Advantages

In the program, timber, masonry and reinforced concrete structural elements can be solved together within a single project and a single data set. This gives the program unique flexibility.

One of the program's greatest advantages over foreign timber design programs is that it performs timber building calculations according to our own code, in line with the Principles for the Design, Calculation and Construction of Timber Buildings (ABTHYE) published in Official Gazette No. 32499 on 24/03/2024. Although our code shows some similarity to Eurocode 5, it differs in many respects, so results compliant with our code can hardly be expected from foreign programs.

To our knowledge, foreign programs that solve timber buildings do not calculate the intermediate beams and studs inside timber shear walls; they only check the fasteners connecting the sheathing to the frame. This is because, instead of modelling the members inside the timber shear wall with finite elements, they apply their own macro models (classical analysis methods) and try to simplify the model. In StatiCAD, every frame member inside a timber shear wall is checked for all effects, including weak-axis bending, buckling and torsion. This prevents overly slender, unsafe designs and, in our view, significantly improves the serviceability and seismic performance of the structure.

With the diaphragm-free and semi-rigid diaphragm analysis options, StatiCAD takes the realistic behaviour of all components of the structure into account, removing the need for the additional checks (very difficult to perform manually) that arise from the rigid diaphragm assumption.

Masonry structures are the oldest and most traditional type of construction. Because vertical loads and lateral loads such as earthquakes are carried by the walls, masonry buildings can be built far more economically than reinforced concrete and steel buildings. Masonry walls are less ductile than reinforced concrete or steel members, so their capacity to absorb earthquake energy is lower. On the other hand, when designed according to the earthquake code they can be less sensitive to construction errors. For example, a project designed for high ductility with seismic forces reduced by R=8 may, because of workmanship and connection errors, behave like a normal-ductility building (R=4) during an earthquake. This can be equivalent to structural members designed for a lateral force of 100 tonnes in a storey having to carry 200 tonnes. In masonry buildings seismic forces are reduced only by R=2.5. The ductility and strength of masonry buildings can be increased with vertical tie-columns at building corners and/or wall intersections.

Masonry buildings are very sensitive to earthquake effects and have specific characteristics that must be calculated carefully; for example, wall elements have high seismic (shear) strength under high vertical load but weaker seismic (shear) strength under low vertical load.

     StatiCAD is a powerful design tool that helps calculate the checks required by the earthquake code for masonry buildings very precisely. The economy and soundness of a statically designed masonry building should not be given up.

Modelling with StatiCAD is as easy as running a slab calculation for a masonry building in a reinforced concrete design and drawing program. When the model is built in StatiCAD, all static calculations required by the earthquake code are carried out in addition to the slab calculations, so the masonry building being designed is also made earthquake-resistant. If the building is insufficient, the insufficient structural elements are shown on the graphics screen in different colours according to their status.

Load transfer from slabs to horizontal bond beams and walls, and from upper storeys to lower storeys, is carried out precisely with the finite element method or the classical method. Seismic loads acting on the storeys are determined automatically from the storey weights with equivalent or modal analysis. Lateral loads acting on the storeys are distributed to the structural elements in proportion to their stiffnesses, taking torsion into account. The shear strength of each wall is calculated separately according to the vertical load acting on it.

Each wall is checked individually to see whether its compressive stress exceeds the compressive strength and whether its shear force exceeds the shear strength.

Loads are transferred from the walls to the foundations, and the soil stress and foundation section capacity are checked. A calculation report of all operations is produced.

The program can prepare the project drawings, including the cover sheet, side by side in a single step.

For existing buildings, the seismic performance level of the building is calculated when the analysis is run with the existing material properties. Strengthening can be done with steel mesh and shotcrete or with FRP. The program calculates the statically required reinforcement for the steel mesh. If desired, the adequacy of strengthening can be checked with a strengthened-state performance analysis, a shear strength check of the jacket layer, or the earthquake code formula 15C.4.

For masonry buildings to be earthquake-resistant, all calculations prescribed by the earthquake code must be carried out for the load-bearing walls and the structural system, and the required checks (shear stress, compressive stress, detailing rules) must be satisfied. StatiCAD performs the earthquake resistance checks for masonry buildings automatically and in great detail.

StatiCAD speeds up the engineer's workflow with an AI assistant built into the structural modelling process. When the user describes the desired operation in natural language - by typing or by speaking into the microphone - the assistant creates elements such as walls, columns, beams and slabs, applies storey and code settings, starts the analysis and summarises the results. Repetitive modelling steps become shorter and the engineer can focus on design decisions.

The assistant can also evaluate files and images, works in several languages (it replies in the interface language) and, for advanced use, enables terminal automation with tools such as Claude Code/Codex. The AI assistant is positioned as a helper, on the principle that the generated model and results are reviewed by the responsible engineer, and it is available in the Hybrid and Ultimate versions.

Modern building projects require architectural, structural and other disciplines to work on a shared model. StatiCAD integrates into this BIM workflow by importing and exporting with the IFC (IFC2x3, Coordination View 2.0) standard. You can export your project to IFC in one step and share it with tools such as Revit, ArchiCAD, Tekla, Allplan or SAP2000, and import data coming from these tools or from SAP2000 structural analysis models into StatiCAD.

On import, frame members are converted into columns and beams, and area members into walls, slabs and shell (finite element) slabs; unit (metre/centimetre) and character differences are handled automatically in the background. This makes data exchange between the architectural model and the structural model easier in your masonry and mixed projects. BIM/IFC features are available in the Hybrid and Ultimate versions (in the demo version import is enabled and export is disabled).

In urban renewal and seismic risk assessments, seeing the real behaviour of an existing reinforced concrete building is the prerequisite for the right strengthening decision. StatiCAD performs the TBDY 2018 Chapter 15 performance assessment on the same model both with the linear method and with nonlinear pushover analysis. Thanks to plastic hinges built from the fibre section model and moment–curvature relationships, you can follow storey by storey which element reaches which damage zone, the performance point and the building performance level. For buildings where the dominant mode alone is not sufficient, multi-mode pushover and IRSA include the contribution of higher modes in the way the code requires.

Strengthening is defined not in a separate model but as a property of the element in the same project file. FRP wrapping, reinforced concrete and steel jacketing, concrete jackets, beam strengthening, new strengthening walls and infill wall strengthening can be switched on and off with a single option to compare the building before and after strengthening; the performance level, criterion percentages and damage zone changes of both states are presented side by side in the report. The engineer can therefore try alternative strengthening scenarios quickly and choose an economical, code-compliant solution. The verification of the pushover engine against SAP2000 and OpenSees increases confidence in the results. Reinforced concrete performance analysis and strengthening are available in the Ultimate, Professional and Betonarme versions.

Precast industrial buildings, with their variable-section roof girders, pinned connections, overhead crane loads and flexible roof diaphragms, require a modelling approach different from conventional reinforced concrete buildings. StatiCAD solves these structures with its own finite element analysis, without any additional program: variable-section beams are calculated without splitting the element, with stiffness integrated along the section; precast sections are generated from parametric templates in minutes; and the roof diaphragm is represented as a rigid diaphragm or with TBDY Annex 8B equivalent braces.

Facade panel and crane masses are included in the seismic calculation as weightless additional mass, overhead crane loads enter the calculation automatically, and different R and D factors can be defined for the upper and lower parts of the building. Because the demands for TBDY Chapter 8 connection design are taken directly from the analysis, there is no need to transfer forces manually for connection calculations. The calculation cores have been verified against numerical examples from the reference book and independent finite element comparisons with SAP2000. Precast reinforced concrete building design is available in the Ultimate version.

Steel beams, steel columns and steel roof members, frequently found in reinforced concrete and masonry buildings, can now be designed according to ÇYTHYE within the same model. For members assigned from the library of 1008 sections, flexure, lateral-torsional buckling, shear, buckling, combined effect and deflection checks are performed with internal forces taken directly from the program's finite element solution; the reports clearly show the governing limit state and the load combination behind each demand. Steel member design in buildings is available in the Ultimate and Hybrid versions.

Light gauge (cold-formed) steel panel buildings are handled end to end within the scope of TBDY 2018 Chapter 10 and HCBTİE: panel shear capacity, stud design with the Effective Width Method, the general method or finite strip solution for distortional buckling, out-of-plane wind bending and deflection of exterior walls, panel anchorage and connections, and design of foundations for the amplified forces required by the code. The calculation engine has been verified equation by equation against the code, hand calculations and finite strip solutions. Light gauge steel building design is available in the Ultimate version.