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Differences-Between-Shell-Membrane Plate

This document provides instructions for defining wall and slab section properties in ETABS. It describes the various parameters that can be specified for a section including the section name, material, thicknesses for membrane and bending, type (shell, membrane, or plate), and whether to include thick plate behavior. It also describes the load distribution area parameter and its use for one-way load distribution.

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Ahmed Refaat Rizk
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183 views1 page

Differences-Between-Shell-Membrane Plate

This document provides instructions for defining wall and slab section properties in ETABS. It describes the various parameters that can be specified for a section including the section name, material, thicknesses for membrane and bending, type (shell, membrane, or plate), and whether to include thick plate behavior. It also describes the load distribution area parameter and its use for one-way load distribution.

Uploaded by

Ahmed Refaat Rizk
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Wall/Slab Section Page 1 of 2

Wall/Slab Section Form


Access the Wall/Slab Section form as follows:
Click the Define menu > Wall/Slab/Sections command to access the Define Wall/Slab/Sections form.
Then do one of the following:

 Select Add New Wall or Add New Slab in the drop-down list.
 Highlight a previously defined wall or slab section and click the Modify/Show button.

Use the Wall/Slab Section form to define the parameters for the wall or slab section. ETABS has built-in
default area object properties for SLAB1 and WALL1. These are, as the names indicate slab and wall
properties. Additional definitions can be added and these definitions can be modified. Definitions can be
deleted. However, at least one slab property and one wall property definition must exist, even if they are never
assigned to anything.

 Section Name edit box. Use the default or specify another name for the wall or slab section definition.
Note that section names must be unique.
 Material drop-down list. Choose the material property for the slab or wall from a list of all defined
material properties.
 Thickness edit boxes. Two thicknesses are specified: membrane and bending. Typically these
thicknesses are the same but they can be different. For instance they may be different if you are trying
to model full shell behavior for a corrugated metal deck.

The membrane thickness is used for calculating the following:

 The membrane stiffness for full shell and pure membrane sections.
 The element volume for element self-mass and self-weight calculations.

The bending thickness is used for calculating the plate-bending and transverse-shearing stiffnesses for
full shell and pure plate sections.

 Type options. A wall or slab section can have shell, membrane or plate-type behavior.
 Shell-type behavior means that both in-plane membrane stiffness and out-of-plane plate bending
stiffness are provided for the section.
 Membrane-type behavior means that only in-plane membrane stiffness is provided for the
section.
 Plate-type behavior means that only out-of-plane plate bending stiffness is provided for the
section.

When a section has plate-type or shell-type behavior, use the Thick Plate check box to include or not
include thick plate behavior. When thick plate behavior is included (the check box is checked), out-of-
plane shearing deformations are considered in the analysis. When thick plate behavior is not included
(the check box is unchecked), these shearing deformations are not considered in the analysis. We
recommend that you typically do not use the thick plate option in ETABS, except when modeling thick
footings or mat foundations.

 Load Distribution area. When the Use Special One-Way Load Distribution checkbox is checked,

mk:@MSITStore:C:\Program%20Files%20(x86)\Computers%20and%20Structures\ETAB... 8/29/2015

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