RAM Concept

Design More Accurately

Since RAM Concept allows you to model the slab geometry precisely you can avoid the approximations that are necessary in strip models. RAM Concept's advanced analysis fully considers irregular slab geometries so you can be sure your design is safe and accurate. RAM Concept's 3D analysis allows the slab to pick the most efficient natural load path which results in more efficient designs with less reinforcement. RAM Concept also automatically determines tributary areas and applies the appropriate live load reduction to each area of the slab—there is no need to use a single approximate or conservative live load reduction factor.

Benefits:

• Have confidence that your analysis and design are accurate
• Design more efficient cost-effective structures

Use One Tool for All Elevated Slabs and Mat/Raft Foundations

RAM Concept can design a wide range of structure types. This reduces the need to purchase and learn other products. RAM Concept can design post-tensioned, reinforced concrete and hybrid systems, elevated slabs and mat/raft foundations, one-way slabs, two-ways slabs, beams, and joist systems. Some engineers also use RAM Concept for the design of structural walls.

Benefits:

• Avoid purchasing and maintaining additional software
• Avoid learning curve for additional software

Handle Irregular Geometries Easily and Confidently

RAM Concept can easily and accurately model irregular slabs and support layouts, openings of any shape anywhere in the slab, arbitrary steps in slab surface or soffit, drop caps and drop panels, and a wide variety of other configurations. RAM Concept can use orthotropic slab properties to model one-way slabs, no torsion beams, reduced restraint with pour strips, and other structural behaviors. Model your slab the way it really is, not merely the way your design tool can model it.

Benefits:

• Save time by eliminating the need to dumb down the structure to fit the software
• Have confidence in the correctness of the analysis and design

Realistic Tendon Modeling

RAM Concept allows you to model tendons in their true positions. Banded, distributed, or arbitrary tendons with virtually any profile can be easily modeled. Tendons can be swept around openings and can terminate anywhere in the floor system. Tendon calculations (including friction calculations and elongations) accurately consider horizontal and vertical curves. RAM Concept's tendon loading analyses consider full 3D hyperstatic (secondary) effects, including restraint from shearwalls and stiff columns.

Benefits:

• Accurately understand the effects of the tendons on the slab
• Accurately predict tendon stresses and elongations
• Determine tendon layout problems at design-time, not construction
• Save drafting time—export a tendon layout plan

Most Accurate Punching Shear Analysis and Design Anywhere

Punching shear design is critical in slabs—don’t take chances on your projects.

RAM Concept can check punching shear capacity for any irregular slab geometry. RAM Concept also automatically designs studded shear reinforcement (studrails) as required. Punching shear can be checked and reinforcement designed at columns below slabs and at transfer columns on floors and mats/rafts. These capabilities can save a day of design time on every slab.

Benefits:

• Avoid time-wasting manual transfer of punching shear data between programs
• Eliminate time required to simplify real punching geometry into standard interior, edge, and corner conditions
• Have confidence that your punching designs are accurate
• Save drafting time and avoid drafting errors—export a punching shear reinforcement plan

Full-Building Lateral Analysis Compatibility with STAAD.Pro, RAM Structural System, and Other Products

RAM Concept can design your floor system for the beam and slab lateral forces in any full-building lateral analysis. RAM Concept's "Lateral Self-Equilibrium" loadings ensure that your floor system can provide the lateral analysis load path from the full-building analysis. Analysis forces can be easily imported from STAAD and the RAM Structural System, or manually specified for other lateral analyses.

Benefits:

• Design your slab for lateral loadings at the same time as gravity loadings
• Ensure safe complete load path for lateral loadings

Create Professional Reports, Export CAD Drawings

RAM Concept allows you to customize a professional report that covers the design of the entire slab systems. Include any plan or perspective drawing that is viewed on-screen as well as information from text and table windows. Export any plan drawing to CAD.

Benefits:

• Avoid manual report compilation time—create submission-ready complete reports straight from the software
• Save drafting time—export the final design as preliminary reinforcement CAD drawings

Handle Changes Easily

Unlike strip programs, RAM Concept can easily update an entire design after a change is made. Need to move a column or to account for a PT strand breaking in the field? Need to account for concrete not coming up to specified strength or for bar cover changed due to change in fire rating? These changes can be accommodated and the slab redesigned and checked in a matter of minutes, not hours or days.

Benefits:

 - Minimize redesign time for the changes that inevitably occur

Integration with STAAD.Pro and RAM Structural System

RAM Concept integrates with STAAD.Pro and the RAM Structural System. RAM Concept can import geometry, loads and lateral analysis results from either program and can export reactions to the RAM Structural System for column design by RAM Concrete.

Benefits:

• Avoid duplication in definition of structure and loadings
• Avoid manual transfer of gravity column and wall loads on transfer slabs and mat foundations
• Avoid manual transfer of reactions from slab design program to column design program
• Ensure lateral load path compatibility without manual transfer of lateral forces

A RAM Concept user comments on how his firm increased their productivity tenfold with this integration.

“The project we were working on was a 32-story condominium with post-tensioned flat slabs in Miami, Florida, and with the improved link between RAM Structural System and RAM Concept we were able to do in one day what previously took us ten days. Our firm has found many benefits to using RAM Structural System and RAM Concept together. For instance, with our multi-story concrete buildings we used to have to spend a lot of time transferring loads from different programs and tracking our loads—both gravity and lateral—all the way down to the foundations. Now RAM takes care of that for us.”

Alex Salmin, P.E., Chief Structural Engineer
Trillium Structures, Inc.