4.

Supports
4.1 General Support Conditions

• In reinforced concrete structures on single or mat foundation, the support conditions

are taken as fixed (all rotational and translational degrees of freedom are locked).

Where raft (or single) piles are modelled in ETABS, however, the support conditions
may be taken as free (no rotational and translation D.O.F is locked) or pinned. The piles
for this case need to be modelled with appropriate springs. Some guidelines for this
purpose is explained in the following section.

4.2 Modelling Piles as Supports

• Piles are modelled in ETABS as springs where the spring stiffness-corresponding to
the pile vertical and horizontal stiffness- is used by ETABS for analysis purpose. The
stiffness of these springs may be calculated based on the maximum allowable axial
force and settlement of the pile.

• The maximum allowable axial stress on a pile may be limited to 0.25f . On the other
cu

hand, the maximum allowable settlement for a pile is generally given by the
geotechnical expert. In lieu of these data (and as directed by JAFZA), this value may
be taken as 1% of pile diameter (in mm). Therefore the vertical spring stiffness may
be expressed as:

pile 025f .nd 2

_
= 20d
cu

K =
A ,
fl /
4 jc0 . 0 1 J

The horizontal pile stiffness is taken as 10% of the vertical value.

WS Atkins & Partners Overseas

5. Loading
5.1 Dead Loads
Since ETABS can calculate the self-weight of different elements defined and apply their
load in static analysis, it is important to define dead loads appropriately. The self-weight
and imposed dead loads shall be defined separately as explained below:

5.1.1 Assign Self Weight

The self-weight multiplier controls what portion of the self-weight is included in a load
case. A self-weight multiplier of 1 means that the full self-weight of the structure is
included in that load case.

5.1.2 Define Imposed Dead Load

This type of loading shall be used to define any other type of permanent load acting on the
structure, excluding the self-weight of structural elements that are modelled in ETABS.
Load associated with floor finishes, raised flooring, ceiling, services and permanent
partitions are examples of this type of loading.

II Delete Load II

•K

Cancel

5.2 Live Loads

5.2.1 General

Live loads shall be defined as reducible or irreducible based on their magnitudes. As per
ASCE7 provisions (which is also adopted in UBC), lie loads in excess of 4.79 kN/m shall 2

be taken as irreducible.
The live load values shall be assigned in accordance with the values adopted in Design
Statement and the specific code requirements.

5.2.2 Reduction of Live Loads

A live load that is specified as reducible is reduced automatically by the program for use
in the design postprocessors (and hence doesn't have any effect in the analysis results).
The live load reduction parameters are specified using the Options menu > Preferences
> Live Load Reduction command.
It is important to ensure that the self-weight multiplier is set to zero (O)for all load cases
except self-weight.
It should also be noted that Load Combinations do not include live load reduction unless
required specifically. Therefore, this shall be considered when using other supplementary
design software (e.g. PROKON).

Page 1 of 1 1
WS Atkins & Partners Overseas

5.3 Mechanical Loads

Mechanical loads are irreducible live loads that are generally used to represent the effect
of areas with special equipment or facility (substations, plant rooms, etc). This definition
will help to differentiate between the live loads that are NOT permitted by the code to be
reduced. For example, as stated earlier in this chapter, ASCE7 and UBC 97 define any
live load exceeding 4.79 kN/m as irreducible live load. Therefore these loads shall be
2

defined as a MECH load to ensure that they are not reduced for member design.

Loads Click To:

5 elf Weight Auto
Add New Load
Load Type Multiplier Lateral Load
MECH LIVE 0 V
| Modify Load
SELFW DEAD 1
UtAU - ^ m ^ . | Modify Lateral Load."
1 LIVE REDUCE LIVEY o
l| MECH I IQ II I
Delete Load

OK

Cancel

5.4 Wind Loads

In general, there are two ways to define lateral loads (Wind, earthquake, etc) in ETABS:
Use one of the built-in options that will automatically calculate the lateral loads as per
available design codes or specify the lateral loads manually. The latter is used to apply the
wind loads determined from the Wind Tunnel Test.

5.4.1 Codified Methods

Codified wind loads that are approved by JAFZA are limited to ASCE 7 and AS/NZS
1170.2. However, DM / Tecom currently also accept design wind loads as per BS 6399,
Part-2. The procedures to define codified wind loads as per ASCE 7 and BS 6399 Part-2
are described briefly below:

5.4.1.0 Define Wind Load Parameters as per ASCE 7

The ASCE 7-02 wind load parameters shall be determined from respective Code sections
and input in the ASCE 7-02 Wind Loading Table of ETABS. Then ETABS will automatically
calculate the wind loads acting on each story level and use it in the static analysis
processor. A sample form of ASCE 7-02 wind parameters is shown below followed by a
brief description on key items.

Page 2 of 1 1
WS Atkins & Partners Overseas

Exposure and Pressure Coefficients Wind Coefficients

0 Exposure from Extents of Rigid Diaphragms Wnd Speed (mph)
O Exposure from Frame and Area Objects
Exposure Type

Importance Factor 1.

Wind Exposure Parameters Topographical Factor, Kzt 1.

A

Wind Direction Angle Gust Factor 0.85

Windward Coeff, Cp Directionality Factor, Kd 0.85

Leeward Coeff, Cp Solid / Gross Area Ratio

Case (ASCE 7-02 Fig. 6-9)

e2 (ASCE 7-02 Fig. 6-9]

e1 (ASCE 7-02 Fig. 6-9)

Modify/Show Exposure Widths...

Exposure Height

Top Story STDRY4

Bottom Story BASE

l~l Include Parapet Cancel ]

Parapet Height

• Design Wind Load Case: Choose Create All Cases, so that all design wind load

•
cases are determined as per Fig.6-9 of ASCE 7-02, taken into account the
torsional moment effects.
Eccentricity: Determine the eccentricity values for the structure as per Clause
6 .5 . 12 . 3 and Fig.6-9 of ASCE 7-02. For rigid structures, defined as structures
with natural frequency of greater than 1 Hz ( T i < 1 sec), the eccentricity shall be
taken as equal to 1 5 % of the building dimension in the perpendicular direction.
Otherwise, use Equation ( 6 - 2 1 ) in Clause 6. 5 . 12 . 3 of ASCE 7-02 to calculate this
parameter.
Wind Speed: In lieu of reliable wind tunnel studies, the basic wind velocity shall
be taken as 4 5 m/sec ( 1 0 1 mph) as per local authority requirements. Note that
the basic wind speed shall be input as mph in ETABS.
Other Parameters: Other parameters shall be determined as per provisions of
ASCE 7. The exposure type is generally taken as Exposure C for Dubai, but
should be verified with the wind specialist accordingly. An approved design
spreadsheet may be used to reliably calculate all the parameters of ASCE 7-02
wind load data.

5.4.1.1 Define Wind Load Parameters as per BS 6399-Part-2

The BS 6 3 9 9 - 9 5 , Part-2, wind load parameters shall be determined from respective Code
sections and input in the BS 6 3 9 9 - 9 5 Wind Loading Table of ETABS. ETABS will
automatically calculate the wind loads acting on each story level and use it in the static
analysis processor. A sample form of BS 6 3 9 9 - 9 5 wind parameters is shown below
followed by a brief description on each item.

Page 3 of 11