Risa Manual

Structural Theory Laboratory Manual with RISA-2D 2023 Edition
Department of Civil Engineering Version 1
Table of
Contents
COMPUTATIONAL TITLE PAGE SCORE

EXERCISE NO.
Overview of RISA-2D Educational 3
Truss Analysis Tutorial using RISA- 5
2D
Beam and Frame Analysis Tutorial 14
using RISA-2D
1 Deflection of Statically Determinate 24
Beam using Double Integration
Method
Beam using Moment-Area Method
Beam using Conjugate Beam
Method
Truss using Virtual Work Method
Beam and Frame using Virtual Work
Method
Truss using Castigliano’s Theorem
Beam and Frame using Castigliano’s
Theorem
8 Analysis of Statically Indeterminate 49
Structures using Force Method
9 Analysis of Continuous Beam using 56
Three-Moment Equation
Structures using Slope-Deflection
Method
Structures using Moment-
Distribution Method
Truss using Stiffness Method
Beam using Stiffness Method
Frame using Stiffness Method
Page | 2
OVERVIEW OF
RISA-2D EDUCATIONAL
The educational version of RISA-2D, a computer program developed by RISA
Technologies is a first-order, interactive computer program for the analysis of two-dimensional
(planar) structures, such as beams, trusses, and frames.
RISA-2D Educational was developed to make the definition, solution, and modification
of two-dimensional determinate or indeterminate structures simple and fast. The program
allows users to draw and edit a model of the structure on the computer screen. The final
results−reactions, axial force, shear, and moment diagrams, as well as the deflected
shape−can be displayed graphically. This educational version, limited to structures with
maximum of 50 joints and 50 members, will permit the student to analyze the majority of
problems in a basic course in structural analysis.
RISA-2D Educational performs a first-order analysis, which assumes that joint
displacements are small enough so that a valid analysis can be based on the initial geometry
of the structure. Since the program does not account for the effect of additional forces and
deflections produced by large joint displacements, forces and deflections of slender members
carrying compression or compression and moment (such as long slender arches or columns
in rigid frames) may be underestimated significantly if the structure is flexible and the applied
loads are large.
The program solution is based on the widely accepted linear elastic direct stiffness
method. First, the stiffness of each element of the structure is calculated. These stiffnesses
are then combined to produce the model's global structure stiffness matrix. Next, the global
matrix is solved for the applied loads to calculate joint deflections that are then used to
calculate the individual element forces and deflections.
The structural theory laboratory manual will use RISA-2D Educational software for the
analysis of planar structures. The computations of analyzing statically determinate and
indeterminate structures using different methods will be compared to the results from RISA-
2D.
When the computer program is opened, three items will appear on the computer
screen (see Figure 1):
 Three rows of symbols and a row of commands along the top of the screen
 A rectangular grid of lines on which the structure will be depicted. The origin of the x-
y coordinate system is positioned at the lower left corner of the grid.
 A Data Entry box appears on the top right side of the screen. The data required to
define the structure, its loads, and its supports are entered here.
Figure 1
Page | 3
As data is inserted into the six tables in the Data Entry box, a figure of the structure,
its supports, and the design loads will automatically appear on the grid. This figure permits
the designer to verify visually the accuracy of the input data.
To perform the computer analysis, click on Solve at the top of the screen. (If for any
reason a structure is unstable, the computer program will flash a warning on a red screen and
will not carry out the analysis.) The program then produces tables that list values of support
reactions, joint deflections, and internal forces in members. There are additional commands
to label members and joints, to sketch the deflected shape to an exaggerated scale, and to
draw shear, moment, and axial load diagrams.
Page | 4
Truss Analysis Tutorial

using RISA-2D
Introduction
The 2-dimensional truss to be analyzed is shown in Figure 2. It is indeterminate to the

first degree. Assume the area of each member is 1.2 in2 and the Young’s modulus is 29,000
ksi.
Figure 2
Step-by-Step
Analysis Procedure
1. To begin the analysis, click on Global (top left of screen). The table Global
Parameters (Figure 3) provides space for the Title of the analysis, the name of the
Designer, and the Number of Sections along the member's length. Since we wish
to base the analysis on the assumption that the truss bars are pin-ended and only
carry axial load, we set the number of sections equal to 2 to establish the forces at
each end of the truss bars.
Figure 3
2. If the designer does not specify the number of sections, the program will
automatically specify 5 equally spaced sections along the member's axis as the
default value. For beams and frames, the program will compute the magnitude of
the shear, moment, and axial load at each section. The box Notes provides space
for additional descriptive comments, such as the grade of steel, controlling design
code, and so on. Click OK when entries are completed.
Page | 5
3. To establish the units, click Units at the top of the screen to activate the Units
Selection toolbar (Figure 4), which provides several options:
 You can specify Use CONSISTENT Units. For this option, you must express all
physical quantities−length, area, modulus of elasticity E, and so on−in terms
of consistent units, for example, inches and kips.
 For practical applications, the program provides a more convenient way of
handling unit conversions by allowing the designer to click on either Standard
Metric or Standard Imperial for U.S. customary units (USCU). The designer
specifies the units for each variable, and the program will automatically handle
the conversion internally to place all units on a consistent basis. We choose
Standard Imperial in our example since all member properties are expressed
in USCU.
 Or if you wish, set units in convenient dimensions (as in Figure 4), and then
click Convert Existing Data for Any Units Changes. Click OK once you have
completed the table.
Figure 4
4. To establish the grid dimensions, click Modify (top screen) and select Grid. A Define
Drawing Grid table appears (Figure 5). This table shows that the program assigns
default values of 30 units, 1 ft in length, to the y-direction and 30 units, 1 ft in length,
to the x-direction. The default value also positions the origin of the coordinate system
at x = 0 and y = 0, which is the lower left corner. The right-hand rule is used such
that counterclockwise rotation is positive.
Figure 5
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5. If the dimensions of the structure fit in the grid, click OK. If the dimensions of the
structure exceed those of the grid, the grid dimensions can be modified by filling in
the lines under X-Axis (ft) and Y-Axis (ft) with a revised scale. Considering the
overall dimensions of the structure in Figure 2, we can change the default setting to
4@10 ft and 6@5 ft in the X and Y directions, respectively, such that all joints will fall
on the grid to facilitate visual inspection.
6. Next fill in the appropriate tables contained in the Data Entry box (Figure 6). Starting
at the top, click on Joint Coordinates to open the Joint Coordinates Table (Figure
7) to define the position of each joint.
Figure 6
Figure 7
7. Follow the instruction in the Joint Coordinates window to define each joint. The
program by default labels each joint sequentially as N1, N2, . . ., etc. But you can
rename each joint, as long as the joint name does not start with a number (e.g., 1N).
We arbitrarily label joint A as N1 at x = 0 and y = 0, and a black dot appears at the
lower left corner (i.e., the origin) of the grid. Next click the Enter key on the keyboard
to produce the second line for joint B (labeled as N2). Insert x = 0 and y = 30; click
Enter again. Alternatively, click Edit from the manual bar or right click the mouse
and select Insert Line to add additional joints. Once you have completed the table,
all the joints will appear as black dots on the screen. Close the table by pressing the
X at the top right corner of the table. To label the joints on the screen, click View at
the top of the screen and select Joint Labels.
8. To produce the table that defines the joint restraints (Figure 8), return to the Data
Entry box and click Boundary Conditions.
 Press the Entry key to produce the first line labeled Joint N1.
 Click on the space under column X, which turns green and produces a red arrow
on the right side of the cell.
 Click the red arrow to produce a box labeled Set Boundary Condition (Figure
8).
 Since the hinge support at Joint 1 provides restraint in the horizontal or x-
direction, click fixed.
 Click OK and Reaction will appear in Column X.
 Click in the space under Column Y; again click on the red arrow; again click on
fixed, indicating no displacement in the y-direction.
 Click on OK and on the space labeled Rotation.
 Since the pin does not provide rotational restraint, click Free and then OK.
(You can skip this step if no restraint is provided in that particular direction.)
When you complete this line of the chart, Reaction will appear in the X and Y
columns, and a pin support will appear on the screen at Joint 1.
 Next click Enter to produce the next line for the boundary conditions at the
next supported joint (N2).
Page | 7
Figure 8
9. After this line is complete, a short horizontal line will appear on the grid at Joint N2,
representing the horizontal reaction provided by the roller (Figure 11). Complete the
table for the vertical restraint at Joint N4 and observe that a short vertical line,
representing the vertical reaction, appears on the graph. When you are finished
specifying reactions, close the box by checking the X at the top right corner. For final
results, see Figure 8.
10. To insert the properties of members, return to Data Entry and click on Members.
 Open the table by clicking on any key or the Entry key, and the line for Member
1 (M1) opens (Figure 9). The I joint can be the lower numbered joint, N1, and
the J joint is the joint N2 at the other end.
 If we wish to analyze the truss, assuming that the joints are rigid, we must
provide each member’s area, A, as well as the moment of inertia, I.
 If we want to simplify the analysis and assume that the joints are pinned, we
only have to provide the areas of the members and we can leave the default
value I = 100 (the computer program does not consider the value of I in the
analysis if pins are specified at each end of the truss bars).
 A default value (= 29,000 ksi) of Young's modulus, E, is given. If needed,
change the value of E.
 The next two columns, called I Release and J Release, are provided to insert
pins at the ends of the member where they connect to the joint. To insert a pin,
click on the space below the release. A red arrow appears. Click on the red
arrow, and Set Boundary Condition appears.
 To produce a pin joint, click Pinned. To produce a rigid joint, click Fully Fixed.
 Click OK to complete the modification. The word PIN will appear in each
column.
Figure 9
Page | 8
11. In most trusses, members are slender, and the magnitude of the bar forces will be
about the same, regardless of the degree of fixity at the member ends at joints.
However, if the joints of a shallow massive truss are fabricated by welding or with
high strength bolts and thick gusset plates, bending stresses may be significant, and
the assumption of fixed ends at joints is appropriate. If you select pinned joints, the
program will insert a small open circle at the end of each member.
12. In the last column labeled Length, the member length will be computed
automatically by the computer program. If the length does not appear, click the space
under Length. Continue entering member properties by clicking Enter to produce
the data for the remaining bars. To label members, click View and run down to
Member labels. If the label doesn't appear, try again.
13. To specify the loads that act on the structure, use the last three entries in the Data
Entry toolbar, Joint Loads, Point Loads, and Distributed Loads. In the case of a
truss, we often add an allowance to the joint load to account for the weight of the
members framing into a joint. Since the truss is loaded at the joints only, click on
Joint Loads to obtain the Joint Loads and Enforced Displacement Table (Figure
10).
 In the first column, insert the joint number (i.e., N3) where the load is applied.
 In the second column, specify L for load. [You can specify D (Displacement)
in the second column for problems that involve support settlements.]
 In the Direction column, specify Y or X.
 In the last column, labeled Magnitude, specify the magnitude.
Figure 10
14. If the load acts down or to the left−the negative directions for the coordinate
system−insert a minus sign before the load. If a joint is loaded by a force with both
the x and y components, you will need two lines to specify the components. After the
Joint Load and Enforced Displacement Table is finished, close it by clicking X.
Click on View and select Loads, the loads will appear on the structure shown on the
screen (Figure 11).
Figure 11
Page | 9
15. To analyze the truss, click on Solve (or the icon) at the top of the screen in Figure
1. Results, including member forces, support reactions, and displacement of joints,
are tabulated in tables and viewed by clicking on the labels of the Results toolbar
(Figure 12). As was mentioned earlier, if the data supplied is incomplete or the
structure is unstable, the program will issue a warning.
Figure 12
Figure 13
16. To plot the deflected shape, click on the icon from the manual bar. Figure 14 shows
an exaggerated sketch of the deflected shape in color. Plot the axial force along each
member by clicking on the manual bar (see Figure 15). Values of the member
forces can be obtained by clicking Member Forces from the Results toolbar. As for
the sign convention, the signs of these results correspond to the member's local axes,
using the right hand rule. The left side forces at each section location are displayed.
There are three force values for each section location. These are axial force, shear
and moment. As can be seen in Figure 13, the section forces listed at any given
section are the left side forces. For axial forces, compressive is positive. For moments,
counter-clockwise around the member axis is positive. (Moment and shear are equal
to zero for pin-connected truss members.)
Page | 10
Figure 14
Figure 15
17. Note that creating the model and specifying loading as described in step 6 through
step 13 can also be performed graphically. Figure 16 shows the icons that can be
used for this purpose. For example, clicking on the third icon ( ) allows you to
specify both the joints and members. The support conditions can be specified by
clicking on , and the loadings can be specified by clicking on either one of
Figure 16
Page | 11
Practice Problem
Determine the reactions at the supports and the force in each member of the truss
shown by the method of joints. State if the members are in tension or compression. Check
your answers using RISA-2D.
Computation
Page | 12
RISA-2D Output
Model View:
Support Reactions:
Member Forces:
SCORE: Instructor’s Signature: _____________________
Page | 13
Beam and Frame Analysis Tutorial

using RISA-2D
Introduction
Consider the 2-dimensional frame in Figure 17. It is statically indeterminate to the

sixth degree. Assuming that the value of I is 500 in4, the area of member AB is 15 in2, the
area of the remaining members is 10 in2, and a Young’s modulus of 29,000 ksi, the analysis
is summarized below.
Figure 17
Step-by-Step
Analysis Procedure
1. Follow steps 1 through 3 in Truss Analysis Tutorial (pages 5 to 6) to provide general

information. Use the default value (= 5) for the Number of Sections so that internal
forces at 5 equally spaced locations along each member will be reported. The frame
is composed of 6 joints and 5 members. In step 4 (page 6), change the default grid
settings to 40@1 ft and 19@1 ft in the X and Y directions, respectively, such that all
joints of the frame fall on the grid.
2. Follow step 7 (page 7) to enter the joint coordinates (see Figure 18). Alternatively,
you can follow step 17 (page 11) to specify both joints and members graphically.
Figure 18
3. Follow step 8 to provide information for the Boundary Conditions. Since joints E
and F are fix-ended, set the boundary codes for all the directions (X, Y, and rotation)
as Fixed (see Figure 19).
Page | 14
Figure 19
4. Click Members in the Data Entry toolbar to specify member data, which include the
member labels, joint labels at both ends, area, moment of inertia, and Young’s
modulus (see Figure 20). Note that shearing deformation of the member is ignored
in this educational version. If it is desired to ignore the axial deformation of the
flexural member, you can specify a large value for the member area.
Figure 20
5. Skip Joint Loads from the Data Entry toolbar because this example does not have
joint loads. Instead, click Point Loads from the Data Entry toolbar to specify the 32-
kip point load that acts on member BC (see Figure 21). Click Distributed Loads from
the Data Entry toolbar to specify the uniformly distributed load that acts on member
AB (see Figure 22). The data entry is now complete. Click View from the manual bar
and select Loads to show graphically the applied loads (Figure 23).
Figure 21
Figure 22
Page | 15
Figure 23
6. Note that you can select the loading direction as X, Y, x, or y in the Direction field
when specifying either the point load or the distributed load. Directions X and Y refer
to the global coordinate system (see Figure 1), while directions x and y refer to the
local coordinate system of a member. As can be seen from Figure 24, the local x-axis
corresponds to the member centerline. The positive direction of this local x-axis is
from I joint towards J joint. The local z-axis is always normal to the plane of the
model with positive z being towards you. The local y-axis is then defined by the right-
hand rule. When a member is inclined, it is sometimes more convenient to specify
the point load or transverse load in the local coordinate system.
Figure 24
7. Now click Solve from the manual bar to perform the structural analysis. Click Joint
Reactions from the Results toolbar to view the reaction forces (see Figure 25). Click
Joint Deflections for the deflections and rotation at each joint (see Figure 26). Click
Member Deflections if you are interested in the deflections of the members (see
Figure 27). The member internal forces at equally spaced sections along each
member can be viewed by clicking Member Forces (see Figure 28). The sign
convention of the internal forces is defined in Figure 13.
Figure 25
Page | 16
Figure 26
Figure 27
Figure 28
Page | 17
8. Analysis results can also be viewed graphically in the Model View window by clicking
on the icons below the manual bar (see Figure 29). (If this window does not appear,
click View from the manual bar and select New View to create one.) For example,
Figure 30 shows the moment diagrams, reactions, and the deflected shape of the
structure. Figure 31 depicts the reactions together with the applied loads.
Figure 29
Figure 30
Figure 31
Page | 18
Practice Problems
A. Beam:
Determine the reactions at the supports and draw the shear and bending moment
diagrams and the qualitative deflected shape for the beam shown. Check your answers using
RISA-2D.
Computation
Page | 19
RISA-2D Output
Model View:
Support Reactions:
Shear Diagram:
Bending Moment Diagram:
Deflected Shape:
Page | 20
B. Frame:
Determine the reactions at the supports and draw the shear, bending moment, axial
force diagrams and the qualitative deflected shape for the frame shown. Check your answers
using RISA-2D.
Computation
Page | 21
RISA-2D Output
Model View:
Support Reactions:
Shear Diagram:
Bending Moment Diagram:
Page | 22
Axial Force Diagram:
Deflected Shape:
SCORE: Instructor’s Signature: _____________________
Page | 23

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Structural Theory Laboratory Manual with RISA-2D 2023 Edition

Department of Civil Engineering Version 1

COMPUTATIONAL TITLE PAGE SCORE

Truss Analysis Tutorial

The 2-dimensional truss to be analyzed is shown in Figure 2. It is indeterminate to the

clicking on , and the loadings can be specified by clicking on either one of

SCORE: Instructor’s Signature: _____________________

Beam and Frame Analysis Tutorial

Consider the 2-dimensional frame in Figure 17. It is statically indeterminate to the

1. Follow steps 1 through 3 in Truss Analysis Tutorial (pages 5 to 6) to provide general

Bending Moment Diagram:

Bending Moment Diagram:

SCORE: Instructor’s Signature: _____________________

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