optimization level and
the shape quality ratio.
The optimization level is used to improve shape and size quality of meshed elements and it can be set
to a number between 1 and 10. Level 3 is the default value that is a good balanced between quality
and CPU (analysis time) cost.
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Shape quality ratio controls the trade-off between shape optimization and size optimization. The
default value is 0.6 that gives a slight preference to the shape quality over the size quality. It can be
set to any number between 0.1 and 1.0.
Note
Use the Segment shells tool in the Shells/Shells nodes worksheet, to segment manually the
shells.
Assigning Materials
To assign materials, follow these steps:
1.- Select the plates
2.- Choose the Shells/Materials worksheet, select the material and assign to the current shell selected
using the tool or to the current group of shells selected using
Note
In the case of a reinforced concrete slab is necessary to enter the mechanical cover too.
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3.- Choose the Shells/Load on shells worksheet, type the value of the pressure and replicate this with
the option of the general commands of the worksheet.
Note - If the pressure in the model has the opposite direction, enter a pressure with the opposite sign.
A positive value coincides with the positive direction of the local axis 2.
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3.- Choose the Shells/Load on shells/Distributed loads on shell faces worksheet , type the face
where the load will be applied, the direction and the values of the load.
Note.- It is posible to add loads with the tool Assign distributed loads , from the tool bar.
To add the load in all the faces of the selected shells, just select the shells and use the tool.
To add the load in one or more faces of the selected shells, select first the shell, and then the nodes of
the face where the load will be applied
Shell interfaces
Choose the Shells/Interfaces worksheet to create shell interfaces
Once that the interface is created the user is able to assign to the interface an axial rigidity (i.e.
tension only or compression only) and the corresponding in plane and out of plane releases. The
nomenclature used is explained in the section Face Forces of this manual.
The user also is able to create interfaces using the different available tools. These tools assign an
interface to each face of the shell. Every interface allows transmitting to the shell a certain force
according to the type of the interface.
Warning! The user should note that if excessive releases are assigned to the interfaces, some of them
might become unstable.
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It is strongly recommended to read the available literature on this subject before use shell elements in
the structural modeling. Engineering knowledge and judgment plays a very important role in the
structure idealization.
For example: first generate the shells that are illustrated in the graph (entering shells), and also enter
their thickness (entering thickness) and then select them.
The differences between the forces in the nodes calculated in contiguous shells are good parameters
to determine the precision obtained with the subdivision of the plates. It is important to mention that
this precision diminishes at the borders.
Another possibility for determining the precision obtained is to study the convergence of the results,
performing two calculations with two different subdivisions. Large differences in the results will
indicate that a larger number of plates are needed to accurately model the structural behavior. As an
example, the case of a rectangular slab is presented. The slab is fixed in the four borders and it is a
reinforced concrete slab. The dimensions of the slab are: 30 ft x 15 ft and a uniform pressure is acting
from top to bottom. This example will be used in several sections of this chapter and will be referred
to as Shell1. It is a very simple example, and there are tables with the solutions for the stresses and
deflections following classic methods.
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Shell stresses
In this report the shell stresses acting on each shell node are shown. The in-plane and out-of-plane
forces determine the value of the stresses on both faces of a shell. Thus, each node has two points
where the stresses are calculated. One located at the top face or +t/2 of the shell middle fiber and the
other at the bottom face or-t/2 of the shell middle fiber. Note that both the top and bottom face are
relative to shell local axes.
Figure that shows the stresses in the local axes with the positive directions.
The shell stresses are defined as the forces per unit area of the plate that act within the element to
resist the applied loads. The different stresses at each node are:
11, 33: In-plane normal stresses in the Axes 1 and 3 directions.
13: The shear force along the edge.
12, 13: Transverse shear stress.
22: Transverse direct stress (it is always assumed equal to zero).
The main or principal stresses are:
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Chapter 15: Shells
Corner Forces
The local corner forces are internal forces that are acting on each node of the plate. The convention
adopted to display such forces is given in the following figure and it is related to the global axes.
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Chapter 15: Shells
The option to get the envelope of corner forces is also included. This option displays the maximum
local forces acting for the chosen load combinations. It is very useful for design purposes.
Face forces
This option shows the forces acting on each lateral face of the shells:
Graphic environment
The Stresses command allows displaying stresses and other results in a highly graphical
manner. A graphic can show many results at the same time in an easy, clear and concise manner.
This command is locate into the Analysis group in the View tab.
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When this option is activate, an additional window appears where the units, the parameter name and
range are displayed. There is also a submenu where is possible to find the list of parameters that can
be displayed and several options to display the graphs.
The list of parameters is:
Stresses
The stresses that can be seen graphically are:
Von Misses stresses. They are the equivalent uniaxial stress proposed by von Mises and used
in the design of steel plates. For more details see the section Principal stresses in the section
Printing results.
11, 33 and 13, the normal and shear stresses in the local axes.
max, min, the main or principal normal stresses.
12 and 23, the transverse shear stresses in planes 1-2 and 2-3 respectively.
max, the main or principal transverse shear stress (averaged from both sides)
It is also possible to see the different stresses related to a coordinate system rotated a specified
angle (i.e. ) referring to the local axes.
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Smooth
The option uses an algorithm that averages the values obtained in contiguous shells. This
action smoothes the contour lines displayed.
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The options (Envel and Max) provide the envelope graph for the stress selected. When the
option Max is activated, the envelope is calculated considering only positive values of stresses. When
Max is deactivated, the envelope is calculated considering only negative values of stresses Note that
these options work only with load combinations.
In the next figure the positive and the negative envelopes for the moment M11 are presented for the
example Shell1. The load combination used is C1 = DL
Positive and negative envelopes for the bending moment M11 in model Shell1.
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The Stresses command displays the thickness and then stresses on both sides of the shells
selected. This command is located into the Analysis group in the View tab
References
Computing Objects SARL, (2005), CM2 MeshTools, www.computing-objects.com
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5. Create the macro for the new section type. It advisable to copy a macro of an existing section
type, which is similar to the new one. Select the desired file and copy it in the same folder.
Rename the file and execute the text editor to open the new macro.
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A Text Editor(NotePad) with a macro for sections. Note that it is divided in three parts.
The macros for sections have three parts. The first one is where the common properties or general
parameters are defined. The second part defines the section variables or the input data for the section,
for example the height, width, etc. Finally, the last part contains the subroutines that define the
section. There we find the askUser function that defines the order and characteristics of the input
data, the SectionShape function that defines the geometry of the section, and others. The next section
of the manual details the characteristics of each part.
The macro of each section type is stored in a basic text file with the extension .leo, located in the
Leos folder of the main RAM Elements directory. Note that the macros of previous versions (before
6.0) with .def extension have been replaced.
Warning- If this file contains errors, RAM Elements will not necessarily give an error message, and
therefore the properties of the sections could be incorrect. The reason is that as in any programming
language, the file should be without syntax errors. The user is responsible for verifying that the
section properties are correct.
Common parameters:
This part contains commands for the general definition of the section. For example, it is necessary to
include the following line:
(To set In (inches) as the default unit for a shape, include the following line)
UNIT='In'
(To set Cm (centimeters) as the default unit for a shape, include the following line)
UNIT='Cm'
As can be seen, a command consists in this case in the assignation of a default value to a parameter.
Note that if a string is assigned to the parameter, the string is between quotation marks.
The most common commands are explained below:
Default Units
Command action:
Assigns the default units to a shape (cm, in or mm). When a new section is created the specified unit
will show by default. However, it is possible to change it when creating the section, if desired.
Syntax:
UNIT=<unit>
Allowable values for <Unit>:
cm: Centimeters
in: Inches
mm: Milimeters
Section type
Command action:
Instructs RAM Elements which procedure should be used to calculate section properties.
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Chapter 16: Creating New Types of Sections with Macros
Syntax
TYPE=<type>
Allowable values for <type>
LINEOPEN: shape is an open section composed by elements that are thin in comparison with its
overall dimensions. Normally it is applicable to steel shapes such as L, I, W, S, T2L, etc.
LINECLOSED: section is also composed of thin elements but they belong to a closed shape such as:
square box, pipe, etc.
SOLID: shape is solid. This is applicable to square solid bars, round bars, reinforced concrete
sections, etc.
Shape
Command action:
Describes the shape of the section. Used for steel and wood design.
Syntax
SHAPE=<shape>
<Shape> is a string of maximum 5 characters that describes briefly the form of the section. The
strings used in the program are: 'Built Box', 'C', 'Circle', 'Circular', 'Compound', 'I', 'L', 'Rectangular',
'Spaced', 'T', 'Z'
All shapes as 'I', 'C', 'L', 'T', etc, have to be defined using these strings in the macros used in
RE. The reason is that the design processes use this property to recognize the shape in order to apply
the correct formulae of the Specifications.
Design code
Command action:
Specifies the design code to be used with this shape.
Syntax
CODE=<code>
Allowable values for <code>
HOTROLLED: Section is made from hot rolled steel and will be designed with -ASD, -
LRFD or codes, as applicable.
COLDFORMED: Section is made from cold-formed steel and will be designed with -ASD or
-LRFD codes, as applicable.
BS_COLDFORMED: Section is made from cold-formed steel and will be designed with Code
WOOD: Section is made of wood (lumber or glulam) and will be designed with -ASD Code.
RCONCRETE: Section is made of reinforced concrete and will be designed with or EH codes,
as selected.
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OTHER: Any other section or profile that does not belong to the categories explained above, such as
aluminum.
, Design formulation
Command action:
It is only used for wood and steel with British Standards.
For wood sections, RAM Elements has to know if it is lumber or glulam.
Note. It is very important to understand this instruction and its effects on the design of the new
section template. Please see the chapters on Design of Steel Members () for how the program has
implemented the code provisions or the chapter devoted to wood design.
Syntax
FORMULATION=<formulation>
Allowable values for <formulation>
Allowable values for <formulation> are GEN, TUBE, IC, for steel sections ( ) and LUMBER or
GLULAM for wood. Each one of these formulations represents a different approach, as stated by the
BS or NDS codes. These approaches (or formulations) are:
IC: Assign this formulation only to I (W, HP, S, UB, UC or Joists) and C shapes.
This formulation applies to rolled or welded I or H cross sections (BS).
TUBE: This formulation should be used with Tube and Pipes shapes.
This formulation is intended for hot finished RHS or cold formed RHS
GEN: This formulation is used for other sections.
For wood members, the following formulations are available:
LUMBER: This formulation should be used with rectangular and rounded sections. Spaced columns
are also considered. This formulation is explained in Chapter 4 of the NDS-Specifications.
GLULAM: This formulation should be used only with rectangular sections. It is explained in Chapter
5 of the NDS Specifications.
Connection
Command action:
This command indicates if the connection between flange and web is continuous or intermittent
(welded). If the shape is hot rolled then the connection is continuous. If the shape is welded then the
connection is intermittent (built-up members).
Syntax
CONNECTION=<connection>
Allowable values for <connection>
CONTINUOUS: Connection between flanges and web is continuous
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Category
Command Action:
It is an additional classification that is used for reinforced concrete members. It helps to determine the
type of members suitable for the section (it is only a descriptive property).
Syntax:
CATEGORY=<Category>
Allowable values for <category> are
BEAM, COLUMN and WALL
Commentary
Command action:
To make any comment concerning the shape. The commentary does not have an affect on properties
or the design. This can be used, for instance, if the shape has unequal legs, some unique shape, or any
other unusual condition to communicate to the user. This commentary appears when the user creates
new sections.
Syntax
COMMENTARY=<commentary>
Allowable values for <commentary>
Any pertinent commentary.
All the previous commands can be illustrated with an example. Lets define an angle section type
with the following data:
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Section variables
These commands specify the name, the default value and tags of the variables required for calculating
section properties of the new section type. Many variables can be created to define the shape
dimensions.
Syntax
Name of the variable = default value [units] tag <string>
Name of the variable. When possible, use a descriptive name with few characters. The first one
should always be a letter (shouldn't be a number) following the general rules for variable names in
LEO. For example:
a
bf
d2
t
The tag is a text description of the variable. For instance, "Total height", "Width", "Web thickness",
"Internal bending radius".
Examples for variable definitions are:
a = 0.0 [cm] tag 'Section height'
bf = 1.0 [in] tag 'Flange thickness'
Note that the default value has not to be necessarily zero. The units between brackets define the units
for the variable.
In order to follow the different steel design codes for specific shapes, it is required to adopt unique
names for certain variables (in lower or upper case). The shapes with specific variables are:
Shapes with IC formulation (I, C or T shapes)
d: height
tf: flange thickness
tw: web thickness
bf: flange width
r: radio (only for BS)
k,k1 distances (only for AISC)
Rectangle shapes (tube formulation)
Rectangular and/or square tubes:
a: height
b: width
t: thickness
Pipes
d: diameter
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t: thickness
Built-up I shapes:
d: height
tf1: top flange thickness
tf2: bottom flange thickness
tw: web thickness
bf1: top flange width
bf2: bottom flange width
L Shapes (L formulation)
a: height
b: width (only for unequal legs)
t: thickness
Rectangular sections for wood:
a: height
b: width
t: thickness
Circular sections for wood:
d: diameter
t: thickness
Other shapes do not have any restrictions.
Following the example of the angle section, the required variables are:
//section variables
a = 0.0[in] tag 'Height'
b = 0.0[in] tag 'Width'
T = 0.0[in] tag 'Thickness'
k = 0.0[in] tag 'Distance k'
Prop AskUser
This subroutine defines the data that will be required. In general two types of command lines are
used:
Declaration:
Html(fileName as string)
This shows the help context that will be used when the data is asked. Specify a htm file that has to be
located in the Leos folder of the main directory of the program.
Declaration:
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Node
Declaration:
Node(id as integer, x as float, y as float)
In order to define a new shape create nodes and then connect them with lines or elements.
Command action:
Creates a node that defines an edge of the section.
Note. - The word "Node", as defined here, does not have any relation with the Node element of a
structure.
Syntax
NODE (<Node number or identifier>, <X coordinate>, <Y coordinate>)
The node is defined by an identifier and its coordinates. This command has to be repeated the
required number of times to define all the edges of the desired section.
The following lines have to be included for the example of the angle section:
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SetLine...EndLine
Declaration:
SetLine(thickness as float, radius as simple)
EndLine
Command action:
It allows to define the different elements of a section including the thickness and internal bent radius.
Note that after starting this command, a variable number of lines can be adopted to include elements
and their properties. The commands that are used within SetLine are: Rigid, Closed and Segment.
Notice that at the end a line with the word EndLine indicates that the line definition has finished.
Syntax
SetLine(<variable for line thickness>, <variable for bent radius>)
To define the line thickness, adopt any section variable as for example t. The bent radius has
normally a value grater than zero for cold formed steel sections. The variable for the bent radius has
also to be previously defined. If there is no bent radius, enter the a zero value 0.
Next, the subroutine applied to the angle section example can be found:
//lines
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SetLine(T, 0)
//Other commands like rigid or closed are not included, they will be explained further in this
chapter
Segment(1, 2)
Segment(2, 3)
EndLine
Segment
Declaration:
Segment(n1 as integer, n2 as integer)
Command Action:
It determines a line segment between two nodes (n1 and n2). This command has to be always within
a SetLine. The actual values of rigid and closed will be assigned to the new segment
Syntax:
Segment(<Initial node identifier>, <final node identifier>)
Two instruction lines are required for the angle section example:
Segment(1,2)
Segment(2,3)
Rigid(ity)
Declaration:
Rigid(value as integer)
Command action:
This command specifies how to geometrically consider each of the elements of a steel cross section.
For AISC :
RAM Elements does not need this information for hot-rolled sections with known shapes such as I,
C, HSS, etc. This information is only used when a built-up section is specified, to determine if the
section is compact, non-compact or slender.
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For BS :
Rigid Value Use
1 Outstanding leg of an angle in contact back-to-back in a double angle member.
2 Stem of a T-section, rolled or cut from a rolled I- or H-section.
3 Angle,compression due to bending (both criteria should be satisfied)
4 Internal element of compression flange.
6 Webs of an I-, H-, C- or box sections
7 Single angle, or double angles with the components separated, axial compression. (All
three criteria should be satisfied)
8 Circular hollow section - including welded tube .
9 Flanges of I-shaped rolled beams
For AISI :
Rigid Value Use
0 Rigid element (default).
1 Not rigid element.
2 Lip.
3 Flange with lip.
For AS:
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The rigidity is determined by the connectivity of each segment. It is not necessary to include the
Rigid command manually in the LEOs for this specification. Consideration for a segment if
connected to other at both ends (rigid) or just one end (not rigid) is given.
SetSolid
Declaration:
SetSolid
EndSolid
Action command:
This command defines the perimeter shape of a solid section. Between the reserved words SetSolid
and EndSolid three or more Segment commands have to be included. The EndSolid finishes the
definition of the solid section.
Syntax
SetSolid
Segment(n1,n2)
Segment(n2,n3)
....Segment(n3,n4)
...
End Solid
Important
Notice that the border should be closed. If started with node 1 should be ended with node 1 in a
clockwise direction.
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The commands to define the reinforcement of the section consider a coordinate system with its center
on the bottom left corner of the section.
//Bars
Bars(s, s, b-s, s, 3, true) //Draw 3 spaces with 4 bars at the bottom part
Bar(b-s, h-s) //Draw one bar at the top right corner
Bar(s, h-s) //Draw one bar at the top left corner
Join
Declaration:
Join(thickness as float, n1 as integer, n2 as integer)
Action command:
This command indicates the nodes that are considered joined when a single section is made up of
more than one individual profile (like a W and C-section).
Syntax
Join(<variable for join thickness>,<node of the first group of elements>,<node of the second group of
elements>)
Note that the nodes to be joined must be very close.
An example for this command can be found in the C&C section where it is used to join nodes 3 and 5
of the two shapes (groups of elements) with a thickness given by the tf2 variable in the following
way:
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Closed
Declaration:
Closed(value as boolean)
Action command:
This command allows to indicate which elements are connected in a closed shape (i.e. a box or a
tubular section). It is used with the SetLine command.
Syntax
Closed(<0 or 1>)
Where
0: Is for open elements
1: Is for closed elements
The application of the command can be illustrated with the following box section
SetLine(t,0)
...
Closed(1) //The following segments will be considered part of a closed section
Segment(1,2)
Segment(2,3)
Segment(3,4)
Segment(4,1)
EndLine
Line
Declaration
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Line(thickness as float, radius as simple, rigid as integer, close as integer, n1 as integer, n2 as integer)
Command action:
This is an alternative command to create a segment that connects two nodes with a line including all
the characteristics of the line as bent radius and rigidity in a single command.
Syntax
Line(<thickness>, <bent radius>,<rigid>,<closed>,<initial node>, <final node>)
For the example of the angular section, the following command lines are required:
Line(t, 0,7,0,1,2) //Draws a line with thickness = t, without bent radius, rigid=10, open segments
between nodes 1 and 2
Line(t,0,7,0,2,3) //Draws a line with thickness = t, without bent radius, rigid=10, open segments
between nodes 2 and 3
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Let's suppose that we want to create a new template named TEST. In the example that follows we
will create a template called TEST.
Proceed as follows:
1. Create a new drawing of 20x20 pixels (recommended size)
2. Save the 20x20 drawing with the name TEST_20x20.jpg in the folder RAM
Elements\Templates
3. Create a new bitmap drawing of 150x150 pixels and save it as TEST_ 150x150.jpg at the
RAM Elements\Templates folder.
4. Create a new text file as explained next and save it as TEST.tpl in the same RAM
Elements\Templates folder.
Create a new 20x20 pixels drawing and save it as TEST_20x20.jpg in the RAM Elements\Templates
folder.
Create a new150x150 pixels bitmap drawing and save it as TEST_150x150.jpg at the RAM
Elements\Templates folder.
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Create a new text file as indicated next and save it as TEST.tpl in the RAM Elements\Templates
folder.
Note. - To create the bitmap drawing, use the Paint program from Windows or any other program
that supports the JPG format.
TITLE
Command action: It starts a template
Start a template.
Syntax:
TITLE
GROUP
Command action:
Use this command to define the group where the template will be located.
Syntax:
Group= <group name>
Allowable values of <group name>:
If possible, use a single word and the first character should be a letter not a number. Example:
Triangle
Pitched
Curved Truss
DIMENSION
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Command action:
Use this command to define the type of template.
Syntax:
DIMENSION
Type= <dimension type>
Allowable values of <dimension type>:
BASE (for templates that will be used by other templates)
TRUSS (for templates used only for planar trusses)
2D (for templates in 2D)
2D-3D (for 2D or 3D templates, general purpose templates)
VARIABLES
Command action:
Use this command to declare the variables required by the template to generate the structure. Notice
that this command requires several lines.
Syntax:
VAR
Name= <name>
Type = <var type>
Default= <default value>
Refvar= <reference variable name>
Html= <html file>
AlwaysVisible = <Boolean variable>
Allowable values of <name>:
Name of the variable. If possible, don't use more than two characters and the first character should be
a letter not a number. Normally in uppercases. Example:
A
L
NS
Allowable <var type>
INT(integer), DBL (double), STR (string), BOOL (Boolean), DBLU (double precision)
Allowable values of <default value>:
The default value of the variable. This is the value that RAM Elements will assign in the event that
the user omitted entering a value. The value should be in function of the type. Example:
2
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0
desc1
Note. - The variables created using this command will appear in the dialog box that shows up when
the template is executed.
Refvar
Name of a variable that is related for scaling purposes. For example, if H0 is referenced to H and
if H is reduced in 50%, then H0 will be reduced in the same proportion
Html file
Name of a help html file (located in the html folder) that will be called when the variable will be
entered.
AlwaysVisible
Flag to define if the variable will be always visible. If it is true, the variable will have to be defined
even if it is called within RAM Elements.
SELECT
Command action:
This command indicates how many nodes should be selected to use the template. This is a very
important command to validate the node selection. If this command is left out, the structure generated
by RAM Elements may contain errors.
Syntax:
SELECT
Nodes= <number of nodes>
Values of <number of nodes>:
The number of nodes that the user must select before using the template. Example:
1
2
3
4
5
LINE
Command action:
This command creates a line between two nodes selected by the user. The line can be segmented into
a number of frame members. The members of the line are assigned with a description. If there is
already a line of members between the two nodes, they will not be modified. Note that it is possible
to define also physical members if only the two extreme nodes of a member are considered. (See the
Joist.tpl template as an example).
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Syntax:
LINE
Group= <member description>
NS= <number of segments>
N1=<n1>
N2=<n2>
Values for <member description>:
The description to be assigned to the members that will be created. After using the template the user
may modify the member's descriptions. Example:
Col1
"Beam1"
"g1
"H1"
desc1
Values of <number of segments>:
The number of segments (or frame members) of the line that is being created. Example: any integer
value, variable or formula.
3
ns
(ns-2)/2
Values of <n1>:
The initial node of the line to be created. Notice that this is selection order of the nodes, not the
absolute number of the nodes. Example:
1 (first selected node)
2 (second selected node)
3 (third selected node)
Up to the number of selected nodes.
Values of <n2>
The final node of the line to be created.
Notice that these numbers (n1 and n2) refer to the order of selection of the nodes. Therefore, for
example, if 5 nodes were selected, and if creating a line between the 4th and 2nd nodes is desired, n1
and n2 should be:
4 {n1=initial node of the line i.e. the 4th selected node}
2 {n2=final node of the line i.e. the 2nd selected node}
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Example: to create a line between the 1st and 2nd selected nodes, as illustrated in the figure above of a
triangular truss, enter the next command:
LINE
Group= G1 {frame members description}
NS= NS {variable for number of segments}
N1=1 {line starts at the 1st selected node}
N2=2 {line ends at the 2nd selected node}
WEB
Command action:
This command creates one or more diagonal members between two lines of members. The diagonal
elements can also be sub-divided. If there is any member between the nodes to be generated, it is not
replaced.
Syntax:
WEB
Group= <description>
N1= <n1>
N2= <n2>
N3= <n3>
N4= <n4>
NS=<number of segments>
OffsetINI1=<initial offset 1-2>
OffsetINI2<initial offset 3-4>
OffsetEND1<final offset 1-2>
OffsetEND2<final offset 3-4>
Step=<step>
WebSegNo<number of segments in each diagonal member>
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Two lines (defined by n1-n2 and n3-n4) delimit the diagonal elements.
Line 1 is the line determined by n1-n2. Line 2 is the line determined by n3-n4.
Initial offset 1-2 is the offset of the diagonal related to the n1 node.
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Initial offset 3-4 is the offset of the diagonal related to the n3 node.
Final offset 1-2 is the offset related to the n2 node, where the diagonals should end. Notice that this
value should be zero or negative.
Final offset 3-4 is the offset related to the n4 node, where the diagonals should end. Note that this
value should be zero or negative.
This is the step between one diagonal element and another. Notice that it should be 1 or greater.
Each diagonal can be segmented into various pieces. Enter 1 or zero if segmenting the diagonal is
not desired, or the number of pieces to segment the element.
TEMPLATE
Command action:
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Executes a template like a subroutine. An example of this command can be seen in the
RoofTruss1.tpl template that is located at the folder RAM Elements\Templates.
Syntax
TEMPLATE
Name=<template>
Nodes=<n1>; <n2>; <n3>
Vars=<assign variables>
Values of <template>
It is the name of the template to be executed. The template to be executed should be located in the
templates directory (RAM Elements\templates). Example:
TITLE
Group= Pitched
DIMENSION
Type= 2D-3D
VAR
Name= NS
Default= 2
AlwaysVisible = True
# NS is the number of nodes that should be selected in order to execute the template to be called up.
SELECT
Nodes= 6
# This selects the desired nodes for the template that is being called up. Notice that this is the
selection order of the nodes.
# Now call a template:
TEMPLATE
Name= TRUSS1.TPL
Nodes= 2; 1; 5; 4
Vars= NS
These are the parameters (variables values) required by the template to be called in the same order as
they are present in the dialog box.
Consequently, to call the Trian1 template, which required 4 selected nodes and the number of
segments, the command will be as defined previously.
CURVE
It defines a curve instead of a line (see the BaseBowstring.tpl)
Remarks
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Arbitrarily, we decide that the user should select 4 nodes in the illustrated order. Note that the order
is arbitrary but not the number of nodes.
We'll allow the user to enter the number of segments and this value will be stored in the NS variable.
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N2= 3
LINE
Group= G3
NS= 2
N1= 2
N2= 4
# Generation of the horizontal members
LINE
Group= G1
NS= NS
N1= 1
N2= 2
LINE
Group= G2
NS= NS
N1= 3
N2= 4
# Generation of the middle vertical members
WEB
Group= G3
Type= 3
N1= 1
N2= 2
N3= 3
N4= 4
NS= NS
OffsetINI1= 1
OffsetINI2= 1
OffsetEND1= -1
OffsetEND2= -1
Step= 1
WebSegNo= 2
# Generation of the diagonal members
WEB
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Group= G4
Type= 3
N1= 1
N2= 2
N3= 5
N4= 6
NS= NS
OffsetINI1= 0
OffsetINI2= 1
OffsetEND1= -1
OffsetEND2= 0
Step= 1
WebSegNo= 0
WEB
Group= G4
Type= 3
N1= 5
N2= 6
N3= 3
N4= 4
NS= NS
OffsetINI1= 1
OffsetINI2= 0
OffsetEND1= 0
OffsetEND2= -1
Step= 1
WebSegNo= 0
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In this template we want the user to select the nodes as illustrated. Notice that there are 8 nodes.
Two variables are required to store the desired number of segments. These values will be stored in
the NS1 and NS2 variables.
The roof beam descriptions will be entered by the user and stored in the descRoof variable.
Note. - The name of this template is example2.
The steps to create this template are as follows
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OffsetEND1= -1
OffsetEND2= -1
Step= 1
WebSegNo= 0
Now save this file as RAM Elements\Templates\example2.tpl and run RAM Elements to execute it.
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When the template is executed, RAM Elements will automatically ask for the variables.
Remark.
To create own templates the user should save them in the following directory:
Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Application Data\Bentley\RAM Elements\RE\Templates.
This folder has access with read/write privileges.
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When physical members surround the area, all the enclosed areas will be considered:
The tools for the generation of the load areas are located in the worksheet Areas/Node.
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Defining deck/wall areas spanning at an angle relative to the X axis / Horizontal plane:
The function of this tool is to generate area elements covering the selected surrounding
members or physical members, and setting the direction of load distribution as a specific angle
(clockwise) of the horizontal Global-X direction or of the horizontal plane for inclined areas.
Click the tool button and enter the direction of load distribution.
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Select the girders (members or physical members) that surround the deck area.
Press any of the following buttons:
The generated deck area will be shown with the specified deck orientation (for load distribution
purposes).
Notes:
1. If there are members in the middle of the load area (marked in blue), they will be considered
in the distribution of loads.
2. The deck areas are not required to be generated one by one. In the above example, the
members that belong to the four deck areas were simultaneously selected.
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Use the option Deck areas from the menu displayed pressing Elements in the Selection group,
on Home tab, to easily select all the deck/wall areas or the group of deck/wall areas attached to the
selected nodes.
If the tool was used to generate a load area, it is necessary to specify the deck direction
manually. In this case, go to Areas/Deck spanning and then the following tools may be used:
To assign direction for load distribution at an angle relative to global X axis/horizontal plane
XZ.
The final step is to define the magnitude and direction of the loads that will act on the previously
defined deck areas. Select the areas that will have the same load, then go to Areas/Surface load and
in the worksheet enter the pressure that is acting on the defined deck/wall surface. The direction of
the pressure may act downwards in the negative direction of the vertical axis (Y-axis, by pressing
) or perpendicular to the area (by pressing ).
Notice that there is a tool to graphically see the loads that are generated on the beams. The
generated loads are displayed in green and the other loads (defined directly by the user) are shown in
red:
Note:
This command is applied over all deck areas, even if not all areas are selected.
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If a deck area is deleted, the generated loads (displayed on green) will still be displayed graphically
until the user applies the tool again or until the user analyze the structure. This happens because the
program automatically executes the tool before the analysis, even if it has not been executed
previously.
Select all the nodes of a floor, these are the nodes that will be constrained to displace as a rigid
diaphragm.
Press the button to assign a rigid floor diaphragm number to selected nodes.
Or enter the floor number and press from the pop-up menu that is displayed over the spreadsheet
area by right-clicking.
All the selected nodes (nodes with the same floor number) will now be constrained to move together
as in a rigid diaphragm.
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Enter wind load cases (for example, wx = Wind in X and wz = Wind in Z).
Select all the beams and columns of the floors against which wind will act.
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Based on the selected floors and columns RAM Elements can calculate the wind load over an
exposed vertical surface associated with each floor. The applied wind pressure is multiplied by the
exposed area to generate a lateral wind load at each selected floor. Note that the force applied to a
story is calculated as the pressure times the floor height (largest column length below a floor) times
the projected width of the structure in the required direction (based on the nodes selected in each
floor).
The user can enter a wind pressure for each horizontal direction (1), or these values can be calculated
(2) by pressing the button . This action displays another dialog window:
Pressure calculation: When this option is applied, the program calculates the wind pressure on the
structure based on the wind speed and a structural shape drag coefficient. Enter the appropriate values
for the selected direction and the wind pressure will be calculated using the following formula:
Pressure = Cd*(0.00256*V2)
Where:
V = Wind velocity, in MPH (English units system)
Or:
Pressure = Cd*(v2 / 16) (Metric units system)
Where:
v = Wind velocity, in m/s
For both cases,
Cd = Coefficient of Drag (approximately 2.0 for a flat surface)
Back into the first dialog window, the calculated value is shown in the pressure box (1). The lateral
load that is calculated must be associated with a load case, which should have already been created.
Select the desired load case name from the drop down list box (3).
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The program will automatically create a node at the center of pressure of each floor. Wind story
force is applied at this node.
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Enter the required information and press OK. This figure indicates that RAM Elements should
consider all the existing nodal dead load and half the nodal live load when calculating the mass
properties for the floor.
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To view the translation and rotation mass values, select the values for Mass in X, Z or about Y-axis
respectively from the menu displayed by clicking the button Masses on the View tab, in the Model
group.
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A feature in RAM Elements is that when any design parameter is changed, there is no need to
perform the analysis again. This will save much time in big models.
Select the Design all command in the Process group on the Process tab or pulse Shift+F9 to design
the model.
It is important to define some design parameters before proceeding with the design. The user will find
special options for each type of material.
For concrete and steel members, it is required to define the code that will be used in the design. The
program offers the following possibilities:
Concrete:
ACI 318-99
ACI 318-05
BS 8110-97
Steel:
AISC 360-05 (ASD and LRFD)
AISC 360-10 (ASD and LRFD)
AISC 341-05 (ASD and LRFD)
AISC 341-10 (ASD and LRFD)
AISI 01 (ASD)
AISI 01 (LRFD)
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BS 5950-00
AS 4100-98
In order to set the specific nomenclature for the design, select the option located in General
Configuration/Nomenclature and choose the nomenclature required.
For wood members, the program is using the NDS (ASD or LRFD) Specification. In this case the
duration of each load case has to be specified for both methods (The time effect factor in LRFD is set
according to the duration, too. See the Wood Design Chapter for further details). This information
will be used only in the design procedures.
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Introduction
The design of any reinforced concrete, wood or steel structure requires the user to design and detail
all the members in the structure. RAM Elements has provided several Design and Detailing modules
to assist the user in the design and detailing of: concrete columns and beams, isolated or combined
spread footings, wood members, connections, trusses, retaining walls, concrete walls, masonry walls
and continuous beams.
These modules allow the user to take the results of the analysis performed in the main application or
make an isolated analysis and complete his or her design and detailing of any member.
This section describes how to invoke the design/detailing modules, how the design/detailing modules
are organized and how to navigate within the modules. For more detailed information on the content
and display for each individual design/detailing module, refer to the particular member section in this
manual.
Passing data of the main program to reinforced concrete beams, columns and footings.
To detail a reinforced concrete beam, select the beams desired to detail in RAM Elements and then
invoke the beam detailing module as described below.
Analyze a concrete structure. Select the line of beams containing the members to be detailed. Note
that the beams must be in a continuous line. It is advisable to consider each span as a physical
member because all the tools of the detailer are designed with this consideration.
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Analyze the structure and select the members in RAM Elements, which form a continuous beam for
example, before invoking the detailing module.
To select all the beams in a line, select an end member and then use the Select continuous
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continuous member command from the group Selection in the Home tab.
Select all the members that belong to the column line to be detailed, it is better to start at the lowest
column, and then use the Select continuous member command from the group Selection in the
Home tab.
The column module is invoked by selecting the Modules Reinforced concrete columns menu
item.
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Masonry Wall and Concrete Wall may receive flanges but only when loads are not transferred
(un-analyzed model) because the loads implicitly consider the effect of the flanges.
Note that it is possible to create gaps between adjacent shells using the tool create gaps
in RAM Elements.
Note that any change inside the wall modules will not be transferred back to the RAM
Elements model.
To enter to the Tilt-up, Concrete Wall or Masonry wall detailing module, the user must go the
Modules tab then select the appropriate button. Additional information about the module, design
options and available tools is developed in the respective chapters.
Main window for the Masonry Wall module. The organization of the window is common for the rest
of the modules.
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After entering the data, the user can see the diagrams or detailing windows, which involves the
automatic calculation of the current module.
Home tab. The first tab that is accessed after calling the module is the Home tab that is used to enter
or modified geometrical data, materials and loads. The material data of this window is maintained
between sequential callings of the module, but it is not necessarily associated with any particular
beam, column or footing. The tab has default values when an independent module is invoked.
Diagrams tab displays the design and analysis results, which are shown in a tabular form or in a
graphical form according to the detailing module. These diagrams can be simple when a single stress
is drawn as moment or merged as resisting moments together with required moments, according to
the detailing module.
The user can typically locate information here on the design results. To change material properties or
geometry to achieve a satisfactory design, the user should switch to the data window as described
previously.
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Diagrams window for Walls modules (in this case for Masonry Wall, but similar to Concrete Wall
and Tilt-Up Wall modules).
FEM tab (for wall modules) shows the structure with the internal stresses and displacements,
structure analysis using the finite element method.
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FEM diagrams window for Wall modules (in this case for Concrete Wall, but similar to Masonry
Wall and Tilt-Up Wall modules).
Drop-down the combo box in the window and select a diagram option.
This drop-down menu has several options to bring the user an easy handling of the values, which are
explained in the help context.
At the top of the window there is a group of buttons that manage options for the graphs.
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Detailing window for Concrete Wall module. Other modules have similar detailing windows showing
two different areas: Reinforcement spreadsheet and Reinforcement details.
The Wall modules (Concrete wall, Masonry wall and Tilt-up wall) have similar tools to enter the
reinforcement manually; these tools can be summarized as follows:
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o Add hoops for each level (for Concrete Wall module only).
o Add hoops uniformly for all levels (for Concrete Wall module only).
Report.
This command allows generating a report where the input data, the results of the analysis and
verification/ optimization process can be found.
In the report the following is presented:
A summary of the data (wall and rigidity elements geometry, materials, and loads)
A summary of analysis results (excerpt for Wood Design module).
A summary of design results, such as general status, design criteria, required and provided
reinforcement area (for concrete structural elements) and capacity results (for concrete, steel
and wood members).
For a detailed explanation of the commands used in this window for de depending modules,
see the Report section of the chapter of Printing Graphics and Reports, for the no depending
modules, refer to corresponding chapter.
Verify design.
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Use this command to check the section and reinforcement provided (for concrete elements),
or to check the provided section (for steel and wood members). The design results are shown
in the reports and the design status is represented by the colors of the traffic light.
Optimize design.
Use this command to get a new optimized reinforcement (for concrete members) or an
optimized section (steel and wood members) with the criteria and parameters defined by the
user.
Configuration.
This command allows the user to establish the design and detailing criteria that RAM
Elements uses to determine the appropriate design and details. This data is saved for future
designs and should be used typically to establish office standards for design and detailing of
the various member types. Refer to the corresponding chapter module.
Zoom
Press one of the following buttons:
Zoom in.
Zoom out.
Zoom fence. Press this button and drag a fence around the area to zoom in on.
Fit in window. Use this tool to return the currently displayed structure to the full window
space image.
Hint: If a mouse wheel is available , the user can use the wheel to zoom in or out in a similar way
as in the main RE window.
Font Size
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Pressing this button it is possible to locate an axes system to cut the detailing drawing and get a
transversal section (this tool is available for wall modules).
DXF files
Some modules have the option to export graphics to DXF. The user can find this option in the
RE button menu.
Print graphics
Print current graphic. This button allows printing the graphics of the window directly. The
user can find this option in the RE button menu.
Refer to the chapter corresponding to each module for more details about specific tools and views for
each window.
Panning
To pan (move the drawing across the window), use the center mouse button to click and move.
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The window will redraw with the new position of the window.
Data Entry
The data window let the user introduce the information by the Properties edition area and the Graphic
area of the window. All editable values appear in red color. Click on the value (left mouse button) to
make it editable as shown in the figure below.
Hint: If there are problems in selecting a value for editing, zoom in on the value.
Clicking on the red text, the property will be modified editing manually.
Notice that in some cases the red text has the display option through a drop-down menu as shown
below.
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Click the mouse on the red text and select the option required from the drop-down menu.
Remark: The defined units groups of variables of the main program are not valid in the detailing
modules.
Once the data has been input, the Traffic light is automatically enabled when the user
runs the design (pressing the Check, Optimize or Report buttons, or the Diagrams or Detailing tabs),
indicating the design status of the member according to these color rules:
Red, when the member fails in the strength verification and the ratio is bigger than the unity
(>1.0).
Yellow, when the member resists the applied loads, but some Code conditions such as
deflections, slenderness or reinforcement ratio are not complying with the requirements.
Green, when the member fulfills all the code verifications.
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Loads
The user will need to ensure that all loads are applied correctly and that required load
combinations have been generated with the correct type (service or design). It is important to verify
load types and if they belong to a limit state.
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The user may exclude any of the created load conditions for design. The user may specify load
conditions used for the optimization process and those that will be considered in the output report.
For more details see the Output of results sections in this chapter.
The user is responsible to include in the load conditions the notional horizontal forces specified
in BS 5950, Section 2.4.2.4.
Sections
Use the procedure illustrated in the following figure to assign steel section sizes to members. Note
that new sections may be created and added to the list of available sections as described in chapter
Creating Sections and Materials.
The Members/Sections Worksheet allows assigning steel section to the selected members.
The local 3 axis is also called the x-x axis or strong axis, while the local 2 axis is also called the y-y
axis or weak axis.
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It is possible use the command Sections to access the sections database, select a section and
use the tool Edit to edit the laterally restrained for torsion parameter. This command is
located into the Databases group in the Home tab.
Option to determine the reference axis to be used in design for laterally restrained members for
torsion along their length.
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When this option is enabled, the program assumes the principal axes are coincident with the local
axes in the analysis, and the member is then designed on the basis of the geometric axes (local axes)
bending.
Also note that in total asymmetric sections the longitudinal axis does not coincide with the centroid
of the section. For these cases, rigid offsets or the cardinal points have to be specified in order to
locate the longitudinal axis in the correct position.
In total asymmetric sections like the L shape, the user has to use the axis location tool or to adopt
rigid offsets in order to locate the longitudinal axis in the right position.
Additionally the user should enable the option CLT (Laterally restrained for torsion) to define the
member laterally fully restraint in the design parameters in order to consider this in the design.
Design Parameters
Member design parameters must be specified prior to running analysis and design. For more
information on the creation of members see the context sensitive help system, the Assistant or refer to
the Examples Manual.
Examples of some of the design parameters that may be specified are frame bracing, sway (unbraced)
or non-sway (braced), effective length factors and unbraced lengths. See the next section for
additional information. To enter design parameters, choose the Members/ Steel design parameters
worksheet and select the code required. For more information about the design parameters of the
code selected, see the context sensitive help system pressing F1.
Note
It is possible display graphically the design parameters, selecting some option of the command
Design properties. This command is located into the Design group in the View tab.
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To verify if members comply with a given code, select the Model design command that is
located into the group Process in the Process tab. For steel design, the available codes are: AISC
360-05 ASD, AISC 360-05 LRFD, AISC 360-10 ASD, AISC 360-10 LRFD, AISI 01ASD, AISI 01
LRFD, BS 5950-00 and AS4100-98. If the LRFD, BS or AS code is selected, it is suggested that a
second order analysis be used in order to take into account their effects in the calculated forces on the
members. See the LRFD method in the AISC or AISI chapters, BS Chapter for more details or AS
Chapter for more details.
Optimization may be performed once initial verification results are available. See the following
sections for more details on the output of results. To optimize the selected member comply with a
given code, select the Optimize design command that is located into the group Process in the
Process tab
The user can choose between two types of optimization. Selecting the Optimize option will result in
the program selecting the lightest member section which meets all code requirements, for all the
members, and then replacing all under and over sized members with this selection. Selecting Check
will cause the program to change a member section assignment only if it fails the applicable code
check. To optimize a member follow the next steps:
1.- Select the group of members (descriptions) that are going to be optimized and also the load
conditions to consider.
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3.- Assign the section collections to optimize the collections for optimization, using the tools: Assign
collection to the description at the cursor or Assign collection to all descriptions .
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After the optimization is performed, the program will present a list of suggested changes. Check the
changes wanted to be applied and press OK. RAM Elements will then change all the selected sections
to the new ones.
Warning!
All the results from the analysis and design are lost when sections are changed. A new analysis and
design of the structure is required after the change of sections
The optimization process is iterative because the change of sections causes a change in the
distribution of stresses in the members, and which causes a new change in sections. Because of this,
in some cases, optimization results may not converge in a unique section selection, and results will
alternate between optimizations.
Please refer to the chapter devoted to the Steel Structure Optimization and Code Check for more
details.
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Steel Connections
The program has incorporated a module for the design and verification of steel connections. See the
Connections Manual for more details.
Output of results
There are several options available to display analysis and design results to the screen or in report
form. This section describes these options.
Screen output
The user has different options to see the results. These options can be selected in the commands
Status and Stress ratio from the Design group in the View tab.
In some cases the verifications of stresses are not enough to verify the correctness of a member.
Other aspects, such as the slenderness of the member, should be verified as well. The command
will show if a member complies with all the requirements of the code. The buttons , display
only the members with an OK status or with a no good (NG) status from the selected group of
members. The labels represent the results for the current load condition.
To verify the same results, taking into account the full load combinations (not just the current load
condition), select the For the controlling combination option. In this case, the result will include the
name of the governing load condition for each member.
Maximum stress ratio
All selected members will be colored with one of the nine assigned stress ratio colors when the Stress
ratio tool is selected. These colors represent 9 different ranges of stresses. Ranges are calculated
by determining the maximum value of the stress ratio for all elements, and dividing this maximum
value into 9 equal ranges. The colors represent the stress values for the selected load condition. The
range value to color mapping is shown in a legend at one side of the window.
Note that when a different group of members is selected, the range of colors is recalculated. This may
change the color of any specific member to coincide with the new scale and color range as calculated
for that group. This option is used mainly to detect the critical members within a group.
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Select the tool and the For the controlling combination option, allows to see the ranges
considering the whole set of load combinations and not only the current load condition. To select the
members within a given range, select the desired stress range with the mouse and press the
button.
The user can select and view the members with stresses inside a certain range.
Unitary stress ratio
All the selected members will be colored with one of the nine assigned stress ratio colors when the
Stress ratio tool is selected. The colors represent the nine different ranges of stresses, which are
defined as shown in the legend. Members with interaction values greater than one will be colored in
red. The other colors represent the interaction range value for the current load condition.
The ranges do not change when different members are selected. Thus a specific member will
maintain its color independently of the other members selected with it. This option is ideal for
identifying members that do not comply with the strength requirements, members with very low
stresses and members working very close to their strength capacity.
Selecting the command and the For the controlling combination option, shows the selected
members with the color range determined from considering the full set of load combinations (not
only the current load condition). To select and view only the members within a certain range of
stresses select the stresses that you are interested in and then press the button .
Reports
Different types of reports are available for displaying the results obtained after running a design with
a given code. The reports are grouped into three types, which include options for extensive or
concise. Reports are generated by the Steel option in the Design command. This command is
located into the group Reports in the Output tab.
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The type of report is selected together along with the load conditions to be considered in the design.
A brief description of each type of report is included in the following paragraphs.
For all selected load conditions
This report organizes the results as a function of the description of the selected members. The report
shows all the results for each selected load condition. The results correspond to the controlling
member in each group for each load condition. This means that when more than one member has the
same description, the results obtained are related only to the critical member for each load condition.
Group by member
This report considers only an abridged review of the critical results for selected members. The report
is grouped by descriptions.
Group by section
This report considers only an abridged review of the critical results for selected members. The report
is grouped by sections. This means that when more than one member falls under the same section,
only the controlling member in the group will be considered.
Group by description
This report considers only an abridged review of the critical results for selected members. The report
is grouped by descriptions. This means that when more than one member falls under the same
description, only the controlling member in the group will be considered.
Comprehensive
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This report provides full results for each selected member. The report includes detailed information
and several descriptions. The code check is performed in several stations along the member for each
load condition. The verification of stresses due to pure torsion not is considered in the AS4100-98
code.
Concise
This report considers only an abridged review of the results for each selected member (approximately
one page). The report includes the results for the controlling load case of each member.
Joints BCF Joints Design
This complementary report for Beam-To-Column Flange joints allows checking the full joint
(including both beams, if they exist) to panel shear and other seismic checks prescribed in AISC-341.
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Example of an AISC section assignment for a member. Note that all the AISC standard sections
should not start with the letters aisc.
The ASD or LRFD design methods have to be selected before executing the design.
In the macros for section (files with *.leo extension) the following data and/or specific commands
used in the AISC design can be found, besides the section geometry. See the Chapter dedicated to
Creating Section Types for more details.
CODE=HOTROLLED
This value for CODE defines that the section is of hot rolled steel and that it will be designed with the
AISC Specifications. Yet, there are two methods to choose from, the allowable stress design (ASD)
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or the load and resistance factor design (LRFD). The election of the method is done before
performing the analysis, as will be shown later.
TYPE=LINEOPEN
Indicates that the section is open for the case of C, I, etc. sections. The stiffness of each element is
defined with the RIGID variable, as described further on.
TYPE=LINECLOSED
It indicates that the section is closed like the case of a box or cylindrical section.
SetSolid..EndSolid
This option defines that the section is solid and has no elements. In this case, the local buckling of the
flange or the web wont be considered in the stress evaluation of the section.
Shape=<section shape>
The AISC Specifications have several formulae for flexural-compression design, which can be used,
based mainly on the shape of the section. In spite of the possibility of using one general formulation,
this was submitted to a series of simplifications and modifications depending on the particular shape
of the section for a more direct application. These assumptions cause differences in the results
between the general and particular formulae. The possible choices are:
I: It is the most popular choice, applied to the known W, M, S and HP shapes, which calculation
details are presented in section F for bending, section E for compression. When an I shape is used, the
section has to include the following parameters: height (d), flange width (bf), flange thickness (tf) and
web thickness (tw) and the parameters k and k1 for the connections design.
C: It is also very popular and includes the known C, and MC shapes. The calculation is very similar
to the W shapes, including the names for the parameters.
L: It includes the equal leg and unequal leg angles. The Specifications include a special section for
this shape for flexure and compression (Section F10 and Section E5). The section has to include the
following parameters: height (a), width (b), and thickness (t).
T: This type of shape is also very popular and includes the WT shapes. Section F9 is applied for
flexure.
The required parameters are similar to the W shapes.
T2L: It includes all double angles loaded in the plane of symmetry. The parameters are similar to the
angles with an extra parameter for the separation between shapes (s).
Rectangle: It includes all square and rectangular HSS and box-shaped members. The parameters are
height (a), width (b), and thickness (t). Flexure is calculated using Section F7. This shape is used also
for solid bars (FORMULATION = SOLID). In this case Section F11 is applied.
Circle: For round HSS shapes. The parameters are Diameter (D) and thickness (t). This shape is also
used for solid bars. In this case Section F11 is applied.
Other shapes: No special parameters are required. Comprises the general formulation that follows
Section F12 of the Specifications.
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Technical notes
The assumptions and simplifications used for this part are:
General
ASD LRFD methods were unified. The only differences are in the factors.
Ru < Rn (LRFD) while Ra < Rn / (ASD)
Where:
Ru: required ultimate strength,
strength factor,
Rn: nominal strength,
Ra: required strength,
reduction factor.
The following table summarizes the specifications considered:
Chapter/Secti Description Remarks
on
B2 Loads and load combinations See load generators
B3 Design basis
B4 Classification of sections for local buckling Table B4.1 is fully
implemented
C2 (*) Calculation of required strength Amplification of first order
analysis forces
D1 Slenderness limitations
D2 Tensile strength Only tensile yielding is
considered
E1 General provisions
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(*) For AISC 360-10, the provisions regarding amplification of first order analysis forces were
moved from Chapter C to Appendix 8
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Tension members
The calculation of tension members is given in section D2 of the Specifications. The assumptions and
simplifications adopted are the following:
Only the tensile yielding in gross section is considered. The tensile rupture of net section is
part of the verifications to be checked in connections.
There are no special considerations regarding to the kind of used connections.
Prismatic members in axial tension are due to forces acting through the centroidal axes.
Based on Section D1 of the Specifications, only a suggested limiting value of 300 is used for
the slenderness ratio Kl/r when the member is subject to tension. The program is giving a
warning when the slenderness is over this suggested limit.
Warping is not considered in members subject to torsion. Therefore torsion is not considered
in the interaction equations.
The torsion stress determination requires the torsion modulus (Tor Mod) which has a
simplified value of 1/(2*tmin*Ao) for closed sections and a value of tmax/Jtor for open
sections. Ao is the boundary area limited by the centerlines of the elements confining the
section.
Combined stresses
Combined stresses are considered using the interaction equations of Chapter H of the Specifications.
Seismic Provisions
While the standard provision specifications address the ability of the steel members to adequately
resist all the forces applied to the structure, the special seismic provisions ensure that the model is
appropriately designed to resist seismic loading in a ductile and life-safe manner. Therefore, this
option investigates each steel frame member and/or restrained (fixed) beam-column flange joint for
the requirements of the Specifications.
The seismic specifications considered are the ANSI/AISC 341-05 and ANSI/AISC 341-10. Using
Code-generated and/or user-defined load combinations the detailing and strength requirements are
checked for each member and valid joints, and the results are displayed in a steel design report that
also includes the pertinent design parameters of the seismic specifications.
The following Table summarizes the specifications considered:
(ANSI/AISC Description Remarks
341-05)
Section
8.2 Classification of section for Calculation of p and ps using Table I-8-1
local buckling
9.6 Column Beam Moment Ratio Exception a-ii is not considered
9.8, 10.8 Lateral Bracing of Beams Only the unbraced length and the strength of
lateral bracing are considered
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Chapter 21: Design of Hot-Rolled Steel Members (AISC-ASD-LRFD)
D1.2a, D1.2b Lateral Bracing of Beams Only the unbraced length and the strength of
lateral bracing are considered
The user is responsible to check other specifications not covered by the program.
Tapered members
The design method followed by RAM Elements is largely explained in the MBMA/AISC design
guide Frame Design Using Web-Tapered Members, which is primarily an interpretation of, and
extension to, the provisions of the 2005 AISC Specification for Structural Steel Buildings, which
contains no specific provisions for web-tapered members.
The method presented in the aforementioned document produce designs in compliance with the 2005
AISC Specification and provide additional information needed to apply it to web-tapered members.
In some instances, certain procedures are provided for situations not addressed by the Specification.
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The behavior of web-tapered members is very similar to that of prismatic members. Tapered
members are subject to the same limit states but adjustments in the calculation of the capacities are
required for some limit states due to the varying geometry along the member.
The calculation of limit state strengths involving the overall member behavior requires adjustments to
the procedures given in the AISC Specifications. These include the limit states of:
In-plane buckling (strong-axis flexural column buckling)
Out-of-plane buckling (weak-axis flexural, torsional or torsional-flexural column buckling as
well as lateral - torsional beam buckling)
Strength under combined axial load and bending, where in-plane or out-of plane buckling is a
controlling limit state.
Shear buckling strength or shear tension-field strength of stiffened web panels Strength
calculations in the 2005 AISC Specification for these limit states are based on the assumption
of constant section properties over the member unsupported lengths.
Stability and analysis requirements
Section C1 of the AISC 360 Specifications requires that stability shall be provided for the structure as
a whole and for each of its elements. Stability for the individual members of the structure is provided
by compliance with the design provisions of Chapters E, F, G, H and I of the Specifications.
Overall stability of the structure is provided by selecting an appropriate analysis approach combined
with a corresponding set of member design constraints.
Any method of analysis and design that considers the following effects is permitted by the
Specification.
o Second-order effects
P-P-Geometric imperfections
o System out-of-plumbness
o Member out-of-straightness
Member stiffness reductions due to residual stress
Significant member flexural, shear and axial deformations
Significant connection flexibility
RAM Elements complies with the requirements of the AISC Specification and the recommendations
of the MBMA/AISC design guide Frame Design Using Web-Tapered Members. As far as the
analysis goes, RAM Elements uses a brand new state-of-the-art finite element. The current
formulation is a flexibility-based element one, in which the element internal equilibrium equations
(axial, bending and related shears) are always satisfied and an exact element stiffness matrix is
derived. Thus, it only requires one element per member for linear analysis. Shear deformations can be
also included in the analysis for tapered members (the current implementation utilizes the concept of
an equivalent shear area to consider transverse shear deformations). Otherwise, it is a typical 3D
frame element with six degrees of freedom at each end (three translational and three rotational
degrees of freedom). In addition, loads applied to the tapered elements are handled within flexibility-
based formulation and hence, their exact effects are accounted for.
The following table shows the limit states checked for the design procedure:
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Chapter 21: Design of Hot-Rolled Steel Members (AISC-ASD-LRFD)
For the axial compression design provisions, the elastic flexural buckling strength of the member
based on the idealized pinned-pinned end conditions and evaluated in the plane of bending, is
extensively used. For a tapered I-shaped section member there are several available solutions to
account for this buckling load, as described in the MBMA/AISC design guide Frame Design Using
Web-Tapered Members, which are:
Using an elastic eigenvalue buckling analysis.
Using a method of successive approximations (Timoshenko and Gere, 1961).
Using an approximate but accurate method for single linearly-tapered members supporting a
constant internal axial force and having no plate or taper changes, which determines the
buckling strength of the member with a empirically derived expression that utilize the
moment of inertia calculated using the section depth at a certain distance from the small end.
(See Kaehler et al, Frame Design Using Web-Tapered Members, equation 4.5-4, page 21).
RAM Elements uses option (c) to calculate the elastic buckling strength.
For the calculation of the lateral-torsional buckling modification factor (Cb), the program uses the
AASHTO (2004 & 2007) procedure that modifies the regular AISC equation to account the variation
of the moment along the varying section member with stresses at certain member locations.
REFERENCES
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Chapter 21: Design of Hot-Rolled Steel Members (AISC-ASD-LRFD)
AISC (2005). Specification for Structural Steel Buildings, March 9, American Institute of
Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
AISC (2005a). Commentary on the Specification for Structural Steel Buildings, March 9,
American Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
AISC (2010). Specification for Structural Steel Buildings, June 22, 2010, American Institute
of Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
AISC (2010a). Commentary on the Specification for Structural Steel Buildings, June 22,
2010, American Institute of Steel Construction, Chicago, IL.
Kaehler, R. C., White, D. W. and Kim, Y. D., (2007). Frame design using web-tapered
members, MBMA & AISC, Chicago, IL.
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Technical notes
Certain assumptions and simplifications have been incorporated in the present design module.
further details.
Example of a C section generated by linear elements
At the edges or corners of the section where a bend radius has been defined, the program will
internally approximate the circular elements needed as a set of two straight lines as it is shown
in the following figure:
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
account special considerations for the calculation of the effective lengths as indicated in B4.1
or B5 of the Specification.
Example of a section with a stiffened element not considered in the calculation of the effective widths.
The ratios width/thickness of the elements are not verified in accordance to the limits
specified in B1.1 of the Specification. The user is responsible to verify that all those
requirements are fulfilled for the used sections in the model.
Sections with reinforced webs are not considered in a special way in the calculations. That
means that no special requirements for stiffeners (Section 3.6) are checked.
There is no special consideration for elements with holes.
Tension members
The calculation of tension members is given in section C2 of the Specification (see also the design
flow chart at the end of this chapter). The assumptions are:
The net area is estimated as a function of the gross section applying a reduction factor.
The influences of the type of connections used are not considered.
Flexural members
In the design of flexural members, the program takes into account the flexural strength based on
procedure I based on initiation of yielding (Section C3.1.1), lateral-torsional buckling strength
(Section C3.1.2) that considers open cross section members (Section C3.1.2.1) and closed box
members (C3.1.2.2). Additionally, members having one flange through fastened to deck or
sheathing (C3.1.3) are considered. The flow charts at the end of this chapter give more details of the
different procedures.
The assumptions and restrictions are:
A point symmetric section (such as the Z-section) is treated as a non-symmetrical section
about both axes
Shear calculations consider only the area of web element (h*t), following Section C3.2.1. The
webs are considered always unreinforced. With no transverse stiffeners attached to members
webs.
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
Web crippling strength due to concentrated reactions are considered in the calculations
(Section C3.4 of the Specification). The nominal web crippling strength is calculated and it is
compared with the support reaction. Tables C3.4.1-1, C3.4.1-2, C3.4.1-3 and C3.4.1-4 are
used to determine the resistance factors and safety factors required for the calculations.
The user should, in general, not consider torsion in open cross section members as a
recommendation. Note, also, that due to the small thickness of most of these sections, their
torsional strength is very low and is normally neglected. However, when torsion is acting on
the member, the program is calculating the torsion stress (without considering warping) and it
is comparing to the maximum tension given by 0.6*Fy. If torsion stresses are important, a
warning message is displayed.
In the calculation of the Cm coefficient, the restrictions at the ends of each member are
verified together with the type of supports to which the member is connected. Due to the used
sign convention, the ratio M1/M2 is positive when the member is deformed in simple
curvature and negative otherwise. When the transverse loads are very small in relation to the
forces acting axially (almost zero), the program will assume that the member has no
transverse loads.
Compression members
The calculation for compression members follows the specifications given in section C4 of the
Specification. The details of the calculations are given in the flow charts at the end of this chapter.
The hypothesis and restrictions are:
A member is considered a compression member when Pu > 0.05*Pn* for the LRFD method
and P > 0.05*Pn/ for the ASD method.
No holes in the effective length region of the member are considered.
The program considers the provisions applicable to C-or Z-sections concentrically loaded
along their longitudinal axis, with the flange attached to deck or sheathing through fasteners.
(Section C4.6).
Tubular members
The Specification has a special section devoted to cylindrical tubular members (Section C6), which
considers special requirements for bending and axial compression loads. This aspect is also
considered in the program and it is detailed in the flow charts.
It is also important to note that the definition of sections for rectangular tubular members must be
started in one corner of the section and not at the middle of one element as it is shown in the next
figure.
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
Correct and incorrect definitions of the different points of a rectangular tubular section.
Example of the selection of a cold-formed section for a member. It is suggested that all cold-formed
steel sections start with the letters aisi, csa or canacero; for example aisiBox, aisiC, etc. In this way
the user will recognize them very easily.
In the macros for sections, very important data are considered, which will be needed to properly
perform the cold-formed steel design, apart from the geometry of the section:
CODE=COLDFORMED
This option defines that the section belongs to a cold-formed steel member, which will be designed
with the North American Specification.
TYPE
This command defines if the section is open or closed. The values that may be assigned are:
LINEOPEN
This word is used to define an open section as in the case of I and C-sections. The geometry will
define if an element is stiffened or unstiffened. If the element is connected at both ends it will be
considered a stiffened element; unstiffened otherwise.
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
LINECLOSED
It shows that the section is closed as in the case of a tubular or box section. In this case all the
elements of the section are considered stiffened.
RIGID
Rigid Value Use
0 Rigid element (default).
1 Not rigid element.
2 Lip.
3 Flange with lip.
Refer to the chapter Creating Section Types for more details relating to this subject.
Important!
Cold-formed tapered members are handled by the program.
A second order analysis is recommended as the magnification of design moments to account for
second order effects is not explicitly addressed in the cold-form design code. Although the code does
not specifically mention this aspect, the second order analysis can be considered in the same way as
is described in Chapter C of the AISC Specification.
The Cm and Cb parameters are calculated in the same manner for the first or second order analyses.
The user may assign, however, any value for these parameters, to consider the type of analysis in
accordance to desired criteria. This can be accomplished by selecting all the necessary members,
choosing the option Members/Steel Design parameters from the spreadsheet and entering the correct
values for the parameters as explained in the Chapter devoted to the General Design of Steel
Structures.
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
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Chapter 22: Design of Cold-Formed Steel Members (AISI)
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
CODE=HOTROLLED or CODE=BS_COLDFORMED
These values for CODE define that the section is of hot rolled steel or cold formed steel. In both
cases, it may be designed with the BS.
TYPE=LINEOPEN
Indicates that the section is open for the case of C, I, etc. sections. The stiffness of each element is
defined with the RIGID variable, as described further on.
TYPE=LINECLOSED
Indicates that the section is closed like the case of a box or cylindrical section.
SetSolid..EndSolid
This option defines that the section is solid and has no elements. In this case, the local buckling of the
flange or the web wont be considered in the stress evaluation of the section.
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
FORMULATION=<formulation>
The BS has various formulations or groups of formulae for flexural-compression design, which can
be adopted, based mainly on the shape of the section. RAM Elements offers the possibility to choose
the formulation to be adopted for each type of section. The possible choices are:
IC
It is the most popular choice, applied to the known I, H, C and similar shapes, in which calculation
details are included in the Code. When the IC formulation is adopted, the shape has to include the
following parameters: height (d), flange width (bf), flange thickness (tf) and web thickness (tw)
TUBE
This option is applied only to circular, square or rectangular tubes. The following parameters have to
be defined for square or rectangular tubes: height (a), width (b), thickness (t) and for circular tubes:
diameter (D), thickness (t).
L
This formulation is for L shaped sections. These sections are designed according to the special
specifications for single angle members or similar shapes. The parameters to be included are: angle
height (a), angle thickness (t) and angle width (b) for unequal angles.
GEN
Comprises a general formulation. Although the BS do not specify a general case, the general
formulae for buckling given by Galambos (1968) was adopted and calibrated to the values obtained
for the known sections and formulae given by the BS. No special parameters are required.
Galambos, Theodore V., 1968, Structural Members and Frames, Prentice Hall, USA.
With some supplements and suggestions given in:
Galambos, Theodore V. 1988, Guide to Stability Design Criteria for Metal Structures 4th Edition,
John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA.
Load Combinations
According to the BS5950 Code, Table 2, Section 2.4, the following load combinations may be
included if a structure is subjected to dead load (DL), live load (LL), wind load (WIND) and
earthquake (EQ):
1.4DL
1.4DL + 1.6LL
1.0DL1.4WIND
1.4DL1.4WIND
1.2DL+1.2LL1.2WIND
1.0DL1.4EQ
1.4DL1.4EQ
1.2DL+1.2LL1.2EQ
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
The user can automatically generate the required load combinations with the option Generate Loads
Combinations in the Load Conditions group and Home tab, and selecting the file:
BS5950LoadCombosStrength.txt. For more information, see Chapter 1, Automatic generation of load
combinations.
Technical notes
Assumptions and restrictions for sections and elements
The following assumptions for the elements of a section are adopted:
Code checking is done using only the forces and moments at specific sections (stations) of the
members.
All the elements are considered to be lineal with a width that is equal to the distance between
its ends and with a constant thickness.
All the elements of a section have the same yield strength (homogenous section). Members
with different yield strengths (hybrid sections) are not considered.
Built up members (welded I, H, or box sections) were calculated with a py value 20 N/mm
below that obtained from Section 3.1.1 (BS).
The program does not consider the special considerations for I or H sections with unequal
flanges. Members with such sections may be approximately calculated with a GEN
formulation.
The RIGID variable assigned to each element of the section in the LEO file (*.leo) determines
the kind of element required for the calculation of the limiting slenderness parameters. (See
the table below)
The width of an element of a section is considered between centrelines and is corrected to the
actual value for common shapes like I, H, C, L or T sections.
Warning!
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When assigning a RIGID value for an element of a section, the user must be very careful because
some values are valid only when the element is in compression or in bending. Because of this, the
user must have a clear vision of the forces that will be applied to the member.
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RAM Elements checks the sections according to the following table in order to classify them for the
calculation of the nominal strengths for axial compression and flexure:
Sections are classified as either Class 1 (plastic), Class 2 (compact), Class 3 (semi-compact) or Class
4 (slender).
Tension members
The calculation of tension members is given in section 4.6 of the BS. For more details see the
flowchart given below. The assumptions and simplifications adopted are the following:
Only the gross area is considered for tension members. There are no special considerations
regarding to the kind of connections used
Prismatic members in axial tension are due to forces acting through the centroidal axes.
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
The moment capacity of a section is based on the design strength and section modulus of the
section as specified in Section 4.2.5 of the code.
The coexisting shear is considered in two groups, low shear (Section 4.2.5.2) and high shear
(Section 4.2.5.3) and the member is considered to be loaded through the shear centre
When determining the shear stress for the shapes, the program uses a simplified value given
by Section 4.2.3 of the Code. For any other section, the program adopts a shear area (Av)
equal to 0.9/Qmod.
Transverse stiffeners are not considered for deep girder design.
For the m coefficients calculation of each member, a verification of the restraints and type of
supports is done. RAM Elements uses the general equations given in Tables 18 and 26 of the
Code where Mmax and M24 are calculated considering intervals of 5% of L.
Lv and Cnx Type parameters are located in the Members/Steel design parameters spreadsheet.
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
The following table relates the Cnx type values with the connection types of Table 25 of the
Code.
For open sections, not considering warping, Tor Mod=tmax/Jtor where tmax=the maximum thickness
of the elements and Jtor = torsional constant of the cross section. Jtor is a simplified value equivalent
to the sum of (b*t^3)/3 for each element of the cross section.
Tapered members
According to BS 5950-1:2000, the recommendations for structures with rigid moment-resisting joints
apply to first order methods of global analysis (based on their initial un-deformed geometry), second
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
order effects (stability effects due to deformations under load) being covered by recommendations for
member buckling and frame stability.
Detailed recommendations for practical direct application of second order methods of global analysis
(based on the final deformed geometry of the structure), including allowances for geometrical
imperfections and residual stresses, strain hardening, the relationship between member stability and
frame stability and appropriate failure criteria, are not covered in the design code. However, such use
is not precluded provided that appropriate allowances are made for these considerations.
BS 5950 also states that either elastic or plastic global analysis may be used. Elastic analysis should
normally be first order linear elastic. Plastic analysis should normally be first order rigid-plastic or
first order elastic-plastic (either linear elastic-plastic or the elasto-plastic plastic zones method).
RAM Elements uses an elastic analysis/design which is accepted for varying section members. In
agreement with the code, the structure may be analyzed using an elastic first order or second order
analysis.
The following table shows the analysis/design checks performed by the program for I-section
tapered/haunched members using an elastic global analysis.
Elastic analysis/design checks for tapered/haunched members Performed
by RAM
Elements
Structure in- Amplified moment method
plane stability
Sway-check method
Second-order analysis X
The general design requirements for tapered/haunched members are very similar to those for
prismatic members with the slight difference that Annex G can be used to cover special
considerations for members of variable section.
The cross section properties at each station are used with the same procedures of an equivalent
member with a uniform cross section.
Annex G may be used for haunched or tapered members with two types of haunching, as follows:
two-flange haunch
three-flange haunch
For the first case, RAM Elements allows to define a tapered member with a varying depth and
different thickness or width flanges, however, the code advises the use of uniform flanges of equal
size to comply with Annex G. The three-flange haunched member may be obtained adding to a
uniform doubly-symmetric I-section a T-section of varying depth from a similar or larger I-section.
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
To enable the use of Annex G provisions for the design of members with one flange laterally
restrained, the user may set the Restr. Flange = Yes design parameter at the Members/Steel/BS
design spreadsheet for the desired members.
The user has the responsibility to enter the right effective length factor for compression members and
the equivalent uniform moment factor mLT (equal to 1.0 for varying cross section members according
to Annex B2.5).
The Restr. Flange flag parameter allows to use Annex G for members with one flange laterally
restrained.
REFERENCES
BS 5950-1:2000. Structural use of steelwork in building. Part 1: Code of practice for design-
Rolled and welded sections, British Standard, May 15, 2001.
Salter P.R., Malik A. S. and King C. M., Design of Single-Span Steel Portal Frames to BS
5950-1:2000, SCI Publication P252, The Steel Construction Institute, 2004.
Way A. G. and Salter P.R., Introduction to Steelwork Design to BS 5950-1:2000, SCI
Publication P325, The Steel Construction Institute, 2003.
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
BS 5950 Flowcharts
BS 5950-1:2000 DESIGN OF STEEL MEMBERS
Aeff: Effective cross-sectional area
Area: Area
Av: Shear area
Class: Classification of sections in plastic=1, compact=2, semi-compact=3 or slender=4
d: Depth of section
Fv: Shear force
E: Modulus of elasticity of steel
K: Effective length factor
L: Span
Mb: Buckling resistance moment
Mc: Moment capacity
mLT,m,mx,my: Equivalent uniform moment factors
Mmax: Maximum moment in the member
M1,M2,M3,M4,M5: Moment at 0,25,50,75 and 100% of L
Pc: Compression resistance
pc: Compressive strength
PE: (*E/)
py: Design strength of steel
Pv: Shear capacity of a member
qw: Shear buckling strength
r: Radius of gyration
S: Plastic modulus
Seff: Effective plastic modulus
Sv: Plastic modulus of the shear area
Sx: Plastic modulus about the major axis
Sy: Plastic modulus about the minor axis
t: Thickness
Vb: Shear buckling resistance of a web
Vcrit: min(Vb,Pv)
Z: Section modulus
Zeff: Effective section modulus
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
328
Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
329
Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
330
Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
331
Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
332
Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
333
Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
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Chapter 23: Design of Steel Members (BS 5950)
335
Chapter 24: Design of Steel Members AS 4100)
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Chapter 24: Design of Steel Members AS 4100)
AS section assignment to a member. Note that all the AS standard sections provided by the program
start with letters AS .
In the section templates using macros (files with *.LEO extension) the following data and/or specific
commands are used in the AS design, besides the ones for section geometry. Refer to the chapter
Creating New Types of Sections with Macros for more details.
CODE=HOTROLLED
Defines that the section is hot-rolled steel.
TYPE=LINEOPEN
Indicates the section is open for the I, C and L shaped sections cases.
TYPE=LINECLOSED
Indicates the section is closed, like the case of a box or tube section.
SetSolid, EndSolid
Defines that the section is solid and has no segments.
Shape=<section shape>
The AS Standard has several formulae for design, which can be used based mainly on the shape of
the section. The available shapes are:
I: It is the most popular choice, applied to the known UB, UC, TFB, UBP, WB and WC shapes.
When an I-shaped section is used, the section geometry must include the following parameters:
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Chapter 24: Design of Steel Members AS 4100)
height (d), flange width (bf), flange thickness (tf) and web thickness (tw). If the section is a universal
beam/column the parameter (r) should be included and if the section is a parallel flange beam, (r1)
and (r2) should be added.
C: It is also very popular and includes the PFC shape. The geometry is very similar to that of I-
shaped sections.
L: It includes the equal leg and unequal leg angles EA and UA. The section has to include the
following geometry parameters: height (a), width (b) and thickness (t).
T: This shape is also very popular and includes the BT and CT shapes. The required geometry
parameters are similar to those of I-shaped sections.
Rectangle: It includes all square and rectangular box-shaped members, such as RHS and SHS shapes.
The geometry parameters are height (a), width (b), and thickness (t).
Circle: For round hollow shapes, such as CHS. The geometry parameters are the diameter (D) and
thickness (t).
Technical notes
General
The objective of the design using the Strength Limit State is to ensure that the structure as a whole,
including all of its members have design capacities in excess of their respective design action effects.
The basic inequality for the Strength Limit State design is:
(Design action effect) ( (Nominal capacity)
The main features of Strength Limit State design are as follows:
The structure is deemed to have adequate strength if it can be shown that it can resist the least
favorable design action combination without exceeding the limit state of strength.
Load factors are applied to the specified actions. The load factors range from 0.40 to 1.50 for
the strength limit state.
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Chapter 24: Design of Steel Members AS 4100)
The design action effects (bending moments, axial, and shear forces) are computed from
factored loads and their combinations.
The computed member and section capacities (ultimate resistances) are factored down using
capacity reduction factors.
The capacity reduction factors for steel structures range from 0.6 to 0.9, depending on the
type of the member and the nature of forces.
The following table summarizes the capacity factors for Strength Limit States covered by AS 4100
and used by RAM Elements:
Design capacity for Clauses Capacity
factor ()
Member subject to Full lateral support 5.1, 5.2 & 5.3 0.90
bending
Segment without full lateral support 5.1 & 5.6 0.90
Web in shear 5.11 & 5.12 0.90
Member subject to Section capacity 6.1 & 6.2 0.90
axial compression
Member capacity 6.1 & 6.3 0.90
Member subject to axial tension 7.1 & 7.2 0.90
Member subject to Section capacity 8.3 0.90
combined actions
Member capacity 8.4 0.90
General assumptions
All the elements are considered to be linear.
The program does not consider hybrid sections (sections which elements have different
materials).
The width (or length) of a section segment is measured between centerlines.
Torsion design is not performed by the program since AS 4100-1998 does not include that
check.
The following tables show the design checks performed by RAM Elements in accordance with AS
4100:
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Chapter 24: Design of Steel Members AS 4100)
341
Chapter 24: Design of Steel Members AS 4100)
Tension members
DESIGN OF MEMBERS SUBJECT TO AXIAL TENSION SECTION
Design for axial tension 7.1
Nominal section capacity 7.2
NOT CONSIDERED BY THE PROGRAM:
Tension members with two or more main components 7.4
Members with pin connections 7.5
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Chapter 24: Design of Steel Members AS 4100)
Combined stresses
DESIGN OF MEMBERS SUBJECT TO COMBINED ACTIONS SECTION
Section capacity 8.3
General 8.3.1
Uniaxial bending about the major principal x-axis 8.3.2
Uniaxial bending about the minor principal y-axis 8.3.3
Biaxial bending 8.3.4
Member capacity 8.4
General 8.4.1
In-plane capacity - elastic analysis 8.4.2
Compression members 8.4.2.2
Tension members 8.4.2.3
Out-of-plane capacity 8.4.4
Compression members 8.4.4.1
Tension members 8.4.4.2
Biaxial bending capacity 8.4.5
NOT CONSIDERED BY THE PROGRAM:
In-plane capacity - plastic analysis 8.4.3
Eccentrically loaded double bolted or welded single angle in trusses 8.4.6
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Chapter 24: Design of Steel Members AS 4100)
All the design checks aforementioned for the general design of steel members according to AS 4100
are considered for the design of varying cross-section members.
REFERENCES
AS 4100-1998. Australian Standard. Steel Structures, June 5, 1998, Standards Australia.
AS 4100 Supp 1-1999. Steel structures - Commentary, March 5, 1999, Standards Australia.
Gorenc, B., Tinyou R., Syam A., 2007, Steel Designers Handbook, 7th edition, UNSW
Press.
Hogan T. J., and Syam A. A., 1997, Design of tapered haunched universal section members
in portal frame rafters Journal of the Australian Steel Institute, Volume 31, Number 3.
344
Chapter 25: Design of Open Web Steel Joists (SJI-LRFD, SJI-ASD)
Technical Notes
Joists are assumed to be simply supported and uniformly loaded. (Section 4.1 SJI-K-1.1,
Section 103.1 SJI-LH/DLH-1.1). This is important when modeling the joists.
The design of K-Series, LH-Series and DLH-Series joists is done in the way that they support
the uniformly distributed load given in the corresponding Load Tables (Section 2 SJI-K-1.1,
Section 101 SJI-LH/DLH-1.1). The design basically is summarized to compare the total
uniformly distributed load acting on the joist (by load combination) with that obtained from
the Load Tables.
RE only takes into account the uniformly distributed loads corresponding to the following
loads types: dead load (DL), live load (LL), roof live load (LLr) and snow load (SNOW).
Other load types will be ignored in the design.
The uniformly distributed loads that do not act throughout the length of the joist will be
ignored in the design.
Non uniform distributed loads acting in the joist will be ignored in the design.
Concentrated loads acting in the joist will be ignored in the design.
Uplift loads acting in the joist will be ignored in the design.
The material yield strength used shall be at least 36 ksi (250 MPa) but no more than 50 ksi
(345 MPa).
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Chapter 25: Design of Open Web Steel Joists (SJI-LRFD, SJI-ASD)
Like any other steel element, open web steel joists, are structural elements likely to be
optimized. See the Steel and wood structure optimization and code check chapter for more
details.
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Chapter 26: ACI Reinforced concrete design
Loads
The application of appropriate loads and the generation of the required load combinations are the
responsibility of the user. All applicable loads and load combinations should be applied to the
structure as illustrated in the Examples Manual. Concrete design is performed for all load
combinations. The user has the ability to filter the design in the designer/detailer module to obtain
results for any individual load condition (case or combination). Refer to the next chapter on the
Design/Detailing module for more information on filtering loads when viewing the results.
Important! Note that the list should be always ordered by size starting from the smallest size.
Remark: In the rare event of changing the bar series in any module after the reinforcement
optimization, the user should optimize and redefine the reinforcement for the current elements. Note
that the program will not automatically set equivalent bars.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
To create a new section, select the appropriate Section Type for Beams or Columns, as illustrated
below:
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
Creating new sections using the command Sections from the Databases group in the Home tab.
Analysis
Before proceeding with a beam design, the model should be analyzed appropriately. The analysis
should consider the reduction in moment of inertia (cracked section factor) prescribed by the design
code, and where applicable a second order analysis should be performed as described below.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
Assign the suggested inertia reduction factors (cracked section factors) for beams and columns. The
worksheets tools can be used to automatically enter the 0.35 value (as recommended by the Code)
for the currently selected beams.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
A second order P-Delta analysis should be performed. This is particularly important in the
calculation of sway frames according to ACI 10.13.4.
Execute the command Design/Reinforced concrete to display a summary report of the reinforced
concrete design
From the displayed dialog (See figure below) to generate the report, select the load conditions
required and the size of the stirrup to be consider.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
Select OK and the report will be generated for all selected members. The report that appears is
described below.
Beams with rectangular sections are designed only for bending moment about axis 3, shear in axis 2,
and torsion. Other forces and sections are ignored. If a beam should be designed for biaxial bending it
should be specified as a column section.
The beam design is performed assuming an ordinary moment frame with no special seismic
provisions implemented. In the RC Beam Detailer the user can change this to examine the impact of
some of the seismic provisions.
The following default partial safety factors are used for the preliminary report:
Reinforcement: 1.15, Concrete in flexure: 1.50, Shear in concrete: 1.25.
The links spacing is calculated considering a minimum percentage of longitudinal reinforcement
(Table 3.25 of the Code).
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
Beam
design output.
The previous output is described below
Beam ID
The beam number to match the number of the beam selected in the model.
A.left, A.cent, A.right
This is the required top and bottom area of reinforcement for the left, central, and right zones. The
area shown under the A.left column is the steel area required from end J of the member for the
distance shown in the I.P.left column. The area shown in the A.right column is the area of steel
required from the K end of the section for the distance shown under I.P.right. The area of steel in the
A.cent zone is the area of steel required from the distance I.P.left away from end J to a distance
I.P.right away from end K. See the explanation for I.P. below for more information on the inflection
points.
Where no inflection point occurs along a beam the reinforcing indicated for the center zone (A.
Cent) applies to the entire length of the beam. Based on the above description the I.P.left and I.P.right
are 0.0 in this case. That is, the steel shown in the A.cent is required from 0.0 away from J end of
beam (i.e. left end of beam) to 0.0 away from K end of beam (i.e. right end of beam).
I.P.left, I.P.right
I.P.left, and I.P.right are the distances of the inflection points from the ends of the beam. Note that
where left and right are referred to, they represent the J and K end of the member respectively. The
"Left" is the J node; the "Right" is the K node.
Important!
When a beam is displayed, it has the J node at the left and the K node at the right
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
The spacing of the stirrups is based on the shear demand and the torsion demand on the section.
TYPE
The Type indicates what kind of stirrup is required. U indicates that stirrups can be open, as
illustrated in the figure (b). A [] symbol shows that stirrups should be closed, as shown in figure (a).
The [] is an indicator of torsion in the section, whereas the >[]< symbol indicates compression
reinforcing is required. Note again that no seismic provisions are considered in this design.
Reinforcement position command from the Model group in the View tab. The display will
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
indicate the correct layout of the longitudinal bars in the currently selected members. A more detailed
output of the reinforcing can be obtained in the detailer described next.
These are the true location of reinforcing bars in those sections selected.
Home tab
The Home tab display the data window, it appears as shown in the following figure.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
This window allows to modify materials, sections and geometry of the structure. Sometimes
dimensional modifications are made in the analysis phase to model more accurately the true structural
behavior. As this module is most likely to be used to generate structural drawings, the user should
enter the true dimensions.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
Note that in the drawing columns can be moved relative to the axis used in the analysis program. By
clicking on the word Center and changing it to Left, the column is now located to the left of the
gridline (see above Figure). In addition, by selecting the dimension of the column it can be modified
to any desired value. Remember that all text in red can be modified.
Once the user has reviewed all data, it is possible to select the detailing window, the design window
or to review the report.
When the user displays the detailing window, it would show the reinforcement purposed for optimal
design and calculated with configuration default values.
RAM Elements suggest transversal and longitudinal reinforcement for an optimized design. Tough,
the laps along the beam must be calculated a placed by the user verifying the maximum bar length.
The hooks and the development lengths in discontinuous bars are calculated internally. The user must
select the Check command to design the beam with the reinforcement data introduced. Using
the Optimize command after any change in the beam reinforcement data, will optimize the
reinforcement with the consequent loss of the entered data.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
Diagrams tab
The Diagrams tab displays a window where the demand and capacity diagrams for the beam are
shown. Note that two diagrams can be viewed on the window at the same time, thus allowing a
comparison between the demands (required) curve and the capacity (demand) curve. Some of the
diagrams that can be displayed are dependent on the load condition selected. The moment or shear
diagrams are displayed for the currently selected load condition.
Warning!
It is the user responsibility to review the required steel with respect to the provided steel to confirm
that sufficient capacity is provided by the bars shown. This is best viewed in the design window and
the report of the RC Beam Detailer where the design against the nominal moments or the design
shear forces against the nominal shear forces can be visually displayed.
In some circumstances, the area of required steel may exceed the provided. This will most often
happen at the end of a member where there is not sufficient length to develop the bars that are
required for moments at the face of the column-beam joint.
The Deflection, Moments, Shear, and Torsional moments are all dependent on the currently selected
load condition. The other options are displayed and calculated for the selected load conditions. It is
particularly important to view the envelope for design bending moments and the nominal bending
moments. The last diagram illustrates the increase of section capacity over the development length of
the longitudinal bars. As such the user can determine whether the strength of the beam is enough to
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
resist the design moments over any length of the beam (particularly in the development zone of the
bars).
Detailing tab
The detailing window shows the reinforcing bars adopted for the beam.
Both longitudinal and vertical reinforcement are shown on this window. The cross section represents
the reinforcing required at the desired points along each span. Note that the user can only define the
reinforcement and the localization of the cross sections in the figure. Press the RE button and select
the Export to DXF option to create a CAD file and manipulate this outside RAM Elements.
Notice that the detailing window has some tools in the ribbon to introduce the reinforcement for the
beam.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
Add stirrups.
Configuration dialog
Press the Advanced command located in the Options group on the Home tab to display the
configuration dialog.
This dialog allows the user to establish some standards for design and to have control over the
reinforcing design. Note that data changed on this window is saved for subsequent entries into the
detailing module.
These criteria should all be set before the detailing is viewed but need not be modified for subsequent
beam details unless required.
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
One particular feature is the graphic layout of the bar pattern with the position and number of each
group of bars.
Example of the graphic layout presented for the adopted reinforcement of the beam.
The results are divided in two sections, namely a flexural and a shear/torsion section.
Each member is divided in 10 equal lengths and thus 11 stations are considered in the verification of
the bar layout.
The status of the different stations is graphically shown in a special diagram that shows the design
moments envelope and the nominal moment capacity (multiplied by the factor) simultaneously. If
the strength at some station is not enough to resist the applied moments, this part of the diagram is
displayed in red. In this way, the user can evaluate the flexural design of the beam at a glance. All
diagrams are drawn from face-of-column to face-of-column.
Example of the flexural verification diagram. Note the areas with insufficient strength are highlighted
in red.
Note that the report indicates the spacing of bars required to meet cracking controls of the beam as
specified in ACI 10.6.4. The actual spacing of the bars as currently laid out is also indicated. This
spacing is calculated considering the dimensions of the following figure:
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
The report also displays all the information required to design shear and torsion reinforcement. The
status of the different stations is showed graphically with a diagram that compares the design shear
forces envelope with the nominal shear strength of each station. Most of the seismic considerations
given on chapter 21 of the Code are taken into account. In this case, the purpose is to get members
with shear strength greater than the maximum probable bending capacity of the member, in order to
avoid a brittle failure of the member.
A description of the main variables and the adopted nomenclature is explained in the notes section of
the report.
General
In the main program, beam design is performed for all design load combinations selected from the
print reinforced concrete design dialog. For the summary output in the main program flexure, shear
and torsion design is performed at evenly spaced stations along the beam (0.1xLength). In the Beam
Design module, the user can specify which load conditions to consider for design. The following
items are checked in the design of the reinforced concrete beams.
Flexure
Shear
Torsion
Detailing Requirements (RC Beam Detailer Only)
No axial load or out-of-plane loading is considered in the design.
Limitations
The following limitations currently exist in the RAM Elements implementation of the ACI318 with
respect to beam members:
No axial load is considered in the design.
Only in plane bending (about local axis 3-3 of member) is considered.
No deflection limits are checked.
No deep member design is considered.
Flexural Design
The flexural design of concrete beams is based on the simplified rectangular stress assumption as
described in ACI 10.2.7. The design assumptions of ACI 10.2.7 are fully implemented, particularly
the use of the equivalent rectangular stress distribution. The section is compression controlled if the
net tensile strain in the extreme tension steel is equal or less than the strain limit 0.002 when concrete
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
in compression reaches its assumed strain limit of 0.003 (ACI 10.3.3). The section is tension
controlled if the net tensile strain in the extreme tension steel is equal or greater than 0.005 when the
concrete in compression reaches its assumed strain limit of 0.003. At each section, the beam is
designed for the envelope (max positive and negative) moments from all the appropriate load
conditions. In the main program, the position of reinforcement is as specified when the section was
created. In the Reinforced Concrete (RC) Beam Detailer, the location of bars can be adjusted as
described later. For T and L shape beams (RC Beam Detailer only) the full flange width provided by
the user is considered for calculating the compressive stress block under positive moments. Where
the compressive stress encroaches on the web of the T or L section the beam is designed to account
for the reduction in the width of the compression zone. Note that no checks are performed on the
validity of the flange width provided. For negative moments, the flanges of the beam are ignored. The
minimum flexural reinforcing requirements of ACI 10.5 are implemented. Note that the distribution
of flexural reinforcing provisions (ACI 10.6) are implemented with equation (10-5), but the limits of
distance between lateral supports (ACI 10.4) are not considered, this should be checked by the user.
Special seismic requirements are implemented in the RC Beam Detailer. The appropriate moment
frame is specified as ordinary, intermediate or special in the data window of the detailer. The main
program always assumes an ordinary moment frame, which does not require any additional provision.
The following items describe the implementation of the flexural requirements for intermediate or
special moment frames.
ACI Description Intermediate Special moment
moment frames frames
21.2.4.5 Limits on Concrete User User
and Reinforcing responsibility Responsibility
Strength
21.3 Flexural Frame Not Applicable As indicated
Members below
21.3.1 Dimensional Limits Assume zero
axial loads.
Dimension
limits user
responsibility
21.3.2.1 Reinforcing Limits Implemented
21.3.2.2 and Prescriptive
Reinforcing
21.10 Requirements for As indicated Not Applicable
Moderate Risk: below
Intermediate moment
frames
21.10.2 Flexural Requirements Assume zero
axial loads
21.10.4 Prescriptive Implemented
Reinforcing
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
Shear Design
The shear design of concrete beams uses the concepts and requirements provided in the Chapter 11 of
ACI code. In the RC Beam Detailer the controlling shear at a distance d (effective depth) from the
face of a column may be used as the design shear (ACI 11.1.3). Notice that RAM Elements does not
check the concrete strength defined in the section 11.1.2. The shear strength provided by concrete is
computed with the equations (11-3) y (11-5) from the design code, for members subject to shear and
flexure. For special moment frames, the design shear force corresponding to the development of the
probable moment strength of the member (Mpr) that is calculated according to section 21.3.4.2 of the
ACI code. The design shear force (Ve) is calculated with the shear strength requirements provided in
section 21.3.4 and considering the factored static load during the earthquake that must be defined by
the user in the data window of the module Finally, the maximum value between Vu and Ve within a
2d length from the face of the supporting member toward midspan at both ends of the flexural
member (sec. 21.3.3.1.a) is used for the shear design. The user has the responsibility to check if there
are no other critical points in the shear diagrams.
It is important to remark that Section 11.5.5.3 of the Code can be interpreted in two ways. One using
the required reinforcement strength (Vsreq) and other using the provided reinforcement strength (Vs).
In the program and according to normal practice Vsreq is used. In case of Vsreq >
4*SQRT(fc)*bw*d then the required spacing is reduced to one half.
The vertical stirrups (closed or open hoops), used as shear transversal reinforcement, must perform
the requirements of spacing limits, minimum shear reinforcement area for shear and torsion as
indicated in the ACI code.
Special Seismic requirements from the ACI code are implemented in the RC Beam Detailer. The
following items describe the requirements implemented in the program for intermediate or special
moment frames:
ACI Description Intermediat Special
e moment moment
frames frames
21.3.4.1 Design shear Not Implemented
based on Applicable
member
21.10.3(a Implemente Not
bending
) d Applicable
capacity
21.3.4.2 Transverse Vc is Vc is
Reinforcement considered considered
in frame according to
members Mpr. No
axial load
assumed
Torsion Design
When necessary, member torsion design must provide additional steel for both the longitudinal and
the shear reinforcement of the member. Torsion is considered only in the section where design
torsion exceeds the limit provided in the section 11.6.1 of the ACI code. After torsional cracking
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develops the torsional resistance is provided mainly by closed stirrups, longitudinal bars. The
additional area of longitudinal reinforcement to resist torsion shall not be less than the provided with
the equation (11-22).
Detailing Requirements
The design code has an important influence in the requirements of number, size, and distance
between bars. This section identifies those detailing specifications implemented by RAM Elements in
the Reinforced Concrete Beam Detailer. Notice that it is responsibility of the user to confirm that the
design performs all the requirements of the design code used. The following chart resumes some of
the requirements adopted in the ACI318-05 code.
ACI Description Comment
10.6 Distribution of flexural Implemented
reinforcing
11.5.4 Spacing limits for shear Implemented
reinforcing
11.6.6 Maximum spacing of Implemented
torsion reinforcement
12.2 Development of deformed Implemented
bars in tension except for
12.2.5
12.3 Development of deformed Not
bars comp. Implemented
12.4 Development of bundled Not
bars Implemented
12.5 Development of standard Implemented
hooks tension except
12.5.3.4
12.10 Development flexural bars Implemented
General
12.11 Development of positive User
moment reinforcing. responsibility
12.12 Development of negative User
moment reinforcing. responsibility
12.14 Splices of reinforcement in Implemented
tension
12.16 Splices of reinforcement in Not
compression Implemented
Special moment frames
21.3.3.2 Transverse reinforcement Implemented
21.3.2.3 Hoops at lap locations User
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responsibility
Intermediate moment frames
21.10.4.2 Transverse reinforcement Implemented
In sections 21.3.4.1 and 21.10.3 the design requirements for maximum shear reinforcement, assumes
that the ends are hinged. Note that the program gives most of the data to easily evaluate the
requirements not covered directly by the program.
Flexural Design
The flexure design of concrete beams is done with the criterion of strength redistribution and the
analysis described in the section 2.5 of BS-8110 code. The hypothesis of design is based on section
3.4.4.4 BS-8110, for example the use of the equivalent concrete strength block. The beam is designed
at each section for the envelope (max positive and negative) moments from all the appropriate load
conditions. In the main program, the position of the reinforcing is as specified when the section was
created. In the Reinforced Concrete (RC) Beam Detailer, the location of the bars can be adjusted as
described later in this document. For T and L shape beams (RC Beam Detailer Only) the full flange
width provided by the user is considered for calculating the compressive stress block under positive
moments. Where the compressive stress encroaches on the web of the T or L section the beam is
designed to account for the reduction in the width of the compression zone. Note that no checks are
performed on the validity of the flange width provided. For negative moments, the flanges of the
beam are ignored. The minimum flexure reinforcement adopted is in accordance with table 3.25.
The seismic special requirements are not specified in the BS-8110 code. The program does not make
any seismic consideration if designed with this code. The user has the responsibility to cover all the
provisions that are not covered by the program.
Shear Design
Beam shear design of concrete reinforced with the BS-8110 code adopts the criteria and the
requirements that are provided in the section 3.4.5 of the BS-8110 code referring to design shear
resistance of beams. The design shear force is the maximum value from the envelope generated from
all selected load combinations. In the concrete reinforced beam detailer the shear design uses the
critical shear in a section located at a distance d from the face of the support. The concrete shear
stress c considers the section and the characteristic concrete strengths. The code provides in the
table 3.8 some values of c design concrete shear stress (3.4.5.4 BS-8110).
Where:
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Chapter 27: Reinforced Concrete Beam Design
: Should not be taken as less than 0.67 for members without shear reinforcement and should
not be taken as less than 1 for members with shear reinforcement.
Torsion Design
It is not necessary to calculate reinforcement for torsion cracking, usually is controlled by the
transversal shear. When it is necessary to design the torsion members it must be considered the
recommendations in the section 2.4 of the BS 8110-2:1985.
The longitudinal torsion reinforcement must be distributed with a minimum of four bars one at each
corner and should not exceed a maximum distance between bars of 300mm.The links spacing should
not exceed 200mm, nor the smaller dimension of the link, neither the larger dimension of the link.
Detailing Requirements
Notice that is the user responsibility to confirm that the reinforcement provided performs the
requirements of the code. The following chart details the requirements of the BS-8110 code
implemented in the module
BS 8110 Description Comment
3.12.4 Distribution of flexural Implemented
reinforcement, reinforcement
details
3.4.5.5 Spacing limits for shear Implemented
reinforcing
3.12.8.23 Effective anchorage length of a Implemented
hook or bend
3.12.8.23 Effective anchorage of length of Implemented
a hook or bend
3.12.8.13 Design of tension laps Implemented
3.12.8.15 Design of compression laps Implemented
The program considers a minimum lap length stated in the code Sec.3.12.8.11. The minimum lap
distance should not exceed 15 time the bar size or 300mm.
Development length is calculated for the stress of 0.95fy and provides a constant value over the
length.
The anchorage length considers the straight and the bended portion of the bar, (full anchorage
length). If the bar does not extend or is not assumed to be stressed beyond a point four times the bar
diameter past the end of the bend no check need to be made. If it is assumed to be stressed beyond
this point, the bearing stress inside the bend must be checked to control the ultimate stresses.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
Design Steps
1) Data input
The user has to enter the required data related to material properties, geometry, and design
parameters, which can be modified at any time, before or after analysis. See Detailing Modules
chapter for more information about module management.
Important!
All input data can be modified in the detailer. However, modifications made in the detailer will not be
reflected back in the model of the main program. It is suggested that all user input data be applied in
the model prior to invoking the detailer.
2) Reinforcement Optimization
This step defines the longitudinal and transverse reinforcement of the column, considering minimum
bar spacing, minimum bar quantity, required reinforcement area, etc.
The reinforcement is based on the current column dimensions introduced by the user.
3) Verifications
The last step belongs to the design checks and it is executed by pressing the button Verify design.
The program performs a series of design verifications in order to assure a good behavior of the
column.
Concrete columns
RAM Elements performs different designs on beams and columns. As such members must be
identified as either a beam or a column if they are to be appropriately designed. This is done by
assigning the appropriate section to the elements. Each Reinforced Concrete Section is implicitly
either a Beam or Column section. To assign a reinforced concrete column to a member select an
RcCol (or RcColM) section as illustrated in the figure below.
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To create a new section, select the appropriate Section Type for Beams or Columns, as illustrated
below:
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Creating new sections using the command Sections from the Databases group in the Home tab.
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Execute the command Design/Reinforced concrete to display a summary report of the reinforced
concrete design
From the displayed dialog (See figure below) to generate the report, select the load conditions
required and the size of the stirrup to be consider.
Select OK and the report will be generated for all selected members. The report that appears is
described below.
Reinforcement position command from the Model group in the View tab. The display will
indicate the correct layout of the longitudinal bars in the currently selected members. A more detailed
output of the reinforcing can be obtained in the detailer described next.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
These are the true location of reinforcing bars in those sections selected.
Home tab
The Home tab display the data window, it appears as shown in the following figure.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
This window allows to modify materials, sections and geometry of the structure. Sometimes
dimensional modifications are made in the analysis phase to model more accurately the true structural
behavior. As this module is most likely to be used to generate structural drawings, the user should
enter the true dimensions.
Once the user has reviewed all data, it is possible to select the detailing window, the interaction
diagram design window or to review the report.
When the user displays the detailing window, it would show the reinforcement purposed for optimal
design and calculated with configuration default values.
RAM Elements suggest transversal and longitudinal reinforcement for an optimized design. The user
must select the Check command to design the column with the reinforcement data introduced.
Using the Optimize command after any change in the column reinforcement data the program
will optimize the reinforcement with the consequent loss of the entered data.
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To access this window press the button in the Diagrams group, Home tab.
Interaction diagrams window. The user may see the column interaction diagrams varying the
application several options to display the diagrams and interaction surfaces as well as section
stresses.
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Detailing tab
The detailing window shows the reinforcing bars adopted for the column.
Both longitudinal and vertical reinforcement are shown on this window. Press the RE button and
select the Export to DXF option to create a CAD file and manipulate this outside RAM
Elements.
Notice that the detailing window has some tools in the ribbon to introduce the reinforcement for the
column.
Add stirrups.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
Configuration dialog
Press the Advanced command located in the Options group on the Home tab to display the
configuration dialog.
This dialog allows the user to establish some standards for design and to have control over the
reinforcing design. Note that data changed on this window is saved for subsequent entries into the
detailing module.
These criteria should all be set before the detailing is viewed but need not be modified for subsequent
element details unless required.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
Technical Notes
1) General
The general characteristics of the module are:
Design of compression or tension members
Consideration of rectangular and circulars sections
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
2) Limitations
The aspects not covered are:
Torsion Design
3) Design Code
The reinforced concrete column design in RAM Elements incorporates the latest requirements of:
The 2005 American Concrete Institute Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete,
ACI 318-05.
The 1997 (incorporating amendments 1, 2 and 3 from 30/11/2005) British Standard,
Structural Use for Concrete, BS 8110-1: 1997
4) Loads
The column is designed to resist the entire factored load in his transversal section. All load
combinations need to be generated by the user, according to the applicable local code. The user can
consider some or all combination when performing the design.
2) Slenderness effects
The ACI318 Code specifies that the slenderness effects in columns should be considered by
performing either section 10.10.1 or 10.10.2 of the Code.
The design procedure uses the moment magnifier concept, considering the non-linear analysis and the
second order effects (P-). A second-order frame analysis is an elastic analysis that includes the
internal force effects resulting from deflections and is based on realistic stiffness values. The (P-)
effect uses moment magnification factors that depends on the nonsway frame (10.12.3) or the
sidesway frame (10.13.4), to reflect lateral drift and the member curvature resulting from lateral and
vertical loads.
Important: The ACI 318-05 code states that columns with k*lu/r >100 need to be designed
according to 10.10.1. This is not currently performed in the program and therefore a warning will be
shown.
To analyze sway frames, the program considers columns like individual compression members and
neglects the effects of slenderness when klu/r is less than 22, section 10.13.2. The moments at the
ends of an individual compression member in a sway frame are not added to the unmagnified
nonsway moment (from a first order elastic analysis) of the same column. However, the user can
make the analysis again and add the results to the moments from the P-analysis before starting the
design procedure
The user has the responsibility to decide if the columns belong to a sway or non-sway frame. The
criterion stated in 10.11.4.1 can be helpful to decide whether the members of the frame should be
considered braced against sidesway.
The P- effects for columns subject to sidesway are automatically obtained from the second order
analysis results. Previously, the user must define the inertia reduction factors for each section, in this
way the design will represent the real stiffness of the members immediately prior the failure, (section
10.11.1). The inertia is modified dividing it by the coefficient (1 + d) as shown in the equation (10-
12). It must be assumed d=0.6 but this value may change when lateral permanent loads are applied
in sway frames (R10.13.4.1).
The flow charts at the end of this chapter show the column design procedure and the slenderness
effects.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
3) Bending design
Having determined the magnified moments (the required design moments), the required
reinforcement area (As) is calculated using an exact determination of the axial-moment (P-M)
interaction limits of the column design. This methodology used to determine the true P-M limits
involves a trial and adjustment procedure for establishing moment equilibrium. As illustrated in the
attached flowcharts, this involves both shifting and rotating the neutral axis to obtain equilibrium.
This procedure uses the true (full) section properties, and the rebar pattern entered by the user in the
Data Screen. The program also checks if the adopted reinforcement area is within the maximum and
minimum allowed reinforcement limits prescribed by the code or set by the user. It calculates also the
nominal moments of the section with the adopted reinforcement and determines if the section is able
to resist the imposed moments. The demand or capacity ratio is defined as the ratio between the
current loads acting on the column divided by the strength reduction factor (phi) and the nominal
capacity (axial or bending moments) that are illustrated in the following figure. Note that phi is
defined for Mu and Pu values.
4) Shear design
Shear design is performed according to Chapter 11 of the Code. The shear forces in both axes are
considered, but torsion is neglected in the design of the stirrups.
The program considers the maximum factored shear forces (Vu), which are located a distance d from
the face support of the column according to 11.1.3.1. The nominal shear strength of the column, if
subject to axial tension, is taken according to Equation (11-8). Details of how the shear design is
performed are given in the attached flow charts.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
The safety resistance factors of materials are defined in accordance with the code BS-8110 Sec
2.4.4.1
2) Slenderness effects
The code specifies that for slenderness effects in columns it must be considered the sections 3.8.1 of
the BS-8110 code.
Additional moments produced by bending must be considered. At no section in a column should the
design moment be taken as less than that produced by considering the design ultimate axial load as
acting at a minimum eccentricity equal to 0.05 times the overall dimension of the column in the plane
of the bending considered but no more than 20mm, section 3.8.2.4.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
The additional moments are induced by the bending of the column. For the column design, it is
calculated a total moment of the column, as the greatest value of the large initial end moment due to
design ultimate load, the initial moment (maximum moment at the critical section calculated for the
ultimate limit state) incremented with the additional moment, the moment due to minimum
eccentricity.
Important: Usually the clear height between supports should not exceed 60 times the smaller side
the column, section 3.8.1.7.
The user has the responsibility to decide if the columns belong to a sway or non-sway frame.
The moments M1, M2, are the smaller and the larger initial end moment due to design ultimate loads.
To calculate the deflection induced moments in solid slender columns for non sway systems, use
Equation 32 of the code BS-8110 and Equation 37 in case of sway system columns. This influences
the additional moment that is added to the initial moment, which at the same time is used to calculate
the total design moment for the column design considering slenderness effects.
3) Bending design
Having determined the magnified moments (the required design moments), the required
reinforcement area (As) is calculated using an exact determination of the axial-moment (P-M)
interaction limits of the column design. This methodology used to determine the true P-M limits
involves a trial and adjustment procedure for establishing moment equilibrium. As illustrated in the
attached flowcharts, this involves both shifting and rotating the neutral axis to obtain equilibrium.
This procedure uses the true (full) section properties, and the rebar pattern entered by the user in the
Data Screen. The program also checks if the adopted reinforcement area is within the maximum and
minimum allowed reinforcement limits prescribed by the code or set by the user. It calculates also the
resistant moments of the section with the reinforcement adopted and determines if the section is able
to resist the applied moments.
4) Shear design
Shear design is performed according with Section 3.4.5.12 of the code BS-8110, for rectangular
section under compression loads. It is not required any further verification if the moment divided
between the axial load does not exceed 0.6h. In no case should shear stress exceed the maximum
value defined in the code as (0.8*SQRT fcu) or 5N/mm2, whichever is the lesser.
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
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Chapter 28: Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete Columns
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
Soil-footing-structure modeling
Before proceeding with footing design, the model should be analyzed appropriately. The analysis
should consider the soil-structure interaction where appropriate according to the type of footings.
A soil-structure analysis should consider adequate soil springs for all the situations that include
eccentric columns (columns that are not located at the center of a footing), or where the dynamic
properties of the structure are influenced by soil-structure interaction.
The input data for modeling is described in: Foundation Spring Modeling Tools, with the
recommended methods by RAM Elements to model the soil-structure interaction and their
implications in footing design: dimensions optimization and design checks.
For more details about the basic concepts for soil-footing-structure modeling and how to use this tool,
refer to appendix A: Soil Structure Interaction Theory at the end of this chapter.
Steps Design
1) Input Data
It is performed through pull-down windows in case of multiple options or by keyboard. All data like
material properties, geometry, and design parameters can be modified at any time, before or after
analysis. See Detailing Modules chapter for more information about module management.
2) Base dimensions
This step defines the basic dimensions of the footing geometry and it consists in setting up the base
and height dimensions. They could also be calculated at the same time using Suggest footing
dimension button.
This button calculates the minimum plan dimensions of the base to comply with the soil allowable
stress, and calculates the minimum depth of the footing to resist the applied shear forces without
reinforcement.
3) Reinforcement Optimization
This process defines the longitudinal and transverse reinforcement of the footing, considering
minimum bar spacing, minimum bar quantity, required reinforcement area, etc.
The reinforcement is based on the current footing dimension, determined in the previous step or the
one defined by the user.
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
4) Verifications
The last step belongs to the design checks and it is executed by pressing the button Verify design.
The program performs a series of design verifications including the stability of the foundation.
Home tab
The Home tab display the data window, it appears as shown in the following figure.
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
This window allows to modify materials, loads and geometry of the element. Sometimes dimensional
modifications are made in the analysis phase to model more accurately the true structural behavior.
As this module is most likely to be used to generate structural drawings, the user should enter the true
dimensions.
Once the user has reviewed all data, it is possible to select the detailing window, the soil pressure
window or to review the report.
When the user displays the detailing window, it would show the reinforcement purposed for optimal
design and calculated with configuration default values.
RAM Elements suggest transversal and longitudinal reinforcement for an optimized design. The user
must select the Check command to design the foorting with the reinforcement data introduced.
Using the Optimize command after any change in the footing reinforcement data the program
will optimize the reinforcement with the consequent loss of the entered data.
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
In the soil pressure window, the user can inspect the contact pressures and settlements calculated for
the current footing.
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
Detailing tab
The detailing window shows the reinforcing bars adopted for the footing.
Both longitudinal and vertical reinforcement are shown on this window. Press the RE button and
select the Export to DXF option to create a CAD file and manipulate this outside RAM
Elements.
Notice that the detailing window has some tools in the ribbon to introduce the reinforcement for the
footing.
Generate pedestal reinforcement (enabled if the column type was defined as Pedestal)
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
Configuration dialog
Press the Advanced command located in the Options group on the Home tab to display the
configuration dialog.
This dialog allows the user to establish some standards for design and to have control over the
reinforcing design. Note that data changed on this window is saved for subsequent entries into the
detailing module.
These criteria should all be set before the detailing is viewed but need not be modified for subsequent
element details unless required.
Report of footing
The report of reinforced concrete footing displays all the detailed information of the footing design.
At the top of the report is the general information that is common to all the selected elements. This
section is followed by the data that is particular to each element. The report window is shown next:
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
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Technical Notes
1) General
The general characteristics of the module are:
Analysis and design of isolated footings and/or combined footings
Consideration of three types of columns: concrete columns, steel columns or pedestals
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
2) Limitations
The aspects not covered are:
The possibility to incorporate footing shear reinforcement
Detailing of footings with boundary or corner columns for loads of consideration
3) Design Code
The footing design in RAM Elements incorporates the latest requirements of:
The 2005 American Concrete Institute, Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete,
ACI 318-05.
The 1997 (incorporating amendments 1, 2 and 3) British Standard, Structural Use of
Concrete, BS 8110-1:1997.
4) Loads
Footings should be designed to resist the factored loads and induced reactions. Service load
conditions can also be used to verify soil stresses and settlements. All load combinations (design and
service) need to be generated by the user, according to the applicable local code. The user can
consider some or all load combinations when performing the design.
When calculating the soil pressures and settlements, the loads to be considered are those transmitted
from the column to the base (applied loads), the own weight of the footing and the weight of the soil
overburden (optional). Though, only applied loads are considered for the footing design.
5) Analysis
A numerical method is used to find the stress distribution in the soil. This method considers the soil
as an elastic material, which can be represented by the modulus of subgrade reaction (ks). The
footing is assumed to be infinitely rigid, that is, the soil stress distribution below the footing is
assumed to be linear. Due to the numerical integration method used, values such as soil pressures
may differ by up to 3% from exact solutions.
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In the above equation, the numerator represents the stability moments and the denominator the
overturning ones, and if horizontal forces exist (which also generate overturning moments), they must
be included.
It is not a good practice to design footings having their resultant outside of the middle third of the
foundation because this highly increases the maximum tension at the edge, generating large
differential settlements that tilt the foundation.
6.3) Bearing capacity failure or allowable bearing pressure
It is important to remember that the allowable soil pressure for a footing takes into account both, the
bearing capacity and the settlements. Sometimes the allowable bearing pressure is already provided
to the user by the soil technician and can be considered directly. However, if the user has enough soil
data, it is suggested to use this information instead to calculate the bearing capacity of shallow
foundations with one of the equations proposed by Hansen, Meyerhof or Vesic (this option considers
the loads acting on the footing and the specific conditions of their surroundings as ground slope,
water table depth, etc).
The bearing capacity calculation considers the wedge weight, the soil cohesion and the lateral
pressure. These three components are affected by correction factors due to foundation shape, load
eccentricity, inclined loading, and foundation depth. Eccentricity and inclined loading correction
factors may not be used simultaneously and the factors not used are unity. Additionally the water
table depth is taken into account, which affects the effective soil unit weight and pressures. Only a
uniform soil layer is considered.
Any method to obtain the bearing capacity is just an estimate and can be adopted depending on the
users judgment or familiarity with the method. The differences are mainly in the correction factors.
For more information on the bearing capacity equations the user is directed to the following
references:
1. Bowles, Joseph E., Foundation Analysis and Design 5th Edition, Mc Graw Hill, New York, 1995
2. USA Corps of Eng., Engineering and Design - Bearing Capacity (EM 1110-1-1905), 1992.
7) Design
The strength design is performed considering both bending and shear.
The figure notes below describe the location of critical sections used for design according ACI 318-
05.
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The maximum factored moment is calculated at critical sections located at the faces of the column
assuming a concrete column (figure a). For steel columns or masonry walls this critical section is
given by the code, ACI 318-05 section 15.4.2. The reinforcement distribution is always uniform for
the parallel bars to the long direction (longitudinal reinforcement) see ACI 318-05 section 15.4.4.1.
For the short direction, the distribution is being made according to what is stipulated in section
15.4.4.2 of the Code.
Both one and two-way shear is considered in the design. One-way shear strength is verified taking a
critical section at a distance d from the face of the column (figure b). The critical section used to
consider punching shear at the perimeter of the column is located at a distance d/2 from its face
(figure c). Where d is the footing effective average height.
The development length in the footing is calculated in accordance to Chapter 12 of the Code and the
critical sections are the same as the ones adopted for bending. The length of dowels is calculated
considering the splice length, and the minimum necessary development length inside the footing
taking into account the compression or tension in the bars. When the dowels are only in compression,
the development length should be straight; otherwise a standard hook is adopted. Although both
development lengths are listed in the report, only one is considered to check if there is enough space.
Refer to the attached flowcharts and ACI318-05 for details of the design procedure implemented.
Critical sections for flexure and shear are the same that adopted by ACI, but for punching the
perimeter section is located 1.5d off of the column face.
The reinforcement distribution is done in accordance to BS-8110 Section 3.11.3.2 with the limitation
that the program does not concentrate the longitudinal reinforcement if that were the case.
Press the indicated button to model footings for the currently selected nodes
The following dialog will appear.
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Column Position:
To automatically calculate rigid offset lengths the program currently allows nine different column
positions on the footing. Select the radio button that best reflects the position of your column.
Spring Method:
The footing is modeled with three springs, one translational spring (kt) and two rotational springs
(krxx, krzz). There are two methods available to calculate the appropriate spring constants. The two
methods, Direct and Taylor, are described below. Note that to clear the footing springs and rigid
offset from an existing footing the user should select the Remove Springs option in this frame.
Direct Method
kt = ks * B* L
krxx = ks*B*L3/12
krzz = ks*L*B3/12
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Where ks is the modulus of subgrade reaction (Force/Area per Length Settlement e.g. kip/ft2/ft). Kr
assumes that the ks value is uniform throughout the area below the footing. The derivation of kr is as
follows:
Parameters affecting the rotation and the calculation of the spring constants.
Vertical spring constant:
kt = ks * B* L
For the rotation about axis zz:
tan = (2 - 1) / B
Considering that is a small angle, tan = , so:
= (2 - 1) / B [Eqn I]
Stress in soil at edge of footing is moment/section modulus of footing
Mzz*(B/2)/(L*B3/12) = 6*Mzz/(B2*L).
From the definition of modulus of subgrade reaction:
ks = / [Eqn II]
Considering a conventional analysis of rigid footings the soil pressure can be computed from
principles of mechanics of materials for combined bending and axial stresses:
1 = N/(B*L) - 6*Mzz/(B2*L) 2 = N/(B*L) + 6*Mzz/(B2*L) [Eqn III]
Substituting Eqn.III into Eqn.II we get:
1 = (N/(B*L) - 6*Mzz/(B2*L) )/ks
2 = (N/(B*L) + 6*Mzz/(B2*L) )/ks
Replacing these last in Eqn.I we get:
= 12*Mzz/ks/(B3*L)
And
krzz = Mzz/
thus
krzz = ks*L*B3/12.
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
Finally
krzz = kt*B2/12
Taylor Method
Taylor, P. W. (1967). Design of Spread Footings for Earthquake Loadings, Proceedings of the 5th
Australia-New Zealand Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, pp.221-229.
This method does not assume uniform soil stiffness below the footing but rather is based on studies
performed by P. W. Taylor as referenced above. This method calculates a rotational stiffness based
on the soil properties and footing dimensions. Most of the soil parameters are incorporated into the
modulus of subgrade reaction so that this is the only parameter entered by the user.
For the rotation about axis zz:
tan = (1-2)*Mzz*I / (Es*B2*L)
Where is the Poissons ratio, Es is the stress-strain modulus and I is an influence factor which can
be expressed as:
I = 16 / (*(1+0.22*B/L))
for rigid footings.
Considering that is a small angle, tan = , and taking into account the Vesics proposal relating ks
with Es: ks = Es / (B*(1-2)).
We get:
= I*Mzz / (B3*L)
And
krzz = Mzz / , thus krzz = ks*L*B3/I
Finally:
krzz = kt*B2/I
Note: Although you provide the program with fundamental data on the footing and soil, RAM
Elements does not store this information with the node. Therefore, future invocations of this dialog
with the same node selected will not necessarily result in the correct data being displayed in the
dialog. Furthermore, the data is not transferred into the design/detailing module.
With the data provided, the program automatically calculates the required spring constants and rigid
offsets to the geometric center of the footing. Analysis reactions are therefore calculated in the
geometric center of the footing thereby taking into account the effect of the footings vertical and
rotational stiffness on the behavior of the structure.
Using this modeling technique the user can easily implement and model a combined (strap) type
footing as illustrated below.
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(a) Eccentric footing with a strap beam (b) Model to use in the analysis.
Typical footing with the column located at the center of the foundation.
If the column is continuous with the footing, then when subject to lateral load the actual footing
rotates (see (a) in figure below) and this modifies the column bending moment and the distribution of
the soil stress (see (b) in figure). Pinned columns (such as steel columns located at footing center)
typically do not subject the footing to moment load and as such it is typically not necessary to
implement a soil spring in this instance.
The footing is modeled using translational and rotational springs. This models the elasticity of the
soil.
Note that the rotation of a typical footing, with a column located at its center and subject to mainly
axial load, is small, and that often a simplified model can be used in which rotation and vertical
translation are neglected. This is also true for the case of a pinned column located at the footing
center.
The following figures show the differences between two models in a typical example (units of kip-ft).
Comparison between the fixed support model and the spring model. The differences between
moments are small in this example, but should be evaluated for each model independently.
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Notice that the simplified model (fixed support) should only be used if the stiffness of the footing and
soil is high compared to the bending stiffness of the column.
Note: In the next section we will describe how the program can automatically calculate a rotation
spring constant. Note that this calculation is only valid if the entire footing remains in contact with
the soil for all load combinations. If during the design of the footings it appears that this assumption
has been violated the user is responsible for adjusting the spring stiffness to model the soil-structure
interaction appropriately. This may require changing the spring stiffness for each individual load
combination. Obviously this is not trivial and it is recommended that uplift be avoided whenever
possible.
Limitations: a) Rotation spring constant is valid only if footing base is in full contact with the soil, b)
Fixed support is valid when footing rotation is negligible.
The modeling sequence can thus be summarized as follows:
1) Create the model with springs.
2) Perform analysis.
3) Design the footings (See the section on the Design and Detailing module)
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
The footing is modeled using a rigid offset to the geometric center of the footing and the respective
translation and rotation springs.
When modeling an eccentric footing a simplified fixed support should not be used as this ignores the
additional moment present in the columns as illustrated below.
Bending moment in column and soil stresses for a) the adequate spring model for concrete column-
footing and b) for the invalid concrete column-footing model.
Therefore, the correct procedure to design an eccentric footing, with a column fixed to the footing is
as follows:
1) Model the footing with springs including rigid offset,
2) Analyze the structure,
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
Assumptions remarks:
* Soil under the footing is considered elastic and homogeneous.
* Pressure in the soil is considered with a linear variation, i.e. the footing is considered to be
infinitely rigid.
* No shear reinforcement and no tension load are considered.
* The design moment is calculated in the critical section located at a distance 1.5d form support
faces.
Data:
B: footing width
bc: column width (for rectangular sections) (bw=D for circular sections)
c: free cover for longitudinal reinforcement
D: diameter of the column (for circular sections)
db: diameter of footing bars
dbc: minimum diameter of column longitudinal bars
dbs: diameter of ties (at least #3 for #10 or smaller and #4 otherwise
(7.10.5.1))
ebs: Boolean constant (ebt=true if the column is tied)
fcu: Cube compression strength
fy: specified yield strength of reinforcement
k: coefficient of subgrade reaction of soil
hf: height of the footing slab (> 10 in, (15.7))
L: footing length
lc: column height (for rectangular sections) (lc=D for circular sections)
lwc: Boolean variable (true for lightweight concrete, false for normal
concrete)
Mx,Mz: service bending moments acting in the footing
Mux,Muz: factored bending moments acting in the footing
P: service axial load in the footing
pos: position of the column (1,2,...9)
Pu:factored axial load in the footing
Vxx,Vzz: service shear forces in the footing
Vuxx,Vuzz: factored shear forces in the footing
c: concrete unit weight
s: unit weight of the soil over the footing
m: strength reduction factors for reinforcement and concrete.
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
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Chapter 29: Footing Design and Detailing
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Loads
Loads and load combinations must be properly generated. While no load condition may be excluded
from the analysis, it is possible to specify load conditions used for the optimization process and
output report.
For more details see the result output section of this chapter for more information.
Member Section
A member is automatically considered a Wood Member when a wood section is assigned to it.
Normally, names of sections reflect their shapes and materials.
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
It is also possible to define new rectangular, rounded, I-shaped, built-up and spaced wood sections.
The type of wood section is defined with the section macros (files with the section type followed with
the leo extension). In this file the specific commands used for Wood Design can be entered as
follows:
CODE
WOOD
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
//This reserved word indicates that it is a wood section and it will be designed with the NDS
Specification.
SHAPE
Rectangular, Circular or Spaced
//Indicates the type of section.
FORMULATION
Lumber or Glulam
//Only rectangular glulam sections are considered.
See the Chapter devoted to Creating Section Templates for more details (specially the notes preceded
by )
Wood materials
Wood design has two formulations or groups to be considered as materials for design:
Lumber group,
Includes sawn lumber (timber or dimension lumber), MSR or MEL lumber.
Glulam group
Glued-Laminated Timber.
It is the users responsibility to assign the right material considering the type (beam or column), loads
(i.e. positive or negative bending moments) and size of members (i.e. dimension lumber or timber).
The desired wood material can be assigned to each group of members as defined by the member
description:
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
First select the desired wood material (1) and then use one of the two available tool buttons (2) to
assign the material to one or several wood members.
To edit or create a new wood material, select the command Materials, this command is located into
the Databases group in the Home tab.
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Select the desired material or the New option to define a new material.
A dialog window will appear where the main properties of the material are entered or modified:
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Species
Included are the most common species. Following is the list of these species:
Lumber:
Alaska Cedar,
Alaska Hemlock,
Alaska Spruce,
Alaska Yellow Cedar,
Aspen,
Austrian Spruce,
Baldcypress,
Balsam Fir,
Beech-Birch-Hickory,
Coast Sitka Spruce,
CottonWood,
Douglas Fir/European Larch,
Douglas Fir-Larch,
Douglas Fir-Larch (North),
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Douglas Fir-South,
Eastern Hemlock,
Eastern Hemlock-Balsam Fir,
Eastern Hemlock-Tamarack,
Eastern Hemlock-Tamarack (N),
Eastern SoftWoods,
Eastern Spruce,
Eastern White Pine,
Hem-Fir,
Hem-Fir (North),
Mixed Maple,
Mixed Oak,
Mixed Southern Pine,
Montane Pine,
Mountain Hemlock,
Northern Pine,
Northern Red Oak,
Northern Species,
Northern White Cedar,
Norway Spruce,
Ponderosa Pine,
Red Maple,
Red Oak,
Red Pine,
RedWood,
Scots Pine,
Silver Fir,
Sitka Spruce,
Southern Pine,
Southern Pine-Dry,
Southern Pine-Green,
Southern Pine Misiones,
Spruce-Pine-Fir,
Spruce-Pine-Fir (South),
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Western Cedars,
Western Cedars (North),
Western Hemlock,
Western Hemlock (North),
Western White Pine,
Western Woods,
White Oak,
Yellow Poplar
Glulam:
Hem-Fir
Douglas Fir-Larch
Southern Pine
Grades
The grades (stress grading criteria) adopted are the most commonly used:
Select Structural, No.1, No.2, No.3, Stud, Construction, Standard, Utility, No.1 & Btr, Clear
Structural, Select Structural OG, No.1 OG, No.2 OG, No.3 OG, Dense Select Structural, Non-Dense
Select Structural, No.1 Dense, No.1 Non-Dense, No.2 Dense, No.2 Non-Dense, No.3 and Stud,
Dense Structural 86, Dense Structural 72, Dense Structural 65, Clear Heart Structural.
Two special groups are attached to the grades, which are
MSR (Machine Stress Rated Lumber)
MEL (Machine Evaluated Lumber)
Combination Symbol
Properties of glued laminated timber members are defined by the Combination Symbol. The
following combination symbols are installed with the program:
16F-V2, 16F-V3, 16F-V5, 16F-V6, 16F-V7, 20F-V2, 20F-V3, 20F-V4, 20F-V7, 20F-V8, 20F-V9,
22F-V3, 22F-V8, 24F-V2, 24F-V4, 24F-V8, 16F-E2,16F-E3, 16F-E6, 16F-E7, 20F-E2, 20F-E3, 20F-
E6, 20F-E7', 22F-E1, 22F-E2, 22F-E4, 22F-E5, 22F-E6, 24F-E10, 24F-E11, 24F-E13, 24F-E14, 24F-
E15, 24F-E18, 20F-V5, 22F-V1, 22F-V2, 22F-V4, 22F-V5, 24F-V1, 24F-V3, 24F-V5, 26F-V1, 26F-
V2, 26F-V3, 26F-V4, 16F-E1, 20F-E1, 22F-E3, 24F-E1, 24F-E2, 24F-E4, 28F-E1, 28F-E2, 30F-E1,
30F-E2.
Members stressed primarily in axial tension or compression, are also considered. In this case the
Identification number is used for this field:
1, 2, 3, 5, 14, 15, 16, 17, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 62, 63, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54,
55, 56, 57, 58.
Design Parameters
Duration data
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
The duration of each load condition to be considered in the design has to be specified in the Load
Conditions dialog window.
The following load duration categories are available:
Load Typical Design
Duration Loads
Permanent Dead Load
Ten years Occupancy Live
Load
Two months Snow Load
Seven Days Construction Load
Ten Minutes Wind/Earthquake
Load
Impact Impact Load
For load combinations, the shortest duration of the different loads should be selected.
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
For the LRFD method, although the time duration factor (Table N3) is function of the load
combination, it is applied using the former load duration categories, which is equivalent:
(See Edit Adjustment Factors Section to know how to change the values)
Load Time effect factor
Duration
Permanent 0.60
Ten years 0.70
Two months 0.80
Seven Days 0.80
Ten Minutes 1.00
Impact 1.25
The member design parameters must be specified prior to performing analysis and design. For more
information on the design parameters for this worksheet see RAM Elements's context sensitive Help
system pressing the hey F1 on the worksheet.
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Design method
Reports
Select the option Wood of the command Design to print the wood reports. The command Design is
located into the Reports group in the Output tab.
Selecting Reports/Wood Design displays a dialog box with options for a concise or detailed report. It
allows you to choose the load conditions to be considered in the design and if separation lines will be
printed in the report:
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Screen output
The user has different options to see the results. These options can be selected in the commands
Status and Stress ratio from the Design group in the View tab.
In some cases the verifications of stresses are not enough to verify the correctness of a member.
Other aspects, such as the slenderness of the member, should be verified as well. The command
will show if a member complies with all the requirements of the code. The buttons , display
only the members with an OK status or with a no good (NG) status from the selected group of
members. The labels represent the results for the current load condition.
To verify the same results, taking into account the full load combinations (not just the current load
condition), select the For the controlling combination option. In this case, the result will include the
name of the governing load condition for each member.
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
All selected members will be colored with one of the nine assigned stress ratio colors when the Stress
ratio tool is selected. These colors represent 9 different ranges of stresses. Ranges are calculated
by determining the maximum value of the stress ratio for all elements, and dividing this maximum
value into 9 equal ranges. The colors represent the stress values for the selected load condition. The
range value to color mapping is shown in a legend at one side of the window.
Note that when a different group of members is selected, the range of colors is recalculated. This may
change the color of any specific member to coincide with the new scale and color range as calculated
for that group. This option is used mainly to detect the critical members within a group.
Select the tool and the For the controlling combination option, allows to see the ranges
considering the whole set of load combinations and not only the current load condition. To select the
members within a given range, select the desired stress range with the mouse and press the
button.
The user can select and view the members with stresses inside a certain range.
Unitary stress ratio
All the selected members will be colored with one of the nine assigned stress ratio colors when the
Stress ratio tool is selected. The colors represent the nine different ranges of stresses, which are
defined as shown in the legend. Members with interaction values greater than one will be colored in
red. The other colors represent the interaction range value for the current load condition.
The ranges do not change when different members are selected. Thus a specific member will
maintain its color independently of the other members selected with it. This option is ideal for
identifying members that do not comply with the strength requirements, members with very low
stresses and members working very close to their strength capacity.
Selecting the command and the For the controlling combination option, shows the selected
members with the color range determined from considering the full set of load combinations (not
only the current load condition). To select and view only the members within a certain range of
stresses select the stresses that you are interested in and then press the button .
Note
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Wood structures can be optimized, please see Chapter 11 for further details related to the
optimization. Note that for optimization, it is suggested to avoid mixing different types of sections in
the collections such as dimension lumber with timber.
Deflection control
The structural analysis provides the basis for determining the deflections of wood members. The
program considers shear and bending deformation. The usual practice in wood members is to
calculate the long-term deflection as a multiple of the permanent load elastic deflection (See Section
3.5 of the NDS Specification). Therefore, the deflection control is simplified to the determination of
the calculated elastic deformation which the user should compare to the allowable deflection
determined by the local building Code or the specific requirements of the member.
The user can check the deflection using the command Deflections from the Analysis group in the
View tab.
Note that is possible include the deflection check in the optimization process. See the Optimization
Chapter in this manual for more details.
Select only the member that is to be designed and detailed before invoking the detailing module.
Select the Wood command from the Members group in the Modules tab.
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The window includes a context sensitive help at the right side .The geometry, material and load data
is entered or modified in this screen as required. The load and geometric data are typically read in
from the main program when the module is invoked.
After editing or entering data, the detailed report may be printed. If the red light of the traffic status
light is on, it shows that the status and strength ratio of the member are no good. When the yellow
light is on, the strength ratio is OK but there is a design requirement not fulfilled and finally, if the
green light is on, the member design status is OK.
Notice also that there are options that can only be calculated or modified in this detailing module
such as the override of the adjustment factors.
The detailing module can be very useful for special cases as it allows the user to apply special
modifications to calculated parameters. Typical cases of these modifications are the reduction of
applied shear forces near supports, modification of adjustment factors for a specific member, etc.
Please see the context sensitive help for further information.
Note
The changes that are performed within the detailer will not be saved.
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
6. Incising Factor (Ci) for structural sawn lumber incised to increase penetration of
preservatives. Table 4.3.8. This factor is available in the Wood Detailer and included in the
Detailer Reports, it is not included on reports printed directly from the main program.
7. Size Factors (CF) applied only for visually graded sawn lumber and round timber. The factors
specified for Tables 4B, 4D and 4F are considered in the verifications.
8. Flat Use Factor (Cfu). This factor is used for loads applied in the axis 3 direction. The factors
specified for Tables 4A, 4B, 4C, 4F, 5A and 5B are considered in the verifications.
9. Repetitive member Factor (Cr) applied only to dimension lumber. A value of 1.15 is adopted
for these cases.
10. Volume Factor (Cv). This factor is calculated only for glulam members following Section
5.3.6 of the Specification
11. Beam Stability Factor (CL). This factor is calculated only for lumber following Section 3.3.3
of the Specification.
12. Column Stability Factor (Cp). This factor is calculated internally by the program to account
for the buckling of axially loaded members according to Section 3.7.1 of the Specification.
13. The program is using an internal adjustment factor to obtain the bending strength (Fb),
Tension parallel to grain (Ft), and the compression parallel to grain (Fc) of Table 4B in
function of the current size of the member for Southern Pine and Mixed Southern Pine for
dimension lumber. These adjustment factors modify the 12 wide values (existing in the
standard database) to the current ones in function of the member size.
14. The bearing area factor, which is function of the bearing length (Table 3.10.4)
Note: Shear Stress Factor (CH) is not used anymore. This factor was suppressed in the NDS 2001
or NDS 2005 Specifications.
The program does not consider the following adjustment factors
1. Fire retardant treatment factors. The program does not consider the effect of fire.
2. Curvature factor (glulam) used in curved members.
Tension members
The calculation of tension members is given in section 3.8 of the Specification (NDS-2005). The
assumptions and simplifications used are the following:
Prismatic members in axial tension. The members are assumed with a concentric axial load.
There are no special considerations regarding the type of connections used; i.e. only gross
section checks are performed. Net section areas are not considered.
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Deflection control is not checked in the wood design module. It has to be performed by the
user with the available RAM Elements tools and considering the adequate modulus of
elasticity affected by service conditions. Notice that you can include it in the optimization
process.
Loads are considered applied at the top of bending members and side loads on orthogonal
faces (biaxial bending).
Negative bending moments are considered to be always in compression zone (near supports).
Members are considered supported laterally between supports separated by the defined
effective length. There is a special option to define a fully restrained member.
Shear stress is normally not a failure mode in wood flexural members. Therefore, the
refinement of calculating the reduction of the shear force within a distance from support equal
to the depth is conservatively not considered. When shear stresses are significant, the user
may apply the appropriate reduction by using the Wood Detailer. The shear design equations
are those specified in Section 3.4.2 of the Specification. Shear stresses on both principal axes
are checked independently.
The notch effect is calculated as a reduction factor of the gross section shear strength and it is
only valid for rectangular sections. The user can enter notch dimensions (width and length)
and location (up or down) in the spreadsheet area. The effect is calculated as an adjustment
factor (CN)
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Chapter 30: Wood Design (NDS)
Combined stresses
Combined stresses are considered using the interaction equations of Section 3.9 of the NDS
Specification. The following cases are considered:
Axial compression and biaxial bending
Axial tension and biaxial bending
Bearing
The program calculates the maximum reaction that may be resisted with the given bearing length and
the bearing at an angle. The default value for this angle is 90. With this result, the user can quickly
check that no reaction is over the maximum calculated value.
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specified in Table 4D and are not included in this table. The values in the table will be applied
in a range specified with a maximum depth and width similar to the former group.
5. Additional size factor group for Visually Graded Southern Pine. These factors are used to
calculate the current strengths for bending (Fb), tension parallel to grain (Ft) and compression
parallel to grain (Fc) based on a 12 wide section. These factors will be applied only for
Southern Pine Species.
6. Wet Service Factors group. They are divided in four categories: dry, wet lumber (Tables 4A,
4B, 4C, 4F), wet timber (Table 4D) and wet glulam (Tables 5A and 5B).
As you have seen, it is very easy to perform changes to the used adjustment factors and customize
them to your requirements.
Always check that the program is using correctly your new adjustment factors values before
design.
References
1. American Forest and Paper Association, National Design Specification for Wood Construction.
2005 Edition, AFPA, 2005.
2. American Forest and Paper Association, Commentary on the National Design Specification for
Wood Construction. AFPA, 2005.
3. Faherty, Keith F & Williamson, Thomas G. , Wood Engineering and Construction Handbook.
Third Edition, McGraw Hill, Inc., 1999.
4. Breyer, Donald E., Fridley Kenneth J., Cobeen Kelly E., Pollock David G., Design of Wood
Structures. Sixth Edition, McGraw Hill, Inc., 2007.
5. AF&PA/ASCE 16-95 Standard for Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) for Engineered
Wood Construction.
6. American Instituite of Timber Construction, Timber Construction Manual, 5th Edition (2005).
Section 4.3 Torsion, pp 113-114
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Design steps
1) Data introduction
The user has to enter the required data related to the geometry and characteristics of the desired wall
before performing the analysis and design of the wall.
All data entries as the material properties, geometry, and design parameters can be modified at any
moment before and after the analysis. Review the Chapter related to the general characteristics of the
detailing modules for more details about their management and organization.
3) Optimization
The optimization process can be achieved in two phases by two tool buttons: 1) suggest
geometry to comply with global stability requirements starting from the given retained height and
loads and 2) optimize reinforcement, which is automatically performed when the user calls the
detailing window, once the geometry is totally defined.
The optimization of reinforcement design is executed under two criteria in order to obtain a
maximum bar size or a minimum spacing.
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Flow chart that details the steps for the design of retaining walls.
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Properties area
The first window that is accessed after calling the module is the data window that is used for the
introduction of geometrical data, materials or loads.
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Graphic window
This window represents the whole information entered in the property window like geometry and
assigned loads. The user can modify all the properties, in red text, through this window, as indicated
below:
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Click on the red text of the property to modify and edit this value.
Help window
This window shows the information about the selected current item in the property window (A).
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Diagrams window
Diagrams window
This window is used to display the demand and capacity diagrams for the retaining wall.
Note that two simple diagrams can be viewed on the screen at the same time, thus allowing a
comparison between the demand (required strength) curve and the capacity (actual strength) curve.
The user can view the combined diagrams too; those show both curves in one graphic as shown
below:
A special option is available that allows to simultaneously check the diagrams for all elements of the
wall. This helps in getting a global picture of the strength status.
Some of the diagrams that can be displayed are dependent on the selected load condition. The
moment or shear diagrams are displayed for the currently selected load condition.
Notice the existence of a traffic lights in the status bar of the detailing module. This is an indicator
of the design status where: the red light indicates that the relationship between stresses is greater than
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one or the global stability checks are no good, thus it fails. The yellow light indicates that the adopted
reinforcement arrangement is no good (i.e. the reinforcement extends out of the wall). Finally, the
green light indicates that the design status of the wall is OK.
Traffic Lights
Detailing worksheets
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
The detailing graphic window displays the reinforcing bars adopted for the retaining wall. Both
longitudinal and transverse reinforcements are shown on this window
Note that the user can export the figure by pressing the DXF button. A DXF file will be created and
may be edited with any drafting software.
Notice that there are three ways to define the reinforcement in a retaining wall:
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Note
It is important to define also the free covers to be adopted for the different wall elements.
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Configuration window
Configuration window
This screen allows the user to establish some calculation methods and office standards for design, and
to have control over the reinforcement design. Note that changed data on this screen are saved with
the model and the defined options may be set as defaults for subsequent new walls with the option Set
these values as default.
These criteria should all be set before the detailing is viewed, but it does not need to be modified for
subsequent walls. The items considered are described in the table below.
Option Description
Calculation method for the It determines the calculation method used for the
active earth Rankine calculation of lateral earth pressures. The program
offers four methods: Rankine, Coulomb, Equivalent
Fluid Pressures (EFP) and at-rest pressures (Ko).
Consider tension zone for the It is used in cohesive soils and the tension zone may or
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Strength reduction The safety factor on the material strength for shear
factor for concrete in shear design is equals to m = 1.25.
Maximum aggregate size The maximum aggregate size depends on the
workability and methods of consolidation to avoid the
voids in concrete.
Service load combinations Name of the default template file for the automatic
generation of service load combinations. If no file is
selected, the load combos will not be generated. Refer
to section 3.3.2 ACI 318-05.
Strength design load Name of the default template file for the automatic
combinations generation of strength design load combinations. If no
file is selected, the load combos will not be generated.
Bar series Available bar series: ASTM standard, SI standard.
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Reduce Vu near support face Applies the specification given in section 11.1.3.1 of the
Code to reduce the design shear forces at sections
located less that a distance d from face supports.
Include anchorage The anchorage length considers the straight and the
length in hooks bended portion of the bar, (full anchorage length).
Set these values as default Values defined as default will be available in future uses
of the program.
To enter to the report, press the command and the report will be displayed.
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Report
For a detailed explanation of the commands used in this report, see the Report section of the chapter
of Printing Graphics and Reports.
The report of retaining walls displays all the detailed information of the wall. At the top the general
information of the wall is displayed, as geometry, materials, soil properties, loads, etc.
Then the user will find the results of the global checks that include resisting forces, destabilizing
forces, and the safety factors for the global checks of each service load combination.
Finally, the report presents the design results for each member of the wall. In this section and
depending on the material, the user will find different design parameters.
The design results are divided in two sections: one for flexural verification and the other for shear
verification.
The results presentation depends on the material, but for reinforced concrete and masonry the results
are presented in tables and graphically as shown below:
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Technical notes
Warning!
It is suggested to read carefully these notes before using the module because they summarize the
scope, hypothesis and methods adopted.
Terminology
The following names have been adopted for the different parts or elements of a wall:
Toe
Heel
Stem
Key
The front face corresponds to the side of the toe and the posterior face to the heel and backfill side.
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General
The general characteristics of the module are:
Analysis and design of reinforced or unreinforced concrete masonry retaining walls
Design according with the ACI 318-99, ACI 318-05 and BS-8110 codes
Graphical input of wall loads and geometry
Context sensitive help
Backfill with multiple horizontal soil layers (up to 5 layers)
Sloped backfill (only positive slopes are allowed)
Surcharge (on both sides of the wall)
Options to define cantilever, gravity or restrained retaining walls (with a lateral restraint and
pinned or fixed base)
Tapered stems or stems with several blocks with thickness and reinforcement changes.
Hydrostatic water pressure (no seepage)
Reinforced concrete, unreinforced concrete or masonry materials (only for stem blocks) are
allowed
Axial loads on the stem are considered (with or without eccentricity)
Wind lateral pressures
Includes moment and shear diagrams
Influence of adjacent footings
Different theories for calculating lateral soil pressures (Rankine, Coulomb, EFP (Equivalent
Fluid Method), at rest pressures)
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Seismic load (with the Mononobe-Okabe method considering a single homogeneous backfill
layer without cohesion).
Wall tilt calculations (deflections)
DXF export of the main graphics
Option to save and retrieve data and results
Detailed report
Limitations
The features not covered by the module are:
Alternate retaining walls or counterfort and buttressed reinforced concrete walls
Walls modeled with springs (possible for next version)
Shear reinforcement
Restrained walls cannot have multiple restraints (multi-level basement walls)
Masonry walls when it is used the BS-8110 code
Walls with the resultant out of middle kern
Design Codes
The currently implemented codes for retaining wall design are:
American Concrete Institute Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. ACI 318-
99 (ACI 1999).
American Concrete Institute Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete ACI 318-05
(ACI 2005).
The 1997 British Standard Code. BS-8110(1997), including Nov 30, 2005 Amendments.
Building Code Requirements for Masonry structures. ACI 530-05 reported by MSJC.
Loads
The module works with surcharges on both sides of the wall, adjacent footing loads, stem axial loads,
stem lateral loads and sloped backfill.
Earth pressures
Considering that lateral earth pressures are the most significant load in a retaining wall, the program
has different options for their calculation (see configuration window).
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Rankine Method: It is used for walls that are allowed to have a lateral displacement big enough to
produce an active earth pressure. This implies to have an amount of lateral translation in the order of
0.001*H to 0.004*H for granular soils and 0.01*H to 0.04*H for cohesive soils. This method does
not consider the wall soil friction.
Coulomb Method: It is used with the same considerations of the Rankine method. The only difference
is that it considers the wall-soil friction (
It is important to remark that lateral earth pressure calculations for the global stability of the wall do
not consider the heel of the wall (see next figure). The section adopted for this verification is
coincident with the back face of the stem instead of the vertical section at the end of the heel:
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
similar soil located over the water level. Although the presence of water is considered by the program
it is suggested, whenever is possible, to avoid the presence of water on backfills due to economic
reasons. Drains or any other technical alternative may be used to solve this problem.
Use of vertical component for stability checks: The program allows to choose if the vertical
component of earth pressures will be considered for overturning, sliding or soil pressure checks. This
will depend only on the engineering judgment. It is important to note that the location of the vertical
component will be normally at the heel edge for all earth pressure calculation methods on exception
of the Coulomb method, which has a distance shown in the former figure.
If the EFP method is used, an equivalent lateral soil pressure coefficient will be calculated and the
inclination angle of the resultant force will be coincident with the backfill slope similarly to the
Rankine method.
Resultant out of middle third: The program does not allow this case because it generates large stress
concentrations and this is not recommended in practice (Foundation Engineering, Peck, Hanson and
Thornburn (2nd Edition, p 426)).
Resisting pressures: There are three options to consider the resisting pressures in the case of the
overturning check: Do not consider any pressure, consider an active pressure or consider a passive
pressure. The decision will depend on the engineering judgment. The different options are available
in the configuration window.
The height adopted for the resisting earth pressures will be equal to the depth of the foundation base
minus the undermining depth. This depth is also defined in the configuration window. Water level is
not considered for the resisting forces being on the safe side.
Adjacent footings: The program offers different options to consider the influence of adjacent footings
(rectangular footings, strip footings, lineal loads, and concentrated loads). The two available methods
for the calculation of the lateral pressures are Spangler (1956) and Boussinesq (suggested by Bowles,
1997). Both methods are based on the Theory of Elasticity. The program will automatically calculate
the lateral pressures of the adjacent footing and will add them to the lateral earth pressures. It is
important to note that the Boussinesq method requires the value of the Poisson constant and it will
have a big influence on the calculated pressures. Therefore, the value of this property has to be
selected carefully considering that it will be taken constant for all soil layers independently of the
number of adopted soil layers. Bowles (1997) gives different suggestions for this value.
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Seismic Load
The program may consider seismic loads using an extension of the Coulombs active earth pressure
theory using the Mononobe-Okabe equation including the modifications of Seed and Whitman. It
considers the calculation of the increased earth pressures (in walls that may yield laterally) and the
inertial forces of the wall due to self-weight.
The method is limited only for cohesion-less material, no water table and no liquefaction possibility.
It consists in the calculation of the coefficient for combined active and earthquake forces (Kae). The
method uses the ratio of the horizontal earthquake acceleration component and the acceleration due to
gravity (kh). This value is normally tabulated (common values are in the range of 0.05 to 0.40) or can
be calculated as:
kh=Aa*(0.2SQR(Av)/Aa/Delta)0.25
Where Aa, Av are Effective peak acceleration and effective peak velocity
They are dimensionless coefficients representing the Effective Peak Acceleration (EPA) and the
Effective Peak Velocity (EPV). These are normalizing factors for construction of smoothed elastic
response spectra for ground motions of normal duration. The EPA is proportional to spectral
ordinates for periods in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 sec. The EPV is proportional to spectral ordinates at a
period of about 1 sec.
Both factors (Aa and Av) are given by the Applied Technology Council or the local building codes
like the BOCA seismic maps for most regions in the United States.
Delta is the maximum lateral displacement during the earthquake.
The equation used for Kae is:
Where: is the friction angle, is the slope angle, is the internal slope angle of the stem (related to
the horizontal plane), is the soil-wall friction angle and is defined as the arctan (kh/(1-kv)). kv is
the vertical seismic component. The program assumes kv=0.
When Kae is calculated, the active force per unit width of the wall including the seismic effect (Pae)
is calculated and the seismic force (Pae) is obtained by subtracting Pa to Pae. Pae=Pae-Pa.
Finally, it is assumed that Pae acts at 0.6*H. More details of this method may be found in Das
(1995).
Load Combinations
The module has up to three groups of load combinations:
Service load combinations: They are used for global checks and for the deflections calculation. Their
names start with S.
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Strength design load combinations for concrete design: They are used for the design of the different
(reinforced) concrete elements of the wall. The adopted method for the design of this material is the
limit states design. Their names start with R.
Allowable stress design combinations for masonry design: Note that only the combinations of this set
will be considered in the masonry design. Their names start with A.
It is important to know that the combinations may be automatically generated with the load
combination generator.
The Code does not included a direct method for the calculation of unreinforced walls. In
order to overcome this drawback, the program uses a tension strength given by Eurocode 2: Part 1,
Section 1A.
fct = a * fctk/c,
Where a = 0.80, c = 1.5 (reduction factor for concrete in bending), fctk = 0.7* fctm, fctm = 0.30*
fck 2/3
fck = cylindrical concrete compression characteristic strength
fck = fcu/1.23 (approximately)
fct = 1.68* (fcu/1.23)2/3 / c
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
considering that the reinforcement may change due to cut offs and it is performed for all load cases
and combinations selected from the print reinforced concrete design dialog. For the summary output
in the main program, flexure, shear and torsion design is performed at evenly spaced stations along
the beam (0.1xLength)
The following figure illustrates the critical sections that are normally adopted to check the different
wall components for flexure.
The design of the different elements of reinforced concrete has the following characteristics:
The flexure design of reinforced concrete is done with the criterion of strength redistribution and the
analysis described in the section 2.5 of BS-8110 code. The hypothesis of design is based on section
3.4.4.4 BS-8110, for example the use of the equivalent concrete strength block. Each element is
designed at each section for the envelope (max positive and negative) moments from all the
appropriate load conditions. The maximum strain deformation of concrete in flexure is 0.0035 and
the steel deformation in tension varies from 0.002 to 0.0035 depending on the neutral axis position.
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
The minimum flexure reinforcement adopted is in accordance with table 3.25 of the code BS-8110.
The maximum area of vertical reinforcement should not exceed 4% of the gross cross-sectional area
of the concrete. The seismic special requirements are not specified in the BS-8110 code; in this case,
the user has the responsibility to cover all the requirements that are not covered by the program.
The shear design of reinforced concrete with BS-8110 code uses the criteria and requirements that are
provided in the section 3.4.5 of the BS-8110 code referring to design shear resistance. The design
shear force is the maximum value from the envelope generated from all selected load combinations.
It is important to note that when the shear stress does not exceed 0.45 N/mm the shear strength is not
required to be checked and this is used mainly where no reinforcement is provided, normally at the
end of the elements.
The maximum shear force is calculated at a section a distance d from base. The concrete shear
stress vc considers the section and the characteristic concrete strengths. The code provides in the
table 3.8 some values of c design concrete shear stress (3.4.5.4 BS-8110).
The user can define if desired to include an estimated distance to mechanical center. It is not
considered reinforcement for tension and compression axial loads in reinforced concrete. Finally, it is
not considered any special disposition for reinforcement in seismic zones.
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Chapter 31: Retaining Walls
Another parameter that must be selected with caution is the reinforcement spacing. This value
depends strictly on the masonry geometry and normally has a fixed value. For more information
about masonry reinforced sections refer to the chapter devoted to masonry walls.
References
Bowles, Joseph E., Foundation Analysis and Design 5th Edition, Mc Graw Hill, New York,
1995
USA Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Design Retaining and Flood Walls (EM 1110-2-
2502), 1989. Free downloadable on /www.usace.army.mil/inet/usace-docs/eng-manuals.
USA Corps of Engineers, Engineering and Design - Bearing Capacity (EM 1110-1-1905),
1992. Free downloadable on /www.usace.army.mil/inet/usace-docs/eng-manuals.
Das, Braja M., "Principles of Foundation Eng.", 3rth Edition, PWS, Boston, 1995
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Chapter 32: Beam Design
Design steps
1) Entering Data
The user should enter all the necessary data to obtain a new model before the analysis and going to
the diagrams screen.
This input is done through drop-down windows in the case of multiple options or by keypad for
singular options. All input data like material properties, sections, geometry and other design
parameters can be modified at any time during the analysis.
2) Analysis/Design/Detailing
Before proceeding with a beam design, the model should be analyzed completely. The analysis
should consider a moment of inertia reduction (factor Ig) only for reinforced concrete, prescribed by
the design code; the unbraced length Lb and the bending coefficient Cb for steel beams; and different
coefficients and design parameters for wood beams. For more details about these and other
parameters, see the chapters related to the design of each material or the sensitive help context.
3) Verifications
Depending on the selected material and design code, the code verifications are the next step where it
calculates the longitudinal reinforcement for reinforced concrete beams only.
The verifications are completed in the design and detailing module that will be explained further
ahead.
4) Optimization
The last step is the optimization of sections that can be completed for steel and wood beams only.
Optimization involves reducing oversized sections to an optimal section (normally a lighter section)
from a predefined group of sections, or for sections that fail the code check, they will be changed to
larger sections that pass the code check. For more details, see the optimization chapter of the Manual.
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Chapter 32: Beam Design
Technical Notes
General
The design of beams accounts for all load conditions. The user can see it, by selecting the load case
or load combination required in the diagrams window.
The following items are checked in the design of steel, reinforced concrete and wood beams.
Flexure
Shear
Detailing Requirements (RC Beam Detailer Only)
Important!
No axial load or out-of-plane loading is considered in the design. If this is required, the user can use
the main program.
Limitations
The following limitations currently exist in this program with respect to the analysis and design
beams:
No axial load is considered in the design.
Only in plane bending (about local axis 3-3 of member) is considered.
Torsion is not considered.
No deep member design is considered.
Design Specifications
The following specifications are considered in the present version:
ANSI/AISC - 360-05 ASD/LRFD Methods. Allowable Stress Design/Load and Resistance
Factor Design.
ANSI/AISC - 360-10 ASD/LRFD Methods. Allowable Stress Design/Load and Resistance
Factor Design.
AISI ASD-LRFD. Cold-formed Steel Design Manual Load and Resistance Factor Design
(Edition 2001, including 2004 Supplement).
British Code BS 5950-1:2000.
AS 4100-1998. Steel Structures.
ACI. American Concrete Institute Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. ACI
318-99 (ACI 1999).
ACI. American Concrete Institute Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. ACI
318-05 (ACI 2005).
BS-8110 British Standard Incorporated. BS-8110-97 (1997).
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Chapter 32: Beam Design
NDS (ASD/LRFD). National Design Specification. American Forest & Paper Association -
American Wood Council (Edition 2005).
The user should indicate the specifications that will be used for the design according to the material
that will be used.
For a better orientation, see the following conceptual map:
Analysis
Pattern loading
This is a special tool of the module that allows the generation of different conditions considering
pattern loading. The tool works only with live loads. Dead loads are applied permanently and thus are
not subjected to distribution.
To define skip loading, the user needs to generate load combinations and choose the files which
included skip loading. Note that it uses the conjunction OR for live load.
Percentage: This determines the fraction of the live load (between 0 and 100%) that will be
effectively distributed.
The load conditions that will be generated are 2*n, where n is the number of spans of the continuous
beam. The generated loads will be named starting with SK. For example, in a 5 span continuous
beam (*), we will have the following generated load patterns:
Load Span1 (*) Span2 Span3 Span4 Span5 (*)
SK1 - + - + -
SK2 + - + - +
SK3 - - + - +
SK4 + - - + -
SK5 - + - - +
SK6 + - + - -
SK7 + + - + -
SK8 - + + - +
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Chapter 32: Beam Design
SK9 + - + + -
SK10 - + - + +
Load combinations
There are two groups of load combinations:
Service Load Combinations that are used for deflection control. These names start with S.
Design Load Combinations that are used for the design of the different beam spans. Depending on the
material and Code, ultimate limit states combinations or unfactored load combinations may be
selected. These names start with D.
Note that only the load combinations of this group will be considered in the design. The user may
automatically generate all the required combinations with the load combination generator. The
number of combinations depends on the Skip loading option.
Design parameters
Next, some beam parameters that the user must keep in mind for input data are described. For more
information about these and other parameters, refer to specific chapters of each material.
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Chapter 32: Beam Design
Enter the 0.35 value (as recommended by ACI 318 05) to consider the cracked section in the
analysis.
Important!
The Inertia reduction factor Ig for reinforced concrete will be considered constant for all the
spans of the beam.
Unbraced length Lb
The unbraced length of the compression flange of the section is needed for the lateral torsional
flexural buckling capacity calculation of the steel members. These parameters are used for the
calculation of the allowable bending stress, Fb, in ASD (AISC, AISI) or for the nominal moment
strength, Mn, in LRFD (AISC, AISI). If LB=0 the program will adopt LB=L (distance between
nodes). For more information, see Chapter F (AISC-ASD or LRFD) in the steel manual.
It should be noted that the unbraced length Lb can in some cases be greater than the total length of
the beam (distance between nodes). If this is the case the program allows to enter these values but it
is responsibility of the user to adopt the value and to use an appropriate approach for it.
Bending coefficient Cb
This bending coefficient is used in steel design and it depends on the moment gradient (AISC-ASD,
LRFD, AISI). If the automatic calculation is adopted, the program will calculate the value according
to the Code. The value depends on the structure type (braced or unbraced) and the moments at the
ends of the spans (according to each load condition). The automatic calculation is recommended.
Important!
When the unbraced length is different from the length of the member, the coefficient Cb should be
calculated manually or the user must assume a value equal to 1.
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Chapter 32: Beam Design
Design
All the considerations and detailed information about the design procedure, according to the material,
and design Specifications to be used, are presented in this manual. Please review previous chapters
corresponding to the material the user wants to design.
Detailing Requirements
To obtain detailed information for the provisions adopted by the program for the detailing of
reinforced concrete beams, refer to the chapter Reinforced Concrete Beam Design in the Manual.
Properties area
The first window displayed after entering the module is the data window. In this screen, the user can
modify the material properties, section, geometry, and design parameters.
Note that all beam data and the assigned loads have been entered and generated in the module, not in
the main program.
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Chapter 32: Beam Design
Diagrams screen
Go to the Diagrams tab to view the diagrams screen. This screen is used to display the demand and
capacity diagrams for the beam. Note that two simple diagrams can be viewed on the screen at the
same time, thus allowing a comparison between the demand (required) curve and the capacity
(supplied) curve. The user can view combined diagrams too. Those show both curves in one graphic
as shown below:
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Chapter 32: Beam Design
Combine the demand and capacity curves for bending moment and simple shear into one diagram.
Some of the diagrams that can be displayed are dependent on the selected load condition. The
moment or shear diagrams are displayed for the currently selected load condition.
Notice the existence of a Traffic light in the status bar. This traffic light is an indicator of design
status where the red light indicates that the ratio of demand to capacity is greater than one and thus
fails. The yellow light indicates that the ratio between stresses is satisfactory, but another
requirement, such as deflection, is not satisfactory. Finally, the green light indicates that the status of
design of the member is satisfactory for all strength and service requirements.
Traffic light.
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Detailing Screen
The detailing screen displays the reinforcing bars designed for the beam.
Both longitudinal reinforcing and vertical stirrups are shown on this screen. The cross section
represents the reinforcing required at the desired points along each span. Note that the user can only
define the reinforcement and the locations of the cross sections in the figure, but by selecting the
Export to DXF option a CAD file can be created and manipulated outside Beam Design. See the
chapter devoted to reinforced concrete beam design for further details.
Optimization screen
Optimization is valid only for steel and wood members. This option allows the user to change the
existing sections with sections that are recommended (based on explicit criteria) from a collection of
sections. In other words, the original section can be replaced with another that resists the imposed
loads.
Fore more details about commands and procedures for section optimization refer to the corresponding
chapter of this Manual.
To enter the report, press the button in the Home tab and the report will be displayed.
For a detailed explanation of the commands used in this report, see the Report section of the chapter
for Printing Graphics and Reports.
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Chapter 33: Tilt-Up Walls
Design steps
1) Data introduction
The user has to enter the required data related to the geometry and characteristics of the desired wall
before performing the analysis and design of the wall.
The data input is performed through drop-down windows and multiple options in the pad. All data
entries as the material properties, geometry, and design parameters may be modified at any moment
before and after the analysis.
2) Detailing
Once the wall is defined, the user can proceed with the analysis and design. The Diagram window or
Report will show the different forces and strengths of the strips of the wall according to the codes
(ACI 318 and ACI 551R-92). Then the user can go to the detailing window and see the reinforcement
obtained in the design or see its verification if it was an existing one. The report additionally shows
the results of global stability verifications for overturning.
3) Optimize/Verify design
The design results will be automatically calculated when the Diagram, Detailing or Report window
are selected. The results are according to the parameters defined in the Data window. If a value that
affects the design is modified afterwards such as geometry data, design or configuration parameters,
the user will have the option to lose the actual reinforcement data and perform a new optimization or
to keep the same reinforcement.
If a specific reinforcement is required to be checked, the user can enter it manually and then see the
results in the Report window.
Note.
The program will ask the user to lose the reinforcement when any of these parameters had changed:
Number of level, same height levels, panel height, panel heights, panel length, openings,
reinforcement layers, design criterion by, spacing values, bar sizes, or bar series in the configuration
window.
If the user makes changes in the reinforcement and wants to see quickly the effects of his changes in
the wall, is possible is possible use the command to perform a Verify Design and see the
results reflected in the traffic light, which indicates the status of the whole wall.
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Chapter 33: Tilt-Up Walls
The user can also realize an Optimize Design by using the command to obtain a new design
if any initial data was changed, or to let the program return the first suggested reinforcement.
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Chapter 33: Tilt-Up Walls
Technical notes
Warning!
It is suggested to read carefully these notes before using the module because they summarize the
scope, hypothesis and methods assumed.
Terminology
The following names have been assumed for the different parts or elements of a wall:
Parapet
Wall or panel
Bottom of panel
General
The general characteristics of the module are:
Graphical input of wall geometry and loads.
Options to define the bottom restraint at the foundation level according to the selected
analysis method (Bottom restraint: fixed, pinned, compression only springs)
Graphical input of openings in accordance with one of the four corners of the wall taking it as
a reference corner.
Consideration of 2 types of foundation: isolated footing or continuous footing.
Analysis of the wall with two methods: Simplified (method considering linear elements) and
FEM (finite elements method).
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Automatic design according to the ACI 318 and ACI 551R-92 Codes.
Consideration of reveals in the design.
Consideration of a single or double layer of reinforcement.
Context sensitive help.
Easy handle of wall dimensions and reinforcement.
Consideration of self weight.
Consideration of vertical load concentrated or distributed, with or without eccentricity at any
position along the existing levels.
Consideration of lateral in-plane concentrated, distributed or seismic loads.
Consideration of lateral out of plane pressure or seismic loads.
Presentation of moment, shear and axial diagrams.
Presentation of FEM diagrams with forces, stresses and deformation scale of values.
Option to verify the wall quickly and update the results at any moment.
Option to optimize the design of the wall.
DXF export of the main graphics of several windows.
Option to save and retrieve data, reinforcement and results
Detailed report
Limitations
The features not covered by the module are:
Openings other than rectangular.
Walls other than rectangular.
Design of (flush) columns or pilasters when vertical stresses exceed 0.06*fc.
Separately design of parapet and bottom of panel. Both will present a reinforcement obtained
of the extension of the lower and upper wall reinforcement, respectively.
Lifting design.
Design Codes
The currently implemented codes for tilt-up wall design are:
American Concrete Institute. Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. ACI 318-
05 (ACI 2005).
American Concrete Institute. Tilt-Up Concrete Structures. ACI 551R-92.
Geometry
In accordance with the code ACI 551R-92 Section 2.2 the height-to-thickness ratio (lu/h) should be
greater than or equal to 30 to apply the slender wall method. Tilt-up walls exceed often this limitation
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Chapter 33: Tilt-Up Walls
with lu/h ratios of 40 to 50 or more, therefore, the minimum thickness to be used will be 5.0 in
according to the code and construction reasons.
In the module, it is possible to enter openings at any position considering a minimum distance of at
least 18 in or two times the thickness between them according to The Tilt-Up Design and
Construction Manual page 9.30. In the case of openings with less spacing, it is recommended to use
the FEM analysis method. The only limitation in this case is to avoid openings at the corners or edges
of the wall.
Restraints
The user would choose the following restraints for the bottom restraint, according to the analysis
method:
Pinned: Restrains translation movement along the three axes (X, Y, Z), and allows the
rotation around any of them.
Fixed: Restrains translation and rotation movement for the three axes (X, Y, Z).
Compression only spring: this option is enable only for FEM Method. It restrains translation
movement along axes: X and Z and has a compression only spring in the Y axis, with a
translational stiffness equal to 1E08 [Kip/in].
It is necessary to use a compression only spring, when the wall rests against the foundation
and does not make a whole unique monolithic structure with it, so that the wall will separate
from the foundation because of the lateral in-plane loads.
The rest of the nodes will be restrained to the translation movement along axis Z.
Loads
The flowing loads are included in the module: vertical in-plane loads, lateral out-of-plane loads and
lateral in-plane loads.
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Chapter 33: Tilt-Up Walls
Load Combinations
The module has up to two groups of load combinations:
Service load combinations: They are used for global checks and for deflection calculations.
Strength design load combinations: They are used for the design of reinforced concrete of the wall.
The used method for the design of this material is the limit states design.
It is important to know that the combinations may be automatically generated with the load
combination generator. These coefficient values are obtained from the ACI 551R-92 Section 2.3.5,
ACI 318-05 Section 9.2.1, ASCE 7-05 or UBC 97 Section 1612.2.1 according to the selected combo
generator file.
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Chapter 33: Tilt-Up Walls
Once the wall is analyzed, the program divides it into horizontal and vertical strips forming segments;
each of them will be designed with the envelope of the maximum positive and negative flexural
moments, as well as with the envelope of the shear forces. The envelope will consider all load
combinations initially defined.
Hypotheses
The designed method considered by the program is the Alternative Design of Slender Walls (ACI
14.8). This method takes into account the secondary bending due panel deflection (P-effects), in
function to the cracking moment of inertia.
Where:
Mu = Factored moment
Mua = Moment at the midheight section of the wall due to factored lateral and eccentric vertical loads
Pu = Factored axial force
u = Deflection at the midheight of the wall due to factored loads
Where:
lc = Clear distance between supports
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Characteristics
According to ACI Code, the design has the following characteristics:
The flexural design is based on the simplified rectangular stress assumption as described in ACI
10.2.7. The design assumptions of ACI 10.2.7 are fully implemented, particularly the use of the
equivalent rectangular stress distribution. The wall shall be tensin-controlled (ACI 14.8.2.4)
conform to general principles and requeriments in the section 10.3.
For two layers of reinforcement and ignoring the compression reinforcement, the nominal moment
will be:
Where:
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should have 2 bars #5 as diagonals extending two feet and a #5 perimetry bar extending two feet
beyond the limits of the opening.
Tilt-Up Wall Design Module
This section describes the available options in the tilt-up wall design/detailing module. As in many
other detailing modules, the design is done automatically, where the user enters only the geometry,
materials and design parameters. In addition, the program performs design verification with the
existing reinforcement in the case that the user manually provides a specific reinforcement or changes
loads, material or wall thickness once the design has been done.
This module can be independent of the main program (no data from the main model is required) or
can be dependent been necessary to select a tilt-up wall in the RE model. The model is executed by
the command Tilt-up from the Standalone button, Walls group in the Modules tab. To work with the
integrated design mode is explained later in this manual.
The command Tilt-up is located into the Walls group in the Modules tab.
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Main window
Diagram window
Depending on the selected method for the design the user will have available one or more of the next
diagrams.
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The simplified method is used to display the forces, stresses and deflections in the wall per strip and
the FEM method is used to display stresses and displacements in the wall obtained through finite
elements.
Note that for the simplified method, it is possible to view two simple diagrams on the window at the
same time, thus allowing a comparison between different forces, stresses or deflections.
Traffic Light
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Detailing window
The detailing window displays the reinforcing bars assumed for the tilt-up wall.
The spreadsheet has three tabs, the first one called Vertical Bars, contains all data required to define
vertical reinforcement, the second one called Horizontal Bars, has all information to define horizontal
reinforcement and the third one called additional reinforcement, contains all data of the bars that go
around the openings. They can be diagonal or perimetry. Diagonal and perimetry reinforcement are
not considered in the design, but are necessary to avoid cracks for changes in temperature and
shrinking.
In addition, the user must take in mind that the reinforcement defined in the worksheet and showed in
the graphic area (frontal view) is per reinforcement layer, that is to say, if the wall has two layers of
reinforcement, the wall will have an equal number of bars in the other face, as it is shown in the wall
cross-section.
Notice that there are two ways to manually define the reinforcement (without considering the design
optimization of the reinforcement):
Using the next tools:
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Configuration window
Configuration window
This window allows the user to establish some calculation methods and office standards for design,
and have control over the design of reinforcement. Note that changed data on this window are saved
with the model and the defined options may be set as defaults for subsequent new walls with the
option Set these values as default.
These criteria should all be set before the detailing is viewed, but it does not need to be modified for
subsequent walls. The items considered are described in the table below.
Option Description
Foundation type Two options are available. Isolated footing or
Continuous footing. It determines the type of foundation
used for modeling the wall (ACI 551R-92 Section
2.7.4).
Foundation width Option available for Isolated footing. It defines the
distance of the foundation measured from the edge of
the panel. If this distance is greater than the midlength
of the wall it will be considered as a continuous footing.
In the case of a height-to-width ratio greater than the
unity, the effective width will be equal to users width
value plus two times wall thickness; on the other hand it
will be equal to users defined width value.
Minimum distance between Minimum distance between edges to avoid extremely
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To preview the report, use the command and the report will be displayed, as shown in the
figure below:
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Explanatory notes
References
TCA (Tilt-UP Concrete Association), The Tilt-Up Design and Construction Manual, Hugh
Brooks, 5th Edition HBA Publications, USA, 2002 (English version), 2005 (Spanish version).
PCA (Portland Cement Association), Tilt-Up Load-Bearing Walls, 3rth Edition, USA,
1994.
SEAOSC (Structural Engineers Association OF Southern California), Recommended Tilt-Up
Wall Design, LA California USA, 1979.
CAC (Cement Association of Canada), Tilt-Up Concrete Wall Panels, 2nd Edition, Canada,
2003.
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Design steps
1) Data introduction
The user has to enter the required data related to the geometry and characteristics of the desired wall
before performing its analysis and design. The data input use drop-down windows and multiple
options in the pad. The user can modify all data entries, as the material properties, geometry, and
design parameters at any moment before and after the analysis. It is advisable to review the Chapter
related to the general characteristics of the detailing modules for more details about their
management and organization.
2) Detailing
Once the wall is defined, the user can proceed with the analysis and design. The Diagram Screens
will show the different forces and strengths of the whole wall and its sections according to the code
(ACI 318-05). Then the user can go to the detailing screen and see the reinforcement obtained in the
optimization or see its verification if the reinforcement was previously defined. Additionally, the user
has the possibility to see the Interaction Diagrams, which shows the combined axial flexure surface
of the complete wall cross-section. The report shows these diagrams printings selected by the user.
3) Optimization/Verification design
The design results will be automatically calculated when the Diagram, Detailing or Report Screen are
selected. The results are according to the parameters defined in the Data Screen and configuration
screen. If the user modifies a value that affects the design (e.g. geometry data, design data or
configuration parameters), the user will have the option to lose the actual reinforcement data and
perform a new design or to keep the same reinforcement.
Note. The program will ask the user to lose the reinforcement when any of these parameters had
changed: number of levels, same height levels, panel height, panel heights, panel length, openings,
rigidity elements, design criterion by, spacing values, bar sizes, or any parameter of the configuration
screen.
If the user makes changes in the reinforcement and wants to see quickly the effects of these changes
in the wall, the user can press the button to perform a Verify Design and see the results
reflected in the traffic light, which indicates the status of the whole wall.
The user can also realize an Optimize Design by pressing the button to obtain a new design
with new reinforcement if any initial data was changed, or to let the program return the first
suggested reinforcement.
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Technical notes
Warning!
It is suggested to read carefully these notes before using the module because they summarize the
scope, hypothesis and methods assumed.
Terminology
The following names are used for the different parts or elements of a wall:
Wall
Rigidity elements
Flanges
Boundary elements
General
The general characteristics of the module are:
Graphical input of wall geometry and loads.
Graphical input of openings and additional vertical strips.
Consideration of rigidity elements as boundary elements or flanges.
Consideration of two types of connections at the wall base: isolated or continuous.
Analysis of the wall with FEM (finite elements method).
Automatic design according to the ACI 318-05 Code.
Consideration of a single or double layer of reinforcement.
Context sensitive help.
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Limitations
The features not covered by the module are:
Openings other than rectangular or square.
Optimization of flanges.
Consideration of coupling beams.
Design Codes
The currently implemented code for design is:
American Concrete Institute. Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete. ACI 318-
05 (ACI 2005).
Geometry
Wall
The module allows the user entering openings at any position of the wall considering a minimum
distance of at least 18 in (value by default found in the Configuration Screen that can be edited by the
user) between them. Therefore, there are no limitations for openings at corners or edges of the wall.
In accordance with ACI - Essential Requirements for R/C Buildings, the minimum thickness of
walls permitted in the module is determinate by the minimum of these three criteria:
bw >= 6 in
height-to-thickness ratio >= 20
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Rigidity elements
The user has the possibility to include rigidity elements at the edges to increase the stiffness of the
Concrete Wall, such as column sections (boundary elements) or intersecting walls (flanges).
In walls with flanges, the influence of the flange on the behavior of the wall should be considered by
selecting appropriate flange widths. According to ACI design code, effective flange widths or flanges
sections shall extend from the face of the web a distance equal to the smaller of one-half the distance
to an adjacent wall and 25 percent of the total wall height. (ACI 318-05 Section 21.7.5.2). The
module calculates the effective width with the second criteria (0.25 lw) while the user shall assign the
flanges width according to the first one.
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Restraints
The restraints can be modified in the Configuration Screen. The user would choose the following
restraints for the wall bottom restraint, according to his requirements:
Pinned: Restrains translation movement along the three axes (X, Y, Z), and allows the
rotation around any of them.
Fixed: Restrains translation and rotation movement for the three axes (X, Y, Z).
Loads
The module considers four types of loads for the design: vertical loads, lateral in-plane loads, lateral
out-of-plane loads, and Global forces.
Vertical loads:
The vertical loads or axial loads are divided in three groups:
Self weight loads: are defined by the characteristics of the wall to analysis. These loads can be
any of the loads defined in the load conditions manager button, by default the dead load
exists like self weight.
Concentrated loads: are defined from the left side of the wall and are located at a specified
distance (X) along each level. These loads can be any of the loads defined in the in the load
conditions manager, and may have an out-of-plane eccentricity measured from the axis of the
wall, which generates a moment around X axis. The module accepts positive and negative
eccentricities.
Distributed loads: are defined per level. These loads can be any of the loads defined in the
load conditions manager, with or without an out-of-plane eccentricity.
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Pressure load: This pressure is the result from the wind and/or any of the loads defined in the
load conditions manager. The lateral pressure is applied perpendicular to the wall.
Seismic weight: It is considered like a factored force of the wall weight in the out-of-plane
direction.
Global forces:
These loads are applied at any direction and position on the wall. Forces defined by the user in the
load conditions manager.
Load Combinations
The module has up to one group of load combinations:
Strength design load combinations: They are used for the design of reinforced concrete of the wall.
The used method for the design of this material is the limit states design.
It is important to know that the combinations may be automatically generated with the load
combination generator. These coefficient values are obtained from the ACI 318-05 Section 9.2.1.
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Hypotheses
The hypotheses considered for the concrete wall designs are presented below:
o Each element is designed as a bearing wall and shear wall and the critical of both is
shown in the detailing.
o The bearing wall design is performed according to the provisions described in Chapter
14 in ACI 318-05 for walls subjected to axial load with or without flexure. The
module design the wall for combined axial flexure, axial compression, axial tension
and shear as concrete columns but with wall provisions, for more details about the
considerations refer to the chapter of Design and Detailing of Reinforced Concrete
Columns in this manual.
o The Shear wall design is done according to the special provision described in section
11.10 of the ACI 318-05 when the wall is subjected to shear forces considering
combined axial flexure, axial compression, axial tension and shear.
o For the combined axial-flexure design, the interaction is determined for out of plane
moments in bearing walls design, and for in plane moments for shear walls design.
o Boundary columns are designed as flexural members including the provision of
Chapter 17 Composite concrete flexural members ACI 318-05. Boundary elements
reinforced are given by the following figure:
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Calling the Concrete Wall module from the Walls group, Modules tab in RAM Elements.
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Main window
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Diagram Screen
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Traffic Light
Detailing window
The detailing window presents the reinforcement assumed in the concrete wall. It has different tabs
containing the different parts of the detailing.
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The detailing screen displays the reinforcing bars assumed for the Concrete Wall.
The spreadsheet has five tabs:
The first one called Vertical. which contains all data required to define vertical reinforcement
of the wall
The second one called Horizontal, has all information to define horizontal reinforcement of
the wall;
The third one called Columns, which contains quantity, level and bar size for longitudinal and
transversal reinforcement in columns.
The fourth one called Hoops, which contains the hoops for the strips that need them.
The last one called Openings, which contains all data of the bars that go around the openings,
if they exist. They can be diagonal or perimeter. Diagonal and perimeter reinforcement are not
considered in the design, but are necessary to avoid cracks for changes in temperature and
shrinking.
In addition, the user must take in mind that the reinforcement defined in the spreadsheet and showed
in the graphic area (frontal view) is per reinforcement layer; therefore, if the wall has two layers of
reinforcement, the wall will have an equal number of bars in the other face, as it is shown in the wall
cross-section.
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Notice that there are two ways to define manually the reinforcement (without considering the design
optimization of the reinforcement):
Using buttons that enter:
For discontinuous bars, it is necessary to enter in the dialog window all data above mentioned.
It is also necessary to enter the distances to the initial and final points of the bars from the
reference level or axis selected in the dialog window.
place the reinforcement and define the bar size. There is also an option to extend vertical and
horizontal bars, in the opposite case, the program will extend the bars 2 ft beyond the limits of
the opening, according to the code. For Diagonal reinforcement, it is necessary to enter the
angle and length for these bars.
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Remark.- Note that the user can export the figure by pressing the DXF button. A CAD file will
be created and may be edited with any drafting software.
Configuration Screen
This screen allows the user to have control over the calculation methods and adopted design
considerations. Note that changed data on this screen are saved with the model and could be defined
as default values for subsequent new walls with the option Set these values as default.
Configuration Screen
These criteria should all be set before the detailing, but it does not need to be modified for subsequent
walls. The items considered are described in the table below.
Option Description
Foundation type Two options are available. Isolated or Continuous. It
determines the type of restriction used for modeling the
wall in the base.
Minimum distance between Distance used to avoid openings overlapping
edges
Distribute the pressure to the Distribute the pressures applied on the opening to its
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Chapter 34: Concrete Walls
A summary of results for shear walls design (status, segment design division, geometry,
reinforcement, combined axial flexure, interaction diagrams P vs. M, axial compression, axial
tension and shear).
A summary of results for boundary columns design (status, column location, geometry,
longitudinal and transversal reinforcement, combined biaxial flexure, interaction diagrams P
vs. M, axial compression, axial tension, shear in x direction, shear in z direction).
To check the report, press the button and the report will be displayed, as shown in the next
figure.
Report screen.
For a detailed explanation of the commands used in this report, see the Report section of the chapter
of Printing Graphics and Reports.
The report of concrete walls displays all the detailed information of the wall and its design. At the
top, the general information of the wall is displayed, as geometry, materials, type of foundation,
loads, etc. Then, the report presents the results that include the tilt up wall and shear wall design for
each segment of wall. For each design, a figure with the segment division is presented followed by all
the items considered during the design and the results for all the segments.
The status is graphically shown in a special diagram that simultaneously shows the maximum value
between the ratio of the factored design moment and the nominal moment capacity multiplied by the
factor and the ratio of the cracking moment and the nominal moment capacity multiplied by the
factor. If the strength is not enough to resist the applied moments, this part of the diagram will be
displayed in red. In this manner, the user can evaluate the flexural design of the wall at a glance.
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Explanatory notes
References
ACI (American Concrete Institute). Essential Requirements for Reinforced Concrete
Buildings, for buildings of limited size and height, based on ACI 318-02, ACI International
Publication Series IPS-1, 1st Edition, USA, 2002.
Alsamsam, I.M. and Kamara, M.E. Simplified Design, Reinforcement Concrete Buildings of
Moderate Size and Height, Engineering bulletin EB104, PCA (Portland Cement
Association), 3rd Edition, Skokie, IL USA, 2004.
MacLeod, Shear Wall-Frame Interaction a Design Aid, PCA (Portland Cement
Association), Skokie, IL - USA, 1998.
PCA (Portland Cement Association), Seismic Detailing of Concrete Buildings, PCA,
Skokie, IL USA, 2000.
Brick Industry Association. The contemporary bearing wall - Introduction to shear wall
design. Technical Notes on Brick Construction 24C, 1988.
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Design steps
1) Data introduction
The user has to enter the required data related to the geometry and characteristics of the desired wall
before performing the analysis and design of the wall. All data entries such as the material properties,
geometry, and design parameters may be modified at any time before and after the analysis. The user
can review the Chapter related to the general characteristics of the detailing modules for more details
about their management and organization.
2) Detailing
Once the masonry wall is defined, the user can continue with the analysis and design. The FEM
Diagrams, diagrams and the Report windows will show the different forces and strengths of the
whole wall and sections according to the chosen code: ACI 530-05, TMS 402-08 ASD, TMS 402-08
SD, TMS 402-11 ASD. The user can then goes to the detailing window and see a suggested
reinforcement or a previously defined reinforcement for the design check.
3) Optimization/Verification design
By selecting the Detailing or Report commands, the design results will be calculated. If a value that
affects the design is subsequently modified, such as geometry data, design or configuration
parameters, the user will have the option to lose the actual reinforcement data and perform a new
design or to keep the same reinforcement. The user can enter a specific reinforcement manually in the
Detailing window and then check the results in the Report and verify the design status.
Note
The program will ask the user to keep or lose the reinforcement when any of the following
parameters are changed: Number of levels, same height levels, panel height, parapet heights, panel
length, openings, rigidity elements, and design criterion by, spacing values, bars sizes or any
parameter of the configuration window. If the reinforcement is changed and a quick verification is
wanted, use the command to Verify Design and check the results reflected in the traffic light,
which indicates the status of the whole masonry wall.
The user can also use the Optimize Design command to obtain a new design if any initial
data is changed, or to get back the initially suggested reinforcement.
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Technical notes
Warning!
It is suggested to read carefully these notes before using the module because they summarize the
scope of the program, and methods assumed.
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Terminology
The following names have been used for the different parts or elements of a masonry wall:
1) Parapet zone
2) Lintels
3) Rigidity elements:
Columns (a)
Flanges (b)
4) Wall or Panel
General
The general characteristics of the module are:
Graphical input of wall geometry and loads.
Graphical input of openings and additional vertical strips.
An integrated design of four different elements of masonry: bearing walls, shear walls,
columns and lintels.
Consideration of unreinforced and reinforced bearing and shear walls.
Consideration of rigidity elements such as columns or flanges.
Consideration of two types of support restraints: Fixed or Pinned
Consideration of two types of column restraints: Fixed or Pinned.
Consideration of two types of level restraints: Pinned or free.
FEM analysis of the wall.
Automatic design according to one of the following codes: ACI 530-05, TMS 402-08 ASD,
TMS 402-08 SD, TMS 402-11 ASD.
Consideration of single or double layers of reinforcement.
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Chapter 35: Masonry Walls
Limitations
The features not covered by the module are:
Openings other than rectangular or square shapes.
Reinforcement design of flanges.
Buckling for bearing and shear wall.
The implemented codes for masonry walls design are:
Building Code Requirement for Masonry Structures (ACI 530-05).
The Masonry Society TMS 402-08 ASD,
The Masonry Society TMS 402-08 SD,
The Masonry Society TMS 402-11 ASD
For the TMS 402-08 code the seismic design requirements are included.
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Geometry
Wall
The module allows openings at any position of the wall considering a minimum spacing of at least 16
in (value by default in the Configuration window that can be edited by the user). According to the
position of the opening, it is possible to analyze any shape of masonry walls.
The minimum thickness of masonry bearing walls of more than one story high shall be 8in, while
bearing walls of one story buildings shall not be less than 6in. The minimum thickness requirements
shall be based on the nominal dimensions of the masonry unit.
Rigidity elements
The user has the chance to include columns sections or intersecting masonry walls (flanges) to
increase the stiffness of the masonry wall.
In masonry walls with flanges, the influence of the flange on the behavior of the wall should be
considered by selecting appropriate flange widths. The wall intersection shall meet the following
requirements:
The masonry shall be in running bond.
Flanges shall be considered effective in resisting applied loads.
The width of the flange considered effective on each side of the web shall be the lesser of 6
times the flange thickness or the actual flange or either side of the web wall.
Connections of webs to flanges of shear masonry walls may be accomplished by the running
bond, metal connectors, or bond beams.
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Chapter 35: Masonry Walls
(1) Columns
Restraints
The restraints can be modified in the Configuration window. The user would choose the following
restraints for the wall or the column bottom restraint, according to his requirements:
Pinned: Restrains translational movement along the three axes (X, Y, Z), and allows the
rotation around any of them.
Fixed: Restrains translational and rotational movement for the three axes (X, Y, and Z).
Besides, the user may choose the following restraints at the level heights:
None: Allows the translation and the rotation along the three axes (X, Y, and Z).
Pinned: Restrains translation movement along the Z-axes, and allows the rotation around any
of them.
Loads
The module considers four types of loads for the design: vertical loads, lateral in-plane loads, lateral
out-of-plane loads and global forces.
Vertical loads:
The vertical loads or axial loads are divided in three groups:
Self weight loads: are defined by the characteristics of the wall to analysis. These loads can be
any of the loads defined in the load conditions manager ( command), by default the dead
load exists like self weight.
Concentrated loads: are defined from the left side of the wall and are located at a specified
distance (X) along each level. These loads can be any of the loads defined in the in the load
conditions manager, and may have an out-of-plane eccentricity measured from the axis of the
wall, which generates a moment around X axis. The module accepts positive and negative
eccentricities.
Distributed loads: are defined per level. These loads can be any of the loads defined in the in
the load conditions manager, with or without an out-of-plane eccentricity.
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Distributed loads: located along any level in the direction of the X axis, the user can assign
different values per level.
Seismic weight: Is considered like a factored force of the wall weight over in-plane direction.
Global forces:
These loads are applied at any direction and position on the wall. Forces defined by the user in the
load conditions manager.
Load Combinations
The module provides the solution of masonry walls for allowable stress load combinations, which are
used to design bearing walls, shear walls, columns and lintels by the allowable stress method.
It is important to note that the combinations may be automatically generated with the load
combination generator and/or the user can define the combination, in the load conditions manager
( command).
Note: The deflections in the lintel design are calculated with all load combinations.
Bearing walls
There are two possible criteria for the design of vertical and horizontal reinforcement for bearing and
shear walls:
By Bar Size: the user should select the bar sizes to be considered in the design and the
program will find the reinforcement that complies with strength and code requirements.
By Spacing: the user should enter spacing values to be considered in the design. The program
will find the reinforcement that complies with the strength and code requirements for such
spacing
By Reinforcement area: the user should enter spacing and bar sizes values to be considered in
the design. The program will find the reinforcement that complies with the strength and code
requirements for each bar size, and it will select the minimum as optimum.
Once the masonry wall is analyzed, the program divides it into strips, (all of them are additional to
the vertical strips defined by the user), forming segments; each of them will be designed with the
corresponding envelope of the positive or negative forces at the top, bottom and the maximum value
according to the load combinations initially defined.
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Shear walls
There are two possible criteria for the design of vertical and horizontal reinforcement for bearing and
shear walls:
By Spacing: the user should enter spacing values to be considered in the design. The program
will find the reinforcement that complies with the strength and code requirements for such
spacing
By Bar Size: the user should select the bar sizes to be considered in the design and the
program will find the reinforcement that complies with strength and code requirements.
By Reinforcement area: the user should enter spacing and bar sizes values to be considered in
the design. The program will find the reinforcement that complies with the strength and code
requirements for each bar size, and it will select the minimum as optimum.
Once the masonry wall is analyzed, the program divides it into strips forming segments; each of them
will be designed with the corresponding envelope of the positive or negative forces at the top, bottom
and the maximum value according to the load combinations initially defined.
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Columns
The module designs each column with the envelope of the positive or negative forces at the top,
bottom and the maximum value according to the load combinations initially defined. The following
verifications are done:
o Minimum and maximum reinforcement
o Minimum tie diameter
o Maximum tie spacing
o Minimum column side dimensions
o Height/width ratio
o Axial compression
o Axial tension
o Shear along the X-direction
o Shear along the Z-direction
o Combined axial flexure along the X direction
o Combined axial flexure along the Z direction
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Lintels
The loads considered for the lintel design are the weight of the wall over the opening and the
resultant loads given by a triangle of 45 over the openings.
Load distribution
The checks performed for the lintels are the following:
o Bar clear spacing
o Bar cover
o Flexure
o Shear
o Deflection
Hypotheses
A masonry wall is a vertical element that resists applied in-plane and out-of-plane forces. The design
of masonry walls must consider the axial-flexural loads that produce axial and bending stresses, shear
forces, compressive axial stresses caused by dead and live loads from roof, and flexural stresses
caused by moments from lateral forces. Therefore, the masonry wall could be considered a shear and
bearing wall.
Masonry Wall Design/Detailing Module
This section has a brief description of the available options in the masonry wall design/detailing
module. As in the other modules, the design is done automatically, where the user enters only the
geometry, materials and design parameters. In addition, the program performs a design check with
the existing reinforcement in the case that the user manually provides a specific reinforcement or
changes loads, material or wall thickness once the design has been done.
This module can be used to perform a design on a wall that has been modeled as a shell(s) in the main
RAM Elements program, or it can be used as a Standalone program, where no data from the main
model is required. To use as a Stand Alone program, select the command Masonry from the
Standalone button, Walls group in the Modules Tab. To work with the integrated design mode is
explained later in this manual.
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Chapter 35: Masonry Walls
The command Masonry is located into the Walls group in the Modules tab.
Main window
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As it was described in the Design and Detailing Modules chapter, the main window has seven work
areas: the RE button, the quick access toolbar, the ribbon, the properties edition area, the graphic
area, the sensitive help area and the status bar.
Diagram window
This window displays stresses, forces and displacements in the wall.
This window has several options to bring the user an easy handling of the values, which are explained
in the help context. These options are placed at the top right corner in the toolbar.
Traffic Light
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Detailing window
This window is used to enter vertical wall reinforcement (A), horizontal wall reinforcement (B),
longitudinal and transversal lintel reinforcement (C) longitudinal and transversal column
reinforcement (D), as shown in the figure below:
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Transverse reinforcement, the user must define the stirrups size and the spacing for transverse
reinforcement.
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Note
The user can export the figure by pressing the DXF button. A CAD file will be created and may be
edited with any drafting software.
To preview the report, use the command and the report will be displayed, as shown in the
figure below:
General Data
For a detailed explanation of the commands used in this report, see the Report section of the chapter
of Printing Graphics and Reports.
The report of masonry walls displays all the detailed information of the wall and its design. At the
top, the general information of the wall is displayed, as geometry, materials, type of rigidity elements,
loads, etc.
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Then, the report presents the design results for bearing walls, shear walls, columns and lintels, as
shown below.
Design Results
These design results are displayed in tables and are divided by elements:
Bearing wall design: this section details all data and status referent to the optimization of
bearing walls, the strength results of combined axial flexure, tension, axial compression and
shear.
Shear wall design: this section details all the data and status referent to the optimization and
design of shear walls, the strength results of combined axial flexure, tension, axial
compression and shear.
Column design: this section details all the data and design results of columns in axial
compression, shear and combined axial flexure in both directions.
Lintels design: this section of the report details the data and design results of lintels for shear,
flexure and deflection.
Finally, a description of the main variables and the assumed nomenclature is explained at the end of
the report.
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Chapter 35: Masonry Walls
Explanatory notes
Configuration window
Configuration window
This window allows the user to define some parameters and office standards for design, and have
control over the design of reinforcement. Note that changed data on this window are saved with the
model and the defined options may be set as defaults for subsequent new models of masonry walls
with the option Set these values as default.
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These criteria should all be set before the detailing is viewed, but it does not need to be modified for
subsequent walls. The items considered are described in the table below.
Option Description
Minimum distance between Minimum distance used to avoid openings overlap
edges
Parapet load equal to the last Allows to consider load at the parapet equal to the last
level level
Distribute pressure load to the If affirmative, the pressures applied to the openings will
opening sides be distributed to their sides
Mesh size (FEM Model) Two options are available: Manual and Automatic. It
determines the mesh size to be used in the segmentation
for the analysis method FEM.
Number of increments It determines the number of increments to be considered
for the solution. Usually, it will be increased when
analysis solution does not converge.
Number of iterations per It determines the number of iterations to be used to find
increment the solution in one increment. This value can be
increased if any difficulty is found during the solution
convergence.
Convergence tolerance It determines the maximum value of convergence
during the iterations for the analysis solution.
Free cover It determines the value of the free cover to be used for
the whole wall and openings.
Round bars spacing to Bar spacing can be adjusted up to the closest increment
specified. Thus, all bar spacing can be given to the
nearest tenth inch, inch, foot etc.
Bar series Two options are available: ASTM Standard and SI
Standard. It determines the bar series to be used during
the whole optimization/verification process of the wall.
Set these values as default The defined options may be set as default for
subsequent new models of masonry walls.
ACI, SEI, TMS, Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures (2005).
TMS, ACI, SEI, Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures
(2008).
TMS, ACI, SEI, Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures
(2011).
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Chapter 36:Truss Design
Design steps
1) Entering Data
The user should enter all the necessary data to obtain a new model before the analysis and going to
the design screen.
This input is done through drop-down windows in the case of multiple options or by keypad for
singular options. All input data like material properties, sections, geometry and other design
parameters can be modified at any time during the analysis.
2) Analysis/Design/Detailing
Before proceeding with a truss design, the model should be analyzed completely. The design should
consider different parameters depending on the type of material, for example the unbraced length Lb
and the bending coefficient Cb for steel and different coefficients and design parameters for wood
members. For more details about these and other parameters, see the chapters related to the design of
each material or the sensitive context help.
3) Verifications
Depending on the selected material and design Specifications, the verifications are the next step.
These tasks are completed in the design and detailing module that will be explained further ahead.
4) Optimization
The last step is the optimization of sections that involves reducing oversized sections to an optimal
section (normally a lighter section) from a predefined group of sections, or for sections that fail the
design check; they will be changed to larger sections that pass the code check. It is important to
mention that this process may take several iterations mainly due to the big influence of self weight,
which is being affected by the section area. For more details, see the optimization chapter of the
Manual.
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Chapter 36:Truss Design
Technical Notes
General
The truss design accounts for all load combinations (design or service) defined for the material.
The following items are checked in the design of steel and wood trusses.
Axial
Flexure
Shear
Limitations
The following limitations currently exist in this program with respect to the analysis and design:
Only in plane bending (about local axis 3-3 of member) is considered.
Torsion is not considered.
Design Specifications
The following codes are considered in the present version:
ANSI/AISC- 360-05 ASD/LRFD Methods. Allowable Stress Design/Load and Resistance
Factor Design.
ANSI/AISC- 360-10 ASD/LRFD Methods. Allowable Stress Design/Load and Resistance
Factor Design.
AISI ASD-LRFD. Cold-formed Steel Design Manual Load and Resistance Factor Design
(Edition 2001, including 2004 Supplement).
British Code BS 5950-1:2000.
AS 4100-1998. Steel Structures.
NDS (ASD/LRFD). National Design Specification. American Forest & Paper Association -
American Wood Council (Edition 2005).
The user should indicate the Specifications that will be used for the design according to the material
that will be used.
Geometry
The application is using RAM Elements templates in order to generate the truss with a few key
strokes by selecting the standard option with the desired truss type.
With simple data as the truss length, height, number of segments, etc., the truss is defined. With the
special options of parametric geometry and out-to-out dimensions, the user can easily perform
important changes that otherwise will take much time.
Analysis
The analysis is performed previous to the design. It requires the definition of the geometry and loads.
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Chapter 36:Truss Design
Load combinations
The user can define any number of load combinations classified in two groups:
Service Load Combinations that are used for deflection control. These names usually start with S.
Design Load Combinations that are used for the design of the different members. Depending on the
material and Specifications, ultimate limit states combinations or unfactored load combinations may
be selected. These names normally start with D.
Note that only the load combinations of the last group will be considered in the design. It is possible
to automatically generate all the required combinations with the load combination generator. The
number of combinations depends on the number and type of the previously defined load cases.
Design parameters
Next, some design parameters that the user must keep in mind for input data are described. For more
information about these and other parameters, refer to specific chapters of each material.
General parameters
The unbraced member, unbraced length and the automatic effective length are parameters that may
define the conditions of the whole set of members. If one of these options is unchecked, the user has
to define each member condition in the general data spreadsheet.
Design
All the considerations and detailed information about the design procedure, according to the material,
and design Specifications to be used, are presented in this Manual. For that, the user can refer to
previous chapters corresponding to the material the user wants to design.
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Chapter 36:Truss Design
Data Screen
The first screen displayed after entering the module is the data screen. In this screen, the user should
define the type of truss, the geometry, material properties, section, loads and design parameters.
This screen allows to modify dimensions, loads, and any other option in an easily way and every time
that the user wants.
The Data screen has 3 different windows as shown below:
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Chapter 36:Truss Design
Click on the red text of the property to modify and select another from the drop-down window or type
a new value.
The help window (C) shows the information about the currently selected item in the property window
(A).
After completing the modeling, the user can view the diagram screen:
Diagram Screen
Go to the Diagrams tab to see the diagrams for the truss. This screen is used to display the demand
diagrams and strength ratios for the truss.
Notice the existence of a Traffic light in status bar. This traffic light is an indicator of design status
where the red light indicates that the ratio of demand to capacity is greater than one and thus fails.
The yellow light indicates that the ratio between stresses is satisfactory, but another requirement,
such as deflection, is not satisfactory. Finally, the green light indicates that the status of design of the
member is satisfactory for all strength and service requirements.
Traffic light.
Optimization screen
This option allows the user to change the existing sections with sections that are recommended (based
on explicit criteria) from a collection of sections. In other words, the original section can be replaced
with another that resists the imposed loads. Optimization may require several iterations.
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Chapter 36:Truss Design
Fore more details about commands and procedures for section optimization refer to the corresponding
chapter of this Manual.
To enter the report, press the button and the report will be displayed.
For a detailed explanation of the commands used in this report, see the Report section of the chapter
for Printing Graphics and Reports.
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Chapter 37: RAM Elements integration with design modules
Main features
The main features of the integrated design method are summarized as follows:
The user may select one or several elements for assigning a design. This operation is
performed using the tools from the Modules tab, located in the ribbon.
The user can assign a footing design using the tool from the Foundations group. The
available options are: Spread footing and Combined footing.
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Chapter 37: RAM Elements integration with design modules
The user can assign a wall design using the tool from the Wall group. The available options
are: Concrete walls, Masonry walls and Tilt-up walls.
As soon as the previous operation is performed, a design is assigned to the selected
member(s), the design module is opened and the user may edit data, verify the design or
optimize it.
Assigning a spread footing design to the selected node. The assignment is achieved using the
tools in the Modules tab.
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Chapter 37: RAM Elements integration with design modules
As can be seen by opening the module, the appearance of the ribbon changes for the
integrated work mode. This example shows the footing design module main window.
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Chapter 37: RAM Elements integration with design modules
Similarly, the appearance of the ribbon of the module main window changes to the integrated
work mode. Note that the spreadsheet data also behave differently for the integrated mode as
explained below. This example shows the masonry wall design module main window.
To carry out the design assignment, the program runs several validations throwing error
messages in the information panel located at the bottom of the main window.
It is also possible to select multiple elements to assign a single design. For example, if several
nodes are selected to assign a spread footing, the design will include the loads for all nodes.
This also works for combined footings; however, the user should take into account that some
validations between the pairs of nodes should be met. As an example, to assign a combined
footing design to two pair nodes, the following conditions should be met: column 1 with
section A and column 2 with section B, with a distance between them equal to L; to
assign the same design to the second pair of nodes the following should be: column 3 with
section A, column 4 with section B and a distance between them equal to L inch.
In the case of walls, the user can select a stack of shells in RAM Elements and assign a wall
design to this set of shells.
The user can edit the data marked with the icon which corresponds to the specific
information for the element design that is not defined in the main application. The data with
the icon are editable within the module in order to allow verification of the results by the
user but the changes will not be stored with other information and data that are imposed by
the structure information in RAM Elements. The data with the icon are read-only; these
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Chapter 37: RAM Elements integration with design modules
are exported to the module as RAM Elements imposed information from the main model and
cannot be edited.
Once the verification or optimization of the element is performed, the user can save the data
and design information in the main model file of RAM Elements by saving it with the Save
button located on the Module ribbon. It is possible to exit the module without saving data or
making checks or optimizations of the element. In such cases, the edited data is not stored
with the main model and the design results will not be generated but the design will have been
integrated to the main model.
After closing the module, a schematic wireframe rectangle is drawn over the structure which
represents the integrated design element, whether this is a footing design on the selected
nodes, or a wall design on the selected shells.
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Integrated design of wall for four shells from the model of RAM Elements.
When it is desired to edit the integrated design, a double click on the schematic wireframe
rectangle that represents the design will open the module to perform the desired changes.
Another way to Access the edition will be through the Edit button located in the Modules tab
of the ribbon of the main program.
main RAM Elements file. However, due to this enhancement, it is no longer possible to make
modifications to the imported internal forces or add additional loading in the module with an
integrated wall model. Therefore, all loading should be created in the main RAM Elements model.
Alternatively, one could create two separate models, one integrated and one standalone, if necessary.
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