AEC TECH NEWS: SCIA nv introduces SCIA Engineer 15.2

Columbia, Md. — As part of the company's plan to accelerate the release of new technology, SCIA nv, a global provider of structural design software that supports the BIM process and member of the Nemetschek Group, introduced SCIA Engineer 15.2. This is the third release of the company’s flagship 3D structural design software this year. SCIA Engineer 15.2 expands the program’s steel and concrete design capabilities with a focus on the United States and provides numerous usability improvements to increase day-to-day productivity.

“With SCIA Engineer 15.2, we’re seeing the positive outcomes of our new development process. With additional development resources and reorganization of the development teams, we are much more efficient and able to turn around substantial releases of SCIA Engineer every three months,” said Scia nv Chief Technology Officer Herman Oogink. “As a company, we can respond much more quickly to our customer’s needs and demands in our core markets Europe, the United States and Brazil.”

Highlights of the Scia Engineer 15.2 release include:

Virtual Joists — Historically, structural engineers have not been able to incorporate joists with realistic physical properties into their building models. As a result, neither joists with non-uniform loading nor joists included in lateral load resisting frames could be defined accurately. The new virtual joist component in SCIA Engineer allows the engineer to incorporate joist member stiffness in the overall model, making the analysis of the building system more accurate. The joist members can be checked and auto-designed and are given a realistic joist designation consistent with expectations from joist manufacturers and the Steel Joists Institute (SJI).

Equivalent Lateral Force — For fast and easily verifiable seismic analysis, SCIA Engineer 15.2 introduced the Equivalent Lateral Force procedure including support for the provisions of ASCE 7. This simplified method is a nice complement to SCIA Engineer’s Model Response Spectra and Pushover capabilities.

Support for New Materials — Materials databases have been expanded to include timber and aluminium according to IBC.

Design of steel connections now fully supports beam flanges and webs in compression according to EN 1993-1-8 Article 6.2.6.7 (1-2). Other improvements concern summary output, output for splice connections, and drawing of connections, to name a few.

Users will find a new prestressed tendon library according to standards ASTM A416 and ASTM A910. This development enables users to introduce strand-patterns and tendons in 3D beam and slab geometry while providing the ability to calculate losses.

SCIA Concrete Section EN 1992-1-1 now multiple sets of internal forces can be inputted. The checks are shown for the combination with the worst effect.

Usability Improvements — Scia Engineer 15.2 expands its BIM capabilities with support for Tekla Structures 21.1 and improved IFC interoperability with Allplan Architecture and Allplan Engineering.

Inputs, filtering, and the viewing and exporting of results have been improved in both the Table views and the Engineering Report. In addition, the Engineer Reports offer some nice PDF and MS Excel compatibility improvements.

SCIA Engineer 15.2 presents improved calculation of membrane structures using triangular finite elements.

For a complete list of what’s new in Scia Engineer 15.2, visit www.scia.net/new. Existing clients with maintenance agreements can download their free upgrade at www.scia.net/update.