
May 1, 2020
Video: Aluminum Member Design in RISACalc
Learn how to load and design individual beam and column aluminum members in RISACalc.
Case Study: Designing for Strength at Every Level When a Midwest engineering firm was tasked with designing a 120,000-square-foot manufacturing facility, they knew the challenge wasn’t just about steel and concrete—it was about integration. The structure needed to support overhead cranes, custom conveyor systems, rooftop equipment, and a range of vibration-sensitive machinery. On top of that, the site’s soil profile required deep foundations and a mat slab in high-load zones. Instead of managing this complex design puzzle across multiple platforms, the firm turned to the full RISA Suite—using RISA-3D, RISAFloor, and RISAFoundation in tandem. The result? A seamless, accurate, and time-saving design process that allowed the firm to deliver ahead of schedule. Steel Superstructures Made Simple With RISA-3D, the team quickly modeled the facility’s steel framing system, including built-up columns, multi-bay trusses, and lateral bracing. Loads from the cranes, roof units, and custom mezzanines were easily applied using RISA’s versatile load generator and load combination tools. Key wins: Modeled the entire lateral and gravity system in a single file Ran multiple load scenarios including seismic, crane surge, and equipment-induced vibration Used RISA’s code checks to validate steel member sizing under heavy, variable loads Floor System Integration with RISAFloor With steel…
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Learn how to load and design individual beam and column aluminum members in RISACalc.
The new Aluminum ADM 2015 code has been added in RISA-3D v15.0. To select this code for your design, simply open the (Global) Model Settings and under the Codes tab select AA ADM1-15:
The bending and axial code checks for single angles differ somewhat from other shape types, because single angles behave quite differently in bending and compression depending on how they are braced along their length.
In Aluminum design, the welded areas have a decreased material strength and RISA-3D can assign any material strength to the members based on the Material spreadsheet.
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