Powerful Integrated Design

Reinforced Concrete Design
Scia Engineer provides an unrivalled breadth and depth of design functionality for Reinforced Concrete buildings of all shapes and sizes including inclined slabs (ramps), curved walls, beams, columns, footings and pilecaps.  Both pre-tensioned and post-tensioned pre-stressed concrete can also be designed. Such RC structures do not have to be confined to a simple grid-friendly rectangular box but can have steps, openings, and other geometric irregularities and complicated loadings all of which can be modelled accurately with Scia Engineer.

Structural geometry can be generated by using a 'wizard' to generate regular RC elements or by importing DWG or DXF files from AutoCAD drawings.  Theoretical reinforcement requirements are produced to satisfy the code, with the user interacting to define the practical reinforcement details.

Working in this way generally leads to great economies in the total amount of reinforcement used, whilst batch processing ensures significant time economies are also realised.  The model can then be re-analysed to consider the long-term effects using the practical reinforcement.

Design of RC Slabs and Rafts
Scia Engineer's FE-based analysis and reinforcement design method has been widely used to design practical reinforcement in many concrete slabs and rafts in a matter of hours.  Scia Engineer includes a subsoil library with example data for typical strata.  This approach has been shown to be more economical than traditional hand calculation methods, such as the strip method and yield line theory, which can also be more time-consuming. 

As well as Theoretical Areas of required reinforcement produced, Scia Engineer also allows you to input actual reinforcement as loose bar or mesh.  The Practical Reinforcement can then be used to control deflection in sub-regions of RC slabs, walls etc., where increasing the thickness of the overall structure is not an efficient solution.

The 2D or 3D model can then be processed using the powerful non-linear analysis to report long term and creep deflections, as well as any potential cracking.  Scia Engineer allows engineers to design slabs with the following features and design requirements:

• Openings of any shape, drop panels & drop heads
• Upstand and downstand beams
• Punching shear checks
• Cracked section analysis

Links to CADS Steelwork Designers
Scia Engineer supports steel code checking in accordance with BS5950 1:2000, EC3 and other international design standards seamlessly integrated with the structural analysis.  Horizontal, vertical and inclined members with plain, tapered or haunched sections are all checked automatically including appropriate torsional buckling and stability checks.  Both Fabsec and Westok cellular beams are supported.

Automatic design will optimise steel sections for minimum weight or minimum depth.  Results are displayed on screen and include helpful references to code clauses.  Choice of brief, normal or detailed printed output format provides a clear and concise presentation of the design including diagrams and pictures where required.

CADS Design and Detailing Software Integration
Detailed reinforcement designs can be achieved by linking the model to the appropriate CADS RC element design software.  Each one links to a corresponding CADS RC detailing macro that produces a detailed reinforcement drawing and bar bending schedules.  Scia Engineer also features an integrated, automated detailing link to CADS RC.  This key feature can reduce the pressure on time and resources, especially when changes occur.

Page 3 of 7

Structural Engineer RC Design & Detailing Article