Introduction

The SAP (Structural Analysis Program) name has been synonymous with state-of-the-art analytical methods since its introduction over 30 years ago.

From its 3D object based graphical modelling environment to the wide variety of analysis and design options, completely integrated across one powerful user interface, SAP2000 has proven to be the most integrated, productive and practical general purpose structural program on the market today.

Complex models can be generated and meshed with powerful built-in templates. Integrated design code features can automatically generate wind, wave, bridge and seismic loads with comprehensive automatic steel and concrete design code checks per US, Canadian and other international design standards.

Advanced analytical techniques allow for step-by-step large deformation analysis, Eigen and Ritz analyses based on stiffness of non-linear cases, catenary cable analysis, material non-linear analysis with fibre hinges, multi-layered non-linear shell element, buckling analysis, progressive collapse analysis, energy methods for drift control, velocity-dependent dampers, based isolators, support plasticity and non-linear segmental construction analysis. Non-linear analyses can be static and/or time history, with options for FNA non-linear time history dynamic analysis and direct integration.

P.S. “FNA” stands for Fast Non-linear Analysis, also known as Non-linear modal time-history analysis.

(Part of SAP2000 overview on csiamerica.com).

Objectives

There are two main purposes for this course. The first purpose is to make students familiar with a powerful international software for modelling, analysis, and design of concrete and steel structures; show how to create a model with some simple but useful rules to minimise the risk of mistake and, if there is any, ease of detecting the mistakes and troubleshooting.

The second purpose is to train students how to ensure the accuracy of the model and the results of the analysis to enable them to provide a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective design. One of the major risks in design is to trust the software and use it as a black box without having any clear idea about the results and not using our engineering judgment and rule of thumbs to ensure the results are correct and the design is satisfactory. We need to understand that a software is only a tool to facilitate analysis and design, but it is not an engineer. We, as engineers, shall take the full responsibility of our analysis and design regardless of the capabilities of the tools we utilise.

So the aim of this course and the following courses is not only training SAP2000 software (or other software at later stage), but showing students how to create a reliable model with more realistic conditions to be able to provide an adequate structural design. This course is mainly focusing on basics of modelling, but the following courses will go through more advanced aspects of modelling and design. It is highly recommended to follow these series of courses from the beginning to grasp the whole concept of engineering approach for designing a structure.

My 20 plus years’ experience in structural engineering shows that the biggest challenge for young generation in starting their professional career is the gap between the knowledge and application of the knowledge (unfortunately sometimes this gap is with them for a long time because they have never been trained properly) and I’ve aimed to fill a part of this gap with a series of courses in order to help them to become reliable resources in structural engineering industry.

Ali Shayan – Professor

Here you can find an excerpt from one of the course tutorials.

Limited places.

Module 1: Basics of Modelling

• – New Model
• – Define units
• – Introduce Grids
• – Introduce stories
• – Draw menu/tools
• – Drawing elements
• – Snap tools Measure
• – Measure
• – Select menu/tools
• – View menu
• – Set Display options

Module 2: Basics of Modelling

• • – Define different materials
  • – Define sections (frame and shell)
  • – Change section stiffness
  • – Section Designer
  • – Hints and tips for material property and sections
  • – Colour for section in display option
  • – Element local axis
  • – Define Groups
  • – How to copy/replicate
  • – Extrude
  • – Edit nodes/line/area

Module 3: Foundation, Boundary Conditions

• • – Assign supports for the structure
  • – Modelling basement walls
  • – Define the structure base
  • – Modelling shallow foundations
  • – Modelling pile foundations
  • – Define spring to simulate soil conditions
  • – Assign spring for wall, shallow foundation, and pile
  • – How to use linear spring to simulate soil non-linear behaviour
  • – Pross and cons of using linear spring for boundary conditions

Module 4: Loading

• • – Load pattern (Wind loading, Earthquake loading)
  • – Displacement load
  • – Thermal load
  • – Ultimate, service, working loads
  • – Load cases and load combination
  • – Hints and tips about loading
  • – Frame element loading
  • – Shell element loading and Surface pressure
  • – Define diaphragm and Mass source
  • – Applying earthquake load

Module 5 – 6: Analysis and Troubleshooting-Part 1 & 2

• • – Setup analysis
  • – Static Analysis
  • – P-Delta Analysis
  • – Modal Analysis
  • – Modal participating mass ratio
  • – How to use modal analysis in Earthquake loading
  • – Reading output (Displacement, Internal Forces)
  • – Section cut
  • – How to use displacement for troubleshooting
  • – How to use modal analysis for troubleshooting
  • – Typical mistakes

Module 7: Design

• • – Design Parameters/standards
  • – Design by program or check
  • – Select load combination
  • – Check concrete element design data
  • – Run the design
  • – Concrete element Design features
  • – Steel element Design features
  • – How to ensure the design is correct
  • – Adopting design parameters
  • – Concrete shell design
  • – Check the design summary
  • – How to Create a report

Module 8: Review Exercises

Ali Shayan

Ali Shayan is an experienced Structural engineer and team leader with over 20 years of experience in structural design of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. He has wide range of experience in large scale industrial building including steel making, direct reduction iron (mega structure), iron ore, iron ore beneficiation, steel alloy, copper, sugar cane and by products, electrical infrastructure and diverse manufacturing factories as well as mid/high rise buildings and large scale commercial buildings.

He has a master’s degree in Earthquake Engineering from Tehran Polytechnic and is professional in dynamics of structures, seismic behaviour of structure and structural integrity assessment. He has move to Australia in 2010 and is the founder and director of Adowra Engineering in Australia (www.adowra.com.au) parallel with working as structural team leader in other companies across Australia.

Ali has been using CSI software (SAP, ETABS and SAFE) for more than 20 years. His master thesis was “Effect of Higher Modes in Non-Linear Static Pushover Analysis”. He utilised SAP software in 1999 (at that time it was called SAP90) for non-linear static pushover analysis and non-linear time history dynamic analysis of few structural models to compare the results of these two analysis methods in his research. He has several publications in Iranian scientific/engineering journals and conferences about pushover analysis and the effect of the arrangement of lateral resisting system in seismic behaviour of the structure.

The course is delivered online through our easy-to-use Virtual Campus platform. For this course, a variety of content is provided including:

– eLearning materials
– Videos
– Interactive multimedia content
– Live webinar classes
– Texts and technical articles
– Case studies
– Assignments and evaluation exercises

Students can display the materials and work through the course at their own pace.
We regularly update this course to ensure the latest news and state-of-the-art developments are covered, and your knowledge of the subject is current.

Live webinars form part of our course delivery. These allow students and tutors to go through the course materials, exchange ideas and knowledge, and solve problems together in a virtual classroom setting. Students can also make use of the platform’s forum, a meeting point to interact with tutors and other students.

The tutoring system is managed by email. Students can email the tutor with any questions about the course and the tutor will be happy to help.

This course is useful for undergraduates, graduates and practicing structural engineers who has already started their career and are interested in learning structural modelling and design utilising and advanced software as well as some key rules to help them to evaluate the results of structural model to ensure the results are reasonably accurate and trustable to proceed with the detailed design without considerable reworking and (consequently) waste of time and energy.

All big and small companies are always after reliable resources to delegate the project to them, having the peace of mind that the project is running smoothly with minimum risk of making mistake and reworking due to lack of knowledge and experience.

Knowing an advance software which is being used globally is always useful to encourage employers to accept individuals with such capabilities in their team. SAP2000 is a well-known software all around the world that can model variety types of elements, run variety types of analysis and utilise quite few international standards for design of concrete, steel, cold-formed steel, and aluminum structures.

Knowing a powerful software like SAP2000, adding up with good understanding of the behaviour of a structure, boundary conditions and logic of transferring loads will make you above the average and help you to get involved in industry faster and with more confidence.