Hi Good Day STAAD GURUs
My questions are:
1. When using the AREA LOAD or FLOOR LOAD to represent the load beeing carried by the slab does STAAD automatically convert those loads to equivalent loads and then automatically impose those equivalent loads to the beams bordering the slab? or do i have to manually solve for the equivalent load then manually impose those loads (from the slab) to the beams. Actually thats what our instructor taught us, manually solve the equivalent load then put in on the beams supporting the slab. but doubt it[*-)]
2. On the command "selfweight -1" does that selfweight include the weight of the slabs even if the slabs were simply modeled as plates?
ex: ....
meter kn
Element Incidences
1 1 2 3 4
Element Property
1 thickness 0.15
3. Attached file shows how to correct improperly connected plates. We added nodes 9 and 10 to beam 1 4 supporting plate 1 to correct the improper connection of plates 2 and 1. Just for discussion purposes lets us consider PLATE 1 before we break it into 3 plates as a TWO WAY slab. After breaking it to 3 slabs, the resulting plates from plate 1 are plates 3 4 and 5. Sir/Ma'am if i'm gonna load these slabs using FLOOR LOAD / AREA LOAD. Do i have to load them individually as one way for plates 3 and 5 then two way for plate 4? or should i just apply the floor load over these plates?
Thanks a lot
Mac
Hi Ram_STAAD,
In connection with this topic which you have raised where you state that programs like RSTAB allow you to place a load over any region you wish, I have one question.
The figure below shows the plan view of a floor grid. The individual member numbers are labeled alongside the lines.
The red rectangle shows a part of the floor over which a uniform pressure acts. As you can see, this rectangle spans across part of the span of the following members - 6, 7, 8, 9, 21, 23 and 24.
The nature of this loaded area is that there is no closed loop made up of members contained inside this rectangle. Hence, if you apply a FLOOR LOAD or a ONEWAY LOAD in STAAD, you will get a message that no load has been generated.
So, if you had to manually calculate the load on each member, how would you do it? What method will you use to determine how much load goes on the individual members that are partly spanning within this loaded region?
Hello Kris.
First things first. I do not have decades of experience of modelling in STAAD. Yes, my experience has been with Dlubal. But the underlying principles on which the whole process is based cannot be any different.
I have no intention of putting forward RSTAB as the best solution around as your post seems to suggest. In fact, if you were patient enough to go through what I had written, I kept mentioning missing out on some parameter. Something I must have overlooked. My intention is to find a solution for my problem using the best package I have at my disposal. Irrespective of whether it is STAAD or SAP or SCIA Engg.
I really don't want to continue my rant. Nor act like a kid acting out of spite.
Are you suggesting that I cannot manually compute load for this case?
Ram_STAAD - not sure what method you are using to define floor load, but you may try to create groups, use dummy beams to enclose the areas if necessary, and apply floor load on defined groups. Make sure that you have "SET FLOOR LOAD TOLERANCE" command at the beginning of input file (you may have to play with values, say 2-5mm to get correct load generation). Also check that floor is in the same plane, sometimes staad rounds coordinates making some nodes of the plane.
In the past I had numerous issues with Floor/Define Range, so I am not using this option any more.