UNITAR STRUCT / DOCUMENTATION
What is covered and what is not
We prefer that you know in advance what to expect. This page says what the software does, by which rules, and where the current version stops.
What the software does and what stays with the engineer
UNITAR STRUCT draws, dimensions and counts. It does not run structural analysis and it does not size the reinforcement.
- You choose the reinforcement of each element: diameters, spacings, number of bars, stirrups. On creation, an element gets starting reinforcement from a template. It is a starting point, not a design result: check each element with
REBAR_EDITbefore you issue the drawings. - The software calculates anchorage and lap lengths, splits bars longer than 12 m, draws the details and prepares the schedules and quantities.
- Punching reinforcement is laid out from the diameter and spacings you give. The software does not check punching shear.
- The drawings are checked and signed off by the design engineer, like any drawing.
Calculation rules and settings
| Subject | What the software uses |
|---|---|
| Anchorage length | Calculated to EC2 from the concrete class, steel, bond conditions and diameter. The concrete class is that of the element: it can be set per level and per element type. |
| Lap length | 1.5 × the anchorage length. |
| “Romanian code” option | Columns, beams and walls of the superstructure get the increase from the Romanian seismic code P100: 1.2 × lbd + 5d. Foundations use the EC2 length in both variants. |
| Critical zones of beams | By the chosen ductility class (DCH, DCM, DCL): closer stirrups next to the supports, over a length you can change. |
| Concrete cover | 2.5 cm by default, 5 cm for foundations. Changed in UNITAR_SETTINGS. |
| Concrete and steel | Concrete C12/15 to C50/60. Steel BST500S and PC52. |
| Diameters | 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 25, 28 and 32 mm. |
| Welded mesh | The DIN 488-4 catalogue (Q188A–Q636A, R188A–R524A) and a series with 100 × 100 mm openings. |
| Units | The model is built in centimetres. Diameters are in millimetres, levels in metres. |
| Drawing scales | Plans at 1:50. Details at 1:25 or 1:20. The mesh layout plan at 1:50 or 1:100. |
| Language | Drawings: Romanian or English. Buttons and command line: English. |
Elements covered
| Element | What you can do | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Columns | Rectangular, round (with a spiral), polygonal from a closed outline. Over several levels, spliced at the base, at mid-height or above. Columns that start on a beam, a wall or a slab. | A side ratio of 4 or more means a wall and is modelled as a wall. |
| Beams | Straight, in any direction in plan, inclined, kinked at the ridge, with an offset top face. Continuous and secondary beams, cantilevers. Reinforcement per span and per support, inner stirrups, web bars. | Curved beams are not covered. A kinked beam means exactly two inclined beams, supported at both ends. |
| Walls | Straight, in any direction. Rectangular or polygonal (L, T) end cages. Openings. Ring beams. | Curved walls are not covered. Superstructure walls have a constant height. An opening gets its own border bars from 100 cm upwards. |
| Basement walls | In any direction, from a polyline or from segments. Variable height along ramps. Openings. Cages taken over from the columns and walls above. | The top ring beam is drawn in 2D only. |
| Slabs | Polygonal outline, flat or inclined in a single plane. Openings, drop panels. Reinforcement with bars, welded mesh or both. Chairs. | Outlines with arcs and slabs that are not planar are not covered. A round opening is reinforced as a square one. Oblique supports are left out of the automatic panel division. A drop panel gets only its own bottom mesh. |
| Raft | Top and bottom reinforcement plans, starter-bar plan with a layout scheme and details, blinding concrete. | It can share a level with a slab. |
| Foundations | Pad footings, footings with a pedestal, strip footings (straight, oblique, inclined) and foundation beams, including inclined ones. Chains with different widths. | Starter bars are drawn at every foundation and counted once. |
| Parapets | Section, elevation and plan, with the schedule of the sheet. | A parapet stands on a slab or a beam, found automatically. |
| Stairs | Flights and landings, longitudinal section, formwork plan and schedule. | Steps are shown schematically in the drawing. Two parallel flights sharing a landing are defined as separate stairs. |
| Punching | Links laid out radially or orthogonally, with their own plan, for slabs and rafts. | No design check. |
Drawings and regeneration
There is one rule and it applies the same way every time.
- What you add to a sheet stays through every regeneration: bars, stirrups, texts, dimensions, lines.
- What the software generated is deleted and rebuilt from the model. A correction made by hand on a generated item is lost at the next
PLANS. Reinforcement corrections are made in the model, withREBAR_EDIT. - Labels moved with
MOVE_LABELkeep their position. - Your additions stay at their coordinates. If the model geometry changes a lot, an annotation can end up misaligned and has to be moved.
- For the sheet layout, the title block comes from a template. Scale, date, format and title are filled in automatically; you write the other fields and the notes. With some printers the paper format is chosen by hand in Page Setup.
Quantities and export
- Concrete and formwork quantities are net: intersections between elements and openings are subtracted once. For inclined elements the intersections are calculated on the vertical envelope, so they are approximate.
- The IFC export (IFC4) contains the concrete geometry, the openings and the concrete class. It does not contain the reinforcement.
- IFC import is not available.
Working with CAD commands
MOVEon a model element is followed by the software. Rotating and scaling slabs and rafts is not followed.- Copies made with
COPYare recognized at the nextMODEL_SCANorPLANS. - After you change the concrete classes, run
PLANSagain so that the lengths are recalculated.
Platforms
| Subject | Status |
|---|---|
| CAD software | AutoCAD and BricsCAD, Pro edition or higher. AutoCAD LT and BricsCAD Lite are not suitable, as they have no 3D modeling. |
| Operating systems | Windows, with AutoCAD or BricsCAD, and Linux, with BricsCAD. macOS is not tested yet. |
| Buttons | The control panel and the toolbars work on both systems. The ribbon exists on Windows only. |
| License | 2 computers for each seat. Without internet, the software works for 7 days after the last validation. |
In progress
No promised dates: curved elements (beams, slabs), IFC import, macOS for BricsCAD and an optional assistant for generating the structure. Tell us what you are missing; we set the order by what users ask for.