Release Date: July 27, 2011
This document contains important information regarding changes to the RAM Structural System. It is important that all users are aware of these changes. Please distribute these release notes and make them available to all users of the RAM Structural System.
This version is a minor patch version, correcting some errors in V14.04.00. The Release Notes for 14.04.00 contain important information that should be reviewed.
Some program errors have been identified in V14.04.00 and corrected for Version 14.04.01. The errors, when they occurred, were generally quite obvious. However, if there is any question, it may be advisable to reanalyze previous models to determine the impact, if any. In each case the error only occurred for the precise conditions indicated. Those errors that may have resulted in un-conservative designs are shown with an asterisk. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
MISSING TOOLBARS: Toolbars were missing in some modules when running on some machines as non-administrators.
Effect: No toolbar buttons.
INSTALLATION ERROR: An error in the installation of some program components, and some incompatibilities of some components with the operating system, caused the program to crash or give an “access violation” error. This most notably occurred on Windows Vista machines, but also on some Windows 7 32bit machines.
Effect: Some modules of the RAM Structural System would not run on some machines.
EXTRANEOUS .RAM FILE: Opening a RAM Structural System model from a .ram extension would leave an empty .ram file in the directory that the model was opened from. Trying to select this .ram file again instead of the newly created .rss file would cause a load error and the .rss file would be deleted. This has been fixed.
Effect: Potential loss of the model. This error did not occur if the model was opened directly from a .rss file.
REVERT: The File – Revert command did not fully revert a model if that model had just been converted from a previous version.
Effect: Model corruption if Save was subsequently invoked.
FOUNDATION LOADS REPORT: When this report was invoked the program would give an "Out of Memory" error message.
Effect: The program would crash while creating the report.
MOVE BEAM PARALLEL: The Move Beam Parallel command didn't properly adjust the length of the moved beam to fit into the new location if the new supports for the beam were a different distance apart from each other than the old supports.
Effect: Invalid beam after the move, resulting in DataCheck errors, and requiring the beam to be re-modeled.
DATACHECK: DataCheck would sometimes erroneously report that a hanging column overlapped a member on the story above.
Effect: Incorrect warning.
SMARTBEAM DESIGN REPORT: The controlling moment capacity reported under the AISC 360-05 codes was incorrect.
Effect: Report error only. The designs were correct.
SMARTBEAM DESIGN REPORT: The range of b for Castellated beams was not reported when phi was optimized.
Effect: Report error only. The designs were correct.
WESTOK CELLULAR BEAMS: Westok cellular beams for which no designs were found were assigned very large self-weights.
Effect: Very large self-weight was assigned to the undesigned beams, which resulted in large reactions on supporting beams and columns.
BEAM DESIGN REPORT: In obscure cases, the Beam Design report would be garbage if printed using the Fence or All command.
Effect: Incorrect reports in obscure cases. The Single command and View/Update command gave the correct results. Report error only, the designs were correct.
UPDATE DATABASE: An Update Database command performed in the View/Update command erroneously issued a warning for inadequately designed columns in Column Lines.
Effect: Although all columns in a Column Line were correctly designed, a warning indicating that Column Lines included inadequately designed columns was incorrectly issued.
AISC 360 SECTION H1.3: Eq. (H1-2) was implemented as an alternative to Eq. (H1-1a) and Eq. (H1-1b) when permitted, but the program failed to use those original equations when they gave a more favorable result than Eq. (H1-2).
Effect: Especially for columns with relatively small major axis moments the program may have reported higher interaction equation values than necessary.
USER POINT LOAD AT BOTTOM OF CONCRETE HANGER*: A user point load applied to the bottom of a concrete hanging column would incorrectly get applied to the top of the column.
Effect: Incorrect design forces computed for the hanging column. The hanging column design may have been unconservative in such cases.
SLOW MESHING AND ANALYSIS: Some meshing and analysis operations such as for semi-rigid or two way diaphragms experienced very slow performance.
Effect: Slow execution time.
INVALID ANALYSIS RESULTS FOR DYNAMIC LOAD CASES*: If dynamic load cases (response spectra load cases) were run alone, the program reported "zero" for member forces as well as dynamic nodal displacements (including diaphragm displacements and shears). If a dynamic load case was run at least with one lateral load case (wind or seismic), non-zero (correct) results were reported. This only occurred with 14.04.00, prior versions were correct.
Effect: Invalid analysis results
MESH TOLERANCE ISSUE: If the mesh tolerance value specified either in General-Criteria or in Story Diagram was modified, it did not force the program to regenerate the mesh for walls and diaphragms using the new values.
Effect: A new mesh was not generated with the new value of the mesh tolerance (until some subsequent action forced a remeshing).
SPRING CONNECTION FORCES*: When gravity load cases were run with lateral load cases, the Member Forces report showed "zero" connection forces for gravity load cases. If gravity load cases were run alone, the reported spring forces were correct.
Effect: Report error only. Analysis results are correct.
SLOW MESHING AND ANALYSIS: Some meshing and analysis operations such as for semi-rigid or two way diaphragms experienced very slow performance.
Effect: Slow execution time.
AISC 360 SECTION H1.3: Eq. (H1-2) was implemented as an alternative to Eq. (H1-1a) and Eq. (H1-1b) when permitted, but the program failed to use those equations when they gave a more favorable result than Eq. (H1-2).
Result: Especially for columns with relatively small major axis moments the program may have reported higher interaction equation values than necessary.
VIEW RESULTS: The View Results command in the View/Update command failed for the CAN/CSA S16-01, BS 5950 and Eurocode codes.
Effect: The Member Code Check report could not be viewed under the CAN/CSA S16-01, BS 5950 and Eurocode codes for beams.
FOUNDATION CRASH: Foundation module was crashing when opening.
Effect: This rendered the program useless for some models.