Wood Wall Panels - Straps vs Hold-Downs
October 11, 2018

Wood Wall Panels - Straps vs Hold-Downs

With the recent release of RISA-3D v17 the program now offers the user the option to use Chord Straps between floors of a wood shear wall building in lieu of using hold downs. Chord Straps are a great option for transferring tension load between floors of a multi-floor building and can be installed...

Read More
Partial Fixity End Releases in RISA-3D
October 4, 2018

Partial Fixity End Releases in RISA-3D

RISA-3D v17.0 now has the ability to model partial fixity member end releases. Partial fixity end releases can be utilized in RISA to model the behavior of a partially restrained or semi-rigid connection that cannot be idealized as fully fixed or pinned. Partially restrained connections are common...

Read More
Wood Design per AWC NDS 2018 Wood Code
October 2, 2018

Wood Design per AWC NDS 2018 Wood Code

The new AWC NDS 2018 code has been implemented into RISA-3D v17.0 and RISAFloor v13.0. To select this code for your design, simply choose this code from the Codes tab within Model Settings.

Read More
Analysis Offsets now Available
September 28, 2018

Analysis Offsets now Available

RISA-3D v15 includes "analysis offsets" which moves the centroid of the member for analysis allowing for flexibility in how members are designed. Let's use a WT brace to demonstrate how this feature can be utilized. When you model a WT brace it exists at the member centroid, which means that no...

Read More
Challenges when using Analysis Offsets
September 27, 2018

Challenges when using Analysis Offsets

In a previous article we discussed how the Analysis Offsets feature in RISA-3D works and how it can be used to model members at top of steel. In this article, we will discuss some specific situations and how the results change with the analysis offset set as top of member (local -y axis).

Read More
Using Analysis Offsets in RISA-3D
September 27, 2018

Using Analysis Offsets in RISA-3D

Have you ever wondered what the Analysis Offset feature does? Let’s take a look at how this feature can be used to model members at top of steel.

Read More
P-Delta Instability with Gravity Only Loads
August 23, 2018

P-Delta Instability with Gravity Only Loads

“Why am I receiving a P-Delta instability error when I run my DL + LL load combination? I don’t see this error when I run my lateral load only combination.”

Read More
Modeling Cables in RISA-3D
August 16, 2018

Modeling Cables in RISA-3D

One of the support questions we get most often is, “How can I model a cable element in RISA-3D?” Cables that are straight and experience only axial loading can be easily modeled. When modeling structures with cables (such as guyed structures) the cables can be modeled as tension only and doing so...

Read More