Release Date: October 2019
Version: RAM Concept CONNECT Edition V8
Version Number: 08.00.00.19
Download and Installation Instructions
Current and past RAM Concept releases can be downloaded from Bentley Cloud Services at: http://connect.bentley.com
After signing into CONNECTION Center, select Software Downloads under My Support, towards the bottom of the page. Once on the Software Download page, RAM Concept installers can be located by selecting RAM in the Brand menu and clicking Apply or searching for RAM Concept in the Product Search box.
Note: Although there are multiple listings for RAM Concept (RAM Concept, RAM Concept Post Tension Module, etc.), each of these takes the user to the same list of installers, as all features of RAM Concept require only one installation.
RAM Concept V8 can be installed concurrently with previous versions. The installation of this version will not automatically uninstall any previous version of RAM Concept.
RAM Concept V8 can also be installed through the Structural Enterprise Hub.
Since this is the first release in the V8 generation, this version of RAM Concept cannot be installed through the CONNECTION Client update service. Subsequent update releases for the RAM Concept V8 generation will be made available using this service.
Subscription Entitlement Service (SES)
This product version utilizes Subscription Entitlement Service (formerly CONNECT Licensing), which is not supported by SELECT activation key(s). SES is a free service, featuring new behavior to enhance your organization’s user administration and security through mandatory user sign-in via CONNECTION Client to access the application. If you are already signed in to the CONNECTION Client, you have met this prerequisite. If you have not, please refer to the Administrator's Resource Center and/or contact your administrator for assistance in the registration and sign-in process.
SES was first implemented in RAM Concept v7.0.0. This licensing service monitors current usage and can be configured to display license alert notifications at a custom usage threshold. Please note that license threshold alerting is not a default feature and will need to be enabled by an organization’s site administrator. Instructions for setting up license threshold alerts are posted here.
PT Optimization Service Release Notes
The primary enhancement of RAM Concept V8 is the commercial release of the PT Optimization Service.
PT optimization in RAM Concept is a Bentley Cloud Service that uses intelligent search algorithms to optimize the design of PT floors. Once a user has defined the initial post-tensioning layout and a reasonable range of values for tendon strand quantities and profile elevations, RAM Concept’s optimization process automatically compares thousands of possible solutions, filters out those with design code failures, and ranks the solutions by total cost. The optimized cost is calculated from the PT, rebar, and shear stud rail quantities multiplied by material and labor cost factors. The user sets the cost factors to reflect the project’s expected actual costs.
A feature article outlining the optimization service can be found here.
This service is included with a RAM Concept Post Tension or Structure Enterprise License (SEL). More on the licensing and usage of this service can be found here.
The Technology Preview of the PT Optimization feature that began in v6.5.0 and continued to v7.1.0 concludes with the release of RAM Concept V8. PT Optimizations can be completed under the terms of the Technology Preview until September 30. After that date, it will not be possible to run PT Optimizations in any version that was released before v8.0.0.
The following enhancements to the PT Optimization Service are new in RAM Concept V8:
PT Optimization Max ACU Stopping Criteria
PT Optimization scenarios can be stopped when a specified number of ACUs have been consumed.
Edit PT Optimization Stopping Criteria
Previously completed PT Optimization scenarios can be edited to enable new stopping criteria and then resumed and run until the new criteria is reached.
PT Optimization Error Recovery
Improvements have been made to the PT Optimization to recover from unexpected server errors. These improvements will load data from the stopped scenarios and allow the scenarios to be continued after the error occurs.
PT Optimization Convergence Improvements
In very rare cases, the Optimizer struggled to converge to a better solution. When this issue occurred, better solutions could be found by loading the best result from the completed optimization and starting a new scenario with the previous results used as a seed. Improvements were made to the algorithms to prevent this problem from occurring.
Enhancements
RAM Concept CONNECT Edition V8 includes the enhancement discussed below.
Tendon Parameters Groups
Banded tendon polylines, distributed tendon quadrilaterals, or profile polyline objects can be grouped so that they have identical properties. Once groups are created, they can be selected and assigned to any number of their respective object types. The properties of that tendon parameter group are controlled by the tabulated group properties, allowing multiple object properties to be updated automatically by changing a single group property value. Groups can also be useful for PT optimization by constraining objects to be optimized with the same properties and by reducing the number of optimizable objects in the problem.
Project Chooser Dialog
Previously, the Project Chooser dialog was opened when opening any RAM Concept file. This dialog is now invoked only when creating a new file or when it is required such as before starting a PT Optimization.
Defect Corrections
RAM Concept CONNECT Edition V8 includes the defect corrections discussed below.
Excessive Rebar for Axial/Flexural Design
In rare cases, the program designed an excessive amount of reinforcement on one face to satisfy axial-flexure capacity requirements.
Import of ASCE7-16 Wind Load from RAM Structural System
When importing lateral loads from RAM Structural System, ASCE7-16 wind loads were always imported as service loads instead of ultimate loads.
Program Closes After Canceling Window Close
The program closed when clicking on the Close window button in the upper right corner of the program window and then Cancel in the Save dialog that appeared on screen.
Strip Wizard Issues
When defining strips with multiple spans and cantilevers, the program would resize the dialog and become unresponsive. When defining strips with drop panels, the program would crash.
File Compatibility Warning
RAM Concept CONNECT Edition V8 can read all previous file formats, but writes files in a format that cannot be read by previous versions.
Security Release Notes
Not applicable to this release.