Place sets and instances of multi-planar rebar in your model to accommodate design and use of different methods of reinforcement.
This video demonstrates the following:
In Revit, you typically reinforce concrete elements such as slabs, columns, and beams by placing rebar on a single plane within the element. You can place instances of planar rebar individually or you can place sets of rebar, where an instance is repeated based on the cover extents of the element. Sometimes, however, your design may require rebar that is bent into multiple planes.
To demonstrate the basic method for placing multi-planar rebar in Revit, a single rebar instance has been placed in this cone-shaped beam. Select the rebar instance and click Edit Sketch to enter sketch mode. Now click Multi-planar. The shape of the selected rebar instance is duplicated at the opposite end of the beam, and a connector segment of rebar is added between the duplicate and the original. In sketch mode you can enable or disable connector segments by clicking the appropriate check boxes in the drawing area. The duplicate shape can also be disabled, leaving the original shape with either one or two connector segments extending along the concrete element. Notice how the multi-planar rebar flexes parametrically and respects the cover references when the beam is lengthened, shortened, or offset.
In this next example, two instances of multi-planar rebar will be added to augment the existing reinforcement in the corbels of a column, which you can see in this section view that bisects the column. To add the first instance, select the Sketch Rebar tool and begin the sketch at the top of the second stirrup above the beam, just inside the left most vertical rebar instance. Then draw straight down and over into the corbel, on the right on a 40 degree angle, snapping to the cover reference of the corbel. Finally, click the Multi-planar tool and select the bottom connector box in the drawing area to finish placing this instance.
Using the same procedure, place the second instance of multi-planar rebar, but this time reverse the orientation, sketching down the right side of the column and into the left corbel at an angle of 140 degrees so that the shape of this instance mirrors the shape of the first instance. Now use the view cube in the 3D view to get a top view of the column and look at the rebar placement that resulted from your initial sketches. You can see the multi-planar rebar you added extended to the cover references correctly, but it may still need to be manually adjusted to avoid collision with other rebar instances.
Use the rebar shape controls as needed to make sure the vertical rebar does not intersect with the stirrups. After repositioning the rebar, inspect the placement in a 3D view . Again, look for instances of geometry intersection near the stirrups of the corbels and make further adjustments as necessary.
Using these sketching tools for multi-planar rebar will facilitate the complex detailing of common reinforcement in your structural model.