Storey Drift Setup
When the tool is launched in PRIMER, a window appears for you to set up the drift definitions you wish to process:
First, you need to choose the appropriate unit system from the dropdown menu:
Defining Storey Data
You can define the storey data for the structure either by clicking the Create button or the Import button under the Setup Storey Data section. allows you to import previously saved storey definitions (e.g. those created for the Storey Force workflow). When you click , the Storey Data window appears:
Each storey can be defined manually by populating Name and Elevation textboxes and then clicking the Add button which will be activated if the inputs are valid.
Alternatively, you can define multiple storeys automatically by clicking Generate. You will be prompted to select nodes in the model. This will then generate storeys for each unique elevation (z-coordinate) among the nodes you have selected. Finally, you can then modify the labels of each generated storey to be more informative for your project.
Click Apply to import the storey data back to the main setup window.
You can optionally save this data by clicking Save. This will write it to a separate JSON file, which you can when you are starting a new setup. Normally, storey data would be applicable to multiple Seismic workflows, so saving this data will be useful to those other workflows too.
Defining Drift Locations
There are two ways to define drift locations.
- Create several at once using Add Nodes.
- Create one at a time by defining the drift label in the column header text box and then clicking Add Location.
You can define multiple drift nodes at once by clicking Add Nodes. You will then be prompted to select nodes in the model. It is recommended to select nodes in plan view to do this quickly:
The drifts will be assigned with default labels. By right-clicking the drift header, you can rename the drift with a more informative label, as shown below. You can click Sketch in this popup menu to locate the drift nodes in the model, helping you to define an appropriate drift label. You can also redefine new drift nodes for an existing drift via Select, and even delete a current drift via Delete.
To add drift locations individually, define the drift label in the column header text box and click Add Location. A new blank drift column will be added to the table. You can then add nodes by right-clicking the drift header and then clicking Select.
You may wish to update specific nodes on each drift manually. To do this, right-click the desired drift node on the table and use either Pick or Select in the popup menu.
To delete a node for a particular storey in the drift, just delete the contents of the cell in the table.
Writing the Workflow File
Once all data has been defined, save the drift setup by clicking Save. This will write a Workflow file in JSON format. This file will be used to post-process the defined drifts in T/HIS and create a report in REPORTER.
The Storey Drift Workflow tool has been designed to be used on a sweep of Ansys LS-DYNA runs with different ground motions applied to the same model. It is advised to save the Workflow file in the parent folder (the folder containing several child folders, each containing one set of ground motion results). Currently, this Workflow will only work properly if only one Workflow file exists in the parent folder, including its child folders. If you save this file in the folder of an individual model, then there is a risk to duplicate the Workflow file, which might cause problems later. This will most probably happen when you duplicate the original model to create a new model with a different ground motion input.
Database history output
For this workflow, DATABASE_HISTORY_NODE(s) will be generated for each drift node. Remember to save the .key file and rerun the model if necessary. As shown above, some defined nodes will be latent (highlighted in light blue). This means that the DATABASE_HISTORY_NODE(s) do not exist in the model yet. You would need to rerun the model so the results will be available in T/HIS.
Before saving the drift setup, you may also wish to select an include file for the DATABASE_HISTORY_NODE(s). You can choose an include file by clicking Select above the Setup Drift Nodes header. The tool will add any DATABASE_HISTORY_NODE keywords created to your selected include file.
Resetting the data
To reset all data, click Clear all and start the whole process again to define a new drift setup. Alternatively, use Delete All under the Setup Drift Nodes section to reset only the drift nodes while retaining the storey data.
Importing existing Workflow Data
When an existing Workflow file is present in the root folder, the storey data and drift nodes are automatically imported when you run this Workflow.
After removing all data in a current session, you can import the storey data and the drift nodes by clicking the Import buttons on each sub-section. Storey data must be imported first before importing the drift nodes. Every node on each drift specified in the Workflow file are validated. If a node does not exist, it will be highlighted in the table, flagged as an error. For further details on importing storey data, please refer to the following section.
Importing existing Storey Data
As mentioned on the section above, you can import pre-defined storey data to quickly define storeys. The storey data may exist in an external JSON file or in the Workflow file. If it is present, you will be prompted to use an existing Workflow file. If you choose not to, then a file selector popup will appear so you can select an external JSON file.
Dealing with input Errors/Warnings
You might encounter errors or warnings when populating the drift table.
If errors exists, the Save button will be disabled so you cannot proceed unless the errors are addressed. On the other hand, warnings will not disable the Save button so you may still proceed with caution. Make sure the warnings are expected and intended. For example, drift nodes on one drift location might sit on different XY coordinates. If the difference is outside the tool's tolerance, this tool will show you a warning. You may then proceed or update the selection.
The most critical warnings and errors will be shown at the top of Setup Drift Nodes section for your information. The cells related to input errors/warnings will be colour-coded. More details on these is available on the Help button on the right side of the Setup Drift Nodes section header.
