Revit as a Tool for Modeling Concrete Reinforcement

Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................ 1
Modeling challenges; what is difficult? ...................................................................................... 6
Complex concrete forms ........................................................................................................ 6
Why use Revit in the first place? ........................................................................................... 7
Reinforcement categories and parameters ............................................................................... 9
Rebar Cover .......................................................................................................................... 9
Structural Rebar ................................................................................................................... 10
Structural Area Reinforcement ............................................................................................ 27
Structural Path Reinforcement ............................................................................................. 31
Structural Fabric Areas ........................................................................................................ 33
Structural Fabric Reinforcement .......................................................................................... 36
Schedules................................................................................................................................ 39
Parameters .......................................................................................................................... 39
Filters ................................................................................................................................... 43
Lap Splices and Total Lengths ............................................................................................ 44
Working Schedules .............................................................................................................. 48
Totals ................................................................................................................................... 49
Wire Fabric Reinforcement Schedules ................................................................................ 50
Reinforcement Rounding ..................................................................................................... 52
Drawings ................................................................................................................................. 55
Plans and Elevations ........................................................................................................... 55
Sections ............................................................................................................................... 57
View Visibility States ............................................................................................................ 59
View Templates ................................................................................................................... 60
Filters ................................................................................................................................... 61
3D Views .............................................................................................................................. 61
Model Export ........................................................................................................................... 68
IFC ....................................................................................................................................... 68
Autodesk Design Review and DWF ..................................................................................... 75

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 Revit as a Tool for Modeling Concrete Reinforcement

Navisworks .......................................................................................................................... 80
Inventor Publisher ................................................................................................................ 81
Going Forward ......................................................................................................................... 85

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 Revit as a Tool for Modeling Concrete Reinforcement

Modeling challenges; what is difficult?

As I described in the introduction, there is one thing that is more challenging than any other
when working with 3D reinforcement in Revit; Complex concrete forms.

Complex concrete forms

The way the different reinforcement tools appear today, we must acknowledge that some forms
are inefficient to do 3D in Revit, and some seem straight out impossible.

This is mostly due to the confession that a single distribution of Structural Rebars cannot have
varying dimensions, and cannot be distributed in another direction and form than linear and
perpendicular to the rebar shape plane. These limitations turn the workflow inefficient and
boring, but not impossible.

Figure 1: Curved, tapered concrete beam

When concrete walls and slabs end up curved or double-curved, the available reinforcement
tools simply do not pull through. In some cases the tools does not even recognize the concrete
element. These limitations turn the workflow impossible.