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M. Enclosed Zone Loads

An enclosed zone is a method to apply a perpendicular area load to supporting members.

An enclosed zone differs from an area or floor load type in both how the area is defined as well as how the load distribution is calculated.

  • define openings within the loaded boundary
  • select members to ignore when forming the loading panel
  • select members to ignore for load transfer

Limitations

  • No more than 500 enclosed zones can be included in a model.
  • No more than 400 boundary nodes can be used in a single enclosed zone.
  • No more than 400 openings can be included in a single enclosed zone.
    Note: This limit is dynamic such that the actual maximum is capped at 80% of the total nodes in the model file. If this threshold is met, then it is suggested to redefine the zone boundary for a balance between memory and performance.
  • Enclosed zone loads are not considered for generated mass models, regardless of the load type.
  • Live load reduction is not applied to enclosed zone loads.
Note: The following modeling tools are not supported in STAAD.Pro 2023 for models which have enclosed zones:
  • Mirror
  • Translational Repeat
  • Circular Repeat
  • Generate Rotate
  • Copy
  • Move Node
  • Move Origin