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November 16, 2016
Custom Column Strip Widths
RISAFloor v11 now includes the ability to create custom column strip widths in order to optimize the design of slab reinforcement.
If you've ever wondered what it’s like to be an industrial structural engineer, let me paint you a picture: Imagine juggling a dozen problems at once—steel frames, conveyor supports, pipe racks, tank foundations—all while trying to decipher a set of drawings that look like they were faxed from 1997. And, of course, every single solution is needed yesterday. But don’t worry! With the right tools (cough RISA and ADAPT cough), navigating this daily chaos becomes a lot more manageable. So, grab your coffee (black, obviously), and let’s walk through a typical day. 6:30 AM: Morning Coffee & Evaluating Additional Loads The first email of the day: “Can we add another 10,000 lbs of equipment to the mezzanine? What about seismic drift and vibration?” Instead of a lengthy hand calculation, you fire up RISAFloor and check gravity load distribution. Exporting to RISA-3D, you analyze modal frequencies and check if the additional weight will push the structure into an uncomfortable range for human occupancy. Seismic drift is next. A quick response spectrum analysis in RISA-3D confirms that the drift is still within acceptable limits. You send your report with confidence—no major framing changes required. 9:00 AM: Field Issue - Pipe Rack Base…
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RISAFloor v11 now includes the ability to create custom column strip widths in order to optimize the design of slab reinforcement.
In the RISA-3D when you model a WT brace it exists at the member centroid, which means that no bending ends up in the brace due to the fact that the brace is actually eccentric to the braced frame.
RISAFloor v11 now includes the option to add parapets and parapet loading to a building.
RISAFloor does not record the applied area loads in a spreadsheet. To simplify modeling, it instead assumes a default area load over the entire diaphragm area. Additionally, you are free to apply area loads beyond the default loads. Whatever is drawn last will be considered the applied loading...
Seismic Forces are generated automatically using seismic parameters R, SD1, and SDS in the Seismic Load Generator when using the Director to go from RISAFloor to RISA-3D or when inserting Seismic Loads on a rigid diaphragm in RISA-3D. Additionally, Seismic Load Combinations can be generated using...
In RISAFoundation v8, you can add a shear splice between slabs so that it acts like a hinge. This is useful for modeling the effects of shear keys or dowel joints between slabs.
In a model that contains both RISAFloor and RISA-3D data it is possible to define your diaphragms as either flexible or rigid for lateral design. You can do this from the Diaphragms spreadsheet in either program:
In RISAFoundation, the user has the ability to manually draw a single Design Cut anywhere on a slab. The Design Strips also automatically include Design Cuts which are used to determine the governing design forces in the Design Strip. For more detailed information on the specifics of Design Strip...
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