Current Version

v3.6.1

27 May 2021 | Maintenance Release
Build 26217

Maintenance Release

Bugfixes

  • Fixed a bug that prevented images of the failure mechanism being generated (e.g. for the report) when using the software with MacOS [ref:5614]
  • Updates solver to MOSEK v9.2. This fixes a compatibility issue that was present in older versions of the software when run on systems with newer AMD processors.

Enhancements

  • Compatibility with Apple M1 chip (under Rosetta 2) now tested [ref:5591]

Previous Versions

v3.5.g

3 Feb 2020 | Maintenance Release
Build 24265

Maintenance Release

Update

  • Academic licenses are now accessed from new server address in advance of shutdown of legacy server in Q3 2020 [ref:5407]
 

v3.5.f

2 Sep 2019 | Maintenance Release
Build 23794

Maintenance Release

Bugfixes

  • Fixed a bug that prevented v3.5.e files from being opened in previous releases. Version 3.5.f files are compatible will all v3.5.x releases [ref:5332]

  • Fixed a bug that caused the License Dialog to be incorrectly titled [ref:5337]

  • Updated system requirements information in product documentation [ref:5338]

  • Fixed a bug that meant that a project could not be saved following completion of a Wizard if the licensing was changed to "Academic" from some other license type [ref:5339]

  • Fixed a bug in the context sensitive help that caused some links to point to an incorrect manual entry [ref: 5340]

 

v3.5.e

20 Aug 2019 | Maintenance Release
Build 23653

Maintenance Release

Enhancements

  • Set the styling of construction lines created on import of a DXF geometry to match that of lines created manually (i.e. grey, dotted lines) [ref 5249]

Bugfixes

  • Fixed the ability to print a report directly from the report dialog [ref 5302]

  • Fixed a bug that caused DXF files to import incorrectly (or sometimes crash the software) [ref 5304]

 

v3.5.d

14 Mar 2019 | Maintenance Release
Build 22974

Maintenance release

Enhancements

  • Added option in the installer to use software rendering. Reinstall with this option selected if graphical or startup issues are experienced. These occasionally occur due to graphics driver compatibility problems. [ref 5210]

Bugfixes

  • Added forward compatibility with previous 3.x versions. [ref 5229]
 

v3.5.c

12 Dec 2018 | Maintenance Release
Build 22561

MAINTENANCE RELEASE

Bugfixes

  • Fixed regression related to adding points on high resolution displays [ref 5171]
 

v3.5.b

13 Nov 2018 | Maintenance Release
Build 22375

MAINTENANCE RELEASE

Bugfixes

  • Fixed a bug were the Load Type attribute was unnecessarily displayed for each load type in the tree (Permanent, Variable, Accidental) [ref 5004]

  • Fixed regression related to display of histograms on engineered elements [ref 5024, 5161]

  • Fixed intermittent regression related to mouse selection of objects [ref 5163]

 

v3.5.a

16 Oct 2018 | Major Release
Build 20820

MAJOR RELEASE

Support for Very High Resolution Monitors

  • Very high resolution (e.g. 4K) screens are now supported on Windows. The size of text on such screens is optimized for readability [ref 5083]

Solver Engine Improvements

  • The robustness of the solver engine has been improved:

  • Certain challenging problems (e.g. involving rotations and / or soil reinforcement) now solve more reliably [ref 5088]

  • Factor Strength(s) mode convergence is quicker for most problems [ref 5073]

  • Near-optimal solutions where 'Slow Progress' was previously reported are are now output as numeric values in square brackets. These are generally of acceptable quality and can be utilized by the user [ref 5073]

New defaults for Geotextile Materials

  • Added new 'Geotextile' material defaults to the 'Create New Material' dialog. This sets Engineered Element (1D) default values that are suitable for modelling a geotextile [ref 5006]

Increased Execution Speed

  • Execution speed is significantly increased on some Windows systems by reducing the burden on the GPU. (This requires the 'vsync' setting to be set to 'use application setting' in the graphics driver utility) [ref 5095]

Improved Diagnostics

  • Added new diagnostic warning in cases where an Engineered Element has one end adjacent to a fixed boundary. This element is not fixed to the boundary which may have been the intention of the user. Additional text has been added to the User Manual explaining how to achieve fixity where required [ref 4199]

  • Added new diagnostic warning that flags up situations where Engineered Elements that appear to be intended to represent soil nails are associated with interface materials. Interface materials are not usually used with soil nails [ref 4294]

  • Added diagnostic warning that flags up situations where one or more engineered elements of low or zero bending strength is/are linked to two or more engineered elements of high bending strength. This will effectively introduce a low strength hinge into the set of high strength engineered elements which may be unintended [ref 4301]

  • Added an error message to inform the user when the model has potential geometry issues relating to co-linear boundary elements [ref 5090]

Minor Changes

  • DXF import/export now works for paths with accented characters [ref 5084]

  • Corrected panel heading from "Edit Old Material(s)" to "Edit Material(s)" [ref 5091]

  • Enhanced post solve adequacy factor reporting dialog (factor strength) to include cu gradient terms if non-zero [ref 5092]

  • Corrected report output for localized decimal point equivalents. Affected fields were 'Adequacy Factor', 'Start Point', 'End Point' and 'Angle' [ref 5078]

  • In command-line mode, set the cutoff for the free-body diagrams to a maximum of 500 solids in the solution (this matches the cutoff in GUI mode) [ref 5093]

  • Upgraded to Qt 5.9.4 [ref 5083]

Bugfixes

  • DXF import/export now works for paths with accented characters [ref 5084]

  • Enhanced post solve adequacy factor reporting dialog (factor strength) to include cu gradient terms if these are non-zero [ref 5092]

  • Corrected report output for localized decimal point equivalents. Affectedfields were 'Adequacy Factor', 'Start Point', 'End Point' and 'Angle' [ref 5078]

  • In command-line mode, set the cutoff for the free-body diagrams to a maximum of 500 solids in the solution (this matches the cutoff in GUI mode) [ref 5093]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause a white box to appear at the top left of the screen when using the Mac version [ref 4979]

  • Fixed a bug where the equilibrium forces in the report were not always available and the columns in the CSV file generated from 'Export Selected Block Forces...' had the wrong header order for horizontal and vertical equilibrium [ref 4996]

  • Fixed a bug were the Load Type attribute was unnecessarily displayed for each load type in the tree (Permanent, Variable, Accidental) [ref 5004]

  • Fixed a bug where a complex model involving engineered elements may on rare occasions generate a geometry error on solving [ref 5047]

  • Fixed bug which could lead to the incorrect display of the water pressures and forces in the tool-tip (hovering the mouse over a block) and in the export forces function, in cases where water pressures are defined by a Water Table [ref 5062]

  • Removed 'Void' material. Old cases that use this material type will still run, but a warning is issued when the user solves. After the user removes all the void solids and saves the project, the void material will no longer be available when the file is read in again. To insert a void, users should simply delete the associated solid [ref 5023]

  • Fixed bug that led to inconsistent display of the post-solve signs of the forces and moments in the graphs and tool-tips for Engineered Elements. For Engineered Elements that were not vertical or horizontal there also could have been errors in the displayed values in some cases. These errors would have been small if the inclination of the element from the vertical or horizontal was small. The calculation of the adequacy factor was unaffected [ref 5024]

  • Clicking the save icon after use of undo/redo no longer opens the "save as" dialogue; instead the file is saved using the current file name [ref 5067]

  • Fixed bug where Engineered element moments were displayed when the model was run with 'Model Rotations' set to false. In this mode moments are not calculated. Graphical plots now display zero and tooltips display 'unavailable' [ref 5070]

  • The "Show Water Table" toggle now matches what is shown in the display after undo [ref 5096]

  • Fixed a bug that could, on some machines, cause an error message to be displayed when calculating stresses in solids after they had been animated on screen [ref 5128]

  • Changed construction line start and end points to always lie on the boundary of the bounding box. This prevents intersections with the geometry being performed when editing the construction line position [ref 5129]

  • Fixed a bug that allowed Mohr-Coulomb (Derived) materials to be imported from a CSV file without the parent material being properly set [ref 5130]

  • Modified nodal distribution in the Wind Turbine example file to prevent a diagnostic warning being displayed upon solve [re 5134]

 

v3.4.a

17 Nov 2016 | Major Release
Build 19333

MAJOR RELEASE

Solver

  • Added hyperlink to computed adequacy factor that generates a dialog which details the parameters affected by the adequacy factor [ref 2444]
  • Upgrade MOSEK solver to version 7.1.0.47 [ref 4880]
  • Adjusted convergence parameters for factor strength mode so that typical geotechnical problems solve faster [ref 4255]
  • Enhance displayed forces/stresses around a block to include water pressure and effective stresses Enhance Export of Block Forces to (i) list coordinates in separate columns (ii) also list the line segment midpoint, (iii) include water pressures/forces and normal effective stresses/forces Enhnace displayed forces and moments along an engineered element to include the line coordinates.
  • Enhance Export of Engineered Element Forces to list coordinates in separate columns [ref 3687]

Display of Varying Material / Water Properties

  • Added ability to preview spatial variation of strength parameters and water pressures [ref 4927]

Report Output

  • Added information relating to ru parameters (if used) to the report output [ref 4306]

DXF Handling

  • Enhanced "DXF Import" dialog to add information relating to the units used and the bounding limits of the file being imported. Where the file is unitless, dimensions will be assumed to be the same as those set in the software (e.g. metres or feet). Additionally, warn the user if the geometry appears to be too large, too small or positioned a long distance from the origin (in which case the option to translate and/or scale is presented) [ref 4767] [ref 4919]
  • Improved the way in which DXF files are handled [ref 4839]:
  • Prevent zero thickness solids from being created (where two boundaries lie on top of each other in a DXF).
  • Added a check that attempts to identify isolated islands in DXF files and alert the user so that they are able to fix the issue.
  • Fixed a bug when removing DXF entities from unwanted layers, which could cause the software to crash.
  • Change exported DXF file to use double precision for more accurate results [ref 4921]

Drawing

  • Allow adding multiple vertices in one step by holding Ctrl/Cmd down [ref 4934]
  • Allow creation of new vertices at intersection between boundaries and construction lines [ref 4860]
  • Improve drawing snaps (making it easier to create e.g. perpendicular intersections) [ref 3042]

Modelling

  • Allow users to disable a material defined with a grid interpolation and re-enable later if required [ref 4936]

UI

  • Upgrade to Qt 5.4.2, which brings improvements to GUI appearace including improved rendering and a cleaner interface [ref 4688] Show an "index" tab in the help system [ref 3879] Do not display non-credible failure mechanisms that result from "unknown" or "slow progress" being returned by the solver [ref 4817]
  • Update academic licensing system [ref 4953]

Diagnostic / Error Messages

  • Add new diagnostic warning for boundaries that contain derived material(s), but are not adjacent to solids containing the parent material(s) [ref 4198]
  • Add new information message about interpretation of adequacy factor in presence of water to the solution dialog [ref 2449]
  • Add diagnostic to check for small gaps between external boundaries. This will help to alert the user to some potential errors in the geometry which would otherwise be difficult to see [ref 4819]
  • Add a diagnostic message to warn users if fewer than 20% of the problem nodes are within solid zones [ref 3891]
  • Enhanced error message 11003 to provide additional information and renumbered as 11004 [ref 4834]

Other

  • Improve locale settings e.g. so that commas and/or points are treated as decimal places according to the settings of the host machine [ref 4814]
  • Force the software to clean the solution if an error causes the solve to be halted at any stage [ref 4824]
  • Updated quay wall example file (QuayWall.geo) [ref 4854]
  • Extended reinforcement / Engineered Element sections in User Manual [ref 4929]
  • Improved a number of sections in the User Manual to make them more informative [ref 4960]

Bugfixes

  • Fixed bug where solids were omitted from the animation for highly complex geometries [ref 4823]
  • Fixed a bug that would cause models positioned far from the origin to not be displayed in the report or saved image files [ref 4093]
  • Fixed a bug that would cause temporary vertices created on Engineered Elements to persist after a project is unlocked [ref 4926]
  • Fixed bug that could prevent materials from being duplicated [ref 4941]
  • Fix anomalous display of adequacy on loads from files generated by the command line [ref 3967]
  • Fixed interface material property labels in wall and pipeline wizards [ref 4901]
  • Fix gravity wall geometry for zero height/width of soil B [ref 4958]
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the calculation of deformed (animated) geometries for complex failure mechanisms to display a "zero vector" error message [ref 3222]
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the "auto-save file found" dialog to persist when an attempt is made to close it [ref 4826]
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash when trying to merge two boundaries that initially shared a single vertex [ref 4862]
  • Fixed a bug that prevented solids within another solid (i.e. 'islands') from being split by a user-defined boundary [ref 4859]
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent a polygon from being drawn inside another (concave) polygon [ref 4873]
  • Prevent multiple dialog windows showing (briefly) when opening the help system [ref 3475]
  • Prevent flickering in the viewer window during a solve [ref 4561]
  • Prevent the grid from being shown with thicker lines when opening a file [ref 4463]
  • Fixed a bug that caused images to be exported at a different size to that specified in the software preferences [ref 4863]
  • Fixed a numerical issue involving geometry points with x coordinates very close (but not equal to) zero that caused the solver to show "Error: 01007: Out of bounds x-coordinate..." [ref 4761]
  • Fixed 'ln' function in the calculator [ref 4723]
  • Fixed a bug that could cause 'unstable' results to be erroneously reported if a water table was coincident with a vertical edge in the model [ref 4961]
 

v3.2.e

14 Sep 2015 | Minor Release
Build 17995

MINOR RELEASE

  • Upgrade solver to MOSEK 7.1 [ref 4499]
  • Fixed a bug that caused the nominal vertical effective stress to be incorrectly calculated for engineered elements in cases where the water table lies above the soil surface. Note that older versions of the software would provide conservative solutions, but could allow negative vertical effective stresses which, in turn, lead to unstable results when Tq was non zero [ref 4636]
  • Materials count diagnostic message extended to clarify count is of each instance of usage of a material [ref 4676]
  • Improved text in Section 22.3.2 of User Manual relating to 'Preview nodes' [ref 4183]
  • Check for 32bit operating system when running the 64bit installer and alert the user. Update the installer software [ref 4575]
  • Suppress weekly 'no update available' balloon - only alert when update _is_ available [ref 4591]
  • Fixed issue with construction lines that meant the software could potentially crash when editing / deleting them [ref 4472]
  • Fixed an issue that caused the "View" icons not to update their toggle status after e.g. opening a new file [ref 4515]
  • Prevent the grid from displaying with thick lines on opening a file [ref 4559]
  • Force either 'animate' or 'do not animate' after solve. Previously a situation could arise where neither was selected and this would cause issues when trying to animate [ref 4623]
  • Fixed labels in 'gravity wall' and 'stem wall' wizard geometry images to make them consistent with the field labels in the dialog. Also minor text change in 'gabion wall' wizard to remove reference to 'footing depth' [ref 4646]
  • Allow clearing the water table to be 'undone' [ref 4673]
  • Prevent page breaks within tables in the RTF report [ref 4510]
  • Fix a numerical tolerance issue affecting problems containing a skewed concave geometry (the software would previously erroneously report 'Maximum number of concave parts in solid exceeded') [ref 4520]
 

v3.2.d

7 Jan 2015 | Minor Release
Build 17474

MINOR RELEASE

  • Added a number of informative paragraphs and sections to the User Manual (e.g. to explain Engineered Element material behaviour in more detail) [ref 4290]
  • Introduced paragraph spacing to improve the layout of reports saved in RTF format [ref 4343]
  • Added a new diagnostic message to alert the user to the number of long-term (drained) and short-term (undrained) scenarios present in a problem. Also report the drainage behaviour of any Mohr Coulomb materials present [ref 4357]
  • Fixed a bug (introduced in 3.1.c) that caused an "Invalid Overlap" message to be incorrectly displayed for various types of problem involving a water table [ref 4298]
  • Fixed a bug that caused the "Calculations to allow the identification of solids and the display of diagrams may take some time" warning message to be shown multiple times. This would occur when a problem was solved without animating, multiple zones were selected and the "No" button clicked [ref 4300]
  • Prompt the user to unlock a project before changes are attempted in the Geometry Editor. This avoids the loss of any data that may have already been input [ref 4310]
  • Fixed a bug that made it difficult for the user to move vertices in a water table downwards (either by dragging or modifying in the Geometry Editor). This affected vertices drawn coincident with the model boundary and primarily when 'Snap' was set to be on [ref 4345]
  • Fixed a bug that could cause the software to crash if the solution was animated wile diagrams were displayed [ref 4408]
  • Set the cursor selection behaviour such that it returns to the previous state (i.e. click or rectangle) following a pan or rotate action [ref 4427]
 

v3.2.c

20 Oct 2014 | Minor Release
Build 16850

MINOR RELEASE

  • Enhanced the Diagnostic tool [ref 4246] [ref 4270] [ref 4279] [ref 4288]:

  • Added 'small problem size' warning message.

  • Improved the error message shown when the problem is too small to solve reliably.

  • Improved the readability of the message displayed when disconnected (floating) solids are encountered in the project. Also lowered the severity from an Error to a Warning.

  • Added new diagnostic warnings for linked series of Engineered Elements where i) Tc, Tq, Nc and Nq are all set to zero and ii) only Nc and Nq are set to zero but all the elements lie in a straight line. This is useful e.g. for models including tiebacks / 'dead man' anchors etc.

  • Changed the level of the 'non unit load factors' diagnostic message from Warning to Information.

  • Fixed a bug that could, on rare occasions, cause a crash when a user tried to drag a solid object after the problem had been solved and animated [ref 4223]

  • Allow project files created in version 3.2c and later to be opened using all released versions of LimitState:GEO 3.1a and later (note that some properties may not be utilized) [ref 4230]

  • Fixed a bug that could prevent all zones containing zero strength materials from being identified in the Diagnostics warnings [ref 4237]

  • Fixed an issue that meant that installing the 32bit version of the software within a 64bit environment could sometimes lead to a warning message relating to a failed post-install step (regsvr32.exe) [ref 4261]

  • Fixed a bug that prevented recent versions of the software from displaying Engineered Element properties in the Property Editor when selected in the viewer. Note that this only occurred with .geo files created in versions prior to 3.0a and opened in versions 3.0b and later [ref 4283]

  • Prevent two engineered element material types from being added to a single boundary object. This would previously cause an "Assert failed!" error message to be displayed [ref 4285]

  • Fixed the Wind Turbine example file so that it no longer outputs 'slow progress'. A valid solution is now achieved with all license types [ref 4287]

  • Fixed broken link to 'optimized layout for problem type' help page (accessed via Analysis tab in the Wizards) [ref 4295]

  • Updated User Manual to clarify that exported DXFs may be layered [ref 4296]

 

v3.2.b

21 July 2014 | Minor Release
Build 16732

MINOR RELEASE

  • The 64bit version can now be used freely, without the need for a special license [ref 4202]

  • Fixed a bug which meant that stress, force and moment values shown on diagrams were not correctly converted to Imperial units, when in that mode [ref 4206]

 

v3.2.a

11 Jun 2014 | Minor Release
Build 16424

MINOR RELEASE

  • Rendering and optimization speed have both been markedly improved over version 3.1c (e.g. typical 3.3x reduction in the overall solve time for a 2000 node 'Simple Footing' example when compared to the same problem solved using v3.1.c.16424) [ref 4196]

  • Upgraded MOSEK solver engine to v7.0.0.111. This version includes a number of improvements to the linear optimizer and also fixes a very rare library compatibility issue that caused the previous 64bit version of LimitState:GEO not to run on some machines. [ref 3963] [ref 4160]

  • Software now switches to 'click select' after solve and reverts to the previous selection mode after the problem is unlocked [ref 4034]

  • Diagnostic messages are now selectable, allowing the text to be copied and pasted into other applications [ref 4154]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause erratic behaviour when solving after having previously solved the same problem with 'overridden material strength' applied to a zone [ref 4151]

  • Ensure that the appropriate Visual C++ (MSVCP) libraries are installed according to the architecture of the host system and the version of the software being installed [ref 4158]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause imported geometries to be read in with the wrong units of length, thus creating a problem of the wrong size [ref 3944]

  • Fixed bug that prevented the Property Editor from being docked once it had been separated from the main viewer window [ref 4011]

  • Fixed a bug that caused some configurations of PC (ones using two or more screens) to sometimes display the software outside the main monitor [ref 4162]

 

v3.1.c [build]

2 Apr 2014 | Minor Release
Build 15253

MINOR RELEASE

  • Set GIF animations to use transparent backgrounds [ref 4148]

  • List all solids with zero strength (for the present analysis) as a diagnostic warning message [ref 3689]

  • Fixed a regression (from version 3.0d) that caused the column width of 'scenario 1' in the Scenario Manager to be too large, requiring the user to scroll in order to modify any additional scenarios [ref 4144]

  • Prevent negative values being set for a number of material and project properties, including nodal spacing, scale factor and target number [ref 2898]

  • Fixed a bug that prevented the material name from being updated after it had been modified in the Property Editor [ref 2632]

  • Fixed a bug that occasionally caused the software to hang on solve, if the problem included a solid body with a 'void' contained within it. This was due to the algorithm that determines the connectivity between different solids entering a continuous loop [ref 4009]

 

v3.1.b

15 Oct 2013 | Major Release
Build 13685

MAJOR RELEASE

Enhancements

  • Enhanced solver efficiency and stability (previously an unknown solution could in certain cases be reported the likelihood of this has been significantly reduced). Also added a number of new solve return types to better reflect the solution status:

  • Added an "Out of Space" return type. This means that there is not enough free system memory to complete the current solve iteration [ref 3724]

  • Added a "Slow Progress" return type. This means that the solver is encountering difficulties in converging to an optimum solution, but an attempt to rectify this will be made [ref 1851] [ref 3743] [ref 3744]

  • Upgraded the solver engine to Mosek version 7 [ref 3743]

  • Reduced the number of linear dependencies created in the problem matrix to reduce the likelihood of unknown solutions being reported by Mosek [ref 3858]

  • Improved the way in which users view and search for LimitState:GEO files within the Windows environment:

  • Thumbnails of the problem geometry are now generated and can be viewed instead of the LimitState:GEO icon when exploring folders, making visual searches much easier. Note that this functionality is only available when using the Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems [ref 3670]

  • Tags (keywords) can now be saved in the project data. These, as well as the other project details (e.g. Engineer Name, Reference Number etc.) can be included in a general file search, making it easier to search for files related to a given project. Note that this functionality is only available when using the Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems [ref 3670]

  • Images can now be saved in JPEG and TIFF formats [ref 3645] and PNG and TIFF files now utilize a transparent background [ref 3671]

  • Upgraded GUI libraries used, leading to minor changes in the visual representation of a problem [ref 3499] [ref 3607] [ref 3663] [ref 3674]

  • Improved the reporting of loading conditions in the pre-solve diagnostics by making it clearer what type of loading is applied and which Solids or Boundaries are affected [ref 3688]

  • When a boundary object is selected, the Property Editor now shows the type of loading that is applied without the need to expand the fields and query the individual forces [ref 3516]

  • Added the ability to "Clear all construction lines" to the viewer context menu [ref 3656]

  • Increased the maximum size of animation files from 1200x1200 pixels to 2400x2400 pixels [ref 3782]

  • Improved geometry checking when using the draw functionality in the viewer pane [ref 3837]

  • "Zoom All" now disregards construction lines in order to better capture the extents of the model [ref 3875]

  • Added extra checks to the pre-solve diagnostics:

    • Warning if Artificial Cohesion is unexpectedly high [ref 3836]

    • Warning if an ru coefficient is used to calculate pore pressures [ref 3690]

    • Information about the loading types applied to boundaries and solids [ref 3757]

    • Warns user to check load types if non unit load factors have been specified in one or more of the scenarios [ref 3757]

  • Numerical tolerances have been adjusted to reduce the likelihood of false-positive reports of invalid geometries by the diagnostic tool [ref 3706]

  • Use native separators in file paths (prevent mixture of forward and backward slashes) [ref 3918]

  • Windows registry now cleaned following uninstallation [ref 3915]

  • Repositioned the 'object key' field for Engineered Element materials in the Property Editor to make the order more logical. Note that this is only noticeable when the Command Line Interface functionality is active [ref 3927]

Infrastructure changes

  • New automated build and test infrastructure used which permits a more agile development of the software, and more frequent public releases [ref 3386] [ref 3676] [ref 3682] [re 3680] [ref 3699]

  • Improvements to 64bit version testing suite and installer [ref 3118] [ref 3565] [ref 3566] [ref 3713]

Bugfixes

  • Fixed an error in the User Manual / help system. In Section 8.2.1 the text that described the relationship between deformations and adequacy factor was stated the wrong way around. (The relationship between adequacy factor and 'safe' and 'unsafe' states was correctly described) [ref 3693]

  • Fixed a bug that allowed, in rare cases, a Rigid material to be applied to a Boundary and Engineered Element materials to be applied to Solid zones. Also corrected "Engineering Element" typo in the Property Editor [ref 3925]

  • Corrected equations for manually converting between yield stress and cohesion in the help file / manual [ref 3701]

  • Fixed erroneous "open file" link in Example Files webpage previously the Anchored Retaining Wall opened the Propped Excavation file [ref 3732]

  • Added a number of Engineered element warning messages to the User Manual [ref 3555]

  • Fixed a bug that would intermittently cause the program to crash if nodes were previewed in an empty project [ref 3716]

  • Minor corrections to the User Manual [ref 3740] [ref 3791]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause object keys to become corrupted. Note that this affects command-line usage only [ref 3672]

  • Fixed a bug that caused the number of imported partial factor sets to be replaced with the name of the file in the import message [ref 3838]

  • Fixed a bug in the selection filter that would cause the program to re-check the "slip lines" option after exiting the dialogue [ref 3821]

  • Fixed a bug that prevented save of images in TIFF and JPG formats [ref 3777]

  • Fixed a bug that caused diagnostic warning about Engineered Elements to be shown incorrectly. Now displayed only when considering a free edge and with different Engineered Element materials on both sides [ref 3774]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause duplicate points and reversed forces to be saved when Engineered Element post-solve forces were exported to CSV file [ref 3719]

  • Fixed a bug that could, on rare occasions, cause a node to be added outside of a solid object [ref 3715]

  • Fixed a bug that could occasionally cause an erroneous image to be shown in the loading tab of the Simple Footing wizard ('v' shaped footing base rather than flat) [ref 3916]

  • Fixed a bug that could occasionally cause the application window to be displayed off-screen [ref 3914]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause applied materials to be unlisted when clicking on a Boundary object following file open or completion of a wizard including Engineered Element objects [ref 3928]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash if construction lines were selected when the "Delete all construction lines" command was executed [ref 3941]

 

v3.0.d

28 Feb 2013 | Major Release
Build 13330

MAJOR RELEASE

  • New feature to allow report to be shown for non-critical scenarios [ref 3487]

  • Significant improvements to DXF import functionality. Many files can now be imported in their entirety when previously the drawing would not be recognised or only a portion of the geometry would be imported [ref 3380] [ref 3635]

  • License options keyword "command_line" enabled, to allow command line usage [ref 3132]

  • Improved numerical stability for problems involving spatially varying undrained cohesion (cu) material properties. Previously sometimes many "filter" iterations could be required during solve [ref 3615]

  • Removed duplicated 'Select' toolbar [ref 3560]

  • Minor modifications to "Layered Slope with Pre-Existing Slip" example file to produce more credible failure mechanism [ref 3665]

  • Default water pressures in interpolated grid regime changed from 1kPa to 0kPa to make the process of setting grids more logical [ref 3517]

  • Fixed a bug which meant that when different interface materials were applied to each side of an Engineered Element, these could sometimes be transposed in the analysis phase. Added a diagnostic warning message to warn the user that all interface materials will be applied to a side in contact with a Solid object if the boundary is free [ref 3555]

  • Fixed a bug that could, on rare occasions, cause an error to occur when using 'previously entered values as defaults' in a new wizard [ref 3586]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash if certain geometries were entered in the Gabion wall wizard [ref 3562] [ref 3563] [ref 3583]

  • Fixed a bug that led to corrupt geometries being generated for some parameter combinations in the gabion wall wizard [ref 3546]

  • Fixed a bug that allowed nodes to be allocated to rigid zones that had a water regime allocated to them [ref 3544]

  • Fixed a bug where Factor on Strength(s) did not converge as quickly as it should for cohesive only problems for certain combinations of parameters; added check on Factor on Strength going beyond reasonable limits [ref 3441]

  • Fixed a bug in Factor of Safety mode that could lead to incorrect results being obtained where there were significant rotational deformations. Where this arose it typically lead to differences of the order of a few percent for most affected problems [ref 3593]

  • Fixed a bug that meant that some Factor Strength(s) problems would converge slowly [ref 3614]

  • Fixed a bug that would cause some saved files containing no support to solve without a warning message being displayed [ref 3573]

  • Fixed a bug to ensure the most recent helpfile is used on systems that have older versions of GEO installed [ref 3445]

  • Fixed a bug that could, on rare occasions, cause an error to occur when using 'previously entered values as defaults' in a new wizard [ref 3586]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause Engineered Elements to plot incorrectly when a problem was solved and animated [ref 3622] [ref 3623]

  • Fixed bug in Sheet Pile Wall Wizard that could allow an illegal geometry to be specified by the user [ref 3657]

  • Fixed bug in Sheet Pile Wall and Gabion Wall Wizards that led to the surface slope being built shallower than specified [ref 3657]

  • Changed the default value for bearing factor 'Nc' to 0.1 when using the Reinforced Soil Wall wizard [ref 3623]

  • Added new diagnostic warning messages to alert user if Cutoff or Engineered Element material(s) are specified with properties that are likely to lead to unrealistic or unstable solutions [ref 3623]

  • Enabled TRACK and DRAG actions to be available for a locked project [ref 3521]

  • Fixed a bug that caused the application to occasionally become unstable when handling construction lines, and added the ability to delete construction lines individually [ref 3613]

  • Set the derived material multipliers to allow a max. value of 1.0 [ref 3590]

  • Fixed a bug that allowed users to edit a grid of material strengths / water pressures in a solved problem, without being asked to unlock the problem first [ref 3476]

  • Allow undo for advanced grid material change [ref 3476]

  • Fixed a bug that caused the software to occasionally crash when clicking on the viewer with no project created [ref 3627]

  • Enhanced the file open reader to check for corrupted files [ref 3519]

  • Fixed a bug that caused an unnecessary diagram related message to be displayed [ref 3630]

  • Fixed a bug that occasionally caused files with a water table to crash after unlock [ref 3628]

  • Updated the 'Zoom All' functionality to consider construction lines imported via DXF as well as objects created within LimitState:GEO [ref 3634]

  • Fix 'Material(s)/Water Regime(s)' header in the report [ref 3650]

  • Fix a bug that caused the application to fail when handling construction lines [ref 3613]

  • Add the ability to delete construction lines individually [ref 3613]

  • Tested working with Apple Mac OSX Lion & Mountain Lion under Parallels Desktop 8 [ref 2956]

  • Updated formtatting of the report output when saved as RTF (previously some tables could contain rows that went into the page margins) [ref 3651]

  • Fixed a bug that caused construction lines not to be shown on the first project created after startup [ref 3655]

  • Fixed a bug affecting the reassignment of materials when an Engineered element material in a boundary object was swapped [ref 3664]

 

v3.0.c

28 Nov 2012 | Minor Release

BUGFIX RELEASE

  • Fixed bug that meant that an aquiclude water regime did not interact correctly with a water table, if present [ref 3542]
 

v3.0.b

27 Nov 2012 | Major Release
Build 13324

MAJOR RELEASE

Highlights of LimitState:GEO 3.0

POWERFUL NEW MEANS OF ASSESSING SAFETY

  • Factor of safety on material strength functionality implemented. Factoring material strength(s) provides the most natural means of analysing many types of problems (e.g. slope stability problems) [ref 3261]

IMPROVED WATER MODELLING CAPABILITY

  • It is now possible to assign water regimes to individual soil layers. Available water regimes include constant potential, constant pressure, interpolated grid and aquiclude [ref 2789] [ref 3346]

ENHANCED SOIL REINFORCEMENT & SOIL-STRUCTURE MODELLING

  • The Engineered Element material has been updated to allow tensile, compressive^ and bending failures to be modelled, with intermediate failures between vertices now identified automatically. This allows geogrids, soil nailed slopes and sheet pile walls to all be modelled more accurately [ref 3065] [ref 3500]

  • Added the ability to specify different interface materials on either side of an engineered element, representing e.g. a sheet pile wall. (By default a material that is 'Added' to a Boundary containing an Engineered Element is applied to both sides, but this can be changed using the Property Editor) [ref 3344]

  • It is now possible to view Engineered Element force diagrams graphically on the screen, and /or to export these to a text file [ref 3262]

BETTER GRAPHICAL OUTPUT

  • New AVI animation output option. Also fixed the colour of user-defined materials when exporting as an image or animation [ref 3029]

  • Added the ability to export the solved problem geometry in EPS and ASY (Asymptote) file formats, as well as DXF [ref 3208]

  • Added new image export options - PostScript (.ps) and Tagged Image File Format (.tiff) [ref 3352]

MORE INFORMATIVE

  • Added new pre-solve diagnostic checking dialog. This flags up common issues that may prevent a problem solving correctly and displays information, warnings and / or errors to the user as appropriate [ref 3154] [ref 3140] [ref 3271]

  • Animations and post-solve force diagrams can now be viewed for any scenario, rather than just the one identified as being critical [ref 3279]

  • Extra project details have been included in the report to reflect the new features added since version 2.0 [ref 3400] [ref 3431]

  • More space has been allocated to the comments section in the report summary [ref 3444]

  • Now for convenience display 'Length' attribute in Property Editor when a slip-line is selected [ref 3438]

  • It is now possible to export Engineered Element forces to a .csv file (right click on any Engineered Element after solving a problem to access this option) [ref 3420]

  • Enabled post-solve diagrams to be displayed for rigid materials [ref 3407]

  • Added a label to the Report Options dialog to alert user as to which scenario will be the subject of the report [ref 3440]

MORE STABLE / QUICKER SOLUTION

  • Upgraded the solver to Mosek 6. As well as being more efficient users should experience a reduced number of 'unknown' solutions reported by the software [ref 2858] [ref 2830] [ref 2701] [ref 2571] [ref 3093]

ENHANCED ANALYSIS CAPABILITY

  • Added to the range of 'quick create' wizards at startup [ref 3153] [ref 3233] [ref 3247]

    • Gabion Wall
    • Reinforced Soil Wall
    • Sheet Pile Wall

  • For high-accuracy solutions, a 'very fine' (2000 nodes) option has been added to the Nodal Density parameter [ref 3147]

  • Provided in the wizards the option to optimize the layout of nodes for certain problem types such that a more accurate solution will be obtained [ref 3147]

VISUAL APPEARANCE

  • Made the default colour scheme more muted and improved the range of colours available in the default palette in response to customer feedback [ref 3224] [ref 2903] [ref 3037] [ref 3434]

  • Higher default display render resolution (improved anti-aliasing) and added option in Preferences to allow users to specify a default display render resolution. Note that users with old hardware may wish to select 'Low' resolution if this adversely affects performance [ref 3417]

  • Added 'Windows 7' to the range of available styles [ref 3237]

  • Updated the layout of the user interface [ref 3219]:

    • The Output Pane has a smaller width but bigger height (more information seen by default)
    • The Boundary and Solid Explorers are tabbed with the Output Pane for easier access. The Vertex Explorer, when shown, also defaults to being a tab
    • The Material Explorer and (new) Water Regime Explorer are tabbed at the left of the screen and occupy a wider area, such that more items can be viewed simultaneously

  • Added the facility for users to specify the size of problem (in terms of number of nodes) below which the mechanism is automatically animated after solve [ref 3376]

  • The axis arrow is now hidden by default [ref 3424]

Other enhancements in LimitState:GEO 3.0

  • Added "Equivalent pressure" fields (read only) to footing wizards. These display the pressure equivalent to the specified line load [ref 2826]

  • Following user feedback, added clarification regarding the nature of the partial factors to the Scenario Manager and User Manual [ref 2912]

  • Added 'Adequacy' and 'Loading' information to the Boundary and Solid explorers [ref 2982]

  • Help text associated with "Loading Direction" has been updated to make it consistent the information provided in the User Guide [ref 3234]

  • Text added to manual to explain recommended and non-recommended usage of Adequacy Factor [ref 2891]

  • Added new 'frictionless' built-in material with zero shear strength and unit weight (useful for modelling smooth interfaces) [ref 3033]

  • On solve, focus is switched to the Output Pane, irrespective of whether this or one of the Object Explorers is active beforehand [ref 3371]

  • Example files have been modified to reflect new solution techniques and features [ref 3225] [ref 3443]

  • The user can set the type of diagram displayed (after solve and click and, for engineered elements, after solve by default) for each material type [ref 3408] [ref 3366]

  • The time that the splash screen is displayed for on startup has been reduced [ref 3382]

  • Improved the rendering of the degree symbol and fixed a typo in the references in the help documentation [ref 3475]

  • Improved appearance of post-solve information dialogs [ref 3508]

  • Added new 'Manage' option to allow the user to rename and delete sets of partial factors in the Scenario Manager [ref 3480]

  • Updated the Installation Guide and Product Description documents [ref 3364]

  • For clarity, changed the text of the 'unlock' prompt from "Yes to all" to "Yes (do not ask again)" [ref 3004]

  • If 'Project' is selected in an Explorer (and TRACK is enabled), the viewer now zooms out to show the whole model [ref 3846]

  • Improved the display of free body diagrams in the report by fixing their maximum size [ref 3465]

  • Added grid dialog to interpolate material and water regime properties. Also allowed partial pasting of data into certain tables [ref 3363]

Changes in behaviour compared with LimitState:GEO 2.0

  • Identification of failure mechanisms involving soil-body edge rotations is now permitted when using the software in 'Trial' mode. additionally, a warning is issued by the pre-solve diagnostics tool to alert the user if 'model rotations' is set to false when solving [ref 3458]

  • In versions prior to LimitState:GEO 3.0, if a water table caused a solid to be split by a new boundary, nodes on the new boundary were counted towards the overall specified Target Number of nodes. In Version 3.0 nodes on the new boundary are not counted towards the specified Target Number. This means that solution accuracy should be broadly consistent regardless of the location of the water table, or whether it is disabled. In some cases, this will mean a larger overall number of nodes is used in a solution. In general it would be expected that files solved in Version 3.0 should therefore return slightly lower (more accurate) results than the identical file solved in previous versions, though with a slightly longer solution time [ref 3394]

  • Set default multiplier on nodal spacing on boundaries following DXF import equal to the normal default of 0.5. [ref 2931]

  • Removed unnecessary dialog that asked user which unit weight to use in a boundary containing multiple materials [ref 3204]

  • To provide a more conservative solution when generating problems using the wizards, the default multiplier on tan phi', c’ and c_u to 0.5 for all interface materials has been lowered from 1.0 to 0.5 [ref 3231]

  • The default models generated by the Wizards have been updated in various ways: i) the geometries have been set to provide a solution that is contained within the problem domain ii) Solid structural elements, such as footings and walls, now use a rigid material type (no internal nodes), allowing more accurate solutions to be obtained and iii) material properties for the soil layers have been altered slightly. [ref 3250]

  • To benefit from increases in computational power, the default target nodal density is increased from "coarse" (250 nodes) to "medium" (500 nodes) - providing a more accurate adequacy factor and detailed failure mechanism [ref 3290]

  • Hide nodes after solve by default, and fix a bug to show nodes after animation by setting deformation back to zero [ref 3418]

  • Software now uses metric units by default (previously, for users installing on a PC with the language set to Engish - US, Imperial units would be used) [ref 3442]

Bugfixes and enhancements in LimitState:GEO 3.0b

  • Added 'Artificial Cohesion' to materials using purely frictional properties during an analysis. This helps the solver to converge on a solution and ensures that a visual representation of the failure mechanism is achieved [ref 3507]^

  • Message reporting the number of days remaining on current license was potentially misleading; now report 'license expires in 0 days' during last licensed day [ref 3320]

  • Fixed a bug that could cause highly-concave solid regions to disappear if the vertex positions were specified with near-zero values (e.g. 1e-30 instead of 0.0) [ref 3315]

  • Set the default "solid force" save location to be the same folder as the default save location for project files [ref 2662]

  • On very rare occasions, sliplines could be generated that join two nodes in a concave polygon that lay on collinear external boundaries but which pass outside part of that polygon. This was due to a numerical tolerance issue and is now fixed [ref 2872]

  • Fixed bug that could result in a 'combined' material weight being set to zero if all constituent materials had the same self weight [ref 3070]

  • 'Zoom all' no longer always includes (0, 0), leading to more sensible on screen view and report image being generated when project is setup remote from (0, 0) [ref 2806]

  • Fixed a bug which meant that selecting a Solid when previewing nodes with a fine nodal grid displayed a spurious warning [ref 3197]

  • Fixed a bug which meant that animated mechanisms were sometimes clearly incorrect (with overlapping blocks of soil etc) when multiple scenarios were present [ref 2741]

  • Fixed a bug on the materials tab of wizards, where the properties of a user-defined material were not remembered after toggling to 'use existing material' and back. [ref 3238]

  • Fixed a bug that would allow a blank animation file to be exported if the solution had not been animated in advance [ref 3242]

  • Fixed a bug which meant that duplicate interface materials were created when a the material for a previous layer was selected in a Wizard [ref 3268]

  • Fixed a bug that would cause the 'terminate analysis' functionality to stop working in multiple-scenario problems [ref 3283]

  • Fixed a bug that caused a crash to occur on rare occasions when a user pressed the 'Cancel' button part-way through a wizard. Pressing Cancel now returns the user to the Project Selector Dialog [ref 3304]

  • Fixed the behaviour of the 'View 3D' button so that it toggles correctly with the view of the model in the Viewer Pane [ref 3341]

  • Fixed a bug that would cause zones containing no material to become transparent after solve [ref 3354]

  • Fixed a bug that would cause zones to turn white / transparent if split by a water table [ref 2594]

  • Fixed a number of visual and layout inconsistencies in the wizard dialogs [ref 3241]

  • Fixed a bug which meant that some unnecessary work could be dissipated in the solid(s) surrounding an engineering element. The error in the computed adequacy factor was normally very small when a fine nodal discretization was employed, but this bug caused a more significant problem when a Rigid material was used, sometimes resulting in the solution being erroneously reported to be 'locked' [ref 2819]

  • Fixed bug where 'locked' and 'unstable' results appeared as 0 in the status bar during Factor Strength(s) analysis [ref 3469]^

  • Fixed a bug where if the user created a water grid but did not set the actual values then this could lead to an program crash later on [ref 3482]^

  • Fixed a bug that allowed users to edit a grid of material strengths / water pressures in a solved problem without the requirement to unlock first [ref 3476]^

  • Fixed a bug that prevented tension force diagrams from being shown after solve for problems generated using the Reinforced Soil Wall wizard [ref 3470]^

  • Fixed a bug that could cause a zone to display duplicate materials in the Property Editor after a boundaries had been deleted [ref 3453]^

  • Fixed a bug that would, on rare occasions, cause load arrows to move further than appropriate when animating a solved problem [ref 3415]^

  • Fixed a bug that meant table headings for boundary forces were included in the report output, even when boundary loads were not applied in the problem [ref 3488]

  • Fixed a bug that could lead to slow convergence of mixed cohesive-frictional problems in Factor Strength(s) mode [ref 3334]^

  • Fixed a bug that prevented nodes from being shown when clicking Solve or Preview Nodes if "show nodes" had been disabled in the Preferences > Export dialog [ref 3389]^

  • Fixed a bug that would cause a zone created within a zone to display the constituent material twice in the property editor [ref 3463]^

  • Fixed a bug that prevented the failure mechanism shown in the viewer from being updated after each iteration [ref 3495]^

  • Fixed a bug that would prevent solve termination if the solution was repeatedly found to be 'unknown' [ref 3460]^ [ref 3469]^

  • Reduced the default rupture strength of the reinforcement in the "Reinforced Soil Wall" wizard to 100 kN/m [ref 3501]^

  • Modified the text displayed when a user is warned about the nodal spacing on boundaries being higher than the adjacent solid(s), which may not always be correct [ref 3505]^

  • Fixed a bug that could cause green circles to be displayed briefly at crossover points between slip-lines during the final stages of a solve [ref 3509]^

  • Improved the wizard layout and method for generating a gabion wall model, which was previously confusing. Also fixed issue with gabion wall geometry generated when using Imperial units [ref 3510]

  • Added warning messages to the diagnostic tool. Now warns if in Factor Strength mode and have an engineered element or cutoff material in the problem [ref 3504]^

  • Disabled free body diagrams in the report when undertaking a Factor Strength(s) analysis. (This is due to the nature of the solve process in these instances leading to misleading diagrams being generated) [3448]^

  • Allow free body diagrams to be included in the report for problems of medium resolution and below (regression from LimitState:GEO 3.0a) [ref 3446]^

  • Improved the output of Engineered Element forces such that all elements between either a free end or between a fork are identified and output as a group [ref 3437]^

^ Enhancement to LimitState:GEO 3.0a (limited release)

 

v2.0.f

11 Oct 2010 | Minor Release
Build 10879

MINOR RELEASE

  • Fix an "unhandled exception" bug that occasionally caused the software to crash on startup in 2.0e [ref 2861]. A workaround for previous versions is to restart the software.

  • In previous versions, when an unfavourable accidental action was specified, LimitState:GEO would use the partial factor specified for the favourable accidental action rather than the unfavourable accidental action. This has now been fixed. Partial factors for favourable accidental actions and for permanent and variable actions were unaffected by this bug and were always correctly applied. The combination of applied accidental loads and specifying non-unity partial factors is anticipated to be present in very few models, but those models should be re-run to verify that the failure mode is unaffected [ref 2859]

  • Updates to the user manual to extend explanation of limit analysis theory and explain a possible cause of 'locked' simulation results.

  • Updates to manual and input screens to mention weight density as an alternative (EC7) definition of unit weight [ref 2874]

  • Actions specified as neutral were displayed in the report as "Favourable? - false". They were correctly factored in the solution. Actions are now listed in the Report as either 'Favourable', 'Unfavourable', or 'Neutral' [ref 2859]

  • Deleting soil nails could cause crashes in subsequent solves [ref 2774]

  • An error would be generated if complex concave polygons with over 31 concave vertices were used in a problem. There now is no limit on the number of vertices that can be used [ref 2872]

  • In very rare occasions, sliplines could be generated that join two nodes in a concave polygon that lay on collinear external boundaries but which pass outside part of that polygon. This was due to a numerical tolerance issue and is now fixed [ref 2872]

  • Cross referencing of Figures and Tables enhanced in hypertext version of manual [ref 2893]

 

v2.0.e

23 Feb 2010 | Minor Release
Build 10849

MINOR RELEASE

  • Fix "unhandled exception" bug that intermittently caused the software to crash [ref 2665]. A workaround for previous versions is to ignore the dialog that appears.

  • Fix a problem with academic licensing that could cause the startup dialog to be shown twice, potentially causing any wizard-entered values to be reset [ref 2802]

 

v2.0.d

30 Nov 2009 | Minor Release

MINOR RELEASE

  • Export of user-defined materials now allows the export of derived Mohr-Coulomb materials [ref 2751]

  • The unit weights of derived Mohr-Coulomb materials would always use the weights at the time the material was created, and subsequent changes to the "Parent" material would not alter the derived material's weight. This is only an issue if deriving from a user-defined material (since the properties of default materials cannot be changed). Also, since the main use for derived Mohr-Coulomb materials is in interface materials, for which unit weight is not generally relevant, this bug is unlikely to impact any existing models. However, if you have models containing derived Mohr-Coulomb materials, you should re-run the simulations with this latest version to verify that the result is unaffected [ref 2755]

  • Clarify use of drained/undrained materials in report [ref 2761]

  • Display correct units in custom construction line dialog [ref 2754]

  • Introduced simpler system for academic licensing [ref 2073]

 

v2.0.c

4 Sep 2009 | Minor Release

MINOR RELEASE

  • Seismic loading now available - see manual for details [ref 2711]

  • Can now optionally export collapse mechanism to DXF file [ref 2745]

  • Clicking the "view water table" button when no water table was present could cause the software to crash [ref 2703]

  • Reduced memory footprint of application when solving large problems

  • Many improvements to the manual, particularly the modelling section with new worked examples

 

v2.0.b

12 Jun 2009 | Major Release

MAJOR RELEASE

ENHANCED ANALYSIS CAPABILITY

  • The capability of the original 'Soil Nail' material has been significantly extended and now allows modelling of rigid and flexible nails as well as sheet pile walls. To reflect this increased capability the material has been has been renamed 'Engineered Element' [ref 2408]

  • Users can now analyse mechanisms involving rotations along the edges of solid objects. This is enabled by default for users of 'Full' licenses [ref 2347, 2612]

  • Functionality to analyse problems involving seismic accellerations has been added (available to 'Beta' license holders only) [ref 2572]

IMPROVED EDITING EXPERIENCE

  • Many improvements to the model editing experience, including:

  • Vertex and boundary widths are scaled dynamically on zoom, making it much easier to edit a 'detailed' area of a large model [ref 2135]

  • It is now possible to split existing solid objects by drawing a line directly, rather than having to first add vertex objects [ref 2259]

  • Editing the geometry of problems containing many solid objects is now faster [ref 2391]

UNDO / REDO & AUTO-RECOVERY

  • It is now possible to undo / redo any action, facilitating exploration of 'what if' scenarios [ref 2416]

  • Auto-recovery files are now created, allowing projects to be recovered following a power outage or crash [ref 885]

BE MORE INFORMED

  • Users can now rapidly access relevant information:

  • Hyperlinks to the help file have been placed in various dialogs, in the Property Editor 'Details' pane and in the output pane (e.g. in cases when an adequacy factor cannot be computed, for example when material in the problem has been found to be 'unstable' under self weight alone) [ref 2270, 2372]

  • Information about the number of nodes and inter-node connections involved in the problem is now reported in the outptut pane [ref 2106]

  • Added material drainage behaviour to the Wizards and added explanatory text throughout to explain the implications of running a long term or short term analysis [ref 2233]

  • The user manual has been updated in many places [ref 2032, 2596, 2489, 2617, 2636]

VIEW STRESS DISTRIBUTIONS

  • Distributions of shear or normal stresses can now be viewed when a solid block is selected with the mouse after solve. See manual for details [ref 1701]

VISUALIZATION OF FAILURE MECHANISMS

  • A 3D view of the failure mechanism is now available (by clicking on the '3D' icon in the 'Show' toolbar) [ref 1146]

  • It is now possible to save higher resolution GIF animations of the failure mechanism (max. now 1.4 Megapixels, up from 0.16 Megapixels) [ref 2333]

EXTENDED & IMPROVED REPORT OUTPUT

  • Free body diagram equilibrium equations are now provided in tabular format to improve readability and facilitate checking [ref 2402]

  • Numerous other improvements to report output, including:

  • Significant increase in the speed of report generation [ref 2402]

  • New 'About' section provides information about LimitState:GEO and the DLO method [ref 2443]

  • New 'Water table' section provides information about the water table and it's geometry [ref 2575]

  • Comprehensive information on nodal spacing is now provided (for both the Project level and for all solid and boundary objects) [ref 2575]

  • Details of advanced properties for Mohr-Coulomb materials arenow provided in the report (i.e. strength increase with depth, if set) [ref 2575]

IMPERIAL UNITS

  • The software can now be used in either Metric units (kN, m) or Imperial units (lb, f). To change, go to Tools > Preferences > Units [ref 2583]

VISUAL APPEARANCE

  • Added high quality rendering setting which anti-aliases (smoothes) edges (accessed by right clicking on the viewer and selecting 'Render > High Resolution' [ref 2371]

  • A modern 'Gradient' theme is used as the default skin [ref 1460]

Other significant changes in LimitState:GEO 2.0

  • LimitState:GEO is now distributed with a library of example files, accessible from the start menu, including many 'real world' problems provided by customers [ref 2532]

  • Sign convention of displayed stress and force values has changed (now always take compression as +ve, in accordance with usual practice in geotechnical engineering) [ref 2610]

  • 'Neutral' Loading Type added (in addition to existing 'Favourable' and 'Unfavourable' Loading Types)" [ref 2319]

  • For failure mechanisms involving rotations, the maximum deformation allowed when magnifying deformations using the slider is now more reasonable [ref 2657]

  • Checking of the validity of water table points is now carried out [ref 2545]

  • LimitState:GEO has been designed to analyze full-scale geotechnical problems. Some users reported unexpected results when analyzing model-scale problems and the software now warns users if the problem has total area < 0.25m² [ref 2281]

  • Software now issues terminated message if iteration limit reached (i.e. if >100 adaptive 'connection adding' iterations per scenario) [ref 2436]

  • The full names of scenarios are now provided in reports [ref 2449]

  • When dragging and dropping a material onto a geometry object, the default is now to replace the existing material. Hyperlinks to online help file also added [ref 2263]

  • Upgrade Mosek solver to 5.0 build 124 [ref 2431]

  • In previous versions of the software, the grid was obscured by drawn solid objects. This is now resolved [ref 2441]

  • Now provide more guidance for new users via a 'Quick Tips' dialog [ref 2428]

  • Proxy servers are now automatically detected by the software on first installation (for use when auto-updating) [ref 2645]

  • Upgraded license software to RLM6.0 [ref 2400]

  • Updated icon and startup screeens to use version 2.0 branding [ref 2477]

Changes in behaviour compared with LimitState:GEO 1.0

  • User is no longer warned if the adequacy factor is applied to a solid with zero self-weight, provided the adequacy factor is also applied to a finite load or other solid which does have non-zero self weight [ref 2432]

  • Nodes are now not placed along boundaries between rigid solids or between a rigid solid and an external boundary, unless that boundary has a material allocated to it [ref 2525]

  • Drawing new solid objects no longer erases the properties of existing vertices and boundaries [ref 2385]

  • Many default properties in the Wizards have been changed [ref 2636]

  • Wizard defaults altered so default geometry collapse mechanisms do intersect problem boundaries. Additional checks and warning messages added to ensure all geometries entered are legal [ref 2397]

  • 'Very Stiff Clay' and 'Stiff Clay' materials no longer have '(undrained)' label as they act in a drained/undrained manner [ref 2640]

  • In the 'Stem wall Wizard', additional soil zones are now created adjacent to the stem wall inner corners in order to facilitate solution using edge rotations [ref 2679]

Bugfixes in LimitState:GEO 2.0

  • Fixed bug in stem wall wizard which generated an illegal geometry if layer B height was set to zero. Also the stem wall wizard now does not generate illegal geometries if either the outer or inner heel width is set to zero [ref 2578, 2641]

  • New users would sometimes try to define the water regime using the button for toggling water table visibility, and no feedback was provided about why it didn't behave as expected. A help message is now displayed [ref 2268]

  • The "Clear Water Table" option is now correctly enabled when a project is created with the slope wizard, and disabled when a project is locked [ref 2374]

  • The message informing the user of a lost connection to a network license server is now only displayed once [ref 2382]

  • Fixed a bug which meant that reported slip-line forces could be erroneous in multi-scenario problems in which the adequacy factor was applied to self weight. This also led to missing free-body diagram vertical equilibrium equations in the report [ref 2481]

  • If the default path for saving license files is not accessible, the user is now asked select a different path [ref 2171]

  • When multiple objects are selected, pressing delete will now delete them all. Previously, depending on the selection, some objects could remain [ref 2258]

  • DXF import functionality improved [ref 2403, 2182]

  • With files saved in GEO 1.0e, on fixed boundaries subsequently changed to loaded boundaries, the names of the loads could become "Project" rather than "Permanent" etc. The force arrows would also display incorrectly. This problem is now fixed, and all previously affected files will load correctly [ref 2406]

  • Fixed problem which meant that the geometry could become corrupted when the last vertex of a solid was merged with the first vertex of the same solid [ref 2410]

  • Fixed bug which meant that free body diagram equations were not output if a partial factor was applied to the self weight of the material [ref 2482]

  • Displayed list of materials in Materials Explorer did not update immediately following import of a materials .csv file [ref 2513]

  • Warning message is now displayed on solve if the water table contains a vertical step (as the definition of the water pressures on the vertical face may not be as expected by the user) [ref 2531]

  • Now provides more guidance for new users via a 'Quick Tips' dialog [ref 2528]

  • Dragging water table points in "ORTHO" mode is now possible. Previously a "vector out of plane" error would be triggered in this case [ref 2570]

  • The materials list in the 'Edit Material(s)' dialog is now given in the same order as in the Materials Explorer [ref 2405]

  • Program settings are now stored in the Windows Registry in a more standard manner [ref 2447]

  • Default unit weights for structural elements in all wizards apart from Simple Footing Project have been set to a more realistic value of 24 kN/m3 (with Metric units) [ref 2499]

  • In version 1.0e, soil nail pullout and lateral resistance factors were switched in an exported .csv file, though imported correctly. They now appear in the correct order in the .csv file. A warning is given to the user if a version 1.0e .csv file is imported with soil nails that have pullout and lateral resistance factors with different values. This issue is only relevant for .csv files that have been manually edited [ref 2514]

  • The presolve check did not flag a warning if there were zero strength derived Mohr-Coulomb materials in the problem. The check also falsely issued a warning for an undrained material whose strength varied linearly with depth, which had a zero baseline undrained strength but with a non-zero gradient. The warning is now correctly given for both Mohr-Coulomb and derived Mohr-Coulomb materials and for materials with linear variation of strength with depth [ref 2547]

  • Mohr-Coulomb materials that were derived from Mohr-Coulomb materials with a linear strength increase with depth did not apply the 'Multiplier on cu' to the gradient. The datum was also taken as zero always for the derived material. The multiplier is now correctly applied to the baseline cohesion and the gradient and the parent datum is utilised [ref 2549]

  • Warning for zero strength materials in problem is now only issued for materials applied to Solids. It is now given if there is at least one zero strength material in the solid and also now includes derived materials and materials with strength varying with depth [ref 2558]

  • After dragging and dropping a material onto a solid or boundary object, the colour of the object changes to reflect the change immediately (previously the object was then selected, and therefore lways coloured pink) [ref 2445]

  • Fixed bug that caused an error after double-clicking a vertex whilst construction lines were present in the model [ref 2649]

  • 'NONE direction' vertex errors (encountered while iterating vertex list) now prevented by checking and fixing invalid vertices on file open [ref 2495]

  • Fixed bug in pipeline wizard that allowed diameters of less than twice the wall thickness [ref 2031]

  • Fixed memory leak caused when a project is solved then resolved numerous times [ref 2068]

  • Information in the DXF import section of the helpfile has been improved [ref 2417]

  • In the 'geometry' section of the slope wizard, the slope angle phi was asked for whilst the diagram contained a theta - this has been fixed [ref 2557]

  • On very rare occasions, favourable and unfavourable loads were wrongly lagged after solve. This has been fixed [ref 2455]

  • Fixed minor display bug which meant that boundary lines would occasionally display with greater than normal thickness [ref 2577]

  • Fixed bug that caused an error to be reported after double-clicking a vertex when construction lines were present in the model [ref 2649]

  • Dragging objects when the water table is selected but not shown no longer causes the water table to move [ref 2685]

  • Fixed a problem with the adaptive solution algorithm which meant that occasionally the most critical slip-line mechanism might not be identified in problems involving a water table. Though this led to an over-estimate in the adequacy factor being computed, the magnitude of the error involved has in all cases encountered been small (typically < 2% or 3%) [ref 2682]

 

v1.0.e

20 Nov 2008 | Major Release

MAJOR RELEASE

Change for Trial License Users

  • There's a new Activation Key. If you've previously used LimitState:GEO on your computer, you can now use a new 30 day trial!

Enhancements in LimitState:GEO 1.0e

  • Basic soil-nail functionality now available to holders of 'full' licenses [ref 1885]

  • Now pre-condition matrix so that instances when a solution cannot be obtained are greatly reduced [ref 2136, 2156, 2175, 2300, 2328]

  • Upgrade Mosek solver to 5.0 build 105 [ref 2310]

  • Long term / Short term analysis option is now editable via the Property Explorer [ref 2345]

  • Displayed slip-line forces now more useful (now include water force and exclude 'tying' forces used to ensure solid objects are correctly spatially positioned in the problem) [ref 2046]

  • Drainage behaviour has been added to the "Create Material" dialog, making it more obvious when drained and undrained material properties will be used [ref 2344]

  • Drainage behaviour of derived materials is now always the same as that of the parent material [ref 2344]

  • When internet product activation fails, LimitState:GEO now give a more detailed explanation of how to access a trial license [ref 2201]. Any licensing queries can always be addressed to support@limitstate.com

  • If the grid is enabled when drawing objects, snapping to the grid is now preferred to snapping to existing lines, which makes specifying the required geometry easier [ref 2332]. Note that the Geometry Editor allows specification of precise coordinates.

  • Following some geometry changes, detailed information is displayed in the output window. These messages now contain links which highlight the object being described [ref 2359]

  • It is now possible to define the water table properties within the slope project wizard [ref 2123]

  • Trying to solve a problem that includes materials with zero strength now leads to a warning being issued [ref 1976]

  • Users found that the "Finish" polygon option didn't always do what they expected. To avoid confusion, this has now been removed. All polygons should now be closed by clicking again on the first point [ref 2383]

  • The software will now warn users before solving in all cases where solid objects are connected only by a single vertex [ref 2355]. Note that in LimitState:GEO genuine contact will only exist between solid objects that are connected by boundaries - point contacts are physically impossible and are ignored by the software

  • Network licenses issued from today allow users to reconnect to the license server after a network outage within 2 minutes (was 1 hour) [ref 2292, 2157]

  • Can now simultaneously define certain properties (adequacy and nodal spacing) of multiply selected solid objects [ref 2215, 2232]

  • Free-body diagram equations displayed for problems involving water [ref 2042]

  • Export of problem geometry to postscript (eps) format is greatly improved [ref 2114]

  • Trying to solve a problem that contained no solid objects now gives a better warning message [ref 2290]

Bugfixes in LimitState:GEO 1.0e

  • Fix bug which meant that water pressures were ignored in weightless materials [ref 2358]

  • Fixed a crash that happened when unlocking a project without water table if a project with a water table had previously been used [ref 2204]

  • Setting properties of multiple boundaries no longer causes a crash [ref 2214]

  • Merging of vertices, which deletes intermediate boundaries, is now more reliable [ref 2230]

  • Drawing a boundary line over an existing line is never necessary in LimitState:GEO. Version 1.0e displays a warning if this is attempted, fixing a crash [ref 2253]

  • Hatches indicating fixed boundaries would sometimes not be updated when the attached solid object was updated. This problem is now fixed [ref 2277]

  • Material creation dialog wrongly transposed the lateral and pullout resistance values for soil nails. The values were correctly displayed elsewhere, and the problem is now fixed [ref 2339]

  • Dragging materials from the Material Explorer onto solid objects when the project is locked no longer causes Limitstate:GEO to crash [ref 2235]

  • Drawing a solid object with zero area no longer causes a crash [ref 2239]

  • Users no longer get "out of range" error while trying to split a boundary [ref 2321]

 

v1.0.d

1 Oct 2008 | Bugfix Release

BUGFIX RELEASE

  • A bug which made lines invisible when splitting zones has been fixed [ref 2192]

  • A crash that could happen if water table drawing was aborted is fixed [ref 2195]

  • Panning the view with the middle mouse button is fixed [ref 2192]

 

v1.0.c

18 Sep 2008 | Minor Release

MINOR RELEASE

Enhancements

  • DXF import has been improved so that many more files will be able to be imported. When files contain open lines that do not form closed loops, they are imported as "construction lines", which act as guides to the building of zones. When DXF files contain multiple layers, the user may now choose which layers to import. For more details on DXF import, see the user manual.

Bugfixes

  • Colours of zones on Windows Vista could change and be incorrect [ref 2122]

  • Full licence holders now have access to strength increase with depth feature (previously only available to beta license holders) [ref 1597]

  • Tolerance problem affecting problems containing slightly non-convex solid zones has been fixed [ref 2039]

  • A problem which sometimes made it difficult to modify the geometry using the mouse after solving has been fixed (this was due to the mouse snapping to the positions of nodes, and sometimes led to solids being merged to points) [ref 1987]

  • New activation key format to help users installing multi-user network licenses [ref 2134]

  • Now less likely that solver will experience numerical problems when very large loads are specified [ref 2136]

  • Installation failed on some computers, causing GEO not to start, with message "application failed to start because the configuration is incorrect" [ref 2075]

  • The recent file list could open the wrong file if multiple files with the same name existed [ref 2127]

  • Unit conversion happens during DXF import [ref 2104]

  • Auto-update will check for updates no more than once per day [ref 2154]

  • Moving points orthogonally could result in slight non-orthogonal movement [ref 2145]

  • Unlock after solve caused blank lines to appear in output [ref 2128]

  • Updates to the FAQ

  • Added an option for specifying the number of significant figures displayed in output [ref 2105]

  • Copying information from the Boundary Explorer could cause LimitState:GEO to crash [ref 2099]

 

v1.0.b

22 Jul 2008 | Minor Release

MINOR RELEASE

  • Help files have been expanded to offer more guidance and a Frequently Asked Questions section added.

  • An auto-update feature has been added, which optionally checks for and installs the latest version of LimitState:GEO when it is released [ref 2048]

  • A network license server is optionally automatically installed and run when a network license is activated [ref 2096]

  • Presentation of free-body diagram equations in the report has been improved [ref 2021]

  • Drawing grid enhanced for empty projects [ref 1998]

  • Input validation in project wizards has been improved (some input values were rounded over-zealously, leading to a loss of precision); also some bugs fixed (e.g. the footing material specified using the footing Wizards was not always accepted) [ref 2063, 2067]

  • Warnings are now displayed if a solid object in a project has the type of non-convex shape which could cause numerical tolerance problems (this could very occasionally lead to incorrect solutions being obtained) [ref 2088, 2039]

  • Re-opening a project saved with user-defined materials could cause LimitState:GEO to crash [ref 2081]

  • Generated reports would occassionally display construction lines rather than the critical failure mechanism [ref 2066]

  • Project files created with the preview version of LimitState:GEO with multiple scenarios could cause LimitState:GEO to crash [ref 2034]

  • Failure mechanism animations are now saved to separate files for each project [ref 1973]

  • Changes to the project geometry made in the Geometry Editor window are no longer lost when subsequent geometry changes are made with the mouse [ref 2077]

  • When failure occurs solely along a loaded interface, the solid objects in a project no longer erroneously move during an animation [ref 2079]