All,
What are the best practices for modeling (RAM SS) a floor in a multi story building that has a large opening against the exterior wall (such as an atrium)? We have modeled it so that the slab edge is the perimeter of the building. Then put in the large opening ringed by beams. The diaphragm is rigid. Since there is a small sliver of slab on the exterior beams (with a rigid diaphragm), it does not transfer any wind loads to these beams and therefore they *and the columns they are attached to) are not properly designed. It also means the load paths for this area are not 100% correct. We are looking at designing them in a component software (spreadsheet).
Any thoughts or recommendations for this?
Thanks,
Mike