How to Apply Wind Loads in RISA-3D – RISA News

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Steve

RISA News has come with a new tutorial on applying wind loads.

Wind loads can be automatically are generated in RISA-3D for building models. RISA calculates the ASCE 7 Main Wind-Force Resisting System loads and calculations are based on the Analytical Procedure for Enclosed Rigid Building for All Heights.

The model has to have a Rigid Diaphragm in order to calculate the wind loads at each floor level.

To apply the wind loads select the Insert drop down menu and select Wind Load. This will open the Wind Load Generator, where you can add all the parameters based on you building location and conditions. The Base Elevation can be used to set the “ground elevation or the lowest point of wind exposure. This is helpful if you are modeling the basement level of the building.

[via]

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Blender 2.62 Relased

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Steve

Blender 2.62 has been released.  Some new features include better Boolean operations, Cycles render engine improvements, object motion tracking, and more.

The Blender Foundation and online developer community is proud to present Blender 2.62. The 2.6x series is being targeted at including all work that happened in branches or patches past years.

The Cycles render engine now has layers/passes, you can track objects inside videos now, have much better and faster boolean intersections and use great new UV Tools.

Check the list for highlights and the full changelog.

You can download your copy at their website.

[via Blender.org]

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Solve Differential Equations with Wolfram Alpha

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Steve

Wolfram Alpha now solves differential equations with step-by-step solutions!  They describe the new feature accordingly:

Wolfram|Alpha has become well-known for its ability to perform step-by-step math in a variety of areas. Today we’re pleased to introduce a new member to this family: step-by-step differential equations. Differential equations are fundamental to many fields, with applications such as describing spring-mass systems and circuits and modeling control systems.

From basic separable equations to solving with Laplace transforms, Wolfram|Alpha is a great way to guide yourself through a tough differential equation problem.

See examples and more on the Wolfram Alpha Blog.

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Why is Plate Meshing Important?

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Steve

RISA News has published an article on why plate meshing is important.  Basic understanding proper plate meshing is required to get reliable results on or Finite Element Mesh.  Without proper meshing of plates, inaccurate results are sure to follow.  Their example shows how too coarse of a mesh can result in stresses that are only half the magnitude of the actual solution.

As a rule of thumb, if the results change by less than 10% when doubling your mesh you can probably stop submeshing at that point.

[via Risa NEWS]

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How to Append or Merge Multiple Models Together in RISA-3D

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Steve

RISA News has posted a how-to on appending and merging multiple models into a single model file.

RISA-3D allows you to append, or merge, multiple models into a single model file. This may be helpful if you model single floors in separate files and want to stack them together.

Before appending the files together you must be sure that each file has the same Units and Global Axesdefined. Once this has been verified, open a model and go to File > Append. Then choose the model you wish to add to the currently open model.

via [RISA News]

 

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New Release LEAP Bridge V11.00.00

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Steve

Leap Bridge has released V11.00.00.  For list of enhancements and additions visit their product update page

LEAP Bridge V8i Enterprise is a consolidation of all configurations of LEAP Bridge (i.e. LB Suite, LB Precast and LB Cast-in-Place). This single executable integrates CONSPAN, RC-PIER, CONBOX and GEOMATH. LEAP Bridge V8i Enterprise also consolidates all country codes (currently USA, Canada and India) into one application and installer.

[Via]

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How to Root Droid 2, 3, X, X2, Pro, D2 Global with One Click

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Steve

Rooting your phone is really useful if you want a backup solution, CPU over/underclocker, control of your file system, and other things.  This was the easiest root method that I did on my Droid X without losing data (from droid-life.com).  I have an updated zip file for those of you who need a pause between reboots due to clockwork recovery mod booting by default.

Actually, this method should root just about any Motorola phone running Gingerbread.  …

Thanks to Framework43 and psouza4 for putting this together.  It couldn’t be any simpler than this method right here.

Download:  MotorolaOneClickRoot.zip

Instructions:

1.  Make sure you have Motorola drivers installed - [Download Drivers]
2.  Download the MotorolaOneClickRoot.zip file from above and unzip it to your Windows PC.
3.  On your phone go into  Settings>Applications>Development and check the box for USB Debugging.
4.  Plug phone into your computer and select “Charge Only” mode.
5.  Navigate to MotorolaOneClickRoot folder and run MotorolaOneClickRoot.exe.
6.  Follow the instructions in the command window.
7.  Your phone will complete 3 steps, rebooting along the way.  When it finishes, you will be rooted.

[Via droid-life.com]

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14th Edition Steel Construction Manual Companion Materials Available as Free Downloads

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Steve

AISC Steel Construction Manual 14th Edition Check out the free downloads from AISC:

(Chicago, IL) – More than 150 detailed design examples, updated dimensions and properties of structural sections, and other useful resources that complement the 14th Edition Steel Construction Manual, are now at your fingertips. Design Examples V14.0 and Shapes Database V14.0, as well as Reference Lists contained in the latest edition of the Manual, are available for free downloading on AISC’s website at www.aisc.org/manual14. The 14th Edition Manual was released this past summer and is available in hardcover or as a digital download at www.aisc.org/manuals.

…

To access these new online resources, visit www.aisc.org/manual14.

via aisc.org news

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Blender 3D 2.60a Release

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Steve

Blender 3D 2.60a was released on Oct 24, 2011.  The 2.60a release is a bugfix release for 2.60 shown in the changelog.  The changelog/release notes for 2.60 show all of the great new features that were added.

Features of 2.60 release:

The Blender Foundation and online developer community is proud to present Blender 2.60. This is the beginning of the Blender 2.6x series, targeted at including all work that happened in branches or patches past years.

Most notable in this release is 3D audio, UI translation, improved weight painting and a lot of animation system updates. Check the list [] for highlights and the full changelog.

Keep up the great work guys!  Looking forward to 2.61 near Dec 2011 which will include the Cycles render engine.  The Cycles render engine is merged in the trunk so any recent trunk build will include this.  It will be the greatest thing to happen to the render engine in a long time.  Get a fresh copy at graphical.org if you want to test Cycles out.

VIA Blender.org

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Binary Day

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Steve

Today is our last binary day until the year 2100.

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