RAM Elements - Masonry Wall Stiffness & Self Weight

Question

When passing a wall modeled and analyzed in RAM Elements to the masonry wall design module, what is the best or proper way to: 
 
 Account for the proper self weight of a partially-grouted wall? 
 Adjust or account for the reduced stiffness of a partially grouted wall? 
 
 Adjusting to an effective thickness in RAM Elements would be a way to cover both the self weight and stiffness, but then the actual block thickness in the masonry module is affected as well, and can't be adjusted? 
 Adjusting either the unit weight or the self-weight factor works to correct the self-weight and maintains the desired block size when passing to the masonry module, but, would not have any effect on stiffness? 
 Appreciate any help or insight.

Esra Persellin · Answer

The following link for Masonry FAQ answers your question regarding the self-weight for partially-grouted walls. Please see the title " How does partial grouting affect the masonry wall design?". 
 https://communities.bentley.com/products/ram-staad/w/structural_analysis_and_design__wiki/3154/ram-elements-masonry-wall-faq 
 For your reduced stiffness question, you can either create a custom masonry material with an adjusted elastic modulus, E, in the main RAM Elements or you can calculate an equivalent thickness.

Seth Guthrie · Answer

Self-weight is adjusted for partial grouting in the masonry wall module. See: communities.bentley.com/.../ram-elements-masonry-wall-faq

Seth Guthrie · Answer

No, you need to make some special materials for accurate self-weight analysis in the main program. See: communities.bentley.com/.../creating-custom-sections-materials-etc-in-ram-elements-tn