There are two independent ways that VisualAnalysis and VisualFoundation can work together to help you solve problems. The tools are not completely integrated or interactive. Note: VisualFoundation and VisualAnalysis are sold separately by IES (Contact Sales for additional information). The Foundation Design Video in the VisualAnalysis help file shows how the programs work with each other.

1. Export from VisualAnalysis to VisualFoundation (using the Export to VisualFoundation feature).
2. Create a VisualAnalysis project file from VisualFoundation (using the File | Export to VisualAnalysis feature).

Foundation Design (Export from VisualAnalysis to VisualFoundation)

The Export to VisualFoundation feature exports the geometry and reactions from VisualAnalysis to set up a mat footing in VisualFoundation. This allows you to quickly generate a footing geometry for one or more columns from the VisualAnalysis project. The column locations are automatically imported and the reaction forces from VisualAnalysis service load cases are brought into VisualFoundation as loads. VisualFoundation provides foundation-specific design checks.

Foundation Design Procedure

1. Select one or more supported nodes in the VisualAnalysis project.
2. Choose Structure | Create Foundation to create a foundation for export.
3. Run an analysis, analyzing all the Service Load Case to obtain reaction forces at nodes.
4. With the foundation selected, use the Tools | Export to VisualFoundation feature to launch VisualFoundation and create a new footing project.
5. The VisualFoundation project can then be modified and design checks can then be performed. Save the project to create a .vfp file that can be opened for future use.
6. Upon exiting VisualFoundation, the foundation in VisualAnalysis is updated with a new boundary and thickness.
7. You can report a “Foundation Table" which lists all the footings by name, and provides thicknesses, areas, and which columns are supported. This table can be used to help coordinate with any saved VisualFoundation project files.

Foundation Design Limitations

• Support nodes must lie in a global plane (parallel to X, Y, or Z)
• Only member elements are exported as columns to VisualFoundation (walls or columns modeled out of plate elements do not export).
• The orientation of the model in VisualAnalysis is flexible (Y is the vertical axis by default). When the vertical axis is not Z, then model coordinates are mapped according to the following right hand rule transforms, and load cases are renamed accordingly.
  • Vertical Axis = X: Y-->X, Z-->Y, X-->Z
  • Vertical Axis = Y: Z-->X, X-->Y, Y-->Z
• Multi-part footing or multi-thickness footings cannot be created directly from within VisualAnalysis
• The foundation cannot be edited or updated from VisualAnalysis (if you try to Design the foundation again it will simply create a new project in VisualFoundation).
• A VisualFoundation project cannot be opened and used to update a VisualAnalysis project (even if it was created from VisualAnalysis).
• If a multi-part footing is created in VisualFoundation, only the outside boundary is shown in VisualAnalysis.
• The details of the foundation are not shown or reported in VisualAnalysis (only the graphics and the thickness are shown and reported).
• VisualAnalysis is updated from VisualFoundation only when VisualFoundation is closed and only if it was launched from within VisualAnalysis.

VisualAnalysis Files (.vap) Created by VisualFoundation

VisualFoundation can be used to create a VisualAnalysis project file (.vap) using the File | Export to VisualAnalysis feature. The .vap file can be used to look at the finite element model that was created behind the scenes in VisualFoundation or to perform more advanced analyses (such as a dynamic analysis) which are not supported in VisualFoundation. VisualAnalysis also provides more advanced capabilities for designing grade beams and foundation elements.