RAM Concrete and EC2 Notional Inclination of a Structure

Hello,

Eurocode 2 requires the designer to consider the performance of the frame through the application of a notional inclination of the frame under gravity actions.

This is not dissimilar to the notional horizontal force principal in BS8110.

RAM Frame allows me to add a set of notional horizontal load cases for BS8110 but I cannot see the equivalent for EC2.

Does anyone know how this is handled within RAM?

  • RAM Frame doesn't have the Notional Load generator explicitly for EC like it does for some of the other codes, but you can still have it generate Notional Loads to your specification. You first need to calculate the fraction of the gravity load that needs to be applied horizontally, based on EN 1992-1-1 Clause 5.2. This fraction is Theta_I in that clause. You can then specify this set of notional loads using the Loads - Load Cases command: select Notional as the Type, and select User Defined Story Forces from that drop down list.

    Note that the Load Combo generator for EC doesn't not include Notional Loads. This means you will need to create user-specified Load Combinations that include the Notional Loads. Alternatively you can edit the EC load combo template to include the Notional Loads so that the combos with Notional Loads will be automatically generated. If you edit the existing template file (RamConcEC2.cmb) be sure to save it with a new file name and be sure to change the "Name" inside of the file so that it is distinguishable from the original; see RamConcBS8110.cmb as an example of how to add Notional Load cases to the load combo templates. For more information on editing the load combo templates see the RAM Structural System Load Combination Generator manual (RAMLoadCombinationGenerator.pdf), located in the Manuals directory.

    Answer Verified By: Seth Guthrie