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Section 3
3-31
the denser the grid of elements, the more precise the results that
will be obtained.
The program extracts and processes the internal forces from the
FEA results in three ways (for each load case / combination):
a. For all rectangular panels, where design is performed for
the entire area of the panel (four column strips, two middle
strips), notional boundaries are generated that reflect each
of the six design strips. Within each boundary, the
program establishes a series of transverse sections, spaced
longitudinally at a user-defined distance D (Design
Options of the Slab Design dialog box). Along each of
these sections, internal forces are retrieved, again at
intervals D. Depending on the user’s selection in Design
Options (Design for Maximum Moments or Design for
Average Moments), for each transverse section either the
maximum force is established or an average force is
calculated. In this way the program associates values of
the bending moment with all transverse sections of a strip.
b. For all user selected design sections (within rectangular or
non-rectangular panels), the program fetches values of
internal forces at the user-defined interval D along the
length of the section. These values are used by the
program to report bending moments on the Moment
Diagram page of the Slab Design Report.
c. For punching shear design, the program fetches values of
stresses at four corners of the critical section. These
stresses are reported on the Punching Shear page of the
Slab Design Report.
Most of the force values referred to above are obtained by
extrapolation and averaging of FEA results, as the grid of points
where forces are required rarely includes points for which FEA
provides output directly.