[[RAM Connection Stalls When Assigning Base Plate Connection]]

Problem Description

A Catastrophic Failure Error occurs when changing the Anchor Position in the Connection Pad to Customized

Solution

This issue was corrected in the program release v9.0.0.

Users can bypass the error by unchecking the box for "Consider Strain Compatibility" in the Connection Pad.

See Also

Ram Connection Support Solutions

Problem Description

In RAM Connection for RAM Structural System, the forces imported from RAM Structural System are zero (0) for all load combinations. The problem occurs at connections with gravity members only. Connections for frame members are designed with the correct non-zero forces.

Reason

RAM Connection identifies notional load cases as lateral load cases and any load combination that includes a notional load case is flagged as a lateral combination. RAM Connection skips combinations identified as lateral combinations in the design of gravity members. If all load combinations include notional load cases and there are no load combinations with gravity load cases only, RAM Connection will not have forces results to design connections that include gravity members only.

Steps to Resolve

Generate additional load cases in RAM Connection that include only gravity load cases and do not include the notional load cases.

Step 1

Click on the Generate button in the Home menu - Load Conditions tool bar.

Step 2

In the Generate Load Combinations dialog, select a factored load combination that matches the design code that is selected and then click on the Generate button. The factored load combinations used in the United States are marked in the screen capture below.

Step 3

Check the boxes for all load combinations that include gravity load cases only. Combinations that include gravity and lateral load cases do not need to be selected. These combinations have been imported from RAM Frame and include the notional load cases. Click the OK boxes to close the dialogs and generate the load combinations.

[[Ram Elements - V8i Version 13 Issues]]

[[Ram Elements - V8i Version 9-12 Issues]]

[[Assign - Spread Foundation causes a crash when nothing is selected]]

list

Problem

Frame Types for Braced Frames used in the Connection Module are not available. 

Only moment frame types are included for frame type selection in the main program (input under Spreadsheet - Members - Steel Design - AISC - Seismic Provisions - Frame:

Specific braced frame types, OCBF or SCBF, can be assigned in the Connection Pad, but these are not saved with the connection joint and has to be reset each time the connection is reviewed.

Previously recorded as TR 70797

Solution

Assign the frame type within the connection pad and then print results.

See Also

Troubleshooting Errors when Assigning Connections

Problem Description

The following message appears in a black DOS window when attempting to run an analysis in RAM Elements or a design in one of the design modules:

OMP: Warning #72: KMP_Affinity: affinity only supported for Intel processors.
OMP: Warning #71: KMP_Affinity: affinity not supported, using "disabled"

Reason

The direct sparse solvers used by RAM Structural System and RAM Elements utilize multiprocessing libraries provided by Intel. The libraries function properly with Intel processors but not with AMD processors.

Solution

The error has no effect on the analysis. The error window can be safely minimized and ignored. If the error window is closed, however, the program will crash.

In the main program, you can also change to the in-core direct solver to avoid the error.

The solver type cannot be changed in the modules. You will need to minimize and ignore the error window to prevent a crash from occurring.

An update for Ram Elements  is planned for May 2014 that will automatically switch to the in-core solver when anything other than an Intel processor is detected. This should help to avoid the problem for the main analysis and also within Ram Elements modules.

See Also

[[KMP_Affinity error during analysis]]

RAM Frame Troubleshooting

Problem Description

Access Violation Error Temperature Loads with Shells

An access violation error is produced in RAM Elements v12.01.01 Build 34 when a model with shell elements is analyzed for temperature load cases and dynamic load cases. The model will run without error if the model is run for only the temperature load case, the temperature load case and any static load cases, or any static load cases and dynamic load cases.

Solution

Fixed in RAM Elements v12.05

Alternatively Update RamFE.dll to v8.3.3.

Problem: Error "Nullable object must have a value" during design

During the AISC 360-10 Steel design process using release 13.03.00.99 (or 13.03.00.101) an error message can occur indicating:

The error stops the design process.

Solution

Until an update can be release with a correction, use the 2005 edition of the code.

Using other section types can also solve the problem, depending what shapes are needed.

See Also

Structural Product TechNotes And FAQs

Problem Description

Argument Out of Range Error

This error can be produced in the wall modules of RAM Elements with models that contain a parapet, a bottom panel (below ground), and global forces.

Solution

Fixed in version 12.5.2

Workaround:  Delete parapet and add load to account for load on panel.

See Also

[[Tilt-up wall analysis error for inactive DOF]]

RAM Elements Masonry Wall FAQ

Problem Description

On some machines, the error message below is produced followed by a program crash during the design process. Other times the error occurs simply starting the program.

Solution

1) Disabling the Welcome Screen manually to prevent the crash from occurring.

The Welcome Screen identified below appears when the program is launched. After launching the program, the Welcome Screen can be opened by clicking on the Help button in the upper right corner of program window (see screen captures below):

In the Welcome Screen, uncheck the box to the left of Welcome Screen in the lower left corner to disable it.

After disabling the Welcome Screen, you will no longer see news information on program updates and other important items when opening the program. The Welcome Screen can be opened anytime by clicking on the link in the Help menu. The news information can also be found on the following web page:

http://feeds.rapidfeeds.com/8826/

2) Disable the welcome screen through a config file.

If you cannot access the program even momentarily to disable the welcome screen then this setting can be saved directly to the Config.ini file located in the user profile area at 

%UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Bentley\Engineering\RAM Elements.

Look for a [DlgRssFeed] section, and set the ShowWelcome value to False to disable the Welcome Screen without opening the program. If these lines are not in the file, add them using Notepad or other text file editor.

[DlgRSSFeed]
ShowWelcome=False

3) In some cases, updating video drivers resolves the issue.

In Windows 7, follow the steps :

• • Press the start button and go to Control Panel.
  • Click on "Device manager".
  • Now right click on the video card shown and select "Update Driver Software".
  • Then select Search automatically.

In Windows 8 and 10, Go to the Control Panel\Hardware and Sound -> Select Device Manager -> Display Adapters -> You should see couple of devices; Right click on each of them and select 'Update driver software'.

Once done, reboot the system.

Other Notes

A similar crash occurred in versions of RAM Elements prior to v13.03.00.117. In earlier versions, the crash also occurred when a model was opened by one of the following methods:

1. Double-clicking on the file in Windows Explorer.
2. Clicking on a recent model button on the Welcome Screen.

In earlier versions, the crash was avoided by opening the program within the program as noted below:

1. Launch the program from a desktop shortcut or a link in the Windows Start Button.
2. After the program opens, click on the RAM Elements button in the upper right corner of the program window and then click on "Open a Model" or simply click on the "Open a Model" button at the top of the screen. See screen capture below:

See Also

Structural Product TechNotes And FAQs

RAM Connection Crash

Problem Description

In File - Page Setup the user can select an alternate logo (any bmp file in the folder: C:\Program Files (x86)\Bentley\Engineering\Limcon\Program ), but the selected file is not used on reports (File - Print Preview or File - Print). the Limcon 3.63 logo is used regardless.

Furthermore, if the option to show the logo is turned off, the logo still displays on reports.

Solution

The limcon.bmp can be renamed or deleted (by an administrator) to turn off the logo completely, but editing the logo file does not work. 

Note, the same functionality in Microstran works fine. 

Problem Description

The reaction from the "Left" end in Ram Steel is incorrectly being applied to the "End" reaction of the member in ISM (Structural Synchronizer) and the "Right" reaction incorrectly applied to the "Start" end in ISM. These should be reversed.

Furthermore, the magnitude of the end reaction exported is slightly larger than what is shown in Ram Steel due to the duplicate application of the beam self-weight reaction. 

Reason

The problem does not affect Ram Steel or Ram Connection, only the exported reactions sent to ISM. When those reactions are used in detailing applications like AECOsim Building Designer or Revit for general assembly drawings, the automated annotation of beam reactions are reversed. 

Solution

Updated files can be downloaded to fix the problem until another release is made public. 

64 bit installations - RAM SS - ISM Fix for beam reactions x64

32 bit installations - RAM SS - ISM Fix for beam reactions x86

Do not use beam annotation with end reactions. unless the values are manually entered.

Problem Description

When attempting to save a model in RAM Modeler, a error indicating "Not Enough Disk Space" is displayed. After clicking OK to close the error box, another error message may be displayed indicating an error saving the model that references the Working directory for RAM Structural System.

Explanation

For extremely large files (>500 Mb), the errors may be associated with logged Defect #120055.

For other cases, there may be .rss files in the Working Directory for RAM Structural System that may be blocking the save process.

Solution

For large files, reduce the file size by creating a ZIP file and excluding the RAM Concrete and RAM Frame results. See the frequently asked question, "How can I reduce the size of my models" on the following web page for instructions:  RAM Files[FAQ]

After creating the ZIP file, rename the file and change the extension from .ZIP to .RSS. Then, open the file again and make changes in RAM Modeler as required. This is only a work around. After re-running the RAM Concrete and RAM Frame analyses, the error may reoccur if changes are made again in RAM Modeler and the file is saved again. If this occurs, repeat the procedure.

For other cases not related to the large file size, close out of RAM Structural System. Then, navigate to the working directory for RAM Structural System (default path = C:\ProgramData\Bentley\Engineering\RAM Structural System\Data\Working) and delete all files in the folder. After deleting the files, open the file in RAM Structural System and proceed with making changes and saving the model in RAM Modeler.

[[RAM SS CONNECT - Version 15.00 Issues]]

[[RAM SS V8i - Version 14.07 Issues]]

[[RAM SS V8i - Version 14.06 and earlier issues]]

[[Not Enough Disk Space Error When Attempting to Save Models in RAM Modeler]]

What is the Working directory?

A RAM Structural System model file (e.g. filename.rss) is literally a Zip file and within any .rss file you should find many component files of the same name with a wide range of extensions including (but not limited to) .b3d, .ram and .uid. These files are extracted from the model file and put into the working directory when opened in RAM Manager (in older versions of the program all of these files were simply saved together in the model directory).

For this reason the working directory should always be on the local drive and in a place in which the “user” has administrative rights. It’s also important for the user to have the rights to add, modify and delete files in the model directory.

Note: the working directory is set the first time the program is run, to confirm or edit the working directory location go to C:\ProgramData\Bentley\Engineering\RAM Structural System and double click the Ramis.ini file (c:\windows\ramis.ini prior to version 14). This should bring up the Ramis.ini file in Notepad (or other text editor). Look for the line that begins

working=path to working directory.

You can edit this path to the working directory here. Spaces are allowed as are references to mapped drives, but for the reasons mentioned above, a local drive should be used.

Also in the [Directories] section you will find the paths for other installation directories like the Tables folder where the program looks for all the tables and the default reports directory for saved reports.

For more information on the contents of the Ramis.ini file, refer to the RAM Defaults Guide [TN] and the RamSS Installation FAQ. 

Are RAM Structural System models backwards compatible?

Regretfully Ram SS models are not backward compatible. Typically with each major release there are changes in the model data base format. Once models are converted to the new version they can no longer be used in prior versions.

When a model is converted a backup of the original file is automatically created in the same folder with the same name and appended with the original file version, e.g. MyFile_Orig_14_7.zip, in case there is any need to revert to the prior version.

Note, though version 14.06.01 is generally considered a minor release, file conversion from version 14.06.00 is required. See the 14.06.01 Release Notes for details.

When I open a model I get a warning, “This file appears to be currently opened by: User Name…”

If the listed user really is in the file, they need to exit the program normally to release the model so that you can open it (RAM SS models do not allow for concurrent use).

If that user is not currently in the file or unavailable, you should navigate to the directory where the model is saved and look for a file of the same name with the file extension “.usr”. This is a lock file that was created when the user last accessed the model. The .usr file is normally deleted when the model is closed, but if the program terminated irregularly, the file might persist. Simply delete the .usr file and the .rss file can then be opened.

When I open a model I get a warning, “A temporary backup file has been found for this database (path to file), which indicates that the program abnormally terminated…”

If you select the “Most Recent Database” you are telling the program to reload the files from the working directory which should be the same as they were just before the crash. In such cases, we suggest that you immediately use the file – save-as feature to turn this into a new model file.

Clicking “Backup Database” deletes the working files and restores the files from the saved model whenever it was last saved. “Cancel” leaves everything alone. If your not sure when the last save occurred, click cancel and then check the modified date of the model file through an explorer window before returning to pick either option.

Starting with version 14.06 an additional backup file is created for models that crash and are then re-opened. A copy of the rss file with the extension .ssr is created if you reopen a model that is already expanded to the working directory indicating a previous crash or incomplete closure. Like the .backup file, the .ssr file can be renamed with a .rss extension to restore that version of the file.

When I open a model I get a warning, “Could not delete RAM model: filename. Working files in directory \path to working directory\, please use the explorer to delete these files.”

There are two situations where this message might appear. The first is a restriction to the working directory or the model directory. The user needs to have the rights to add, modify and delete files from both locations (preferably administrative rights). See above for more on the working directory.

The second problem is a corrupt or partial model file. If the model file is missing any of the critical component files it will not open correctly and the same message will appear. To investigate, rename the model file, changing the extension form .rss to .zip and double-click it to see what inside. You should see a series of files all with the same name but with a wide range of extensions including (but not limited to) .b3d, .ram and .uid. When a model file does not contain a complete set of component files it is unusable. It is a mystery what causes a file to become this way, but it seems that something must have interrupted the save process. A virus scanner may also be responsible.

At this point the backup file should be used, see below.

When attempting to load a module, I receive a message that a file with a db.sdf extension already exists.

The error may be caused by an installation issue with a database component included with RAM Structural System. Removing and reinstalling the component may resolve the issue. To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Control Panel from the Windows Start menu (Windows XP/Vista/7) or Windows Start screen (Windows 8).
2. Open Add or Remove Programs (Windows XP) or Programs and Features (Windows Vista/7/8).
3. If running RAM Structural System 14.06.00 or earlier, remove Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition. If running RAM Structural System 14.06.01 or later, remove either Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0 or Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0 (x64).
4. Locate and open the RAM Structural System installer (e.g. ramm14060100en.exe or ram6414060100en.exe), often stored in the Downloads folder.
5. Click the Install button next to Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition, and proceed through the installation to restore the component.

See also [[Unable to find the requested .NET framework data provider]]

Something is wrong with my model file, is there an automatic backup?

Yes, in the directory where the model file is saved, there should be another file of the same name with the extension, “.backup”. Rename this file something.rss (you won’t be able to use the same name of the original model file unless you move or rename it first). The backup file should be a complete version of the model from the previous time it was saved. If your not sure when that was, simply check the modified date.

Note: when backing up your own files, it is only the .rss model file that you need to save. When restoring backup files or old files from a backup CD or tape, make sure the files are not read-only. If you attempt to open a RAM model that is read-only, you will get another warning, “Failed CopyRssFileToWorkingDir:…”, “Failed DeleteRssInWorkingDir:…”, or “File error 2,6”.

How can I reduce the size of my files?

A RAM Structural System model (file.rss) is already a compressed zip file, but the size of that file can become quite large, especially when the analysis and design results are saved with the file. In RAM Manager under the File menu is an option to ZIP the model. When zipping models using that command you will have the opportunity to purge the model of some unnecessary results (which can be regenerated later just by running the file again). The optional results are:

• Include the RAM Frame Wall Forces results
• Include other RAM Frame Analysis results
• Include RAM Concrete Analysis results
• Include the RAM Concrete Column Interaction Surfaces
• Include the RAM Concrete Shear Wall results.

See Also

[[Unable to find the requested .NET framework data provider]]

RAM Defaults Guide [TN]

RAM SS File-Open Troubleshooting [TN]

RAM Table Editing [FAQ]

How to apply wind load in STAAD.Pro ?

STAAD.Pro supports automatic wind load generation. One can define any custom intensity vs height data and the software can generate the wind loading on the structure based on that. One can also generate wind loading as per codes like ASCE 7 in which case, considering the input parameters, the software first calculates the intensity vs height data automatically and then generates the wind loading on the structure based on that.

The following sections of the technical reference manual contain more details on wind load generation.

1.17.3 Wind Load Generator

5.31.3 Definition of Wind Load

5.32.12.3 Generation of Wind Loads

Wind load generation is a two step process. Step one is to define the wind load ( as explained in 5.31.3 above ). Step 2 is to apply the load on the structure ( as explained in 5.32.12.3)

To define wind loading using the Graphic User interface, please go to Help > Content > Graphical Interface Help > 2.3.7.8 Loading and refer to the topics To add a wind load definition or ASCE7 Wind Load dialog

To apply the wind loading using the Graphic User interface, please go to Help > Content > Graphical Interface Help > 2.3.7.8 Loading > Create New Load Items dialog >Wind Load tab

Question:

In the Plate Stress Contour tab of the Diagrams window, a choice under stress type is Max Absolute (See the following screen shot).

What is the definition of Max Absolute?

Answer:

The membrane stresses and bending stresses can be combined to form the principal stresses, SMAX and SMIN, on the top and bottom surfaces of plate elements. The procedure for obtaining these is explained in example problem 18 of the
Application Examples manual.

Thus, for each load case, there is an SMAX and an SMIN on the top surface as well as on the bottom surface of each element - four numbers per element. Let us denote them as SMAX_top, SMIN_top, SMAX_bottom and SMIN_bottom.

The maximum from among SMAX_top and SMIN_top is termed as "Max Top" in the Plate Contour - stress type - selection box.

The minimum from among SMAX_top and SMIN_top is termed as "Min Top".

Similarly, the maximum from among SMAX_bottom and SMIN_bottom is termed as "Max Bottom".

The minimum from among SMAX_bottom and SMIN_bottom is termed as "Min Bottom".

The absolute maximum from among "Max Top" and "Max Bottom" is the quantity termed as "Max Absolute".