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ASCE 7, AISC 360, and the Direct Analysis Method in the RAMStructural System

Overview

The RAM Structural System contains several powerful features to assist in the analysis and design of steel members inconformance with the International Building Code. That code specifies that designs conform to the requirements ofASCE 7 and AISC 360. This document provides a detailed outline of the steps to take to obtain valid designs. Thereferences in the document are based on the requirements of ASCE 7-05 and AISC 360-05 which are referenced byIBC 2009, with references to ASCE 7-10 and AISC 360-10 shown in square brackets [] if the reference is different.Specifically, references to Sections and Equations listed below refer to ASCE 7-05 unless explicitly stated otherwise.

ASCE 7 gives requirements for the determination of loads and load combinations, and the resulting drifts and stability.AISC 360 gives requirements for the analysis and design of steel structures. One method of obtaining a valid analysis isreferred to as the Direct Analysis Method and is given in Chapter C in AISC 360-10. It is generally preferred to employthe Direct Analysis Method for moment frames in the RAM Structural System. On the other hand, it is recommendedthat the Direct Analysis Method not be used for Braced Frames unless explicitly required by Section C2.2 of AISC 360-05 when the ratio of second-order drift to first-order drift is greater than 1.5 (this is very unusual for a braced frame);the Effective Length Method, given in Appendix 7.2, “Effective Length Method”, in AISC 360-10 is preferred for bracedframes. This recommendation is made because it is easier to apply the requirements of the Effective Length Methodthan those of the Direct Analysis Method to braced frames, since K is almost always equal to one for braced framesanyway.

It is important to recognize that the Direct Analysis Method is not a single prescribed analysis technique, but is rathera methodology consisting of a set of requirements that affect criteria, member stiffness, analysis methodology, loadsand load combinations. The general steps outlined below are not unique to RAM Frame but would be required inorder to obtain valid designs with any software.

The program has implemented a robust and practical approach to the Direct Analysis Method. This document isintended for use when the Direct Analysis Method is to be employed, not when the Effective Length Method is to beemployed.

This document is not intended to be a comprehensive outline of all necessary actions and criteria settings, such asdiaphragm settings, flange bracing, reduced beam sections (RBS) if applicable, joints, etc. Its purpose is to outline onepossible workflow, highlighting productivity-enhancing features available to aid in producing designs that conform tothe requirements of the code.

After the model has been created and the gravity designs performed in RAM Steel, perform the following steps inRAM Frame.

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Created by Allen AdamsMon, Dec 19 2011 7:50 PM

Last revision by Allen AdamsThu, Feb 27 2014 4:43 PM

Revisions: 12 Comments: 0

Step 1

Create the Wind and Seismic Loads for the drift analysis using the Loads – Load Cases command. It is recommendedthat the labels given to these load cases clearly identifies that these are the drift load cases. For the Seismic load caseswhen using the seismic load generator, select “Drift” for the “Provisions for” option, and select Use Calculated T for Tfor the Structure Period (unless there is a reason that you need or want to use some other value).

R values are given in Table 12.2-1. In the calculation of Ta per Eq. (12.8-7) a value for Ct of 0.028 is generallyappropriate for steel moment frames. Also note that the alternate equation, Ta = 0.1N, given by Eq. (12.8-8) is alsopermitted.

For the Wind load case when using the wind load generator, select Use Calculated n for Natural Frequency:

It is also recommended, although not necessary, to create an Eigen Solution Dynamic load case so that the buildingmode shapes are available for viewing. If not explicitly created the program will internally create the eigen solutiondynamic load case in order to calculate the building periods, necessary for the generation of the wind and seismicstory forces, but the mode shapes will not be available for viewing. Therefore it is recommended that the eigensolution load case be explicitly created. Note that if the initial sizes assigned to the frames are too small the eigensolution analysis will not converge. Make sure that reasonable initial sizes have been assigned before the analysis isperformed.

Step 2

Select the P-Delta criteria using the Criteria – General command. Generally the most preferred option is the UseGravity Loads option. The scale factors should be those associated with the load combination most likely to govern for

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the lateral columns. For example, since the seismic or wind loads are likely to control the designs, the strength designcombinations 4 or 5 of Section 2.3.2 are likely to control. In those combinations the factor on Dead Load is 1.2 andthe factor on Live Load is either 0.5 or 1.0, as specified by Exception 1. These factors on P-Delta will be conservativefor the uplift combinations 6 and 7, but P-Delta isn’t an issue for those combinations anyway. Conservatively thefactors of 1.2 and 1.6 per combination 2 could be used, guaranteeing that the worst P-Delta condition is covered forall combinations. Note that these should be ultimate factors even if ASD will be used in design of the members so thatthe P-Delta analysis will be performed at an ultimate level, which is necessary for the principle of superposition of loadcases to be valid. Also note that these are not the factors that will be used in the load combinations for design, theseare merely the factors used to calculate the ultimate gravity loads used in the P-Delta analysis technique.

At this point do not select the Use Reduced Stiffness for Steel Members option for AISC 360. In the calculation ofbuilding periods and story drifts the unreduced stiffnesses should be used. The analysis using the reduced stiffnesses isonly applicable to the member forces used for member design.

Note that if the initial sizes assigned to the frames are too small the structure will be unstable and the P-Delta analysiswill fail. Make sure that reasonable initial sizes have been assigned before the analysis is performed.

As necessary, specify all other pertinent criteria items in the Criteria menu, assign pertinent properties using thecommands in the Assign menu, and verify and specify the appropriate values and options for loads and masses in theLoads menu.

Step 3

Analyze the structure, selecting the gravity-, seismic drift-, wind-, and eigen solution load cases.

Review the Loads and Applied Forces report for accuracy and reasonableness. Verify that the specified criteria andinput values are correct.

It is highly recommended that you view the mode shapes and deflected shapes. This will help identify some modelingerrors, or indicate a structure that is not well-defined. View the deflected shapes using the Process – Results –Deflected Shapes command. Make any necessary model changes (e.g., fixities, diaphragm thickness and properties,etc.) to correct the error conditions that may have been exposed by looking at these results. Review the Periods andModes report; if the %Mass values listed for all direction components for the first mode are 0.00, this indicates thatsome member/element (such as an individual beam, an out-of-plane wall or column, or a diaphragm) is producingthe first mode results. The model must be corrected so that these values are valid in order to obtain the correctbuilding period results.

To view the mode shapes invoke the Process – Results – Mode Shapes command. With Mode Number 1 selected,begin the animation by clicking on the Start button. To end the animation, click on the Stop button. To view each ofthe other mode shapes select the Mode Number and repeat. In a regular, well-proportioned structure with orthogonalframes the first mode shape will usually be a translational mode, in either the X- or Y-direction, the second mode willusually be a translational mode in the orthogonal direction to the first mode, and the third mode will usually be arotational mode. If any diaphragms have been defined as Semi-rigid, turn on the deck mesh view by selecting theDisplay Semirigid Diaphragms option on the Semirigid Diaphragms tab in the View – Members command. If extremeout-of-plane displacements of the diaphragm appear when the mode shapes are displayed this probably indicatesthat the diaphragm properties or options need to be modified to eliminate these diaphragm modes (that almost

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certainly don’t exist in reality); the discussion of this problem is beyond the scope of this wiki.

If it has not already been done, assign Frame Numbers to the various frames using the Assign – Frame Numberscommand. This will be helpful when viewing some reports.

Step 4

Check Seismic drift. Section 12.12.1 limits the design story drift, D, to the appropriate Da value listed in Table 12.12-1,except for moment frames in Seismic Design Categories D through F the design story drift, D, shall not exceed Da/r.Note that the Da values listed in the table are story drifts (e.g., 0.020hsx), and that the coefficients (e.g., 0.020) are thestory drift ratios (which is simply the story drift divided by the story height, hsx). Drift values can be obtained using theProcess – Results – Drift at a Point command and clicking on any point on a floor plan or the Process – Results –Drift at Control Points command by inputting the coordinates for up to four key locations on the plan, typically thefour corners. The resulting Drift report lists the displacements, story drifts, and drift ratios. These deflections are theelastic deflections, or dxe defined in Section 12.8.6. The design deflections are then given by Eq. (12.8-15):

Cd is the Deflection Amplification Factor given in Table 12.2-1 and I is the seismic Importance Factor given in Section11.5.1 [Ie in Table 1.5-2 of ASCE 7-10].

Rather than factoring the elastic deflections in this way, calculating story drifts, and then comparing against theallowable story drift values in Table 12.12-1, a practical approach is to take the applicable coefficient (the story driftratio) value from the table and modify it so that it can be compared directly with the drift ratio values listed in the Driftreport:

Maximum Allowable Drift Ratio = (Coefficient)(I)/Cd

For example, a building four stories tall or less in Occupancy Category II has an Allowable Story Drift of 0.025hsx,which means that the allowable story drift ratio is 0.025, Cd = 5.5 for a steel special moment frame, and I = 1.00 forOccupancy Category II [“Occupancy Category” is referred to as “Risk Category” in ASCE 7-10]. The MaximumAllowable Drift Ratio can then be computed as:

Maximum Allowable Drift Ratio = (Coefficient)(I)/Cd = 0.025(1.00)/5.5 = 0.00455 for this example

This limiting value can then be compared directly with the Drift Ratio values listed in the Drift report:

Limits on Wind drift can similarly be calculated and compared against these values for the Wind load cases (no explicitlimits for wind drift are given in ASCE 7).

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If the drift ratios exceed the allowable, the member sizes should be adjusted or new frames added as necessary andSteps 3 and 4 repeated until satisfactory drift ratios are obtained.

This report is also useful in determining the presence of torsional irregularity and the need for amplification ofaccidental torsional moment as required in Section 12.8.4.3. This should be checked before proceeding. If necessary,the % Eccentricity value (which is applied to all stories) or Eccen X or Eccen Y (for each story individually) specified inthe Loads – Masses command can be modified to satisfy this requirement, and the model reanalyzed.

Step 5

Calculate and determine the acceptability of the Stability Coefficient. Section 12.8.7 specifies a maximum allowablestability coefficient, qmax, given by Eq. (12.8-17). To determine conformance to this requirement the ASCE 7 StabilityCoefficients report lists the values of q and qmax at each story for each seismic load case. This report is available usingthe Reports – ASCE 7 Stability Coefficients command. Specify Cd (given in Table 12.2-1) for each direction; the ratioof shear demand to shear capacity for the story, b, which can be conservatively taken as 1.0; and the SeismicImportance Factor, I, given in Section 11.5.1 [Ie in Table 1.5-2 in ASCE 7-10]:

Section 12.8.7 indicates that when the analysis includes the P-Delta effects, the value of q/(1+q), rather than q, may becompared against qmax. The report gives both values, but if P-Delta was included in the analysis use the q/(1+q)values:

If the Stability Coefficient exceeds the maximum allowable, qmax, at any level for any seismic load combination, themember sizes must be adjusted or new frames added as necessary, and Steps 3 through 5 repeated until satisfactorystability coefficient values are obtained. [Note: if b was conservatively assumed to be 1.0, it may be worth the effort tocalculate a more precise value of b in order to get a more correct (larger) value of qmax. The shear demand (the storyshears) can be obtained from the Building Story Shear report. The shear capacity of the story can be obtained bymanually summing up the column shear capacities for a steel moment frame system, for example, by looking at theMember Code Check reports for each of the columns; since column shear rarely if ever controls the design of momentframe columns it will generally be found that the sum of the capacities is substantially higher than the story shear.Hence b will be very small, and qmaxwill be very large, capped by the maximum value of 0.25; this will often be thecase. Shear capacities of concrete columns can similarly be obtained by looking at the column design report in RAM

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Concrete Column.]

Section 12.8.7 also indicates that when the stability coefficient, q, is less than or equal to that given in Eq. (12.8-16), it isnot necessary to include P-Delta effects in the analysis. Note that this is only true for the analysis used to calculatedrifts; the Direct Analysis Method requires (despite what ASCE 7-05 says) that P-Delta effects be included in theanalysis if the design equations of AISC 360 are to be used. Therefore it is suggested that P-Delta always be includedin the analysis.

Step 6

Set criteria, create load cases and perform analysis for member design. In the Criteria – General command, select theoption to Use Reduced Stiffness for Steel Members:

At this time select the option to set tb = 1.0. The validity of this decision will be verified in a later step, and theappropriate action will be indicated.

The wind and seismic load cases created previously were for the purpose of checking drifts and stability, with theanalysis based on the full member stiffnesses, not the reduced stiffness required for the Direct Analysis Method. It isnow necessary to create new wind and seismic load cases that can be used for member design. Because the stiffnessreduction required for the Direct Analysis Method would change the calculated building periods, it is necessary toassign the building periods using those previously calculated, rather than allowing the program to use these newcalculated periods, in the generation of the wind and seismic loads.

In the Loads – Load Cases command, add a new set of Seismic load cases. Select “Member Forces” for the“Provisions for” option, and select Use T for T for the Structure Period, and input the building periods:

As stated previously, it is generally felt that the building period used in the calculation of the story forces should be thebuilding period based on the unreduced stiffness, not on the reduced stiffness required by the Direct Analysis Methodfor analysis for member design. The period for the structure with the unreduced stiffness can be obtained from theLoads and Applied Forces report:

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In the Loads – Load Cases command, add a new set of Wind load cases. Select Use n for the Natural Frequency andinput the building frequencies. These are the inverse of the building periods obtained from the Loads and AppliedForces report:

In the Loads – Load Cases command create the AISC 360 Notional Load cases. For now, specify 0.002 for the Fractionof Gravity Loads. The validity of this value will be verified in a later step:

In order to determine whether or not the Notional loads need to be included with all load combination or just thoseload combinations that include Gravity loads it is necessary to determine the ratio of second-order drift to first-orderdrift. To do this, temporarily turn off the P-Delta option in Criteria – General and perform an Analyze. Print out thestory drifts using the Process – Results – Drift at Control Points command; this set of results is the first-order storydrifts. Then re-select the P-Delta option in Criteria – General and perform Analyze again. Print out the story drifts;this set of results is the second-order story drifts. From the values on these two reports manually calculate the ratios ofthe Story Drifts, that is, the Story Drift from the second-order results divided by the Story Drift from the first-orderresults, for each story at each location, for each load case (note that when investigating an X-direction load case it isnot necessary to calculate these ratios for the Y-direction, and vice-versa). Determine the largest of any of these ratios.Note that although it would be more thorough to perform these calculations on all of the lateral load cases it isprobably not necessary to do so; it is probably adequate to merely perform these calculations on the Dead Load

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Notional load case, using that as the representative load case.

Perform the Analysis. Select the Dead, Live, and Roof load cases and the new Seismic, Wind and Notional load cases,but do not select the original seismic drift or wind drift load cases.

Step 7

Specify Code, Load Combinations and Criteria for Design.

Go to the Steel – Standard Provisions module.

Select the desired AISC 360 steel design code.

In the Load Combination Generation dialog select the Code for Combinations. Generally the IBC09/ASCE7-05 ASD orLRFD selection is appropriate.

The Live Load factor f1 is defined in IBC 2009 Section 1605.2 to be either 1.0 or 0.5; this is the same requirement as is given in ASCE7 Section 2.3.2 Exception 1.The Snow Factor f2 is defined in IBC 2009 Section 1605.2 for LRFD combinations to be either 0.7 or 0.2; in ASCE 7 Section 2.3.2 it ismerely listed as 0.2. The Snow Factor f2 is defined in IBC 2009 Section 1605.3 for ASD combinations to be either 0.75 or, inException 2 to be either 0.2 or 0.0; in ASCE 7 Section 2.4.1 it is merely listed as 0.75.The value of SDS can be obtained from the Loads and Applied Forces report, and is used for the Vertical Seismic Load Effect as

defined in Section 12.4.2.2.The redundancy factor, r, is defined in Section 12.3.4. In some cases determining this value may require creating and runningseparate models to investigate the effect of removing elements. In ASCE 7-05 and later the value of r is either 1.0 or 1.3; 1.3 mayconservatively be used in any case.For Notional Loads the option to Consider with Combinations containing only gravity loads should be selected if the largest ratio ofsecond-order drift over first-order drift from Step 6 is less than 1.5, otherwise the option to Consider with all Combinations indirection of lateral load should be selected:

Wind drift and seismic drift load cases, if any, should be deselected before the load combinations are generated toavoid generating unnecessary combinations.

Generate the combinations.

Using the Criteria – B1 and B2 Factors command, select the Apply B1 Factors option. This is to account for the smallP-d effects, which are not accounted for in the analysis. The B2 factors can be used in lieu of the P-Delta analysis (formoment frames the value of RM should be 0.85 for AISC 360-05 or calculated from Eq. (A-8-8) in AISC 360-10), but ifthe P-Delta option has been selected it is not necessary to also apply the B2 factors:

Specify all necessary criteria items in the Criteria menu, and override the criteria on a member-by-member basis ifnecessary using the assign commands in the Assign menu. It is not necessary to specify or assign K-factors. When the

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Direct Analysis method is used, the effective length factor, K, can be 1.0 for all members. That is the value usedautomatically by RAM Frame when AISC 360 is selected as the design code, and need not be specified in the Criteria.

Step 8

Perform a Code Check using the Process – Member Code Check command.

Review the AISC 360 Direct Analysis Validation Report using the Reports – AISC 360 Direct Analysis Validationcommand. This report is extremely useful for verifying the validity of the options and choices selected in the analysisand design:

Note the error message in red text in the REDUCED STIFFNESS section of the report shown above. In this example,analysis shows that there are seven members for which tb should be less than one, whereas in Step 6 the option touse tb = 1.0 was selected. There are three options for rectifying this invalid analysis:

Option 1: Increase the size of the members for which the required tb is less than 1.0, until the required tb is equalto 1.0. Only the member with the smallest required tb is identified on the report but in some cases it can bededuced which are the other members that are likewise required to use a smaller tb. Note that if some membershave failed the Code Check just performed, upsizing those members to sizes that adequately pass the codecheck may eliminate the condition whereby some members require a tb less than 1.0. This option may beadvantageous if there are only a few members whose size needs to be increased over that otherwise required,although it may take some trial and error to determine which members to up-size.

Option 2: In the Criteria – General command in Analysis mode, select the option to Use tb, and specify a valueequal to the smallest required tb listed on the report:

This is conservative, however, because it penalizes all members, not just those that require a smaller tb. Its onlyadvantage is that it is easy to do. As the designs evolve it may be necessary to change the value specified here.

Option 3: In the Loads – Load Cases command in Analysis mode, modify the Notional Load cases to use 0.003,rather than 0.002, as the Fraction of Gravity Load. If the notional loads were only included with the Gravity load

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combinations, increasing the notional loads to 0.003Yi will not have any impact on the member designs unlessone of the gravity load combinations controls the design (not likely); if the notional loads were included with allcombinations, increasing the notional loads to 0.003Yi will penalize all members, not just those that require asmaller tb.

Also note the message in the Notional Loads section of the report shown above that says, “Verify that Notional Loadsdo not need to be included with all combinations”. This message will appear if the option to include notional loadsonly with gravity combinations is selected and the option to use B2 factors is not included. The verification wasperformed in Step 6, where the ratio of second-order drift to first-order drift was calculated. If the maximum value ofthat ratio is less than 1.5 it is not necessary to include the Notional Loads in all combinations. Note that if the optionto use B2 is selected rather than the option to perform a P-Delta analysis (in which case it would not be necessary tomanually calculate the ratios of second-order drift to first-order drift as directed in Step 6), the program will use thelargest B2 value as the ratio of second-order drift to first-order drift (which is what B2 represents) when determiningthe validity of the choice to include the Notional loads only with the gravity combinations, and an error message willbe given if that choice is not valid.

In the report, text in blue indicates unnecessary (conservative and/or redundant) selections, such as “Both P-Delta andB2 factors were applied. Only one or the other is required” which would appear in the SECOND-ORDER ANALYSISsection of the report if both the P-Delta option and the B2 factors option were selected:

Text in red indicates erroneous selections, such as “B1 factors were not applied” which would appear if the B1 optionwas not selected:

In order to have a valid design based on the AISC 360 Direct Analysis method it is necessary to make the necessarychanges to eliminate all of the error messages from the report. It is also recommended that the necessary changes aremade to eliminate all of the warnings listed in blue text.

Once the analysis and design options have been validated, verify the acceptability of the member sizes by looking atthe on-screen code check results (failing members are shown in red) or the Member Code Checks Summary report,and change the sizes as necessary. The Process – Member View/Update command is very helpful in investigatingand modifying sizes.

Similarly, perform a joint check using the Process – Joint Code Check command and verify the acceptability of thedoubler and stiffener plate requirements, and change the sizes as necessary to eliminate doublers and stiffeners ifdesired. The Process – Joint View/Update command is very helpful in investigating and modifying sizes.

In Steel – Seismic Provisions mode:

Select and specify the code settings and load combination options and values, consistent with those selected in Steel – StandardProvisions mode.Assign the frame type (e.g., Special Moment Frame) to the frames using the Assign – Frame Type command.Specify all necessary criteria items in the Criteria menu, and override the criteria on a member-by-member basis if necessary usingthe assign commands in the Assign menu. It is not necessary to specify or assign K-factors.Perform a member code check using the Process – Member Code Check command, and perform a joint code check using theProcess – Joint Code Check command.Modify the sizes as necessary to satisfy the seismic requirements. The Process – Member View/Update and the Process – JointView/Update commands are very helpful in investigating and modifying sizes.

Step 9

Repeat the above steps until acceptable designs are obtained. Since the selection of proper sizes is an iterativeprocess with trial member sizes increasing and decreasing, it may require that some or all of the above steps berepeated, including the investigation of drift.

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RAM Frame, Direct Analysis Method , AISC 360, ASCE 7

Contact Allen Adams at allen.adams@bentley.com for comments or if you want to discuss this further.

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