What's New for Code Updates in RISA
February 17, 2015

What's New for Code Updates in RISA

New codes have been added to RISA-3D v13 and RISAFloor v9, these include: AISI S100-12: Cold-Formed Steel Design Code CSA 086-09: Canadian Wood Design Code ACI 530-13: Masonry Design Code To select these codes for your design, simply choose them from the Codes tab of Global Parameters:

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Approximate Guidelines for Plate Meshing
January 15, 2015

Approximate Guidelines for Plate Meshing

It is important to submesh plate elements in your model in order to obtain the most accurate results. However, many users wonder what the approximate guidelines for plate dimensions are acceptable.

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What do the Unbraced Length commands Segment and Lbyy mean?
December 3, 2014

What do the Unbraced Length commands Segment and Lbyy mean?

Aside from leaving an unbraced length blank or inputting a fixed distance, you can harness the program’s ability to use a limited intelligence for determining unbraced lengths. In order to do this you can simply type in the name of the Unbraced Length Commands into the unbraced length field.

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What do the Unbraced Lengths represent?
November 19, 2014

What do the Unbraced Lengths represent?

Understanding unbraced lengths and how RISA software accounts for them is essential in the design of any project. In RISA there are three main types of unbraced lengths:

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How do Unbraced Lengths affect Analysis?
November 12, 2014

How do Unbraced Lengths affect Analysis?

The axial compression and flexure strength of beams and columns is dependent on the spacing of elements which provide bracing along the length of those members. You may specify unbraced lengths as a fixed distance or by using RISA’s Unbraced Length Commands. These unbraced lengths are used for...

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Code Requirements for Panel Zone Shear Deformation
October 29, 2014

Code Requirements for Panel Zone Shear Deformation

Code requirements for consideration of panel zone shear deformation can be confusing. This blog post discusses some of the basis for these code requirements and when one can consider them to be met and when one cannot.

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How are Cantilevered Slabs designed?
October 21, 2014

How are Cantilevered Slabs designed?

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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How to Model Support Lines with Parallel Walls
October 3, 2014

How to Model Support Lines with Parallel Walls

In RISAFloor ES, you draw a support line from support point to support point to define the Design Strips. The program will automatically create Design Strips based on the tributary width. When you have walls in the model, it is often a question of how you draw in the support lines.

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How Do I Create Offset Connections in RISA-3D?
September 11, 2014

How Do I Create Offset Connections in RISA-3D?

By default RISA-3D draws all members as line elements located at the centroid of the cross-section. However, connections between members are not always aligned with a member’s centroid. There may be horizontal or vertical offsets in the connection. To account for these you can add rigid links to...

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