Tips for using AISC 13th edition in STAAD Pro v8i analysis along with American seismic load

(Before reading further, please read requirements of Direct Analysis Method to understand the steps
described below. DAM requirements are listed in this document at the end )
Main requirements of American codes, in addition to normal any other code analysis are summarised below :
1 MODELLING
Read special seismic requirements document and check applicability of each clause in the structure
under consideration. Special attention must be given to presence of any plan, elevation and torsional
irregularity. If irregularity exists then take care of relevant clause in the code (UBC or ASCE whichever
is applicable.)
Specially check for following two aspects :
(i) Vertical bracing continuity from top to bottom should be there
(ii) Use of chevron bracings must be carefully evaluated against relevant seismic requirement
Special seismic requirements
UBC_97_Seis_Zones_0_1.pdf
ASCE seismic requirements : under preparation

Define reduction in stiffness (EI and EA) as per requirement of DAM. This can be done using commands
in STAAD

2 LOADING
a NOTIONAL LOADS
Notional load are imperfection loads (same as frame imperfection of Euro)
These are defined to cater to intial imperfection in erection of structure.
These can either be modelled directly using software (deflected geometry) or as equivalent lateral load
Imperfection modelling
Normally it is convenient to use equivalent lateral load
Notional load N =
&

0.002 Yi

when factor b is calculated

0.003 Yi

when factor b is considered as 1.0

It is convenient to consider b as 1.0 in all cases

Yi is the vertical load acting at the level where notional load is being calculated
For defining notional load, define four independent basic load cases and calculate nodal forces corresponding
to all vertical loads acting at that node. OR use STAAD commands directly to generate Notional loads.
N is to be added to all load cases in the direction which adds to other horizontal load.
Above means that for load combinations containing horizontal loads from other sources, it is sufficient to use
just one direction of notional loads. However if in a load combination, only gravity loads are there then all four

directions of notional loads must be considered in load combinations.

If there is vertical load from wind/seismic then that also should be considered in notional load calculation.
Code allows that notional load may be considered only in gravity only load cases if the ratio of second order drift
to first order drift is less than 1.5 (or 1.7 when using 0.8EI instead of EI). But it is convenient to add notional
loads to all load combinations without bothering about the drifts.
Also code allows that notional load need not be considered for serviceability checks. However in practice this is
ignored (but we may take advantage in some critical situation) (see page 16.1-437 or 513 of 537 of AISC 360-05)

b SEISMIC LOADS
Additional requirements are
(i) Sepecial seismic requirements : see doc links above
(ii) Seismic from piping : Ensure that the seismic coefficient used by piping in stress analysis is calculated
based on the same method as used for structural seismic calculation. If not then use the modification factor
of 1.4. i.e. if pipe stress analysis is done using ASD seismic level and structural design is based on LRFD
then all the pipe seismic are to be multiplied by 1.4 to maintain uniformity
(iii) Ensure that the direction of forces furnished by piping is additive to structural seismic
(iv) Structural seismic : Select the system to be followed : OMRF/SMRF/OCBF/SCBF etc. and select the
structure ductility factor, R accordngly.
Direct generation of seismic loads using STAAD :
STAAD can generate seismic loads as per UBC and IBC. The sample staad file shows
load generation through UBC only.
In case ASCE code is specified in GDCSE then either load has to be generated manually
or IBC load is to generated in which case Client has to be informed

(v) Vertical seismic : For LRFD method, vertical seismic also needs to be considered. These have to be
calculated by hand as STAAD does not have feature to calcualte vertical seismic loads (TO BE CHECKED)
(vi) combining seismic in three directions
As per UBC97 code orthogonal effects should be taken in zones 2,3,4 only by combining 30% of seismic load in
the perpendicular horizontal direction. Vertical seismic load should not be reduced simultaneously i.e.
E = 1.0 Ex +0.3 Ez+1.0 Ey
E = 1.0 Ex +1.0 Ez+0.3 Ey
E = 0.3 Ex +1.0Ez + 1.0Ey
For zones 0 and 1 it is sufficient to design structure in both orthogonal directions independently
Above is also valid for SDC of C,D, E & F in ASCE-7 (i.e. for SDC A & B orthogonal effects need not be taken)

(vii) TORSION and ACCIDENTAL TORSION

Resultant of all the horizontal forces will be same as center of mass (CM) of all the vertical
masses producing these forces since horizontal forces are a factor times the masses

However, the CG of all resisting planes (vertical planes i.e. vertical bracings) need not
coincide with the CG of applied forces. This eccentricity gives rise to additional torsion
in the horizontal diaphragm.
Resultant of all the resisting plan CR-CM
eccentricity e1 =

Since in a power plant steel building, CR and CM will never coincide, there will always
be a torsion in the building. However the way we apply seismic loading on the structure,
this torsion is automatically taken care. Since we apply load as nodal load calculated
using nodal mass of that node, the resultant of applied load is automatically defined
in the input. And since a 3D analysis is adopted, the CR is also automatically defined
therfore the eccentric effects are automatically included in the 3D analysis.
(Note: Indian code requires this value to be increased by a factor of 1.5)
In addition to above torsion, code requires to consider additional torsion called accidental
torsion which may be caused by shift of CM due to various uncertainty factors
This shift has max value of 5% of building dimension

Accidental torsions can either be generated directly by STAAD or calculated manually.

If direct generation is chosen then STAAD generates this load as torsion moment at all
nodes which some times caused excessive and absurd forces in nearby members.
Therefore it is recommended to calculate the accidental torsion loads manually and then
us it in analysis
All loads generating horizontal seismic forces on the structure should be considered for
calculation of accidental torsion. If generating by STAAD, care should be taken to ensure
that there is no duplication of pipe seismic loads (i.e. once applied directly and second
generated using software by considering mass) because if pipe masses are not included
in the autogeneration with accidental torsion option checke, then accidental torsion due
to pipes will not be generated.
Use amplification factor when torsional
American code required only accidental torsion
irregularity exists (see special seismic requirements)
Amplification factor for accidental torsion

(viii) Calculation of accidental torsion by hand

Accidental torsion may be calculated by hand using rivet theory
This theory is used in solved exaples of Indian code in two documents kept at the reference folder
Paper_Indian_code.pdf
See separate doc for sample calculations
All the calculated additional shear forces must be applied in same direction as the existing
seismic force to which it is being added. This means ignore the sign in rivet theory
Following are the steps in hand calculation
STEP1
Determine the loads to be considered for accidental torsion calculation
Load 1
Self weight of strucure
Load 2
Dead load of grating cable trays equipment and any other

Load 3
Load 4
Load 5

Dead load of nonanalysed pipes

Operating loads of analysed pipes
Relevant portion of LL (normally 25%)

STEP 2
For each of above loads perform STATIC CHECK in staad and note down the
moment about origin and vertical load values
Find CG of each load w.r.t. origin of str =

M/V

However it should be noted that CG of loads is to be worked out floor wise i.e. for each of the loads to be used
in CM calculation (5 loads described above), CG at each floor level is to be determined. For this purpose,
several steps in STAAD would be required, in each step retain loading only at one floor and delete from other
floors. In case structure is more or less symmetric then a single run with all floors loaded may be done which
will introduce small error in calaculation which may be ignored. Also for self weight floor wise separation is not
possible in STAAD hence the error in CG estimation of self weight will always be there but may be ignored

Now

CMx =

(V1*X1 +V2*X2+V3*X3+V4*X4+V5*X5)/(V1+V2+V3+V4+V5)

similarly

CMy can be evaluated

This CM point with coordinates (CMx,CMy) gives the location about which torsion will get generated
It may be noted that resultant of all horizontal forces (which are equal to *V) will coincide with CM
only when value used for all the V's are same. However in practice for structure is not same as
for pipes and equipment. Therefore if more accuracy is desired then CM value calculated above should
be based on H values not V values. Hoewever the inaccuracy introduced by this is not likely to be significant
hence it is generally ignored.
STEP 3
Calculate the eccentrici0.05 L
ex =

0.05 B

ey =
calculate moments in two directions due to above eccentricities
Calculate amplification factor (if applicable) and increase the above moment values

STEP 4
Use rivet theory to distribute the additional shears generated on various nodes. This can be easily done
using excel sheets as described below.
Generate the nodal seismic forces as usual (either manually or by direct generation with STAAD).
These generated seismic force will include effect of all the loads described in Step 1 above.
Export these nodal forces to excel
Also export the nodal coordinates (only x,z) for the corresponding nodes into excel
Calculate the coordinates to be used for force calulation using the shift value between geometric CG and CM

calculated in step 2 above. This is necessary since we have to use all x and y distances w.r.t. CM and not
w.r.t mid point of geometry. See fig 4 for explanation.

Now put the formula of rivet theory (see fig below) and calculate the nodal seismic additional forces

Copy and paste these nodal forces into STAAD input file
Change the sign of forces so that they are always additive to the seismic forces to which they are added
(ignore signs as calculated by rivet theory)

c LOAD COMBINATION
(i) as per requirement of DAM, define all REPEAT LOAD inplace of LOAD COMBINATION command
(ii) define special load combinations considering overstrength factor . However it should be noted that the
factor is not required to be applied over equipment and pipes seismic loads.
(see page 20 of 59 of following document)
Nonstructural component reqt
(iii) combine seismic loads in two direction using formula of code. Also note that when this is done,
accidental torsion moments in both directions need not be combined and should be considered only
for that direction which has 100% contribution in seismic combination equation, however separation of
accidental torsion moments in two directions is cumbersome and would require formation of separate
basic load cases for accidental torsion therefore this need not be followed as practice (i.e. club the torsions
in two directions ) but may give some advantage in case of a critical design.
3 ANALYSIS
as per requirements of DAM, second order analysis considering both P- and P- is to be performed.
This is done directly through commands in STAAD
However it should be noted that the AISC DAM is not the only method of analysis allowed by AISC.
There are total three methods of analysis specified by AISC :
(i) Effective length method
(ii) First order analysis (with amplified forces) method
(iii) Direct analysis method
However DAM is more popular and is adopted as Siemens Standard
It should also be noted that a second order analysis takes much more time to run on computers. Hence it is
recommended to read and follow the following document :
useful_tips.msg

4 DESIGN PARAMETERS
All the desing parameters applicable for the design code must be studied for their applicability in the structure
under consideration. The default values of various parameters should be carefully studied to avoid any mistake.
Following may be used as guide for AISC 13th edition based designs :
Design parameters

As DAM is used, K=1 is to be used for all members which are part of framing (see DAM description below)
Deflection check need not be done for seismic load cases. However drift check must be performed as per code

5 POST DESIGN IN STAAD

Base plate design
Base plate design should be done for same load combinations for which columns are designed
See page 4 of 10 of the following document
Base_force_reqt
Also see following doc for theoretical background
base_force_recommendation

Connections
All the connections should be designed as per recommendations of seismic code depending on the
type of Seismic Load Resisting System adopted for the building.
(see special seismic requirement document applicable for the project, point 1 above)

6 LEARNINGS FROM PREVIOUS PROJECTS

7 SAMPLE STAAD FILE

please see the sample staad file for getting some idea on structure of commands
(link not given as clicking on this link will generate lot of temporary files)

Direct analysis method (DAM)

It is a method to include secondary influences in the structural analysis directly using the software.
In order to do this following is required to be done :
1 Define a notional load in each direction to incorporate global imperfections into analysis
2 Use reduced stiffeness 0.8bEI and 0.8EA
Above reduction is applied only for strength limit state and not for serviceability limit state i.e. for deflection and
drift checks, full stiffness is to be used. Also for member design checks after analysis, full stiffness should be
used.
(should be automatically taken care by STAAD ----- TO BE CHECKED and verified by someone)
(In practice, factor b is considered as 1.0, by increasing notional load as stated in point above)
Above reduction may also be defined directly in STAAD using commands

3 Analysis should be performed to include P- and P- effects

(P- effects may be ignored if ratio of Pcr/P <0.15)
All analysis must be performed for LRFD load combinations
In case of ASD design, all loads must be magnified by factor 1.6 for use in above analysis
in which case analysis results shall be divided by 1.6 to get design values
4 Having done above, now effective length factor K can be taken as 1 between points of lateral restraints.
That means that bracing concept is still valid and simple tie beams not connected to bracings should
not be considered to provide K=1 between tie beam connection points.
Also it should be noted that this K=1 is valid for those members only whose second order behaviour
has been considered in analysis as P- and P- effect.
This means that cantilevers and secondary members not part of framing system should still be designed
normally i.e. taking K>1 (wherever applicable)

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