New Features in Version 9.0

3DEC 9.0 contains many improvements; the new features are summarized in the following sections. Existing data files from Version 7 will run without modification in Version 9. Existing save files and project files from Version 7 can be opened in Version 9.

Existing data files created for Version 5.0 or 5.2 cannot be run unaltered in Version 9 and 3DEC 9.0 will not be able to restore files saved by Version 5.2 or older. For migrating from Version 5.0 or 5.2 to Version 9 see 3DEC 5.2 to 9 Command Mapping and 3DEC 5.2 to 9 FISH Mapping.

Improved Performance

• Solving to steady state up to 10x faster, depending on the model

• Dynamic timestep up to 3x larger

• Save and restore up to 4x faster

• Multithreaded plotting up to 5x faster

User Interface

The User Interface has undergone an overhaul to make it more modern, intuitive and responsive. Changes include:

• New colors and icons

• All plots listed in the Project Pane, rather than as tabs along the bottom

• Splittable working area and the ability to output multiple plots into one bitmap

• Improved inline help (CTRL-Space)

• User-defined contour color ramp

• Ability to specify non-scientific number format in legends, as well as the precision

• Many others

Non-linear Structural Elements

• Shells and liners can now fail and deform plastically (Shell Plastic Constitutive Models).

• Liners can be assigned Mohr-Coulomb, Strain-Softening or Von-Mises constitutive models

• Beams and piles can also fail plastically (Beam Plastic Constitutive Models (3D ONLY))

New Constitutive Models

• Concrete Model

• Columnar-Basalt (COMBA) Model** (up to 4 ubiquitous joint sets)

Other

• Python 3.10.5

• Contact-based join logic

• log-normal distribution for DFN fracture sizes

• block join-by-contact command prevents unjoining of contacts when cutting

• block contact vertex-vertex command inhibits formation of vertex-vertex contacts, which speeds up soltuion and reduces memory use.