Introduction to

Sap 2000
Clickonnew
modelicontostart
creatinganew
model.
 Chooseunitsfor
theforce,length
andtemperature.
Theseunitscanbe
changedatany
Predefinedtemplates latertimeduring
areprovidedfora modeling.
numberofbroadly
usedtypesof
structures.
 Geometryandsectionpropertiescan
bemodifiedforeachtemplateto
achieveascloseaspossible
simulationofthestructureinglobal
perspective.Furtherlocal
modificationscanbeperformedlater
on.

Gridspacingcanbeeditedeitheratthis
point(ifthestructureisnotequally
spannedorsymmetricalasintemplate)
oratalatertime.
 Ifthegeometryofthestructureis
notquitesimilartooneofavailable
templates,structuralelementscan
beeasilydrawnonaversatilenetof
gridlinestoreproduceanycomplex
structuralgeometry.

Choosethedesired
coordinatesystem
(Cartesianor
Cylindrical).Additional
coordinatesystems
canbeaddedlateron.
Choosethenumber
andspacingofthe
gridlinesinamanner
thatbestrepresents
Gridspacingcanbeeditedifgridlines thegeometrical
arenotequallyspanned. aspectsofthemodel.
Gridnetisgeneratedforthegiven
griddatashownbelow.Notethe
globalCartesiancoordinatesystemX
,Y,Z.ItispreferabletochooseZaxis
ingravitationaldirection.XZplaneis
preferredfor2Dmodels.
 Mainmenu

Zoomingtoolbar Viewingtoolbar Displayoptions

Drawingtoolbar

Selectiontoolbar

Snaptoolbar
Currentunits(canbechangedhere)

Currentcoordinate/gridsystem
(switchbetweenmultiple
systemshereifexist)
 Anotherviewingwindow.Up
to4viewingwindowscanbe
Activewindow displayedsimultaneously.
ishighlighted. Options>windows
Coordinationofthedisplayed
Theplanedisplayedinactive
plane.Movealongtheaxis
windowishighlightedinthis
normaltotheviewingplane
window.
(i.e.Z)usingcirclediconsin
viewingtoolbar.
Definematerials.Usematerialsin
thelist(canbemodified),oradd
newmaterialsdefiningtheir
propertiesyourself.
Definesections.Useexisting
sectionsinthelist(canbe
modified),importsectionsfroma
sourcefile,oraddnewsections
definingtheirpropertiesyourself.
Notethelocalaxes2and3inthe
sectionillustration.Localaxis1is
normaltotheplaneofthesection.
Gridsystemscanbeaddedor
modified.Rightclickanywhereon
viewingwindow>Editgrid
data>Addormodify
Usedrawingtooltodraw
elementsonthegridinadesired
plane.Hereforinstanceframe
elementswiththesection
W18X35(orchangeittoanyother
alreadydefinedsection)andwith
momentresistingends(i.e.
continuous)aregoingtobedrawn
onthegridinXZplane.Section
propertiesfortheseelementscan
bechangedatanylatertime.
Drawbracingsbythesameframe
drawingtool,butthistimewith
pinnedends(i.e.trusselement).
Youcoulduseframeelements
withmomentresistingendsand
laterreleasemomentsatboth
endsoftheelement.
(Assign>Frame>Releases).
Clickdisplayoptionicon>
checkmarkitemsyouwanttobe
displayedintheviewingwindow.
Ex)jointlabels&localaxes,frame
localaxes,labels,releasesand
sections.
Localaxis1isshowninredcolor,2
inwhiteand3inblue.Localaxes
canberotatedforjoints(incaseof
rotatedsupport)orframe
sections.Selectthe
correspondingjointorframe
element>Assign>Jointor
Frame>Localaxes.
Thesectionofanyframeelement
canbechanged.Selectthe
correspondingframe
element>Assign>Frame>Frame
sections.
Displayofreleasedend(pinnedend)
Assigningsupports.Selectcorresponding
joints>Assign>Joint>Restraints>Choosethe
typeofsupport(hereispinsupport)
Defineloadcases.Define>Loadcases>Add
newload.Deadloadwithselfweight
multiplier1toincludetheweightof
membersincalculations.Liveloadwith
selfweightmultiplier0.
Selectmembers(orjoints)whichare
carryingtheload,thengotoAssign>
FrameLoads(orJointLoads)>choosethe
typeofload.Makesuretheappropriate
loadcaseisselected,thendefineall
loadingparameters.
Foraparticulargroupofloadstobeshown
indisplaygotoDisplay>Showload
assigns>JointorFrame.Onegroupof
assignedloadscanbedisplayedatatime.
Thestructuremaybeanalyzedundera
combinationofdifferentloadcases.
Define>Combinations>Addnewcombo.
Chooselinearaddforcombinationtypeand
thenaddloadcaseswiththeircorresponding
scalefactors.Ex)1.5DD+1.25LL
Defineanalysiscases.Define>Analysiscases.
Choosetheappropriatedegreesoffreedombefore
runninganalysis.Analysis>Setanalysisoptions.Ex)for
PlaneFrame,outofplanedisplacements(i.e.UY,RX
andRZ)areeliminatedfromcalculationsorsettozero.
Runtheanalysis.Analyze>Runanalysis.Set
thedesiredcasestorun.ClickRunNow
button.
Specifyafolderforthefilestobesavedin.
Checktheanalysismonitoringwindowto
ensurethattheanalysisiscompletedwith
nocriticalerrors.
Displayingdeformedshapeundera
particularloadcase.
Onadeformedshapeholdthepointeron
ajointfordisplacementdataofthatjoint
tobedisplayed.
Displayinginternalforcediagramsfora
particularloadcase.
Rightclickonthemembertoinspectinternalforcevaluesalongthe
member.
Displayingjointreactionsforaparticular
loadcase.