How Do Plates Connect to Each Other?
June 14, 2010

How Do Plates Connect to Each Other?

To best understand how plates interact with each other you must first understand the concept of Physical Members. The important thing to keep in mind is that plates are not physical members. A plate is defined using either three or four joints, and it only connects to other plates at those joints....

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Define a Beam Eccentricity in RISA-3D
May 24, 2010

Define a Beam Eccentricity in RISA-3D

When you have a deep column, it is necessary to model the beam so that it connects to the face of the column. This results in an eccentricity at the joint. RISA-3D offers two ways to model this eccentricity.

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Let’s Customize Your RISA Toolbar
May 12, 2010

Let’s Customize Your RISA Toolbar

The customizable toolbar is a new feature in RISAFloor. It’s really useful and you may have overlooked it. You’ll find all of your familiar buttons as well some new buttons which make reviewing your model and results easier.

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How to Correctly Define Unbraced Lengths
April 20, 2010

How to Correctly Define Unbraced Lengths

There are four different values for Unbraced lengths in RISA-3D, RISA-2D and RISAFloor. Two are for axial calculations and two are for bending calculations.

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What Are Physical Members?
March 26, 2010

What Are Physical Members?

Members (beams, columns, braces, etc.) are defined in RISA by an I-Node and a J-Node. While you and I see a beam occupying physical space between two columns, most programs see a line between Point I and Point J. This is known as a non-physical member. See the image below:

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