ETABS 2013 Has Tons of Bugs

[FootNMouth]

I have been using Etas 2013 for the last 6 months now and have noticed a significant amount of bug with the program. Be weary of jumping into a project with this software.

 

[lgfarah]

Hi there,

I was thinking to get the latest version of Etabs, but now I'm scared, could you list some of these bugs? What CSi people has to say about it?

 

[ingdaniel]

First versions always have lots of bugs..

CSI just release Etabs 13.1.0 maybe the fix this bugs.

Enhancements included:

Concrete frame design and shear wall design have been added for the Hong Kong CP 2013 code.
Steel frame design using the AISC 360-10 code now provides an option to allow Notional Load cases to be included in design combinations with wind, seismic and response spectrum cases.
Automated wind loading has been added according to the Australian and New Zealand code AS/NZS 1170.2-2011.
Automated wind loading using the diaphragm-extents option for the ASCE 7-02, ASCE 7- 05 and ASCE 7-10 codes that now allows automatic determination of the wind pressure coefficients (windward and leeward) based on the building size.
Frame section properties have been enhanced to separate steel shapes from concrete shapes for more detailed handling of rebar.
The mass source now allows separate control for the self-mass from elements and added masses, in addition to the use of load patterns. Previously self-mass and added mass were considered together.
New database tables have been added that provide pier and spandrel section property information.
Customization of the keyboard shortcuts for the various menu items is now available.
Multiple enhancements have been made for the import and export of IFC files.
Other minor enhancements.

 

[asixth]

Personally I am not a fan of the change in user interface. I don't like change.

 

[FootNMouth]

I actually love the new interface. It is much more user friendly except they did not include Interactive Database, which SAP2000 has. The biggest issue that I am having with 2013 is it not designing composite beams. At some point in the creation of the model ETABS will all of a sudden stop recognizing that there is composite deck present. I have tried all of the tricks and the only thing that works is export the e2k file and importing back in. However, this leads to errors and different results in your lateral analysis. Also, the live load deflection check in the steel design module is extremely wrong. It will output that my live load deflection is .006" while if I look at the deformed shape it will be 5". Some of my other colleagues have had other issues. All in all it is not worth the extra effort you have to make to work around the shortcoming of ETABS2013.

 

[johnbridge231]

it's a fact that a significant number of bugs still exist...

Analysis and Design of arbitrary cross sections
Reinforcement design to all major codes
Moment Curvature analysis

http://www.engissol.com/cross-section-analysis-design.html

 

[JK7070]

Hi,

Is it true that you can now carry out non-linear time history analysis. The previous versions would only allow non-linear pushover and staged construction with elastic time history analysis (NLTHA). I like Etabs because it has better BIM capabilities ( bi-directional link with Revit) compared to Sap2000. But it really needs the NLTHA capabilities to be a winner.

Regards,
JK7070

 

[johnbridge231]

Nltha is supported in the new version.

Analysis and Design of arbitrary cross sections
Reinforcement design to all major codes
Moment Curvature analysis

http://www.engissol.com/cross-section-analysis-design.html

 

[dadomago75]

I used once the new etabs, and I have to admit that there are plenty if bugs. Unfortunately you cannot keep designing/working with the worry that what you get is wrong.
Actually I don't like at all etabs (any version) cause I have been used do work using a much better software (MIDAS gen), much more user friendly, much more reliable, tons of excellent technical/theoretical papers, but unfortunately for me it doesn't support the australian standard, so I have to stick with etabs