RAM Concrete Wall: CONNECT Edition Update 16 - Version 17.02

RAM Concrete Wall
CONNECT Edition Update 16 – Version 17.02
User Manual
Last Updated: January 05, 2021
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RAM Concrete Wall 2 User Manual

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 7
Chapter 2: Design Philosophy, Concepts, and Terminology ....................................................... 8
2.1 General .........................................................................................................................................................................................8
2.2 Design Loads ............................................................................................................................................................................. 8
2.3 Walls ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
2.4 Wall Design Groups ................................................................................................................................................................ 9
2.5 Wall Panels and Wall Panel Groups ..............................................................................................................................10
2.6 Section Cuts .............................................................................................................................................................................13
2.6.1 Manual Creation of Section Cuts .........................................................................................................13
2.6.2 Automatic Generation of Section Cuts ............................................................................................. 15
2.6.3 Section Cut Conventions ..........................................................................................................................16
2.6.4 Section Cut Local Coordinate System ............................................................................................... 17
2.6.5 Section Cut Forces .....................................................................................................................................18
2.7 Strength Calculations ..........................................................................................................................................................18
2.7.1 Axial-Flexural Strength ...........................................................................................................................19
2.7.2 Shear Evaluation ........................................................................................................................................19
2.8 Bar Pattern Templates ....................................................................................................................................................... 19
2.9 Bar Patterns ............................................................................................................................................................................ 20
2.10 Design Process ........................................................................................................................................................................ 20
2.10.1 Reinforcement Generation ....................................................................................................................20
2.10.2 Reinforcement Optimization ................................................................................................................21
2.11 Coupling Beams .....................................................................................................................................................................21
Chapter 3: RAM Concrete Wall Commands .............................................................................. 23
3.1 Criteria ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
3.1.1 Code ..................................................................................................................................................................23
3.1.2 Design Criteria ............................................................................................................................................23
3.1.3 General Criteria ..........................................................................................................................................23
3.1.4 Coupling Beam Criteria ...........................................................................................................................23
3.2 Assign .........................................................................................................................................................................................24
3.2.1 Assign Wall Design Groups Dialog .....................................................................................................24
3.2.2 Section Cut List Dialog ............................................................................................................................ 26
3.2.3 Assign Bar Pattern Templates Dialog ...............................................................................................27
3.2.4 Assign Bar Patterns Dialog ....................................................................................................................27
3.2.5 Assign Manual Reinforcement .............................................................................................................28
3.2.6 Assign Wall Panel Priority .....................................................................................................................29
3.2.7 Assign Wall Panel Clear Cover .............................................................................................................. 30
3.2.8 Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth .......................................................................................................... 30
3.2.9 Assign Coupling Beams ...........................................................................................................................30
3.2.10 Assign DXF Elevation Numbers ...........................................................................................................31
3.2.11 Edit Bar Pattern Templates Dialog .................................................................................................... 31
3.3 Load Combinations .............................................................................................................................................................. 31
3.3.1 Code Generated Combinations ............................................................................................................32
3.3.2 User Defined ................................................................................................................................................ 32

3.3.3 Advanced Load Combinations .............................................................................................................. 32
3.4 Process ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 32
3.4.1 Design All ...................................................................................................................................................... 33
3.4.2 View/Update ............................................................................................................................................... 33
3.4.3 Copy Reinforcing ....................................................................................................................................... 33
3.4.4 Freeze Reinforcing ....................................................................................................................................34
3.4.5 Clear Reinforcing .......................................................................................................................................34
Chapter 4: The View/Update Dialog ........................................................................................35
4.1 3D View Pane ..........................................................................................................................................................................37
4.1.1 Stress Contours .......................................................................................................................................... 40
4.1.2 Mesh Options .............................................................................................................................................. 41
4.2 Information Pane ..................................................................................................................................................................42
4.2.1 Axial/Flexural ............................................................................................................................................. 43
4.2.2 Shear ............................................................................................................................................................... 44
4.2.3 Reinforcing ...................................................................................................................................................45
4.2.4 Boundary Elements .................................................................................................................................. 49
4.2.5 Coupling Beams ..........................................................................................................................................51
4.2.6 Design Warnings ........................................................................................................................................55
4.2.7 Design Sketch Pane ....................................................................................................................................56
4.3 Action/Status ...........................................................................................................................................................................58
4.3.1 Optimize ........................................................................................................................................................ 58
4.3.2 Analyze .......................................................................................................................................................... 59
4.3.3 Update Database ........................................................................................................................................59
4.3.4 Reports ...........................................................................................................................................................59
4.4 Status Bar ................................................................................................................................................................................. 60
Chapter 5: RAM Concrete Wall Reports .................................................................................. 61
5.1 Wall Design Group Properties ........................................................................................................................................ 61
5.2 Wall Panel Properties ......................................................................................................................................................... 62
5.3 Section Cut Forces ................................................................................................................................................................ 62
5.3.1 Section Cut Forces - Horizontal ...........................................................................................................62
5.3.2 Section Cut Forces - Vertical .................................................................................................................63
5.4 Section Cut Segment Forces .............................................................................................................................................63
Chapter 6: Getting Started Quickly ..........................................................................................65
6.1 Basic Design Procedure Steps .......................................................................................................................................... 65
6.2 Detailed Design Steps with Sample RSS Model ....................................................................................................... 66
Chapter 7: Tilt-Up Workflow ....................................................................................................77
7.1 Wall Self-Weight Criteria ....................................................................................................................................................77
7.2 Modeling Tilt-Up Walls ....................................................................................................................................................... 77
7.2.1 Cracked Factor For Out-Of-Plane Bending ...................................................................................... 80
7.2.2 Assigning Wall Eccentricity .................................................................................................................. 80
7.2.3 Apply Wall Pressure Loads .................................................................................................................... 81
7.3 Analysis of Tilt-up Walls ....................................................................................................................................................84
7.3.1 Analysis Criteria .........................................................................................................................................84
7.3.2 Second Order Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 85
7.3.3 Service Analysis .......................................................................................................................................... 87
7.4 Design of Tilt-up Walls ....................................................................................................................................................... 88
Chapter 8: ACI Technical Notes ............................................................................................... 92

8.1 Design Criteria ........................................................................................................................................................................ 92
8.2 Clear Cover .............................................................................................................................................................................. 93
8.3 Reinforcement Spacing Limits ........................................................................................................................................ 94
8.4 Reinforcement Ratio Limits ............................................................................................................................................. 95
8.5 Bar Placement ........................................................................................................................................................................ 97
8.6 Axial/Flexural Strength ..................................................................................................................................................... 97
8.7 Special Boundary Element Check .................................................................................................................................. 99
8.7.1 Limiting Neutral Axis Calculation ....................................................................................................100
8.7.2 Required Horizontal Extents of Boundary .................................................................................. 102
8.8 Shear Strength .....................................................................................................................................................................102
8.9 Coupling Beam Design ..................................................................................................................................................... 105
8.9.1 Flexural Strength .................................................................................................................................... 107
8.9.2 Shear Strength ......................................................................................................................................... 107
8.9.3 Transverse Reinforcement .................................................................................................................107
8.9.4 Diagonal Reinforcement ...................................................................................................................... 107
8.10 ACI-318 2014 ........................................................................................................................................................................107
8.10.2 Special Boundary Element Check ..................................................................................................... 108
8.10.3 Limiting Boundary Neutral Axis Calculation ............................................................................... 109
8.10.4 Minimum boundary thickness ........................................................................................................... 109
Chapter 9: BS8110 Technical Notes ........................................................................................ 110
9.1 Design Criteria ......................................................................................................................................................................110
9.2 Axial-Flexural Design ....................................................................................................................................................... 110
9.3 Shear Design ........................................................................................................................................................................ 110
9.3.1 Assumptions ............................................................................................................................................. 111
9.3.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 111
9.4 Serviceability & Detailing Checks ................................................................................................................................ 112
9.5 Fire Resistance .................................................................................................................................................................... 113
9.6 Exposure ................................................................................................................................................................................ 113
Chapter 10: CP 65 Technical Notes ........................................................................................ 114
10.1 Differences between BS8110 and CP65 ...................................................................................................................114
Chapter 11: AS3600 Technical Notes ..................................................................................... 115
11.1 Design Criteria ......................................................................................................................................................................115
11.3 Shear Design ........................................................................................................................................................................ 116
11.3.1 Assumptions ............................................................................................................................................. 116
11.3.2 Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 116
11.4 Serviceability & Detailing Checks ............................................................................................................................... 117
11.5 Fire Resistance .................................................................................................................................................................... 117
Chapter 12: Eurocode 2 Technical Notes ................................................................................ 118
12.2 Shear Design ........................................................................................................................................................................ 118
12.3 Detailing and Serviceability Checks ............................................................................................................................118
Chapter 13: GB 50010 Technical Notes ...................................................................................120
13.1 Limitations .............................................................................................................................................................................120
13.2 Design Principles ............................................................................................................................................................... 120
13.2.1 Code Clauses Implemented ................................................................................................................. 121

Appendix A: RAM Concrete Wall Menus ................................................................................ 123
A.1 Criteria menu ........................................................................................................................................................................123
A.1.1 Code ..............................................................................................................................................................123
A.1.2 Code Checks .............................................................................................................................................. 123
A.1.3 General Criteria ........................................................................................................................................ 124
A.2 Assign menu .......................................................................................................................................................................... 124
A.2.1 Assign Wall Design Groups .................................................................................................................125
A.2.2 Section Cuts ................................................................................................................................................127
A.2.3 Assign Bar Pattern Templates ...........................................................................................................132
A.2.4 Assign Bar Patterns ............................................................................................................................... 133
A.2.5 Assign Manual Reinforcement ........................................................................................................... 133
A.2.6 Wall Panel Priority ..................................................................................................................................135
A.2.7 Assign Wall Panel Clear Cover ........................................................................................................... 136
A.2.8 Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth ........................................................................................................136
A.2.9 Assign Coupling Beam dialog ............................................................................................................. 137
A.2.10 Assign Dxf Elevation Group Numbers dialog ...............................................................................137
A.2.11 Edit Bar Pattern Templates .................................................................................................................137
A.3 Process menu ........................................................................................................................................................................138
A.3.1 View/Update ..............................................................................................................................................138
A.3.2 Freeze Reinforcing ................................................................................................................................. 158
A.3.3 Clear Reinforcing ..................................................................................................................................... 158
A.4 View menu ............................................................................................................................................................................. 158
A.4.1 Wall Panel Properties ............................................................................................................................ 159

Introduction
1
The RAM Concrete Wall module is a design program within the RAM Structural System specialized for the design
of concrete walls for gravity, wind, and earthquake loads. The module complements the other design modules
within RAM Concrete: RAM Concrete Analysis, RAM Concrete Beam, and RAM Concrete Column. The RAM
Concrete Wall module utilizes model geometry, loadings, and criteria from the RAM Structural System as well as
design forces and displacements from the RAM Frame module.
A brief description of the content in each chapter of this manual is provided below.
Design Philosophy, Concepts, and Terminology (on page 8) discusses the concepts and terminology the user
needs to be familiar with when using the program.
RAM Concrete Wall Commands (on page 23) provides an overview of the program menus and commands.
The View/Update Dialog (on page 35) discusses the View/Update command, a powerful means of reviewing
with and modifying the design results.
RAM Concrete Wall Reports (on page 61) gives a detailed explanation of the output reports available in RAM
Concrete Wall.
Getting Started Quickly (on page 65) presents the most basic steps required to take a model to design
completion. This chapter is intended to serve as a reference in getting up and running quickly with the module.
Tilt-Up Workflow (on page 77) presents the workflow for modeling, analysis, and design of tilt-up walls using
RAM Modeler, RAM Frame, and RAM Concrete Wall.
Chapters 8 - 13 provide a detailed look at the technical assumptions made by the Concrete Beam module,
primarily code interpretation, for the ACI Technical Notes (on page 92), BS8110 Technical Notes (on page
110), CP 65 Technical Notes (on page 114), AS3600 Technical Notes (on page 115), Eurocode 2 Technical Notes
(on page 118) and GB 50010 Technical Notes (on page 120) design codes, respectively. It is crucial that the
engineer reads and understands this chapter so as to be aware of how these assumptions affect the design
results.

Design Philosophy, Concepts, and Terminology
2
This section introduces the user to fundamental concepts necessary to understand the program documentation
contained in this manual. Terminology plays a particularly important role in documenting the RAM Concrete
Wall module. There are many terms contained in this manual that have historically been used in varying
contexts in relation to concrete wall design (e.g., "wall"). Furthermore, there are instances within this document
in which certain terms are intended to denote a RAM Structural System-specific concept (e.g., a “wall” as created
in RAM Modeler).
In order to alleviate confusion, whenever a term is used in this manual in a way that represents a RAM Structural
System concept, the word or phrase will be capitalized. Thus, for example, when referring to walls that are
created in RAM Modeler, “Wall” will appear capitalized to distinguish the usage from walls as referred to in a
general sense.
2.1 General
The RAM Concrete Wall design module uses the model geometry and material properties in RAM Modeler, the
analysis results from RAM Frame, and the design criteria specified in RAM Concrete to optimize or perform the
design check of vertical and horizontal reinforcing in concrete walls. In general, the axial-flexure, shear, and
prescriptive code requirements are evaluated at Section Cuts (or stations) within Wall Design Groups that have
been created from the Walls. If any of the design checks fail, the Section Cut is flagged as having failed the design.
The RAM Concrete Wall Design Module allows reinforcing to be either explicitly defined and evaluated, or
automatically chosen by the program based on the applied loads and design code requirements. When
reinforcement is selected by the program, only distributed reinforcement will be designed. That is, the program
will not choose larger amounts of steel in localized areas (at the ends of Wall Panels for instance). However, you
may at any time specify customized reinforcing to be evaluated by the program using various commands.
2.2 Design Loads

The design loads used in the RAM Concrete Wall module are taken from the RAM Frame module. Thus, a RAM
Frame analysis must be performed prior to designing wall reinforcing in the RAM Concrete Wall module. The
load cases analyzed in the most recent RAM Frame analysis will be available for use in the Load Combination
menu. The load cases are combined according to the automatically generated or user-defined load combinations
in the Load Combinations menu. See the Load Combination Generator manual for additional information.
You should be aware of a special consideration regarding live load reduction. In RAM Frame, the portion of the
live load acting on a wall that is delivered from two-way slabs is not included in the reducible area for the live

Walls
load reduction calculation. Thus, absent any other action, the live load forces in walls that support two-way slabs
will be larger than if all tributary area for the wall had been considered in the live load reduction calculation. To
overcome this, you may directly assign a live load reduction factor to a member in RAM Modeler, which will then
override the value automatically calculated by Concrete Analysis.
You should also be aware that, since RAM Frame loads are necessary to design a wall, Walls assigned as “Gravity”
in RAM Modeler will not be available for design in the RAM Concrete Wall Design module.
2.3 Walls
Walls are assigned in RAM Modeler when creating the building geometry. Walls are the most basic building
block used by the RAM Concrete Wall module to create more meaningful physical entities such as Wall Panels
and Wall Design Groups, which will be discussed in the ensuing sections.
Note: Please note that the RAM Concrete Wall module recognizes only Walls assigned as 'Frame' members and
only Walls assigned as material 'Concrete'. For more information on assigning Walls and Wall properties, refer
to the RAM Modeler manual.
2.4 Wall Design Groups

A Wall Design Group is a user-assigned collection of Walls (Walls are created in RAM Modeler). The RAM
Concrete Wall module places no restrictions on the manner in which Walls can be grouped into Wall Design
Groups. A single Wall Design Group may contain Walls that are at different levels, not in contact with one
another, or both.
The purpose of a Wall Design Group is to divide the wall system in the RAM model into a number of individual
wall groups, cores, or stacks that can be designed separately from one another. The Wall Design Group can be
thought of as any collection of walls for which the reinforcement can be completely designed and all code checks
performed independently of any other wall in the building (see Figure below).

Wall Panels and Wall Panel Groups
Figure 1: Possible choice of Wall Design Group assignments.
A detailed list of the effects of a Wall Design Group assignment is given below:
• All strength and prescriptive code checks will be evaluated for one Wall Design Group at a time.
• Any code checks that involve wall or opening geometry will consider only the geometry within the respective
Wall Design Group.
• All Section Cuts that are automatically generated will not extend past a Wall Design Group boundary.
• Any user assigned Section Cuts are not allowed to extend past the Wall Design Group boundary.
• Coupling Beams may not extend across two or more Wall Design Groups.
• When executing the View/Update command, only the design information pertaining to the selected Wall
Design Group will be displayed, reported, and available for editing.
• All optimized reinforcement generated by the RAM Concrete Wall module will be cut off at the Wall Design
Group boundaries.
• When converting Bar Patterns into actual reinforcing bars, the Wall Design Group boundaries serve as edges
of the bar pattern being placed.
2.5 Wall Panels and Wall Panel Groups

After a Wall Design Group assignment has been made, the program internally forms the individual Walls within
the Wall Design Group into Wall Panels. A Wall Panel is a planar, contiguous collection of one or more Walls of
the same thickness at a single Story, all in the same Wall Design Group (see Figure below).

Figure 2: Wall numbers 6, 7, and 8 at Story 4th, forming a single Wall Panel.
Wall Panels have two primary purposes in the RAM Concrete Wall module. First, Wall Panels are the entity to
which the user assigns Bar Patterns. Following from this, a Wall Panel defines the boundary over which Bar
Patterns are converted to actual reinforcing bars.
(A) (B)
Figure 3: A) Bar Pattern assigned to Wall Panel (vertical only for clarity) B) Vertical distributed reinforcing
generated from Bar Pattern
It is recognized that two or more planar Walls with the same thickness could be modeled in one line, rather than
using a single longer wall element. In this scenario, it is unlikely that the engineer has intended for the
boundaries of the adjacent Walls to serve as true physical boundaries to the reinforcing placement, but rather it
was simply necessary to model the Walls in this manner. By placing the reinforcing based on the Wall Panel
extents, rather than the Wall extents, unnecessary breaks in placement of distributed reinforcing are avoided
(see Figure below).

(A) (B)
The second purpose that Wall Panels serve is that collections of Wall Panels are grouped into Wall Panel Groups
by the program. A Wall Panel Group is a collection of Wall Panels within the same Wall Design Group at a single
story that are contiguous. The significance of a Wall Panel Group is that no Section Cut, either auto-generated or
manually created, is allowed to extend beyond a Wall Panel Group boundary. Therefore each Section Cut in the
model “belongs” to only a single Wall Panel Group.
Figure 4: Wall Panel Groups

Section Cuts
Figure 5: Wall Panel (orange) and Wall Panel Group (yellow and orange)
2.6 Section Cuts

A Section Cut is a single or multiple segment cross section within a Wall Design Group at which design forces
are formulated and wall capacity evaluated. Section Cuts in the RAM Concrete Wall module are analogous to
stations in the Concrete Beam and Concrete Column modules. Geometrically, a Section Cut is the intersection of a
horizontal or vertical plane with some portion of a Wall Design Group. A Section Cut may be a single, planar
segment or a multi-segment, two-dimensional entity (see Figure below).
Figure 6: Three separate horizontal Section Cuts within a Wall Design Group.
2.6.1 Manual Creation of Section Cuts

As with the RAM Frame Section Forces module, Section Cuts may be manually created wherever desired in the
RAM Concrete Wall module. An advanced option has been implemented in the Concrete Shear Wall Design

Section Cuts
module that allows horizontal sections to extend through all walls in a Wall Design Group at the level specified.
This is shown in Figure below.
Figure 7: a) Section Cut as drawn by the user, with option to include all Walls in Wall Design Group turned on
(elevation view)
Figure 8: b) Resulting Section Cuts produced Manually assigned Section Cuts with option to include all Walls in Wall
Design Group.
In reference to the above Figure, note that three separate Section Cuts have been created by issuing the Add
Section Cut command: SC1H:4, SC1H:5, and SC1H:6. Each of these Section Cuts is a separate physical entity.
Changes to SC1H:4, for instance, will not affect Section Cuts SC1H:5 and SC1H:6. Also, a completely separate set
of design checks will be performed at each Section Cut.
Further note that Section Cut SC1H:4, which is C-shaped in plan, consists of three segments. Each segment is
denoted by placing an “A”, “B”, and “C” at the end of the Section Cut label. This is typical of the RAM Concrete

Section Cuts
Wall module. Section Cuts that intersect multiple Walls are split up into Section Cut Segments at each Wall. This
is done for a few purposes:
1. For design codes that require shear strength to be evaluated in a planar sense (e.g., ACI 318), the Section Cut
Segment is the entity for which the shear strength calculation is done.
2. When reviewing the design in View/Update, Section Cut Segments are the entity which the user selects. This
allows the information for the corresponding Wall Panel to be brought up for review and revision, allowing
for greater control and flexibility.
Note that Section Cut Segments have no bearing on:
1. The axial-flexural design. The axial-flexural interaction calculations are performed for the entire Section Cut.
2. The moving of a Section Cut. When the location of a multi-segment Section Cut is changed, the entire Section
Cut moves as one.
2.6.2 Automatic Generation of Section Cuts

Section Cuts can be automatically generated by the program for an entire Wall Design Group at a time. The
process employed uses the geometry of the Walls and openings in each Wall Design Group to place sections at
locations likely to be of interest to the engineer when performing the design checks. Conceptually, this includes:
• Tops and bottoms of stories
• Edges of wall panels
• Edges of wall openings
The user may modify the criteria used to generate Section Cuts. Furthermore, the user may edit or delete any of
the generated Section Cuts just as if they were manually assigned.

Section Cuts
Figure 9: Automatically generated Section Cuts
2.6.3 Section Cut Conventions

Because the RAM Concrete Wall module reports the Section Cut forces in both the local axis and the global axis
system, it is important that the conventions for these axes is clearly understood.
The global axis system is referred to with the standard X and Y. Vx is a shear force in the direction of the positive
global X-axis, while Mxx refers to a moment about the positive global X-axis (right hand rule).
The local axes are referred to as major and minor. The local convention is summarized in the table and figure
below.
P axial force where a +P is compressive

Vmaj Shear force in the local major direction
Vmin Shear force in the local minor direction
Mmaj Moment acting in the local major direction (about the + minor axis)
Mmin Moment acting in the local minor direction (about the - major axis)
Mu Resultant of Mmaj and Mmin which acts at an angle β CCW from + major axis

Section Cuts
Horizontal Section Cuts
Figure 10: Local axes for horizontal Section Cut
Vertical Section Cuts
Figure 11: Local axes for vertical Section Cut
2.6.4 Section Cut Local Coordinate System

The local major and minor directions for a Section Cut are determined differently based on whether the Section
Cut is oriented horizontally or vertically. For horizontal Section Cuts, the major direction is chosen in the
direction of the longest contiguous horizontal segment of wall. More specifically, the Section Cut is rotated
clockwise about the global Z-axis from its global orientation until the longest segment is parallel to the global X-
axis (see Figure below).

Strength Calculations
Figure 12: Global axes (X, Y) and local major and minor directions for a horizontal Section Cut.
For vertical Section Cuts, the local major axis coincides with the global Z-axis. The local minor axis is 90 degrees
CCW from the local major axis.
2.6.5 Section Cut Forces

The forces acting at a Section Cut are based on the RAM Frame analysis results. The forces acting on each
segment of the Section Cut are first determined by integrating the wall stresses determined from the RAM Frame
finite element analysis along the entire segment. Next, the forces acting at each segment are resolved at the
geometric center of the Section Cut to form a single set of globally-oriented forces (see Figure below).
Figure 13: Forces at individual Section Cut Segments resolved for global Section Cut forces.
The Section Cut forces are calculated for each load case that was considered in the most recent RAM Frame
analysis. From this, combined loads are calculated using the load combinations selected by the user in the RAM
Concrete Wall module. The RAM Concrete Wall module deals solely with combined loads and does not consider
individual load cases. The resulting array of combined loads at each Section Cut is used for the design checks.
2.7 Strength Calculations

The RAM Concrete Wall module performs biaxial axial/flexure and in-plane shear strength calculations for each
Section Cut.

Bar Pattern Templates
2.7.1 Axial-Flexural Strength

A three-dimensional axial-flexural interaction capacity surface is created for each Section Cut using the
provisions of the selected design code. Each combined load that was generated for the Section Cut is evaluated
with respect to the capacity surface and an interaction value is determined.
2.7.2 Shear Evaluation

The method used to calculate the shear strength at a Section Cut depends on the method employed by the design
code being considered. There are two approaches for evaluating the shear capacity of a section: Shear on Entire
Section and Shear on Segments. A discussion of each follows.
Shear on If calculating the shear strength by this method, the entire Section Cut is considered as a single
Entire unit. The direction of the resultant shear force on the Section Cut is determined. Then the planar
Section shear capacity of each panel that intersects the Section Cut is calculated and multiplied by the
respective directional cosine to determine the strength contribution in the direction of the
resultant shear. This is repeated for each Load Combination.
Shear on This method evaluates the shear on Section Cut Segments, rather than on an entire Section Cut
Segments (See Manual Creation of Section Cuts (on page 13) for a discussion of Section Cut Segments). A
Section Cut Segment will always represent an extent of wall cross section of uniform thickness
and a single reinforcing pattern, for which the shear strength can be easily determined. The
shear strength of each Section Cut Segment within a Section Cut is calculated and compared to
the combined loads acting on the Section Cut Segment.
Shear is evaluated for the direction in the plane and out of plane of the segment for ACI codes,
while is only evaluated for in-plane direction for other codes. To determine which method is
utilized for a particular code (Shear on entire section or Shear on segments), see the technical
notes for the respective design code.
2.8 Bar Pattern Templates

A Bar Pattern Template is a range of bar sizes and bar spacings the user wishes to consider during the design
process for a particular Wall Design Group. A Bar Pattern Template designation conforms to the following
format:
BPT1
#6 - #9 @ 15" - 6" - 3" V
#5 - #7 @ 15" - 6" - 3" H
where:
BPT1 is the Bar Pattern Template name

#6 is the minimum bar size to be considered

Bar Patterns
#9 is the maximum bar size to be considered

15" is the maximum bar spacing to be considered
6" is the minimum bar spacing to be considered
3" is the amount to increment the bar spacing when needing to
V indicates that the information on this line applies to vertical bars
H indicates that the information on this line applies to horizontal bars
In addition to the parameters listed above, a Bar Pattern Template contains a user specified number of
reinforcing curtains.
The Bar Pattern Template defines the steel that the design engine chooses from during the optimization process.
The final Bar Layout chosen for the respective Wall Design Group will lie within the limits specified in the Bar
Pattern Template.
Note: The Bar Pattern Template bar sizes and spacings entered by the user are not checked immediately for code
compliance. Any code violations will be reported in the design results after the design has been conducted.
2.9 Bar Patterns

A Bar Pattern is a specific instance within the Bar Pattern Template. For example, the Bar Patterns resulting
from Bar Pattern Template “BPT1” shown in the previous section are:
#6 @ 15" V, #5 @ 15" H
#6 @ 12" V, #5 @ 15" H
#6 @ 9" V, #5 @ 15" H
#6 @ 6" V, #5 @ 15" H
#7 @ 15" V, #5 @ 15" H
#7 @ 12" V, #5 @ 15" H
etc.
A Bar Pattern is the information on which the generation of reinforcement is based. Each Wall Panel in the model
will have a single Bar Pattern assignment. If optimizing the reinforcement, the best Bar Pattern will be selected
by the program. Alternatively, the user may explicitly set the Bar Pattern for a Wall Panel and perform a design
check.
2.10 Design Process
2.10.1 Reinforcement Generation

One of the first steps in the design process within the RAM Concrete Wall module is the conversion of each of the
Bar Patterns and Manual Reinforcement assignments into reinforcing bars within each Wall Panel.

Coupling Beams
Bar Patterns and Manual Reinforcement assignments into reinforcing bars within each Wall Panel. When the
vertical bars for a Bar Pattern are placed, the first bar will be placed a distance equal to the greatest value of the
clear cover assigned (Clear cover at primary or secondary face) from the start of the Wall Panel, and the last bar
will be placed at the same distance of the clear cover from the end of the Wall Panel. In addition, bars will be
placed a distance of the greatest clear cover from the edges of each wall opening in the Wall Panel. The
placement of all bars in between these bars will be based on the spacing specified by the Bar Pattern or Manual
Reinforcement assignment.
2.10.2 Reinforcement Optimization

At the time the design is executed (either by View/Update or Design All), the program will automatically size the
reinforcement for all Wall Panels in a Wall Design Group that do not have a Bar Pattern assignment or Manual
Reinforcement assignment. This section discusses the method used by the program to establish the Bar Patterns
and reinforcing bars for each Wall Panel.
RAM Concrete Wall module sorts the Bar Patterns generated from the Bar Pattern Template in order of
increasing steel area per lineal foot. For each Wall Panel in the Wall Design Group, the program places bars
according to the first Bar Pattern in the list, which is the lightest steel layout. Each Section Cut in the Wall Design
Group is then evaluated for the strength and prescriptive requirements of the selected design code. If a Section
Cut fails, the program determines which Wall Panels the Section Cut intersects, increments to the next Bar
Pattern for each intersecting Wall Panel, and places the bars again in these Wall Panels for the new Bar Pattern.
At this point the program steps to the next Section Cut and the same process is repeated.
This entire process is repeated until either all Section Cuts pass, or the program reaches the last Bar Pattern in
the list for all Section Cuts that still fail. All Wall Panels intersecting the Section Cut that are frozen (i.e., have
been either explicitly assigned a Bar Pattern or have been assigned Manual Reinforcing) will not be upsized as
previously described. These Wall Panels will retain their original reinforcing assignment during the optimization
process.
2.11 Coupling Beams

A coupling beam in the RAM Concrete Wall module is a region within a Wall Panel that is bounded above and
below by one or more wall openings or Wall Panel edges. Coupling Beams must be created by the user. At the
user's direction, Coupling Beams may be reinforced like beams. That is, they may contain top and bottom bars,
side bars, and stirrups.
There are two primary motivations for the concept of a Coupling Beam within the program:
1. They allow regions within walls that are dominated by flexural response, and thus act more like beams than
Wall Panels, to be designed and detailed accordingly.
2. They engage the prescriptions of the selected design code pertinent to headers and coupling beams for the
respective region of the wall.
Unlike with Wall Panels, reinforcing cannot be chosen automatically by the program for Coupling Beams. They
must be assigned either the global Coupling Beam reinforcing criteria, or given a custom reinforcing assignment
using the tools within the View/Update dialog.
Coupling Beams are checked for in-plane shear and axial-flexural loads. Section Cut assignments are not
necessary where Coupling Beams occur. Rather, the program internally and automatically creates Section Cuts

Coupling Beams
within the Coupling Beam in order to perform the design checks. These Section Cuts are not displayed or
exposed to the user in any way, other than for reporting the forces within critical locations of the Coupling Beam.
There is one notable difference between the Section Cuts created within Coupling Beams and vertical Section
Cuts created by the user. When the user creates a vertical Section Cut that spans multiple stories, the program
always creates a separate Section Cut at each story. With Coupling Beams however, a single Section Cut is used at
each station, even when the Coupling Beam spans multiple stories.
Coupling Beams are checked for code prescriptive reinforcing limits. Among the basic checks considered are
minimum and maximum longitudinal bar spacing, minimum and maximum longitudinal reinforcing ratio, and
minimum and maximum transverse bar spacing. Basic member dimensional requirements are also checked
where applicable, such as minimum wall thickness, span length, and height to length ratio.
The program follows the rule of placing a vertical Section Cut at the quarter points (0, 0.25L, 0.50L, 0.75L, and
1.00L) along the free spans of coupling beams (horizontal Section Cuts are not used within Coupling Beams). A
free span is an extent along the Coupling Beam where an opening occurs both above and below. Each Section Cut
is checked for in-plane shear and axial-flexural loads for all selected load combinations.
If supported by the design code in use, Coupling Beams may also include special diagonal reinforcement used in
seismic applications. Currently, only ACI codes support the placement of diagonal reinforcement. This
reinforcement consists of two column-like groups of longitudinal bars placed in a symmetric "X" configuration
within the Coupling Beam. The user specifies the dimensions of each diagonal cage, and the size, number, and
configuration of the longitudinal bars. The program then checks the strength and prescriptive reinforcement
provisions considering the diagonal reinforcement in addition to the typical reinforcement.
Figure 14: Coupling Beams with diagonal reinforcement

RAM Concrete Wall Commands
3
3.1 Criteria
3.1.1 Code
The concrete design code to use for all RAM Concrete Wall calculations is selected from the Criteria > Code
dialog.
3.1.2 Design Criteria

Each concrete design code can have settings specific to that design code. Select this item to view and modify
those settings. See the code specific chapters and the end of this manual for additional information.
3.1.3 General Criteria

The General Criteria dialog contains one item: the number of load combinations for which to store design results
after the design is performed. The user can choose to save the result for only the "N" most critical load
combinations. Limiting the number of results stored can increase performance. By default, the results from the
five most critical load combinations are stored. The results for all load combinations are always calculated, since
this is necessary in order to determine which combinations are the most critical. However, the specified number
of results are displayed and stored, unless the user selects Store all design results (which is not recommended).
3.1.4 Coupling Beam Criteria

The Coupling Beam Criteria dialog is where the global reinforcing criteria for Coupling Beams are specified.
These criteria apply to all Coupling Beams in the model. In order to assign reinforcing different than specified in
this dialog, the reinforcing must be specified in the View/Update dialog. Alternatively, the user may freeze one or
more Coupling Beams and then change the global Coupling Beam criteria. In this manner the frozen Coupling

Assign
Beams will retain the reinforcing assigned to them, while the remainder of the Coupling Beams will use the new
setting.
3.2 Assign
3.2.1 Assign Wall Design Groups Dialog

Wall When the dialog is first displayed the next available unused Wall Design Group Number will be
Design displayed in the list box, with “(new)” shown beside it. For example if walls have been assigned to
Group Wall Design Group numbers “1” and “2” then “3 (new)” will be displayed in the drop-down box.
Numbers
Clicking the drop-down box will display a list of already used Wall Design Group numbers. To
select an existing Wall Design Group Number from the drop-down list, click to display the list and
then click on the desired number. This will cause all walls in the Wall Design Group to be colored
yellow in the 3DView for easy visual verification.
Assign To add or remove walls to or from a Wall Design Group one by one, use the ‘Single’ assign mode.
Mode The Wall Design Group number currently displayed will be the one added to or removed from.
Clicking the Single button will close the dialog and the select cursor will be displayed. Click on
any wall to add it to the design group. Clicking on a wall that is already in the Wall Design Group
it will remove it from the group. Clicking a second time will add it back into the group.
Clicking on a wall that is already part of another wall design group will result in the wall being
removed from its current group and being added to the new group. While clicking on it again will
remove it from the new group, it will not return it to its previous group.
To add multiple walls to a Wall Design Group at once, use the Add > Fence assign mode. To
remove multiple walls from a Wall Design Group at once, use the Remove > Fence assign mode.
Each of these commands will close the dialog and the fence cursor will be displayed. Fence a
group of walls to add them to the specified Wall Design Group. Fencing walls already in the
current group will not cause them to be removed from the group.
Remove All Click the Remove All button to remove all walls from the specified group. The walls in the group
will be removed from the specified Wall Design Group and will be unassigned. This is only
enabled if the currently selected Wall Design Group contains at least one wall.
Assign Autogenerated Section Cuts Dialog

The Assign Autogenerated Section Cuts dialog allows the engineer to automatically add section cuts to Wall
Design Groups in the model.
Table 1: Assign to Wall Design Group
Single Automatically add section cuts to one Wall Design Group at a time by clicking on walls.

Assign
Fence Automatically add section cuts to Wall Design Groups by using fence operations to select
walls.
All Automatically add section cuts to all Wall Design Groups in the model.
Manually Add Section Cuts

Assign > Section Cuts > Add Manual allows the engineer to manually add section cuts to any wall in the model
that is assigned to a Wall Design Group. If the model is not in elevation mode when this command is issued, the
user will be prompted to pick a wall to switch to elevation view.
After a valid section cut line is drawn, the Add Section Cut dialog is displayed.
The Section Cut Label may be changed by typing in the desired text. Note that labels are automatically generated
with the form 'SC' + next index number. The Offset distance represents the distance from the reference edge. The
reference edge is listed on the line below the Offset Distance field. Change this value to change the position of
the section cut. When a horizontal section cut is drawn, the dialog includes a checkbox to Include All Walls in
Wall Design Group check box. Check this to have the cut extend across all walls in the wall group. Clicking OK
will keep this section cut. Clicking Cancel will remove this section cut.
Delete Section Cuts Dialog

The Delete Section Cuts dialog allows the engineer to delete section cuts from wall design groups in the model.
Section Cut Check the check box next to the section cut type(s) to delete. At least one box must be
types to delete checked to issue this command. Only the selected type of section cut will be deleted.
Delete Mode Single Delete a single section cut at a time by clicking on it. No delete confirmation will
group be requested.
Fence Perform fence delete operations on groups of section cuts. No delete confirmation
will be requested.
All Delete all section cuts from the model. A confirmation dialog will be presented to
ensure that all section cuts from the model should be removed.
Change Section Cut

Assign > Section Cuts > Change allows the engineer to change the properties on an existing section cut.
Selecting this command results in the cursor changing from the arrow to the target so a section cut can be
selected. Once a section cut is selected, the follow dialog is launched.
with the form 'SC' + next index number. The Offset distance represents the distance from the reference edge.
The reference edge is listed on the line below the Offset Distance field. Change this value to change the position
of the section cut. Clicking OK will keep these changes. Clicking Cancel will discard the changes.
Assign Hinge
Assigning a Section Cut as a Hinge causes the provisions of the selected design code pertaining to plastic hinge
formation to be enforced for the design calculations for the Section Cut. For example, if ACI 318 is the active
design code, the special boundary element checks of Chapter 21 will be calculated for the Section Cut. If the

Assign
selected design code has no provisions pertaining to plastic hinge formation, the hinge assignment has no effect
on the design of the Section Cut. For code-specific information on plastic hinge calculations, see the chapter in
this manual for the specific design code that has been selected.
Figure 21: Hinge assignments (orange Section Cuts are hinges)
Changing the Hinge assignment for a Section Cut will clear the design results for the Wall Panel Group to which
the Section Cut belongs, and will clear the reinforcing for all Wall Panels that are not frozen. The Hinge
assignment is pertinent only for horizontal Section Cuts and only when earthquake loads (load combinations
containing a “Seismic” or “Dynamic” term) are considered in the design run. Otherwise, the assignment will have
no effect on the design results.
If the conditions of the model are such that hinge calculations will be conducted, Hinges should be assigned in
each Wall Design Group such that the appropriate failure mechanism of the structure is captured.
Note: By default, when a Section Cut is created it is not assigned as a hinge. In order to perform the seismic
checks of the selected design code for a Section Cut, the user should make hinge assignments to the appropriate
Section Cuts in the model.
3.2.2 Section Cut List Dialog

The Section Cut List dialog presents a list of all section cuts.

Assign
From this dialog the following actions may be taken:

• Delete section cuts
• Change section cut label
• Change section cut offset distance
The Wall field displays the wall number with which the section cut is associated. The Measured from field
indicates the reference edge from which the offset is measured. The A-End field indicates from which edge the
section cut starts. The section cut Label can be changed by clicking in the Label field and typing new text. The
section cut offset may be changed by clicking in the Offset field and entering a new offset. If the offset is invalid
the field will turn red. Changes cannot be saved until this is fixed. Section cuts may be deleted by clicking in the
Wall field to highlight the section cut row and then clicking on the red [X] in the top left corner of the dialog.
3.2.3 Assign Bar Pattern Templates Dialog

The Assign Bar Pattern Templates dialog allows the engineer to assign bar pattern templates to wall design
groups in the model.
First, select a bar pattern template from the list of defined bar pattern templates. Attributes of the template will
be shown on the right. This will enable the buttons inside the Assign to Wall Design Group box.
To set the bar pattern template to use on wall design groups one at a time, click the Single button. The Assign
Bar Pattern Templates dialog will go away, and target cursor will be visible in the main RAM Concrete Wall
window. Click on lateral walls to set the bar pattern template of their corresponding wall design group. All walls
in the wall design group will be highlighted, and all of them get the bar pattern template assigned together.
Clicking on a wall that does not belong to a wall design group will result in an error.
To set the bar pattern template to use on a group of wall design groups, select the Fence button. The Assign Bar
Pattern Templates dialog will go away, and the fence cursor will be visible in the main RAM Concrete Wall
window. Click and drag a rectangle on the screen to select the desired walls. All lateral walls in the rectangle that
belong to some wall design group will be highlighted (along with all other walls in all of the highlighted groups),
and all of these will get the bar pattern template assigned together.
To set the bar pattern template for all lateral walls in the model that already have a wall design group assigned,
click the All button.
Select Edit Templates to create a new bar pattern template, or edit an existing one. This will bring up the Edit
Bar Pattern Templates dialog.
Click the Close button to dismiss the dialog without making assignments.
3.2.4 Assign Bar Patterns Dialog

The Assign Bar Patterns dialog allows the engineer to assign bar patterns to wall panels in wall design groups.
Please note that when a design is performed on a wall design group, bar patterns will automatically be assigned
to all of the wall panels in the group. Use this dialog to override the automatically calculated optimum bar
pattern.
Select a wall design group by either:

Assign
a. selecting a wall design group number from the drop-down list. A wall design group that has a bar pattern
template assigned is shown in the list in bold , or
b. selecting a wall design group graphically
To do this, click the Select… button and then select a wall in the wall design group from the main 3D display. The
Assign Bar Pattern dialog will reopen once the wall design group is selected. Once a wall design group is
selected via either mechanism, it will highlight in the 3D display.
To choose a horizontal bar pattern for assignment, check the Apply Section check box in the Horizontal Bar
Patter group. This will activate the combo box that lists each available bar pattern. Vertical bar patterns are
chosen in this same manner. Select the desired bar pattern from the appropriate combo box.
Once a wall design group has been selected and one or more bar patterns have been selected, the buttons in the
Assign to Wall Panel box will become enabled.
Single Assign the selected bar pattern to one wall panel at a time by clicking on walls in the selected wall
design group.
Fence Assign the selected bar pattern to wall panels in the selected wall design group by using fence
operations to select walls.
All Assign the selected bar pattern to all wall panels in the selected wall design group in the model.
Note: For single and fence above, the selected wall design group will be highlighted in yellow, and wall panels
that selected will be highlighted in orange. When a wall is selected that is part of a wall panel that contains more
than one wall, all walls in the panel will highlight.
3.2.5 Assign Manual Reinforcement

The Assign Manual Reinforcement dialog allows the engineer to assign reinforcement to Wall Panels such that
vertical bars are placed in one or more zones along the length of the Wall Panel, each of which can have different
properties. Unlike a Bar Pattern, in which the reinforcing is placed uniformly along the entire Wall Panel
according to the specified spacing, the Manual Reinforcing option allows the user to vary the bar size, spacing,
and number of reinforcing layers along the length of the Wall Panel according to the zones specified in the
dialog. In addition, each vertical zone created may be specified as a boundary, in which case any code-prescribed
confinement calculations are performed for the respective vertical zone.
After selecting Assign – Manual Reinforcement from the main menu, the user will be prompted to select a Wall
Panel. After selecting a Wall Panel, the Manual Reinforcement dialog will appear with a single horizontal
reinforcement zone and a single vertical reinforcement zone shown in the dialog. Each zone will extend the full
height and length, respectively, of the Wall Panel. The bar size, bar spacing, and number of curtains may be
edited for each zone. For vertical reinforcing, additional zones may be added using the “Add” button, or deleted
using the “Remove” button. The start and end positions of the vertical reinforcing zones may be adjusted either
by entering new start coordinates directly in the spreadsheet cells, or by moving the graphical representation of
the zones using the cursor. Note that the cursor will snap to wall and opening edges for convenience.
Vertical reinforcing zones also have a boundary assignment associated with them. There are three options
available:
• YES
• NO, But Check
• NO, Don't Check

Assign
A boundary assignment of "YES" means that the program will design the vertical reinforcing zone as a boundary
according to the provisions of the selected design code. Among the possible conditions that will be evaluated are
reinforcing ratio (percentage), boundary extents, and confinement. In addition, the design of ties or links
required to confine the vertical reinforcing in the zone per code will be performed. If the design code has no
provisions regarding wall boundaries, this assignment will have no impact on the design.
A boundary assignment of "NO, But Check" means that all design checks listed above will be performed for the
vertical reinforcing zone, but the design of confinement ties for the zone will not be performed. In addition, if the
zone lies in a region where a boundary is found to be required by code, a design failure will be delivered to the
user both in the Design Warnings page of the View/Update dialog and in the Section Cut design report. In
addition the Section Cut will be colored red accordingly.
A boundary assignment of "NO, Don't Check" means that no boundary-related checks will be performed for the
vertical reinforcing zone. Further, no design failures will be generated if the zone lies in a region where a
boundary is found to be required by code.
Once a Wall Panel has been assigned Manual Reinforcement, subsequently issuing the Manual Reinforcement
command on the Wall Panel will cause the existing reinforcing zones to be loaded when the dialog appears.
Further revisions may then be made to the reinforcing zones in the Wall Panel. After making further revisions to
the information, the changes will be transferred if "OK" is selected. At this point the design results in the Wall
Panel Group to which the Wall Panel belongs will be cleared. If "Cancel" is selected, any revisions made will be
ignored.
After a Wall Panel has been assigned Manual Reinforcement, the Wall Panel is frozen with that reinforcing
information. In order to clear the Wall Panel of the Manual Reinforcement that has been assigned, the user must
either assign a Bar Pattern from the Bar Pattern Template (using Assign > Bar Pattern), or issue the Process >
Clear Reinforcing command.
When multiple vertical reinforcing zones occur in a Wall Panel, the bar placement where adjacent zones meet is
such that the zone with the larger amount of reinforcing per unit length controls. Specifically, the zone with the
larger amount of steel per length will have a bar placed at the exact start or end point of that zone.
3.2.6 Assign Wall Panel Priority

A Wall Panel may be assigned any integer value greater than or equal to zero, called the Priority. By default the
Priority value for all Wall Panels is zero. The Priority value is used to determine how vertical reinforcement is
placed at locations where two or more Wall Panels intersect in plan. Wall Panels with a higher Priority will have
the vertical reinforcement placed such that the bars are run all the way to the edge of the wall. The adjacent Wall
Panel with the lower Priority will have the vertical reinforcement stop at the face of the Wall Panel with the
higher Priority.
This feature is useful for "L", "C", or "I" shaped wall cores where the engineer may prefer to run either the flange
or the web steel the entire extent of the wall. In particular, in situations where the corners of the wall are heavily
reinforced compared to the midspan zones of the wall, the Priority allows control over the reinforcement
placement at the wall corners or boundary regions.
Changing the Priority of a Wall Panel will clear any Bar Patterns in the Wall Panel Group that are not frozen. The
reinforcing for these Wall Panels will then be reoptimized the next time the design is run for the Wall Design
Group. Changing the Priority of a frozen Wall Panel will not clear the assigned Bar Pattern or Manual
Reinforcement. The bars will be placed again according to the new Priority assignment(s) once the design is run
again for the Wall Design Group, but the assigned Bar Pattern or manual reinforcement zones will remain.

Assign
3.2.7 Assign Wall Panel Clear Cover

Used to override the global cover criteria.
Tilt-up walls typically have the vertical bars closest to the wall face to maximize the out-of-plane flexural
capacity for a wall spanning vertically. Therefore, separate placement options exist for the Cast-In-Place and Tilt-
Up wall types.
Related Links
• Assign Wall Panel Clear Cover (on page 136)
3.2.8 Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth

Used to specify a depth that impacts bar placement and the concrete section considered in design.
a depth to be specified For example, if a wall is 10” thick with 1” of clear cover and there is a 0.75” reveal on the
primary face, the cover to the bars closest to the primary face is measured from inside the reveal depth. If the
vertical bars are closest to the face, the distance from the face of the 10” wall to edge of the vertical
reinforcement edge is 1.75”. The reveal depth is applied to all section cuts in the wall panel. The concrete section
considered in strength calculations excludes the reveal depths.
Related Links
• Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth (on page 136)
3.2.9 Assign Coupling Beams

Coupling Beams must be assigned while in elevation mode. Once in elevation mode, after having selected the
Assign > Coupling Beam command, a dialog is visible prompting the user to select an assign mode.
Note: In this program, Coupling Beams are always bounded by one or more wall openings below, and one or
more wall openings above, or a Wall Panel edge above. Based on a selected wall opening, which is always taken
as the bottom boundary of the Coupling Beam, the program automatically detects the corresponding openings or
edges that comprise the top bounding edge of the Coupling Beam.
When a Coupling Beam is added to or removed from a Wall Panel for which the design is complete, the design
results will be cleared for the Wall Panel. If the Wall Panel is frozen, it will retain the Bar Pattern or Manual
Reinforcement it currently has. Otherwise, the Bar Pattern will be cleared as well. Thus, all Section Cuts within
the Wall Panel will turn yellow following an assignment or deletion.
Coupling Beams may not overlap one another and the user will be notified during assignment if this situation
occurs. Wall Panel reinforcing and Coupling Beam reinforcing also never overlap. Wall Panel reinforcing is
placed only up to the boundary of the Coupling Beam. This includes Manual Reinforcement.
Related Links
• Assign Coupling Beam dialog (on page 137)

Load Combinations
3.2.10 Assign DXF Elevation Numbers

The dxf Elevation Number assignment allows the user to specify how walls are to be grouped when the dxf
elevation sheet is generated in RAM Manager. When this command is issued the user is prompted to select Wall
Panels to which an elevation ID number will be assigned. There is no restriction on how this assignment may be
made.
Wall Panels that share the same elevation number will be drawn as a single elevated wall in the dxf file when it is
generated in RAM Manager. The exception is the case where the Wall Panels do not lie in the same plane. Two
Wall Panels that have the same elevation number but do not lie in the same plane will be drawn in separate
elevations on the dxf sheet.
Realizing there may be a correlation between the Wall Design Group assignments and the desired wall elevation
scheme, for convenience the Wall Design Group numbers are displayed in addition to the elevation numbers
when making this assignment. If a Wall Panel has not been assigned an elevation number, a "?" will be listed as
the elevation number until one has been assigned.
Related Links
• Assign Dxf Elevation Group Numbers dialog (on page 137)
3.2.11 Edit Bar Pattern Templates Dialog

The Edit Bar Pattern Templates dialog allows the engineer to add, change, and delete Bar Pattern Templates.
The top part of the dialog contains all the information relating to a single Bar Pattern Template. The first time
this dialog is used in a new model, the list at the bottom will be empty. Fill in the information with the desired
values for a Bar Pattern Template, and then click Add to create a new Bar Pattern Template. Note that Add will
be disabled if the Label field is empty. If the Automatically Generate check box next to the label field is
checked, the label will be automatically generated based on the dialog settings. There is no limit to the number of
Bar Pattern Templates that can be created. However, all labels must be unique.
To change an existing template, select it from the list at the bottom. The current setting for the template will be
filled into the dialog above. Make the desired changes then click the Change button to apply the new settings to
the template. Changes to the template will be lost if a different template is selected before clicking the Change
button. Dismissing the dialog with OK or Cancel prior to hitting the Change button, will also result in changes
being lost. To delete the currently selected template, click the Delete button.
Clicking OK to close the dialog will save the templates while clicking Cancel will ignore any work done in the
dialog since it opened.
3.3 Load Combinations

The RAM Concrete Wall module makes use of load combinations in design.
The combined loads represent the demand side of the design calculations. At least one load combination must be
defined before the design process can be executed. Load combinations can be generated: automatically

Process
(Generated Combinations), entered manually by the engineer (User Defined), or imported from RAM Frame
(Advanced Load Combinations). Generated and User defined combos superimpose load case results.
The load cases (Dead, Live, Wind, Seismic, etc.) that are used in the load combination terms of generated or user
defined combos in the RAM Concrete Wall module represent the load cases that were analyzed in the RAM
Frame module. Therefore, the load cases available for combining in the Generated and User defined Load
Combinations dialog in the RAM Concrete Wall module are the same as the load cases that were created and
analyzed in the most recent RAM Frame analysis.
On the other hand, the load combinations available in the Advanced Load Combinations dialog in RAM Concrete
Wall are those that were analyzed in RAM Frame Load Combinations mode in an advanced analysis.
Changing the defined Load Combinations (e.g., regenerating the combinations, adding or removing
combinations, etc) once a design has been performed will cause the reinforcing for all non-frozen Wall Panels to
be cleared.
A dialog corresponding to each method of creating Load Combinations is available. The design process considers
the load combinations created from all methods. Each method of load combing is discussed below.
3.3.1 Code Generated Combinations

Issuing the Combinations > Generate… command brings up the Load Combination Generation dialog box. This
dialog box provides the engineer with control over the load combinations that are generated and used for
design. For more information about using the Load Combination Generator, refer to the Load Combination
Generator manual.
3.3.2 User Defined

Issuing the Combinations > Custom… command brings up the Custom Load Combination dialog box. The
Custom Load Combination works in a similar manner to the dialog for generating combinations. One notable
difference is that combinations can be entered manually and modified. For more information about using the
Load Combination Generator, refer to the Load Combination Generator manual.
3.3.3 Advanced Load Combinations

This dialog box provides the engineer with control over the strength Load combinations imported from Ram
Frame and available to use in Ram Concrete Wall. For more information about using the advanced load
combinations, refer to the RAM Frame manual.
3.4 Process

Process
3.4.1 Design All

The Design All command performs the design for all Wall Design Groups in the model successively. If a Wall
Design Group does not have Section Cuts, the design for the Wall Design Group will be skipped. Once the design
process is complete, the View/Update command may be selected to view the detailed design results for a given
Wall Design Group. The Design All process may be terminated by selecting Cancel while the design is running.
3.4.2 View/Update
The View/Update is RAM Structural System's hallmark method of reviewing and interacting with the design
results. The View/Update command is discussed in detail in Chapter 4.
3.4.3 Copy Reinforcing

The Copy Reinforcing command allows the user to copy the reinforcing in a Wall Panel or Coupling Beam to any
other Wall Panel or Coupling Beam within the same Wall Design Group. This command is particularly useful for
elements to which Manual Reinforcing has been assigned, and it is desired to copy this same reinforcing layout
to other elements. When executed on Wall Panels, the command copies both the horizontal and vertical bar
layouts to the target Wall Panels, clearing the results for all Section Cuts crossing the destination Wall Panels. If
the Section Cuts cross other Wall Panels that are not frozen, the Bar Pattern for these Wall Panels will be cleared.
The target Wall Panels are frozen after the paste operation is completed. Similarly, when executed on Coupling
Beams, the command copies all reinforcing specifications for the source Coupling Beam to the target Coupling
Beam, clearing the design results for the target Coupling Beam.
The only geometric constraint enforced during the paste operation is that for cases when the source Wall Panel
contains Manual Reinforcing, as opposed to a Bar Pattern, the target Wall Panel must be the same length as the
source Wall Panel. Other than this, there are no restrictions placed on the Wall Panels or Coupling Beams to
which the reinforcing can be pasted. For example, the source and target Wall Panels may have different
thicknesses, heights, concrete strengths, and wall openings.
To use the Copy Reinforcing command, first click the Select Source Member… button. The user will now be
prompted to select a single member from which the reinforcing will be copied.
After selecting a Wall Panel or Coupling Beam that meets the conditions for a source element, the dialog will
appear again, this time with information on the selected element populated in the dialog. If the selected source
element is a Wall Panel and contains Manual Reinforcing, each reinforcing zone will be listed under Vertical
Reinforcing.
To copy the listed reinforcing to other Wall Panels or Coupling Beams, click Select Target Members…. Now
select as many Wall Panels or Coupling Beams as desired using the single selection method. As each element is
selected, the reinforcing is copied to the element and frozen with the reinforcing. The next time the design is run
it will reflect the new reinforcing assignment.
Note: In order to visually verify that the copy is taking place, choose View > Bar Patterns prior to performing
the copy in order to see the Bar Pattern label that is being assigned to the target Wall Panels.

Process
3.4.4 Freeze Reinforcing

The Freeze Reinforcing command can be executed on either Wall Panels or Coupling Beams. When either of
these entities is frozen, the reinforcing currently assigned will be retained until the Clear Reinforcing command
is executed on the Wall Panel or Coupling Beam. As a result, actions that cause Wall Panel or Coupling Beam
reinforcing to be cleared (such as a re-run of RAM Frame, changes to the load combinations, or changes to the
code criteria) have no effect on the assigned reinforcing.
Freezing a Wall Panel prevents it from being optimized by any future use of the Design All or View/Update >
Optimize commands. Rather, the Wall Panel will retain the reinforcing assigned to it at the time the Freeze
command was issued.
Single Freeze the reinforcing in a single Wall Panel or Coupling Beam at a time by clicking on it.
Fence Perform fence freeze operations on groups of Wall Panels and Coupling Beams.
All Freeze the reinforcing on all Wall Panels and Coupling Beam in the model.
3.4.5 Clear Reinforcing

The Clear Reinforcing command may be issued for any Wall Panel or Coupling Beam. Clearing the reinforcing
on a Wall Panel forces it to be redesigned by subsequent uses of the Design All or View/Update commands.
That is, any manual or user-manipulated reinforcing assigned to the Wall Panel will be deleted and the next time
the design is run for the Wall Design Group, the optimization will choose the best Bar Pattern for the Wall Panel
from the Bar Pattern Template. Clearing the reinforcing on a Coupling Beam will likewise delete any user-
assigned reinforcing and the next time the design is run, the Coupling Beam will be reinforced using the global
Coupling Beam reinforcing criteria.

The View/Update Dialog
4
Selecting the View/Update command, followed by a Wall Design Group, will execute the design for the Wall
Design Group, immediately after which the View/Update dialog will appear. When a Section Cut or Coupling
Beam is selected within the three-dimensional view pane, the design results for the selected element are
displayed.
If reinforcing exists for a given Wall Panel within the Wall Design Group at the time View/Update is executed, a
design check will be performed for the Wall Panel. If reinforcing does not exist for the Wall Panel, the program
will select the optimum reinforcement using the Bar Pattern Template assigned to the Wall Design Group.
Figure 29: View/Update Dialog

Figure 30: 3D View Pane Figure 31: Information Pane
Figure 32: Design Sketch Pane

Figure 33: Buttons
Figure 34: Status Bar
The View/Update dialog is divided into five regions. In the top left is a pane containing a 3D view of all of the
walls in the selected wall design group, along with a toolbar that provides control over the 3D view (see Figure
"3D View Pane"). To the right of this is the information pane, containing a number of tabs that contain
information about the selected Section Cut or Coupling Beam and the design results (see Figure "Information
Pane"). Below the information pane is a design sketch pane showing either the wall design group in plan (if
nothing is selected), or a section view of the selected Section Cut or Coupling Beam (see Figure "Design Sketch
Pane"). Across the right is a column of buttons (along with a stop light indicating overall design status) for

3D View Pane
performing actions (see Figure "Buttons"). Across the bottom is a status bar that shows what Wall Design Group
is selected, along with the story of the wall that was originally selected in the main RAM Concrete Wall window,
and the selected Section Cut or Coupling Beam (if any) (see Figure "Status Bar").
The View/Update dialog can be enlarged by clicking and dragging a window corner. Once this has been done,
each pane can also be resized by dragging the bar between.
4.1 3D View Pane

The 3D view pane displays the Walls in the selected Wall Design Group. The mouse and keyboard can be used to
rotate or pan the view. When the dialog first displays, by default the keyboard rotates and the mouse pans. Click
in the view and use the scroll wheel of the mouse to zoom in and out.
Figure 35: View/Update Dialog - 3D View Pane
Table 2: The buttons above the view behave as follows
Icon Description
Zoom out so that all the walls in the Wall Design Group are visible.
Zoom All

3D View Pane
Icon Description
Zoom in by specifying a rectangle in the view.
Zoom Fence
Zoom In
Zoom Out
Zoom Previous
Switch to 3D view.
3D View
Switch to elevation view. After selecting this button, select a Wall to serve as the plane of
the viewing elevation.
Elevation View
Use orthographic projection to display the Walls.
Orthographic
Use perspective projection to display the Walls.
Perspective
Use the arrow keys to rotate the view. Note that left and right rotate about the model's Z
axis, so when looking down from above, the view will rotate clockwise or
counterclockwise. Holding down the <Ctrl> key while using the arrow keys in this
Keyboard Rotates mode, causes the view to pan instead of rotate

3D View Pane
Icon Description
Use the arrow keys to pan the view. Holding down the <Ctrl> key while using the arrow
keys in this mode causes the view to rotate instead of pan.
Keyboard Pans
Click on any section cut to select it. The selected section cut will be reflected in the
design pane, the status bar, and any section-cut specific tabs in the information pane.
Mouse Selects
Section Cut
Click on any rebar to select it. This will highlight the corresponding row in the
appropriate Vertical or Horizontal tab in the Reinforcing tab of the information pane.
Mouse Selects
Rebar
Click and drag with the left mouse button to pan the view. Holding down the <Ctrl> key
while dragging in this mode causes the view to rotate instead of pan.
Mouse Pans
Click and drag with the left mouse button to rotate the view. Unlike keyboard rotation,
dragging left and right rotates the view to the left or right based on the current
orientation. Holding down the <Ctrl> key while dragging in this mode causes the view to
Mouse Rotates pan instead of rotate.
Table 3: The buttons below the view behave as follows
Icon Description
Click to toggle section cut display on or off in the 3D view. When Mouse Selects Section
Cut is selected, this option will be disabled, since section cuts must be displayed in order
to select one.
Show/Hide Section
Cuts
Click to toggle rebar display on or off in the 3D view. When Mouse Selects Rebar is
selected, this option will be disabled, since rebar must be displayed in order to select
one.
Show/Hide Rebar

3D View Pane
Icon Description
Click to toggle mesh display on or off in the 3D view. The mesh displays colored stress
contours when a section cut is selected and a load combination is selected for the section
cut.
Show/Hide Mesh
Click to show the Mesh Options dialog.
Mesh Options
Click to toggle display of the global coordinate axes.
Show/Hide Axes
Click to toggle display of the section cut labels.
Show/Hide Section
Cut Labels
Click to increase the text size. Repeat as desired.
Increase Text Size
Click to decrease the text size. Repeat as desired.
Decrease Text Size
When a Section Cut is selected, the actual Section Cut Segment that was clicked on will be highlighted in orange,
and the other Section Cut Segments will be highlighted in white (for a description of a Section Cut Segment, see
Section 2.6.1). The selected Section Cut Segment ID will be displayed in the status bar, along with the story name
for the selected Section Cut.
4.1.1 Stress Contours

When the Show Mesh button (see Figure in Section 4.1) is enabled and a load combination is selected, stress
colors are shown. The colors used are configured using the Mesh Options pop-up dialog. These can be used to
make sure that Section Cuts are placed across the regions of maximum tension (most red).

3D View Pane
Figure 36: View/Update Dialog - Stress Contours
4.1.2 Mesh Options

The Mesh Options pop-up dialog allows the user to configure the mesh for the stress contours display.
Figure 37: View/Update Dialog - Mesh Options Pop-Up Dialog

Information Pane
In order for the stress contours to display, select a load combination on the Axial Flexural > Results tab. The
resulting stresses for the selected load combination are then displayed. There are seven stress types from which
to select. They follow the conventions shown in Figure below.
Figure 38: View/Update Dialog - Stress Types
The S Min and S Max settings are the principal minimum and maximum stresses.
The Mesh check box controls whether or not the mesh itself is displayed. The Smooth check box controls
whether the stresses at each mesh node are averaged together for all shell elements that share that node.
Checking it averages the stresses; unchecking it displays the calculated stress for each shell independently.
The scale shows what each color means. The numbers can be modified at each end of the scale, thus changing the
range of stresses. By moving the numbers closer to zero, more regions show up as red, and regions in between
are stretched, potentially giving a better view of what is happening.
4.2 Information Pane

The information pane contains a number of tabs that display information about the selected Wall Design Group.
A discussion of each of the pages is given below.

Information Pane
4.2.1 Axial/Flexural
Results
This tab contains the results for the axial/flexural interaction evaluation of the Section Cut (See Figure below).
The tabular axial/flexural results are listed for each load combination considered during the design run. The
required axial force and moment, the orientation of the moment relative to the local major axis (denoted as β),
and the interaction value are listed for each load combination. If the interaction value is greater than unity, the
line is colored red. When a row is selected with the mouse or the arrow keys, the locally and globally-oriented
moments corresponding to the load combination are shown below the spreadsheet region.
Figure 39: View/Update Dialog - Information Pane
Interaction Surface
This tab shows the interaction surface diagram for the Section Cut. There are two possible view modes: the P
versus M curve view, and the Mmaj versus Mmin curve view. Either of these is activated by toggling the respective
button above the curve display.

Information Pane
Figure 40: View/Update Dialog - Interaction Surface Diagram Tab
The P versus M view shows the two-dimensional axial versus moment capacity curve at the selected angle β
from the local major axis. The Mmaj versus Mmin curve view shows the two-dimensional capacity curve at the
selected value P. The evaluated load combinations (Pu, Mu,maj, Mu,min) are plotted in the display if they occur
within a tolerance of the plane in which the capacity curve lies.
To snap directly to a plane than contains one of the evaluated load combinations, first select the corresponding
row on the Results tab, and then select the Interaction Surface tab. This will draw the curve in the plane at which
the selected load combination lies.
4.2.2 Shear
This tab contains the shear design results. For more information on how shear design is performed, see the
respective section for the design code being used.

Information Pane
Figure 41: View/Update Dialog - Shear Tab
4.2.3 Reinforcing
This Reinforcing tab contains information about Wall Panel reinforcing.

Information Pane
Figure 42: View/Update Dialog - Bar Patterns Tab
Bar Patterns
This tab allows the user to replace the reinforcing in the selected Wall Panel with a new Bar Pattern. When a new
Bar Pattern is selected in the combo box, the reinforcing in the respective Wall Panel (including manual and
user-defined reinforcing) is deleted and the bars are placed in the Wall Panel according to the selected Bar
Pattern.
The Wall Panel that is affected by the change is the Wall Panel that contains the most recently selected Section
Cut Segment in the 3D window. This Section Cut Segment is colored orange in the 3D window, as shown in
Figure below. In order to save the changes that were made, Update Database must be issued prior to exiting the
View/Update dialog.

Information Pane
Figure 43: Selected Bar Pattern will apply to Wall Panel corresponding to selected (orange) section cut segment.
Vertical
Figure 44: View/Update Dialog - Vertical Reinforcing Tab
This tab shows information about vertical rebar
No.: This column is just a reference number. The actual

number has no significance.

Information Pane
Qty.: This column allows the user to select the number of

bars used at each location.
Bar Size: This column allows the user to select the bar size.
X: This column displays the distance from the start of the

Wall Panel to each bar.
Start Z: This column displays the distance from the bottom of

the Wall Panel to the low end of each bar.
End Z: This column displays the distance from the bottom of

the Wall Panel to the high end each bar
If one or more rows in the list are selected, the corresponding bars in the 3D view will be highlighted. The user
may change the quantity or size of any bar in the list and rerun the design. In order to save the changes that were
made, Update Database must be issued prior to exiting the View/Update dialog. Once this is done the Wall Panel
to which the changes were made is frozen.
Horizontal
Figure 45: View/Update Dialog - Horizontal Reinforcing Tab
This tab shows information about horizontal rebar.

No. This column is just a reference number. The actual number has no significance.
Qty This column allows the user to select the number of bars used at each location.
Bar Size This column allows the user to select the bar size.
Start X This column displays the distance from the start of the Wall Panel to the start of each bar.
End X This column displays the distance from the start of the Wall Panel to the end of each bar.

Information Pane
Z This column displays the distance from the bottom of the Wall Panel to each bar.
If one or more rows in the list are selected, the corresponding bars in the 3D view will be highlighted. The user
may change the quantity or size of any bar in the list and rerun the design. In order to save the changes that were
made, Update Database must be issued prior to exiting the View/Update dialog. Once this is done the Wall Panel
4.2.4 Boundary Elements

The Boundary Elements page provides design information related to boundary element design prescribed by the
selected design code. If the design code in use has no provisions related to wall boundaries this page will not
appear when View/Update is selected. The sheet is split into two tabs: Extents and Tie/Link Design. A discussion
of each is given below.
Extends tab
The wall boundary design method that is implemented in RAM Concrete involves limiting the neutral axis of a
section under a given axial load to a prescribed value. The Extents page calculates the actual and limit neutral
axis distance for each load combination considered during the design. If the neutral axis exceeds the limit, a
boundary is required to confine the compression region(s) of the section. The required length of the boundary,
projecting at an angle b from the point of maximum compression, is listed in the last column of the spreadsheet.
If a boundary is required for a load combination, the corresponding row will be colored red.
Figure 46: Boundary Elements page

Information Pane
Clicking on a row in the spreadsheet will draw the following in the cross-section sketch at the lower part of the
dialog:
• The corner of extreme compression will be denoted with a black dot.
• The required neutral axis will be displayed according to the calculated required length and angle b listed for
the respective load combination in the table above.
The Design Warnings Page will list all load combinations where the required boundary region encompasses
reinforcing zones not designated as boundaries. The user may then adjust the reinforcing zones accordingly to
meet the code requirements. For example, for the case shown below, the required boundary region (outlined in
green) extends past the zone denoted as a boundary, and thus a design failure will be listed for this load
combination on the Design Warnings page.
Note: A Section Cut must be designated as a Hinge (Assign > Section Cut > Hinge) in order for boundary
element extents to be evaluated.
Figure 47: Boundary zone evaluation, comparison of required and provided boundary extents
Tie/Link Design tab

The Tie/Link Design page provides information related to the design of confinement ties for zones specified as
boundaries. Zones not specified as boundaries will have no tie design performed. Reinforcing zones are created
using the Assign > Manual Reinforcement command. Each reinforcing zone is referenced to a Wall Panel and a
Section Cut Segment in the calculation page to identify where they occur. The zone start and end locations listed
are with respect to the Wall Panel in which the zones occur. The tie size used may be changed in the design code
criteria menu.

Information Pane
Figure 48: Tie/Link Design results sheet
4.2.5 Coupling Beams

The Coupling Beams tab reports the design results for any Coupling Beam within the selected Wall Design
Group. To view the results for a specific Coupling Beam, first select the Coupling Beam in the 3D view pane. This
is done by first verifying the Coupling Beams are displayed in the 3D view pane. Toggle on the Coupling Beams
using the Show/Hide Coupling Beam Labels tool button below the 3D view pane.
Next make sure the selection mode is set to Mouse Selects Member.
Now simply click on any Coupling Beam and the design results will be loaded into the Coupling Beams tab.
A detailed discussion of the information provided on each sub tab is now given.

Information Pane
Properties Tab
The properties tab provides the basic input geometric and material properties associated with the Coupling
Beam.
Typical Reinforcing
The Typical Reinforcing tab holds the bar sizes and spacings used for the selected Coupling Beam. The first time
the Wall Design Group is designed, the settings here will reflect the global coupling beam design criteria. Within
this tab, the reinforcing settings may be changed, and the design rerun. The new settings will affect only the
selected coupling beam, not all the coupling beams in the Wall Design Group. To save the new reinforcing
settings and the associated design results, select Update Database after running the design. At this point the
Coupling Beam will be frozen with the current settings.

Information Pane
The Typical Reinforcing specification consists of one to five top and bottom layers of bars (specified separately)
with a designated bar size and number of bars in each layer, as well as the vertical spacing of the bar rows.
Additionally, a bar size and nominal spacing for side bars (which are placed at each wall face), and a tie size and
spacing transverse to the section, are specified. For the settings in the dialog above, the resulting reinforcement
is as shown below.
Alternatively, a uniform reinforcing layout may be specified by selecting the appropriate check box. In this case,
the coupling beam will be reinforced as would a wall. The settings in the uniform layout area would govern the
placement of the reinforcing.
All of the longitudinal bars (top, bottom, and side) are considered for the axial-flexural strength checks. The
transverse bars are considered as the shear reinforcing for the purpose of shear strength calculations. All
longitudinal bars are located a distance away from the face of the section equal to the clear cover plus the
diameter of the ties.

Information Pane
Diagonal Reinforcing
The diagonal reinforcing tab is available if (and only if) using a design code that has specifications for special
diagonal reinforcing for seismic applications. As with the Typical Reinforcing tab, any setting may be changed
and the design rerun. The diagonal reinforcing specified here does not affect the placement of the typical
reinforcing, even if there are collisions.
Since the location of the diagonal bars in cross section varies along the length of the Coupling Beam, a slider is
provided that allows the user to change the view location along the Coupling Beam. This is called the Cross
Section View Location, and it input as a fraction of the Coupling Beam span.
Design Results
The Design Results tab holds the axial-flexural and shear results for the selected coupling beam.

Information Pane
The user may select a specific axial-flexural critical condition to review:

• Worst Overall Interaction: The load combination data point that produces the worst overall value of
interaction at any point along the Coupling Beam.
• Maximum + Flexure: The load combination data point that produces the largest required absolute
magnitude of positive moment at any point along the Coupling Beam.
• Minimum > Flexure: The load combination data point that produces the largest required absolute
magnitude of negative moment at any point along the Coupling Beam.
• Maximum Compression: The load combination data point that produces the largest required value of
compression at any point along the Coupling Beam.
• Maximum Tension: The load combination data point that produces the largest required value of tension at
any point along the Coupling Beam.
Changing the Critical Condition selection will update the design results to reflect the respective condition. The
axial and flexure values of both capacity and demand are reported, as well as the corresponding load
combination. Two values of interaction ratio are reported: one corresponding to the worst overall interaction,
and one corresponding to the currently selected critical condition.
Recall that, as described in Section 2.11, Section Cuts are created at the quarter points within free spans of the
header, and thus several locations along the coupling beam are evaluated for axial flexure. Thus, the location at
which the selected critical condition occurs is also reported in the Axial-Flexure region. The location is expressed
as a distance from either the left face of the beam, or the right face of the beam, depending on the user's
selection.
4.2.6 Design Warnings

This tab displays the design warnings for the selected Section Cut or Coupling Beam.
Figure 49: View/Update Dialog - Design Warnings Tab
There are two types of messages displayed in the Design Warnings sheet:

Information Pane
This type of message conveys that, although the design has not failed, further action may
need to be taken by the engineer to satisfy a design requirement.
Warning
The selected Section Cut or Coupling Beam has failed one or more of the design checks.
Failure
4.2.7 Design Sketch Pane
Figure 50: View/Update Dialog - Cross Sectional Sketch Pane
What is displayed in the Design Sketch pane varies based on what is selected in the 3D view pane. If a Section Cut
is selected in the 3D view pane, a cross-sectional sketch of the Section Cut is displayed. If a Coupling Beam is
selected, a cross-sectional sketch of the Coupling beam is displayed. If neither of these is selected, a projected
plan of the entire Wall Design Group is displayed. Click in this view and then use the mouse scroll wheel to zoom
in and out. The buttons to the right behave as follows:
Icon Description
The Angle Legend shows how the major and minor axes of the section cut are oriented. The
design sketch always rotates section cuts so that their major axis is in the positive X
direction and their minor axis is in the positive Y direction, so this overlay is fixed.
Angle Legend
This shows the global model axes. Since the design sketch is automatically rotated based on
the major axis, this allows the user to visualize how the section cut is oriented with respect
to the global coordinates.
Global Axis

Information Pane
Icon Description
This shows which direction (in global coordinates) the eye-point in the 3D elevation view is
pointing. It is only visible when the 3D view is in elevation mode.
Elevation
Legend
Click to toggle display of the dimensions in the sketch.
Show/Hide
Dimensions
Click to toggle display of all rebar that is intersected by the currently selected section cut.
(Note that no rebar will be drawn if no section cut is selected.)
Show/Hide
Rebar
Click to toggle display of the global coordinate axes.
Show/Hide
Axes
Click to toggle display of the angle legend.
Show/Hide
Angle Legend
Show/Hide Click to toggle display of the elevation legend (only available when 3D view is in elevation
Elevation mode).
Legend
Zoom In
Zoom Out

Action/Status
Icon Description
Zoom out so that everything is visible in the sketch.
Zoom All
The cross sectional view pane will display the Section Cut differently depending on whether the Section Cut is
oriented horizontally or vertically.
Horizontal Section Cuts are drawn so that the local major direction is oriented sideways as viewed on screen in
the cross section view pane. As a result, a positive Mmaj moment will cause compression on the right hand side
of the cross section, and a positive Mmin moment will cause compression at the top of the cross section.
Vertical Section Cuts are drawn so that the local major direction is oriented upwards as viewed on screen in the
cross section view pane. As a result, a positive Mmaj moment will cause compression at the top of the cross
section.
4.3 Action/Status
4.3.1 Optimize
The Optimize command within View/Update is used to select the best Bar Pattern and reinforcing layout for all
Wall Panels in a Wall Design Group. When this command is launched the program deletes all existing reinforcing
prior to commencing the design process. Note the changes made by the Optimize command are made permanent
immediately, even without issuing the “Update Database” command and all existing reinforcing that is not frozen
will be deleted.
For any Wall Panels within a Wall Design Group that are Frozen, the Optimize command will not select the best
Bar Pattern but rather will perform a design check on the reinforcement that exists in the Wall Panel.

Action/Status
4.3.2 Analyze
The Analyze command within View/Update performs a design check for all Wall Panels in the Wall Design
Group, regardless of the whether each is Frozen or not. Thus, unlike the Optimize command, the Analyze
command does not select any reinforcement and instead evaluates only existing reinforcing. In order to save the
changes to the database and thus make them permanent, the user must select Update Database prior to exiting
View/Update.
4.3.3 Update Database

Selecting Update Database makes the changes that have been made to the reinforcing during the current View/
Update session permanent. It also sets to Frozen each of the Wall Panels for which reinforcing has been
modified. This is the case regardless of whether the Bar Pattern was modified, or whether individual bars were
modified.
4.3.4 Reports
Summary Shows summary report for selected section cut.
Horiz. Forces Shows horizontal forces report for Wall Design Group. See Section 5.3.1 for more
information about this report.
Vert. Forces Shows vertical forces report for Wall Design Group. See Section 5.3.2 for more information
about this report.
Segment Forces Shows segment forces report for Wall Design Group. See Section 5.4 for more information
about this report.

Status Bar
4.4 Status Bar

The status bar shows the Wall Design Group number of the Wall Design Group that was selected to bring up the
View/Update dialog. Additionally, if a section cut is selected, it shows the story name and section cut label for the
selected section cut.

RAM Concrete Wall Reports
5
RAM Concrete Wall output is designed to provide the engineer with all necessary data for the review of
calculations for concrete wall design. The reports have been designed to duplicate the information provided in
hand calculations.
Below is a summary of the reports available in RAM Concrete Wall module. A more complete explanation of the
output follows.
Wall Design Group Properties This report correlates the geometric data from the modeler with concrete
wall-specific data.
Wall Panel Properties A list of wall panels, their geometric data and material properties.
Section Cut Forces This report is available for either horizontal or vertical section cuts. It lists
the forces on each section cut in the section cut's local axis.
Section Cut Segment Forces Forces acting on each horizontal section cut segment reported in the plan of
the section cut segment.
Material Takeoff The total volume and weight of concrete and reinforcing in walls.
Section Cut Design Summary A summary of the design checks and reinforcement for a Section Cut.
Wall Panel Reinforcement A list of the reinforcement designed for each wall panel.
Coupling Beam Design A summary of the design checks and reinforcement for a Coupling Beam.
Summary
5.1 Wall Design Group Properties

WDG Num: The Wall Design Group Number.
Story: The story on which the referenced Wall Panel and Wall is found.
Panel Num: Number that uniquely identifies the Wall Panel.
Wall Num: Number that identifies a Wall on a story. This is the same "wall number" used in other
parts of the RAM Structural System.
Centroid: Centroid of the Wall Design Group.
Bar Pattern Template: Horizontal and Vertical Bar Pattern Templates assigned to the Wall Design Group.

Wall Panel Properties
5.2 Wall Panel Properties

Wall Design Group: The Wall Design Group Number.
Story: Story where the Wall Panel can be found.
Panel Num: Number that uniquely identifies the Wall Panel.
Thick: Thickness of the Wall Panel.
Length: Length of Wall Panel.
f'c: Concrete compressive strength for the Wall Panel.
fy: The yield strength for reinforcement in the Wall Panel. This is the value entered in RAM
Modeler when the Wall was created.
Height - Start: Story-to-story height at the start of the Wall Panel.
Height - End: Story-to-story height at the end of the Wall Panel.
Coords: The first set of coordinates listed is the start of the Wall Panel. The second set of
coordinates listed is the end of the Wall Panel. Coordinates are reported in the global
coordinate system.
5.3 Section Cut Forces

The Section Cut Forces reports show the forces on the section cuts for the selected Wall Design Group. Wall
Design Groups can be selected by one of three methods: Single, Fence or All.
This report is available for the horizontal section cuts and the vertical section cuts.
5.3.1 Section Cut Forces - Horizontal

WDG: The Wall Design Group Number.
Story: Story where the section cuts can be found.
Section: Section Cut Label.
LC ID: Number of the Load Combination evaluated to produce the forces.
P: Axial force.
Vmaj: Shear force in the Section Cut's local major direction.
Vmin: Shear force in the Section Cut's local minor direction

Section Cut Segment Forces
Mmaj: Moment acting in the Section Cut's local major direction (about the + minor
axis)
Mmin: Moment acting in the Section Cut's local minor direction (about the - major
axis)
T: Torsion acting on the Section Cut.
Load Case Definitions: A list of the analyzed load cases available for use in combinations.
Concrete Combination A list of the parameters used in the generated load combinations.
Criteria:
Generated Concrete Load A list of the generated load combinations. An * indicates which combinations
Combinations: are selected for use in the design.
User Defined Concrete Load A list of the custom load combinations. An * indicates which combinations are
Combinations: selected for use in the design.
5.3.2 Section Cut Forces - Vertical

WDG: The Wall Design Group number.
Story: Story where the section cuts can be found.
Section: Section Cut Label.
P: Axial force.
V: Shear acting in the plane of the Section Cut
M: Moment acting in the place of the Section Cut
Criteria:
5.4 Section Cut Segment Forces

WDG: Wall Design Group Number
Story: Story where the section cut segments are located.
Segment: Segment Label.

Section Cut Segment Forces

P: Axial force.
Vmaj: Shear force acting in the plane of the Section Cut.
Mmaj: Moment acting in the plane of the Section Cut Segment
Criteria:

Getting Started Quickly
6
The chapter is intended to provide the user with instructional guidance for the most common procedures in the
RAM Concrete Wall Design Module.
6.1 Basic Design Procedure Steps

This section provides the user with a summarized reference of the basic steps involved in conducting the design
in the RAM Concrete Wall module.
1. Model the Building in RAM Modeler:

Remember that any walls you wish to design in the RAM Concrete Wall module must be assigned as lateral
members. The wall type (tilt-up or cast-in-place) and exposure (interior or exterior) are assigned in RAM
Modeler. These wall properties are only considered for ACI codes.
2. Run the RAM Frame analysis:
If the building contains steel members, be sure to establish sizes for these members by running RAM Steel
Beam and/or RAM Steel Column before running the RAM Frame analysis. Any load cases (Dead, Live, Wind,
etc.) you wish to consider in the wall module must be considered in the RAM Frame analysis.
3. Open Ram Concrete:
Go to the RAM Concrete Wall module in the RAM Concrete mode sub-menu. Remember that it is not
necessary to run RAM Concrete Analysis, RAM Concrete Beam, or RAM Concrete Column prior to running the
RAM Concrete Wall module.
4. Select the Design Code:
Use the Criteria > Code… command from the main menu to select the desired concrete design code.
5. Set Design Code Parameters:
Use the Criteria > Code Checks… command from the main menu to review and modify the settings for the
selected design code. The parameters available for modification will depend on the selected design code.
6. Assign Wall Design Groups:
Use the Assign > Wall Design Groups… command from the main menu to group individual wall elements in
the model into a group for analysis and design purposes. Wall elements must be assigned to a Wall Design
Group in order to be designed. The simplest manner to group walls is so that a collection of wall elements
forming a single plane belongs to a single Wall Design Group.
7. Create Bar Pattern Templates:
Use the Assign > Edit Bar Pattern Templates… command to create templates of reinforcing for
consideration during design. Remember that the Bar Pattern Template defines the bar sizes and spacings that
will be available for selection and assignment for each Wall Design Group.

Detailed Design Steps with Sample RSS Model
Ideally, Bar Pattern Templates should reflect a certain bar placement standard. If you prefer to vary wall
reinforcement spacing in increments of 4", you should choose a Bar Pattern Template with a spacing
increment of 4", with appropriate minimum and maximum spacing values. If the standard of a company is to
never use a vertical bar size smaller than a #6 in concrete walls, the Bar Pattern Template assignment should
reflect this.
8. Assign Bar Pattern Templates to Wall Design Groups:
Use the Assign > Bar Pattern Templates… command to assign a Bar Pattern Template to each Wall Design
Group. Note that a Wall Design Group must have a Bar Pattern Template in order to be designed.
9. Assign Bar Patterns to Wall Panels:
This step needs to be done only if you want to assign reinforcing callouts (Bar Patterns) directly to Wall
Panels, as opposed to letting the program choose the best reinforcement. Performing this step will generally
increase the speed of the design process to a significant extent.
10. Create Section Cuts:
Use the Assign > Section Cuts…..Automatic or Manual command to create Section Cuts within Wall Design
Groups. Bear in mind that the more Section Cuts you consider, the more time the design process will take.
Use the Assign > Section Cuts….Delete command to remove any sections you do not want to consider.
11. Create Load Combinations:
Use the Combinations > Generated… or Manual… command to create load combinations for the load cases
analyzed in RAM Frame. Bear in mind that the more load combinations you consider, the more time the
design process will take.
12. Execute the Design Process:
To design a single Wall Design Group, select Process > View/Update… and select the Wall Design Group you
wish to design. To design all Wall Design Groups at once, select Process > Design All .
13. Inspect Failed Sections:
Toggle the Section Cut display in the main window so that the Section Cuts are shown. Execute the View/
Update command and select a Wall Design Group that contains red (failed) Section Cuts. In the 3D view
within the View/Update, select a failed Section Cut. Go to the Warnings tab to review the design failures for
the Section Cut.
14. Review Wall Reinforcement:
Toggle the Bar Pattern display in the main window so that the Bar Patterns are shown. Click on the elevation
view button and select a frame to view in elevation. The Bar Pattern assignments can often be viewed more
clearly when in elevation view mode.
Execute the View/Update command and select a Wall Design Group. Once in View/Update, toggle the
reinforcement display in the 3D view at the left hand side of the dialog. Select the elevation view mode and
select a wall. You should now see all the reinforcing bars in elevation.
Go to the Reinforcement tab within the View/Update and go to the Vertical sub tab. Select a vertical bar in the
3D view within View/Update. Note that the bar is highlighted in both the 3D view and the spreadsheet on the
right hand side.
15. Review Section Cut forces:
Toggle the Section Cut display in the main window so that the Section Cuts are shown. Zoom in on a single
Wall Design Group and toggle the Section Cut labels so that they are displayed. Go to Reports > Section Cut
Forces… and select a Wall Design Group.

6.2 Detailed Design Steps with Sample RSS Model

This section provides the user with detailed steps in using the RAM Concrete Wall module utilizing a sample
RAM Structural System model. The model ShearWallDemo.rss, which is included with the product installation,
is used in this Section.
1. Start the RAM Structural System:

Open the model ShearWallDemo.rss in the Data directory.
2. Select a Reinforcing Bar Table:
From the RAM Manager, go to Criteria > Concrete Tables. For the purposes of this demonstration, we will
use ASTM reinforcing.
3. Design the model:
Run RAM Steel Beam, RAM Steel Column, and RAM Frame to establish sizes for all unsized members.
4. Enter the RAM Concrete Wall Module:
See Step 0 in the previous Section. Note that for this model, the stoplight for RAM Frame is green, indicating
that the RAM Frame analysis has been performed and thus design forces are ready to be used by the RAM
Concrete Wall module.
5. Modify Display Settings:
This step is not necessary but will make the walls in your model easier to see and work with during your
session in the RAM Concrete Wall module.
Go to View...Members. Go to the Gravity Beam tab and uncheck the Display button (upper left corner). Go to
the Gravity Column tab and perform the same action. Select OK.
6. Select the Design Code:
See Steps in the previous Section. For the purposes of this demonstration, we will select ACI 318-05.
7. Review the Design Code Parameters:
See Steps in the previous Section. For the purposes of this demonstration, we will leave the settings as they
are.
8. Create Wall Design Groups:
Select Assign…Wall Design Groups. Select Add Fence. Rubber band the “west”-most stack of walls in the
model as shown below.

Right click the mouse to bring the Assign Wall Design Groups dialog back. Note that the Wall Design Group
number has now changed to 2, indicating that the next assignment will default to Wall Design Group number
2. The "new" indicated in parentheses denotes that no walls are currently assigned to Wall Design Group 2.
In the same manner as above, assign the central "C"-shaped wall core to Wall Design Group 2 by rubber
banding the entire core of walls. Assign the "east"-most stack of walls to Wall Design Group 3. Note that you
may also assign walls one a time by using the Single command.
You can review the assignments you have made by toggling the View Wall Design Groups located in the
toolbar at the top of the main screen.

9. Create Section Cuts:

Click on the Elevation View button in the toolbar.
Select Wall Design Group 1 (west-most group). Select Assign…Section Cuts…Add Automatic. Select the
options shown in the figure below.
Select Single, and select the Wall Design Group. You should see Section Cuts appear on the screen (see figure
below). Select Close.

Click on the 3D View button in the toolbar. Right click the mouse to bring back the Auto Generated Section
Cuts dialog.
Select Single, and select Wall Design Group 2.

10. Create Bar Pattern Templates:

Select Assign…Bar Pattern Template, then select Edit Templates at the bottom of the dialog. Note that you
can also get to this menu by selecting Edit Bar Pattern Templates directly from the Assign menu. Specify
the settings shown in the figure below.
Select Add. You will see the Bar Pattern Template appear in the list at the bottom of the dialog. Select OK. You
should now be back in the Assign Bar Pattern Template menu. Select the Bar Pattern Template that was
added. Select Single. Click on each Wall Design Group that was created. Right click the mouse to bring the
dialog back to the screen. Select Close.

Review the Bar Pattern Template assignments by toggling the Bar Pattern display button in the toolbar.
11. Create Load Combinations for Design:

Select Combinations…Generated. Select IBC2003 in the Code for Combinations dropdown. Make sure the
check box for each load case is selected. For the Rho parameter, select Use Calculated. Click the Generate
button. Click OK.
Verify that the check boxes for all the Load Combinations in the load combo list are selected.
12. Design Wall Design Group 1:
Select Process…View/Update. Select Wall Design Group 1 (west-most wall group).
The View/Update dialog should appear shortly after issuing the command, populated with the completed
design information.
13. Review Axial-Flexural Design Results:

Make sure you are on the Axial-Flexural tab within the upper-right corner of the View/Update dialog.
Note the toolbar below the 3D view window on the left hand side of the View/Update dialog. Select the
option to display the Section Cut labels (see red arrow in figure below).
In the top, left corner of the View/Update dialog (above the 3D view window), select the Mouse Selects
Section Cut option.

You should notice that the cursor has turned to a set of cross-hairs. Select any Section Cut in the 3D view
window. You will notice that the axial-flexural design results for the selected Section Cut are displayed in
tabular form in the screen to the right within the Results tab. Each row in the spreadsheet corresponds to a
load combination. Select one of the rows in the spreadsheet. You should see the locally (Mumaj, Mumin) and
globally (Muxx, Muyy) oriented required moments for the selected load combination appear immediately
below the spreadsheet.
Select the Interaction Surface tab. The axial versus flexural plot that appears corresponds to the angle
resulting from Mumaj and Mumin for the selected load combination, referred to as the β angle.
14. Review Shear Design Results:

Select the Shear tab in the upper-right corner of the View/Update dialog. Select any Section Cut in the 3D
view window. Note that the information in the spreadsheet area is updated each time a new section is
selected.

15. Modify the Design:

Change the design by trying a new Bar Pattern in one of the Wall Panels.
Select the elevation view button in the toolbar above the 3D view window (see figure below).
Select the Wall Design Group in the 3D view to bring up the elevation view of the Wall Design Group. Using
the zoom command buttons above the 3D view, zoom in on the lower left pier at the first level. Select the
bottom-most Section Cut.
Change to Reinforcing select mode by using the drop down menu shown in the figure below.
Select the vertical reinforcing bar at the far left end of the Wall Panel.

Note that the corresponding bar is highlighted in the vertical reinforcing spreadsheet.
Change the bar size to #11. Note that the Section Cuts for the Wall Panel to which the bar belongs have
turned yellow, indicating that the design is not current and needs to be run again.
Make the same change in bar size to the next four cells directly below. Note when a new cell is selected, the
bar is highlighted in the 3D view window. Select the vertical bar at the far right end of the pier.

Again, change the bar size to #11. Again, change the sizes of the adjacent four bars to #11 also. Select
Analyze in the upper right corner of the View/Update dialog.
16. Review the Design Results:
Select any Section Cut and choose View Summary in the upper right hand corner of the View/Update dialog.

Tilt-Up Workflow
7
Tilt-up walls are thin concrete panels. When a slender wall is subjected to axial compression and out-of-plane
bending, second order effects must be considered. ACI 318 permits an amplified first order approach, elastic
second order approach, or inelastic second order approach. ACI 318 also provides an alternative analysis for
slender walls which is an amplified first order approach and is the basis of ACI 551.2R. RAM Structural System
has implemented an elastic second order analysis to handle the slender wall problem.
In addition to the elastic second order analysis, several features where implemented to facilitate the in-place
analysis and design of tilt-up structures in a 3D model.
• Distributed wall self-weight
• Gaps (joints) can be assigned to provide analytical separation from adjacent panels
• Assignment of eccentricity parameter for automatic application of out-of-plane gravity moments
• Pressure loads on walls
• Mechanism to isolate out-of-plane behavior
• Asymmetrical wall reinforcement for different cover on interior and exterior faces
• Net section consideration for reveals
7.1 Wall Self-Weight Criteria

By default, self-weight of walls is computed by story and applied at the top of the member. This is conservative
but can lead to excessive out-of-plane 2nd order effects in slender walls. An option in RAM Manager Critiera >
Self-Weight is available to distribute the wall self-weight to the finite element mesh. Rather than applying self-
weight to the top of the physical wall, self-weight is applied to the top of each shell finite element within the wall.
7.2 Modeling Tilt-Up Walls

Since the tilt-up wall analysis is performed in RAM Frame, all tilt-up walls to be considered in the analysis must
be modeled as lateral walls. To distinguish tilt-up concrete walls from cast-in-place concrete walls (default
assumption), a type property is available to the wall layout and change properties dialogs. When the Tilt-up
type and Lateral framing are selected, the gap properties become available and can be assigned to either end.
Exposure is assigned to the wall faces and impacts reinforcement cover in RAM Concrete Wall.

Tilt-Up Workflow
Modeling Tilt-Up Walls
When modeling tilt-up walls that have a physical joint between panels, the gap assignment is used to provide
analytical separation between the walls rather than physical modeling the separation. Gaps are displayed in plan
as orange rectangles with tails that point toward the wall they are modeled on. In elevation, gaps are displayed
as bold orange lines with tabs pointing to the interior of the wall they are modeled in. A gap only needs to be
assigned to one wall end at a joint but can be assigned to both wall ends to facilitate rapid modeling. However,
this can lead to ambiguous conditions for supported members at joints. In RAM Modeler , Integrity > DataCheck
will flag these conditions as errors when they occur.

Tilt-Up Workflow
Figure 52: Graphical display of gap assignment in plan
When a wall is modeled on a floor layout, the i-end of the wall is the end that has the lesser X coordinate, or
lesser Y coordinate if the X coordinate are the same, regardless of which point is clicked on first when modeling
the wall. The primary face of the wall is on the right side as you walk from the i-end to the j-end of the wall.
When looking at a wall in elevation, you are always looking at the primary face. In RAM Modeler , Options >
Show Wall allows the primary face and exposure properties to be turned on in the graphical display. The
primary face arrow points away from the primary face. Labels for Exterior and Interior exposure assignments
are displayed on the corresponding face.

Tilt-Up Workflow
7.2.1 Cracked Factor For Out-Of-Plane Bending

An elastic second order analysis requires consideration for cracked regions on the wall. Stiffness after cracking is
a function of internal forces and the placement of reinforcement. Wall reinforcement is not determined until
after the analysis is performed and designed in RAM Concrete Wall. Therefore, the RAM Frame analysis relies on
a cracked factor assigned to the wall that is applied to all finite elements to approximate the cracking effects. The
cracked factor (bending) shown in the Add Concrete Wall dialog above modifies wall out-of-plane stiffness in
the RAM Frame analysis.
ACI 318 permits the use of a reduced moment of inertia with an elastic second order analysis to account for
cracking. ACI 551.2R states that a panel at ultimate load conditions typically exhibits cracks over most of the
height and that testing and analytical studies confirm that assuming Ec Icr over the full panel correlates closely
with test results. ACI 318 alternative analysis for slender walls provides an equation for the cracked moment of
inertia which is typically less than 0.35 Ig.
The cracked factor (bending) factor requires engineering judgement. It should represent an effective out-of-
plane moment of inertia for a factored load analysis (conditions at strength failure) with a reduction for
uncertainty. It is recommended that the engineer start with a conservative cracked factor to avoid
underestimating the 2nd order effects and later refine the cracked factor if more accuracy is desired.
The DA Tilt-Up Tools spreadsheet can be used to help determine if the cracked factor assigned in RAM Modeler
is consistent with ACI 318 Alternative Method for Slender Walls.
7.2.2 Assigning Wall Eccentricity

To assign eccentricities of vertical loads in walls, use the following procedure.
Wall eccentricities are assigned automatically when a wall is modeled based on the default criteria specified by
selecting Set Defaults > Eccentricities in RAM Modeler.
Note: Eccentricity applies to all walls, but moments due to the eccentricity are only considered in lateral walls in
the RAM Frame analysis.
1. In RAM Modeler, select Layout > Wall > Assign Eccentricity.

The Assign Wall Eccentricity dialog opens.

Tilt-Up Workflow
2. Select an option for the eccentricity definition:

To define eccentricity… Select…
from the face of the wall Distance + 1/2 wall thickness
from the center line of the wall Absolute distance from center line
3. Type the Distance value in the units indicated.
The eccentricity is measured orthogonal to the plane of the wall. The eccentricity is applied to all loads from
one way decking and supported gravity beams and joints.
Note: If a rigid link is assigned to a gravity beam supported by a wall, the rigid link overrides the eccentricity
assignment.
4. Select either the Single or Fence graphics mode to assign the eccentricity values to walls.
7.2.3 Apply Wall Pressure Loads

To apply pressure loads to walls, use the following procedure.
Wall pressures are assigned in the elevation mode in RAM Modeler.
Pressures are always applied orthogonal to the plane of the wall.
1. Select the Elevation tool and then click on a wall.

The wall is displayed in the Elevation Mode.
2. Create a lateral load case:
a. Select PropTable > Lateral Load Case.
The Lateral Load Cases dialog open.

Tilt-Up Workflow
b. Type a Load Case Label and select the Load Type.

c. (Optional) Check the option to Lock Diaphragm Displacements for this load case.
When this option is selected, the diaphragm will not displace in the RAM Frame analysis when the load
case is analyzed. The purpose of this option is to isolate out-of-plane behavior from in-plane behavior. For
example, the wind pressure producing out-of-plane bending in a wall is often a components and cladding
load that is not necessary to be considered for the main lateral force resisting system. By preventing the
diaphragm from displacing, the engineer can model the components and cladding wind pressures on all
walls in a single load case and no in-plane forces will be produced in the 3D analysis. This option is
ineffective for a flexible diaphragm.
d. Click Add.
e. (Optional) Repeat steps 1a through 1d to add additional lateral load cases as needed.
f. Click OK.
3. Add wall pressure:
a. Select PropTable > Lateral Loads > Wall Pressure Loads.
The Pressure Load Properties dialog opens.

Tilt-Up Workflow
b. Type the load Label.

c. Select to apply the pressure magnitude as either a Pressure or Inertia Force and then type the
associated magnitude values.
Pressure can be defined explicitly as top and bottom pressures (linearly varying between top and bottom
based on elevation) or as an inertia force based on the wall weight and fraction of gravity to consider.
d. Select the Direction with respect to the primary wall face.
In elevation mode, you are looking at the wall primary face. The direction towards is into the screen.
4. Apply the wall pressure:
a. Select Layout > Lateral Loads > Wall Pressure Loads.
The Wall Pressure Load Layout Mode dialog opens.

Tilt-Up Workflow
Analysis of Tilt-up Walls
b. Select the Load Case from the drop-down list.

c. Select the wall pressure load from the table.
d. Select either Add - Single or Add - Fence to apply this to the walls in the elevation mode.
e. Click Show to display the currently assigned pressure loads.
Hatching and labels with the assignments will be displayed.
Note: Wall openings have a distribution property to determine how to handle the portion of the wall
pressure that exists over the opening. The pressure can be distributed to the vertical or horizontal sides of
the opening, or completely ignored. Openings are created and changed in elevation mode in RAM Modeler.
7.3 Analysis of Tilt-up Walls
7.3.1 Analysis Criteria

By default, wall out-of-plane stiffness is ignored in RAM Frame. Out-of-plane stiffness can be turned in in the
General Criterial dialog in RAM Frame by selecting Criteria > General. Typically tilt-up walls are pinned at the
base for out-of-plane behavior, so the release rotational fixity option should be selected as well. Convergence on
theoretical results occurs as the mesh sizes decreases and may require the default maximum distance between
nodes to be reduced. However, reducing the mesh size will increase the analysis time.

Tilt-Up Workflow
When gravity moments due to eccentricity and lateral pressures are applied to walls, diaphragms cannot be
assigned as flexible or pseudo-flexible because these are no diaphragm conditions. Without a diaphragm, there is
nothing for the wall to lean against in the finite element analysis. If there are gravity moments due to
eccentricity, you will encounter an instability in the analysis or massive displacements. Similarly, pressures on
the wall will produce excessive displacements unless the diaphragm displacements are locked (not applicable to
flexible diaphragms) unless your intent is to look at a cantilevered walls with fixed bases.
7.3.2 Second Order Analysis

The creation of story force cases for in-plane analysis in RAM Frame and the analysis of individual load cases is
no different than previous versions of RAM Structural System.
After the load cases have been analyzed, the elastic second order analysis is performed in the RAM Frame
Analysis – Load Combinations mode. The Combinations menu has Custom, Strength, and Service Combinations.
The Custom Combinations are the superimposed load case results that are not analyzed. The Strength and
Service combinations are considered in the Advanced Analysis. The engineer should only create advanced
analysis combinations for conditions where an iterative analysis is required. For example, assume that a single
wind pressure case was created for the components and cladding forces that will control the out-of-plane design,
and generated story force wind cases were created for the main force resisting system in-plane design. Small p-
delta effects are negligible for the in-plane design and the P-Delta implementation in Frame Analysis Load Cases
mode is adequate for any big P-Delta effects that impact in-plane behavior. Therefore, the advanced analysis
combinations can only include combinations that include the out-of-plane pressure case as shown below.

Tilt-Up Workflow
The criteria defined in Load Cases mode is used in the load combination analysis, as well. Some criteria will
cause the analytical model for a gravity case to be different than a lateral load case. This would present a
problem for the analysis of a load combination that contains both cases. Errors will be thrown when these
conditions occur. The user will need to change the selections in Load Cases mode before proceeding with the
load combination analysis.
Additional criteria that is only relevant to elastic second order analysis can be found in the Advanced Analysis
Criteria dialog in RAM Frame Analysis -Load Combinations mode by selecting Criteria > Advanced Analysis.
As discussed previously, the cracked section factors entered in RAM Modeler are intended to be used for a
strength analysis. When analyzing service conditions, the crack factors can be relaxed. Rather than entering
separate cracked factors for strength and service combinations, a single cracked factor modifier is entered for
service combinations (see Service Analysis section below). Live load reduction can be turned enabled or
disabled. Trouble shooting criteria for the iterative analysis is available to assist in achieving convergence.

Tilt-Up Workflow
The advanced analysis is performed by selecting Process > Advanced Analysis, selecting the combinations to
consider, and then clicking OK. If advanced combinations have not been defined or no valid combinations are
selected, the combination type will have a red status light.
Viewing and reporting of load combination analysis results requires selection of the appropriate load
combination type to consider. Reports and onscreen results only consider the active output mode load
combination type. Similarly, the Frame Shear Wall Forces module has a dialog to select the combination type for
envelope results.
7.3.3 Service Analysis

The service combination analysis in RAM Frame Analysis Load Combination mode is an elastic 2nd order
analysis that scales the cracked factors assigned in RAM Modeler by the service multiplier in the Advanced
Analysis Criteria dialog. The service analysis in the ACI Alternative Method for Out-of-Plane Slender Wall
Analysis is an iterative bilinear interpolation that considers the displacement at the cracking moment with the
gross moment of inertia and the displacement at the nominal moment with the cracked moment of inertia. The
out-of-plane displacements in RAM Frame will be larger than displacements calculated using ACI slender wall
for practical moments. If the maximum nodal displacement in RAM Frame for the service combination exceeds
displacement limits, a more detailed analysis should be performed prior to changing wall stiffness.
First, rerun the service analysis using the gross moment of inertia. To force the service analysis to use the gross
moment of inertia, the service modifier in the advanced analysis criteria should be larger than 1 divided by the
bending cracked factor assigned in RAM Modeler. The program will cap the stiffness at 1.0 times the gross
moment of inertia in the analysis. If the maximum service moment in the wall considering 2nd order effects is
below 2/3 the cracking moment, then the wall remains uncracked for the service combination per ACI slender
wall. The assumption to use the gross moment of inertia was valid.
If walls are cracked, rerun the service analysis with a service modifier that brings the cracked factor assigned in
RAM Modeler to a service state (e.g. 1.4). If the cracked factor in RAM Modeler represents a fully cracked section,
the RAM Frame results are conservative and can used directly if desired. If displacements are exceeding
deflection limits, the service modifier typically can be increased because the service moments are less than the
moment that reduces stiffness to fully cracked. However, this is decision that requires engineering judgment.
The DA Tilt-Up Tools spreadsheet can be used to help investigate the service analysis.

Tilt-Up Workflow
Design of Tilt-up Walls
7.4 Design of Tilt-up Walls

Note: The RAM Concrete Wall module was previously called RAM Concrete Shear Wall. The module was
renamed in CONNECT Edition Update 15 (v17.00) and the program was enhanced to accommodate tilt-up walls.
Face reveals, asymmetric reinforcement, consideration of advanced analysis strength combinations, and tilt-up
reinforcement cover were added.
The generated and custom load combinations superimpose the load case results to create a load combination
force. Assuming the 2nd order analysis was performed for out-of-plane forces only, the generated and custom
combinations should only consider in-plane cases. The strength load combinations considered in the elastic 2nd
order analysis can be selected for design in RAM Concrete Wall by selecting Load Combinations > Advanced.
All selected combinations are considered in the design of all section cuts.
The criteria in Concrete Wall is set by selecting Criteria > Design Criteria. This dialog has options for cover and
bar placement at wall face. Tilt-Up walls use the minimum cover requirements for precast. Exterior faces assume
weather exposure that require additional cover per ACI 318. In the RAM Concrete Wall mode, selecting Assign >
Wall Panel Clear Cover allows the engineer to override the global cover criteria. Tilt-up walls typically have the
vertical bars closest to the wall face to maximize the out-of-plane flexural capacity for a wall spanning vertically.
Previous versions assumed the vertical bars were inside the horizontal bars. Therefore, separate placement
options exist for the Cast-In-Place and Tilt-Up wall types.

Tilt-Up Workflow
In the Concrete Wall mode, select Assign > Wall Pane Reveal Depths to specify a reveal depths on either or
both faces. This impacts bar placement and the concrete section considered in design. For example, if a wall is

Tilt-Up Workflow
10” thick with 1” of clear cover and there is a 0.75” reveal on the primary face, the cover to the bars closest to the
primary face is measured from inside the reveal depth. If the vertical bars are closest to the face, the distance
from the face of the 10” wall to edge of the vertical reinforcement edge is 1.75”. The reveal depth is applied to all
section cuts in the wall panel. The concrete section considered in strength calculations excludes the reveal
depths.
Critical horizontal sections for in-plane forces typically occur at the bottom of walls and openings. For out-of-
plane design, critical horizontal sections will often occur mid-height where the out-of-plane moment is the
largest. The program does not attempt to locate the maximum out-of-plane moment and add a section cut at that
location. The engineer is required to add cuts where they are desired to be checked. If it is not obvious where the
critical section for out-of-plane flexure will occur over the height of the wall, the engineer can use maximum cut
spacing parameters in the section cut generator to create multiple cuts over the height of the wall. However,
increasing the number of section cuts will increase the design time.
In the Concrete Wall mode, select Process View/Update to select and design a wall group. The Wall Design
Group dialog and section cut design summary report include an out-of-plane shear check. Reveal locations and
accurate bar placement can be visualized in the section view. Axial-flexure interaction has always considered
weak axis moments in the wall. Pure out-of-plane bending occurs with a beta angle of 90 or 270 degrees.

Tilt-Up Workflow

ACI Technical Notes
8
The section provides an overview of the ACI 318-11 code sections that are checked for compliance in the RAM
Concrete Wall module. The intent of this section is not to reproduce or elaborate on the code sections
themselves, but rather to identify and explain the properties, quantities, and assumptions the RAM Concrete
Wall module uses when evaluating each code section, with a particular emphasis on the RAM model data.
8.1 Design Criteria

The settings established here are applied to the entire model. Editing these settings will clear the design results
for the model.
The Design Criteria dialog is accessed from the Criteria > Design Criteria menu.
The parameters that can be defined are:
Clear Bar Cover The distance the outer edge of the horizontal reinforcement will be placed from the face
of the wall. See Figure in Section 6.2 for more details.
Bar Spacing You can select to use the bar spacing limits specified by the selected design code, or can
override the code by selecting custom values.
Bar Placement at Available for ACI codes. Allows you to determine how the program will perform the bars
Wall FAce distribution and placement. You can set the Horizontal or Vertical bars as closest to the
wall face for Cast-In-Place or Tilt-up walls.
Code Options The concrete shear capacity of walls may be calculated according to 11.9.6, or the more
basic method of 11.9.5.
Sections 11.9.9.3 and 11.9.9.5, pertaining to maximum bar spacing, may give
unrealistically small spacing limits when the length of the wall segment considered is
relatively short. You may specify a minimum length value to be considered in the
equations within each code section, which will override the true wall segment length in
cases where it is greater.
Structural Wall Wall category as defined in Chapter 21 of ACI 318 to be considered when performing
Category design checks.
IBC Parameters The deflection amplification factor, Cd, and importance factor, I, are specified here. These
values are used in calculating the limiting neutral axis depth, c, for the requirement of
special boundary reinforcement per Section 21.9.6.2.
You can choose to consider the IBC amendments to ACI 318 contained in Section 1908.

ACI Technical Notes
Clear Cover
Resistance Factor You can choose to consider a shear resistance factor of either 0.75 or 0.60.
for Shear
Wall Boundaries Where vertical reinforcing is required to be confined by ties, the bar size used for all ties
is specified here.
8.2 Clear Cover

Section 7.7 of ACI 318-11 specifies concrete protection for reinforcement. The RAM Concrete Wall module
checks ACI Section 7.7.1, the minimum cover for cast-in-place concrete and Section 7.7.3 for precast concrete in
Tilt-up walls. This requirement is manifested in the placement of the bar reinforcement. The clear cover is
measured to the bar that is closest to the wall face, that can be horizontal or vertical depending on the Design
criteria settings.
The lateral location of the horizontal layer is set based on the clear cover requirement (see Figure below). Since
this is always enforced by the program, no failure messages regarding this ACI section are delivered.
Figure 53: Basis of bar location in the RAM Concrete Wall module
Figure 54: Bar location options in the RAM Concrete Wall module for ACI codes

ACI Technical Notes
Reinforcement Spacing Limits
8.3 Reinforcement Spacing Limits

This section discusses the spacing limit checks that are implemented within the RAM Concrete Wall module and
the assumptions made by the program when performing the necessary checks. The table provides a summary of
the sections of ACI 318-11 covering spacing limits that have been implemented within the program.
Table 4: Summary of implemented ACI 318-11 sections covering bar spacing
ACI 318-11 Bar Spacing Checks
Code Section Limit Check Referenced Code Sections
7.6.1 Minimum clear bar spacing -
7.6.5 Maximum bar spacing in walls -
14.3.1 Maximum spacing of horizontal 11.9.9.3, 11.9.9.5

shear reinforcement in walls
14.3.5 Maximum spacing of vertical shear -

reinforcement in walls
7.10.5.2 Maximum vertical spacing of ties in -

walls
21.9.2.1 Maximum reinforcement spacing in -

walls
When checking maximum spacing limits, the RAM Concrete Wall module uses the nominal reinforcement
spacing; that is, the spacing identified in the Bar Pattern. When checking minimum spacing limits, the RAM
Concrete Wall module uses the true reinforcement spacing considering the way the bars have been placed by the
program. This is done so that the most appropriate value of spacing is used in comparison to each code
prescribed limiting value.
It is important to note that when spacing checks are performed for a Section Cut, only the bars normal to the
Section Cut will be evaluated for spacing compliance. Thus, in order to check horizontal bars for compliance in a
Wall Panel it is necessary to include at least one vertical Section Cut that intersects the Wall Panel.
8.3.1 Chapter 7
Section 7.6 of ACI 318-11 specifies spacing limits for reinforcement. The RAM Concrete Wall module checks ACI
Sections 7.6.1 and 7.6.5 within ACI 7.6. The design process will produce failures if the Bar Pattern or Manual
Reinforcement used for a Wall Panel results in bar spacings that violate either of these limits.
For ACI Section 7.6.5, the wall thickness used for the check is the gross section thickness of the Wall Panel to
which the Bar Pattern or Manual Reinforcement has been assigned. Since each Wall Panel is a constant thickness
entity, and each Wall Panel has only a single Bar Pattern, there is no ambiguity as to the appropriate value of
thickness to use in this calculation.

ACI Technical Notes
Reinforcement Ratio Limits
8.3.2 Chapter 14
The RAM Concrete Wall module checks Section 14.3.1 of ACI 318-11, which specifies the minimum horizontal
and vertical reinforcement in walls. This section mandates that the spacing of horizontal and vertical shear
reinforcement in walls complies with ACI Sections 11.9.9.3 and 11.9.9.5, respectively.
Each of the Wall Panels that intersect the Section Cut is checked separately for these provisions using the
respective Wall Panel gross section thickness and Bar Pattern. The parameter lw in 11.9.9.3 and 11.9.9.5 is taken
as the length of the Wall Panel, and the parameter h is taken as the average height of the Wall Panel. For
example, for the Wall Panel shown in Figure below, lw = 25’ and h = 14’. If the Wall Panel has a sloping top
and/or bottom edge, the average of the heights at the start and end of the Wall Panel is used for h.
Figure 55: Sample Wall Panel and properties used for ACI Sections 11.9.9.3 and 11.9.9.5
The module also considers Section 14.3.5 of ACI 318-11.
8.3.3 Chapter 21
Section 21.9.2.1 of ACI 318-11 limits the reinforcement spacing in walls to 18" in both directions.
8.4 Reinforcement Ratio Limits

This section discusses the reinforcement ratio checks that are implemented within the RAM Concrete Wall
module and the assumptions made by the program when performing the necessary calculations. Table below
provides a summary of the sections of ACI 318-11 covering reinforcement ratio that have been implemented
within the program.

ACI Technical Notes
Reinforcement Ratio Limits
Each of the Wall Panels that intersect the Section Cut being evaluated is checked separately for these provisions
using the respective Wall Panel properties and Bar Pattern information. Note that using the Bar Pattern
information rather than the true reinforcing bars has two impacts:
• The nominal bar spacing is used in the calculations rather than the spacing between any two bars as placed in
the wall.
• The patterned reinforcing bar size is used in the calculations rather than the sizes of individual bars. Thus if
the user has edited individual bars, these changes will not be reflected in these calculations.
Table 5: Summary of implemented ACI 318-11 sections covering reinforcing ratio
14.3.1 Minimum horiz & vert reinf 11.9.9.2, 11.9.9.4
14.3.2 Minimum vert reinf -
14.3.3 Minimum horiz reinf -
21.9.2.1 Minimum web reinf -
21.9.4.3 Minimum long reinf -
The RAM Concrete Wall module checks Sections 14.3.1, 14.3.2, and 14.3.3 of ACI 318-11, which specify the
horizontal and vertical reinforcement ratio limits in walls. Section 14.3.1 mandates that the minimum horizontal
and vertical shear reinforcement ratios in walls comply with ACI Sections 11.9.9.2 and 11.9.9.4, respectively.
When the provisions of Chapter 21.9 are considered (Special Reinforced Concrete Structural Wall), Sections
21.9.2.1 and 21.9.4.3 are also checked.
In these sections ACI uses the following terms:
ρl = Ratio of area of distributed longitudinal reinforcement to gross concrete area perpendicular to that
reinforcement.
ρt = Ratio of area of distributed transverse reinforcement to gross concrete area perpendicular to that
reinforcement.
Despite the above definitions given by ACI, ρl is also used within ACI 318-11 to denote horizontal reinforcing
(e.g., 11.9.9.2), and ρt is also used to denote vertical reinforcing (e.g., 11.9.9.4). To resolve this, the following
approach is used within the RAM Concrete Wall module:
In cases where ρlis referenced and the text within the ACI code section specifically mentions “vertical”
reinforcing, ρlis calculated using the area of vertical reinforcing resulting from the Bar Pattern. If “vertical”
reinforcing is not specifically referenced, the area of reinforcing is calculated using the area of the reinforcing
bars that intersect and are normal to the Section Cut Segment under consideration.
In cases where ρt is referenced and the text within the ACI code section specifically mentions “horizontal”
reinforcing, ρt is calculated using the area of horizontal reinforcing resulting from the Bar Pattern. If “horizontal”
reinforcing is not specifically referenced, the area of reinforcing is calculated using the Bar Pattern that is
parallel to the Section Cut Segment under consideration.
Sections 11.9.9.3 and 11.9.9.5 both specify spacing limits that are a function of the overall length of the wall, lw.
RAM uses the Section Cut Segment length for this value. The limitation of this assumption is that for very short
wall segments, the limit spacing will likewise be small. Since the calculated spacing limit is compared to the
nominal bar spacing and not the true bar spacing, false check failures may be reported for short wall segments.

ACI Technical Notes
Bar Placement
8.5 Bar Placement

This section discusses the bar placement checks that are implemented within the RAM Concrete Wall module
and the assumptions made by the program when performing the checks. Table below provides a summary of the
sections of ACI 318-11 covering bar placement that have been implemented within the program.
Table 6: Summary of implemented ACI 318-11 sections covering bar placement
ACI 318-11 Reinforcing Bar Placement Checks
14.3.4 Number of bar layers -
14.3.6 Requirement of ties -
21.9.2.2 Number of bar layers -
Section 14.3.4 is not considered during the optimization process. The number of bar layers is assigned directly
by the user in the Bar Pattern Template assignment or by changing the number of Layers on the Reinforcing
page. Rather, designs that violate Section 14.3.4 will generate a design failure.
Section 14.3.6 likewise does not drive the design process and a warning (see Design Warnings (on page 55) for
an explanation of the differences between design warnings and design failures) will be delivered if the check
does not comply with the code requirement. In calculating the ratio of the vertical reinforcing area to the gross
concrete area, the following methods are employed:
• The area of vertical steel per unit length for each Bar Pattern is divided by the thickness of the respective
Wall Panel.
• For individual bars that have been modified by the user, the area of the bar is divided by half the total
distance to the adjacent bar on each side, and divided again by the Wall Panel thickness.
If either of the quantities calculated above fail the code check, a design failure will be delivered to the user.
8.6 Axial/Flexural Strength

This section discusses the axial-flexural checks that are implemented within the RAM Concrete Wall module and
the assumptions made by the program when performing the necessary calculations. Table below provides a
summary of the sections of ACI 318-11 covering axial-flexural evaluation that have been implemented within the
program.
Table 7: Summary of implemented ACI 318-11 sections covering axial-flexural strength
ACI 318-11 Axial-Flexural Strength Checks

ACI Technical Notes
Axial/Flexural Strength
10.3.1 Behavioral assumptions 10.2
10.3.5 Minimum steel strain at nominal -

strength
10.3.6 Maximum design axial strength -
10.3.7 Basis of flexural strength -
The axial-flexural evaluation of a Section Cut is conducted by generating a three-dimensional interaction

capacity surface where axial load is the ordinate and the moments about the Section Cut major and minor axes
are the abscissa values. The combined loads acting at each Section Cut are plotted in the P-M-M space to
determine if the Section Cut passes the check.
The interaction value for each load combination is calculated as the ratio of the distance in P-M space to the
ultimate load data point, LD, to the distance to the intersection of the capacity surface, LC (see Figure below). An
interaction value in excess of 1.0 is considered a design failure.
Figure 56: Parameters for calculation of axial-flexural interaction ratio
Axial-flexural capacity calculations use net thickness of the section cut, that means that when reveal depths are
assigned to a wall panel (See Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth (on page 136)), the axial-flexural capacity will not
consider the concrete section of the reveals.

ACI Technical Notes
Special Boundary Element Check
Figure 57: Sample axial-flexural interaction diagram at angle β = 0.
8.7 Special Boundary Element Check

The special boundary element requirements of ACI 318-11, 21.9.6.2 are evaluated when considering the special
seismic requirements in the design. The evaluation is limited to load combinations that contain an earthquake
term ("Seismic" or "Dynamic" load case). The module performs a separate special boundary element check for
each load combination that contains an earthquake load term. This check is performed only for horizontal
Section Cuts that have been assigned as hinges. Referring to Section 3.2.6, this requires that the user accurately
identify the Section Cuts in the structure that will hinge in the event the structure acts as a mechanism (see
Figure below).
Figure 58: Wall hinging at failure mechanism

ACI Technical Notes
8.7.1 Limiting Neutral Axis Calculation

ACI 318-11, 21.9.6.2 states that compression zones shall be reinforced with special boundary elements when:
lw ACI (21-8)
c≥ δu
600
hw
where
lw = Length of entire wall or length of segment of wall considered in direction
of shear force
δu = Design displacement = Cd δ e
δe = Horizontal displacement from elastic analysis for a given load condition
Cd = Displacement amplification factor per building code
hw = Height of entire wall from base to top or height of the segment of wall
considered
c = Largest neutral axis depth calculated for the factored axial force and
nominal moment strength consistent with δu.
RAM calculates the parameter lw as the overall horizontal dimension of the wall panel or core as measured in the
direction of loading for a specific load combination.
Figure 59: Dimensional assumptions for calculation of limiting c value per ACI 318-11, Eq 21-8
The parameter δ e is measured as the horizontal displacement at the centroid of the top of the Wall Design
Group, minus the displacement at the centroid of the Section Cut for the respective load combination. The value
is formulated from the lateral displacements solved for in RAM Frame and can be verified from the Load
Combinations mode in RAM Frame. The displacements for each load case are combined according to the
respective load combination under consideration in the RAM Concrete Wall module. The parameter hw is taken
as the vertical distance from the bottom of the story at which the Section Cut is located to the overall top of the
Wall Design Group.

ACI Technical Notes
Figure 60: Assumptions for calculation of δ u per ACI 318-11, Eq 21-8
The neutral axis calculation uses the factored axial load Pu that acts on the entire Section Cut. From this, the
nominal moment strength coincident with the applied axial load is determined along with the corresponding
neutral axis depth (see the following pair of figures).
Figure 61: Determination of nominal moment strength used in calculation of neutral axis location.
Figure 62: Calculation of neutral axis depth c coincident with applied load Pu and nominal moment strength Mn.

ACI Technical Notes
Shear Strength
8.7.2 Required Horizontal Extents of Boundary

Once the neutral axis depth for a load combination has been calculated as described in Section 7.7.1, the
required boundary length is found from ACI Section 21.9.6.4(a). Here it is stated that the boundary shall extend
horizontally from the extreme compression fiber a distance not less than the larger of:
• c - 0.1lw
• c/2
where lw and c are defined in Section 7.7.1.
Figure below illustrates the View/Update, Boundary Elements page for an "L"-shaped Section Cut. The black dot
in the cross-section sketch identifies the point of extreme compression in the Section Cut. The dimension
extending from the point of extreme compression is the required boundary length for the currently selected load
combination. Note that this dimension extends from the point of extreme compression at the angle β
corresponding to the selected load combination.
Figure 63: Special boundary element evaluation in View/Update
8.8 Shear Strength

This section discusses the shear checks that are implemented within RAM Concrete Wall and the assumptions
made by the program when performing the necessary calculations. The table below provides a summary of the
sections of ACI 318-11 covering shear evaluation that have been implemented within the program.

ACI Technical Notes
Shear Strength
Table 8: Summary of implemented ACI 318-11 sections covering shear strength
ACI 318-11 Shear Strength Checks
Code Section Referenced Code Sections
14.2.3 11.9.1 - 11.9.7
14.3.1 11.9.9.1
21.9.4.1 -
21.9.4.2 -
21.9.4.5 -
The program performs the shear evaluation on Section Cut Segments. This is in contrast to the axial-flexural
evaluation, which is performed on Section Cuts. The value of d as described in ACI 11.9.4 is taken as 0.8
multiplied by the length of the Section Cut Segment for in-plane shear evaluations. The design forces used are
those acting on the Section Cut Segment. Since a Section Cut Segment is a planar entity, there will be only a single
component of shear and a single component of flexure (in addition to axial load), both acting in the plane of the
segment.
Figure below shows an example of two Section Cut Segments in a Wall Panel (the Wall Panel is highlighted in
orange). Wall Panel 86 contains two Section Cut Segments. Section Cut Segment “SC1H:1C” is one segment
within Section Cut “SC1H:1,” which forms three segments that wrap around the wall core. A separate shear check
will be performed for this segment, as well as the two other segments that comprise the Section Cut. Section Cut
“SC1H:3” contains only one segment and thus the Section Cut Segment label is the same as the Section Cut label.
A separate shear check will be performed for this segment as well.
Figure 64: Horizontal Section Cut Segments within a Wall Panel.
The In-plane and Out-of-plane shear capacity calculations use net thickness of the section cut segment, that
means that when reveal depths are assigned to a wall panel (See Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth (on page 136)),
the shear capacity will not consider the concrete section of the reveals.

ACI Technical Notes
Shear Strength
8.8.1 Chapter 14
This section references Sections 11.9.1 through 11.9.7. Section 11.9.2 specifies that the in-plane shear evaluation
of walls shall be based on ACI equations (11-1) and (11-2). Out-of-plane shear evaluation is also checked by the
program under those requirements.
ϕVn ≥ Vu ACI (11-1)
Vn = Vc + Vs ACI (11-2)
In-plane Shear For walls subject to axial compression, Vc is calculated in accordance with 11.9.5.
V c = 2λ f ′c hd
where
h = thickness of the Wall Panel being evaluated
d = 0.8lw (per Section 11.9.4)
For walls subject to axial tension, Vc is calculated in accordance with 11.2.2.3.
(
Vc = 2 1 +
Nu
500Ag )
λ f ′c bw d
ACI (11-8)
where
Nu = Combined axial load acting on the Section Cut being evaluated
Ag = Gross concrete area of the Section Cut Segment being evaluated
Vs is calculated according to Section 11.9.9.1.
ACI (11-29)
where
Av = Area of horizontal shear reinforcement within spacing, s. RAM Concrete
Wall uses the bar area and nominal spacing associated with the Bar
Pattern used for the Wall Panel that the Section Cut Segment intersects.
Thus, even if you change individual bars within the Wall Panel, the
patterned bar will still be used for this calculation.
Out-of-plane Shear
For walls subject to axial compression, Vc is calculated in accordance with 11.2.1.2:
(
Vc = 2 1 +
Nu
2,000Ag )
λ f' c bw d
ACI (11-4)
For walls subject to axial tension, Vc is calculated in accordance with 11.2.2.3 Check Eq ACI (11-8) where, for
both cases:
where
d = Effective depth. The program considers the minimum effective depth
calculated for the primary and secondary face of the wall without
considering reveals and assuming that the bar in tension is orthogonal to
the section cut.
Vs = 0

ACI Technical Notes
Coupling Beam Design
8.8.2 Chapter 21
The shear strength specified in 21.9.4.1 is calculated as:
(
V n = Acv αc f ′
c + ρt f y ) ACI (21-7)
Acv is calculated with the net thickness (without considering reveals).

The parameter α c is a function of the length and height of the wall segment. RAM Concrete Wall uses the length
of the Section Cut Segment to determine lw, and uses the transverse distance associated with the Section Cut
Segment to determine hw. For example, for the Wall Panel shown in Figure below, Section Cut Segments SC1H:79
and SC1H:80 will have an hw value equal to the height of the door. Whereas Section Cut Segments SC1H:19B and
SC1H:81 will have an hw value equal to the height of the entire Wall Panel.
Figure 65: Horizontal Section Cut Segments within a Wall Panel.
The parameter ρt is calculated as the reinforcing ratio of the Bar Pattern parallel to the Section Cut Segment
being evaluated considering the gross thickness.
8.9 Coupling Beam Design

This section discusses the coupling beam checks that are implemented within the RAM Concrete Wall module
and the assumptions made by the program when performing the necessary calculations.
Table 9: ACI 318-11 Coupling Beam Checks
10.6.7 Side bars
11.2.1.1 Shear strength provided by

concrete (no axial)

ACI Technical Notes
Coupling Beam Design

concrete (compression)

concrete (tension)
11.4.5.1 Max shear reinforcement spacing
11.4.5.3 Max shear reinforcement spacing 11.4.5.1
11.4.6.1 Min shear reinforcement
11.4.6.3 Min shear reinforcement 11.4.6.1
11.4.7.2 Shear strength provided by steel
11.4.7.9 Max shear strength provided by

steel
21.9.7.1 Relevant checks 21.5
21.9.7.2 Diagonal reinforcement - permitted
21.9.7.3 Diagonal reinforcement - required
21.9.7.4 Diagonal reinforcing requirements 21.6.4
21.5.1.1 Compressive stress limit
21.5.1.2 Clear span limit
21.5.1.3 Min width
21.5.2.1 Min reinforcement 10.5.3
21.5.2.2 Min flexural strength
21.5.3.2 Hoop requirements
21.5.3.4 Stirrup requirements
21.5.4.1 Design forces
21.5.4.2 Transverse reinforcement 21.5.3.1, 21.5.4.1
Coupling beam design do not consider advanced strength combinations.

In addition, reveal depths or asymmetrical bar placement is only applicable to walls, coupling beams
reinforcement and design will not consider these criteria.

ACI Technical Notes
ACI-318 2014
8.9.1 Flexural Strength

The basic flexural strength calculations for Coupling Beams are conducted in the same manner as for Section
Cuts. Axial-flexural capacity and the resulting interaction ratio are calculated according to Section 7.6 of this
manual.
Chapter 21 flexural checks are performed if the design criteria specify a Special Reinforced Concrete Wall
system. In this case, the limitations placed on reinforcing ratio and positive/negative flexural strength required
by ACI sections 21.5.2.1 and 21.5.2.2 are enforced. Design failure messages will be presented in the Design
Warnings tab of the View/Update dialog if they are not satisfied. For the provisions of ACI section 21.5.2.2, the
flexural strength is evaluated assuming zero axial load exists at the cross section.
8.9.2 Shear Strength

Unlike Section Cuts through Wall Panels, for which the ACI 318 Chapter 11 section "Special Provisions for Walls"
is used to calculate wall shear strength, Coupling Beams use the section "Shear Strength Provided by Concrete
for Nonprestressed Members."
8.9.3 Transverse Reinforcement

The program places transverse reinforcing uniformly over the entire length of the coupling beam. The shear
strength provided by steel is based on the number of curtains of vertical steel when uniform layout is selected,
and two shear legs when a non-uniform reinforcing layout is used. Since the transverse reinforcing is assumed to
be uniformly distributed at a single spacing over the entire length of the coupling beam, the requirements of ACI
section 21.5.3 are enforced by the program such that the more rigorous reinforcement typically required only at
the outer portions of the span is placed over the entire span.
The calculation of Mpr prescribed by ACI section 21.5.4.1 is conducted assuming zero axial load on the section.
8.9.4 Diagonal Reinforcement

Diagonal reinforcing requirements of 21.9.7 are implemented. The bar sizes are not optimized automatically, but
user-specified bars are checked.
8.10 ACI-318 2014

This section discusses the features that are implemented or changed due the implementation of ACI 318-14
within the RAM Concrete Wall module and the assumptions made by the program when selecting this ACI Code.

ACI Technical Notes
ACI-318 2014
8.10.1 Number of Curtains of Reinforcement

This section discusses the requirement given in ACI 318-14 Sec. 18.10.2.2 and the assumptions the program
performs in order to check it. In this way, at least two curtains of reinforcement are required in the program
when:
V u > 2Acv λ f c '
or
hw ACI 318-14 (18.10.2.2)
lw
≥ 2.0
where
Acv = Gross area of concrete section (without considering reveals) bounded by
web thickness and length of section in the direction of shear force
considered.
λ = Modification factor to reflect the reduced mechanical properties of
lightweight concrete relative to normal-weight concrete of the same
compressive strength.
lw = Length of entire wall.
hw = Height of entire wall.
RAM calculates the parameter Acv as the product of the thickness and the length of the section. For λ, the
program considers the value for normal weight concrete.
The parameter lw as the overall horizontal dimension of the wall panel or core as measured in the direction of
loading for a specific load combination (see Figure 59: Dimensional assumptions for calculation of limiting c
value per ACI 318-11, Eq 21-8 (on page 100)).
The parameter hw is taken as the vertical distance from the bottom of the story at which the Section Cut is
located to the overall top of the Wall Design Group.
8.10.2 Special Boundary Element Check

Displacement method
ACI 318-14 18.10.6.2 limits the special boundary requirement based on the displacement method to those walls
that meet the following condition:
h w / lw ≥ 2.0 ACI 318-14 (18.10.6.2)
RAM Concrete Wall evaluates the limiting boundary neutral axis calculation only when ACI 318-14 (18.10.6.2)
meets.
Stress-based method
According to ACI 318-14 18.10.6.3, when 18.10.6.2 does not apply, the program requires special boundary
elements at boundaries and edges around openings of walls when:
E > 0.2 f c ' ACI 318-14 (18.10.6.3)

ACI Technical Notes
ACI-318 2014
where
E = Maximum compressive stress calculated within the load combinations
including earthquake effects.
8.10.3 Limiting Boundary Neutral Axis Calculation

RAM Concrete Wall performs the check of the neutral axis depth according to ACI 318-14, 18.10.6.2. This Section
code states that compression zones shall be reinforced with special boundary elements when:
lw ACI 318-14 (18.10.6.2)
c≥ 1.5δu
600
hw
where
c = Largest neutral axis depth calculated for the factored axial force and
nominal moment strength consistent with du.
lw, d u, d e, Cd, hw, and c are defined in 7.7.1.
8.10.4 Minimum boundary thickness

RAM Concrete Wall checks the boundary thickness according to ACI 318-14 Sec. 18.10.6.4 (b) and (c). For each
section cut, where boundary is required, the program considers the following requirements:
b ≥ h u / 16 ACI 318-14 18.10.6.4 (b)
If h w / lw ≥ 2.0 and c / lw ≥ 3 / 8:
b ≥ 12 ACI 318-14 18.10.6.4 (c)

where
b = the Width of the flexural compression zone. Considered by the program as
the boundary thickness.
hu = the laterally unsupported height at extreme compression fiber of wall, in.
Note: The value of hu considered by the program to apply ACI 318-14

18.10.6.4 (b) is the Wall Panel height.
hw, lw, and c are defined in Section Limiting Neutral Axis Calculation (on page 100).

BS8110 Technical Notes
9
9.1 Design Criteria
The Design Criteria dialog is accessed from the Criteria > Design Criteria menu. The parameters that can be
defined are:
Concrete Cover Value to be used in setting out bars in cross-sections.

Design Lifetime This determines the limiting value of cover and concrete grade for the required design life.
Exposure Class This determines the limiting value of cover and concrete grade for the required level of
exposure.
Fire Resistance This determines the limiting value of cover, wall thickness for the required fire resistance.
9.2 Axial-Flexural Design

The axial-flexural limit state is checked at every horizontal and vertical section cut within the wall design group,
using the provisions of BS 8110-1:1997 Clause 3.9.3.
In determining the axial-flexural strength of a cross-section the material behavior defined in BS8110-1:1997
Clause 2.5.4 is assumed.
The combined effects of in-plane moments, transverse moments and axial loads are considered according to
3.9.3.6.4 (c), assuming that all three effects are distributed evenly throughout the cross section and that the
assumptions of beam engineering theory applies.
9.3 Shear Design

Shear strength is considered at horizontal and vertical section cuts using the provisions for beams given in
BS8110-1:1997 Clause 3.4.5.
Vertical section cuts intersect only one wall and will therefore have rectangular cross-sections. Hence,
application of Clause 3.4.5 is straightforward.

Shear Design
Horizontal section cuts can have more complex cross-sections since they may intersect multiple walls in the wall
design group. The method described below has been used to apply the code provision to a wall group composed
of a number of walls oriented arbitrarily.
9.3.1 Assumptions
1. The effect of any horizontal links perpendicular to the length of the wall will be ignored, but the effect of
horizontal links occurring along the length of the walls will be considered in determining the shear capacity
of the wall group.
2. The contribution of a wall segment to shear resistance of the whole section cut is proportional to the
projection of its length in the direction of shear resistance being considered. Walls oriented perpendicular to
the direction of shear design will not contribute to the shear resistance.
3. Vertical longitudinal reinforcement can either be present in 2 layers (at each face of the wall) or in one layer
(along the midline of the walls).
9.3.2 Methodology
The wall group shown below will be used to illustrate the method adopted.
Figure 67:
Calculation of shear capacity vc for the wall group

1. Each wall segment will be considered in turn. For each wall segment, the calculation of vc will be made
according to the equation in BS8110:1 Table 3.8. The calculation will be performed in the following manner:
• bv will be taken as the thickness of wall (b) immaterial of the orientation of the wall segment.
• d will be measured along the length of wall segment (e.g., dB for wall B above).
• The shear force capacity of the segment will be determined by multiplying the value of vc by (bv.d)
• This shear force capacity will be resolved in the direction of the shear force being considered for design.
This implies that wall segments perpendicular to the design direction will not contribute to the shear
capacity of the wall group.

Serviceability & Detailing Checks
2. The values of the resolved shear force capacity are summed up for all the wall segments.
3. The total shear force capacity is divided by the shear area in the direction of shear force being considered for
design to obtain vc.
Determination of the shear area for wall group Av

To determine the shear area in the direction of shear force being considered for design, the following equation
will be adopted:
Av = Σbvproj.d
where
Σ = represents summation for all wall segments in the wall group
bvproj = is the thickness of the wall projected in the direction perpendicular to
the direction of shear being considered for design. This implies that
walls perpendicular to the shear direction will not influence Av.
d = is the length of the wall segment along its length
Calculation of area of shear reinforcement required

The equation given in Table 3.7 of BS8110-1 is utilised:
( ) Asv
bv sv req
≥
(v − vc )
0.87 f yv
where
v = F
v
the shear stress for the wall group calculated as: A , with Av calculated as
v
in the preceding section.
9.4 Serviceability & Detailing Checks

The following sections of BS 8110-1:1997 are considered when checking a section for serviceability:
Table 10:
Clause Description
3.12.6.3 Maximum Longitudinal Reinforcement
3.12.11.1 Minimum Longitudinal Reinforcement Spacing
3.12.7.1 Times New Roman
3.12.7.1 Minimum Tie Bar Size

Fire Resistance
Clause Description
3.12.7.4 / Minimum Longitudinal Reinforcement

3.12.7.5
Minimum Transverse Area
Minimum Transverse Bar Size
Maximum Transverse Bar Spacing
9.5 Fire Resistance

The provisions of BS 8110-1:1997 Clause 3.3.6 are implemented to determine the limiting cover and member
thickness for the amount of fire resistance specified in the Design Criteria dialog.
9.6 Exposure
The provisions of BS 8110-1:1997 Clauses 3.3.4 and 3.3.5 are implemented to determine the limiting cover for
the required level of exposure specified in the Design Criteria dialog.

CP 65 Technical Notes
10
The CP 65 implementation in RAM Concrete Wall conforms to CP 65-1:1996 "Code of practice for structural use
of concrete - Part 1: Design and construction". This code is hereafter referred to simply as CP 65.
Given that the CP 65 design code is virtually identical to BS 8110-1:1997, with the exceptions of the differences
described in the following section, the implementation of CP 65 in RAM Concrete Wall is identical to that of BS
8110 and the technical details related to BS 8110 can be taken to apply to CP 65.
10.1 Differences between BS8110 and CP65

The following are the technical differences between the implementation of CP 65 and BS 8110 in RAM Concrete
Wall.
1. In CP 65, the concrete shear capacity without shear reinforcement (vc) given in Table 3.9 differs from that in
BS 8110.
2. In CP 65, the minimum allowable concrete strength in structural concrete is 30N/mm² as opposed to
25N/mm² in BS 8110.
3. It should also be noted that the partial safety factor for reinforcement γm is 1.15 in CP 65 which is equal to
that used in BS 8110-1:1997 Amendment 3.

AS3600 Technical Notes
11
In the technical notes hereunder, any reference to code sections or clauses should be taken to refer to AS 3600 -
2001.
11.1 Design Criteria

The Design Criteria dialog is accessed from the Criteria > Design Criteria menu. The parameters that can be
defined are:
Concrete Cover Value to be used in setting out bars in cross-sections.

Exposure Class The exposure class, together with the degree of crack control required have an effect of the
minimum allowable horizontal reinforcement in the wall. The appropriate limit is taken from
section 11.6.2 of the code.
Crack Control This defines the degree of crack control desired as defined in section 11.6.2 of the code. A
selection of “none” indicates to RAM ShearWall that the wall is not restrained horizontally
and no crack control checks are desired.
Fire Resistance This determines the limiting value of cover, wall thickness for the required fire resistance
according to sections 5.7.2 and 5.7.4 of the code.

The axial-flexural limit state is checked at every horizontal and vertical section cut within the wall design group,
using the provisions of clause 11.2.6
In determining the axial-flexural strength of a cross-section the concrete behavior defined in Clause 6.1.4 (a) is
assumed, and an elasto-plastic stress-strain curve for steel is adopted.
The combined effects of in-plane moments, transverse moments and axial loads are considered assuming that all
three effects are distributed evenly throughout the cross section and that the assumptions of beam engineering
theory applies.
The stressed state of the section under consideration is determined, and checks are made to ensure that the
material limits are not exceeded.

Shear Design
11.3 Shear Design

Shear strength is considered at horizontal and vertical section cuts using the provisions for beams given in
11.5.3, 11.5.4 and 11.5.5.
Vertical section cuts intersect only one wall and will therefore have rectangular cross-sections. Hence,
application of these clauses is straightforward.
Horizontal section cuts can have more complex cross-sections since they may intersect multiple walls in the wall
design group. The method described below has been used to apply the code provision to a wall group composed
of a number of walls oriented arbitrarily.
11.3.1 Assumptions
1. The effect of any horizontal links perpendicular to the length of the wall will be ignored, but the effect of
horizontal links occurring along the length of the walls will be considered in determining the shear capacity
of the wall group.
2. The contribution of a wall segment to shear resistance of the whole section cut is proportional to the
projection of its length in the direction of shear resistance being considered. Walls oriented perpendicular to
the direction of shear design will not contribute to the shear resistance.
3. Vertical longitudinal reinforcement can either be present in 2 layers (at each face of the wall) or in one layer
(along the midline of the walls).
11.3.2 Methodology
The wall group shown below will be used to illustrate the method adopted.
Figure 69:

Serviceability & Detailing Checks
Calculation of shear capacity Vu for the wall group

Every wall segment will be considered in turn. For each wall segment, the calculation of Vu will be made
according to the equations in 11.5.3, 11.5.4 and 11.5.5. The calculation will be performed in the following
manner:
Assuming a shear direction parallel to the x-axis:
• tw will be taken as the thickness of wall (t) immaterial of the orientation of the wall segment.
• Lw will be the length of the wall resolved in the direction of shear (e.g., LW (b) for wall B above and 0 for wall
A).
The value of Vu for the whole cross-section is the sum of the values of Vu obtained for every segment.
11.4 Serviceability & Detailing Checks

The following sections of AS3600-2001 are considered when checking a section for serviceability:
Table 11:
Clause Description
10.7.1 Maximum Longitudinal Reinforcement
11.6.1(a) Minimum Longitudinal Reinforcement
11.6.1(b) Minimum Transverse Reinforcement
11.6.2 Minimum Horizontal Reinforcement for Crack Control
11.6.3 Minimum Longitudinal Bar Spacing

Maximum Longitudinal Bar Spacing
11.6.4 Longitudinal Bar Containment
11.5 Fire Resistance

The provisions of AS3600-2001 Clause 5.7.2 and 5.7.4 are implemented to determine the limiting cover and
member thickness for the amount of fire resistance specified in the Design Criteria dialog.

Eurocode 2 Technical Notes
12
Engineering design notes for the BS EN 1992-1-1: 2004 (EC2) code.

Forces in the horizontal and vertical section cuts in walls are obtained from finite element analysis performed in
RAM Frame.
Axial-Flexural design is performed by checking every section cut under every load combination against the
ultimate PMM envelope of the section cut.
The PMM envelope is determined using a rectangular stress block for concrete according to 3.1.7 (3), and a bi-
linear stress-strain relationship for steel according to 3.2.7 (2) (b).
If the PMM limit is exceeded, the design optimizer increases the bar pattern adopted in the current wall panel
until a valid design is obtained whilst also ensuring that previously designed section cuts in the same wall panel
are still satisfactory.
12.2 Shear Design

The assumptions and methodology used for the design of shear according to EC2 are similar to those adopted in
AS3600. Please refer to 10.3.1 and 10.3.2 with the only difference being that calculation of Vu (Vrd,c) is according
to 6.2.2 (1).
12.3 Detailing and Serviceability Checks

The program checks the longitudinal and transverse reinforcement in horizontal section cuts for detailing and
serviceability according to the following clauses:
Clause Description
8.2 (2) Minimum clear distance (horizontal and vertical) between individual parallel bars.

Eurocode 2 Technical Notes
Detailing and Serviceability Checks
Clause Description
9.6.2(3) Maximum distance between vertical bars.
9.6.3(2) Maximum distance between horizontal bars.
9.6.2(1) Minimum & Maximum area of vertical reinforcement.
9.6.3(1) Minimum area of horizontal reinforcement.

GB 50010 Technical Notes
13
If GB 50010 is selected as the design code in the concrete analysis module then design is based on the
requirements of the Chinese design code: Design of Concrete Structures (GB 50010-2002). The implementations
of the sections of the code accounting for the design of concrete beams are subject to certain assumptions and
limitations as outlined in these technical notes.
The following codes have also been considered in the implementation:
• Code for seismic design of buildings (GB 50011-2001)
• Technical specification for concrete structures of tall buildings (JGJ 3-2002).
13.1 Limitations
The body of the detailed wall design report is only available in metric units and Chinese.
The user cannot change the reinforcing table used. A predefined table consisting of the following bar sizes is
available for use:
Table 12:
Size #6 #8 #10 #12 #16 #18 #20 #22 #25 #28 #32 #36 #40 #50
Bend. 6 8 10 12 16 18 20 22 25 28 32 36 40 50
Radius mm
13.2 Design Principles

The factors used for force adjustment in the RAM Concrete Wall module are based on the table below.
Member Type SI 9,I I II III Notes
The wall in Strengthen M 1.8 1.5 1.5 1.25 1.0 (10.2.14)

transframe story and (7.2.10)
above story V 1.9 1.7* 1.6 1.4 1.2

Design Principles
Member Type SI 9,I I II III Notes
Non- M 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.0 (7.2.6) (4.9.2)

Strengthen
story V 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Normal Frame Strengthen M 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 (7.2.10)

story and (4.9.2-4)
above story V 1.9 1.7* 1.6 1.4 1.2
Non- M 1.2*1.1 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.0 (7.2.6) (4.9.2)

Strengthen
story V 1.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
Tall Building Strengthen M 1.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 (7.1.2)

story and
above story V 1.9 1.7 1.6 1.4 1.2
Non- M 1.3 1.2 1.2 1.0 1.0 (7.2.6) (4.9.2)

Strengthen (7.1.2)
story V 1.2*1.4 1.0*1.4 1.0*1.4 1.0*1.2 1.0
Note: For the seismic grade 9, the shear-force factor 1.7 is used. Clause 6.2.8.
13.2.1 Code Clauses Implemented

The following lists the code clauses within 3.8 Shear Wall implemented from GB 50010-2002.
3.8.1 General
3.8.1.1 Symbols. Program Conforms
3.8.1.2 Cover thickness of concrete. 9.2.1
3.8.1.3 Spacing of reinforcement bar in shear wall.
3.8.1.4 Ratio of reinforcement bar with non-seismic-load load combination.
3.8.1.5 Limiting values of shear-wall thickness.
3.8.2 Seismic
3.8. 2 .1 Forces adjustment performed, Chapter 11 of JGJ and Chapter 7 GB 50010.
3.8.2.2 Limiting value of axial force ratio for short shear-wall.
3.8.2.3 Ratio of reinforcement with seismic-load load combination.
3.8.2.4 Limiting value of shear-wall thickness for seismic resistant.
3.8.2.5 Limiting value of diameter for reinforcement bars.
3.8.2.6 The end resistant member for shear-wall design.
3.8.2.7 Coupling beam design, JGJ 7.1.8

Design Principles
3.8.3 Load-bear capacity design

3.8.3.1 Normal section compressive load-bearing capacity (bending), Appendix F.
3.8.3.2 Load-bearing capacity for shear-force of shear-wall. 10.5.4
3.8.3.3 Load-bearing capacity for shear-force with eccentric compression of shear-wall. 10.5.5
3.8.3.4 Load-bearing capacity for shear-force with eccentric tensile of shear-wall. 10.5.6
3.8.3.5 Load-bearing capacity for shear-force in seismic load. 11.7.4
3.8.3.6 Load-bearing capacity for shear-force (include seismic forces) with eccentric compression of shear-
wall. 11.7.5
3.8.3.7 Load-bearing capacity for shear-force (include seismic forces) with eccentric tensile of Shear-wall.
11.7.6
N/A is to be interpreted as either not application or not implemented.

Clauses that do not appear in the list are deemed not to be considered by the program.

RAM Concrete Wall Menus
A
This is the online help for the RAM Concrete Wall Design Module.
A.1 Criteria menu
A.1.1 Code
This menu item is used to select the design code to be used for the design process. The current version of the
RAM Concrete Wall module offers ACI 318-05, ACI 318-08, AS3600, BS8110-97 and CP65. Changing the design
code selection will clear the design results for the entire model. The options listed in the Design Criteria menu
are dependent on the selection here and will change upon selection of a different design code.
Note: It is strongly recommended that the reinforcement table selected in RAM Manager is consistent with the
design code that is selected in this menu. Use of a reinforcing bar standard that is not recognized by the selected
design code may result in unexpected, and possibly unpredictable results.
A.1.2 Code Checks

The Code Check dialog is where the design criteria specific to the selected design code are specified. The
contents of this dialog will vary based on which code is chosen. The settings established here are applied to the
entire model. Editing these settings will clear the design results for the model.
ACI 318
Clear Bar Cover: The distance from the outer edge of the horizontal reinforcement to the
Design Code
face of the wall.
Bar Spacing: The maximum and minimum limits used for the reinforcement spacing
checks. The user can select to use the bar spacing limits specified by the selected design
code, or can override the code by selecting custom values.
Code Options: The concrete shear capacity of walls may be calculated according to 11.10.6,
or the more basic method of 11.10.5. Sections 11.10.9.3 and 11.10.9.5, pertaining to
maximum bar spacing, may give unrealistically small spacing limits when the length of the
wall segment considered is relatively short. The user may specify a minimum length value

Assign menu
to be considered in the equations within each code section, which will override the true
wall segment length in cases where it is greater.
Structural Wall Category: Wall category as defined in Chapter 21 of ACI 318 to be
considered when performing design checks.
IBC Parameters: The deflection amplification factor, Cd, and importance factor, I, are
specified here. These values are used in calculating the limiting neutral axis depth, c, for the
requirement of special boundary reinforcement per Section 21.7.6.2. The user can choose
to consider the IBC 2006 amendments to ACI 318 contained in Section 1908.
Resistance Factor for Shear: The user can choose to consider a shear resistance factor of
either 0.75 or 0.60.
Wall Boundaries: Where vertical reinforcing is required to be confined by ties, the bar size
used for all ties is specified here.
BS8110-97
Concrete Cover: Value to be used in setting out bars in cross-sections.
and CP65
Design Codes Design Lifetime: This determines the limiting value of cover and concrete grade for the
required design life.
Exposure Class: This determines the limiting value of cover and concrete grade for the
required level of exposure.
Fire Resistance: This determines the limiting value of cover, wall thickness for the
required fire resistance.
AS3600
Concrete Cover: Value to be used in setting out bars in cross-sections.
Design Code
Exposure Class: The exposure class, together with the degree of crack control required
have an affect of the minimum allowable horizontal reinforcement in the wall. The
appropriate limit is taken from section 11.6.2 of the code.
Crack Control: This defines the degree of crack control desired as defined in section 11.6.2
of the code. A selection of "none" indicates to the program that the wall is not restrained
horizontally and no crack control checks are desired.
Fire Resistance: This determines the limiting value of cover, wall thickness for the
required fire resistance according to sections 5.7.2 and 5.7.4 of the code.
A.1.3 General Criteria

Results This allows the user to control the number of load combinations for which design results are stored
after the design is performed. The user can choose to save the result for only the “N” most critical load
combinations. Limiting the number of results stored can greatly increase performance. By default, the
results from the five most critical load combinations are stored. The results for all load combinations
are always calculated, since this is necessary in order to determine which combinations are the most
critical. However, the specified number of results are displayed and stored, unless the user selects
Store all design results (which is not recommended).

Assign menu
A.2 Assign menu
A.2.1 Assign Wall Design Groups

This dialog is used to group walls into Wall Design Groups. All design activities in RAM Concrete Wallare
performed on walls that are in Wall Design Groups. That is, in order for a wall to be designed in RAM Concrete, it
must be assigned to a Wall Design Group. There are no limitations placed on how walls may be grouped.

Assign menu
Wall When this dialog is first displayed, the next available unused Wall Design Group Number will be
Design displayed in the list box, with "(new)" shown beside it. For example, if walls have been assigned to
Group Wall Design Group numbers 1 and 2, then "3 (new)" will be displayed in the drop-down box.
Number
Clicking the drop-down box will display a list of Wall Design Group numbers that are currently in
use. To select an existing Wall Design Group Number from the drop-down list, click to display the
list and then click on the desired number. This will cause all walls in the Wall Design Group to be
colored yellow in the 3D View for easy visual verification.
Assign To add or remove walls to or from a Wall Design Group one by one, use the 'Single' assign mode.
Mode The Wall Design Group number currently displayed will be the one added to or removed from.
Clicking the Single button will close the dialog and the "select" cursor will be displayed. Click on
any wall to add it to the design group. If you click on a wall that is already in the Wall Design
Group it will be removed from the group. You may click it again to add it back to the group. Note
that if you click on a wall that is in another group it will be removed from that group and placed in
the current group. Clicking on it again will not put it back in its previous group.
To add multiple walls to a Wall Design Group at once, use the Add > Fence assign mode. To
remove multiple walls from a Wall Design Group at once, use the Remove > Fence assign mode.
Each of these commands will close the dialog and the "fence" cursor will be displayed. Fence a
group of walls to add them to the specified Wall Design Group. Fencing walls already in the
current group will not cause them to be removed from the group.
Remove Click the Remove All button to remove all walls from the specified group. The walls in the group
All will be removed from the specified Wall Design Group and will be unassigned. This is only enabled
if the currently selected Wall Design Group contains at least one wall.

Assign menu
A.2.2 Section Cuts
Section Cuts - Add Automatically

A Sections Cut is a horizontal or vertical segment at some location in a Wall Design Group. A horizontal Section
Cut may be composed of multiple segments, while a vertical Section Cut is always composed of one segment. A
Section Cut is a location or station where the design is performed in the Wall Design Group: that is, where
capacity and demand are evaluated and the prescriptive design code checks are calculated. Section Cuts may be

Assign menu
created and placed either manually by the user, or automatically using a special feature available in the program
(as discussed here).
The Add Automatic option allows the user to automatically place Section Cuts at locations in a Wall Design
Group that are likely to represent critical locations for shear or axial/flexural design. As shown below, the dialog
offers several options for Section Cut placement which may be turned on or off.
Section Cuts may be placed at equally spaced intervals along the Wall Design Group by selecting a non-zero Max
Cut Spacing for either the horizontal direction or the vertical direction, which represents a Section Cut spacing
not to be exceeded. By using zero for this value, Section Cuts are placed only at the locations specified in the
Location of Cuts menu, and a maximum cut spacing is not enforced.
Assigning Section Cuts by the automatic method will delete all existing automatically generated Section Cuts in
the Wall Design Group(s), while all manually created Section Cuts will remain. In addition, automatically
generating Section Cuts will delete the design results for the Wall Design Group(s). The Bar Patterns associated
with all Panels that are not frozen will be cleared, while the Bar Patterns for frozen Wall Panels, as well as
Manual Reinforcement, will remain.
Note that any Section Cut, whether manually or automatically created, may be deleted at any time. Thus, even if
the engineer does not wish to use as many Section Cuts as are generated by the automatic generation option, it
may still serve as an effective starting point after which unnecessary Section Cuts may be deleted. Also, please be
aware that the required design execution time is roughly proportional to the number of Section Cuts considered
in the model. Thus, it is in the user's interest to avoid placing Section Cuts in locations that are not likely to
control the design.

Assign menu
Add to Wall
Single: Automatically add Section Cuts to one Wall Design Group at a time by clicking on
Design Group
walls.
Fence: Automatically add Section Cuts to Wall Design Groups by using fence operations to
select walls.
All: Automatically add Section Cuts to all Wall Design Groups in the model.
Section Cuts - Add Manual

A Sections Cut is a horizontal or vertical segment at some location in a Wall Design Group. A horizontal Section
Cut may be composed of multiple segments, while a vertical Section Cut is always composed of one segment. A
Section Cut is a location or station where the design is performed in the Wall Design Group: that is, where
capacity and demand are evaluated and the prescriptive design code checks are calculated. Section Cuts may be
created and placed either manually by the user (as discussed here), or automatically using a special feature
available in the program.
The Add Manual option allows the user to draw Section Cut at locations of his or her choosing. In order to
manually draw a Section Cut through a Wall Design Group, the user must first be in elevation mode. After a valid
Section Cut line is drawn the dialog shown below is displayed.
with the form 'SC' + next index number. This label is how the Section Cut will be referenced in design output,

Assign menu
summary reports, and when viewing Section Cut Labels on screen. The Offset distance represents the distance
from the reference edge. The reference edge is listed on the line below the Offset Distance field. This value may
be changed to attain a more precise Section Cut location than what was drawn by hand. If a horizontal Section
Cut is drawn, the Include All Walls in Wall Design Group check box will be displayed. Check this to have the
cut extend across all walls in the wall group. Clicking OK will keep this Section Cut. Clicking Cancel will remove
this Section Cut.
Assigning a Section Cut by the manual method will delete the design results for the Wall Panel Group in which
the Section Cut was Drawn. The Bar Patterns associated with all Wall Panels within the Wall Panel Group that
are not frozen will be cleared, while the Bar Patterns for frozen Wall Panels, as well as Manual Reinforcement,
will remain.
Section Cuts - Delete

Any Section Cut in the model, whether automatically generated or created manually, can be deleted at any time
using the Assign > Section Cuts > Delete command. The command is available in single, fence, or all mode.
Deleting a Section Cut in a Wall Design Group will not effect the design results for the Wall Design Group. That is,
the design results and reinforcing for the Wall Design Group will not be cleared.
Section Cut An option to delete only automatically generated or manually generated section cuts is
types to available to allow you to be more selective in the section cuts to be deleted.
delete
Delete Mode
Single: Delete a single section cut at a time by clicking on it. No delete confirmation will be
requested.
Fence: Perform fence delete operations on groups of section cuts. No delete confirmation
will be requested.
All: Delete all section cuts from the model. A confirmation dialog will be presented to
ensure that you wish to remove all section cuts from the model.
Section Cuts - Change

The Label or location of any Section Cut, whether manually generated or automatically generated, may be
changed at any time. Selecting Assign > Section Cuts > Change opens the Change Section Cut dialog.
Changing the location of a Section Cut will cause the results for the corresponding Wall Panel Group to be
cleared. All Bar Patterns in the Wall Panel Group belonging to Wall Panels that are not frozen will be cleared. Any
Bar Patterns belonging to frozen Wall Panels, or any Manual Reinforcement assignments in the Wall Panel
Group, will not be cleared.
Label The Section Cut Label may be changed by typing in the desired text. Note that labels are
automatically generated with the form SC + next index number.
Offset the distance from the reference edge. The reference edge is listed on the line below the Offset
Distance Distance field. Change this value to change the position of the Section Cut.
Clicking OK will keep these changes. Clicking Cancel discards the changes.
Section Cuts - List

The Section Cut List dialog presents a list of all section cuts.

Assign menu
From this dialog the following actions may be taken:

• Delete section cuts
• Change section cut label
• Change section cut offset distance
Wall displays the wall number with which the section cut is associated
Label You may edit the section cut Label by clicking in the Label field and typing new text.
Offset The section cut offset may be changed by clicking in the Offset field and entering a new
offset. If the offset is invalid the field will turn red and you will not be allowed to save the
change.
Measured from indicates the reference edge from which the offset is measured
A-end indicates from which edge the section cut starts
Section cuts may be deleted by clicking in the Wall field to highlight the section cut row and then clicking on the
red X in the top left corner of the dialog.
Hinge
A section cut may be classified as a plastic hinge by using this option. Assigning a section cut as a hinge identifies
that location in the Wall Design Group as forming part of the failure mechanism when the structure has reached
its maximum lateral-resisting capacity.
The effects of this assignment are dictated by the provisions of the design code that has been selected. This
assignment activates the pertinent code strength and detailing requirements for hinge formation due to lateral
loads. For example, for the ACI 318 design code the hinge assignment will invoke the special boundary element
calculations of Chapter 21 for the respective Section Cut.

Assign menu
In addition to the hinge assignment, the additional following conditions are necessary for the special boundary
element checks to be performed by the program:
• At least one of the load combinations considered must have an earthquake term ("E" or "Dyn" load case).
• For ACI 318, the "Special" Wall Category must be considered. This is set in the design code criteria menu.
Note: All Section Cuts in the model, by default, are Hinges when they are created. These assignments should be
changed by the engineer to reflect the desired failure condition of each Wall Design Group. Otherwise, the
resulting design will have little physical significance and will take longer to complete than if hinge assignments
were made more selectively.
A.2.3 Assign Bar Pattern Templates

A Bar Pattern Template is a reinforcement specification for a Wall Design Group. A Bar Pattern Template
consists of the following information:
• A template name (this may be automatically created by the program if the user chooses)
• A minimum and maximum bar size for vertical reinforcement
• A minimum and maximum bar size for horizontal reinforcement
• A minimum and maximum nominal spacing for vertical reinforcement
• A minimum and maximum nominal spacing for horizontal reinforcement
• A spacing increment, one each for vertical and horizontal
• A number of reinforcing curtains, or layers
Each of the instances within the Bar Pattern Template are referred to as Bar Patterns. For instance, for the Bar
Pattern Template shown in the graphic above, the Bar Patterns that will be generated are:
#8 @ 12" o.c. vert

#8 @ 9" o.c. vert
#8 @ 6" o.c. vert
#9 @ 12" o.c. vert
#9 @ 9" o.c. vert
#9 @ 6" o.c. vert
etc.
A Wall Design Group must have a Bar Pattern Template assignment before any design can be done. A single Bar
Pattern Template may be used for any number of Wall Design Groups in the model. Assigning a Bar Pattern
Template to a Wall Design Group will clear all design results (including all reinforcing) for the Wall Design
Group.
In order to assign a Bar Pattern Template to a Wall Design Group, the user must first select a Bar Pattern
Template from the list. The attributes for that Bar Pattern Template will be displayed on the right side of the
dialog. In order to modify one of the Bar Pattern Templates or create a new one, click Edit Templates to bring
up the Edit Bar Pattern Templates (on page 137) dialog. Once a Bar Pattern Template has been selected, click
either the Single, Fence, or All button in the Assign to Wall Design Group box to assign the pattern.
Assigning a Bar Pattern Template to a Wall Design Group will delete all design results and reinforcement in the
Wall Design Group (including reinforcement for frozen Wall Panels and Wall Panels with Manual Reinforcement
assignments).

Assign menu
Assign to Wall
Single: Assign the selected bar pattern template to one wall design group at a time by
Design Group
clicking on walls.
Fence: Assign the selected bar pattern template to wall design groups by using fence
All: Assign the selected bar pattern template to all wall design groups in the model.
A.2.4 Assign Bar Patterns

The Assign Bar Pattern command allows you to assign a Bar Pattern directly to a Wall Panel, rather than having
the program select the optimum Bar Pattern from the Bar Pattern Template. Once a Bar Pattern is assigned to a
Wall Panel, the Wall Panel is frozen, and the design process checks the reinforcement associated with the Wall
Panel, rather than attempting to up-size the reinforcing to meet the code requirements. Note that in order to
assign a Bar Pattern to a Wall Design Group, the Wall Design Group must first be assigned a Bar Pattern
Template (since Bar Patterns are created from the Bar Pattern Template).
In order to assign a Bar Pattern to a Wall Panel, first select a Wall Design Group. This can be done in one of two
ways. The first way is to select a Wall Design Group number from the list. A Wall Design Group that already has a
Bar Pattern Template assignment must be selected. These show up in the list in bold. The other way to select a
Wall Design Group is to do so graphically. To do this, hit the Select button and then select a wall in the Wall
Design Group from the main 3D display. The Assign Bar Pattern dialog will return once a Wall Design Group is
selected. Once a Wall Design Group has been selected, it will show as highlighted in the 3D display.
Next, select whether to assign the horizontal bar pattern, the vertical bar pattern, or both. Select the appropriate
Apply Selection check box(es). At least one of the boxes must be selected in order to continue. Once one or both
of the box(es) has been checked, the corresponding list of bar patterns will become enabled. Select the desired
bar pattern.
Once the desired Bar Pattern(s) has been selected, the buttons in the Assign to Wall Panel group will become
enabled. These are enabled only once a Wall Design Group has been selected, at least one of the two check boxes
has been checked, and a Bar Pattern has been selected for each of the checked boxes.
Assign to
Single: Assign the selected bar pattern to one wall panel at a time by clicking on walls in the
Wall Panel
selected wall design group.
Fence: Assign the selected bar pattern to wall panels in the selected wall design group by
using fence operations to select walls.
All: Assign the selected bar pattern to all wall panels in the selected wall design group in the
model.
that you select will be highlighted in orange. When you select a wall that is part of a wall panel that contains
more than one wall, all walls in the panel will highlight at once.

Assign menu
A.2.5 Assign Manual Reinforcement

The Assign Manual Reinforcement dialog allows the engineer to assign reinforcement to Wall Panels such that
vertical bars are placed in one or more zones along the length of the Wall Panel, each of which can have different
properties. Unlike a Bar Pattern, in which the reinforcing is placed uniformly along the entire Wall Panel
according to the specified spacing, the Manual Reinforcing option allows the user to vary the bar size, spacing,
and number of reinforcing layers along the length of the Wall Panel according to the zones specified in the
dialog. In addition, each vertical zone created may be specified as a boundary, in which case any code-prescribed
confinement calculations are performed for the respective vertical zone.
For the Wall Panel illustrated below, three vertical reinforcing zones have been created. The outer zones are
reinforced with (3) curtains of #9 bars at 6" o.c. The interior zone is reinforced with (2) curtains of #6 bars at
12" o.c. In addition, the outer zones have been specified as boundaries and thus confinement ties have been
designed for these zones.
After selecting Assign - Manual Reinforcement from the main menu, the user will be prompted to select a Wall
Panel. After selecting a Wall Panel, the Manual Reinforcement dialog will appear with a single horizontal
reinforcement zone and a single vertical reinforcement zone shown in the dialog. Each zone will extend the full
height and length, respectively, of the Wall Panel. The bar size, bar spacing, and number of curtains may be
edited for each zone. For vertical reinforcing, additional zones may be added using the Add button, or deleted
using the Remove button. The start and end positions of the vertical reinforcing zones may be adjusted either by
entering new start coordinates directly in the spreadsheet cells, or by moving the graphical representation of the
zones using the cursor. Note that the cursor will snap to wall and opening edges for convenience.
Vertical reinforcing zones also have a boundary assignment associated with them. There are three options
available:
• Yes
• No, but check
• No, don't check
A boundary assignment of Yes means that the program will design the vertical reinforcing zone as a boundary
according to the provisions of the selected design code. Among the possible conditions that will be evaluated are
reinforcing ratio (percentage), boundary extents, and confinement. In addition, the design of ties or links
required to confine the vertical reinforcing in the zone per code will be performed. If the design code has no
provisions regarding wall boundaries, this assignment will have no impact on the design.
A boundary assignment of No, but check means that all design checks listed above will be performed for the
vertical reinforcing zone, but the design of confinement ties for the zone will not be performed. In addition, if the
zone lies in a region where a boundary is found to be required by code, a design failure will be delivered to the
user both in the Design Warnings page of the View/Update dialog and in the Section Cut design report. In
addition the Section Cut will be colored red accordingly.
A boundary assignment of No, don't check means that no boundary-related checks will be performed for the
vertical reinforcing zone. Further, no design failures will be generated if the zone lies in a region where a
boundary is found to be required by code. Once a Wall Panel has been assigned Manual Reinforcement,
subsequently issuing the Manual Reinforcement command on the Wall Panel will cause the existing reinforcing
zones to be loaded when the dialog appears. Further revisions may then be made to the reinforcing zones in the
Wall Panel. After making further revisions to the information, the changes will be transferred if OK is selected. At

Assign menu
this point the design results in the Wall Panel Group to which the Wall Panel belongs will be cleared. If Cancel is
selected, any revisions made will be ignored.
After a Wall Panel has been assigned Manual Reinforcement, the Wall Panel is frozen with that reinforcing
information. In order to clear the Wall Panel of the Manual Reinforcement that has been assigned, the user must
either assign a Bar Pattern from the Bar Pattern Template (using Assign -> Bar Pattern), or issue the Process ->
Clear Reinforcing command.
When multiple vertical reinforcing zones occur in a Wall Panel, the bar placement where adjacent zones meet is
such that the zone with the larger amount of reinforcing per unit length controls. Specifically, the zone with the
larger amount of steel per length will have a bar placed at the exact start or end point of that zone.
A.2.6 Wall Panel Priority

A Wall Panel may be assigned any integer value greater than or equal to zero, called the Priority. By default the
Priority value for all Wall Panels is zero. The Priority value is used to determine how vertical reinforcement is
placed at locations where two or more Wall Panels intersect in plan. Wall Panels with a higher Priority will have
the vertical reinforcement placed such that the bars are run all the way to the edge of the wall. The adjacent Wall
Panel with the lower Priority will have the vertical reinforcement stop at the face of the Wall Panel with the
higher Priority.
For example, for the cross section shown below, the 20' Wall Panel has a higher Priority than the 10'
Wall Panel.
This feature is useful for "L", "C", or "I" shaped wall cores where the engineer may prefer to run either the flange
or the web steel the entire extent of the wall. In particular, in situations where the corners of the wall are heavily
reinforced compared to the midspan zones of the wall, the Priority allows control over the reinforcement
placement at the wall corners or boundary regions.

Assign menu
Changing the Priority of a Wall Panel will clear any Bar Patterns in the Wall Panel Group that are not frozen. The
reinforcing for these Wall Panels will then be re-optimized the next time the design is run for the Wall Design
Group. Changing the Priority of a frozen Wall Panel will not clear the assigned Bar Pattern or Manual
Reinforcement. The bars will be placed again according to the new Priority assignment(s) once the design is run
again for the Wall Design Group, but the assigned Bar Pattern or manual reinforcement zones will remain.
A.2.7 Assign Wall Panel Clear Cover

By default, the Clear cover considered for Wall Panels is the specified in the Design Criteria dialog which assigns
the clear cover to wall panels according to the exposure (Interior or Exterior) defined in RAM Modeler. The
Assign Wall Panel Clear Cover dialog allows the engineer to assign clear covers to Wall Panels for each wall face
(Primary or Secondary). This dialog is only available for ACI codes.
Global This option allows you to verify or set back the clear cover of wall panels to the clear cover
Criteria specified in the Design Criteria Dialog.
Use This option allows you to define the clear cover at the Primary or Secondary Face of the selected
wall panels. When the Code option is checked, the program will assign the minimum clear cover
specified by the current Design Code. The Use option allows you to assign a custom clear cover.
Single Assign the defined clear cover to one wall panel at a time by clicking on walls in the selected
wall design group.
Fence Assign the defined clear cover to wall panels in the selected wall design group by using fence
All Assign the defined clear cover to all wall panels in the model.
that selected will be highlighted in orange. When a wall is selected that is part of a wall panel that contains more
than one wall, all walls in the panel will highlight.
Related Links
• Assign Wall Panel Clear Cover (on page 30)
A.2.8 Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth

The Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth dialog allows the engineer to assign or clear reveals at the primary or
secondary face of the selected Wall Panels. This dialog is only available for ACI codes.
Single Assign the introduced reveal depth to one wall panel at a time by clicking on walls in the selected wall
design group.
Fence Assign the defined reveal depth to wall panels in the selected wall design group by using fence
All Assign the defined reveal depth to all wall panels in the model.
Related Links
• Assign Wall Panel Reveal Depth (on page 30)

Assign menu
A.2.9 Assign Coupling Beam dialog

This dialog is used to assign coupling beams between two or more openings or an opening and a wall edge
above.
Toggle – This assign mode allows the creation of one Coupling Beam at a time. After selecting this command,
Single the mouse cursor turns to crosshairs. Placing the crosshairs over any wall opening will cause a
preview of a Coupling Beam to be drawn in white. Selecting the left mouse button at this point will
add the Coupling Beam to the Wall Panel as it was drawn in the preview. After the Coupling Beam is
placed it is colored either light blue or yellow, according to its status (as with Section Cuts, light blue
denotes the Coupling Beam is not ready to be designed, while yellow indicates it is ready to be
designed).
Selecting the left mouse button once again will delete the Coupling Beam that was placed, and bring
the preview back. Any existing Coupling Beam may be deleted using this method.
If another wall opening exists within the Wall Panel in which the selected wall opening occurs, the
Coupling Beam may be created so that it spans horizontally to the second opening as well. This is
done by first selecting the original wall opening, then moving the cursor over the adjacent opening.
Note that the preview now shows the Coupling Beam spanning both openings. A Coupling Beam
may be created such that it spans between any two wall openings that lie within the same Wall
Panel, and are aligned such that the assignment is geometrically possible. To create the Coupling
Beam, simply click the left mouse button while the cursor is over the second wall opening.
Add The Add Fence assign mode places a Coupling Beam above all wall openings contained with the face
Fence drawn by the user. Note that as the fence is drawn, a preview of each Coupling Beam that will be
created is shown in white. This assignment method does not assume that any Coupling Beams span
horizontally between two or more openings, as is possible in the Toggle > Single mode. Rather, a
discrete Coupling Beam is placed at each wall opening contained within the fence.
Related Links
• Assign Coupling Beams (on page 30)
A.2.10 Assign Dxf Elevation Group Numbers dialog

This dialog is used to specify how walls are to be grouped when the dxf elevation sheet is generated in RAM
Manager.
Use the Assign Mode options to assign the currently selected Dxf Elevation Group Number to that selection
option.
Use the Remove All button to remove all group number assignments.
Related Links
• Assign DXF Elevation Numbers (on page 31)

Process menu
A.2.11 Edit Bar Pattern Templates

A Bar Pattern Template (BPT) is a reinforcement specification for a Wall Design Group. A Wall Design Group
must be assigned a BPT before any design may be performed for that Wall Design Group. An unlimited number
of Bar Pattern Templates may be created. Each Wall Design Group may be assigned a different BPT, and two or
more Wall Design Groups may use the same BPT. A Bar Pattern Template consists of the following information:
• A template name (this may be automatically created by the program)
• A minimum and maximum bar size for vertical reinforcement
• A minimum and maximum bar size for horizontal reinforcement
• A minimum and maximum nominal spacing for vertical reinforcement
• A minimum and maximum nominal spacing for horizontal reinforcement
• A spacing increment, one each for vertical and horizontal
• A number of reinforcing curtains, or layers
The information in the Bar Pattern Template is used in two ways by the program:
• It is the information from which Bar Patterns are created
• It represents the reinforcement the program chooses from when optimizing a Wall Design Group
• To add a new Bar Pattern Template, fill in all the fields with the desired values, and then hit the Add button.
In order for the label to be automatically generated based on the settings below, check the Automatically
Generate check box next to the label field. Otherwise, a custom label must be entered.
• To change a BPT, select it from the Defined Bar Pattern Templates list, then change the settings to change,
then click the Change button. It is very important to hit the Change button; otherwise the changes will be
lost.
• To delete a BPT, select it from the Defined Bar Pattern Templates list, then click the Delete button.
A.3 Process menu
A.3.1 View/Update
Selecting the View/Update command, followed by a Wall Design Group, will execute the design for the Wall
Design Group, immediately after which the View/Update dialog opens containing the design results.
If reinforcing exists for a given Wall Panel within the Wall Design Group at the time View/Update is executed, a
design check will be performed for the Wall Panel. If reinforcing does not exist for the Wall Panel, the program
will select the optimum reinforcement using the Bar Pattern Template assigned to the Wall Design Group.
The entire window may be resized by moving the cursor over the lower right corner of the dialog. In addition,
each of the panes within the window may be resized by moving the cursor over the pane border.

Process menu
View/Update - 3D View Pane (on page 142)
View/Update - Information Pane (on page 146)

Process menu
View/Update - Design Sketch Pane (on page 151)
View/Update - Actions/Status (on page 154)

Process menu
View/Update - Status Bar (on page 155)
The View/Update dialog is divided into five regions. In the top left is a pane containing a 3D view of all of the
walls in the selected Wall Design Group, along with a toolbar that provides control over the 3D view. To the right
of this is the information pane, containing a number of tabs that contain various kinds of information about the
selected Wall Design Group. Below these is a design sketch pane showing either the wall design group in plan
mode, or a cutaway at the selected section cut. Across the right is a column of buttons (along with a stop light
indicating overall design status) for performing actions. Across the bottom is a status bar that shows what wall
design group is selected, along with the story of the wall that was originally selected in the main RAM Concrete
Wall window, and the selected section cut (if any).

Process menu
View/Update - 3D View Pane
The 3D view allows you to see just the walls in the selected wall design group. You can use the mouse or
keyboard to rotate or pan the view. When the dialog first displays, by default the keyboard rotates and the
mouse pans. Note that you can click in the view and then use the scroll wheel of the mouse to zoom in and out, if
your mouse has a scroll wheel.
The buttons above the view behave as follows:
Menu Item/Image Description
Zoom All Zoom out so that all the walls in the wall design group
are visible.
Zoom Fence Zoom in by specifying a rectangle in the view.
Zoom In
Zoom Out
Zoom Previous
Elevation View Switch to elevation view.
3D View Switch to 3D view.

Process menu
Orthographic Use orthographic projection to display the walls.
Perspective Use perspective projection to display the walls.
Keyboard Rotates Use the arrow keys to rotate the view. Note that left
and right rotate about the model's Z axis, so if you are
looking down from above, the view will rotate
clockwise or counterclockwise. If you hold down the
Control key while using the arrow keys in this mode, it
will pan instead of rotating.
Keyboard Pans Use the arrow keys to pan the view. If you hold down
the Control key while using the arrow keys in this
mode, it will rotate instead of panning.
Mouse Rotates Click and drag with the left mouse button to rotate the
view. Unlike keyboard rotation, dragging left and right
rotates the view to the left or right based on the
current orientation. If you hold down the Control key
while dragging in this mode, it will pan instead of
rotating.
Mouse Pans Click and drag with the left mouse button to pan the
view. If you hold down the Control key while dragging
in this mode, it will rotate instead of panning.
Mouse Selects Section Cut Click on any section cut to select it. The selected
section cut will be reflected in the design pane, the
status bar, and any section-cut specific tabs in the
information pane.
Mouse Selects Rebar Click on any rebar to select it. This will highlight the
corresponding row in the appropriate Vertical or
Horizontal tab in the Reinforcing tab of the
information pane.
The buttons below the view behave as follows:
Show/Hide Section Cuts Click to toggle section cut display on or off in the 3D
view. If you have Mouse Selects Section Cut selected as
the mouse action, this will be disabled, since section
cuts must be displayed in order to select one.

Process menu
Show/Hide Rebar Click to toggle rebar display on or off in the 3D view. If

you have Mouse Selects Rebar selected as the mouse
action, this will be disabled, since rebar must be
displayed in order to select one.
Show/Hide Mesh Click to toggle mesh display on or off in the 3D view.

The mesh displays colored Stress Contours (on page
145) when a section cut is selected and a load
combination is selected for the section cut.
Mesh Options Click to show the Mesh Options (on page 144) pop-up
dialog.
Show/Hide Axes Click to toggle display of the global coordinate axes.
Show/Hide Section Cut Labels Click to toggle display of the section cut labels.
Increase Text Size Click to increase the text size. Repeat as desired.
Decrease Text Size Click to decrease the text size. Repeat as desired.
If you select a section cut, the actual segment in the section cut that you select will be highlighted in orange, and
the other segments will be highlighted in white. The actual selected segment ID will be displayed in the status
bar, along with the story name for the selected section cut.
Mesh Options
The Mesh Options pop-up dialog allows you to configure the mesh for the stress contours display.

Process menu
In order for the stress contours to display, you must first select a load combination. In order to select a load
combination, you must first select a section cut, and then select one of the load combinations in the View/Update
- Information Pane (on page 146) of the View/Update - Information Pane (on page 146).
The stress type refers to the direction of the stress calculation. The first five options here correspond are shown
in the following diagram:
The S Min and S Max settings are the principal minimum and maximum stresses.
The Mesh check box controls whether or not the mesh itself is displayed. The Smooth check box controls
whether the stresses at each mesh node are averaged together for all shell elements that share that node.
Checking it averages the stresses; unchecking it displays the calculated stress for each shell independently.
The scale shows what each color means. You can change the numbers at each end of the scale, thus changing the
range of stresses. By moving the numbers closer to zero, more regions show up as red, and regions in between
are stretched, potentially giving a better view of what is happening.
Stress Contours
This feature allows the user to see a color contour of various stress types plotted on the wall group. This feature
can be used to visually study the load path in the walls, as well as verify that Section Cuts are placed across the
regions of maximum stress. In order to plot the stress contour in the View/Update dialog, follow these steps:
1. In RAM Frame, prior to running the analysis, select the option Criteria > General > Store Wall Stresses
(make sure it is checked).
2. After opening the View/Update dialog in the RAM Concrete Wall module, select any Section Cut.

Process menu
3. On the Axial/Flexural tab, Results sub-tab, select the load combination for which the stress contours are to be
drawn.
The colors used are configured using the Mesh Options (on page 144) pop-up dialog.
View/Update - Information Pane

The information pane contains a number of tabs that display information about the selected wall design group.

Process menu
Axial/ Results This tab contains the results for the axial/flexural interaction evaluation of the
Flexural Section Cut. The tabular axial/flexural results are listed for each load
combination considered during the design run. The required axial force and
moment, the orientation of the moment relative to the local major axis, and the
interaction value are listed for each load combination. If the interaction value is
greater than one the line is colored red. When a row is selected with the mouse
or the arrow keys, the locally and globally-oriented moments corresponding to
the load combination are shown below the spreadsheet region.
Interaction
Surface
This tab shows the interaction surface diagram for the section cut. There are two
possible view modes: the P verses M curve view, and the Mmaj verses Mmin curve
view. Either of these is activated by toggling the respective button above the
curve display.
The P verses M view shows the two-dimensional axial verses moment capacity
curve at the selected angle b from the local major axis. The Mmaj verses Mmin curve
view shows the two-dimensional capacity curve at the selected value P. The
evaluated load combinations (Pu, Mu,maj, Mu,min) are plotted in the display if they
occur within a tolerance of the plane in which the capacity curve lies.
To snap directly to a plane than contains one of the evaluated load combinations,
first select the corresponding row on the Results tab, and then select the
Interaction Surface tab. This will draw the curve in the plane at which the
selected load combination lies.
Shear This tab contains information about shear design of the wall section.

Process menu
Reinforcing
This tab contains information about the reinforcing in the walls.

Bar Patterns This tab allows the user to replace the reinforcing in the selected Wall Panel with
a new Bar Pattern. When a new Bar Pattern is selected in the combo box, the
reinforcing in the respective Wall Panel (including manual and user-defined
reinforcing) is deleted and the bars are placed in the Wall Panel according to the

Process menu
selected Bar Pattern. The Wall Panel that is affected by the change is the Wall
Panel the contains the most recently selected Section Cut Segment in the 3D
window. This Section Cut Segment is colored orange in the 3D window. In order
to save the changes that were made, Update Database must be issued prior to
exiting the View/Update dialog.
Vertical
This tab shows information about vertical rebar.

• No.: This column is just a reference number. The actual number has no
significance.
• Qty.: This column allows the user to select the number of bar layers used at
each location. 1, 2, or 3 bar layers may be used.
• Bar Size: This column allows the user to select the bar size to use.
• X: This column displays the distance from the start of the wall to each bar.
• Start Z: This column displays the distance from the bottom of the wall to the
low end of each bar.
• End Z: This column displays the distance from the bottom of the wall to the
high end each bar.
If one or more rows are selected in the list, the corresponding bars in the 3D
view will be highlighted.
The user may change the quantity or size of any bar in the list and rerun the
design. In order to save the changes that were made, Update Database must be
issued prior to exiting the View/Update dialog. Once this is done the Wall Panel

Process menu
Horizontal
This tab shows information about horizontal rebar.

• No.: This column is just a reference number. The actual number has no
significance.
• Qty.: This column allows the user to select the number of bar layers used at
each location. 1, 2, or 3 bar layers may be used.
• Bar Size: This column allows the user to select the bar size to use.
• Start X: This column displays the distance from the start of the wall to the
start of each bar.
• End X: This column displays the distance from the start of the wall to the end
of each bar.
• Z: This column displays the distance from the bottom of the wall to each bar.
If one or more rows in the list are selected, the corresponding bars in the 3D
view will be highlighted.
The user may change the quantity or size of any bar in the list and rerun the
design. In order to save the changes that were made, Update Database must be
issued prior to exiting the View/Update dialog. Once this is done the Wall Panel
Design This tab displays the design warnings for the selected Section Cut.
Warnings

Process menu
There are two types of messages displayed in the Design Warnings sheet:
Warning: This type of message conveys that,

although the design has not failed,
further action may need to be taken
by the engineer to satisfy a design
requirement.
Failure: The selected Section Cut has failed

one of the design checks.
View/Update - Design Sketch Pane
This pane shows a sketch of the Wall Design Group in plan. If a Section Cut is selected in the 3D view pane, a
sketch of the wall cross section at the selected Section Cut is displayed. If no Section Cut is selected, a projected

Process menu
plan of the entire Wall Design Group is displayed. Note that you can click in this view and then use the mouse
scroll wheel to zoom in and out if your mouse has a scroll wheel. The buttons to the right behave as follows:
Show/Hide Dimensions Click to toggle display of the dimensions in the sketch.
Show/Hide Rebar Click to toggle display of all rebar that is intersected by

the currently selected section cut. (Note that no rebar
will be drawn if no section cut is selected.)
Show/Hide Axes Click to toggle display of the global coordinate axes.
Show/Hide Angle Legend Click to toggle display of the angle legend.
Show/Hide Elevation Legend Click to toggle display of the elevation legend (only
available when 3D view is in elevation mode).
Zoom In
Zoom Out
Zoom All Zoom out so that everything is visible in the sketch.
The following overlays are available on the design sketch view:
This shows the global model axes. Since the design

sketch is automatically rotated based on the major
axis, this allows you to visualize how the section cut is
Axes oriented in global coordinates.
This shows you how the major and minor axes of the
section cut are oriented. The design sketch always
rotates section cuts so that their major axis is in the
Angle Legend positive X direction and their minor axis is in the
positive Y direction, so this overlay is fixed.
This shows which direction (in global coordinates) the

eye-point in the 3D elevation view is pointing. It is
only visible when the 3D view is in elevation mode.
Elevation Legend
Section Cut The local major and minor directions for a Section Cut are determined differently based on
Local whether the Section Cut is oriented horizontally or vertically. For horizontal Section Cuts,
Coordinate the major direction is chosen in the direction of the longest contiguous horizontal segment
System of wall. More specifically, the Section Cut is rotated clockwise about the global Z-axis from

Process menu
its global orientation until the longest segment is parallel to the global X-axis (see Figure
below).
For vertical Section Cuts, the local major axis coincides with the global Z-axis. The local
minor axis is 90 degrees CCW from the local major axis.
Section Cut The convention for expressing Section Cut forces in the local coordinate system is as follows:
Forces in Local
Coordinate P - axial force
System Vmaj - Shear force in the local major direction
Vmin - Shear force in the local minor direction
Mmaj - Moment acting in the local major direction (about the + minor axis)
Mmin - Moment acting in the local minor direction (about the - major axis)
Mu - Resultant of Mmaj and Mmin which acts at an angle b CCW from + major axis
Horizontal Section Cuts

Process menu
Vertical Section Cuts
Section The cross sectional view pane will display the Section Cut differently depending on whether the
Cut Section Cut is oriented horizontally or vertically.
Display
Horizontal Section Cuts are drawn so that the local major direction is oriented sideways as viewed
on screen in the cross section view pane. As a result, a positive Mmaj moment will cause
compression on the right hand side of the cross section, and a positive Mmin moment will cause
compression at the top of the cross section.
Vertical Section Cuts are drawn so that the local major direction is oriented upwards as viewed on
screen in the cross section view pane. As a result, a positive Mmaj moment will cause compression
at the top of the cross section.
View/Update - Actions/Status
Optimize The Optimize command within View/Update is used to select the best Bar Pattern and reinforcing
layout for all Wall Panels in a Wall Design Group. When this command is launched the program
deletes all existing reinforcing prior to commencing the design process. Once the design has
executed, in order to save the resulting changes to the database and thus make them permanent,
the user must select Update Database prior to exiting View/Update.
For any Wall Panels within a Wall Design Group that are Frozen, the Optimize command will not
select the best Bar Pattern but rather will perform a design check on the reinforcement that exists
in the Wall Panel.

Process menu
Analyze The Analyze command within View/Update performs a design check for all Wall Panels in the Wall
Design Group, regardless of the whether each is Frozen or not. Thus, unlike the Optimize
command, the Analyze command does not select any reinforcement and instead evaluates only
existing reinforcing. In order to save the changes to the database and thus make them permanent,
the user must select Update Database prior to exiting View/Update.
Update Reports
Database Summary Shows summary report for selected section cut.
Horiz. Forces Shows horizontal forces report for Wall Design Group.
Vert. Forces Shows vertical forces report for Wall Design Group.
Segment Forces Shows segment forces report for Wall Design Group.
View/Update - Status Bar
The status bar shows the Wall Design Group number of the Wall Design Group that was selected to bring up the
View/Update dialog. Additionally, if a section cut is selected, it shows the story name and section cut label for the
selected section cut.
View/Update - Boundary Elements

The Boundary Elements page provides design information related to boundary element design prescribed by the
selected design code. If the design code in use has no provisions related to wall boundaries this page will not
appear when View/Update is selected. The sheet is split into two tabs: Extents and Tie/Link Design. A discussion
of each is given below.

Process menu
Extents The wall boundary design method that is implemented in RAM Concrete involves limiting the
neutral axis of a section under a given axial load to a prescribed value. The Extents page calculates
the actual and limit neutral axis distance for each load combination considered during the design. If
the neutral axis exceeds the limit, a boundary is required to confine the compression region(s) of
the section. The required length of the boundary, projecting at an angle β from the point of
maximum compression, is listed in the last column of the spreadsheet. If a boundary is required for
a load combination, the corresponding row will be colored red.
Clicking on a row in the spreadsheet will draw the following in the cross-section sketch at the
lower part of the dialog:
• The corner of extreme compression will be denoted with a black dot.
• The required neutral axis will be displayed according to the calculated required length and
angle β listed for the respective load combination in the table above.
The Design Warnings Page will list all load combinations where the required boundary region
encompasses reinforcing zones not designated as boundaries. The user may then adjust the
reinforcing zones accordingly to meet the code requirements. For example, for the case shown
below, the required boundary region (outlined in green) extends past the zone denoted as a
boundary, and thus a design failure will be listed for this load combination on the Design Warnings
page.

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Note: A Section Cut must be designated as a Hinge (Assign->Section Cut->Hinge) in order for
boundary element extents to be evaluated.
Tie/Link The Tie/Link Design page provides information related to the design of confinement ties for zones
Design specified as boundaries. Zones not specified as boundaries will have no tie design performed.
Reinforcing zones are created using the Assign -> Manual Reinforcement command. Each
reinforcing zone is referenced to a Wall Panel and a Section Cut Segment in the calculation page to
identify where they occur. The zone start and end locations listed are with respect to the Wall Panel
in which the zones occur. The tie size used may be changed in the design code criteria menu.
ACI 318 When ACI 318 is used, the extents of boundaries are evaluated only for load combinations that
contain an earthquake term ("EQ" or "Dyn" load case). See the RAM Concrete technical manual for
more specific information on the design of special boundary elements in RAM Concrete according
to ACI 318-05 or 08.

View menu
A.3.2 Freeze Reinforcing

Any Wall Panel in a Wall Design Group may be frozen using the Freeze Reinforcing command. When the
reinforcing in a Wall Panel is frozen, the Bar Pattern that is currently associated with the Wall Panel will not
change even when an action is taken that clears the design results for the Wall Design Group. For example, a
change to the load combinations is an action that will cause all design results and reinforcing in a Wall Design
Group to be cleared. However, any Wall Panels within the Wall Design Group that are frozen will retain their Bar
Pattern assignment.
There are a few different common applications of this command:
• The engineer wants to design wall reinforcement by a design-check process, possibly knowing in advance the
reinforcement that is required within the walls.
• The engineer would like to hold some Wall Panels in a Wall Design Group at a constant reinforcing layout,
while optimizing the other Wall Panels. For a "C"-shaped wall core for instance, the engineer may want to
assign minimum reinforcement to the web of the "C", while allowing the program to select the required
flange steel.
• The engineer is evaluating an existing condition.
Section Cuts that lie within a frozen Wall Panel will be colored blue once the design is complete, rather than
green (unless the Section Cut has design failures, in which case the Section Cut will be colored red).
Freeze Mode
Single: Freeze the reinforcing in a single wall panel at a time by clicking on it.
Fence: Perform fence freeze operations on groups of wall panels.
All: Freeze the reinforcing on all wall panels in the model.
A.3.3 Clear Reinforcing

This command causes the reinforcing assigned to a Wall Panel, and the associated design results, to be cleared.
This command is used primarily to delete the reinforcing in a Wall Panel that is frozen or has a Manual
Reinforcing assignment, thus allowing the Wall Panel reinforcing to be optimized by the program the next time
the design is run (otherwise, the program will simply do a design check on the existing reinforcement in the
frozen Wall Panel). Clearing the reinforcing for a Wall Panel will cause the design results for the Wall Panel
Group to which the Wall Panel belongs to be cleared.
Clear Mode
Single: Clear the reinforcing from a single wall panel at a time by clicking on it.
Fence: Perform fence clear operations on groups of wall panels.
All: Clear the reinforcing from all wall panels in the model.
A.4 View menu

View menu
A.4.1 Wall Panel Properties

This dialog shows the properties of the selected wall panel. When selecting a wall to see the properties for its
panel, the wall panel for the wall is highlighted in orange in the main 3D view. Any other wall panels in the same
panel group are highlighted in yellow. Note that another wall panel can be selected without having to first close
the Wall Panel Properties Dialog, and the dialog will update to show the properties of the newly selected wall
panel.

Index
Numerics Delete Section Cuts 25 C
DXF Elevation Numbers 31
3D View 37 Change Section Cuts 25
Edit Bar Pattern Templates
clear cover
31
ACI 93
A Hinge 25
Clear Reinforcing 34
ACI List Section Cuts 26
Code 123
clear cover 93 Wall Design Groups 24
conventions
Reinforcement Ratio Limits Autogenerate Section Cuts 24
section cuts 16, 17
95 Autogenerated Section Cuts 24
coupling beams
reinforcement spacing 94, Automatic Generation 15
assign, dialog 137
95 Axial-Flexural 19
Coupling Beams 21, 51, 52, 54
ACI 218-11 Axial/Flexural 19, 43
CP65 Code 114
shear strength 102, 104 Axial/Flexural Design 110, 115
cracked factor 80
ACI 318 123 Axial/Flexural Strength 97
criteria 124
ACI code
Criteria
design criteria 92
ACI Code
B Code Checks 23
Bar Pattern 20 Design Codes 23
Axial/Flexural Strength 97
Bar Pattern Template 19
Bar Placement 97
Boundary Elements 99
bar pattern templates D
assigning 132
Neutral Axis Calculation 107 Delete Section Cuts 25
creating 137
Reinforcement Ratio Limits design 88
deleting 137
105 Design All 33
editing 137
Shear Strength 107 Design Code 123
Bar Pattern Templates 27
ACI-318 2014 107, 108 design codes
bar patterns
Add Section Cuts 25 selection 23
assigning manually 133
Analyze Button 59 Design Codes 23
Bar Patterns 27, 28, 45–48
AS3600 Code design criteria 92
Bar Placement 97
Axial/Flexural Design 115 Design Criteria 110, 115, 123
Boundary Element 155
Design Criteria 115 Design Loads 8
boundary elements 133
Fire Resistance 117 Design Procedure
Boundary Elements 49, 50, 99
Methodology 116, 117 Example 66
BPT 137
serviceability 117 design procedures
BS8110 110
Shear Design 116 basic steps 65
BS8110 Code
Assign design results
Axial/Flexural Design 110
Add Section Cuts 25 select load combinations
Design Criteria 110
Autogenerated Section Cuts 124
Exposure 113
24 Design Warnings 55
Fire Resistance 113
Bar Pattern Templates 27 DXF
Methodology 111, 112
Bar Patterns 27, 28 group numbers 137
Serviceability 112
Change Section Cuts 25 DXF Elevation Numbers 31
Shear Design 110

E M section cuts
adding automatically 127
EC2 118 mechanisms 131
adding manual 129
Edit Bar Pattern Templates 31 Mesh Options 41
changing 130
Example 66 Methodology 111, 112, 116, 117
deleting 130
Exposure 113
list 130
N service analysis 87
F neutral axis 100 Serviceability 112, 117
Fire Resistance 113, 117 Shear 19, 44
Freeze Reinforcing 34 Shear Design 110, 116
O Shear Forces 44
Optimize Button 58
shear strength
G out-of-plane bending 80
ACI 318-11 102, 104
GB50010
Shear Strength 19, 107
design principles 120
limitations 120
P Sketch Pane 56
plastic hinges 131 Status Bar 60
Generated 32
priority Strength Calculations
getting started 65
assigning 135 Axial-Flexural 19
Gravity Walls 9
Process Shear 19
Design All 33 Stress Contours 40
H
help 123
R T
hinges
reinforcement Tie/Link Design 49, 50
plastic 131
assigning manually 133 tilt-up walls
Horizontal Reinforcement
Reinforcement Optimization 21 introduction 77
45–48
Reinforcement Ratio Limits 95, modeling 77
105
I reinforcement selection 8 U
include boundary reinforcement spacing
Update Database 59
changing 130 ACI 94, 95
User Defined 32
Information Pane 42 reinforcing
Interaction Surface Diagram 43 clearing 158
introduction 7 freezing 158 V
reports 61 Vertical Reinforcement 45–48
Reports 59 view/update 138
L results View/update
List Section Cuts 26
updating 138 3D View 37
load combinations
viewing 138 View/Update
advanced 32
Analyze Button 59
generated 31
Axial/Flexural 43
user defined 31 S Bar Patterns 45–48
Load Combinations Section Cut
Boundary Elements 49, 50
Generated 32 Automatic Generation 15
Coupling Beams 51, 52, 54
User Defined 32 Local Coordinate System 17
Design Warnings 55
Local Coordinate System 17 Section Cut Display 56
Information Pane 42
Section Cut Forces 18

Interaction Surface Diagram Wall Panel Group 10
43 wall panel priority
Mesh Options 41
W assigning 135
Wall Design Group 9
Optimize Button 58 wall panel reveal 136
wall design groups
Reports 59 wall panels
assigning 125
Section Cut Display 56 clear cover 30
reinforcing 132
Shear 44 properties 159
removing 125
Sketch Pane 56 reveal depth 30
Wall Design Groups 24
Status Bar 60 wall pressure loads
wall eccentricity
Stress Contours 40 applying 81
assigning 80
Tie/Link Design 49, 50
wall panel
Update Database 59
clear cover 136

RAM Concrete Wall: CONNECT Edition Update 16 - Version 17.02

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RAM Concrete Wall: CONNECT Edition Update 16 - Version 17.02

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RAM Concrete Wall

CONNECT Edition Update 16 – Version 17.02

RAM Concrete Wall 2 User Manual

RAM Concrete Wall 3 User Manual

RAM Concrete Wall 4 User Manual

RAM Concrete Wall 5 User Manual

RAM Concrete Wall 6 User Manual

RAM Concrete Wall 7 User Manual

2.2 Design Loads

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2.4 Wall Design Groups

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Figure 1: Possible choice of Wall Design Group assignments.

2.5 Wall Panels and Wall Panel Groups

RAM Concrete Wall 10 User Manual

RAM Concrete Wall 11 User Manual

Figure 4: Wall Panel Groups

RAM Concrete Wall 12 User Manual

2.6 Section Cuts

2.6.1 Manual Creation of Section Cuts

RAM Concrete Wall 13 User Manual

RAM Concrete Wall 14 User Manual

2.6.2 Automatic Generation of Section Cuts

RAM Concrete Wall 15 User Manual

Figure 9: Automatically generated Section Cuts

2.6.3 Section Cut Conventions

P axial force where a +P is compressive

RAM Concrete Wall 16 User Manual

Horizontal Section Cuts

Figure 10: Local axes for horizontal Section Cut

Vertical Section Cuts

Figure 11: Local axes for vertical Section Cut

2.6.4 Section Cut Local Coordinate System

RAM Concrete Wall 17 User Manual

2.6.5 Section Cut Forces

2.7 Strength Calculations

RAM Concrete Wall 18 User Manual

2.7.1 Axial-Flexural Strength

2.7.2 Shear Evaluation

2.8 Bar Pattern Templates

BPT1 is the Bar Pattern Template name

RAM Concrete Wall 19 User Manual

#9 is the maximum bar size to be considered

2.9 Bar Patterns

2.10 Design Process

2.10.1 Reinforcement Generation

RAM Concrete Wall 20 User Manual

2.10.2 Reinforcement Optimization

2.11 Coupling Beams

RAM Concrete Wall 21 User Manual

Figure 14: Coupling Beams with diagonal reinforcement

RAM Concrete Wall 22 User Manual

3.1.2 Design Criteria

3.1.3 General Criteria

3.1.4 Coupling Beam Criteria

RAM Concrete Wall 23 User Manual

3.2.1 Assign Wall Design Groups Dialog

Assign Autogenerated Section Cuts Dialog

Table 1: Assign to Wall Design Group

RAM Concrete Wall 24 User Manual

Manually Add Section Cuts

Delete Section Cuts Dialog

Change Section Cut