RAM elements - Unable to assign more loads

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AEA - Copy-Area.zip

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RAM Elements limits the number of distributed member loads to 24. The member in question is a long member that is connected to several different deck areas. Those deck areas have pressures that apply both x and z direction loads. A separate distributed load is created for the component in each direction. The error occurs because more than 24 distributed loads are generated by the deck area. Segmenting the member into 2 or more members is one way to work around the problem. The unbraced lengths can be modified in the steel design worksheet to ensure the member is designed correctly.

I am facing the similar error! But the member being considered was initially working well, when it had chevron brace framing into it. Now  when I remove the brace and replacedt bay with a distributed load, I am getting the error message as seen above. I do not think the beam is supporting 24 distributed member loads. I would really appreciate if you could help me with this. 

Thank You! 

I am facing the similar error! But the member being considered was initially working well, when it had chevron brace framing into it. Now  when I remove the brace and replacedt bay with a distributed load, I am getting the error message as seen above. I do not think the beam is supporting 24 distributed member loads. I would really appreciate if you could help me with this. 

Thank You! 

You can check the member loads on the member for each load case in the spreadsheet and confirm if it has a lot of discreet member loads or not.  If it does then some simplification of the loads is advised.  Alternatively one could segment the member, but this affects default unbraced length and more. 

Thanks Seth! That helped! There were redundant forces from previous force distribution (before editing, the one with the brace). Although the number of distributed force didn't exceed 24, I still kept getting errors. Nevertheless, after deleting those forces from the spreadsheet, I was able to reassign the wind distribution area and run the analysis without hassles. 

Thank you for your timely answer! I appreciate it! 

I have a question related to this discussion.

In a RAM Elements model I have areas, deck and area loads modeled in for gravity load cases. So, when I run my model, RAM elements calculates line loads on each member based on the member tributary width and load intensity. And, designs the member based on these line loads for various load cases. My understanding always was that if we run the same model again, RAM Elements will automatically delete the previous run line loads on the members & assign new line loads.

But, I ran into the same issue discussed above on one of my models where it said "Unable to assign more loads --". After reading this discussion, I went into spreadsheet & deleted the member line loads that were automatically generated from the area loads by the previous run of the model. When I did this, my model ran fine. But, the software gave warnings: "Distributed load "1" in member " " at load condition "DL = Dead Load"  is zero, it will not be considered during the analysis".

Couple of questions:

If you have area loads in a model, do you have to manually delete the member line loads that were generated by the previous run. If you don't, will RAM Elements keep adding the newly generated line loads to the existing line loads from previous runs?

If you delete the automatically generated line loads in the spreadsheet, why does the software give warnings that these distributed loads will not be considered during the analysis, though it shows pictorially in the model those auto generated line loads exist.

I ran some tests using version 16.00.00.39 on a simple test model.  If I clear the members - loads on members spreadsheet entirely (using the right click - clear command), that removes all the program generated loads from areas, and they are simply regenerated when I rerun the analysis. It's not required to use the "Distribute load areas to tributary members" tool each time, though that tool can also be used to regenerate the member loads. 

Your case must have some other issue. Perhaps you only partially cleared the existing member load data for example. If the load areas produce highly complex member loads (i.e. more than a few distinct member distributed loads) then you might have to segment the members to get the load areas to work.