Results

You may work with the results of a solution by viewing and sorting data in the spreadsheets, graphically plotting them with the model or by viewing detailed member reports. You may also print the results in any of these forms. To learn about printing results, see Printing.

Upon the completion of a static solution, RISA opens the Results Toolbar and the Reactions Spreadsheet. You may specify that other results be displayed automatically as well. You may then proceed to view any results and make any changes for further analysis.

If you make any changes to the model that would void the results, such as moving joints or adding members, the results will be purged and another solution will be required before the results can be viewed again.

Each of the result types is described in it’s own section:

Results Spreadsheets

• Joint Deflection Results
• Joint Reaction Results
• Story Drift Results
• Member Force Results
• Member Stress Results
• Member Deflection Results
• Hot-Rolled Code Check
• Cold-Formed Code Check
• Wood Code Check
• Concrete Design Results
• Aluminum Code Check
• Concrete Wall Results
• Masonry Wall Results
• Wood Wall Results
• Plate Stress Results
• Plate Force Results
• Plate Corner Force Results
• Modal Frequency Results
• Mode Shape Results

Detail Reports

• Member Detail Reports (Hot Rolled Steel, Cold Formed Steel, & Wood)
• Concrete Beam Detail Reports
• Concrete Column Detail Reports

Saving Results

When you save a file that has been solved you may also save the results. The next time that the file is opened the saved results will be opened as well. You may use the Application Settings on the Tools Menu to change the way that you are prompted to save results.

If changes are made to the model, any saved results are deleted. Saved results for models that no longer exist in the same directory are also deleted.

Results Spreadsheets

You may access the result spreadsheets by selecting them from the Results Menu. You may use the Find, Sort, and Exclude features to find the results you are interested in. For example you might sort the member stresses from high to low, bringing all of the highly stressed members to the top. You might then exclude members that do not have significant axial stresses so that they do not distract you or so that they are not printed.

Finding Results

• To go to a certain item while in a spreadsheet click the Find  button, and type in the desired member, plate or joint label.

Sorting Results

• To sort the results click on the column of results you wish to sort and then click the Sort  button to specify sorting settings. You can sort based on maximum, minimum, absolute maximum or input order.

Excluding Results

There are ways to exclude results so that you can work with the results that are important to you.

Excluding Results Before the Solution

Excluding items before the solution allows you to remove the items from the results while leaving them as part of the model. This exclusion is permanent for that solution and any exclusion changes will then require another solution. This exclusion may be applied graphically with the Draw or Modify features or within the spreadsheets by recording an “E” in the Inactive field of the Members, Wall Panels, and Plates spreadsheets.

A member with an “E” in the “Inactive?” field will be treated like any other member in the solution and plotting of the model, but the member will not be listed in the solution results (forces, stresses, deflections, etc.). This is useful if there are certain members whose results aren't of interest. You don't have to clutter up the results with these members and can concentrate on the members you are most interested in.

Excluding Results After the Solution

You may run the solution and then graphically select the that are of interest. By clicking the  button, the spreadsheets and printed reports will be updated so that they will only have results for the selected items. All of the spreadsheets and reports will be controlled by this selection and you may adjust this selection at any time.

Excluding Results While in Spreadsheets

You may also select the results of interest on each spreadsheet. While viewing spreadsheet results you may select the last line of interest and exclude the rest. Exclusions are applied independently for each results spreadsheet. Any exclusion applied to the Member Forces spreadsheet will not affect the Member Stresses spreadsheet, etc. Excluding items graphically will reset all of the spreadsheets to match the graphic selection. If you wish to combine these two features to fine tune the results perform the graphic selection first.

To exclude results click on the last line of results you wish to keep and then click the Exclude After  button under the Spreadsheets Tab. You can bring the results back by clicking on the UN-Exclude button. Alternatively, you can select these features from the Right-Click menu in any result spreadsheets.

To exclude results click on the last line of results you wish to keep and then right click and select click the Exclude After. You can bring the results back by right clicking in the spreadsheet and selecting Unexclude.

Note

• It might be best to first sort the results before excluding. As an example, let's say that you only wanted to view members with Code checks greater than or equal to 0.7. To do this you would open the Steel Code Checks spreadsheet and sort the members by Code Check magnitude. Then you would visually identify the last member with a Code Check of 0.7 and use the Exclude feature to exclude all members after that one.

Graphic Results

Most of the analysis results may be viewed graphically as well as in the spreadsheets. For the joints you may plot the reactions. For the members you may plot force diagrams as well as color-code the plotted members by code check or stress levels. Plate stress contours and corner forces may also be viewed graphically. Deflected shapes and mode shapes may be viewed and animated. See Model Display Options for more information.

To Plot Results Graphically

1. If you do not already have the model view open click the New View  button on the RISA Toolbar.
2. Click the Model Display Options  button on the Window Toolbar.
3. Select the options you would like to view and click Apply.

Clearing Results

You will be provided with a warning if changes are made to the model that might invalidate the current results. Should you decide to proceed, the results will automatically be cleared and you will have to re-solve the model to get results once you are finished making changes. This warning may be disabled in the Application Settings on the Tools Menu.

To manually clear results, click the Clear Results  button.

Opening a model with a solution file that was saved in a different version will also prompt you to delete the solution file in order to open the model.

Internal Force Summation Tool 

This tool may be activated by clicking the icon below the Selection Toolbar or by using the Right-Click menu from within a model view.  The tool is only available from within a model view that has active results for a single combination or a batch solution.  This tool is not currently available for an envelope solution.  

This tool was originally created to convert Plate Analysis results into design forces for concrete slabs and walls. However, the tool is equally useful for structure that have beams, columns and braces. It is frequently used to determine overall story shears and moments. For detailed information on the tool, please refer to the Plate Design Tools section.

Note

• The internal force summation tool does NOT currently work on Solid Elements.

Member Detail Report

The detail report allows you to see the overall force/stress/deflection state for any particular member. This report shows diagrams for all these quantities and also lists detailed information on the code checks for Hot Rolled Steel, Cold Formed Steel, Concrete, Aluminum and Timber design.

This detail report is available for any member following the solution. If you have run an envelope solution, then you will only be able to view an enveloped detail report. If you run a Batch + Envelope solution, you can scroll between individual (Batch) load combination results, and the Enveloped results.

• If there is a (y) or (z) value next to the code check, it defines whether the controlling case is in the local y or z axes respectively.
• If there is an (s) this tells you that the maximum check occurred at some other axes where a round shape is used and the cross-sectional properties for the member are the same in all directions.
• If you are viewing an enveloped detail report, the governing load combination number will be reported in parenthesis. Ex: (LC 10).
• When a force or stress shows up with multiple colors (see image below), this signifies the difference between the total value and the value when Live Load Reduction is considered.
• The viewing of Live Load Reduction within the diagrams or the consideration of LL reduction in the reported values can be turned on or off by clicking on the button.
• For members designated as beams, the Max Defl Ratio will report the maximum beam deflection ratio (L'/y') as reported in the Beam Defl tab of the Member Deflections spreadsheet.
• For members that are not designated as beams, the Max Defl Ratio will report the maximum member deflection ratio (L/y') as reported in the Service or Strength tab of the Member Deflections spreadsheet.

To View a Detail Report

• To view a member detail report after running a solution, click on the   button on the Selection toolbar and then click on that member. If you do not already have the model view open click the New View button on the RISA toolbar.
• You may also access the detail report while viewing a member results spreadsheet such as Member Stresses by clicking the    button on the Window toolbar. You can also access the detail report from the Right-Click menu in a member results spreadsheet.
• You may also use the Results  Members  Detail Report menu option to open the report for any member.

Note:

• - This button will allow you to take a snapshot of the current detail report you are viewing so that it can be added to your printed report. View the Printing topic for more information.

Interactive Diagrams

Once a detail report is open, you can also click on any of the force, stress, or deflection diagrams to open an interactive diagram. Use the cursor at the bottom to drag along the length of the member to see how the value changes.

The diagrams provided are:

The "fa" stresses are the stresses resulting from the axial force.  The "fc" and "ft" stresses incorporate bending moment  stresses. In the envelope detail report, the "f(y)" stresses display both the maximum positive and negative bending stress located at the extreme fiber of the member in the local y-axis. These stresses are listed in the Member Stresses spreadsheet as y-Top and y-Bot.

The diagrams are scaled in groups to give a good representation of relative values. For example, the force diagrams (A, Vy and Vz) are scaled such that the force of maximum magnitude fills the diagram space. The other diagrams are then plotted using that same scale.  The moments, deflections and stresses are similarly scaled together.

When an output file is saved, the program will discard much of the unneeded force, moment and deflection data used to create the detail report plots. When this saved file is later retrieved, these plots will appear more coarse and inexact. However, the maximums, minimums and controlling code checks are always maintained regardless of how coarse the plots appear.

Tapered Members

The Detail Reports for tapered members designed to AISC Design Guide 25 contain information not available in other Hot Rolled Steel Design Reports. Refer to the Tapered Member Results sub-topic of Hot Rolled Steel Design for more information.

Envelope Member Detail Reports

The Detail Reports can be viewed for single load combinations, or as an envelope. If you solve a Batch + Envelope solution, you can toggle between the overall enveloped results and the individual load combination results using the menu at the top left.

For the enveloped report, all diagrams will show enveloped data. Governing load combinations will be noted in parenthesis.

Note:

• If you solve a load combination with a Moving Load or a Time History Load, the results will only be available in the enveloped detail report..

• To control whether the displayed diagrams and values consider LL Reduction, click on the button.

Concrete Member Detail Reports

Concrete member detail reports are similar in function to detail reports for other materials, but they are different in the type and amount of information they convey. One of the largest differences is that the force diagrams are always envelope force diagrams, because the majority of the concrete design results are based on the envelope forces.

The detail reports for concrete Beams and Columns are discussed in greater detail in the Concrete - Design Results section.