I would like to apply an eccentric load to a beam member, in order to model concrete being placed away from the centre line of the beam. I have done this by defining the dimension d3 within a Uniform Force in the Member Load option. I can run the analysis with no errors, warnings or notes and the structure reacts as expected to the eccentric member forces.
However if I go into the input file, or if I exit Staad and reopen; then it says that "(6) Errors, (0) warnings were found in the input file" and it will no longer read the load items for the eccentric load. If I go into the Load Definition toolbar, the load items that have the d3 dimension defined no longer show up; however if I go back into the input file, the text for the eccentric load items is still there. If I ignore the input errors and run the analysis again, Staad warns me that there are empty load cases and then deletes all the text for these load items from the input file.
Am I doing something wrong here or is it some kind of bug?
I'm using STAAD.Pro V8i (SELECTseries 6)
The relevant input text is below:
LOAD 2 LOADTYPE None TITLE EDGE UPSTAND
MEMBER LOAD
563 TO 674 UNI GY -7.3125 0 0 -0.375
LOAD 3 LOADTYPE None TITLE WET CONCRETE
563 TO 674 UNI GY -6.345 0 0 0.3
1235 TO 1346 UNI GY -10.3675 0 0 -0.025
Answer Verified By: Nick Humphries
7 years later, still this feature is not improved. Imagine having non-uniform bay length, this thing will be a pain.