CE3155A Structural Behaviour

Modeling with ETABS:

Step‐by‐step example

Dr Elliot Law
Senior Lecturer, Dean’s Office (College of Design and Engineering)

[email protected]

© Elliot Law, 2022 CE3155A Structural Behaviour STRICTLY FOR INTERNAL CIRCULATION ONLY
 Example: two‐story steel frame

5 kN/m
20 kN

Beams: 5 kN/m
UKB 457×191×67 20 kN

Columns:
UKC 305×305×97
4m
Diagonal bracings:
UKA 100×100×8 N

Cables:
20 mm diameter 5m

Steel grade for all members: S275

Fixed
Z support

Y X
3m
3.5 m

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 Example: two‐story steel frame

Plan view Elevation view Elevation view

(west) (south)

Pin
connections Rigid Pin
4m connections
connections

Rigid
3.5 m Rigid
connections
connections 5m

Y Z Z

X Y X
3m
3.5 m 3m

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 Create and set up a new model

 Click on the “New Model” button to create a new model from scratch.

 Change the settings for the model to “Metric SI” for display units, “Europe” for region for default
materials , “BSShapes2006” for steel section database, and “Eurocode 3‐2005” and “Eurocode 2‐
2004” for design codes.

 Specify grid and story dimensions:

 Define gridlines in X and Y directions (plan view).
 Define number of stories and height of each story.
 To modify these dimensions at a later stage, go to Edit  Edit Story and Grid System Data
and click on “Modify/Show Story Data” or “Modify/Show Grid System”.

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 Define material properties

 Define type of material to be used for the members in the frame:

 Go to Define  Material Properties.
 Click on “Add New Material”.
 Change region to “Europe” and grade to “S275” (as specified in Slide 2).
 Use default values or modify if necessary.

Repeat the process to define ALL materials used in the model.

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 Define section properties

 Define each type of steel section used in the frame:

 Go to Define  Section Properties  Frame Sections.
 Click on “Import New Properties”.
 Select the section shape (UKB and UKC are termed as “Steel I/Wide Flange”, while UKA are
termed as “Steel Angle”).
 Change the material to the one defined above.
 Select desired section from the list.

Repeat the process to define ALL sections used in the model.

UKB UKC UKA

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 Define section properties

 Some structural elements such as cables only have resistance to axial tension, but no resistance
to axial compression and bending moment.

 They can be modeled as frame elements with compression limit = 0 kN.

 Define shape and dimensions of cable section:

 Go to Define  Section Properties  Frame Sections.
 Click on “Add New Properties”.
 Select the section shape (typically “Steel Rod“ can be used if it is a round cable).
 Enter a property name (e.g. “Steel cable”).
 Change the material to the one defined above.
 Specify the dimensions (e.g. diameter) of the section.

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 Draw members

 For members that lie along gridlines (e.g. beams and columns):
 Go to Draw  Draw Beam/Column/Brace Objects  Quick Draw Beams/Columns.
 Select property and moment releases (pinned or continuous/rigid) of the member.
 Place cursor near gridline where the member should be drawn and wait for the line to be
highlighted.
 Click on the highlighted line to add the member.
 Place cursor at location of the next member with the same property (section size) and
moment releases (end conditions) and repeat the process.

Repeat the process for all beams and columns in the frame.
Members should be drawn in a segment‐by‐segment manner.
Take note of property (section size) and moment releases (end conditions) used each time a
member is drawn.

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 Draw members

 For members that lie between gridlines (e.g. diagonal bracings):

 Go to Draw  Draw Beam/Column/Brace Objects  Draw Beam/Column/Brace.
 Select property and moment releases (pinned or continuous/rigid) of the member.
 Place cursor at the grid point near the start of the member and wait for grid point to be
highlighted before clicking on the point.
 Place cursor at the grid point near the end of the member and wait for grid point to be
highlighted before clicking on the point.
 Right‐click to end.
 Repeat for the next member with the same property (section size) and moment releases (end
conditions).

Repeat the process for all diagonal bracings and cables in the frame.
Members should be drawn in a segment‐by‐segment manner.
Take note of property (section size) and moment releases (end conditions) used each time a
member is drawn.

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 Check member sections and display rendered view

 Display assigned sections:

 Go to Assign  Frame  Section Properties.
 Click on OK without editing anything to show sections assigned to each member.

 Display rendered view:

 Go to View  Show Rendered View.
 Check whether orientation of each member is correct.

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 Define member orientation

 View member orientation:

 Go to Assign  Frame  Local Axes.
 Click on OK without changing member rotation in order to
view local axes.
 Red, blue, and green arrows represent longitudinal, major,
and minor axes, respectively. Minor axis

 Modify member:
 Go to Assign  Frame  Local Axes. Major axis

 Click to select members of interest.

 Use “Rotate by Angle” to change member orientation by
rotating about the longitudinal axis.

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 Define compression limit for cable members

 Cables can only resist tension – they cannot resist any compression.

 Assign compression limit for cable member:

 Go to Assign  Frame  Tension/Compression Limits.
 Click to select members of interest.
 Turn on “Compression Limit” and assign value of 0 kN.

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 Define support conditions

 Assign support conditions:

 Go to Assign  Joint  Restraints.
 Click to select points of interest.
 Select common type of restraints (Fast Restraints) or define Restraints in Global Directions.
 Pin support is displayed as triangle while fixed support is displayed as cruciform.

Joint Restraints is NOT the same as Joint/Connection Type.

DO NOT USE JOINT RESTRAINTS TO DEFINE RIGID CONNECTIONS.

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 Define joint/connection type

 View joint type:

 Go to Assign  Frame  Releases/Partial Fixity.
 Click on OK without modifying release conditions in order to view joint types.
 Pin connections are represented by dots near the ends of each member, while the unmarked
ones are rigid connections.

 Modify joint type:

 Go to Assign  Frame  Releases/Partial Fixity.
 Click to select members of interest.
 For rigid connections at both ends, select “No Releases”.
 For pin connections at both ends, Release the Start and End for major and minor axis
moments, with zero spring stiffness.
Joint Restraints is NOT the same as Joint/Connection Type.
USE FRAME RELEASES/PARTIAL FIXITY TO DEFINE RIGID CONNECTIONS.

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 Define load types and combinations

 Define load patterns:

 Go to Define  Load Patterns.
 Click on “Add New Load” or “Modify Load” if necessary (e.g. if there is wind load).
 Dead load accounts for self weight and permanent applied loads on a structure (set Self
Weight Multiplier to 0 if there is a need to ignore self weight).
 Live load accounts for transient applied loads on a structure.
 In this example, the defaults are accepted.

 Define load combinations:

 Go to Define  Load Combinations.
 Click on “Add New Combo”.
 Add or remove load patterns and specify their associated scale factors based on design code.
 Used to examine combined effects of different types of loading.
 No load combinations considered in this example.

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 Assign and view loads at joints

 Assign loads at joints:

 Go to Assign  Joint Loads  Force.
 Click to select points of interest.
 Specify load pattern, magnitude, and direction.
 Use the default “Replace Existing Loads”.

 View loads at joints:

 Go to Display  Load Assigns  Joints.
 Specify load pattern.

Assigned loads will be hidden i.e. not displayed when a new action is executed.

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 Assign and view loads on members

 Assign loads on members:

 Go to Assign  Frame Loads  Point or Distributed (whichever is relevant).
 Click to select members of interest.
 Specify load pattern, magnitude, and direction of uniform, trapezoidal, or point loads.
 Use the default “Replace Existing Loads”.

 View loads on members:

 Go to Display  Load Assigns  Frame.
 Specify load pattern.

Assigned loads will be hidden i.e. not displayed when a new action is executed.

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 Define load cases

 Change load cases from Linear Static to Nonlinear Static:

 Go to Define  Load Cases.
 For each load case except Modal, change Load Case Type from “Linear Static” to “Nonlinear
Static” by selecting the load case and clicking on “Modify/Show Case”.
Tension/Compression Limits will not work in Linear Static analysis.

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 Run analysis and extract results

 Run analysis after model is created:

 Go to Analyze  Run Analysis.
 The model will be locked after analysis.
 To edit the structure, the model may be unlocked but the analysis results will be lost.

 Display deformation:
 Go to Display  Deformed Shape.
 Choose relevant Load Case or Load Combination.
 If necessary, select User Defined Scaling and adjust the Scale Factor to make the deformed
shape more obvious (this will NOT change the actual displacement values).
 Right‐click on a joint to view its displacement values.

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 Run analysis and extract results

 Display support reactions:

 Go to Display  Force/Stress Diagrams  Support/Spring Reactions.
 Choose relevant Load Case or Load Combination.
 Select components to display.
 Right‐click on a support to view its reaction values.

 Display member forces:

 Go to Display  Force/Stress Diagrams  Frame/Pier/Spandrel/Link Forces.
 Choose relevant Load Case or Load Combination.
 Select a component to display.
 Right‐click on a member to view its internal forces.
 2‐2 is the plane of the major axis while 3‐3 is the plane of the minor axis.

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 Summary of key steps

1. Create and set up a new model.

2. Define material properties.
3. Define section properties.
4. Draw members and define member orientation and other properties.
5. Define support reactions.
6. Define joint/connection type.
7. Define load cases, load types, and combinations.
8. Assign loads on joints and members.
9. Run analysis.
10. Extract analysis results.

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 Example: two‐story steel frame

Maximum horizontal deflection:

2.205 mm (eastwards)
5 kN/m
20 kN
Vertical reaction at west supports:
50.8 kN (tension) 5 kN/m
20 kN
Vertical reaction at east supports:
65.8 kN (compression)

Axial force in diagonal bracings at ground floor:

27.8 kN (compression)
4m
Axial force in cables at ground floor:
6.07 kN (tension)
N
Maximum bending moment in beam at top story:
4.54 kNm (sagging)

5m

Fixed
Z support

Y X
3m
3.5 m

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 Example: two‐story steel frame

Maximum horizontal deflection:

2.649 mm (westwards)
5 kN/m
20 kN
Vertical reaction at west supports:
65.4 kN (compression) 5 kN/m
20 kN
Vertical reaction at east supports:
50.4 kN (tension)

Axial force in diagonal bracings at ground floor:

34.0 kN (tension)
4m
Axial force in cables at ground floor:
0 kN
N
Maximum bending moment in beam at top story:
4.54 kNm (sagging)

5m
You should get different answers
when the direction of horizontal
force is reversed!
Fixed
Z support

Y X
3m
3.5 m

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