So, I attached two pictures, the hand drafted shows what I'm trying to achieve in STAAD. I'm not facing problem with the beams, those are already modeled, but how am I supposed to go about the plates at level 0.00?
Note that only the beam in red has an offset at one end at -1, this is what makes placing the plates tricky. The beam in red has a depth less than that supporting the 1.00 slab. The perpendicular beams are flashing at the bottom.
Any suggestions?
One approach I tried was to have all the beams modeled at 1.00, then model the plates, then give the beams supporting the lower slab a -1 offset at both ends, but is this a correct approach specially that the nodes of the plates are still at 1.00?
Instead of applying a -1 offset to one end of the red beam, model both nodes for the red beam at level 0. Connect the end node for the red beam at level 0 to a corresponding node at level +1 using a dummy member with a high E ( say 100 times the usual ) and zero density. That way you will be able to generate the plate mesh at the level 0.0
Answer Verified By: dImeNsiOnFifTh
... and the dummy member's cross section size/shape will not be a considerable factor if I assign a dummy material with a high E. Correct?
Correct. Using large cross sections for dummy members often result in bad visuals during rendering ... so using high E is preferred.