STAAD, statics, dynamics, FEM and earthquake analysis worldwide and reliable

Welcome to Research Engineers

Research Engineers introduces the next generation of REI’s flagship product, STAAD.Pro, the most popular structural engineering software product for 3D model generation, analysis and multi-material design. It has an intuitive, user-friendly GUI, visualization tools, powerful analysis and design facilities and seamless integration to several other modeling and design software products. The software also is fully compatible with Windows 2000 and Windows ME, and is optimized for the new Windows XP.

For static or dynamic analysis of bridges, containment structures, embedded structures (tunnels and culverts), pipe racks, steel, concrete, aluminum or timber buildings, transmission towers, stadiums or any other simple or complex structure, STAAD.Pro has been the choice of design professionals around the world for their specific analysis needs.

News and Events

New Release – STAAD.Pro 2023

As part of our commitment to you to deliver new builds more frequently, we are making available this version which adds great new functionality to improve efficiency for engineers around the world and has resolved numerous issues that have been reported and thus highly recommend that you look to adopt this version and improve your working experience.

This release has focused principally on addressing a significant number of defects that have been identified in order to deliver a more robust solution. However, we have additionally made a number of minor modifications which should also help to provide a more productive working experience.

CONNECT Edition and 2023 Side By Side

The new STAAD.Pro 2023 installation has been designed so that should you require use of the previous CONNECT Edition such as V22, then both can reside together on the same computer. That means if you have a project that requires you to use a named version, you can still install the latest version to get all the additional benefits on new projects, but still compete the older jobs on the CONNECT Edition.

Additionally, the standard installer includes Japanese and Chinese localised GUI options built in.

New Enclosed Zone Loading

One of the most popular capabilities that STAAD.Pro has provided users is the ability to define a region in space which is subject to a load even though there may not be any explicit structure defined there. An internal algorithm then distributes this back to the structural members assuming a rudimentary distribution. However engineers have been hitting on the limitations of this algorithm and need something that can handle more complex shapes which include openings and members within the zone that are not designed to attract the loading directly, such as bracing members. This new command structure allows for this, initially for vertical loading, and in future will be expanded for alternative load direction.

New User Report System

The standard output file created during an analysis is often formatted by engineers to contain the key data to use as a report on their analysis. However, there are many times when a report needs to be created after the fact and creating a customised User Report has been provided in STAAD.Pro. Whilst popular, it has been found to have a number of technical challenges that didn’t provide the flexibility many engineers are looking for, so this capability has been reconstructed from the ground up.

Providing the same range of capabilities that was available with the older User Report, but now built on a database platform which means that this will allow far greater customisation than ever before.

Individual tables can be customised:-

Once created, reports can be saved as templates which can be shared between projects and team members, not just locked to a single model.

Reports can be exported now to MS Word (*.docx), MS Excel(*.xlsx), or a generic PDF.

By being stored in a database, opportunities now exist for being more proactive in the content by using third party tools such as SQLite.

New Profile Database System

One of the big challenges for STAAD users in the past has been the controlled ecosystem that was employed in the use of the database system provided for obtaining the section properties of profiles defined in commonly referred to publications. Whilst this works well for the databases that were distributed with the program, it was difficult to expand and customise them to reflect specific organisations or projects. The STAAD.Pro code base was restricted to support a limited set of countries/manufacturers. Any customisation that was required, had to be done at the expense of one of the databases that was included in the installation.

STAAD.Pro has such a vast userbase who have models that are dependent on this system of defining profiles, it was determined that it will remain but now referred to as the ‘Legacy Database’, and a new system has been added to overcome many of these limitations.

The new ‘Standard Databases’ are flexible to allow new databases to be created, shared and employed without having to redefine the existing database assignments which restricted that ability of engineers to add a new set of profiles for a project.

They are built on a standard SQL format of tables. A master table that defines the data that will be supplied including the profile shape of the table (* this initial release will focus on a number of standard shapes, more shapes will be added in future post and vote on the Ideas portal for your preferred shapes to add) and for each table of data, a second that defines what data the various columns represent including the units.

Tools have also been added to allow databases to be created by importing a spreadsheet or adding a table to an existing database by picking data from a spreadsheet.

Any database used to define properties can then be shared amongst a team and different databases can be setup for different projects.

By setting this to a central location, teams can work efficiently by all working using a single instance of the database that can be managed by a team administrator:-

Chinese Performance Steel Design

The design of structures by engineers in China need to change depending on the type of structure and the magnitude of seismic it needs to account for. For larger seismic events (i.e., Fortified), then the engineer needs to use the Performance Design method which is defined in GB50017-2017, chapter 17. This is required for the designs of residential and industrial buildings, with this release functionality has been added for provide the requirements for the design of residential buildings.

Chinese Wind Loading*

The wind loading routine provided for definitions to the Chinese wind load GB5009, has been updated to provide an option to create the list of members that define each of the four faces by selecting them graphically. Additionally, when using the Group definition to specify the beams on each face, then the beams associated with the group are highlighted when the structure face is selected in the table.

* Note, this modification was added in STAAD.Pro V22 U10, but not reported

Working with ADINA

Many projects require a standard structural analysis as provided by STAAD.Pro but occasionally, and growing in occurrence, a more complex analysis method which is currently not provided by STAAD.Pro may be required such as transient dynamic or a collapse analysis. This capability is available to engineers with the Adina application which was recently acquired by Bentley. However, with a different data format, creating a duplicate of he model can be a tie consuming operation. So a new export option has been provided allowing the model data to be generated in the Adina .IN format ready for applying loads and analysis methods as needed.

Minor Enhancements

Updated Editor

The Editor has been updated to improve the user experience, with a new default colour for text by providing new colour settings, “Find Text match Highlight Colour” and “Find Text Scope Highlight Colour”. Additionally, the file type settings dialog has been improved.

Additional Modules

RCDC (*) (**)

The Advanced Concrete Design application, RCDC, has been updated to v2023 which includes: –

  • ‘Beam Crack Width
  • ‘ Miscellaneous Enhancements

For more details on these and other issues that have been addressed in this build Refer to the RCDC Release Notes.

STAAD Foundation Advanced (***)

The concrete foundation application included in the STAAD.Pro installation, STAAD Foundation Advanced (SFA) has been updated to v9.7.2 which includes: –

  • Improvements implemented in the methods used in finding an optimal footing size that satisfies bearing pressure checks and loss of contact limits. Along with better estimation of the maximum bending moments and shear forces in out-of-contact situations resulting in more economical footing sizes. And more messages in the output pane that give a detailed insight into the checks performed by the program at the various stages for each load case
  • Updated Machine foundations: A more rigorous implementation of the equations of ACI 351.3R-04 for soil damping constants and soil stiffness coefficients per the “Richart and Whitman” method and the Veletsos method. Additionally improvements provided in the calculation report to reflect the appropriate code equations for the computation of the above and the performance criteria of the machine.
  • PLANT mode – Tank foundations and Vertical Vessel foundations:
    More detailed reporting of calculation results to allow for easier validation of the processes followed by the program.
    Refined logic such that stricter enforcement of PIP STC01015 rules to manage load combinations.
    Significant modifications in the code for handling wind and seismic forces on the ringwall/foundation.

For more details on these and other issues that have been addressed in this build Refer to the SFA Release Notes.

(* Included with Structural Entitlements)

(** Additional license required, included with STAAD.Pro Advanced and Structural Worksuite)

(*** Additional license required, included with Structural Worksuite)

Bentley BIM Accreditation

Bentley BIM Accreditation

Bentley Systems has launched a free accreditation program for BIM competences – the first phase is BIM Modeler Accreditation.

The program is free of charge, takes place on-line in English and consists of several stages, which end with the award of an official certificate – details in the appendix.

First you need to register for the right course:

  • Architectural (29.03 or 07.05)

Bentley Accredited BIM Modeler – Basic Architectural Modeling with OpenBuildings Designer CONNECT Edition

  • Structural (22.03 or 15.05)

Bentley Accredited BIM Modeler – Basic Structural Modeling with OpenBuildings Designer CONNECT Edition

QuickStart online is required as preparation before the 2-hour live session

IDEA StatiCa Resource Center

IDEA StatiCa

On their website IDEA StatiCa provides a file path with all related documents to steel, concrete and prestressing, BIM and licensing.

Further information can be found on the website https://www.ideastatica.com/