I am working on the analysis of an existing waffle slab structure. I am using a RAM Concept model (started from RSS). I have uploaded the model as Waffle_TDL.zip
I'm not sure I've got it set up right, an am looking for some guidance on a variety of subjects. I have read the previous posts regarding waffle slabs (here and here) but am still left scratching my head.
-Analysis takes a very long time (2+ hours) even with a generous mesh size (6 feet). Looking at my resource monitor, it seems that concept never goes over about 12% of my CPU and only 1.mb RAM (out of 32 total), though I'm using the 64bit version. I'm using the Pardiso solver. Is there anything else I can do to speed up the analysis time?
-I only have design strips and assigned rebar in the portion of the building that I'm interested in - there are some one way slabs outside the scope of my current study, but in the model. I'm also only running a validation analysis (not designing new bars)
-I'm not sure I've set up my priorities right, slab and drop cap as same priority, ribs as beams. Should the ribs also have priority assigned?
-Errors with shear reinforcing/shear cores. I've modeled the shear bars as the existing shows, but have had my analysis fail with "overlapping shear bars" or something to that effect.
Any and all guidance is welcome.
Thanks,