Masonry Wall Panel - Modeling Page 1 of 8

Masonry Wall Panel - Modeling

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Masonry Wall Panel - Modeling

The masonry wall panel element allows you to easily model, analyze and design masonry walls for in plane and
out of plane loads. Here we will explain the masonry specific inputs and procedures for modeling. For general wall
panel information, see the Wall Panels topic. For information on masonry design rules, see the Masonry Wall ­
Design Rules (this is where you can define block thickness and self­weight). For masonry calculation
considerations and code references, see the Masonry Wall ­ Design topic. For masonry wall results interpretation,
see the Masonry Wall Results topic.
Note:

z All code references in this topic refer to the TMS 402­16 specification unless noted otherwise.

Masonry Wall Input

The Wall Panel Editor gives some specific information and options for modeling/analysis of masonry walls.

Masonry View Controls

Masonry Wall Panels will have the following view controls:

Toggle Region Display allows you to turn the display of regions on or off.

Toggle Lintel Display allows you to turn the display of lintels on or off.

Toggle Out of Plane Reinforcement allows you to turn the display of out of plane reinforcement on or off
after you have solved your model.

Toggle In Plane Reinforcement allows you to turn the display of in plane reinforcement on or off after you
have solved your model.

Creating Openings in Masonry with Lintels

Within the Wall Panel Editor, you have the option of adding rectangular openings to masonry wall panels. To
draw an opening, select the Create New Openings button and then select two nodes or grid intersections
which make up the two diagonal corners of your opening. When an opening is drawn a lintel is automatically
created above the opening. To view or edit the properties of a masonry lintel, double­click inside the boundary of
the drawn opening. This will bring up the Editing Properties window for that particular lintel.

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This window will show the design options set in the Wall Design Rules ­ Lintel spreadsheet to design/analyze
your lintel. If you have multiple lintels in a wall and want a specific design that differs from the other lintels, then
you can choose the Custom option. When using the custom option the program will now use all of the information
set in the Lintel Editor and will disregard any information given by the design rule.
Here we will walk through the different input options available for designing/analyzing lintels:
Same as Lintel ­ This checkbox will allow you to use the same properties as a lintel that has already been created
in the same wall panel.
Density ­ This allows you to make the density of your lintel a different value than the density of the wall panel.
Depth ­ This is the depth of your lintel.
Bearing Distance ­ This is the bearing length at either end of the lintel. This is used to calculate the effective
length of the lintel.
Bar Size ­ This is the reinforcement size you wish to use for your main reinforcing in the lintel.
No of Bars Per Layer ­ This is the number of bars you wish to have in a given layer of reinforcement. There is also
an option to have the this value optimized based on geometry of the section and also the number of layers that
you have defined.
Number of Layers ­ This is an option if you need multiple layers of reinforcement in the lintel.
c/c Spacing of Layers ­ This is the distance between layers (if there is more than one).
Centroidal Distance of lowest layer from the Bottom ­ This value is used to calculate the "d" value for the lintel.
Stirrup Size ­ This is the size of stirrup that will be added to the lintel if required.
Note:

z When inputting bar sizes for your lintels, the program will not allow you to place reinforcement that will
not actually fit into the lintel because of width constraints. We use the actual dimensions of the block, the
face­shell thickness for the given block chosen and use a 1/2" clear cover between reinforcement and the
block per section 6.1.3.5.

Masonry Regions
Within the Wall Panel Editor, you have the option of creating rectangular regions within the masonry wall panel.
Regions are used to define reinforcement in different parts of the wall. Each region will be assigned a uniform
reinforcement, which may be different than the reinforcement in other parts of the same wall.
If no regions have been drawn on a wall then they will be automatically generated when a solution is performed.
To automatically generate regions prior to running a solution, click the Generate Wall Regions Automatically

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button

To manually draw regions, select the Create New Regions button and use your cursor to select two nodes or
grid intersections which make up the diagonal corners of the region. To exit this tool right­click your mouse.
To view or edit the properties of a masonry region, double­click inside the boundary of the drawn region. This will
bring up the Editing Properties window for that particular region.
This information is populated from the Wall Design Rules spreadsheet for masonry. For more information see the
Masonry Wall ­ Design Rules spreadsheet on setting this up.

In most cases this Region Editor would only be used as a viewer. If, however, you want to change the
reinforcement for a region within the wall to make it different than the Wall Design Rules, you can use the Custom
option. When using the custom option the program will now use all of the information set in the Region Editor and
will disregard any information given by the design rule.
Note:

z For models created with version 9.1.1 or earlier ALL regions will come in set to Custom, bringing over the
information exactly as it comes from the existing model. For all newly created models in version 10 or later
the regions will default to the wall design rule.

Within this dialog you can specify the properties which will be used for the design of the region.. The program can
optimize the bar spacing and the boundary zone width based on code checks. The block size, reinforcing strength
and the method of self­weight calculation are defined in the Design Rules under the Masonry Wall tab.
Note:
The program designs regions separately for out­of­plane and in­plane forces, thus the Region Editor is divided
into different parts.
Here we will walk through the different input options available for designing/analyzing regions:
Transfer ­ This is an option as to whether or not you want this region to transfer Out of Plane and In Plane Loads.
If you check these transfer options we will remove the stiffness from that region and dump those loads into the
adjacent regions.

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Note:

z These transfer options are only available when you have defined a region above or below an
opening.
z Even if you do not choose to check these transfer options, if the region you are considering is
supported by adjacent regions, then the load will still transfer into these regions.

Same as Region ­ This checkbox allows you to define this region exactly as you have in a previous region within
the same wall panel.
Axial /Out­of­Plane ­ Allows you to define properties of a region based on out­of­plane/axial forces.

z Block Grouting ­ Allows you to define how you want your wall grouted. If you choose "Partially Grouted"
the program will optimize the grout spacing with the Bar/Grout Spacing
z Reinforced ­ Gives the option of designing the wall as reinforced or unreinforced.
z Bar/Grout Spacing ­ This allows you to define the bar/grout spacing. If you have the "Optimize" box
checked, the program will optimize the reinforcement spacing based on code checks.
z Bar Size ­ This is the main vertical bar size that will be used in design.
z Bar Placement ­ This defines how you want to lay out the reinforcement in your region. Each Face will put
reinforcement on both faces of a given cell. Staggered alternates the bars to either face of wall region.
z Note:
{ When using the staggered option you are selecting to space the bars at each face at double the
bar/grout spacing defined above. For example, if you have a staggered spacing at 24" oc you have a
bar on the outside face at 48" oc and a bar on the inside face at 48" oc. These bars are staggered,
thus you have grout filled cores at 24" oc.
z Mortar Type ­ Allows you to specify the type of mortar to design for.
z Cement Type ­ Allows you to specify the type of cement to design for.

In­Plane ­ Allows you to define properties of a region based on in­plane forces.

z Vertical Bar Size ­ Allows you to define vertical bar size for the boundary zones.
z Bars Per Cell ­ Allows you to define one or two bars per cell.
z Boundary Zone Width ­ The user must define a boundary zone width but RISA will optimize the width if
the "Optimize" box is checked.
{ Note: If you have the optimize checkbox selected, the program will optimize the boundary zone
width based on code checks.
z Horizontal Bar Size ­ Allows you to define horizontal bar size to be used if horizontal reinforcing is
required.
z Multiply Shear by 1.5 ­ This is an option that may be required in high seismic zones. This option is
available per section 7.3.2.6.1.2.

Merge Lintels
When an opening is drawn in a masonry wall panel, you will notice that a lintel beam region is automatically
created above the opening. If you have multiple openings, you may want to merge the individual lintels into one.
To do this, select the Merge Lintels button. If you have two lintels you want to merge, then click within each of
the openings to merge them into one. If you have multiple lintels that you want to merge, click inside of the two
openings that define the ends of the merged lintel that you want. You will see that this merges your multiple
openings into one. To exit out of this tool right­click your mouse.
When merging lintels, the top edges of the lintels have to be identical. If, once you have merges lintels, you delete
one of the openings the entire lintel will be deleted. At that point you have to delete any opening left in the wall
that doesn't have a lintel over it.

Masonry Wall Optimization

The program will optimize masonry walls and lintels based on the required demand forces. The program can
optimize:

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z Vertical bar/grout spacing for out of plane design.

z Boundary zone widths for in plane flexural design.
z Horizontal bar spacing for in plane shear design.
z Reinforcement bars for lintel flexural design.

Of these optimizations the only one that substantially modifies the stiffness of the wall is the vertical bar/grout
spacing. To properly adjust the stiffness requires an iterative solution that updates the stiffness of the model. This
includes updating the strength properties of the wall as well as the stiffness. This optimization/iteration can be
done automatically (by choosing Yes) or can be done manually (by choosing No) in the Model Settings ­ Solution
tab.

To update the stiffness portion of the wall, the program must re­solve your model with these updated stiffnesses
as this will change the distribution of forces through the model. By choosing Yes you are telling the program to re­
solve automatically. Thus, the program will start with it's initial stiffness parameters and solve the model. It will
then optimize the wall to meet strength criteria. Another solution will then be run with the new stiffnesses and
the program will again optimize the wall to meet strength criteria. This procedure will continue to occur until you
reach the number of Iterations set or until all wall panel results match those of the previous solution.
By choosing No the program will only run the solution once and the results will be based on the original
configuration. You can then manually optimize your walls using the Suggested Design spreadsheet.
After the solution is run (with or without optimization) the design results are based on the stiffness used in the
last iteration (by stating No a single iteration is run). The program will then compare the design of the last
iteration with the stiffness used in that last iteration. If the two are the same the results shown are the final
results. If the two are not the same the program will then provide these two different results in the Suggested
Design spreadsheet.
The program will always present results in the output that coincide with the stiffness used in the final solution.
Note:

z The updating of the stiffness for the model is only required for the vertical bar/grout. Thus, boundary zone
widths, horizontal shear reinforcement and lintel reinforcement are optimized automatically.

Suggested Design

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In the Suggested Design spreadsheet you will get a list of wall panels in your model that are not yet fully
optimized, showing the bar/grout spacing of the last iteration (Current Spacing) and the program optimized
spacing (Suggested Spacing). From here you have the ability to Use Suggested? which means that you want to re­
run the solution with the Suggested Spacing. You can choose this for each wall panel individually. Once you have
these checkboxes checked appropriately press the button. After this the stiffness matrix is re­formulated and
may cause some redistribution of loads through the model. Because of this the Suggested Spacing may also update
and you may need to Use Suggested? multiple times to converge on a solution.
Note:

z If the wall does not show up in the Suggested Design spreadsheet then the current wall panel settings used
are the optimal ones.
z For more information on wood wall optimization see the Wood Wall ­ Design topic.
z For more information on member optimization see the Design Optimization topic.
z Concrete walls do not show up here because the reinforcement optimization does not affect the stiffness of
the wall.

Lintels
For masonry lintels you must input the dimensions, bar size and number of layers of bars for the lintel, but are
given the option of optimizing how many bars are in a given layer. If you provide a max/min number of bars in the
Wall Design Rules ­ Masonry Lintel tab then the program will optimize the number of bars in a layer. Because this
is just a change in reinforcement this is an automatic optimization that does not require an iterative solution.

Lintel Reinforcement Placement Check

The program will do a check to see that the reinforcement in the lintel will fit properly. The available width for
reinforcing in the lintel is based on the width of block, thickness of grout between the block and the
reinforcement, and it assumes there will be a double­leg stirrup.

where

z tgrout = 0.5 in (per Section 6.1.3.5 of ACI 530­13; the program assumes coarse grout)
z dbstirrup = diameter of stirrup (from the Wall Design Rules ­ Masonry Lintel tab)

Note that we use a minimum bar spacing equal to the minimum of either db or 1".

Regions
For masonry regions there are two options for optimizing. For out of plane design the program will optimize the
spacing of bars for strength (not deflection) considerations of the wall. For in plane design the boundary zone
width will be optimized for strength as well.The spacing of reinforcement/grouting affects the overall stiffness of
the wall thus you must iterate your solution to update this spacing. The boundary zone design affects the overall
stiffness very little, thus this is an automatic optimization that does not require an iterative solution. If you
provide a min/max boundary zone width in the Wall Design Rules ­ Masonry In tab then the program will
optimize the boundary zone width.

Limitations

z Openings and regions must be input only in RISAFloor if you are using RISA­3D and RISAFloor in tandem.

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z For sloped walls due to sloping floors, openings and regions can not be defined in the upper triangular area
of the wall panel. These openings are not supported at this time. This will be addressed in a future version.
z For areas of masonry wall panels that are not defined as a region, the stiffness of the wall is assumed to be
that of an ungrouted masonry wall and the weight of the wall is assumed to be that of a fully grouted wall.
z Masonry has specific requirements regarding the spreading out of concentrated loads at certain angles and
for certain depths (Section 5.1.3). These provisions are not considered in RISA, as the finite element mesh
stiffness is what determines load path. See the Wall Panels ­ Load Attribution topic for more information.

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