ETAB MANUAL BY ATKINS AND ANOTHER MODEL ETAB DESIGN AND WHAT ARE MODIFIERS

VERY IMPORTANT TO READ FROM THE NET

1. https://www.slideshare.net/AlbertdeGuzman2/etabs-atkins
2. https://www.slideshare.net/NadaZarrak/tower-design-using-etabs-nada-zarrak

What are stiffness modifiers in Etabs

The stiffness modifiers are used to take into account the cracking of RCC sections.

IS 456:2000 does talk about stiffness of members in Clause 22.3. However, it does not
provide the modifier values to be used. You can refer Code Section 10.11 of ACI 318 for
stiffness modifier values suggest by ACI.

Stiffness modifiers can have significant effect on the behavior of the structure. In absence of
stiffness modifiers the structure would be stiffer and thus attract higher lateral forces due to
earthquake. So you might end up with heavily reinforced shear walls , moment frames etc. At
the same time you might also underestimate the drift. Stiffness modifiers will also affect
force distribution among different members of the structure.

If the structure is designed using LIMIT STATE METHOD (LRFD/LSM/LS) the section is
designed as cracked section. So the section after crack shall have less stiffness compared to
the gross section stiffness (Also the stress carrying capacity), the same is assigned for in the
model.

However, there is no clear indication of this in our IS codes,may be the FOS for dead load is
considered as 1.5 against 1.2 of the ACI.

I believe that for linear first order or flexure analysis of non-slender structures, the stiffness
reduction need not be used. Any consistent assumption of equivalent stiffness should suffice
according to 8.7 ACI-318-2011.

You may use reduced factors to in order to conform to some building codes.

If you do not use them while you are asked to do so in building codes, then yes you are
overestimating strength and on the other hand, you are overestimating STIFFNESS as well,
which can be a negative point in some cases.

IF you google for CSI etabs modifiers you will read a helpful information about this
topic and the numbers taken in each case.
What is the value of torsional constant of
property modification factors in ETABS for beams
and columns with ACI & UBC & ASCE or some
other reference?
The torsional modification factor modifies the Torsional Constant (J) of a member. J is equal
to the Polar Moment of Inertia for a circular section, however, it varies for other sections.
E.g. for a rectangular section (with height (h)/width (b) = 2) its value is J = 0.229(h)(b)^3.
The significance of Torsional Constant (J) is that when J is multiplied with Shear Modulus
(G) it gives Torsional Rigidity. You will have to see books on Advanced Mechanics of
Materials to get a more in depth knowledge on this.

Coming to its value modification in ETABS, if J is kept as 1, the member will take all the
torsion it is subjected to by the loading. Then you will have to design the member for this
torsion. However, if you want to redistribute the torsional stresses to some other member e.g.
a beam is connected to a slab or a wall and you want the torsional stresses in the beam to be
redistributed to the slab or wall then you can set a very low Torsional Modification Factor
value e.g. 0.01 for the beam. This will set the beam torsional stiffness to almost zero which
means it will not be able to take any torsional stresses, which will be distributed to the
connected members i.e. wall or slab whichever is the case. In this case you will have to
design the member to which the stresses have been distributed considering the increased
stresses induced in it.

The important point here is that you must be sure before changing this factor what you are
doing is correct in the physical world. For example if you set T=0.01 for a beam then
although you will not have to design it for torsion and your mathematical model is all nice
and cozy, but in the real world it might mean that an ugly crack appears in the beam in the
process of stress re-distribution. So be careful.

If I understand you correctly, you are looking for the modification factor for torsion
from codes. There are none. You as an engineer will decide. If your beam for example
can transfer the torsion to another beam then you may put a factor of 0.01 and
completely neglect torsion. If you know that this beam has to be designed for torsion
then don't factor it down.