Reinforcing Bim Methods

A live demonstration in Chicago by Adapt Corp. President Florian Aalami highlighted strengths of the company’s integrated design software for post-tensioned (P/T) or reinforced concrete (RC) floor systems and mat foundations

A live demonstration in Chicago by Adapt Corp. President Florian Aalami highlighted strengths of the company’s integrated design software for post-tensioned (P/T) or reinforced concrete (RC) floor systems and mat foundations. While the Adapt-Builder Structural Concrete Design Suite comprises a range of products tailored to floor, beam, frame, and foundation construction Û allowing 2-D equivalent frame method (EFM) or 3-D finite element method (FEM) analysis Û the presentation featured Adapt-Floor Pro for elevated slab design; and, Adapt-MAT for raft foundations.

Adapt-Builder EX v3 is the latest edition of the company’s 3-D FEM analysis software for advanced P/T or RC slab and foundation design. Among various reporting and performance improvements, V3 offers enhanced Dynamic Rebar Design (DRD) capabilities, creating ÎintelligentÌ rebar objects for incorporation in Revit Structures 3-D models to achieve structural integration. Accordingly, Adapt-Floor Pro and Adapt-MAT in conjunction with the advanced DRD module are said by the software developers to provide structural engineers complete control over design and detailing of mild reinforcement, as their building information modeling approach supports bidirectional integration with the Revit BIM platform.

Generating a 3-D model of an entire floor system, even complex transfer and waffle slabs, Adapt-Floor Pro employs structural components, such as slab regions, walls, columns, drop caps, drop panels and openings. Additionally, it performs a detailed finite element analysis of the floor system and its supporting structure. Further capabilities include live load patterning and automatically reduced live loads, where applicable; calculation of punching shear stresses and design of relevant reinforcement; code check [ACI, IBC, among others] indicating amount and location of reinforcement needed; generation of graphical and tabular reports; and, export of rebar and post-tensioning structural drawings directly into AutoCAD. The following features also constitute key V3 attributes:

  • Cracked section deflection, including display of cracked sections in slabs and beams, as well as cracked section deflection
  • Reinforcement distribution, based on column strip/middle strip or on entire tributary
  • Improved bar-length adjustment and position reporting, enabling length modifications and centering top bars over support, as well as length adjustment and centering bottom bars in span
  • Improved analysis and design options, enabling user to define support condition at far ends of columns and walls, as well as choose floor design
  • Importing of load combinations from ETABS

Dr. Aalami emphasized that Adapt-Builder software aims to capitalize on its particular strength, which is providing ÎintelligentÌ objects for Revit. Thus, Adapt’s Dynamic Rebar Design facilitates interaction with rebar elements in a BIM environment to ensure appropriate adjustments and proper placement, as well as definition of base reinforcement. Rebar detailing, then, is accomplished via Adapt, as Revit supplies the concrete shell design. An effective interface with Revit and ETABS allows importation of data, e.g., geometry plus gravity and lateral loads, applicable to slab and foundation design; and, two-way information exchange permits structural integration in a 3-D model. Future iterations of Adapt-Builder, Aalami noted, would likely target multistory design, construction sequencing, and time-dependent material properties, including creep and shrinkage. Û www.adaptsoft.com