Bugs are found from time to time and in our effort to be trustworthy and transparent, they are posted here as well as appearing on the MASS Welcome Screen
The known bugs page has moved from the MASS website to the MASS section of the CMDC website. The following list consists of a selected list of known bugs. For questions about specific bugs, or to report a bug yourself, contact MASS technical support.
[Current in MASS Version 4.1] Error message when trying to access Help Files from software
When selecting Help in the toolbar drop-down menu or pressing F1 within the MASS software, an error message currently appears, indicating that the software is not able to open the documentation.
This command points to a read-only file on the website server which directs the software to open a URL using the user’s default web browser. This should be pointing to the home page of this website. If you are reading this, you have successfully found the online location for MASS software documentation. The error was introduced when migrating the help files from the placeholder location, masonrydesign.ca, to the current location as a subdomain of the updated MASS website. While the reference pointer was updated, the new domain format (as a subdomain of another website) appears to not play well with the software command.
This item is currently present in MASS Version 4.1.
[Addressed in release of MASS Version 4.1] Seismic reinforcement spacings applied to all shear walls resisting an earthquake load
Any shear wall element designed within MASS currently has all horizontal reinforcement checked against seismic spacings regardless of seismic hazard index when an earthquake load is applied to the wall.
There is a dedicated post explaining this item, available here.
Seismic reinforcement spacing requirements should only be applied when vertical or horizontal reinforcement is placed based on CSA S304-14: 16.4.5, triggered when the seismic hazard index is at least 0.35.
This item was present in MASS Version 4.0 and has s1nce been addressed with the release of Version 4.1. It can be downloaded for free on the software Downloads page.
[Addressed in release of MASS Version 4.1] Non-Seismic Lateral Companion Loads Amplified for Seismic Effects
Shear walls loaded with lateral earth pressures may be designed in MASS to resist factored shear forces that have been amplified for seismic effects further than necessary.
There is a dedicated post explaining this, linked here.
As a result, a rearranged expression will be used which specifically amplified only the seismic portion of lateral loading will be used for shear design.
This is not yet implemented so please consider this when designing shear walls also resisting significant lateral earth pressures.
This item was present in MASS Version 4.0 and has s1nce been addressed with the release of Version 4.1. It can be downloaded for free on the software Downloads page.
[Addressed in the release of MASS Version 4.1] Seismic Shear Forces Amplification Change for Elements Above Critical Section
Continuing the theme of shear force amplification, MASS amplifies seismic shear forces for each individual element based on its flexural resistance and factored moment. Upon discussions within CMDC, the authorized technical service provider for MASS, it was decided to change the way this was implemented and reduce amplification for non critical section elements.
There is a dedicated post explaining this item in full, linked here.
This item was present in MASS Version 4.0 and has s1nce been addressed with the release of Version 4.1. It can be downloaded for free on the software Downloads page.
[Addressed with the release of Version 4.1] Shear walls specified by exact length (as opposed to nominal lengths) may incorrectly flag spacing error when bar spacing approaches wall length
When designing a shear wall, the minimum length has been reduced since the release of the shearline module back when Version 2.0 was released to accommodate single cell elements.When the exact length of a shear wall is input, the last cell will have a length of 190 mm and while it is not highlighted as a partial cell and MASS allows vertical bars to be placed, maximum spacing restrictions are incorrectly flagged.
For example, while a 390 mm long shear wall is correctly identified as having no partial cells to restrict reinforcement placement, the error message added to Version 4.0 preventing highlighted spacings from mismatching actual placement (the source of confusion resulting in numerous calls and emails) incorrectly fails a design that is less than 400 mm in length (nominal length of one standard concrete masonry unit).
This can also be done with a wall that is 590 mm long with bars spaced at 400 mm, 790 mm long with bars spaced at 600 mm, etc. Please contact MASS support if you believe your design has been impacted by this bug.
This item was present in MASS Version 4.0 and has s1nce been addressed with the release of Version 4.1. It can be downloaded for free on the software Downloads page.
[Addressed with the release of Version 4.1] Unreinforced Shearline designs display vertical bars when none are required or used in design calculations
Shearline designs containing elements found not to require reinforcement incorrectly display vertical bars on the shearline drawing. While the analysis and design calculations does not include the bars as drawn, the software draws bars as per the vertical steel selections (10M @ 1200mm in the case below) even though placing no bars at this interval (unreinforced) means that no steel should be drawn.
This item was present in MASS Version 4.0 and has s1nce been addressed with the release of Version 4.1. It can be downloaded for free on the software Downloads page.
[Addressed with the release of Version 4.1] Out-of-plane shear resistance only calculated at location of maximum factored shear
MASS calculates only one out-of-plane shear strength value at the location of maximum factored shear and uses it to validate the diagonal shear resistance for the entire design. Since this strength is a function of factored bending moment, there are cases where other locations experiencing less bending moment may be critical to the design results. A full Outline and description (including a short video demonstration) can be found here.
Note that out-of-plane wall designs tend to be controlled by axial load and flexure. Even in the example shown in the linked article, the corrected shear resistance is still more than double the factored shear experienced below the location of maximum shear where the cross section had been determined based on moment and deflection design.
This item was present in MASS Version 4.0 and has s1nce been addressed with the release of Version 4.1. It can be downloaded for free on the software Downloads page.
[Addressed with the release of Version 4.1] Detailed Results sometimes appear blank after design
In a response to address seemingly random software crashes, a special garbage collection process was added to reduce and mitigate these instances. In its implementation, there are some cases where the process of clearing out results no longer in view to save on GDI objects jumps ahead to clearing out the results tab being viewed as opposed to the tab no longer in view.
If this happens to a design, please save your file, close, and then reopen the project to view the missing results. If there is a specific workflow to trigger this bug, please contact MASS support as it would be very helpful in reliably reproducing this issue.
This item was present in MASS Version 4.0 and has s1nce been addressed with the release of Version 4.1. It can be downloaded for free on the software Downloads page.
[Fixed in Version 4.0 – Exists in v3.0 and earlier] Maximum Axial load overestimated for some fully grouted shear walls with flanges
For shear wall element designs where the web grouting pattern has not been set to “fully grouted” and the flange is fully grouted as a result of vertical reinforcement placed in each cell, the maximum allowable axial load limit is overestimated. The actual envelope curve where axial load is considered to determine moment resistance is plotted correctly and not affected by this bug. A detailed explanation, as well as guide on identifying and correcting for this bug can be found here. This has been fixed with the release of Version 4.0.
[Fixed in Version 4.0 – Exists in v3.0 and earlier] French language users encountering changes to saved projects
Under some French language localization settings in the Windows operating system, project files created using MASS are reopened with values that are 10 or 100 times larger than the original numbers that had been saved. This is a result of how displayed values are saved internally, with decimals replaced by commas. MASS re-opens a saved project and does not recognize these substituted commas, resulting in values that are orders of magnitudes larger. A post explaining this bug and how to correct for it can be found here. It has been fixed with the release of Version 4.0.
[Fixed in Version 4.0 – Exists in v3.0 and earlier] MASS closes unexpectedly while running designs
This issue has always existed in MASS and has recently been diagnosed as a memory leak. A full explanation as well as video demonstration can be found in its own dedicated post, located here. The release of Version 4.0 has mitigated this issue by reducing the number of redundant objects created but there is still an accumulation that will lead to a crash when the same file is used for long enough.
All remaining listed items have been fixed in Versions 3.0 and earlier
Click here to expand the full list of older known bugs that have been resolved
[Fixed] Sometimes MASS crashes when I try and launch the program before the Welcome Screen appears (on Windows 10).
Go to our post on MASS Crashes for detailed information on why this might be happening and what can be done. A specific crash featured at the end of that post has been addressed in the upcoming release of MASS Version 3.0.
[Fixed] Critical buckling load can be overestimated for some reinforced walls under high axial load
Under a very specific combination of conditions, MASS may calculate the critical axial load for a reinforced wall, Pcr using both (EI)eff of 0.4EmI0 and Φer of 0.75, resulting in a Pcr value that incorrectly combines aspects of reinforced and unreinforced analysis. A full write-up of this bug can be found here and it has been addressed in the upcoming release of Version 3.0 as well as a retroactive update of Version 2.2 (MASS Version 2.2.1).
[Fixed] “Unhandled Design” message returned for some shear wall designs
A bug has been found where a shear wall passing moment design then failing shear design would display an “unhandled design” error for moment design under certain conditions. This would occur when the moment design would pass using the highest block size and strength made available via user input selection. When shear walls in this situation then fail shear design, MASS attempts to find another passing configuration using a higher unit size and strength. However, since there are no larger sizes and higher strengths to attempt, the “unhandled design” would be displayed rather than correctly showing the user the shear design failure message. This has been fixed in the upcoming release of Version 3.0.
[Fixed] Reaction force drawing are showing incorrect values
Previously, MASS™ would show incorrect vertical reaction forces or no force at all on all shear wall support reaction drawings. This has since been addressed and the support reactions are now correctly displayed. It should be noted that this bug was only a display issue and had no effect on design calculations. This bug was initially addressed for some shear wall designs with the release of Version 2.2 but has been completely addressed upcoming release of Version 3.0.
[Fixed] When opening a project from Windows explorer, the MASS welcome screen appears rather than the actual project
When double clicking a “.masonry” project in windows explorer with MASS Version 2.2, rather than open the project file directly, the welcome screen appears where the user must again navigate to the project file in order to open it. This has been addressed in the release of MASS Version 3.0.
[Fixed] Sometimes old MASS projects aren’t opened properly. What is going on?
Previously in MASS™ Version 2.1, there was a bug where many project files created in Version 1.0 could not be opened. This has been addressed with the release of Version 2.2.
[Fixed] Slender wall designs fail if the steel does not yield when grout is ignored, even though the analysis used by MASS takes grout into account. Is this correct?
In Versions 2.0 and earlier, No it is not. Previously, if the primary tension reinforcement did not yield for either the grout included or grout ignored analysis, the entire section fails without checking to see if the other method would provide an acceptable design. MASS™ displays passing design results for walls where one of grout included or grout ignored analysis includes yielding tension reinforcement and has a moment resistance that is greater than the factored moment including slenderness effects. This was corrected with the release of MASS Version 2.1.
[Fixed] MASS fails all slender, cantilever walls for having a fixed base. How can a cantilever wall even be designed without a fixed base?
In MASS Versions 1.1 and earlier, all slender reinforced walls needed to have pinned supports at the top and bottom of the wall, in accordance with CSA 304.1-04: 10.7.4.6.3. The intent of 10.7.4.6.3 is fixed base end condition is taken into account by using the k=2 factor and provided that all other slenderness criteria are satisfied, slender cantilever walls can now be designed in Versions 2.0 and newer.
[Fixed] When adding loads with imperial units to a wall, MASS™ designs for a smaller moment and shear than expected. Is the program correct?
In MASS Versions 1.1 and earlier, No. While line loads are correctly converted between metric and imperial units, they are not properly applied to an effective 1m section of wall. All imperial loads need to be scaled up by a factor of 3.28 (number of feet in one metre) to be applied over the 3.28 ft section of wall. Since all loads are immediately converted to metric units for design, no other processes are affected. This has been addressed in Versions 2.0 and newer.
[Fixed] Compared to hand calculations, MASS™ requires my squat shear wall to have more horizontal steel than expected to meet minimum seismic reinforcement requirements. Is the program correct?
This depends entirely on the interpretation of the way minimum horizontal steel is defined in the S304.1-04. When MASS determines the minimum steel required in order to meet CSA S304.1-04: 10.15.2.2, a horizontal cross section is used to calculate Ag, rather than a vertical cross section. In the case of squat shear walls, this means that the required area of horizontal steel is higher by an amount directly proportional to the length to height aspect ratio. To work around this, change the seismic hazard index to a value below 0.35 and manually check that the area of horizontal steel in the wall is higher than the minimum 0.00067Ag.
[Fixed] My shear wall with an aspect ratio greater than 1.0 passes both moment and shear design but does not have enough horizontal steel to meet the seismic requirements. What is the cause of this?
The minimum area of steel required to satisfy CSA S304.1-04: 10.15.2.2 is calculated incorrectly, using a horizontal cross section to calculate Ag, rather than a vertical cross section. This means that it is possible for a shear wall with a height to length aspect ratio greater than 1.0 to have a lower than expected minimum reinforcement area.
[Fixed] According to hand calculations the program requires shear steel (in addition the shear resistance provided by the masonry). The program however provides a successful design without the additional steel. Is the program correct?
No, the result the program provides may not be correct. MASS Versions 2.1 and earlier cycle through all of the load combinations to determine the maximum factored shear and corresponding location along the wall height. This routine starts at the top of the wall and checks all points down the height of the wall. If the factored shear along the height of the wall is constant, the location of maximum shear will be the first point checked. In MASS, this first point is at the top of the wall. For a cantilevered shear wall, the factored shear profile is going to be constant along the height and therefore the location of maximum shear picked by MASS will always be at the top of the wall. If there is no applied moment at the top of the wall, the factored moment at the location of maximum factored shear will be zero and therefore, Mf/(Vfdv) is assigned the minimum code value of 0.25. However, in some cases, depending on the ratio of Vf and Mf, the critical location for shear design might be at the bottom of the wall as shown in this example since Mf/(Vfdv) may range up to the maximum value of 1.0. As a result, the masonry shear strength calculated in MASS may be over estimated. This has been corrected with the release of Version 2.2.
[Fixed] The MASS custom unit database is unstable. Is there anything that can be done about it?
Customized units are not recommended when using MASS™ Versions 2.1 or earlier. The Masonry Unit Database can be unstable and was improved with the release of Version 2.2. Feel free to contact MASS support if you would like a copy of the default database file.
[Fixed] In Version 1.0, on the welcome screen of the program, the icons and corresponding buttons are shifted relative to one another. Is there a way to correct this?
Yes. The ‘Open Existing File’, ‘Create New Beam’, ‘Create New Wall’, and ‘Create New Shear Wall’ may shift if your icon settings on not on default. To alter your icon settings in Windows 7 for example, go to: Start→Control Panel →Display. Choose the ‘Smaller – 100%’ icon setting. This has been addressed in Version 1.1 and the entire welcome screen was redone for Version 2.2.
[Fixed] In Version 1.0, the results the program provides when using imperial units do not seem to agree to those obtained using metric input. MASS gives different factored reactions when a load is entered as imperial equivalent 68.58 lbs/ft, (1.0 kN/m). Am I missing something or is there a software error?
This is indeed a software error. It is not the reactions themselves that are calculated incorrectly, it is the conversion factor used within the program. Kips/ft and lbs/ft are converted from kN/m using an incorrect constant. This has been addressed in Version 1.1. Please also refer to the bug concerning imperial loads on walls before using loads with imperial units. This has been corrected in MASS Version 1.1.
Please do not hesitate to contact MASS technical support if you believe you have found a bug in the software.
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