EuroBeam - Eurocode-based beam design software

Release 1.40f, 22 December 2014

• If you opted to use an external timber data file the wrong data for compressive strengths was saved. This has been fixed and as a precaution old files will not be read and the internal default data (which most users use) will be used instead. Creating a data file by entering a file name in Configuration, User Setup (file must not already exist) will create a correctly formatted file.
• We have had a few reports of errors when printing to PDF. We have not been able to replicate these or identify a cause but have added additional error checking which should more closely identify where any problem is.

Release 1.40e, 17 November 2014

Three fixes:

• PDF generation code has been changed so as to significantly reduce the generated PDF file size in most cases
• RTF export didn't export font colours (now added) or font sizes (bug: all were set to the same size as normal - fixed)
• Load diagram options dialog now has a separate tab for PDFs (note that the selected font size is not used: the size is determined at display/print time by by the diagram size)
• Glulam calculations used incorrect ksys system strength factor values (conservative in nearly every case), 1.1 if the 'Load sharing' box was checked, 1.0 otherwise. Now been corrected so as to be automatically calculated depending on the number of laminations. N.B. This change was made in error, fixed in release 1.41a
• Range check error was triggered if selected printer not available - fixed
• The program 'Exit Y/N' dialog now adds a checkbox 'Don't ask again'.

Release 1.40d, 7 October 2014

Three fixes:

• Problem with some config settings not being saved by EB1.40b/c if all settings held in one INI file (default is two) - fixed
• Access violation fixed that was triggered when printing to PDF if PDF options set beam loading and BM/SF diagrams above each other (side by side was OK)
• Access violation fixed that was triggered if you pressed the 'Tile all' button repeatedly on a large project

Release 1.40c, 5/6 October 2014

• Range check error was triggered if autosave on and you opened the program and started a new project without having previously opened a saved one -fixed.
• Range check error triggered in timber post edit dialog when you selected B/F load with no other loads already entered - fixed.
• On-screen BM/SF diagram y axis scaling could be incorrect on more heavily loaded beams - fixed (6 Oct built)

Release 1.40b, 23 September 2014

• Range check error was triggered if you selected more than 12 sections to be displayed in Configuration, User Setup - fixed.
• Range check error could be generated on startup if last selected printer no longer installed or accessible - fixed.
• Font sizes within a connection or splice drawings could be inconsistent - fixed
• End plate connection calculation showed wrong value in calculation of check 1 VRd,1, omitted 1.27 term in check 3, and showed bolt bearing stress in place of plate bearing stress in check 8 - all fixed. These are all presentational errors not affecting the accuracy of the calculation.
• Minor change made to minimum notch depth on beam-beam connections.
• Glulam beam calcs weren't always properly updated when 'Apply' pressed - fixed.
• Autosave stalled if save skipped because modal dialog was open - fixed.
• The Load/BM+SF diagram options dialog now adds a third page 'PDF'.

Release 1.40a, 26 August 2014

A bug in 1.40a surfaced has been fixed in 1.40b. When you select Beam Edit you may get a range check error. The workaround is to go into Configuration, User Setup and make sure that a maximum of 12 steel sections are checked (e.g. uncheck the continental IPE and HE sections if you'll never be specifying them).

• Hollow sections:
  1. This release installs a new EuroSteelCF.dta file which adds cold-formed circular, square and rectangular hollow sections (Corus trade name Hybox® 355).
  2. A number of hot-finished hollow sections have also been added to the data file - these are ones shown in the current 'Blue Book' as being readily available, e.g. 60.3x6.3 CHS and 80x80x3.2 SHS, which were not previously in the data file.
  3. CHS column calculations have been totally reworked: now the major and minor axis moments are resolved into one and then a check made on combined compression and bending using EC3 equation (6.2). Previously CHS columns were marked as failing because they fall outside the SN048b interaction equation limitations.
  4. N.B. As ever, you need to be aware (and make contractors and others aware), that cold-formed hollow sections (Corus Hybox® 355) must not be substituted for hot-finished sections (Corus Celsius® S355) unless the suitability of the former has been checked. Corus also manufacture lower grade hollow sections branded as Strongbox® 235: "... it is strongly recommended that Strongbox® 235 hollow sections should not be used in structural applications, in particular where designs must comply with the building regulations and/or design codes." (Steel Construction Institute)
• Brittle fracture:
  • The steel page of the beam edit dialog has been modified so as to add a new combo box which lets you select an option for brittle fracture checking. The default (for existing projects) is 'Omit'. The other options are internal or external plain steel, bolted, welded-moderate, welded-severe and welded-very severe. For definitions see the SCI paper below. Where a satisfactory subgrade other than JR (normal grade steel) is required, the subgrade is shown on the section line (e.g. as S275 J2). Note that the EuroBeam check makes no adjustment for concentrated loads.
  • More on this in SCI ED007 Selection of steel sub-grade - free download
• Other
• 1. Steel section classification lines now show the classification limit calculation more clearly
  2. Select column section by depth could give the a larger section than required for lightly loaded columns - fixed
  3. Column design by optimum weight/depth is now much faster
  4. Steel column interaction equation summary is now omitted when there are no moments on the column
  5. For beams extended as cantilevers, the automatically added o.w. load was always given start and end positions of '0' and 'L' rather than starting and ending at the end(s) of the cantilever(s) - fixed
  6. Doing anything that involved renumbering a project (insert/delete/move item) could cause errors where the project contained a chain of B/F loads (e.g. beam 7 uses a b/f from beam 5 which b/f from beam 3 etc) - fixed
  7. For steel beams, the derivation of the shear area is now shown on a separate line for clarity
  8. A new option, Window, Refresh [F5] can be used to redisplay a window's contents if they get corrupted
  9. File, Reopen menu will now list up to 20 previous projects
  10. When autosaving is enabled and the current project has not been saved, the status bar indicator turns purple (red when autosaving off) and the new adjacent progress bar gradually increments as the time to the next autosave gets nearer. You can cancel autosaving by clicking on the progress bar.
  11. Several minor cosmetic improvements and improved referencing of code clauses on printouts

Release 1.31b, 24 June 2014

• For fin plate connections, the bending resistance of the plate VRd,6 was overstated by a factor of 1,000. Note that this check only applies where the plate depth is less than 2.73 x the bolt offset, i.e. rarely, and in such cases plate buckling will generally be more critical - fixed
• The code that prints the various diagrams (beam loads, beam BM/SF, column load positions, beam splices and connections) has been revised so as to (hopefully) overcome 'out of memory' errors reported by several users.

Release 1.31a, 4 June 2014

• A new option on the text page editor 'Link lines' joins and wordwraps consecutive non-tagged and non-ruler lines as has been the case for notes. See the Miscellaneous, Latest Information page within program for full details.
• Minor presentational improvements on printouts
• The default C1 steel beam bending moment factor for new steel beams has been changed to 'Auto' from 'Take as 1.0'. Using 1.0 is always a safe (conservative) choice but, depending on the shape of the bending moment, may return a much larger section than is necessary. C1 factors and their derivation are discussed in detail in the manual.
• The program version/serial number watermark is now printed clear of the page heading - previously it could clash with text at the start of the last heading line.
• This release is built with Delphi XE6 - this is a technical change that does not affect end users

Release 1.30b, 12 February 2014

• Connection edit dialog erroneously showed non steel beams - fixed
• Beam bearing details weren't carried over on copy and paste - fixed
• Timber post edit dialog now shows example alongside load duration e.g. 'Long term (storage/water tanks)' instead of 'Long term'
• Several fixes made to script page code