Lecture 2 - Visual Analysis

January 16, 2002 CVEN 444

Lectures Goals
Introduction to Visual Analysis Setup programs

Visual Analysis
VisualAnalysis is a full-featured finite element analysis package designed specifically for structural engineers. VisualAnalysis was written from the ground up to take advantage of the Windows operating environment, and adheres to the standard look and feel that Windows programs provide. Ease of use was a major design goal for VisualAnalysis, yet the ultimate purpose was to make complex structural analysis accessible and intuitive.

Visual Analysis - Example

Consider the following example problem. The simple frame is fixed setup. The example comes from the VisualAnalysis set of programs, which can be checked.

Visual Analysis Example

Begin the project by starting VisualAnalysis.
Start the project as a new project.

Visual Analysis - Example 1

The following set of slides will appear.
Type of structure 2D structure 3D structure

Visual Analysis - Example 1

The following set of slides will appear. Modal type of structure Frame,shear wall, etc. Trusses Grids, floors roofs, slabs, etc. General Load Cases

Visual Analysis - Example 1

General set of information
Project title Company Your name

Visual Analysis - Example 1

Set up of preferred units Force (kips) Length angle (degrees, radians) Temperature

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

The program will generate a grid for creating the frame. Select a starting point to create your frame. Select the member button at the top. Press on the left mouse button and hold to create a member.

Example 1 -Visual Analysis

Create a 15 ft section. You will find a coordinate display in the lower right hand corner. Double click on the member and a member character will appear on screen. You can select materials, shape properties, and orientation.

Example 1 -Visual Analysis

Go to the shape section, select category and change to AISC. Select a W12 x 87 from the group and section.

Example 1 -Visual Analysis

Repeat the procedure for the 18 ft section and the other 15 ft section. Double click on the 18 ft section and change the section to a W14 x 30.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Double click on the nodes at the bottom of the frame. You will want to set the boundary conditions.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

The nodal menu will come up and you will want to select the Support section. Select a fixed support type. Notice that you have other types of support types. Red colored forces indicate there will be forces there. Declare both supports.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Create an applied set of forces acting on the frame. Go to the top, click on Model and create a New Service Case.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Declare the load case, Live Loads. Select the source as live load. Click OK.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Select the member and select Applied Member Force from the main menu. A new menu will appear with type of force magnitude and placement.

Select a uniform distributed load in the Y direction with a magnitude -0.5 k/ft.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

The resulting image will be:

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Repeat the procedure and create a second load case. Titled Wind Loads and declare the source wind loads. Click on the node and bring up the main menu and select Nodal Loads Select 10 k in the X direction.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

The resulting image will be:

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Create an equation which will include both loads. Select the Model menu and create an equation. An new menu will appear. Declare the equation, LL+WL.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Select the live and wind loads and click on the live load factor of 1.00 and change it to 1.6. You have created a set of three loads cases.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Click on the Analysis key,
A series of menu will appear. Type of analysis Static Analysis Dynamic Analysis Select a static analysis and type OK.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

A series of menu will appear. Next menu is type of static analysis. First order Member Unstable and frame unstable. Select first order.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Select the load cases you want to analysis. Choice all of the cases and press Finish

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

You can create the shear and bending moment diagrams using the graphical representation from the main menu.

Example 1 - Visual Analysis

Visual analysis can generate a customize report for the frame.

Visual Analysis
The reports can be adjusted by using the main menu. The reports can be a verbose or as sparse as you need. You can use it to load shear and bending moments, axial loads, deflections and slopes. One other program, which is used for concrete, is SAP 2000.

Homework
Using Visual Analysis work through Dr. Lowerys example problems. (http://stommel.tamu.edu/~esandt/Teach/Spring00/CVEN345/visual_analysis.html) Basic Case Advance Case For both cases, find the reactions and the deformed shape of the frame. Plot the shear and bending moment diagrams for the frame