Bentley Systems just made available this version which adds great new functionality to improve efficiency for engineers around the world and has resolved numerous issues that have been reported and thus highly recommend that you look to adopt this version and improve your working experience.
This release has focused principally on addressing a significant number of defects that have been identified in order to deliver a more robust solution. However, we have additionally made a number of minor modifications which should also help to provide a more productive working experience.
The new STAAD.Pro 2023 installation has been designed so that should you require use of the previous CONNECT Edition such as V22, then both can reside together on the same computer. That means if you have a project that requires you to use a named version, you can still install the latest version to get all the additional benefits on new projects, but still compete the older jobs on the CONNECT Edition. Additionally, the standard installer includes Japanese and Chinese localised GUI options built in.
One of the most popular capabilities that STAAD.Pro has provided users is the ability to define a region in space which is subject to a load even though there may not be any explicit structure defined there. An internal algorithm then distributes this back to the structural members assuming a rudimentary distribution. However engineers have been hitting on the limitations of this algorithm and need something that can handle more complex shapes which include openings and members within the zone that are not designed to attract the loading directly, such as bracing members. This new command structure allows for this, initially for vertical loading, and in future will be expanded for alternative load direction.
The standard output file created during an analysis is often formatted by engineers to contain the key data to use as a report on their analysis. However, there are many times when a report needs to be created after the fact and creating a customised User Report has been provided in STAAD.Pro. Whilst popular, it has been found to have a number of technical challenges that didn’t provide the flexibility many engineers are looking for, so this capability has been reconstructed from the ground up.
Providing the same range of capabilities that was available with the older User Report, but now built on a database platform which means that this will allow far greater customisation than ever before.
Individual tables can be customised:-
Once created, reports can be saved as templates which can be shared between projects and team members, not just locked to a single model.
Reports can be exported now to MS Word (*.docx), MS Excel(*.xlsx), or a generic PDF.
By being stored in a database, opportunities now exist for being more proactive in the content by using third party tools such as SQLite.
One of the big challenges for STAAD users in the past has been the controlled ecosystem that was employed in the use of the database system provided for obtaining the section properties of profiles defined in commonly referred to publications. Whilst this works well for the databases that were distributed with the program, it was difficult to expand and customise them to reflect specific organisations or projects. The STAAD.Pro code base was restricted to support a limited set of countries/manufacturers. Any customisation that was required, had to be done at the expense of one of the databases that was included in the installation.
STAAD.Pro has such a vast userbase who have models that are dependent on this system of defining profiles, it was determined that it will remain but now referred to as the ‘Legacy Database’, and a new system has been added to overcome many of these limitations.
The new ‘Standard Databases’ are flexible to allow new databases to be created, shared and employed without having to redefine the existing database assignments which restricted that ability of engineers to add a new set of profiles for a project.
They are built on a standard SQL format of tables. A master table that defines the data that will be supplied including the profile shape of the table (* this initial release will focus on a number of standard shapes, more shapes will be added in future post and vote on the Ideas portal for your preferred shapes to add) and for each table of data, a second that defines what data the various columns represent including the units.
Tools have also been added to allow databases to be created by importing a spreadsheet or adding a table to an existing database by picking data from a spreadsheet.
Any database used to define properties can then be shared amongst a team and different databases can be setup for different projects.
By setting this to a central location, teams can work efficiently by all working using a single instance of the database that can be managed by a team administrator:-
The design of structures by engineers in China need to change depending on the type of structure and the magnitude of seismic it needs to account for. For larger seismic events (i.e., Fortified), then the engineer needs to use the Performance Design method which is defined in GB50017-2017, chapter 17. This is required for the designs of residential and industrial buildings, with this release functionality has been added for provide the requirements for the design of residential buildings.
The wind loading routine provided for definitions to the Chinese wind load GB5009, has been updated to provide an option to create the list of members that define each of the four faces by selecting them graphically. Additionally, when using the Group definition to specify the beams on each face, then the beams associated with the group are highlighted when the structure face is selected in the table.
* Note, this modification was added in STAAD.Pro V22 U10, but not reported
Many projects require a standard structural analysis as provided by STAAD.Pro but occasionally, and growing in occurrence, a more complex analysis method which is currently not provided by STAAD.Pro may be required such as transient dynamic or a collapse analysis. This capability is available to engineers with the Adina application which was recently acquired by Bentley. However, with a different data format, creating a duplicate of he model can be a tie consuming operation. So a new export option has been provided allowing the model data to be generated in the Adina .IN format ready for applying loads and analysis methods as needed.
The Editor has been updated to improve the user experience, with a new default colour for text by providing new colour settings, "Find Text match Highlight Colour" and "Find Text Scope Highlight Colour". Additionally, the file type settings dialog has been improved.
The Advanced Concrete Design application, RCDC, has been updated to v2023 which includes: -
For more details on these and other issues that have been addressed in this build Refer to the RCDC Release Notes.
The concrete foundation application included in the STAAD.Pro installation, STAAD Foundation Advanced (SFA) has been updated to v9.7.2 which includes: -
For more details on these and other issues that have been addressed in this build Refer to the SFA Release Notes.
(* Included with Structural Entitlements)
(** Additional license required, included with STAAD.Pro Advanced and Structural Worksuite)
(*** Additional license required, included with Structural Worksuite)
Revision History
The Revision History document details the issues that have been addressed and as with all builds is included in the ReadMe file which can be accessed from the Help section of the application and can also be found here, STAAD.Pro 2023 Revision History - RAM | STAAD | ADINA Wiki - RAM | STAAD | ADINA - Bentley Communities.
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