Current Version

ring2.0k

(tagged 2.0k, 2.0k[RLM] and 2.0k[FlexLM])

Release date:

December 23rd 2009 (public web release)

Release notes:

Major changes

• Software deals with problems involving multiple vehicles and spans more effectively - solution times significantly reduced in many cases [ref: 2801]
• Fixed bug (introduced in 2.0j) which meant that when the bridge geometry was changed, the load distribution was only updated for the currently displayed load case [ref: 2473]
• Upgraded vehicle database - added UK Highways Agency BD21 (road) and BD37 (road and railway) loading vehicles [ref: 1499]
• Added support for RLM licensing system (not 2.0k[FlexLM]) [ref:2770]
• License information available via the Help menu (2.0k[RLM] only) [ref:2770]
• New flexible academic licensing system introduced - see here (not 2.0k[FlexLM]) [ref:2770]

Previous Versions

ring2.0j

Release date:

October 17th 2008 (public web release)

Release notes:

Major changes

• Interface translated into French and Spanish, with 'beta' German and Arabic translations also available (change language via: Tools>Preferences)
• Added UK Highways Agency BD37 & BD21 highway vehicles to the Vehicle Database (HB loading and Fire Engines) [ref:1499]
• Fixed save bug caused by explicitly modelling abutments (unticking this option after previously modelling abutments caused 'Fatal error ap60' message) [ref:1476]
• Auto-calculated bridge width now always updated when geometry altered [ref:1509]
• Loads now always redistributed when the current load case is changed [ref:1509]
• Fixed bug that sometimes prevented help from being accessed when multiple versions of ring were installed on a single PC [ref:900]
• Visualization of instances where axle width is greater than bridge width improved [ref:1509]
• Fixed bug that could cause crash when swapping between pier and abutment tabs in the new bridge wizard [ref:1568]
• User can no longer define a spurious 'empty' new vehicle [ref:2137]

Minor changes

• Potential error prevented if intrados and extrados ring profiles overlap (warning message shown and modelling disallowed until geometry is corrected) [ref:753]
• Failure load factor now always correctly displayed in output (previously, an incorrect value may be displayed when repeatedly solving the same problem many times) [ref:1284]
• Fixed bug that caused 'Procedure entry point not found' error (sometimes occurred when installing to WIN2000 machines) [ref:2188]
• Theory and Modelling Guide worked example (Appendix A) - image modified for clarity (previously could confuse) [ref:2199]
• Changes to editable vehicle properties made in the Property Editor now reflected in the model [ref:1271]
• Fixed wizard pier tab - height now reads 'ha' in both image and text [ref:1567]
• Vehicle Database - resizing window now affects whole dialog (previously only Vehicle library resized, causing problems when reading with non-standard font size) [ref:1411]
• Console message now reports when load case 1 is critical in a multi-load case analysis [ref:2000]
• Whitespace now stripped from user-defined vehicle files when importing into Vehicle Database (could previously cause problems) [ref:1495]
• Fixed bug with 'recent files list' that sometimes caused it to work incorrectly when two files with the same name were present [ref:2159]
• Improvements to various message boxes to make them easier to understand [ref:1238]

ring2.0i

Release date:

February 19th 2008 (limited release)

Release notes:

Major changes

• Mirrored vehicles now saved with project (previously vehicle was saved but not mirror flag) [ref:1690]
• Improved report image quality and generation time [ref:1141]
• Improved display of sleepers and ballast to account for cases where they are much wider / narrower than the bridge [ref:1226]
• Prevented default vehicles from being editable after adding a 'new vehicle' [ref:1243]

Minor changes

• Several general improvements to Theory and Modelling Guide (Fig 9a, Fig 19 and Annex A2) [ref:1232]
• Stopped Backfill->Mpc value from resetting to default when "Model horizontal 'passive' pressures" is toggled off then on again [ref:1272]
• Prevented report from being accessed when no analysis has been undertaken [ref:1291]
• Updated sample .ring files to prevent 'unrecognised properties' warning message appearing [ref:902]
• Fixed tabbing order in wizard (previously hitting tab could cause the cursor to move between fields erratically) [ref:1229]
• Fixed bug that made it difficult to change abutment angles in certain circumstances [ref: 1328]
• Enabled 'Cancel' button on the Wizard->Loads tab after viewing Load Case or Vehicle Database dialogs [ref:1173]
• Disabled double-click switching of 'true' and 'false' in the 'Dynamic Factor' field of the Vehicle Database (confusing behaviour)[ref:1303]

ring2.0h

Release date:

December 3rd 2007 (public web release)

Release notes:

Major changes

• Different default values for highway and railway bridges [ref:1216, 1220]:
  • Highway: transverse distribution through fill and surface fill & longitudinal distribution through surface fill changed to 26.6° (2:1).
  • Railway: longitudinal and transverse distribution through ballast changed to 15° (in accordance with UIC774-2R); transverse distribution through fill changed to 30°. Now no additional transverse distribution through barrel.
• Railway sleeper breadth default changed from 300mm to 250mm (standard value) [ref:1227]
• Fixed vehicle database transcription errors [ref:1206]:
  • ‘CU double axle (1.85m)’ loading corrected to read 99.77kN per axle
  • ‘CU air suspended axle (1.85m)’ name changed to ‘CU triple air suspended axle (2.60m)’
• Fixed open/save problem affecting user-defined fill forces [ref:1203]
• Fixed railway track properties bug (changes to certain properties were not applied until after a vehicle had been moved) [ref:1164]
• ‘Theory and Modelling Guide’ now included in distribution.

Minor changes

• Some sample files updated for consistency with ‘Theory and Modelling Guide’ [ref:1240]
• Further enhancements to report output [ref:1039]: improved layout, no cropping of bridge image, significantly reduced report generation time, option of saving as html, option for user to ‘Select all’ in report. Also:
  • Report image renamed ‘Mode of response’ [ref:1234].
  • Analysis results now removed from report when problem unsolved [ref:1234].
• Program more responsive when report for large project requested [ref:1235]
• Improved detection of contacts for multi-ring problems containing only a small number of blocks [ref:839]
• All angles are now shown in degrees (except those related to rotations) [ref:1223]
• Fixed bug preventing all hinges from being highlighted in certain problems [ref:751]
• Fixed bug that caused 'Fatal error ap60' message to sometimes appear when entering user-defined span profiles [ref:753]
• ‘1kN Single Axle Load’ vehicle now shown in vehicles database [ref:1163]
• For consistency: ‘Load Factor’ now referred to as ‘Failure Load Factor’ everywhere except during solve (for conciseness) [ref:1199]. Other minor corrections to text [ref:1219]
• Fixed context sensitive help bug (when modelling multi-span bridges, incorrect / blank pages were shown for certain tabs) [ref:1221]
• Ensured that dialog giving option to reload vehicle database after this has been changed is only displayed at startup [ref:1237]
• Fixed bug that caused 'Cancel' button in 'Load Cases' dialog to disable after opening the vehicle database [ref:1173]

ring2.0g

Release date:

October 18th 2007 (limited release)

Release notes:

• Initial enhancements to report output [ref:1039]
• Fixed report generation problem (report not generated if ‘Application Data’ folder was not present, e.g. in non-English versions of Windows) [ref:1075]

ring2.0f

Release date:

September 24th 2007 (limited release)

Release notes:

• Fixed number tolerance / rounding problems (caused a warning to appear when opening some ring1.5 files) [ref:942, 985]
• Set precision of span and rise measurements to 2 decimal places [ref:1000]

ring2.0e

Release date:

September 14th 2007 (limited release)

Release notes:

• Minor changes to facilitate translation of the software [ref:958, 959]

ring2.0d

Release date:

August 20th 2007 (public release)

Release notes:

• Improved error trapping, allowing save in case of a serious error [ref:533]
• Fixed Support Movement Wizard bug (a currently selected block could not be subsequently selected in the Support Movement Wizard) [ref:804]
• Ctrl key is now used for multiple object selection (instead of Shift key) [ref:807]
• Fixed ‘aborted analysis’ bug (program failed when re-solving a previously aborted analysis) [ref:853]
• Fixed problem setting up multi-ring arches (program occasionally crashed when navigating through the new bridge wizard in a particular way) [ref:854]
• Fixed ‘clear all’ bug (in some cases selected objects could not be cleared) [ref:857]
• Updated installation guide with information regarding floating single user licenses (dongles) [ref:863]
• Updated 'License enquiry' button and explanatory text [ref:865]
• Improved formatting of report details for problems with infinite crushing strength [ref:893]

ring2.0c

Release date:

July 26th 2007 (limited release)

Release notes:

• Improved quality of collapse mechanism image in report [ref:702]
• Fixed report printing bug (user was not initially asked to select a printer) [ref:703]
• Enhancement to allow company logo images to be added to the report header and footer [ref:759]
• Enhancement to allow the name of the default load case to be saved automatically [ref:766]
• Default railway track load corrected to 2kN/m² (was 20kN/m²) [ref:776]
• Improved procedure used to obtain the MAC (Ethernet adaptor) address for use in the license request email [ref:799]
• Fixed problem which meant that ring2.0 files defining problems with certain user defined contacts could not be opened [ref:831]
• Updated description of the 'ID' field in the property editor [ref:843]

ring2.0b

Release date:

July 10th 2007 (limited release)

Release notes:

• Enhanced solution convergence properties [ref:831]
• Fixed ring1.5 file compatibility bug (ring1.5 files with inter-ring constraints would not open) [ref:831]

ring2.0a

Release date:

May 15th 2007 (public release)

Release notes:

• Initial ring2.0 release.