This page provides you with the latest information on the InfoCAD program system and the most important changes with respect to previous versions.
Customers with a guarantee or maintenance contract can download the current program version from the Service page.

General Information

• The quality of reinforcing steel of beam cross-sections can be changed for a whole group of elements now.
• The node and element related result curves of a direct time step integration (dynamic or thermal analysis) can be exported using the clipboard.

Parallel Sparse Solver

• In case of a relocatability of the system the solver reports now the corresponding node and degree of freedom.

Dynamics

• The masses can be activated separately for each degree of freedom.
• For the alternative response spectrum method can also be specified a vertical range.
• The tabular form of the results of a time step integration can be sorted for node numbers or result locations.

Prestressing

• The DXF-Export function also transfers the tendon group geometry and marks the spline points.

DIN 1045-1

• The crack width check for thick components according to chapter 11.2.2 (8) is available now.
• In the fatigue combination the cyclic and non-cyclic actions are superposed separately now. In existing projects the previous fatigue action has to be exchanged with the new fatigue action Qfat.
• Alternatively, the simplified fatigue check under the frequent combination can be carried out.

EN 1992-1-1 with National Annexes Germany, Austria and Sweden

• The checks have been adapted to the draft of the National Annex of February 2009.
• The crack width check for thick components according to chapter 7.3.2 (5) is available now (NA Germany).

DIN 1045-1, OENORM B 4700, SIA 262, EN 1992-1-1

• The selected shear and torsion section is now visualized in the dialog.

DIN Technical Report 102

• The selected shear and torsion section is now visualized in the dialog.
• In the fatigue combination the cyclic and non-cyclic actions are superposed separately now. In existing projects the previous fatigue action has to be exchanged with the new fatigue action Qfat.
• Alternatively, the simplified fatigue check under the frequent combination can be carried out.
• The crack width check for thick components according to chapter 4.4.2.2 (9) is available now.
• For prestressed components with subsequent bond the tendons can be set ungrouted for every situation.
• If desired, the inner lever arm of the bending design can be used for the lateral force design.

Bridge Checks according to EN 1992-2 and OENORM B 1992-2

This new modul offers bridge checks for beam and shell structures according to Eurocode 2. Elements with no prestress as well as prestressed elements with subsequent bond, without bond, with external prestressing and in mixed construction can be analyzed. The licensing is provided in conjunction with the DIN Technical Report 102 bridge checks.

• Consideration of any loads and load positions
• Special preparation of load model LM 1
• Automatic combination of the actions
  - Construction and final stages for all action combinations
  - Optional user-defined actions
• Checks at the ultimate limit state
• Minimum reinforcement against failure without warning
• Bending with or without normal force or normal force only
• Lateral force under consideration of the minimum level of reinforcement
• Pure torsion and torsion with lateral force
• Checks against fatigue for concrete, bending, lateral force and torsion reinforcement as well as for tendons
• Checks at the serviceability limit state
  • Minimum reinforcement for the crack width limitation
  • Limiting the crack width via direct calculation
  • Decompression check
  • Limiting the concrete compressive stresses
  • Limiting the reinforcing steel stresses
  • Limiting the prestressing steel stresses

Structural Analysis for Fire Scenarios

• The temperature-time curve can be illustrated for any section point.

General

• The user interface was newly arranged. Functions of the view and context menus allow following settings:
  - Moving, adding and deleting icons in the toolbars,
  - Definition of shortcut keys for a faster access to commands,
  - Modification of menus,
  - Free positioning of the dialog bar,
  - Enlargement of the representation area through automatic fading out the output bar and the data base/print list.
• In the project files a miniature view of the structure is stored now, which can be displayed in the Windows Explorer. This allows a fast project overview without opening the files.

Link Elements and Spring Elements

• For a simplified input of special beam connections a shared node is divided automatically, if:
  - in the case of point links the dependent node and the reference node are identical,
  - in the case of springs the start and the end node are identical.

DIN 1045-1

• In the additional crack width check program the design for thick members according to chapter 11.2.2 (8) is now optionally available.
• The checks were adjusted to the interpretations of the NABau of 12 May 2009. Changes were not necessary.

DIN 1045-1, DIN FB 102, EN 1992-1-1

• At sections with the mode "compression member" the robustness reinforcement is not checked anymore, because during the design for bending with longitudinal force minimum compression reinforcement is already determined.

DIN 4227

• The calculation specifications were extended to define the permitted principal tensile and compressive stress and the shear stress according to table 9 more detailed.
• The shear check of combined loads was modified, the output was revised and supplemented.

General

• In order to allow structured representations of large systems, you can now use so-called partial views. Thereby system representations are possible which cannot be achieved by use of the layer technique.
• The function "Arrange Elements" allows now the user to define the zero level.
• The cone object can be defined now by edge objects. Additionally, the meshing of cones has been improved.
• Systems saved with this program version cannot be opened with previous versions.

DIN 1045-1, OENORM B 4700, SIA 262, EN 1992-1-1

• With the help of new design groups, selected members of the entire structure can be designed for specific action combinations and traffic loads.

DIN Technical Report 102, Edition March 2009

The Settings function provides you with an option for selecting the 2003-03 or 2009-03 edition of the standard. The following checks have been adapted to the new edition:

• Check of the maximal lateral load-bearing capacity VRd,max (Chapter 4.3.2.2.(4)P)
• Determination of the lateral load-bearing capacity VRd,ct without lateral force reinforcement (Chapter 4.3.2.3(1)*P)
• Limiting the strut angle cot Q (Chapter 4.3.2.4.4(1)*P)
• Definition of the permitted characteristic stress range ΔσRsk (Chapter 4.3.7.7, Tab. 4.117)
• Calculation of the crack width (Chapter 4.4.2.3)

EN 1992-1-1 with National Annexes Germany, Austria and Sweden

• The fatigue checks for concrete, for longitudinal, lateral and torsional reinforcement as well as for prestressing tendons have been supplemented.
• Optionally, you can either carry out the simplified check for the frequent combination or the check with damage equivalent stress ranges.

DIN EN 1992-1-1/NA:2009-02

• The checks have been adapted to the draft of the National Annex of February 2009.

Structural Analysis for Fire Scenarios

• Within cavities of cross-sections, heat transfer by radiation and convection can be considered now.

General

• A new function of the options menu allows to import and export the system file IGRAPH.DAT which contains the page frame and other user specific settings.
• For frameworks within the FEM mode, the function 'Predeformation' has been supplemented.
• The function 'Predeformation' has been extended with a method to define sinusoidal precurvatures.

Prestressing

• Optionally, tendon groups can now be assigned to beams even if they are not positioned exactly within the beam cross-section.

IFC Data Transfer

• The IFC data transfer now supports the import of structural face members.

Fatigue Check according to DIN 1045-1 and DIN Technical Report 102

• In order to determine the stress range, three stress-strain curves are now offered for concrete.

General Information

• The help system is now available in English. You can switch beetween the languages using the corresponding command of the Options Menu. Additional documents can be downloaded from the internet service page „http://www.infograph.de/enu/service.htm“.
• You can now display the first 999 load case variants to be combined in the action dialogs for DIN 1045-1, EC2, OENORM, SIA 262, and DIN 18800. Load groups to be analyzed according to the deflection theory can be created for selected variants.
• The combination info function was expanded so that the deformations associated with extremal support reactions (or vice versa) can be called up.
• You can create load cases with load groups based on the deflection theory or superposition load cases directly from within the Combination info (shortcut menu).
• The labeling of the section integrals has been completely revised. The font size can be changed.
• A new context function allows to change the orientation of model faces.
• The symbolic representation of the boundary properties can be switched.
• A new branch for spring elements has been added to the database. It allows you to depict all properties including the nonlinear characteristics in the printout.
• A new toolbar with functions of the View menu makes it easier to change the viewport.
• For numerical results representation you can now modify the offered list of base reinforcements.
• You can now define the number of decimal places you want for any graphical display of results.
• The image view can be moved with the mouse by pressing down the mouse wheel.
• From this version on the operating systems Windows 2000 and higher are supported only.

Printing

• A new function on the print list toolbar allows to switch between different print lists.
• Cut-outs can be optionally ordered next to one another in the print list.
• You can define the page frame to be used for the entries in the print list.
• The page formats now support the new @Pfad text variable.
• The page setup now allows you to print the names of graphical views of the print list instead of the page title while using the standard page frame. For user-defined page frames, this function is supported by the new variables @Objekt, @Ordner and @Kapitel.

Loads

• The direction of effect of the local line load on areas can now be defined freely. It is no longer linked to the local element system of the area elements. The corresponding representation has also been improved as a result.
• As regards the structure types 2D Frame and Axisymmetric Shell, the material's specific weight is now also calculated for the dead load load type.
• The new temperature load type has been added for all structure types.
• In the FEM system the dead load load type can optionally be defined for each element. This is helpful, for instance, in conjunction with the construction stages.
• All marked load cases can be displayed simultaneously using the shortcut menu. In this way you can easily check, for instance, if all areas of a slab are assigned a load.

64-Bit Edition

• The 64-bit edition of the program system is offered for the 64-bit windows operating systems. This edition is characterized by a significant higher computing speed and allows the use of the entire available memory.

Finite Elements Analysis

• A new direct equation solver called parallel sparse solver has been implemented. Memory optimization and parallel processing result in a significant speed advantage over the standard equation solver, especially for large systems. It is activated using the FEM analysis settings. The new module is licensed together with the iterative equation solver.
• The program capacity has been increased to 1 million nodes and elements. This now allows you to analyse structures with up to 6 million degrees of freedom. Depending on the size of the system of equations it may be necessary to use the 64-bit program version in conjunction with the parallel sparse solver or the iterative equation solver.
• During the FEM calculation, the processing of geometrically defined point loads, line loads and area loads has been optimized resulting in a considerable increase of speed.
• The failure of tensile supports can be activated individually and for every direction.
• For the calculation of the buckling eigenvalues the required iteration accuracy has been increased.
• The program features spring elements that can be assigned any nonlinear characteristics. This allows for the modeling of numerous effects, including spring deflection, plastic joints, contact and tearing, etc. The spring elements are available for static and dynamic calculations.
• For area elements, the determination of lateral forces has been optimized.

Nonlinear System Analysis

• For nonlinear calculations of concrete constructions the influence of time-dependent creep can be taken into account. The settings are provided within the load group dialog.

Prestressing

• The default value when entering new tendon groups has been changed to fp0.1k = 1500 MN/m².

Dynamics

• The response spectrum for earthquake checks according to EN 1998-1:2004 (EC8) has been added.
• For the load-time function a new time step calculation option has been added. This makes it much easier to map the effect of multiple loads with different load-time functions (transient or periodic) to act simultaneously on the same structure.
• Accelerations are now also combined for the load case combination of results from time-step integrations.

Beam Section

• The british UB and UC profiles (BS 4-1:1993) have been added to the section library.
• The representation of the main stresses σ1 and σ2 has been added to the section stress dialog.

OENORM B 4700, B 4750 and B 4753

• For the crack width limitation, the action combinations according to B 4753, table 1, can now be selected as an option.
• For the check of decompression and concrete tensile stresses in construction stages, the decisive tensile strength according to B 4750, Chapter 3.7.3, and B 4753, Chapter 11.4.2 (3), can now be defined in the Section dialog.

Eurocode EN 1992-1-1:2004, DIN EN 1992-1-1:2005

• New design methods for biaxial bending with normal force according to Chapter 6.1 of the standard have been implemented. At present, the calculation is performed for polygon sections and composite sections within the scope of the FEM’s single design. You can activate the new methods in the Design codes dialog of the Options menu.

Systemviewer

• A new function allows to show the contours of the system. This results in a clearer representation of complex structures.
• The image view can be moved with the mouse by pressing down the mouse wheel.

License Manager

• Operation as a service is now also possible using Windows Vista.
• In the service mode no dialogs are executed. Instead, settings are made using the expanded InfoMonitor help tool. Error messages are now written to the Windows event log.
• The settings are no longer written to the registry but rather to the InfoNetKey.ini file.