modeling grade beams in risa-3d for lateral design

huangyhg

modeling grade beams in risa-3d for lateral design
i'm trying to model some grade beams to tie together columns to help in uplift resistance for a lateral design.  can someone tell me the basics as far as how to do this in risa?
do i use pin-pin connections i assume, or fixed?  someone mentioned to me modeling them as compression only springs.  how do i do that in risa?  and i don't have any footings in my model so do i just apply the dead loads the footing/soil provide at each column location?
any help would be appreciated.  thanks.
as far as compression springs, the risa help file is pretty good, as is their tech support.  you can probably figure it out with a little time invested.
pin pin or fixed fixed depends on how you plan to detail the connections. we cannot answer that for you. if you don't know then discuss it with your supervisor.