Etabs Mass Summary By Story
You can use this as a template or a direct submission for a course or technical report.
Follow these steps to extract and analyze the story mass data from your ETABS model: Step 1: Define the Mass Source Correctly
Understanding the ETABS Mass Summary by Story In structural engineering, the Mass Summary by Story
When reviewing the table, engineers look for consistency. Sudden spikes or drops in mass between identical floors usually indicate a modeling error, such as a missed slab or an accidental "null" property. Ensuring a clean Mass Summary is the first step toward a reliable Seismic Response Spectrum Time History Analysis Should we look into how to troubleshoot discrepancies
Mass Moment of Inertia. This represents the resistance of the story mass to rotational acceleration about the vertical Z-axis passing through the Center of Mass. etabs mass summary by story
: Check if "Element Self Mass" is ticked in your Mass Source definition, or ensure your Dead Load pattern has a self-weight multiplier of 1.0. 2. Ux and Uy Values Do Not Match
ETABS automatically splits the mass of vertical elements. Half of a column's mass goes to the story below, and half goes to the story above. This can cause the top roof story to appear lighter than expected and the ground floor levels to hold unexpected residual mass. Best Practices for Structural Verification
A 2021 technical investigation demonstrated this precisely: by adding an upward load to a simple frame model, they observed that the Group All total mass remained correct, but the Mass Summary by Story table reported a different (higher) mass. Negative masses are physically meaningless and are discarded in modal and response spectrum analyses, but they can still cause confusion when verifying your model.
Analysis Results > Structure Results > Mass Summary > Mass Summary by Story 2. Understanding the Columns You can use this as a template or
Identifies accidental "double counting" or missing loads.
Once you have defined your Mass Source and run the structural analysis, you can view the story-by-story mass breakdown by following these steps:
In structural analysis, verifying the mass of your building is just as critical as verifying its stiffness. An incorrect mass distribution leads to incorrect period calculations, base shears, and seismic forces.
If your "Mass Source" (Define > Mass Source) is set to include "Element Self Mass" AND "Loads," but you’ve also manually assigned mass, you might be double-counting. Ensuring a clean Mass Summary is the first
In ETABS, the is a critical output table used to verify the total weight and mass distribution of a building for seismic and dynamic analysis. How to Access the Mass Summary Table To view the story mass data after running your analysis: Navigate to the Display menu. Select Show Tables .
The total mass of the building is the fundamental variable in the formula (Base Shear = Seismic Coefficient
The portion of the story mass that is assigned directly to rigid or semi-rigid diaphragms.