ORION 18: HOW TO MODEL SLABS

In this tutorial, we will learn how to model slabs. We will learn how to load the slabs, as well as learn the different ways in which slabs are modelled in Orion 18.

Now, Let us outline the steps involved.

Step 1

Click on the slab iconin the menu toolbar. Under the ‘General’, shown by default in the ‘Slab Properties’ dialog box, Enter 250 as the value for ‘h’, which is the slab thickness. We will leave the concrete cover as 20mm.

Step 2

Next, we will model the structural load on the slab model. Click on the ‘Loads’ at the top of the dialog box. Enter a ‘Dead Load’ of 0.5 and an Imposed load (‘Imp Load’) of 4.0. Loads are in KN/m².
Checking the aspect ratio (Ly/Lx) of our slab (14/5), we see that the slab is a 1-way spanning slab. Because of this, we click on 'Type' and select the 1-way slab option, which is the last one after type '13'. This option is 'Type 0' as shown below. Other options available are from 1-13 are for 2-way spanning slabs.

Step 3

We will place the slab in the structural model. Move the mouse pointer towards the region bounded by axis (1, 3, A, B). When the region is highlighted, click in the area to create the slab. Repeat the procedure for all the regions until (1, 3, H, I). The arrangement is as shown below.

Slabs can also be created in other ways. These include:

• Axis Region: If one uses axis region, a slab will be created where three or more axis intersect each other in a closed loop.
• Beam region: is used to inset slabs for an area that is surrounded by beams. This was the method used for creating the slabs above.
• Pick Axis: For this method, particular axis which are to form the boundaries of the slab can be selected independently. The difference between this and the axis region selection is that the axis region selection selects the axis lines closest to each other, while the pick axis allows you to select any axis at all.
• Pick points: for this method, you select the particular axis intersections within which the slab will be formed.

All these options are available when you clickin the 'slab properties' dialog box.

In our next lesson, we talk about how we can create new storeys. See you then.


Correction
The slab was previously modelled as a 2-way when it was a 1-way spanning slab. This has been corrected.

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