ETABS – Otte International (2024)

OVERVIEW

USER INTERFACE

REDESIGNED USER INTERFACE

ETABS offers a single user interface to perform: Modeling, Analysis, Design, and Reporting. A new model explorer is available for quick access to objects, properties, and forms.

SELECTED FEATURES & ADVANCED ANALYSIS

ELASTIC SHORTENING

Elastic shortening is accurately computed in ETABS. Based on the shear/core walls and columns modelled, ETABS will compute their respective displacements based on their actual stiffness. Engineers will be able to strategize the locations of these walls and columns to obtain a more efficient building in terms of vertical resistance. The figure on the right shows a building with poorly positioned walls and columns making the building lean to one side under dead load alone! Accurate elastic shortening results indicate proper reaction loads for the columns as would be experienced by the real structure.

MODIFIED WALL PANELS AND MESHING

ETABS has long been the industry leader for shear wall analysis and design. It ensures the precision in its analysis by using modified wall panels which have similar performance regardless of the mesh size specified by the user. Advanced meshing options such as the auto line constraint which is unique to CSI software also ensures the quality of the result by enforcing displacement compatibility at mismatched mesh locations.

SECTION DESIGNER

The section designer in ETABS allows the user to specify a section of any geometry using concrete, steel sections or rebar. The section designer will then generate the P-M-M interaction surface as well as the moment curvature relationship for that section to be used as a frame element in the analysis.

MODAL ANALYSIS

Modal analysis is critical to building analysis and it is a default option in ETABS.

TIME DEPENDENT

Incremental construction sequence modelling and loadings can be modelled in ETABS. Nonlinear effects can be considered such as large deflections, yielding, and gap opening and closing. Time-dependent creep, shrinkage, and strength-change effects will all so be taken into account.

Construction Sequencing

Creep and Shrinkage

DYNAMIC ANALYSIS

ETABS dynamic analysis capabilities include the calculation of vibration modes using Ritz or Eigen vectors, response-spectrum analysis, and time-history analysis for both linear and nonlinear behaviour.

Response-Spectrum Analysis

Response-spectrum analysis determines the statistically likely response of a structure to seismic loading. This linear type of analysis uses response-spectrum ground-acceleration records based on the seismic load and site conditions, rather than time-history ground motion records. This method is extremely efficient and takes into account the dynamical behavior of the structure.

Time History Analysis

Time-history analysis captures the step-by-step response of structures to seismic ground motion and other types of loading such as blast, machinery, wind, waves, etc. Analysis can use modal superposition or direct-integration methods, and both can be linear or nonlinear. The nonlinear modal method, also called FNA for Fast Nonlinear Analysis, is extremely efficient and accurate for a wide class of problems. The direct-integration method is even more general, and can handle large deformations and other highly nonlinear behaviour. Nonlinear time-history analyses can be chained together with other nonlinear cases (including staged construction) addressing a wide range of applications.

P-DELTA ANALYSIS

P-delta analysis captures the softening effect of compression and the stiffening effect of tension. A single P-delta analysis under gravity and sustained loads can be used to modify the stiffness for linear load cases, which can later be superposed. Alternatively, each combination of loads can be analysed for full nonlinear P-delta effects. P-delta effects are included for all elements and are seamlessly integrated into analysis and design.

BUCKLING

Linear (bifurcation) buckling modes of a structure can be found under any set of loads. Buckling can be calculated from a nonlinear or staged-construction state. Full nonlinear buckling analysis is also available considering P-delta or large deflections effects. Snap-through buckling behaviour can be captured using static analysis with displacement control. Dynamic analysis can be used for modelling more complex buckling, such as follower-load problems.

PUSHOVER

Pushover analysis features in ETABS include the implementation of FEMA 356 and the hinge and fiber hinge option based on stress-strain. The nonlinear layered shell element enables users to consider plastic behaviour of concrete shear walls, slabs, steel plates, and other area finite elements in the pushover analysis. Force-Deformation relations are defined for steel and concrete hinges.

LOAD CASES AND COMBINATIONS

ETABS allows for an unlimited number of load cases and combinations. Load combination types include linear additive, envelope (min/max), absolute add, SRSS, and range combinations. Combination components can include other combinations.

ANALYSIS OPTIONS

Below is a quick summary of the various types of advanced analysis options that is available to ETABS.

OUTPUT AND DISPLAY

MIXED UNITS

ETABS gives users full control of the units used with all model data and displays results in the units desired. Whether architectural units or analysis results units, you can have any combination of units throughout your model.

DEFORMED GEOMETRY

Users can display deformed geometry based on any load or combination of loads, as well as animations of modes.

SHELL FORCE AND STRESS CONTOURS

Display of shell forces and stress contours can be based on load case, load combination, or modal case. Users can show resultant forces and shell stresses on any component in any direction. Control the stress contour appearance by showing undeformed, deformed, or extruded shapes, with or without loading values.

REACTION DIAGRAMS

Support reactions can be displayed graphically on the model either as vectors or as tabular plots for selected reaction components.

TABULAR OUTPUT

ETABS has the ability to display and dock tables for all input data, analysis results, and design results. Organize the tables in any way you like by dragging and dropping them to any location of the ETABS environment. Tables support sort, cut, copy, and paste for use in other programs. Print or save tabular data to Access, Excel, Word, HTML, or TXT.

SECTION CUTS

Use graphical section cut definitions to see the resultant forces and moments across any location in the structure. A section cut can have any shape and can be used to compute story shears, connecting forces, design forces in shear walls, and for many other purposes. Section cut results can be obtained for all types of load cases and combinations.

VIDEO ANIMATIONS

ETABS has the ability to generate video (.avi) files to visually display a set of analysis results that vary over a particular time period, such as in a time history analysis.

RENDERED VIEWS

Rendered views can used to create images to include in client reports. ETABS has multiple lighting options, shadows, and texture options to create life-like images of your structures.

REPORT

REPORT GENERATION

The report generator features include an indexed table of contents, model definition information, and analysis and design results in tabulated format. Reports are viewable within ETABS with live document navigation connected to the Model Explorer and directly exportable to Microsoft Word.

BIM COMPATIBILITY

AUTODESK REVIT STRUCTURE

CSiXRevit, a CSI developed plugin for Autodesk Revit Structure, provides a bi-directional link between SAP2000, ETABS, and/or SAFE and Autodesk Revit® Structure.

These options provide for true round-tripping of data between CSI software and Autodesk Revit® Structure.

TEKLA STRUCTURES

The link between Tekla Structures and SAP2000 or ETABS allows models to be started in either product, then transferred to the other. Round-tripping of models is possible, including accepting of changes when transferring from SAP2000 or ETABS to Tekla Structures. It is also possible to merge changes to a Tekla Structures model to an existing SAP2000 or ETABS model.

INDUSTRY FOUNDATION CLASSES (IFC)

Support of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) data models provides compatibility with other BIM enabled applications. SAP2000, CSiBridge, and ETABS all support import and export of IFC 2×3 and IFC 4 formats.

DESIGN STANDARDS

CODES

AWARDS

Part of the CSi Family of Software is ETABS which has been awarded the Top Seismic Product of the 20th Century by the Applied Technology Council (ATC) and the Engineering News Record (ENR), again re-iterating its position as the leading building software on the market.
Computers and Structures, Inc. is also the proud recipient of the Charles S. Whitney Medal from the American Concrete Institute (ACI) in 2011. Ashraf Habibullah, the President and CEO also received a H.J. Brunnier Life Time Achievement Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering in the same year, a feat not achieved by any other structural software company.

Otte is the Sole Singapore ETABS distributor as well as the Sole Malaysia ETABS distributor. Other Computers and Structures Products such as SAP2000, CSiBridge, and SAFE are also distributed by Otte.