Tips & Tricks

June 5, 2025

RISACalc in the Field

RISACalc in the Field: A Case Study in Confidence and Convenience It was a typical Thursday morning for Emma Ruiz, PE, a structural engineer at a small consulting firm in Colorado. Her day started with a site visit to a rural school renovation—a project where her team was assessing whether a portion of the existing structure could support new rooftop HVAC units. The original framing plans were incomplete, and as Emma inspected the roof framing, it became clear that the contractor’s proposed unit placement didn’t line up with the assumed beam layout. A decision had to be made, and quickly—the rooftop unit was scheduled for delivery the following day. The Problem: Time-Sensitive Field Check Emma didn’t have time to return to the office to rebuild a full model or dig through spreadsheets for older framing checks. She needed to verify—on the spot—whether the existing W10x22 steel beam could support the new loads at the proposed spacing. The contractor waited, the facilities director asked for reassurance, and Emma pulled out her tablet. The Solution: RISACalc in Action Emma opened RISACalc, selected the beam design template, and input the beam size, span length, and newly calculated roof loads, including snow and equipment…

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Slab on Grade Design with RISAFoundation
April 15, 2014

Slab on Grade Design with RISAFoundation

RISAFoundation was originally created as mat slab design software, but with some tweaks in the latest version (v6.0) it is now useful for slab on grade design as well. To get a design for slab on grade simply draw a slab element which has the appropriate thickness:

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How to Add a New Pattern to the Moving Load Database
February 18, 2014

How to Add a New Pattern to the Moving Load Database

RISA-3D and RISA-2D come with a default list of existing moving load patterns. These are listed in the Moving Loads Library which can be viewed by clicking on the Moving Load Patterns button in the Advanced tab.

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How to model a Geodesic Dome in RISA-3D?
February 5, 2014

How to model a Geodesic Dome in RISA-3D?

In modeling what would be a rather difficult geometric structure, by using the Templates database in RISA-3D, a geodesic dome can be constructed rather quickly and easily.

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Designing Built-Up Sections using RISA-3D
January 2, 2014

Designing Built-Up Sections using RISA-3D

Use RISASection to find the properties of built-up steel sections, then model beams using the same section properties in RISA-3D and get full code-checks using AISC 360. This webinar will teach you how to use RISASection quickly and easily to determine complex section properties.

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How Do I Model a Tapered Pipe?
December 30, 2013

How Do I Model a Tapered Pipe?

Tapered members are common for metal buildings and pole-type structures. For tapered wide flange members RISA provides a quick way to generate a tapered section that can then be checked per the provisions of AISC Design Guide 25 on tapered wide flanges.

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What are Web Doubler plates used for in RISAConnection?
December 27, 2013

What are Web Doubler plates used for in RISAConnection?

For moment connections in RISAConnection there is an option to place web doubler plates on the column web. These plates act as a reinforcement for the column web to prevent panel zone shear failure. As shown below, when the flanges of a beam in a moment connection connect to a column they form a...

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