GRAITEC launches Advance Design 2009 with Eurocodes 1, 2 and 3

Paris : GRAITEC, an international software developer for CAD and structural analysis solutions for civil engineering launches Advance Design 2009, finite elements analysis software for reinforced concrete and steel structures. Advance Design : Professional Finite Element Analysis Software with Concrete / Steel structures presizing and automatic reports generation

Advance Design is aimed at structural engineers who require a high-end solution for simulating and optimizing all their projects. It includes a user-friendly structural modeler, automatic load generators, a powerful FEM engine, top-level wizards for concrete and steel design, efficient post-processing and report generators.

The 2009 release includes several new features and improvements, especially the implementation of the latest Eurocodes. This new release focuses on European structural design functionalities, allowing design offices to easily apply the new European standards on structural design projects.
1. The transition to Eurocode design

For structural design standards, the Eurocodes will become mandatory in 2010, replacing the European national codes. Advance Design 2009 includes the latest developments in the Eurocodes: the climatic generator, actions and load combinations (Eurocode 1), reinforced concrete design (Eurocode 2), steel shapes and connections design (Eurocode 3).

GRAITEC recognized the importance of implementing the new standards by developing the ability to set or to automatically calculate the wind loads pressure coefficients and by developing several calculation methods of slender columns (nominal curvature, nominal stiffness, general method, etc.). All analysis results can be obtained as detailed calculation reports.

In addition, Advance Design is provided with a validation guide, which helps the user to determine precisely the implementation level of these new standards in the software. With the partnership with ArcelorMittal, GRAITEC also provides the design of castellated beams according to Eurocode 3.

2. New design functionalities
Advance Design 2009: Parametric composed cross sections

Advance Design 2009 includes new design functionalities dedicated to reinforced concrete and steel structures:

* Parametric composed cross sections

* Advanced modeling of haunches

* Link to Arche reinforcement modules

* Connection design improvements: automatic creation of connections in the corresponding system of elements, grouping connections of the same type for a homogeneous sizing, design according to Eurocode 3, etc.

* Automatic torsor calculation by levels or by group of load bearing walls

* New model synchronization features with Advance Concrete and Advance Steel.


Parametric composed cross sections
3. Productivity and calculation performances

Since the first versions, Advance Design provides significant innovations to the automation in the structural simulation field. In particular, the "Result Memory" technology allows for the automatic replay of the entire results post-processing scenario, from the production of graphical results to the creation of the final calculation report.
Advance Design 2009: Dynamic Temporal Analysis

The 2009 release has several new improvements in this module:

* A new version of the solver application, which takes into account the semi-rigid connections during the finite elements analysis
* Dynamic Temporal Analysis
* The use of a Microsoft SQL Server database for saving the Advance Design project data. The user benefits from safe data management for large projects. The Advance Design project database is also interoperable.
* 64-bit version (application and solver): the program is able to process large models using internal memory swap, and thus to significantly reduce the calculation time.

> Version release date : May 18th, 2009
> Compatibility : Windows Vista, Windows XP Pro and Windows 2000 Pro