Structural Engineering Software

There are many structural-engineering software available for engineers to help in design and analyze
structural problems. These software will make the design process and analysis faster than if we do hand
calculation. However, engineers need to know the limitation of each software so that the results which are
generated can be interpreted and used wisely and correctly.

Student is introduced to some common software which are used frequently in this company, such as :
STAAD Pro, PROKON, ETABS, and SAP2000. Student attempted to do some tutorials from the manual,
focused more on STAAD Pro and PROKON.

STAAD Pro is able to generate 3D model of various structures with different types of materials. It will
provide Bending Moment Diagram, Shear Force Diagram, Displacement Diagram, etc at the end of the
analysis process based on the given loadings.

PROKON is a software that is very useful in helping engineers to design beams, column, beams, slabs, walls,
including the reinforcement details. It also helps us to do analysis of moments, reaction forces, shear forces,
etc of structural members. Student found PROKON is very user-friendly.

Student also explored some of in-house Excel spreadsheet that are used frequently by engineers in the
company, such as : Column Design with biaxial bending, beam design, slab design ( one-way and two-way),
subframe analysis, column-load taking, and crackwidth checking. We need to key in the values that are
needed, run the macro function, then the results will be generated. It is very straight-forward and easy to use.
Sometimes engineers make their own spreadsheets to do calculation.

Attachments :
Drawings generated by STAAD Pro 2005.
Loading, Bending, Displacement, and Stress diagram for a plane frame with steel.
AC Evaluation Report ST 001
PROJECT TITLE : PROPOSED ERECTION OF 1 BLOCK OF 5-STOREY, 1 BLOCK OF 10-
STOREY, & 1 BLOCK OF 18-STOREY RESEARCH BUILDING WITH BASEMENT CARPARK AT
ONE-NORTH GATEWAY
(Fusionopolis Phase 2A)

Accredited Checker is an engineer who check, do an evaluation, analysis and review of the detailed structural
plans and design calculations, confirm that the structures is safe and structurally adequate.

In this particular report, there are 2 structural elements assessed: piles and basement retaining walls
(Diaphragm/D – wall). AC checked the adequacy of piles and D-wall as detailed on the report from the
consultants against an independent calculation using STAAD Pro 2005 and in-house Excel Spreadsheet.

There are several report that student needs to read to be equipped with basic understanding about the project.
a.Structural Design Brief of the project
Fusionopolis Phase 2A consists of 3 towers : Tower A (18 storeys + 2-level basements), Tower B (10 storeys
+ 2-level basements), and Tower C (5 storeys + 2 level basements). It will be used for research purpose
(clean rooms and vibration laboratory). Strong and deep foundation is needed, i.e. RC bored piles).

b. Report on Soil Investigation (geotechnical investigation)

- determine how many boreholes to use and where are the locations to drill the boreholes
- sample obtained from boreholes will be used to find out the soil condition and profile.
- determine what kind of foundation, depends on the purpose of the superstructure and the condition of the
underlying soil.

c. Correspondence Documents
It gave student an understanding about the steps and what the things that are needed to carry out a checking.

(continued to the next page)…

 To carry out the design of piles, column-load taking analysis must take place first. The design load will be
obtained from this analysis and will be used to check its adequacy against the capacity of piles. Pile capacity
is calculated based on the pile properties (e.g. dimension, material) and soil properties (assume the coefficient
of toe-bearing resistance qb and skin friction fs based on the soil profile).

Diaphragm wall / D-wall is a temporary wall to retain the soil while the excavation work in progress. There
is a possibility that D-wall will be used as a permanent wall for basements. Therefore, analysis of D-wall that
was done by AC is in a long-term basis. Loadings acting on D-wall were from lateral earth pressure (at-rest),
water pressure, and axial loads from the columns. Designed D-wall must be adequate to resist maximum
bending moment and maximum shear force experienced by the wall. Crackwidth checking is also needed
(limit the width of the cracks <0.2 ). Toe-stability was checked to confirm that there will be no failure in a
long term.

D-wall calculation provided by the consultant is based on temporary basis. Bending moment and shear force
envelope are generated by PLAXIS (a geotechnical software) in each stage of excavation and D-wall
construction.

Attachments :
Architectural image of Fusionopolis
Drawing of the site plan of Fusionopolis
Column-load Taking
Student was briefed on the procedure to carry out column-load taking analysis. Column-load taking is needed
to find out how much load a column will take and by then use it to design the foundation (piles, etc). There
are 2 methods of doing a column-load taking analysis :
1. Reactions method
2. Tributary area method
Reactions method may be difficult to carry out since we need to analyze slab and beam first, while in
construction, we build column first, continue with other elements, i.e. beams and slabs (reverse order). Thus,
tributary area method is more preferable and fast.

Sometimes, engineers need to design a column-free area, such as : cinemas, concert hall, auditorium, lecture
theatre, etc. In this case, load from upper level will be transferred to the level below this column-free are
through transfer beams and transfer columns. Engineers must be able to identify them and be careful when
identify the tributary area for such columns.

In-house Excel Spreadsheet is commonly used to do this analysis. We are required to input the loading,
which consists of dead load, superimposed dead load, and live load.
1. Dead Load (DL) : self-weight of columns, slabs, beams, and RC Walls
2. Superimposed Dead Load (SDL) : screed, finishing, topping, brickwalls, partitions, M&E services,
waterproofing, ceiling, parapet wall, etc.
3. Live Load (LL) : movable partition (usually no full-height of one level) and typical loading based on
the usage of the area from The Fourth Schedule of Building Control Regulation.

We do not need to analyze every single column, because there are some identical columns. By experience,
engineers will be able to identify them. It is good to make a copy of structural drawing, draw separation lines
for tributary area for each column, and if necessary give the area different colours, and do not forget to mark
transfer beam (TB) and transfer column (TC).

Attachments
Student’s exercise examples and notes from the seminar.
Design of Fin Wall
Project Title : Proposed Pasir Ris Sports Complex and Tampines Stormwater Tank

D-wall for the stormwater tank consists of L-shaped wall and a triangular fin wall attached to it. It is similar
to a counterfort wall for earth retaining wall. The vertical part of L-shaped wall will be called D-wall and the
horizontal will be called base. D-wall has been designed based on the bending moment and shear force
envelope generated by PLAXIS. D-wall was divided to 3 section, reinforcement bars and shear links have
been designed (using Excel spreadsheet). Then, the detailed drawing was sketched based on the calculation.
Drafter then produced the detailed structural drawings of the D-wall.

PLAXIS generated pressure acting on the fin along the depth of the wall. This pressure was used for the
design for the fin wall. Student used PROKON to model the fin wall (model as a continuous beam with 3
sections). Maximum positive and negative pressure were then taken  formed a triangular UDL acting on
the wall. PROKON provided BM and shear force on points along the span. It was found that triangular fin
wall does not have sufficient shear capacity to resist maximum shear force. Therefore, a trapezoidal fin wall
and waler were used.

Maximum sagging and hogging moments were used to design fin wall. It is divided to 3 section with
different dimension and As required was calculated for each section. Consider the worst case (largest As
required) and provide sufficient reinforcement bars. The steel bars must be anchored into the D-wall and base
to provide more shear capacity of the section with smaller section area. The waler was designed based on the
pressure acting to D-wall and the selfweight of waler beam. The waler is 1.4 m width by 1 m depth. The
detailed reinforcement were then calculated.

The project will be continued next week.

Attachments :
Basement plan of stormwater tank.