Structural Engineering > Structural Frame

Why Modeling Stairs Can Trigger Soft-Story and Torsional Irregularity Warnings — and How Structural Software Can Improve Structural engineers occasionally report that a building model behaves normally until reinforced concrete stairs are added, at which point soft-story or torsional irregularity warnings suddenly appear. Stairs are commonly included in analytical models because they contribute gravity loads, seismic mass, and sometimes structural stiffness. As a result, software […] Read More

A waffle slab is made of a thin topping supported by ribs running in both directions, giving it the appearance of waffle when looked from below. Waffle slabs are a special type of reinforced concrete slab, where aesthetics meet with certain structural characteristics. They have advantages such as the aesthetics, higher load capacity and longer spans. Since they are stiff due to their higher overall […] Read More