Summary of Improvements in SAM version 5.0c

There are many improvements in version 5.0c. The main ones are in the areas of:

There are also many minor improvements throughout.

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General Enhancements

  • Major change to user interface
    • Sizeable main form
    • Icons now distributed around graphics screen to give more usable space
    • Icons can be undocked and placed in any location
    • Icons can be customised to make any command available
    • Multiple monitor support added
    • Program preferences options increased
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  • Results format changed for the header, graphical output and calculations
    • User defined title block added
    • User defined logo can be added to output
    • Print preview and page setup added
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  • Notes for a data file added
  • Notes appear in the data summary

  • More feedback when loading files
    • A graphic of the file is shown
    • The file properties are shown
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  • New HTML Help System incorporated
    • Fully comprehensive help for the whole system and includes graphics for ease of use
    • All topics are searchable and hyperlinks help navigation


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Analysis Module Enhancements

  • Presentation of results significantly improved
    • Results can be exported to spreadsheets (as single or multiple load cases)
    • Tables are user configurable to just the data wanted
    • Graphical and tabular results can be displayed and printed together
    • Clicking on a column in the results table changes the results displayed in the graphics to the selected result
    • User control over all number formatting
    • Can enhance results by displaying results of functions such as Sum, Average, Maximum, Minimum
    • Can sort results table by any column
    • Can produce results for multiple load cases
    • Comprehensive print designer
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  • Can filter results in a number of ways to display only those of interest
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  • Printed results improved
    • Current graphics shown
    • Current Tabular Results shown
    • Current Notes shown
    • Company logo shown
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  • Envelope features enhanced
    • Origin of envelope results given in table
    • Envelope of envelopes available on property set
    • Show selected effect and associated values
    • Can show critical or associated values
    • Envelope types added
  • Graphical and other enhancements
    • Joint, member and section data assignment annotation
    • Can show local axes on structural model
    • Can show node locations
    • DXF import checks added and SXF log created
    • Member filtering facility

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Section Module Enhancements

  • Limit on number of shapes in a section removed
  • Section modulus properties and section weights have been added to the printout
  • Limit to the number of coordinates in a section removed
  • Limits on number of bars/tendons removed
  • Analyse button removed. Select an item and it is automatically analysed
  • Printout of results includes graphics

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Beam Module Enhancements

All Beam Types

  • Limit on the number of sections in a beam removed
  • Graphic results improved
    • Legend added. It is movable and prints out where it is left
    • The moment sign convention can be changed via the options menu so that moments can be shown on "correct" side
    • Now get steps in shear results
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  • Now have a record of where loads data came from via the data summary
  • Additional load cases
    • Multiple SDL's. The program will pick the most adverse SDL
    • SDL non-structural concrete etc
    • Temperature restraint
    • Soil pressure
    • Multiple live loads
  • Analyse button removed. Select an item and it is automatically analysed
  • Can analyse at specified additional points of interest along the beam
  • Printout of results includes graphics

Steel composite beams

  • Limit on the number of lateral restraints and web stiffeners in a beam removed

  • Edge detail case with slab now available. Can now be considered as a separate construction stage
  • Additional load case options added for string course dead load which can be defined using a line beam
  • BD 13/04 incorporated for slenderness considerations

Pre-tensioned prestressed beams

  • Automated optimised tendon layout design
    • Define parameters for optimising the arrangement of tendons
    • Tendons arranged to give minimum cost
    • Allows exploration of trade-off between beam size and number of tendons
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Contact us

To find out more, please contact us on 212-295-2192, or you can email us at version5@LRFDsoftware.com.