
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.
In structural steel projects, the transition from design to fabrication is a common source of coordination challenges. One of the biggest pain points? Connection design. Whether it’s miscommunication on end reactions or unclear design intent, connection assumptions can break down in the gap between engineering and detailing. By using RISA-3D and RISAConnection—and leveraging direct integrations with SDS2 and Tekla Structures—structural engineers can streamline the handoff to fabricators, reduce errors, and improve collaboration. This post walks through how to support real-world coordination using these tools in practice. 1. Model and Analyze the Steel Frame in RISA-3D Start by building your structural steel frame in RISA-3D. Define geometry, assign member sizes, apply loads, and analyze the model. Once you're satisfied with the analysis results, RISA-3D provides the connection forces—axial, shear, and moment reactions—for each member end. 2. Export Connection Forces to RISAConnection Next, send selected members and their design forces to RISAConnection. This direct integration eliminates the need to manually transfer loads or recreate geometry. Once in RISAConnection, you can: Choose from a library of shear, moment, and braced connections Model the full geometry, including bolt patterns, welds, and gusset plates View pass/fail results for each limit state, with clear failure mode…
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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.
RISAFloor ES allows you to model concrete slabs of any thickness. However, there might be sections of the building that require a thicker slab. The icon is shown below and it will allow you to draw a Polygon or Rectangular shape.
In RISAFloor ES, you can quickly thicken the slab in the column strip area with the Drop Panel tool. The column strip is typically the area of highest demand so increasing the thickness may help optimize the concrete usage.
The new ACI 318-14 code has been implemented into RISA-3D v14, RISAFloor v10, and RISAFoundation v8.
The batter dimensions can be set from Wall Footing Definitions:
In RISAFoundation, Design Strips are used to create regions in a slab for reinforcement design. Design strip size and shape is determined by the user, see the Help- Slab- Design Strip Width topic.
Per the ACI, you can add a Shear Cap to your column to increase the shear strength of the slab. In RISAFloor ES two-way slabs, adding a shear cap will thicken the plates around the column automatically. The Shear Cap will affect the Punching Shear and the One-Way shear calculations. As you draw the...
RISAFloor Concrete Floor Slabs can design be transferred into RISA-3D for lateral design using either a Rigid Diaphragm or Semi-Rigid diaphragm. In RISA-3D, the wind and seismic loads are calculated and then applied into the diaphragm level to distribute the forces to the Lateral Resisting System.
Concrete buildings often have large cantilevers. In RISAFloor ES, the Support lines can be drawn to support points but also they can be drawn as cantilevers (shown below).
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