etabs-design

name

etabs-design

description

How ETABS performs code-based design and what the results mean — steel frame, concrete frame, composite beam, composite column, shear wall, concrete slab, steel connection, and steel joist design. Covers the supported design codes (AISC 360-05/10/16/22, ACI 318-08/11/14/19, Eurocode 2/3/4, CSA S16 & A23.3, AS 3600 & 4100, NZS 3101/3404, IS 456/800/11384, NTC, BS, HK CP, TS 500, KBC, SP 16, Chinese) — design preferences/overwrites, D-C (demand-capacity) ratios, capacity/seismic provisions, and how to read or script design through the OAPI. Triggers on design code names, "design check", "utilization", "D/C ratio", "overwrites", "auto-select section", cDesignSteel/cDesignConcrete/ cDesignShearWall/cDesignCompositeBeam, or any cDSt*/cDCo*/cDComp*/cDConc* code interface. Points into the vendor design manuals in reference/.

ETABS Design (code procedures)

ETABS implements each design code as a documented procedure. The authoritative description of what ETABS actually computes for a given code is the vendor design manual PDF in reference/ at the repo root. Always cite the specific manual + code edition rather than answering from general code knowledge, because ETABS makes documented interpretations and defaults.

Two layers, keep them distinct

1. The procedure — the manual PDFs below describe assumptions, applied clauses, classification, capacity/seismic provisions, and the D-C ratio formulation ETABS uses per code.
2. Driving/reading it via the API — the OAPI design interfaces start/stop design, set preferences & overwrites, pick the code, and return results. See the etabs-oapi skill and these interfaces (full method lists in .claude/skills/etabs-oapi/reference/api/):
   • cDesignSteel, cDesignConcrete, cDesignShearWall, cDesignCompositeBeam, cDesignCompositeColumn, cDesignConcreteSlab, cDesignStrip, cDesignForces, cDesignResults, cDetailing.
   • Per-code preference/overwrite interfaces: steel cDStAISC360_22 etc. (prefix cDSt*), concrete cDCoACI318_19 etc. (cDCo*), composite column cDCompCol*, concrete shell/slab cDConc*.

Typical OAPI design flow: select code via the design driver → set prefs/overwrites → StartDesign() → query results (cDesignResults, summary tables) → read D-C ratios / chosen sections. Look up exact method names in the etabs-oapi reference.

Design manuals by type and code (paths under reference/)

Steel Frame Design — reference/Steel Frame Design/ AISC 360-22/16/10/05 (SFD-AISC-360-*.pdf), AISC ASD-89 & LRFD-93 & BS 5950-2000 (SFD-OlderCodes.pdf), AS 4100-2020/1998, CSA S16-24/19/14, Eurocode EN 1993-1-1:2005 (SFD-EN 1993-1-1 2005.pdf), IS 800-2007, KBC 2016/2009, NTC 2018/2008, NZS 3404-1997, SP 16.13330.2017 (SFD SP-16-13330-2017.pdf).

Concrete Frame Design — reference/Concrete Frame Design/ ACI 318-19/14/11/08 (CFD-ACI-318-*.pdf), AS 3600-2018/09, BS 8110-97, CP 65-99, CSA A23.3-24/19/14, Eurocode 2 2004 (CFD-EC-2-2004.pdf), HK CP-2013, IS 456-2000, KBC 2016/2009, NTC 2008, NZS 3101-2006, RCDF 2017/2004, TS 500-2000 (& R2018).

Composite Beam Design — reference/Composite Beam Design/ AISC 360-22/16/10/05, BS 5950-90, CSA S16-24/19/14, EC-4-2004, IS 11384-2022.

Composite Column Design — reference/Composite Column Design/ AISC 360-22/16/10, CSA S16-24/19, EC-4-2004, IS 11384-2022.

Shear Wall Design — reference/Shear Wall Design/ ACI 318-19/14/11/08 (SWD-ACI-318-*.pdf), ACI 530-11 (masonry), AISC 360-22 composite (CSWD-AISC-360-22.pdf), AS 3600-2018/09, BS 8110-97, CP 65-99, CSA A23.3-14, EC-2-2004, HK CP-2013, IS 456-2000, KBC 2016/2009, NZS 3101-2006, RCDF 2017/2004, TS 500-2000 (& R2018).

Concrete Slab Design — reference/Concrete Slab Design/ ETABS RC Slab Design.pdf, ETABS PT Slab Design.pdf (post-tensioned).

Steel Connection Design — reference/Steel Connection Design/ AISC 360-22/16/10 (SCD-AISC-360-*.pdf).

Steel Joist Design — reference/Steel Joist Design/SJD-SJI-2020.pdf.

Verification examples (hand-calc vs ETABS)

Worked examples that validate each procedure are under reference/Verification/Design/<Type>/ — e.g. reference/Verification/Design/Concrete Frame/ACI 318-19 Example 001.pdf, .../Composite Column/AISC-360-22 Example 003.pdf. Use these to confirm an interpretation or to reproduce a check by hand.

How to answer a design question

1. Identify the design type and code edition (ask if ambiguous — ETABS behavior differs across editions).
2. Read the matching manual PDF section in reference/ (use the pdf skill / Read tool with a page range; these manuals are long — target the relevant chapter: classification, flexure, shear, combined, seismic, D-C).
3. If a hand-check is needed, cross-reference the Verification example.
4. If it must be scripted, hand off the driving part to etabs-oapi and the interpretation stays here.

Related skills

For first-principles code design beyond ETABS's interpretation, use anthropic-skills:aisc-steel-design (AISC 360/341/358 + Design Guides). For concrete/seismic theory feeding the model, anthropic-skills:quake-research.