Microstran 09.20.01.35 is now available on Bentley SELECTServices Online:

http://selectservices.bentley.com/

 

Note also you will need the latest version of Structural Synchronizer (ISM) installed as well:

http://www.bentley.com/en-AU/Free+Software/structural+synchronizer.htm

 

This article discusses the primary enhancement in this release: ISM Interoperability

As shown in the above schematic, all applications can have bidirectional interoperability. Microstran is the latest addition to family of ISM Interop products.

 

ISM has its own post here, its Key Features are:

 

• • Coordinate, change, and synchronize data from multiple applications

• • Review the structural model, drawings, and information

• • Track revisions and compare differences between versions

 

Microstran supports the following ISM functionalities.

 

1. Create a Repository
2. New from Repository
3. Update ISM Repository
4. Update from ISM Repository

Download and Extract the exercise files locally on your machine.

Create ISM Repository

 

1. Open Example 3.msw, this is Example 3 from the Microstran Manual)

2. Got to File --> ISM -->Create ISM Repository

3. Select location you want to save the Repository or accept the default, and it will save to the same location as the current Microstran file. Accept all default settings and select "Start"

4. You should see the above screenshot, at this point just hit Update at the bottom of the screen

5. You will be presented with a commit message dialog, this allows you to enter a message to remind yourself later on what was modified or added for this commit.

You have just created your first ISM repository, this ISM repository can be read by Bentley ProStructures, STAAD, STAAD Foundation, AECOsim Building Designer or any other ISM enabled products.

 

New From ISM Repository

 

1. In Microstran go to File -->ISM -->New From ISM Repository

2. Select Example 4.ism.dgn, accept all default settings and select "Start", structural synchronizer should launch with the below view.

3. Select Update at the bottom of the screen

4. Close out of the Microstran ISM Link dialog

5. You should see the above structure brought into Microstran.

 

We have just brought in an ISM Repo into Microstran, so now we can bring in models from any ISM enabled product.

Update ISM Repository

 

1. After you have completed “New From ISM Repository” step above, keep Microstran open, let’s do some changes and have that update our Repository.

2. Draw a diagonal member and add a UDL to this newly drawn member

 

3. Go to File --> ISM --> New From ISM Repository, hit Start

 

 

4. We know for a fact that we have only added the new member and a new load so we select the 2 added items in the checklist and select Accept, then select Preview to see what the new Repo will look like. You should see

 

5. Select Update and you will be prompted with a Commit Message Dialog. You can enter what you have done since the last commit.

 

 

Update From ISM Repository

 

Modifications to the Repository by other ISM enabled application, can be catered for as well.

 

We will use the ISM Editor to do the modification to the ISM Repository. You can use, any other ISM enabled application.

 

1. Start Menu --> Bentley Engineering --> Structural Synchronizer V8i -->ISM Editor V8i

2. The ISM Editor allows you to pinpoint exactly the items in the ISM Repository you want to modify.

3. File-->Open , and select the ISM Repository “Example 4.ism.dgn”

4. Let’s add a material, then update and exit ISM Editor.

 

5. Go to File --> ISM--> Update From ISM Repository, select the “Example 4.ism.dgn” and hit Start

6. Notice that Microstran has Updated from the modified repository with the additional material.

 

 

Settings discussed

 

During ISM Operations, user may want to adjust the settings to achieve desired results.

 

Element Comparison Tolerances:

 

For ISM Update commands, the program checks to see whether Microstran members and supports correspond to a particular ISM member and support via distance tolerances. If this value is too small, it may not find the corresponding members when performing update functions. If it’s too large, it may erroneously consider a member to be “identical”. Retain the default and adjust if necessary.

Misc Settings

 

Show Change Management: This indicates whether Structural Synchronizer will appear, once the “Start” operation is commenced.

 

Commit Message: If Show Change management is set toFalse. Then the ISM Repository will be updated/created with the commit message in this field

 

Node Generation Tolerances.

 

Connectivity Tolerance – This tolerance defines how close two members’ physical locations need to be to trigger the generation of nodes connecting the two members. The distance calculation is performed with 3D volumes, not simplified member lines and polygons. Setting this value too large will result in unwanted nodes (or unwanted members attached to wanted nodes). Setting this value too small will result in missing nodes (or nodes without appropriate members attached). This value is typically set to be a little smaller than the distance between the two closest members that should not be connected.

 

Node Merging Tolerance – This tolerance defines how close two nodes can be before they are merged into a single node. See also the Member Based Node Merging section below.

 

 

Plane Tolerance – This tolerance defines how far from a member’s plane a node can be while still being considered as “near” the member’s plane. Nodes will not be moved further than twice this value.

Node Member Separation Factor – This is a multiplier of member size that defines how far the node can be from the member. Where two members are connected, the value is multiplied by the sum of the two member sizes. This value is typically left as 1.0.

If you noticed disconnected members in Microstran when doing a “New From ISM Repository”, try running again by increasing the Connectivity Tolerance. This value is basically how far do end members have to be before they are deemed to be connected by a common node.

 

Structural Synchronizer

 

You as the engineer have ultimate control to what you commit to the repository.

 

For any update operations, you can select which items to commit to the repository.

 

Green items being added to repository

Blue items in the repository that has been modified

Red items removed from the repository

 

Notice the status and Change Column, you can select each item and either Accept, or Reject them. After which, you can preview the changes via the preview button. Make sure the click the Update Button once completed.

 

ISM Revisions Management

 

Within Windows Explorer, Select the ISM Repository you want to investigate, Right Click à Manage ISM Repository Revisions

 

Note that ISM is more than just a file format, it is a platform for visualization and change management. Of particular significance is the ability to query the differences between any two revisions in the repository by using the Diff command.

 

 

User also has the ability to revert, merge and track changes to ISM Repository as it evolve between commits.

Worked Example:

 

The following describes a worked example showcasing a workflow utilizing the ISM.

 

 

1. Open S_Exhaust.msw

2. Create an ISM Repository in the same folder, when prompted, provide the commit message: “Repository Initialized”.

3. Upsize one of the beams in Microstran, and Update the ISM Repository. Within Structural Synchronizer, accept the items being modified and Update. When Prompted, add the commit message: “Beam upsized”

 

4. Re-run the linear analysis in Microstran, making sure design works, once completed, Export the Reaction Files to the local directory.

 

5. Update the Ism Repository once more, noticed this time reactions are added in the Structural Synchronizer view. Accept the changes and add the commit message: “Reactions added”.

6. Open STAAD Foundation Advanced, and follow along with this video

 

7. View “Diff” between 2 versions of the ISM Repository. ISM Manage revision tool is a robust design history management solution to your structural models.

 

Additional Notes:

 

Microstran "Design Members" correspond to ISM physical members. You will notice that when performing “New From ISM Repository” or “Update from ISM Repository”, the resultant Microstran job file contains initialized design members. These are always initialized to the default design code AS4100.

 

Reactions: If you would like your ISM Repository to contain reaction information (STAAD Foundation Advanced), then you need to export your reaction files to the same folder as your Microstran file prior to any ISM Operations. Remember to do this whenever analysis results are updated.

 

Member Sets: Members in ISM Repository can store the “use” of a member, i.e whether it’s a Beam, Column, Brace, etc. This information can be transmitted by taking advantage of Microstran Sets. 

By default, all members in Microstran are placed into the ISM Repository via its centroid. Often times, it is desirable to have these placed via TOS (Top Of Steel). This can be achieved by placing members into a Microstran set and naming the set with particular keywords. Below table illustrates this:

 

Member Types	Key words in Microstran Set Name	Ism Section Insertion Point
Beams	rafter, beam, bm	CentroidTop  --> Top of Steel
Columns	Col, cl	CentroidCentroid
Horizontal Brace	Brace; Horizontal, hor, H-, H_	CentroidCentroid
Vertical Brace	Brace; Vertical, vert, V-, V_	CentroidCentroid