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VisualAnalysis

New in VisualAnalysis 9.0


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Major New Features

  • Area Filtering: the Filter tab now includes Areas and their features for more graphic control
  • Expanded Bracing Options for greater accuracy with beam-column design
  • Graphical Display of Brace locations, visualize the brace points while editing for less confusion
  • Generate Linear/Skewed Copies: new direction-type for more flexible model generation
  • Built-in customization of Building Code load combinations
  • CAD-like Selection Box: left-to-right selects only 'fully' enclosed, right-to-left selects items 'partially' enclosed
  • Export to VisualFoundation 3: includes wall loads, seismic parameters, more...
  • Full-text Search Help, online help now has full searching abilities
  • Design checks for Superposition Combinations (dynamic response, moving loads, time-history results!)*
  • Area Side Loads, in-plane loads on wall or slab edges (meshed areas)*
  • Live Load Patterns, automatic load combinations for patterned loading*
  • Steel Warping Torsion Checks, additional checks for members with torsion*
  • Concrete Wall/Slab Design overhauled for accuracy, flexibility, simplicity, performance, and reporting!*

General Improvements

  • Graphic Sizes are improved for zooming, printing
  • Improved built-in Window Help (easier to use, more discoverable)
  • Member End Releases display "on selection" for easier editing
  • Display displaced node locations in Result View (new filter option)
  • Selected members are more visible in Picture View mode
  • Find Tool window scrolls to a graphically selected item (if the right tab is visible)
  • New Installer technology for easier updates, faster installation, 45% smaller download
  • Improved OpenGL (3D graphics) initialization, additional preference setting for 'problem' video cards
  • Load Combination drop-down in command bar is sized better
  • Improved handling of some 'very small' input values (pressure loads, deflection limits,..)

Modeling Improvements

  • Area sides have smarter naming
  • Model | Move and Model | Rotate, now include selected Area objects
  • Right-click in Model View to create custom Cut Volumes based on selected objects (easier to find)
  • North setting in Design Criteria, North arrow displayed on graphics cube
  • Scale spring-support stiffness from a right-click command
  • Area holes are numbered and labeled better when selected
  • Area edge supports are drawn better and more visible when selected.
  • Generate Circular Copies: will optionally rotate member beta-angles

Loading Improvements

  • Improved Response Case dialog box, allows for project-wide settings

Analysis Improvements

  • Expanded Check Model for Errors detects more types of problems.
  • Plate elements are more accurate for stress analysis
  • Smarter design checks (more accurate design), especially for interaction-type checks
  • Statics-check for Moments are much more accurate
  • Corrected low-level analysis crashing problems

Design Improvements

  • More accurate K factor determination
  • Added 'at Interior Nodes' option for combined member bracing
  • Specified Lu bracing is smarter, providing better Cb calculations
  • Corrected bracing definitions for cold-formed steel design
  • Format Painter for Design Groups, copy properties from one design group to another
  • Edit multiple design-meshes simultaneously for concrete wall/slab design
  • More preference settings for concrete design
  • Wall/Slab local direction (bar orientation) may be displayed graphically
  • Wall/Slab design uses area 'span-direction' for rebar orientation and moment-checks
  • Added bracing option: 'at Interior Nodes' for combined members.

Reporting Improvements

  • Complete Member report item is more complete!
  • New preference setting allows you to hide page numbers in reports
  • Base plate design report format is improved
  • Dynamic analysis summary report did not work properly
  • Spreadsheet report, a number of report items did not 'convert' properly to table cells

Features Removed

  • Meshed Areas no longer allow 'quad' plate elements because they were problematic and are no longer necessary, triangles are simpler and just as accurate. You may still create manual quad elements, which are much simpler for manual meshing of rectangular areas.
  • Slab design no longer checks for crack-control or near-'support' checks or handles multiple 'regions'. No crack-control (serviceability) checks are made.

Defects Corrected:

  • Use Lambda notation instead of CD for wood LRFD design
  • No torsion warning in steel design
  • Cannot edit S-bars in Concrete Beam design
  • Load combinations using ASD instead of LRFD
  • Wall/Slab design parameters do not save properly
  • St. Venant torsion checks were very conservative
  • DXF file imports ignore 'paper space' (borders)
  • Limits on number of points in Member Graph improved
  • Limit on number of plates to select graphically is quadrupled
  • Split Combined Member, loads at member ends can get duplicated
  • Create New Node, does not split members properly
  • Automatic disabling of auto-meshing could not be undone
  • Exposed nodes could be moved "off" a Combined Member
  • Modifying a truck in a Moving Load Case, changes would not always 'stick'
  • Fixed Spreadsheet report issues with design table 'details'
  • Corrected problems with some Versa-Lam shape data
  • Loads in "skewed direction" wind-load service cases are included in Building Code combinations
  • Removed some base plate bolt patterns that cannot be used properly
  • Mesher is less likely to create 'overlapping' or disjoint plate elements
  • Extend member feature did not always work properly
  • Rigid links cannot have offsets (previous offsets for members would remain)
  • Spring support orientations were not always graphically correct
  • Influence diagrams would not display properly at first
  • Response spectrum dialog, some labels were truncated
  • Bracing issues in CFS design
  • Area loads on combined members could generate 'off the end'
  • Cables could be drawn in projects without Y vertical
  • New nodal load resets to zero when direction is changed
  • Cm factor in CFS design was not always correctly calculated

*Requires the Advanced Level