Tips & Tricks

December 29, 2025

What’s New for IBC 2024 in RISA: A Closer Look

With RISA’s latest release of RISA-3D v23.0.1, we’re continuing to expand support for IBC 2024, helping engineers stay aligned with the latest building code requirements as adoption accelerates across the U.S.—including federally funded projects. This release builds on v23.0.0 ASCE 7-22 enhancements and adds key material design updates that move RISA further into full IBC 2024 compliance. New Material Design Updates Supporting IBC 2024 The upcoming release introduces several important design code updates referenced by IBC 2024, including: Steel Seismic design per AISC 341-22 Prequalified connections per AISC 358-22 Continued support for AISC 360-22 (16th Edition) steel design Ongoing updates to the hot-rolled shape database, including compatibility with both 15th and 16th Edition steel manuals These updates support modern seismic detailing requirements and ensure consistency with current steel industry standards. Masonry Masonry design per TMS 402-22, aligning with the latest strength and serviceability provisions adopted by IBC 2024. Key updates include: Revisions to shear design equations, including clarified definitions of shear area as outlined in Table 4.4.5, improving consistency and transparency in shear capacity calculations. Updated strength reduction factors for flexure and combined flexure + axial. Unlike previous editions that used a fixed ϕ-factor of 0.9, TMS 402-22 introduces tension-controlled,…

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Canadian Wood Design now Available
February 26, 2015

Canadian Wood Design now Available

Timber design per the Canadian CSA 086-2009 design code is now available. Canadian wood member design is very similar to the US NDS member design. There are slightly different load factors, material properties, shape tables, and capacity equations, but the overall modeling procedure in RISA is the...

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What's New for Code Updates in RISA
February 17, 2015

What's New for Code Updates in RISA

New codes have been added to RISA-3D v13 and RISAFloor v9, these include: AISI S100-12: Cold-Formed Steel Design Code CSA 086-09: Canadian Wood Design Code ACI 530-13: Masonry Design Code To select these codes for your design, simply choose them from the Codes tab of Global Parameters:

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Approximate Guidelines for Plate Meshing
January 15, 2015

Approximate Guidelines for Plate Meshing

It is important to submesh plate elements in your model in order to obtain the most accurate results. However, many users wonder what the approximate guidelines for plate dimensions are acceptable.

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What do the Unbraced Length commands Segment and Lbyy mean?
December 3, 2014

What do the Unbraced Length commands Segment and Lbyy mean?

Aside from leaving an unbraced length blank or inputting a fixed distance, you can harness the program’s ability to use a limited intelligence for determining unbraced lengths. In order to do this you can simply type in the name of the Unbraced Length Commands into the unbraced length field.

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What do the Unbraced Lengths represent?
November 19, 2014

What do the Unbraced Lengths represent?

Understanding unbraced lengths and how RISA software accounts for them is essential in the design of any project. In RISA there are three main types of unbraced lengths:

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How do Unbraced Lengths affect Analysis?
November 12, 2014

How do Unbraced Lengths affect Analysis?

The axial compression and flexure strength of beams and columns is dependent on the spacing of elements which provide bracing along the length of those members. You may specify unbraced lengths as a fixed distance or by using RISA’s Unbraced Length Commands. These unbraced lengths are used for...

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Code Requirements for Panel Zone Shear Deformation
October 29, 2014

Code Requirements for Panel Zone Shear Deformation

Code requirements for consideration of panel zone shear deformation can be confusing. This blog post discusses some of the basis for these code requirements and when one can consider them to be met and when one cannot.

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How are Cantilevered Slabs designed?
October 21, 2014

How are Cantilevered Slabs designed?

Concrete buildings often have large cantilevers. In RISAFloor ES, the Support lines can be drawn to support points but also they can be drawn as cantilevers (shown below).

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How to Model Support Lines with Parallel Walls
October 3, 2014

How to Model Support Lines with Parallel Walls

In RISAFloor ES, you draw a support line from support point to support point to define the Design Strips. The program will automatically create Design Strips based on the tributary width. When you have walls in the model, it is often a question of how you draw in the support lines.

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