=============== README.TXT File ===============
==================== SAP2000 Version 6.11 ====================
================== Release 1997/10/22 ==================
PLEASE READ THIS FILE! It contains important information that is more current than the Manuals. CONTENTS -------1. SAP2000 Version 6.11 2. Distribution on CD 3. Significant Changes from SAP2000 Version 6.00 and Later 4. Analysis Executables 5. Upgrading from SAP90 Version 5.4 or 5.5 6. Using a Novell Server as a Key-Server
1. SAP2000 Version 6.11 ----------------------SAP2000 is a fully graphical Windows program, different versions: SAP2000 Standard, SAP2000 All versions require Windows 95 or Windows NT Model creation, analysis, display of results, within the SAP2000 graphical user interface.
and is available in three PLUS, and SAP2000 Nonlinear. to be running on your computer. and design are all performed
SAP2000 is a very extensive program, featuring a friendly and powerful graphical user interface and sophisticated analytical capabilities. However, a few of the advanced analysis features cannot be edited in the graphical user interface, such as the Plane, Asolid, and Solid elements. The geometry and analysis results for these elements CAN be viewed in the graphical user interface. Users who have need of advanced analysis features described in Volume I of the Analysis Reference that cannot be edited in the graphical user interface can use the input data text file as described in Volume II of the Analysis Reference. See Topics "Overview" and "Input Data Files and the Graphical User Interface" in Chapter II of Volume II for more information. For users who already have SAP2000, we recommend that you remove the previous version of the program and begin using version 6.11 as soon as possible in order to take advantage of the latest features, improvements, and error corrections.
2. Distribution on CD --------------------You may have received SAP2000 either on diskettes or on a CD. In addition to the SAP2000 program that is contained on both types of media, the CD contains the following: (a) The latest version of all program manuals in Adobe Acrobat format. These manuals can be viewed and printed using Adobe Reader which is included on the CD. To access these manuals, you may select Manuals during the installation process to have them copied to your machine, or you may
view them directly from the CD in folder MANUALS. (b) Several self-running tutorials. To access these tutorials, you may select Tutorials during the installation process to have them copied to your machine, or you may run them directly from the CD in folder TUTORIAL. (c) Analysis executables. These are not needed by most users, but are provided for those users who need to run analyses in "batch" mode. These are automatically copied to the UTILITY sub-folder under the SAP2000 folder on your machine. For more information, see topic "Analysis Executables" below. ************* IMPORTANT !!! ************* (d) The Sentinel drivers for Windows NT or Windows 95 are also located on the CD, rather than on Supplemental diskettes as described in the Getting Started manual. These drivers can be found in folders DRIVERNT and DRIVER95, respectively, on the CD. Both of these folders are also copied to the SAP2000 folder on your server during a Network Server installation. To install or remove the Sentinel Driver on a Windows NT machine, run ...DRIVERNT\SETUP.EXE To install or remove the Sentinel Driver on a Windows 95 machine, run ...DRIVER95\SETUP.EXE In both cases, "..." indicates the path to the DRIVERNT or DRIVER95 folder on the CD, or on your server if you are installing from a previous Network Server installation. From the Functions menu, choose Install or Remove, as appropriate, and click OK. You will get a message indicating the operation is complete. Click OK, and restart your system. This is a one-time installation that is only required for machines to which the hardware key device is attached. See Topic "Using the Hardware Key Device" in the Getting Started manual for more information.
3. Significant Changes from SAP2000 Version 6.00 and Later ---------------------------------------------------------Changes from version 6.10 to 6.11: (a) Minor errors have been corrected in the Design algorithms. Most importantly, correspondence of Frame element forces for Moving Load cases (when available) was not properly accounted for in 6.10. Note that for correspondence to be used, you must first request that corresponding forces be calculated in the definition of the Moving Load analysis, and you must also select that corresponding forces be used in the Steel and Concrete panels under the Options > Preferences menu item. In addition, certain assumptions made for non-American codes were over-conservative, resulting in rejection of certain members that should
be acceptable. IMPORTANT !! All jobs designed/checked with previous versions of SAP2000 (6.10 and earlier) should be re-analyzed and re-verified with Version 6.11 !! (b) Design output and parameter overwrites for non-American codes have been improved. (c) Minor errors encountered during the import of certain loads in SAP90 and SAP2000 text files have been corrected. These affect triangular-shaped distributed span loads on Frame elements (when the load value at one end is zero), pore-pressures load on Plane elements, and temperature-gradient loads on Shell elements. This error only affects versions 6.08 to 6.10. (d) Bridge lanes can now be displayed, including eccentricity and the ordering of the elements. (e) Tables of bridge influence line values can now be displayed and printed from the Display > Show Influence Lines menu item. (f) Corresponding Frame-element forces and moments for Moving Load cases can now be printed. These are available only in spreadsheet form through the File > Print Output Table menu item. You must request spreadsheet output. In addition, you must first have requested that corresponding forces be calculated in the definition of the Moving Load analysis. (g) Assembled joint masses are now printed in the analysis output (.OUT) file. Masses at restrained degrees of freedom are included, contrary to what is stated in the manual. (h) Joint accelerations are now printed in the analysis output (.OUT) file for any response-spectrum analysis for which displacements are requested.
Changes from versions 6.00 and later to 6.10: (a) Many changes have been made to the Graphical User Interface to make it easier to use, more powerful, and more stable. Most dialog boxes are self-explanatory and are also described in the on-line help. You can press the F1 function key at any time for on-line help, or access it from the Help menu. (b) The design/check algorithms of the program have now been documented and completed. IMPORTANT !! All jobs designed/checked with previous versions of SAP2000 (6.10 and earlier) should be re-analyzed and re-verified with Version 6.11 !! Minor errors have been corrected from version 6.10. Design output and parameter overwrites for non-American codes have been improved since version 6.10.
(c) Bridge analysis capabilities are now available. Full correspondence of Frame element forces can be computed as an option. See the Reference manual, Volume I. By default, corresponding forces are not computed in order to save time. If computed, corresponding forces are only used for design and cannot be displayed. The Quick method is available for Bridge analysis with a variable degree of approximation. The default is to use the "Exact" method, using the full influence line to get the "Exact" moving load results. In the Quick method of degree 1, the influence line is simplified by using only the maximum value in each span. Higher degrees of refinement use additional points. The "Exact" method should always be used for final results. The Quick method of degree 1, 2, or 3 is recommended for preliminary analyses, with degree 2 offering a good balance between speed and accuracy. (d) Four types of Combos are now available: additive, enveloping, absolute sum, and SRSS. Combos can be printed, displayed, designed, imported, and exported. (e) Envelopes of time-history results can be requested. By default, they are not computed in order to save time. If requested, these envelopes can be printed, displayed, and included in Combos. (f) Analysis output in the .OUT file can be requested for all analysis cases and Combos. Requests can be imported and exported. No control is available for individual joints or elements, only for element types. (g) A "static period" parameter has been added for time-history analyses. This is used to specify a period below which modes are treated as static, and is useful for certain very stiff problems under quasistatic loading. This did not exist in version 6.05 and earlier, was automatically set to "dtmax" in version 6.06, and is user controllable in versions 6.07 and later. By default, it is not used. (h) The role of the effective stiffness in the Nllink elements has been slightly changed: For linear degrees of freedom in a nonlinear time-history analysis, the effective stiffness "ke" is used instead of the elastic stiffness "k" that was used for versions 6.07 and earlier. This change is only significant if "ke" and "k" are different for a linear degree of freedom, which is not normally the case. (i) An error has been corrected in the rotational degrees of freedom for Body, Plate, and Beam constraints. Any models containing these types of constraints that were analyzed with versions 6.07 and earlier should be re-run. (j) Allowable values for Poisson's ratio "u" have been expanded to include -1
(k) Nonlinear time-history analysis has been made more efficient. The speed-up is problem dependent, and may be as much as a factor of two for some problems, and possibly more. (l) An error has been reported in Frame only the internal of the structure.
corrected that affected the internal moment that was elements under trapezoidal loading. This error affected moment results, not the effect of the load upon the rest This was corrected in versions 6.08 and later.
(m) An error has been corrected in the P-Delta moment M2 toward End J of the Frame element: it was of the wrong sign. This was corrected in versions 6.08 and later. Moment M3 has always been OK. (n) An error has been corrected in the P-Delta forces and moments in Frame elements that have end releases. Elements with only moment releases have been corrected in versions 6.08 and later. The case with shear releases is not well defined, and the reported P-Delta moment distribution is somewhat arbitrary in this case. (o) An error has been corrected that affected the time-history base reactions reported for any History that contained modal damping. This was corrected in versions 6.08 and later. (p) The response-spectrum base reactions reported in the .OUT file for individual modes has been corrected. It is now reported separately for each direction of loading. This was corrected in versions 6.06 and later. The combined results for all modes and all directions has always been correct. (q) An error was corrected that affected the import of the Frame Section data block when data-base or calculated properties were overwritten by directly-specified properties. Whenever A, I, AS, or J was specified in addition to a data-base or calculated shape using the SH parameter, the specified A, I, AS, or J values were ignored and only the data-base or calculated properties were used. This was corrected in version 6.10. (r) An error was corrected that affected the linear degrees of freedom of the Nllink elements in a nonlinear time-history analysis. This error only affects versions 6.08 and 6.09. All previous versions were OK. This error caused all linear degrees of freedom of the Nllink elements to report zero internal forces for a nonlinear time-history analysis. In addition, nonlinear deformation loads were generated for all linear degrees of freedom that had non-zero effective stiffnesses. This has been corrected in version 6.10. (s) The definition of the Nllink U2 and U3 internal deformations reported for time-history analysis has been changed to agree with that described in the manual. The values reported previously were the relative shear deformation at joint J. The values now reported are the relative shear deformation at distance DJ from joint J. The values reported for static
loads and response-spectrum analyses have always been correct. This change was made in version 6.10. (t) In Figure 99 of Version 6.0 of the Analysis Reference - Volume I, the value of 27.9k given for the larger concentrated load is incorrect: it should be 28.8k. Only the manual is incorrect, not the program. (u) Format changes in the .S2K text file: * The Combo block has been changed to include the four types, to include all analysis cases, to use a single scale factor for each analysis case, to eliminate mode selection from the Spec data line, and to eliminate correspondence. * The Output block has been changed to include History cases, and to eliminate individual element control. * The Nlprop block has been changed as follows: On every Property data line, you MUST specify "ke"; there is no default. On every nonlinear Property data line you MUST specify "k"; there is no default. On every linear Property data line, "k" may NOT be specified. * The History data block has been changed to add the following parameter to the Name data line: ENVE=enve, where "enve" may be either "Y" or "N" to indicate whether or not to calculate response envelopes for that time-history case. The default is "N" in order to save time. * The Moving Load data block has been changed to add the following parameter to the Control data line: CORR=corr, where "corr" may be either "Y" or "N" to indicate whether or not to calculate correspondence for Frame element forces. The default is "N" in order to save time. * The Moving Load data block has been changed to add the following parameter to the Control data line: QUICK=quick, where "quick" may be any integer, zero or positive. The default is "0", indicating to use the full influence line to get the "exact" moving load results. Positive integers indicate increasing degrees of refinement for the quick method. See item (c) above for more information. * For Frame, Shell, and Nllink elements, the default for the second PLDIR value has been changed. Whenever the first PLDIR value is changed, the default for the second value is equal to the new first value, rather than the previous value as before. Thus specifying PLDIR=+X is the same as PLDIR=+X,+X. Normally you should specify the second PLDIR value so that it is not parallel to the first value in order to prevent failure if the first value is parallel to the geometric local axis of the element. * For the Frame Section data block, SH=2L may now be used to specify double angles.
4. Analysis Executables ----------------------With SAP2000 you can create your model, perform the analysis, display the results, and check the design all within a single graphical user interface. However, some users have requested the ability to perform multiple analyses in
a batch mode outside of the user interface. We have provided executable files for this purpose in a subfolder called UTILITY under the SAP2000 folder. These files are 32-bit Windows executables. They can be run from a Command Prompt (DOS-like) window under Windows 95/NT. These are not DOS executables and cannot be run on DOS or Windows 3.x machines. In order to run properly, they must be copied or moved from the UTILITY subfolder up to the SAP2000 folder where SAP2000.EXE is located. The executables are: (a) SAPRE.EXE. This reads and checks a SAP2000 input text file and prepares the data for subsequent analysis using SAPGO.EXE. To run, give the command: SAPRE sap2000file /M:nnnnn where "sap2000file" (required) is the SAP2000 input text file to be read; and "nnnnn" (optional) is the amount of memory to be allocated in 1000-byte units. The "sap2000file" must include the extension .S2K. The default memory if the /M: parameter is omitted is the same as specifying /M:2000. (b) SAPGO.EXE, SAPGOP.EXE, SAPGON.EXE, or SAPGOE.EXE. Only one of these is provided, depending on whether you have the standard, PLUS, Nonlinear, or Education version of SAP2000, respectively. These perform the analysis following the execution of SAPRE.EXE. To run, give the command: SAPGO sap2000file /M:nnnnn where "sap2000file" (required) is the SAP2000 input text file to be analyzed; and "nnnnn" (optional) is the amount of memory to be allocated in 1000-byte units. The "sap2000file" must include the extension .S2K. The default memory if the /M: parameter is omitted is the same as specifying /M:2000. Substitute the appropriate name of the executable you have for SAPGO in the command above. To perform an analysis using these executables: (a) Prepare an input text file (.S2K) using a text editor or by exporting a file from the SAP2000 graphical user interface. (b) Run SAPRE.EXE, followed by the appropriate version of SAPGO.EXE. These commands may be place in a batch (.BAT) file. (c) To display the results, import the SAP2000 .JOB file under the File menu of the SAP2000 graphical user interface. It is important to import the .JOB file, not the .S2K file, or your analysis results will be lost.
5. Upgrading from SAP90 Version 5.4 or 5.5 -----------------------------------------Most modeling and analysis features available in SAP90 are also present in SAP2000, and many new features have been added. Only the SAP90 heat-transfer analysis features are not currently available in SAP2000. SAP90 input data files for versions 5.4 and 5.5 may be imported directly into SAP2000. A translated SAP2000 input data text file (with extension .S2K) will
be created, and the model will be stored in the native SAP2000 data base file (with extension .SDB). The model can then be modified, analyzed, designed, and displayed. When you import a SAP90 input data file, SAP2000 will ask you to specify what direction was assumed to be upward in the SAP90 model. All coordinate-dependent quantities in the SAP90 model will be converted to conform with the SAP2000 convention that the +Z direction is upward. Please note that SAP90 Bridge Moving Load cases may be translated into multiple SAP2000 Moving Load cases. In many cases, you may be able to combine them back into a single SAP2000 Moving Load case, but you will have to do this manually. For each SAP90 Moving Load case, a single SAP2000 envelopetype Combo is created during translation. Please also note that the "pm" portion of the SAP90 lane load was used for moments M2 and M3 for all elements, while the floating concentrated load "pm" for the SAP2000 vehicle load only applies to the vertical moment (usually M3), and only for lane elements! WARNING! Some imported data may be interpreted differently by SAP2000 than by SAP90. For example, the interaction between end offsets and end releases is different, as is the interaction between prestress load and P-Delta analysis. Be sure to check your imported model carefully! Compare the results of analyses using both SAP90 and SAP2000 before making further use of the imported model! See Topic "Upgrading from SAP90" in Chapter II of the "SAP2000 Getting Started" manual for more information.
6. Using a Novell Server as a Key-Server ---------------------------------------You may be able to use a Novell server as a SAP2000 key server utilizing the key-server software NSRVNI.NLM. You may try it, but we do not support this feature. NSRVNI can only serve IPX/SPX workstations. If you are running SAP2000 on a workstation that only uses NetBIOS/NETBEUI, it will not be able to find the key on the Novell server. To use a Novell server as a key server, try the following: (1) Copy file NSRVNI.NLM from the SAP2000 folder to a convenient location on the server (2) Attach the hardware key device to an active parallel port on the server (3) From the server console, give the command: LOAD NSRVNI Include the path to the file NSRVNI.NLM as necessary. After a time to initialize, the display will show the number of current users and the peak (4) Try running SAP2000 from a workstation to see if it can find the key. Make sure no other keys are being served on the network for this test (5) If SAP2000 cannot find the key, stop NSRVNI by giving the command:
UNLOAD NSRVNI from the server console (first toggle to the command prompt). Do not include the path to NSRVNI.NLM here. (6) Reload NSRVNI using the command: LOAD NSRVNI /AT:nn where nn is 50 or 100 (try both if necessary). Include the path to the file NSRVNI.NLM as necessary. (7) After initialization, try accessing the key again from a workstation. If this still doesn't work, you may call us for assistance, but this is not a supported feature.