MWF Advanced Floor. User Guide. Last Updated on July 27 th 2015

Transcription

1 MWF Advanced Floor User Guide Last Updated on July 27 th 2015

2 2 Table of contents 1. Introduction Before starting Project Configuration Code Requirements - Analyses Configuration Wood Projects - SIZER Analyses Configuration Wood Projects - FORTE Analyses Configuration Metal Projects - Internal Analyses Configuration Assigning Panel Design Types Import and Export Configurations Load Analyses Analysing the Floor Panel Support Beam Analysis Project Edits Insert Profile Support Beam(s) Change Spacing Clear Analyses Results Factory Reset Assumptions and Limitations...14

3 3 1. Introduction MWF Advanced Floor is an Engineering module that allows the user to perform the verification (code checking) of the structural condition in existent elements of your Revit / MWF project. It runs based on specific design analyses software. MWF Advanced Floor comes in 3 different versions: - MWF Advanced Floor - Wood - Used for only wood projects, using wood design analyses software Sizer and/or Forte. - MWF Advanced Floor - Metal - Created for metal projects. Design analyses will be performed through its own design software for metal, based on a database of sections and their properties. Wood members, if existent in the metal floor project, can be analyzed if member is included in the database table. - MWF Advanced Floor - Base - A complete solution for both wood and metal floor projects. 1.1 Before starting To start, a basic MWF Floor should exist. MWF Advanced will check if the sizes are enough for the applied loads, or it will show the next optimum size that will satisfies that.

4 4 Revit has a feature to define loads (point, line or area). These should also be applied in the drawing. Specify the type of load (dead, live, wind and/or snow) and its intensity. Note: Point Loads should be applied directly at the joist. A warning message will show if this option is not properly assigned. Members of the floor panel should have at least two supports which may consist of walls or beams. All supporting walls should be marked as "Structural" under its Revit's properties list. If supports are not found for the panel elements, an error message will show up. Make sure all boundaries of the panel are supported and try the analyses again. Cantilever options are valid as long as there are enough supported elements for the cantilevered joists.

5 5 2. Project Configuration To perform the load analyses on you Revit project, MWF Advanced Floor will first run a finite element engine in the background (FEM Engine) that works according to both U.S. and Canadian design codes and commercial-standard sections. The FEM Engine is automatically installed when you install MWF Advanced Floor. The load analyses results are transferred silently by the FEM Engine to one of the selected analyses engines existing in the installation: an internal proprietary engine (for Metal), or Sizer and/or Forte (for wood projects). 2.1 Code Requirements - Analyses Configuration The loads configurations for the code requirements are defined using the command Floor Analyses Configuration under the Engineering menu. This command will display a form composed of two tabs: Engine and General. Different versions of MWF Advanced Floor - Metal, Wood or Base (complete) - will have different configuration options. In the Engine tab user can set up the design engine to be used for the project. In the General Tab one can define Design Types for Floors by adding an extra line under the Design Type box. A Design Type for a floor defines uniform Dead, Live, Wind and Snow load acting on that floor. One can insert the loads values under the Magnitude box. Deflection limits for Total and Live loads can also be defined here. A user can define as many Design Types as needed. A Pattern loading can also be considered (for wood projects only), if supported by the active design engine in the background. A Maximum Absolute Live Load Deflection can also be defined for the metal design.

6 Wood Projects - SIZER Analyses Configuration In the Engine tab of the Floor Analyses Configuration command the user can select the US or the Canadian version of the code. For wood projects, when selecting Sizer for the first time, you will be prompted to browse for the location where the software is installed in your machine. Users can specify member design criteria by 'designation' or by 'position', and also select default 'Member Types' and their 'Material' and 'Species' for different designations. The designations currently used in MWF Floor are Joist, Header, Partial Joist and Trimmer. If the option 'By Designation' is selected, all elements with the same designation on that panel will be considered together during the analyses.

7 7 In the Default box of Sizer configuration option, you will see the Initial Designation list. In this list the user can limit the choices for all existing properties in the Sizer installation. If the choice is left "unknown", the Sizer engine will show all the choices which will pass for that option Wood Projects - FORTE Analyses Configuration (To be continued...) Metal Projects - Internal Analyses Configuration (To be continued after next class about metal...) Just as previously described for wood projects, the loads configurations for the code requirements are defined under the command "Floor Analyses Configuration". When selecting Internal (Metal) as 'Active Engine', new options will show up in the configuration dialog box. As in the wood configuration, users can specify member design criteria by 'designation' or by 'position'. By Priority List - By Weight - (To be continued...)

8 8 Filter (To be continued...) Analysis Mode (To be continued...) Load Combinations (To be continued...) 2.2 Assigning Panel Design Types Once the 'Floor Analyses Configuration' is done, you will need to assign the Floor Design Type that you will be using. Use the command Change Panel Design Type under the Engineering menu to select the design type from the options that you previously created in the configuration command. Select any member of a panel, click the command Change Panel Design Type and select the design type by highlighting your

9 9 desired option to be applied to the panel. Click OK to close the command. 2.3 Import and Export Configurations You can share configurations between projects. To do that, first save a configuration in a file by using the command "Export Configuration". In your next project you can use the command "Import Configuration" to import the configuration that was previously saved. 3. Load Analyses 3.1 Analysing the Floor Panel Once you have set up you project configuration and the Floor Design Type is assigned to the panel, you can use the command Floor Analyses to group the elements and have the design engine analyze them. The dialog box displayed after executing this command shows all the groups of members that were analyzed in the select panel, and the default Member Type and Material as defined in the previous configuration steps.

10 10 Groups are based on 4 factors: Same member length, same member type (cross section), same boundary condition (supports), and same loading. The list of options showed is coming from the family that is being used in Revit. The selected option is based on the previous configuration selected by the user in the configuration box. Specific selection can be done or left as "unknown". If more than one group is existent, you can select the option Apply general options to all groups.

11 11 By clicking the Analyze button the data is sent to the analyses engine for design. For wood projects, a user can run this design process either in Silent Mode or Interactive Mode. In Silent Mode the Sizer interface do not open. The data is send to Sizer for each group silently and design results are also returned silently. In Interactive mode the Sizer interface opens up. Modifications done to options like type, size, material, species and grade will be updated to the Revit section of this project. Note: Some member modifications done directly in the design engine will not be brought back to Revit (i.e. Sizer: Supports for bearing design, notches, new loads, etc.) When more than one group is available in the interactive more, the user can pick which groups to open in the design analyses engine. The design results are returned to MWF Advanced Floor Wood as shown in the image below. A user can pick a section for each group or check Optimum which will select the first member indicated in the design choices and will update the Revit model with that. Validate check will force the program to recheck analysis and design after updating the model with the new sections. This ensures that floor is designed properly. User can select not to validate.

12 12 Once the checking is done and if elements are valid, the floor framing will be updated with the new elements (if necessary). If none of the existent member options in the list are valid, MWF Advanced Floor will return a "Validation failed" message. You can try the checking again by changing your member selection options and/or configuration. 3.2 Support Beam Analysis Analyses of individual Support Beams can be done by using the command Support Beam Analysis. Use the same design process as described before. Before executing this command all the panels which are supported by this Support beam must be designed first.

13 13 4. Project Edits 4.1 Insert Profile Support Beam(s) Use the command Insert Profile Support Beam(s) to create a beam at a location of a floor profile line. (To be continued) 4.2 Change Spacing Use the command Change Spacing to change the floor member spacing in your MWF floor panel. (To be continued) 4.3 Clear Analyses Results Use the command Clear Analyses Results to... (To be continued) 4.4 Factory Reset Projects sometimes can carry legacy information that might result in errors and make MWF Advanced Floor to not work properly. This sometimes requires a "fresh start" of the engineering settings of the project. If an error message appears in your project when trying to use any of the Engineering commands, you can use Factory Reset to wipe out all the configuration settings and results in floor panels and members.

14 14 5. Assumptions and Limitations 1. Only floor panels generated through MWF Floors can be analyzed or designed by this program. 2. All members of the floor panel must have at least two supports. 3. At present MWF Advanced Floor - Wood does not support sloped floors. 4. All walls supporting a floor must be designated as Structural. 5. Intermediate support beams must be perpendicular to the floor panel. 6. Bearing walls with beam pockets are assumed to have a support above the pocket. 7. Custom edits to the MWF Floor Panel are not supported. 8. Support Beams must be less than 2 feet away from the profile plane to be detected as support. 9. Other than load defined in Panel Design Type, additional loads can also be defined using Revit loading commands. At present following Revit loads are supported: Point Load. Uniform Line Load Trapezoidal and Triangular line loads. Rectangular uniform area load. 10. Although program has a capability to resolve above described loads to line loads and point loads acting on the joists, it is highly recommended that all area loads be transformed to 'Line' and 'Point loads' acting directly on joist lines for accurate results. 11. Revit loads must be at most 3 inches from the panel profile plane to be detected properly. 12. At present uniform 'Area Load' or 'Line Load' defined over a supporting beam cannot be resolved. 13. All Revit loads must be within the boundary of profile lines of a panel. 14. Uniform load is resolved as line loads on the members based on uniform spacing of members set in MWF Floor. 15. If the MWF Advanced Floor - Wood Revit model is modified by any other means then it is suggested that after reloading the model, the user starts with 'Factory Reset'. 16. Sizer Steel Beam design is not supported.