Chloe Leung - Module 9 - Part 1

Structural Framing Design Assistant

Intended users

Structural engineers working on preliminary framing designs for mid to high-rise buildings

Need you’re trying to provide a solution or support for

In early design phases, structural engineers must evaluate a wide range of framing alternatives. Modeling with detailed structural analysis tools are too slow. Engineers need a way to quickly explore different framing layouts—varying bay sizes, number of floors, member types, and loading—and understand how these choices affect the overall building structural weight, cost, expected member deflections, and code compliance for deflection limits.

Inputs

• Number of Floors (max=20)
• Floor-to-Floor Height (max=12’)
• Bay Spacing (X and Y directions)
• Number of Bays (X and Y)
• Beam Size (X direction)
• Beam Size (Y direction)
• Column Size
• Deck Type
• Expected Live Load (psf)
• Expected Dead Load (psf)

Underlying logic of the model you’ll implement

2D Framing System Generation:

• Generate a customizable multi-bay framing layout using user-defined bay spacings in X and Y, and total number of bays in each direction.
• Assign different beam types for X- and Y-direction spans.
• Place columns at bay intersections with user-specified cross-section and floor height.

Loading and Deflection Checks:

• Apply gravity loads using user-defined live load (LL) and dead load (DL), converted to uniform line loads on beams.
• Use simplified analytical formulas to compute midspan deflection for each beam.
• For columns, compute approximate deflection based on tributary loading.
• Compare computed deflections against code-based limits to check compliance.

Structural Mass and Cost Estimation:

Retrieves cross-sectional properties from a predefined lookup table for each selected beam, column, and deck type to calculate:

• Structural Mass by multiplying member unit weights by total lengths.
• Structural Cost by applying unit costs to framing and decking quantities.

Outputs