CSI ETABS Ultimate

About this release

ETABS is the structural package built specifically around buildings, and the difference from a general purpose solver shows in every part of it. The model is organised by storey rather than by arbitrary geometry, so similar floors are defined once and repeated, framing plans are edited in plan view the way engineers actually think about them, and results come back organised the same way: storey drift, storey shear, and forces per level rather than a flat list of elements.

Analysis covers what building design requires. Static gravity and lateral cases, response spectrum and time history seismic analysis, wind loading generated from code against the building shape, construction sequence loading so a tall structure is analysed as it is actually built, and second order effects for slender frames. Cracked section properties, diaphragm behaviour and shear wall modelling are all handled the way building codes expect rather than approximated.

Design runs directly against the analysis in the Ultimate tier. Steel frame design, concrete frame and shear wall design, composite beam and column design, and slab design all execute against the governing code, with results reported as demand to capacity ratios that can be read straight off the model. Sections that fail can be changed and the whole thing rerun in a single pass rather than iterated by hand.

The output side is built for handing work on. Detailed calculation reports assemble from selected results, drawings and schedules generate for the designed members, and geometry exchanges with the wider building modelling ecosystem so the analytical model and the documentation model stay related rather than being drawn twice.

What it does

Storey based modelling

Floors defined once and repeated, edited in plan, with results reported per level.

Full seismic analysis

Response spectrum and time history cases with code generated lateral loads.

Construction sequence loading

Tall structures analysed as they are actually built rather than all at once.

Integrated design

Steel, concrete, composite and shear wall design run against the analysis with capacity ratios reported.

Building specific behaviour

Diaphragms, cracked sections, shear walls and second order effects handled properly.

Reports and exchange

Calculation reports, member schedules and geometry exchange with building model formats.

Changed in this version

• Solver performance improved on models with very high storey counts.
• Design code packs refreshed to current published revisions.
• Shear wall modelling gains improved meshing around openings.
• Report builder reworked with clearer result selection.
• Faster model open on files with large numbers of load combinations.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive to a short path.
2. Install the bundled runtime prerequisites if the installer requests them.
3. Run the main installer and let the code packs deploy.
4. Open the application once and set the default design code and unit system.

Worth knowing before you start

File details