sazeh: code checking of buildings from an ETABS model

What is sazeh?

sazeh is an online service that checks a building against the design codes. You upload the .e2k file of your ETABS model on the home page, choose the design base acceleration A, the soil type and the structural system, and sazeh checks every member of the building against the seismic code, the loading code, the reinforced-concrete code and the steel code. At the end you receive a calculation sheet, a 3D view that shows the result for each member and, where needed, a corrected model.

The calculation sheet is currently written in Persian. The web pages, the 3D view and the explanations on this site are available in English.

sazeh does not replace ETABS. Its purpose is to run, in a uniform and repeatable way, the checks that a design office normally does by hand or in a spreadsheet, and to state on the sheet what an ETABS report does not say.

What do you receive?

• A calculation sheet (currently in Persian), printable on A4. It starts with the answer: whether the building complies with the codes, which clauses are not met, and how many members, joints or storeys each clause concerns. Every row carries the clause number.
• A 3D view of the model that shows the status of each member, with the list of clauses that are not met beside it.
• A corrected model, when a clause is not met and a change of section can fix it. The corrected model is checked separately, and the change of each section group is listed together with its change in weight.
• A list of actions to apply in ETABS, named after the ETABS windows, so that the engineer can apply the corrections in the original model.

What sazeh does for the designer

1. It checks every member against the codes

Every beam, column, joint and storey is checked against the clauses of the seismic code, the loading code, the reinforced-concrete code and the steel code. The numeric tables of each code are kept per edition, so it is known from which table and which edition every number comes.

sazeh does not claim to cover every clause. A clause that cannot yet be checked appears on the sheet as "deferred", and a member that has not been designed is marked "not designed". Neither of the two is counted as "met", because a sheet that shows an unchecked clause in green is more dangerous than no sheet. The exact list is on the limitations page.

2. It corrects the model until the clauses are met

If a clause is not met and can be fixed by enlarging a section, sazeh enlarges the sections concerned step by step and then runs a weight-reduction pass. A change is accepted only if, after a new analysis, no member anywhere in the building gets worse, because changing one section moves load to other members.

A clause that a change of section cannot fix, for example a modelling question or an assumption of the engineer, is listed in the sheet together with what would close it. The corrected model may be heavier than the original, because the first aim is to meet the codes and weight reduction comes after that. The weight and the volumes of concrete and reinforcement of each group are reported separately, so that the trade between columns and beams is not hidden behind one total.

3. It builds and compares alternative designs

From one grid and one set of storey heights several designs can be built and each is checked separately: an intermediate or special reinforced-concrete moment frame, an intermediate or special steel moment frame, and a composite frame with steel beams and concrete columns. Because every design is checked against the same codes, their final weight and their volumes of concrete and reinforcement are comparable. sazeh does not choose among the designs itself; it provides the comparison and the decision stays with the engineer.

Who is it for?

• Structural design offices that work with ETABS and want to check their model against a code checklist before they sign.
• Civil and structural engineering students who want to see the complete chain of seismic loading, analysis and checking on a simple frame and to follow every number to its origin.

Which codes are checked?

Only the current edition of each code is used. A draft edition is not used.

Scope and responsibility for the signature

sazeh is built for reinforced-concrete and steel moment-frame buildings. It does not cover sheds, shoring structures, timber structures or light steel frames (details). sazeh does not stamp drawings; that is the engineer's task. Its output is a section proposal and the result of a code check, and it does not replace the legal responsibility of the design engineer.

Other pages

• AI structural design: what artificial intelligence does in structural design and what it does not
• Design of concrete and steel structures: the design scope, and why sheds, shoring, light steel frames and timber are not covered
• Structural calculation and building calculations: base shear, live load, wind load and the calculation sheet
• ETABS model check tool: what is read from the .e2k file and what is checked
• Structural peer review: which items of a reviewer's first pass are covered
• Storey drift check: how drift is read and compared with the limit
• Column checks: strong column, weak beam and P-M interaction
• Features: the complete list of checks and outputs
• Workflow: from uploading the file to receiving the sheet
• FAQ: short answers to common questions
• Limitations: what is not yet verified and what is outside the scope