---
type: concept
title: "Midas Civil Special Load and Design Utilities"
created: 2026-06-02
updated: 2026-06-02
address: c-000171
aliases:
  - MIDAS Civil special utilities
  - midas Civil support settlement and wave loads
tags:
  - concept
  - finite-element-method
  - midas-civil
  - bridge-analysis
  - loads
status: current
related:
  - "[[Midas-Civil-Analysis-Reference|Midas Civil Analysis Reference]]"
  - "[[midas Civil]]"
  - "[[Midas Civil Moving Load Bridge Analysis]]"
  - "[[Midas Civil PSC and Prestress Loss Analysis]]"
  - "[[Abaqus Structural Optimization and Parametric Studies]]"
sources:
  - "[[Midas-Civil-Analysis-Reference|Midas Civil Analysis Reference]]"
source_refs:
  - source: "[[Midas-Civil-Analysis-Reference|Midas Civil Analysis Reference]]"
    raw_path: ".raw/MidasCivilAnalysisReference/"
    raw_files:
      - "MidasCivilAnalysisReference_057.md"
      - "MidasCivilAnalysisReference_056.md"
      - "MidasCivilAnalysisReference_052.md"
      - "MidasCivilAnalysisReference_053.md"
    md_indices:
      - 57
      - 56
      - 52
      - 53
    match: "heuristic-heading-keyword"
    confidence: high
---

# Midas Civil Special Load and Design Utilities

## Definition

Midas Civil special load and design utilities are the analysis-reference workflows that sit around the core FE solve: support-settlement combinations, before/after composite-section analysis, unknown-load optimization, arbitrary-shape column design, and wave-load generation.

## How It Works

Support settlement auto-consideration generates settlement cases or combinations. Steel composite section before/after composite analysis changes section stiffness as composite action develops. Unknown load solution uses optimization to identify loads that satisfy target responses. Arbitrary-shape column design includes moment magnification, long-column effects, braced/unbraced classification, 3D P-M interaction, and shear design. Wave load generation includes offshore member wave forces and wave theories such as Airy, Stokes, stream function, cnoidal, and solitary waves.

## Solver Development Notes

- Some production features are model generators or postprocessors rather than new FE equations.
- Optimization-based load identification needs a clear objective, constraints, design variables, and verification against the recovered target response.
- Design utilities require traceable mapping from FE force output to code-check quantities.
- Wave and settlement generators should be tested at the load-vector/envelope level before full-structure tests.

## Connections

- [[Midas Civil Moving Load Bridge Analysis]] is another load-generation workflow.
- [[Midas Civil PSC and Prestress Loss Analysis]] shares staged section and bridge-design concerns.
- [[Abaqus Structural Optimization and Parametric Studies]] gives a broad optimization comparison point.