January 18, 2017

Masonry Retaining Walls now Available

Now available in RISAFoundation v9 is the ability to design masonry retaining walls and strip footings with the latest US codes. Simply define your masonry wall and reinforcement parameters in the Wall Footing Definition Editor and then draw your wall footing.

Once you’ve drawn your wall and applied your loading you can solve the model and we will design the masonry wall based on the applied loading and the hydrostatic lateral forces.

Tags: Walls, RISAFoundation, New, Masonry

April 22, 2015 | Walls, RISAFoundation, New

Which Wall Footing Type Should I Use?

RISAFoundation has the ability to define different types of wall footings. You can define these from the Draw Wall Footings toolbar: Here is a rundown of the different types and which one may be appropriate for your application: Retaining Wall This is the traditional retaining wall. This type of wall will perform all stability checks (sliding, overturning and soil bearing) due to hydrostatic pressures and any superimposed load on the wall. This wall type is a single entity in that the wall and footing are considered together and defined in the Wall Footing Definitions spreadsheet. Strip Footing (Gravity) This is a simplified version of the retaining wall and would be used in cases where you have a simple strip footing layout. Hydrostatic pressures on the wall are not a concern here. This type of wall footing pares down the input and output in the program, removing a lot of the complexity necessary for retaining walls, but not required for a simple strip footing. This wall type would generally be used for simple gravity loads. This wall type is also a single entity in that the wall and footing are considered together and defined in the Wall Footing Definitions spreadsheet. Strip…

November 10, 2015 | RISAFloor, New

How Do I Define Specific Member Sizes in RISAFloor?

RISAFloor is a design program in which it takes basic shape criteria about your beam or column members and then selects an optimal size to meet strength and serviceability criteria. However, the program can just as easily perform a design check for an as-built condition by defining specific member sizes. To perform an as-built design check, the first step is to model the columns and beams in the structure using one of the existing Shape Groups. Next define specific shapes for each member in the model either graphically or from the spreadsheets. For a graphic update, go to the Modify Beams or Columns dialog and select the size of the members. You can update members one at a time or use the selection state to update all selected. This can also be done from the spreadsheets by inputting the required member designation in the Shape field. For more information about how to use spreadsheets more effectively, review the article below. Once complete you can solve the model and the program will provide design checks based on your specific shapes…

November 19, 2015 | Concrete, RISAFoundation, New, Retaining Walls

Battered Retaining Wall Design

The batter dimensions can be set from Wall Footing Definitions: The batter will affect: The depth of wall for shear and bending checks The self-weight of wall Minimum reinforcement checks will be based on the maximum thickness of wall…