Looking for feedback and testers for a side project (a structural loading software) 4

[tribby3d]

Hello Eng-tips community,
I'm new here, but I hope that I selected the right group for this post. My name is Emil and I'm a structural engineer.

When the corona shutdowns began back in march, I started developing a tool that I hope can help structural engineers to simplify the process of estimating tributary areas for column and wall elements. I call the application Tribby3d. It's running in the cloud and it's getting very close to a stage where it can be tested and evaluated:

Now I'm looking for some talented structural engineers to test the software. You will gain full access to the application once it's up and running during the testing phase.

What do you think? Is this an application that I should continue to develop, or do you have better methods for calculating tributary areas of elements? Let me know what you think, and if you’re interested, you are all very welcome to sign up for the early access beta on the home page:

https://tribby3d.com/

Many thanks,
Emil

 

[tribby3d]

@-thirtyfive
That's a great idea. Sort of automatically suggest names, but then allow users to override it. I'll look into this for sure. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[tribby3d]

I put together a video that hopefully should help explaining how Tribby3d works. Feel free to check it out by clicking on the image:

 

[Complete_Columns]

Hi Emil,

This is so cool!

I thought about using a Voronoi diagrams to generate tributary loads. I agree with everyone that it's not a replacement for FEM, but it's a much faster check and speed is always an issue with column design as constant coordination is needed to ensure architectural intent.

Maybe we could team up if you're interested? I developed Complete Columns below which was a tool that structural engineers can use to design multiple column load cases at the same time, instead of one at a time.

I'm also in the beta testing stage.

Complete Columns

https://www.completecolumns.com/

 

[EZBuilding]

tribby3d, this looks to be a great program and could get some really good use in the concept/design phases of projects. To increase the functionality, I would recommend that you include a feature to calculate the moment of inertia of wall groups. Having both of those features in one program would be very beneficial.

 

[phamENG]

Looks pretty great. Where were you three weeks ago? This would have saved me a few hours. I've signed up and hope to contribute.

Another possible feature - direct determination of influence areas for Live Load reduction calculations. The K factors in ASCE 7 are a bit cumbersome, and don't always translate well to unique and asymmetrical architectural layouts. I prefer to calculate them directly rather than A[sub]trib[/sub]*K.

 

[tribby3d]

@Complete_Columns
Thanks a lot for your comment - I'm happy you reached out. I looked into your project and it looks really solid - congrats on the great achievement! It's almost like we got the whole process covered combining the two - Tribby3d would compute column loads and forces for a set of predefined load cases, and Complete Columns would take care of the design / code checks. We should definitely team up and build some bridges between the apps. Let's get in touch!

 

[tribby3d]

@EZBuilding
Many thanks for your comment, I'm very happy that you see the value in this. The moment of inertia of wall groups sounds interesting. Can you elaborate a bit more, or point me to any literature or links where I can catch up on the subject? Is this for calculating lateral stability of a building? Thanks again!

 

[tribby3d]

@phamENG
Hah, sorry, I should've started this project earlier clearly I'm very glad you signed up - let's build this thing together! Experts like yourself will be key in getting this tool useful. Let's chat more about the K factor. As a European, I'm a bit rusty on ASCE7.

 

[phamENG]

tribby3d- sure thing. The basic idea is that A[sub]inf[/sub]=A[sub]trib[/sub]*K where the influence area is the area of the building in which any change in load will have an effect on the column/beam/wall/etc. in question. So for an interior column in a regular grid, K=4. Any load placed between the column in question and any of the 8 columns around it will increase the load on the column in the center. So the area in which a load can influence the column is 4x greater than the direct tributary area. It's used for adjusting the probability of cumulative live load over large areas of non-assembly space. It's easy for a straightforward floor, but complex floors and multi floor structures with transfer slabs and girders gets a bit dizzying (and the K factor becomes much more convoluted and harder to apply).

Look me up in your sign up list and send me an email and I can provide you with some more detailed documentation if you need it.

 

[tribby3d]

@phamENG
Ahh, that makes sense. Sounds like we can achieve this by looking up each column's neighbors and their corresponding tribs/loading.

I'll reach out by email, thanks again!

 

[EZBuilding]

tribby 3d

The moment of inertia for a shear wall group could be utilized for calculating the deflection of a building. For a typical mid-rise building (apartments, office, condos or mixed use); identifying typical column sizes and making sure that your shear wall thicknesses and lengths are within the ball park are some of the main tasks.

 

[tribby3d]

@EZBuilding,
That makes sense, thanks for sharing! Would be great to talk more to you about this, to get a feel for how big task implementing this feature would be. Did you sign up at [link tribby3d.com/sign-up]tribby3d.com/sign-up[/url] yet? If so, we can continue the discussion from there.

 

[tribby3d]

Anyone else interested in this? Bumping the thread one last time. Thanks all!

 

[EZBuilding]

I believed I signed up. Let me know if it did not go through.

 

[tribby3d]

@EZBuilding
Yep, it went through! I'll reach out to you. Thanks.

 

[lemmiwinksownz]

This looks great. I think I've signed up!

 

[tribby3d]

@lemmiwinksownz
Glad to hear that! I hope you received an email from me just now. If not, let me know and we can sort it out. Thanks!

 

[tribby3d]

Small announcement: Tribby3d is now officially launched in private beta, meaning anyone who is interested in testing the app can now get access (free of charge, of course). To register, you'll need a beta key which you can apply for here:

https://tribby3d.com/sign-up/

Happy testing!
Emil

 

[lexeng18]

its probably been said already in this thread, but your website design and graphic design skills are off the charts! Tribby looks great, hope to offer some constructive feedback.

 

[tribby3d]

@lexeng18
Thank you very much for the kind words. Glad to hear you appreciate Tribby3d's visual profile. I've been doing my very best to make it as intuitive and user-friendly as possible. And thanks for signing up! I saw your submission and I've already approved you. You should've received an email with a beta key. If not, check your junk folder.

Cheers,
Emil