- It is possible to open many projects at the same time in one view in the Program ELPLA-List to compare between their results, Figure B-32.
Figure B-32 Two projects are opened at the same time in the program ELPLA-List
Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0
Design for punching
It is possible to design the floor slab or raft foundation for punching due to concentrated loads and reactions from columns, piles or supports. The design for punching is carried out according to 4 different codes: ACI, DIN 1054, EC2 and ECP.
Flexibility coefficients for interior nodes
For rigid and elastic rafts, it is convenient to determine the flexibility coefficient of interior node at the characteristic point of the loaded area on that node. While for flexible foundation, it is real to determine the flexibility coefficient of interior node at that node.
Now it is possible to determine the flexibility coefficient of the interior node due to a uniform load at that node
- at the characteristic point of the loaded area, where rigid settlement equal to flexible settlement
- at the midpoint of the loaded area, where maximum settlement occurs
- at the interior node on the loaded area.
Flexibility coefficients for exterior nodes
Earlier versions of ELPLA determine flexibility coefficients for both interior and exterior nodes by assuming uniform loaded areas on these nodes. This assumption uses the principle of superposition for determining the flexibility coefficients. Now it is possible to convert the loaded areas on exterior nodes to point loads, Figure B-3. By this way the program doesn't need to use the principle of superposition in the analysis, making it much faster than the old analysis. The new way of analysis is consequently faster and more efficient for problems that contain a large finite element mesh.
The GEOTEC Menu, Toolbar and Rebar Control 2.1 provides the latest updates and enhancements that speeds the loading of GEOTEC menus and toolbars to the memory. However this control is recommended for all GEOTEC applications 9.0 or later, it's NOT recommended for Windows 98 users.
Note:
For ELPLA users, GEOTEC Menu, Toolbar and Rebar Control 2.1 is included in the Self-Adaptive Mesh Wizard 1.0.
Download GEOTEC Menu, Toolbar and Rebar Control 2.1
Download GEOTEC Menu, Toolbar and Rebar Control 2.1 for GEOTEC applications 9.0 or later
| - | It is possible to define column dimensions that are used to design column for punching and to convert column concentrated load to equivalent distributed load, Figure B-29. |
| - | Column cross-section can be drawn with column load, Figure B-29. |
| - | It is possible to draw column cross-sections in colored groups to easy identify the column capacity, Figure B-30. |
| - | Area of punching can be displayed according to the specified code of design with column cross-section, Figure B-31. |
Figure B-29 Column cross-sections with column loads
Figure B-30 Column cross-sections in colored groups
Figure B-31 Punching areas according to ACI with column cross-sections
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
| - | It is possible to define a polygon load with variable ordinates to represent dam or embankment loads, Figure B-27. |
| - | It is possible to define a line moment to represent moments from walls or line supports, Figure B-27. |
| - | Point load never applied in realty. If a point load represents a column load on a mesh of refine finite elements, the moment under the column will be higher than the real moment. To take the effect of the load distribution through the slab thickness, the column load must be distributed outward at 45 [°] from the column face until reaching the center line of the slab. Now, it is possible to overcome this problem by converting the point load to an equivalent uniform load over an appropriate area, Figure B-28. |
Figure B-27 Polygon load with variable ordinates and line moment
Figure B-28 Distributing the column point load over an appropriate area
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
Now both layered soil model and isotropic elastic half-space soil model are available for all calculation methods. The isotropic elastic half-space soil model is added for the following methods:
| Method 4: | Modification of Variable Modulus of Subgrade Reaction |
| Method 6: | Modulus of Compressibility (Iteration) |
| Method 8: | Modulus of Compressibility for rigid raft, Figure B-1 |
| Method 9: | Modulus of Compressibility for flexible foundation. |
Figure B-1 Menu "Calculation method"
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
| - | It is easy to define the required section where a plan of the raft with the chosen section is displayed during defining that section, Figure B-23. |
| - | A legend showing the plan of FE-Net with line indicating the chosen section can be drawn with the diagram, Figure B-24. |
| - | It is possible to plot a diagram at any section of the raft, Figure B-24. |
| - | It is possible to export diagrams from ELPLA-Section to Microsoft Excel, Figure B-25. |
| - | It is possible to define a diagram in ELPLA-Graphic by Mouse and to send it to ELPLA-Section, Figure B-26. |
Figure B-23 Menu "Section in x-direction"
Figure B-24 A diagram with a legend shows a plan of FE-Net
Figure B-25 A diagram from ELPLA in MS-Excel
Figure B-26 Defining a diagram in ELPLA-Graphic
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
| - | Line formats setting for ELPLA-Data and ELPLA-Graphic are the same, Figure B-18. |
| - | Max. ordinates setting for ELPLA-Data and ELPLA-Graphic are the same, Figure B-19. |
| - | Fill colors setting for ELPLA-Data and ELPLA-Graphic are the same, Figure B-20. |
| - | The boundaries between contour regions are improved to be very smooth, Figure B-21. |
| - | It is possible to draw girders in isometric view with actual size, Figure B-22. |
| - | Each girder type has a specific color to easy identify the girder system, Figure B-22. |
Figure B-18 Line formats for Data and Graphic are the same setting
Figure B-19 Max. Ordinates for Data and Graphic are the same setting
Figure B-20 Fill colors for Data and Graphic are the same setting
Figure B-21 Boundaries between contour regions are very smooth
Figure B-22 Girder system in isometric view with actual size
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
Many menu items and toolbars have been modified to make the commands easier to use:
- New toolbars have been added to ELPLA for quicker access to commonly used commands. These toolbars can be placed anywhere in ELPLA-window or can be hidden from view, Figure B-16.
- Most of Menus and Popup-Menus in ELPLA have icons to easy identify the command, Figure B-17.
Figure B-16 Toolbars can be placed anywhere in the ELPLA-window
Figure B-17 Menu "Graphic" with icons
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
The files of input data, intermediate results or final results for a project can now optionally be stored in one compressed file. Instead of storing hundreds of data files, you can now have one automatically compressed file for each project. This makes it easier to send projects to other person or to simply manage your own files. It also reduces the amount of disk space required to store all of your data files. The compressed file is ZIP-compatible, allowing you to manually extract the data files using WinZip or other data compression tools if you wish, Figure B-15.
Figure B-15 Menu "Compressed project files"
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
It's possible to undo and redo all commands in ELPLA-Data when defining a project. As you create the project, you may wish to undo the effects of a selected command and return to a previous state, Figure B-14.
Figure B-14 Undo and redo the commands when defining FE-Net
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
A simple step-by-step Wizard assistance is provided in different tasks such as creating input data, redefining existing data or generating the net of finite elements. The Wizard assistance simplifies the process of creating and redefining the data using the standard and familiar "wizard" interface. A Wizard is a series of forms in a special window that help you through a task and it is used throughout Windows and by many Windows applications. The Wizard interface is ideal if you want to know as little about the task as possible. With the Wizard you simply click the "Next" button few times to carry out the task. Figure B-13 shows an example for Wizard assistance when defining the calculation method.
Figure B-13 Menu "Calculation methods" through Wizard assistance
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
It is possible to set different unit systems such as SI-system or English-system without changing the real value of any previously defined data, Figure B-12.
Figure B-12 Menu "Setting unit system"
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
Different element types are developed to generate the FE-Net of the slab according to Grid-based approach for both triangular and rectangular elements and according to Delaunay's triangular generation for triangular elements.
User-friendly embedded program for mesh generation is developed. The essential features in this embedded program are:
| - | You can generate the FE-Net for square, rectangular and irregular slabs using 6 different types of nets, Figure B-5. |
| - | You can generate the FE-Net for circular and ring slabs using 8 different types of nets, Figure B-6. |
| - | You can represent an irregular slab with openings and arc boundaries using a refine mesh, Figure B-7. |
| - | It is possible to use combined rectangular, quadratic and triangular finite elements at the same time for the slab, Figure B-8. |
| - | It is possible to define reference points and lines on the slab, Figure B-9. Reference points and lines are used to define the positions of girders, supports, piles, etc on the slab. Each time that the user generates the mesh, nodes of the FE-Net are passed automatically through these references. This provides the flexibility to make changes in the finite element mesh without having to redefine the positions of girders, supports, piles, etc. |
| - | It is possible to refine the mesh in a specified region such as around supports to present the concentration of stress, moment and settlement in this region, Figure B-10. |
| - | It is possible to optimize the dimension of FE-Net by making all elements having nearly the same area using the option "smoothing the mesh". |
| - | FE-Net can be displayed in separated elements, Figure B-11. |
Figure B-5 Generation type for square, rectangular and irregular slabs
Figure B-6 Generation type for circular and ring slabs
Figure B-7 Irregular slab with triangular finite elements
Figure B-8 Irregular slab with combined rectangular, quadratic
and triangular finite elements
Figure B-9 Reference points and lines on the FE-Net
Figure B-10 Refining the mesh around a specified node
Figure B-11 FE-Net in separated elements
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
Elastic settlement and consolidation settlement can be determined using their actual properties, where the soil properties of the individual layers are defined by:
- Modulus of Compressibility Es (1/mv)
- Modulus of Elasticity E
- Compression Index Cc.
This option enables ELPLA to analyze rafts on consolidated clay deposits by the different calculation methods that are available in ELPLA, Figure B-4. Also the user doesn't need to convert a soil parameter to other. When defining soil properties by the Modulus of Elasticity E, the Poisson's ratio νs can be different for every layer.
Figure B-4 Menu "Soil data"
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
If the distance between two nodes is too large, the settlement of a node due to a load on the other will be small enough to be neglected. To reduce the time required for determining the flexibility coefficients for great rafts, a limit distance between node i and j for determining the flexibility coefficient c(i, j) may be defined, Figure B-3.
Figure B-3 Menu "Flexibility coefficients"
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Enhancements in ELPLA 9.0 |
The bearing capacity factors used to determine the ultimate bearing capacity can optionally be defined according to different codes and authors. These factors are required to carry out the nonlinear analysis of the soil. The bearing capacity factors are defined according to (Figure B-2):
| - | German Standard |
| - | Euro Code |
| - | Egyptian code |
| - | Terzaghi |
| - | Meyerhof |
Figure B-2 Menu "Bearing capacity factors"
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Enhancements in version ELPLA 9.0 |
About GEOTEC Software
GEOTEC Software is providing universities and consulting companies with the right tools for the last 25+ years. We also assist our clients on various geostructural projects. From basic to advanced problems, GEOTEC Software can provide you with the right technical assistant.
