I have a Validation > Model > Walls > “Openings in walls with internal piers” warning. Why do I get this and how do I resolve it?

Question

I have a Validation > Model > Walls > “Openings in walls with internal piers” warning. Why do I get this and how do I resolve it?

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Answer

If we hover over one of the problem items a tooltip is displayed “Openings will only be considered in meshed wall panels”.

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We can double click the “Openings in walls with internal piers” warning or items listed under the branch to highlight the selected items with the issue. Alternatively, you can right click and choose Highlight Items from the context menu. If the item is not visible in the current view then the view will automatically switch to the Structure 3D scene view with the selected items highlighted.

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From the above screenshot, it should be clear that the opening is not cut out of the wall - hence, it’s effect is not seen in the model. The reason for this is that the wall is currently modelled as a Mid-pier Shear wall. This uses a wall column element with a cross sectional area equivalent to the length of the wall and then wall beam elements extending out to support any connecting entities.

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To resolve the validation warning, we need to select the wall and via the Properties window change the Wall Type to Meshed Shear wall.

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Once this is changed you will see the opening created in the shear wall.

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Following an analysis you can review the Solver model to see that the wall is now meshed.

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Once the wall type is changed to Meshed Shear wall as shown above, the validation warning is no longer issued.

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