Lawrence Hooker
It is that time of the year again to review Autodesk's New Features and Updates for Revit, with this release being Revit 2022 and focused, specifically on structures.
In this Revit 2022 release, the structural tools continue to build on the core functionality of reinforced concrete modelling and steel fabrication modelling. Let us start by looking at some of the key features and tools relating to steel modelling.
When modelling steel connections, there is a desire to try and standardise as much as possible to reduce the complexity and cost of steel detailing and manufacture. The simple way to achieve this is to use the connections outlined in the SCI Green Book. You can now create standard libraries of each connection type and then set ranges of applicability. For example, you may have a partial depth end plate connection with 6 bolts and a shear resistance of 600kN. This connection could be used with several different section types and sizes and placed automatically with the use of Dynamo player.
Although strictly regarded as a platform tool, you can now display and edit grids within the 3D view. This is much appreciated and a feature that has been requested for several years. This is particularly useful when you wish to change the vertical extents of curved and skewed grids. The 3D grids have very similar functionality to the 3D levels that were incorporated into Revit a few years ago.
When adding reinforcement bar to elements, it is a very common process to utilise rebar sets to create ranges of rebar. However, sometimes the rebar sets can clash with other bars or perhaps obscure a structural opening. We can now remove unwanted bars from the rebar set, move or rotate bars to create clash free, detailed 3D models. This functionality supports the use of 3D views to convey complex reinforcement arrangements and the exact placement of bars.
The default behaviour when modelling links or adding shapes to concrete elements is that the bar will expand and snap to the cover. This is normally very useful and what we would expect. However, there are situations where you want to control the extent of the rebar. This can now be done using the new two-point placement method. This is very useful for placing multiple links in wide beams and very handy for U-Bars. In the example shown below, I am placing a U-Bar into the model using the new two-point method.
When modelling rebars, the default method is to use the nominal rebar diameters which are smaller than the actual diameters. For example, a H16 bar has a nominal diameter of 16mm but a real diameter of 19mm. Whilst a few millimetres probably wont matter too much, when working with larger diameter bars with multiple layers and large amounts of steel this could cause coordination issues.
Whilst I have only had the chance to showcase a few of the structural features in this blog, the overall functionality of Revit 2022 is very impressive. The platform tools are very strong this year and solve many onerous workarounds that have inevitably evolved over the years. Notable favourites for me are phasing, revisions, 3D grids and PDF Exports.
Watch our video below to see these new features and updates in action:
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