ASDIP FOUNDATION and ETABS Integration

ASDIP FOUNDATION is a software for the structural design of several types of footings per the latest ACI 318 provisions. On the other hand, ETABS is one of the most widely used software for the structural analysis and design of building systems. We are proud to announce the first of many integrations between ASDIP and ETABS, starting with the design of spread footings in ASDIP FOUNDATION. This article shows a brief overview of the ASDIP FOUNDATION and ETABS integration.

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Typical column base reactions

A typical building is exposed to a number of load cases such as dead, live, wind, snow, seismic, etc. Wind and seismic loads may be particularly complex due to the multiple parameters involved in the generation of these loads according to the design provisions. If a typical footing is under the action of vertical loads, and biaxial shears and moments, then the number of reactions to consider in the design of a single footing may be more than 100 values. If we multiply times the number of columns in a building, the number of reactions would be several thousands.

Evidently, entering by hand the footing reactions in a design software would be a very time-consuming and impractical task. Fortunately, ASDIP FOUNDATION is now able to import the column base reactions directly from the ETABS model, so that the footings can be designed, optimized, and checked completely using the Spread Footing module in ASDIP FOUNDATION. 

Importing the column reactions

As an example, consider the 3 x 3-bay, 4-story building modeled and analyzed in ETABS, with a total of 16 columns as shown above. The building has dead, live, wind, and seismic loads. The wind loads have 12 steps (cases) and the seismic loads have 6 steps.

To import the column base reactions from ETABS, open ASDIP FOUNDATION and in the Project Manager go to Project > Import from ETABS. Select the model file to open and click OK. This will open the model in ETABS and will run the analysis automatically to collect the information. Then ETABS will close.

Going back to the Project Manager in ASDIP FOUNDATION, 16 nodes will be created in the tree under Spread Footing. Each node represents one footing of the building, meaning that all the column base reactions of the building were imported into ASDIP, as shown below.

Checking the loads

Click on any of the nodes to get access to the calculations for that specific footing. Go to the Loads tab and check that all loads were imported correctly. Click on the Wind tab and note the new combo box at the top right corner, where the different wind steps  can be selected. Note that the values of the loads change accordingly. Click on the Seismic tab to check different steps that were imported, as shown below.

In total, 110 reactions per column x 16 columns = 1760 reactions were imported in this simple example.

What's next?

Once the reactions are imported, you can optimize the footing dimensions and reinforcement accordingly. ASDIP FOUNDATION identifies the controlling load combination for bearing, shear, punching, bending, and transfer. For wind and seismic, the software identifies the controlling step in each design phase.

Among other features, in the near future the software will include a Design Manager, so that the footings can be designed preliminarily as the loads are imported. This feature is still under development, but will be part of the ASDIP FOUNDATION and ETABS integration.

For our collection of blog posts about structural footing design, please visit Structural Footing Design.

Detailed information is available about this structural engineering software by visiting ASDIP FOUNDATION. You are invited to download a Free 15-Day Software Trial or go ahead and Place Your Order.

Best regards,

Javier Encinas, PE
ASDIP Structural Software