CREATING A STRUCTURAL MODEL

In this tutorial, you learn how to create a structural axis and stories on which you define your
structure.

This tutorial guide through the following tasks.

Add columns, beams, walls, and a floor with openings for the shafts.
Copy elements to other stories.
Change the columns of the top floor from reinforced concrete to steel.
Add beams from column to column.

This tutorial should take about 30 minutes.

The final version of the structure is shown below.

Create the Structural Axis and Stories
Learn how to create a structural axis as the basis for the column grid and how to add stories for
the levels of the building.

1. Start a new project using the Building Design Template.

2. Click Tools > (Preferences).
3. In the Preferences dialog, in the Languages area, set the Regional settings to Eurocode, as
shown below.

4. Click Tools > Job Preferences, and then select Metric as the default units system.
5. In the Menu Bar, select Geometry > (Axis Definition).
6. In the Structural Axis dialog box, on the X tab, set the Position to 0, No. of repet. to 8,
Distance to 6 (m) and Numbering to A B C and then click Add. On the Y tab, set the
Position to 0, No. of repet. to 5, Distance to 6, and Numbering to 1 2 3 as shown
below.
7. Click Apply and close the dialog box. The new axis displays as shown below.
8. In the view window, click the View tab to change to the 3D view. By default, there are
Base and Story 1 levels as shown below.

9. In the Menu Bar, click Geometry > Stories > (Stories).

10. In the Stories dialog box, select Define manually.
11. Select the existing Story 1 and click Delete. The Reference level reverts to 0.
12. Set the No. of repet. to 5, the Height to 4, and the Numbering to Story 1,2, (as shown
below) and then click Add.
 13. Click Apply and then close the dialog box. The stories display as shown below.

14. Save the project as Structure-Seismic.rtd.

Add Columns
Learn how to add columns, and how to copy them to additional places.

1. Return to the Plan view.

2. In the Menu Bar, click Geometry > (Columns) or in the Structure Model toolbar,

click (Columns).
3. In the Column dialog box, set the Section type to RC column and the Section to C 45x45.
Verify that the Height is set to 4.00.
4. Click the intersection of Grid A6 to add the column as shown below.
5. You can continue clicking on the intersections at which you want to add columns or copy
the first column to additional places.
6. To copy the column, select the first column and in the Menu Bar, click Edit > Edit >

(Move/ Copy).

Note: You can also access the edit commands using a toolbar. On the Standard toolbar,

click (Edit) to open the Edit toolbar. In the Edit toolbar, click (Move/Copy).

7. In the Translation dialog box, set the Edit mode to Copy and type the Number of
repetitions that you want to make, in this case 8.
8. Place the cursor in the Translation vector box, click the intersection A6 to indicate the
origin of the vector, and then click the intersection B6 to indicate the direction of the
vector.

Note: Alternatively, enter the following coordinates in the Translation vector box: 6.00,
0.00, 0.00.

9. To copy the group of columns to the rest of the locations, right-click and select Select
and then select all of the copies that you just created.
10. Set the Number of repetitions to 5 and pick two points going down.
11. The columns are placed as shown below.
12. Click the View tab to display the columns in a 3D view.
13. In the Display Shortcuts bar, click (Section Shapes) to display the full size column as
shown below.
 Save the project.

Add Beams, and Walls

Learn how to add beams, and walls. You also learn how to select and filter elements so that you
can delete any unneeded columns.

1. Return to the Plan view.

2. In the Menu Bar, click Geometry > (Beams) or in the Structural Design toolbar,

click (Beams).
3. In the Beam dialog box, select the Section type RC beam and the Section B 30x50
4. Draw the Beams from 3D to 3F and 4D to 4F as shown below.
5. In the Menu Bar, click Geometry > (Walls) or in the Structural Design toolbar, click

(Walls).
6. In the Wall dialog box, set the Thickness to TH12_CONCR, the Height to 4, and the
Orientation to Down. Draw the walls shown below.
7. Close the Walls dialog box. You will now remove any unneeded columns.
8. Select the walls and columns in the center of the building, but not the beams.
9. Switch to the 3D view.

10. In the Selection toolbar, click (Bar Selection).

Note: The Selection toolbar (shown below) is typically docked directly below the
Standard toolbar. Some tools are only available when elements are selected.

11. In the Selection dialog box, expand the Bar drop-down list and select Panel. Then select
None. This removes all of the panels (walls) from the selection set without removing the
columns as shown below.

12. Close the dialog box and press <Delete>.

13. In the Deleting a structure fragment dialog box, select No, delete only the selected bars
(you do not want to delete the connecting beams) and then click Apply.
14. Save the project.
Create a floor and floor opening
Learn how to add a floor and then how to add openings in the floor.

1. Return to the plan view.

2. In the Menu Bar, click Geometry > (Floors) or in the Structural Design toolbar, click

(Floors).
3. In the Floor dialog box, set the Thickness to TH12_CONCR and select Rectangle.
4. Select the points for the rectangle as shown below and close the dialog box.

5. Click the View tab to display the 3D view. The floor goes through the shafts.
 6. Return to the Plan view.

7. In the Menu Bar, click Geometry > Objects > (Rectangle) , or in the Structural

Design toolbar click (Objects) and in the Objects toolbar, click (Rectangle).
8. Draw rectangles inside the walls as shown below for the shaft openings.

Save the project.

Copy Elements to Additional Stories

Learn how to use the Object Inspector to copy the content of a story to other stories.

1. Go to the View tab. All of the elements that you have created can be copied to the other
stories.
2. In the Object Inspector, right-click on Story 1 and select Stories > Copy contents of the
story as shown below.
 Note: If you did not have additional Stories in the project, you could use Copy story
and have the software create the story and copy the contents.

3. In the Copy contents of a story dialog box, set the Geometry to Above and the No. of
repetitions to 4 as shown below.

4. Click OK.The contents of Story 1 are copied to the other stories as shown below.
 5. Save the project.

Make Changes to the Top Story

Learn how to select elements using the Object Inspector and other methods and how to change
the top structural columns to steel.

1. In the Object Inspector, double-click on Story 5. The view changes to only display the
elements of Story 5 as shown below.
Note: You can select the story in which you want to work using the Object Inspector or
from the Stories toolbar, or the pop-up list at the bottom of the screen as shown below. If
you test this, ensure that you go back to Story 5 before continuing with the steps.
2. Click the Plan tab and ensure that you are in the plan view of Story 5.
3. In the Object Inspector, expand Story 5 and select Openings as shown below.

4. These openings are no longer needed. Press <Delete> to remove them.

5. Open the View tab to display the change.
6. In the Object Inspector, right-click on Story 5 and select Stories. Clear the Filter
structure stories option so that all of the stories display.
7. Another way to select elements is by doing so in a view. In the Standard toolbar, click

(View) to open the View toolbar as shown below.

Note: Many of these options are only available in a 3D view.

8. In the View toolbar, click (3D Projection onto ZX).

Note:

o By clicking (3D Projection onto ZX) rather than (Projection ZX), all
of the elements in the view are available for selection, not just the one closest to
the plane.
o Leave the View toolbar displayed if you want to switch between other views than
3D and Plan on a regular basis.
9. Select all of the columns in Story 5 by drawing a crossing window as shown below.

10. In the View toolbar, click (3D Projection XYZ) to return to the 3D view. The Story
5 columns and the walls are selected.
11. To clear the Walls without dropping the columns, in the Object Inspector, expand Story 5
to display the types of elements that have been used and selected as shown below.
12. Hold down <Ctrl> and click Walls to clear the wall selection.
13. In the Layout drop-down menu, select Properties.

Note: Layouts setup the most useful toolbars and tables for a specific function.

14. In the Structure Definition toolbar that displays, click (Bar Sections).
15. In the Sections dialog box, select IPE 270 as shown below and click Apply.
 Note: If the IPE 270 section does not display, in the Sections dialog box, click (New
Section). In the New Section dialog box, on the Standard tab, set the Family to IPE and
the Section to IPE 270. Add IPE 330 if needed. Close the dialog box.

16. Close the dialog box.

17. Switch to the 3D view and zoom in to note how the columns have changed as shown
below.

Save the project.

Add Beams
Learn how to add and copy beams for the roof of the building.

1. Pan until the beams that were copied to Story 5 are displayed. Select and delete them.
2. Change the Layout to Geometry.
3. In the Structural Design toolbar, click (Beam).
4. In the Beam dialog box, set the Section type to Steel beam and the Section to IPE 270.
5. Zoom out and draw 2 beams as shown below.

Switch to the Plan view.

6. Select the long beam and copy it to the other grids. Repeat the process with the shorter
beam. The final building should look similar to the one shown below.
7. Save the project.
 RUN A SEISMIC ANALYSIS
In this tutorial, you learn how to modify the display to show the stories by color.

Contrarily to a static analysis, loads in a simplified seismic analysis are not set by the user
directly; they are calculated by the software. The user defines parameters based on the local
building code. Then, the software calculates the seismic loads and applies them to the structure.
This prepares the model so the standard static analysis for internal forces and deformation
calculations can be performed.

This tutorial guide through the following tasks.

Create a new seismic analysis using Equivalent Lateral Force load cases.
Display these loads graphically, in a table, and using the Calculation notes.

Note: An additional seismic analysis type, the response spectrum method assigns a response of
each vibration mode on seismic excitation to calculate the internal forces distribution and
structural deformations. The loads assigned in this manner are not visible.
Set up the Seismic Analysis
Learn how to modify the display to show the stories by color and how to create a new analysis
type for linear static analysis.

1. Navigate to the Tutorials folder, and then open the project Structure-Seismic.rtd. This is
similar to the project you worked on in the previous tutorial, but additional loads have
already been added.

Note: The Tutorial files are located in C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Examples\Tutorials.

2. To help display the modifications to the various stories of the structure, right-click and
select Display.
3. In the Display dialog box, select Mark with colors and then select Stories legend by
colors and click OK. Each of the stories displays a different color as shown below.
4. In the Standard toolbar, click (Analysis Parameters). A variety of loads have already
been applied to this model as shown below. You will now add a linear elastic static
analysis type.

5. In the Analysis Type dialog box, click New.

6. In the New Case Definition dialog box, select Seismic (Equivalent Lateral Force
Method) and click OK
7. In the Seismic Analysis dialog box, expand the list of codes in the upper left corner as
shown below. Select EN 1998-1:2004.
 Note: Depending on the directions and eccentricities definitions, the series of static
seismic load cases are generated. XY components of direction vectors are understood as
additional multipliers for the calculated horizontal forces in each direction.

8. Continuing to work in the Seismic Analysis dialog box, click Directions and
Combinations. For this project, set the Newmark combination to Group 1 and Group2
as shown below and click OK.
9. In the Seismic Analysis dialog box, click Range of Seismic Load.
10. In this dialog box, you can limit the levels on which the seismic load is distributed and
define the structure height for the fundamental period calculation. The top and bottom
stories can be defined automatically or manually. In this case we are leaving the stories
set to Automatic. Click OK to close the dialog box.
11. In the Seismic Analysis dialog box, in the Method of defining values of fundamental
periods area, select Precise (modal analysis) as shown below.

Note: The fundamental period methods include Approximate (where values are
calculated according to formulas defined by code), User-defined (where values are added
manually by the user), and Precise (which generates an additional modal case preceding
seismic cases).

12. Click Modal Analysis Parameters so that you can review the settings in the Modal
Analysis Parameters dialog box and click Cancel.
13. In the Seismic Analysis dialog box, select the Approximate (seismic code) method and
click Seismic Analysis Parameters.

Note: Parameters of the seismic simplified analysis depend on the seismic code.

14. In the Parameters dialog box, next to Direction X, expand the drop-down list, and select
RC frame. Repeat this for Direction Y as shown below.
15. Click OK to close the Parameter and Seismic Analysis dialog boxes to finish the creation
of the new Seismic loads.
16. In the Analysis Type dialog box, the two Load cases for the X and Y directions and the
four combinations generated from them are displayed as shown below.

17. Save the project.

Run and review the analysis
Jan 11 2015In-Product View
Applies to Robot Structural Analysis Professional 2015
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Learn how to display the seismic loads graphically, in a table, and using the Calculation notes.

1. In the Analysis type dialog box, click Calculations.

The calculations might take some time.

Note: Acting forces for the load cases are generated during the structural analysis
calculations.

2. When the Analysis is complete, close the Analysis Type dialog box.
3. In the Layout drop-down list, select Results and then select Results diagrams as shown
below.

4. To display the loads more clearly, in the View Status Bar, turn off (Section Shapes).
5. Right-click and select Display.
6. In the Display dialog box, select Loads, and then select Forces generated automatically
as shown below. Click OK.
7. The loads that display are the default DL1 loads. To display the seismic load, expand the
Load Cases drop-down list and select E8:1-2005 Direction X as shown below.
 The forces display as shown below.

8. To see information in table form, right-click and select Tables

9. In the Tables Data and Results dialog box select Loads, select Full table, and then click
OK.
10. In the Loads table click the Values tab.
11. Right-click on the table and select Table Columns as shown below.
12. In the Loads dialog box select Display loads automatically generated in the program
and click OK.
13. The loads now display as shown in part below.

14. Defined parameters and intermediate results of the Seismic Analysis may also be
inspected in a Calculation Report. In the Menu Bar, click Analysis > Calculation Notes >
Simplified Note.
15. Scroll down in the window to display the information copied to the report, such as this
shown below.
16. Once you have finished reviewing all of the information, save and close the project.