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Civil Engineering/Questions regarding ETABS

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Expert: - 1/7/2009


Question
Hi,
I want to ask the following questions regarding ETABS.

What property shall I assign to Slab Objects while defining them... Sheel , Plate or membrane ???? and why??

After desinging a concrete frame in ETABS what shall I do to mark all beam reinforcements.. I mean to say, like can I exprot reinforcing data from etabs and use in some excel spreadsheet.. thank you

Answer
Hi Umar,

Membranes have only in-plane stiffness (so can be used to simulate diaphragms), plates have out-of-plane stiffness only and shells have both in-plane and out-of-plane stiffness, so the latter are best for floor slabs, whilst for walls you could use membranes, to save on processing time for large buildings.

Exporting design data from ETABS for rebar detailing is not very user friendly. It's best to export the moments and shears via spreadsheet and then use some other program for design, such as PROKON, CADS 8110, etc.

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Arshad Khan

Expertise

I can answer any questions to do with civil and structural engineering consultancy and construction industry in East Africa and the Middle East, and specifically with the analysis and design of reinforced concrete structures. My particular expertise is in the aseismic design and optimisation of tall buildings.

Experience

Employment history: 36 years in Construction and consultancy in the UK, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Africa, Somalia, Zambia, Austria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Doha and the U.A.E.

Organizations
.Fellow of Institution of Structural Engineers (UK) .Fellow of Institution of Civil Engineers(UK) .Member of the Institution of Engineers, Kenya .Registered Engineer, ERB, Kenya .Member of the Architectural Association of Kenya (Engineers Chapter) .Chartered Engineer (UK)

Publications
•1984: International Conference on the Art and Practice of Structural Design, London •1994: 3rd Int. Kerensky Conference in Structural Engineering, Singapore •2008: International Conference on High-Rise Towers, Abu Dhabi

Education/Credentials
BSc, 1st Class Hons, in Building Engineering, University of Bath, UK MSc in Concrete Structures and Technology, University of London. Diploma of Imperial College, UK.

Awards and Honors
•Science Congress Special Award (for 2-seater Hovercraft - 1968) •Institution of Civil Engineers Award for outstanding performance at Bath University (1975) •Concrete Society Postgraduate study Bursary Award (1976) •Consular Representative for British High Commission, Nairobi. (1995 to 1998) •Examiner for Institution of Civil Engineers Professional Interviews, Nairobi. (1997 to 1998) •Branch Representative in Vienna for PI assessment for Inst. of Struct. Engrs. (1999 to date)

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