Concise Beam V4

Concise Beam V4 is an easy to use program for the design of precast concrete beams. Concise Beam will perform a load analysis and design checks in accordance with the latest edition of ACI 318, CSA A23.3 & S6, AS3600, or NZ3101.1. The beam can be conventionally reinforced, partially or fully pretensioned. It can model any cross-sectional shape and will allow the cross-section to vary prismatically (step-wise) over the length of the beam. A graphical editor allows the user to describe any cross-section, including voids.

Concise Beam works in two-dimensions using simple beam theory (ACI B-region) including longitudinal torsion along the beam. Concise Beam is NOT able to perform any analysis or design checks required for disturbed regions (ACI D-region) such as at sudden changes in section, large openings, notches, or dapped ends. The user can work in metric or U.S. Customary (Imperial) units, with a variety of individual units (i.e. mm, cm, m), and switch back and forth at will. Libraries of industry standard cross-sections and materials are provided with Concise Beam. The standard libraries can be modified, extended and customized by the user.

Concise Beam is designed to be used solely by, or under the direct supervision of, a qualified structural engineer. Concise Beam cannot protect against an unsafe beam design if the beam is modelled incorrectly or is beyond the scope or capability of the program.

Feature List

Presentation of the Features (pdf)

Who Purchased a License for Concise Beam V4?

News

April 23, 2024 - Concise Beam version 4.66g is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF APRIL 2024 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.66g is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected a unit conversion bug in the determination of whether minimum shear reinforcing is required that may affect non-prestressed beams (not slabs) designed to ACI318-19. It may also affect beams with steel-fibre reinforcing designed to ACI318-14 or ACI318-19.

Please let me know if you have any suggestions for Concise Beam. If your evaluation period is over but you'd like to try this latest release before purchasing a license you can ask for a short extension to your evaluation period by contacting me.

April 4, 2024 - Concise Beam version 4.66f is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF APRIL 2024 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.66f is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Added an additional graph, "Torsion - Final Service", for the torsion design check. It illustrates the existing "Torsion Check - Final Service" text report.

February 13, 2024 - Concise Beam version 4.66e is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF FEBRUARY 2024 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.66e is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Cleaned up negative flexural checks where significant flexural is not present.
• Corrected the code reference for over-reinforcement in AS3600-09 and AS3600-18.

January 10, 2024 - Concise Beam version 4.66d is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF JANUARY 2024 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.66d is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Rebar groups with straight end embedment can now be specified as bundled. All of the bars within the group are assumed to form a single bundle. The number of bars in the bundled group will be limited to four in accordance with the supported design codes. Bundling the bars may increase the tension and compression development length of the bars.
• Corrected composite section properties for cast-in-place pours with a negative haunch height.

December 8, 2023 - Concise Beam version 4.66c is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF DECEMBER 2023 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.66c is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected the amount of shear steel needed where at least minimum shear steel is provided but not required. This may affect problems checked to codes where Vc is based on whether minimum shear steel being provided (CSA A23.3 & S6, ACI318-19, AS3600-2018).
• Corrected a bug that may cause the program to crash when leaving the Beam Definition dialog without defining beam segments.

November 15, 2023 - Concise Beam version 4.66b is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF NOVEMBER 2023 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.66b is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• The "Fill Cores for Shear Strengthening" option in the Shear Strengthening dialog is now ON by default.
• Concise Beam will no longer calculate the number of hollowcore voids that would need to be filled to provide the required strength. Differing void sizes within a section make this calculation unreliable. The program will now simple report the total area or width of void fill required within the section to meet the required strength depending on the calculation method selected. When specifying the cores to be filled in the Hollowcore Parameters dialog the program will calculate the total fill area or width for the filled voids selected for comparison with the required value.
• Filled cores that are interrupted by openings have been corrected. Note that a filled core that is partially cut away by an opening will not be considered filled at the opening as the fill will not be fully supported.
• When importing precast cross-sections into a library file from the currently open problem file you will now have the option to also import sections automatically created by the program, such as at an opening.

September 11, 2023 - Concise Beam version 4.66a is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF SEPTEMBER 2023 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.66a is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Fixed problem with the use of cracked section properties for non-composite cracked beams.

August 31, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.66 is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF AUGUST 2023 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.66 is a major release which includes the following changes;

• Added option to limit Summary Report to output tables only.
• Openings in a beam segment can now overlap along the length of the segment.
• Added additional section properties. The height from the bottom at which superimposed loads are applied to the section are now estimated for section with bearing ledges or can be specified by the user. This height may affect the location of the critical section in shear. The height of the top of the web is also estimated or can be specified by the user. This height can be used to calculate the location of the principal web stress in the ACI codes. The program will now also calculate the lateral moment of inertia Iy, the product of inertia Ixy, and the resulting angle of the principal axis from horizontal (for asymmetrical sections). These values are largely for future use though the principal axis angle can be useful for manually rotating the section being checked to the principal bending plane if the section is not restrained to bend vertically. A precast stadia unit is an example of this kind of section (e.g. Example 3-04 in the CPCI Design Manual, 5th edition, or Example 5.2.5.1. in the PCI Design Handbook, 8th edition). Concise Beam does not automate this rotation.
• Text and graph windows that remain open after the problem model has changed are marked "Not Current" to indicate that the displayed results may no longer be valid. The non-current windows may be useful when comparing older results against newer result windows after the model has changed and been re-analyzed to see the incremental change. A new option has been added to the Solution menu (and the toolbar) that allows the user to update opened text and graph windows that are non-current by reanalyzing the problem and updating the results in those existing windows. This allows the user to layout the text and graph windows of interest on the screen without having to reopen and layout those windows again after a change in the model and reanalysis.
• Added allowance for negative load factors.
• Exported text files now include an identifying header and are saved to a subdirectory named after the problem file. This same directory is also used for exported input details.
• Better support for cracked sections at the time of the cast-in-place pour.
• Paginated text report windows now display the current page number.
• Adjusted maximum interface shear force for the moment region method.
• Improved compilation of minimum effects in load envelopes.
• Clarified stress "limits" for non-prestressed beams.
• Improved identification of sections that are hollow for torsion in order to use tubular model.
• A new file format has been created for the problem files to accommodate additional data used by the program. It still uses the *.con extension but cannot be read by versions of Concise Beam prior to version 4.66. Version 4.66 will read files created by Concise Beam version 2.x, 3.x, and all prior versions of Concise Beam 4.x. Files will now be saved in the new file format.

June 30, 2023 - A beta test version of Concise Beam version 4.66 is now available for download and testing.

May 16, 2023 - Concise Beam version 4.65L is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF MAY 2023 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65L is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Extended the use of shear friction below an interface stress of 500bvd in ACI where the interface is not intentionally roughened.
• Reversed the "No Ties Required" note to "Ties Required" in the horizontal interface shear (sectional) report.

April 24, 2023 - Concise Beam version 4.65k is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF APRIL 2023 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65k is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected the calculation of shear reinforcing provided under CSA codes in areas where the reinforcing spacing is changing in the presence of bursting steel.

February 8, 2023 - Concise Beam version 4.65j is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF FEBRUARY 2023 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65j is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected the load combination index reported in the reaction table.
• Corrected the use of cracked section properties for non-prestressed beams in the deflection calculation.

January 10, 2023 - Concise Beam version 4.65i is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF JANUARY 2023 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65i is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected the input of the torsion parameters for AS3600:2018 to include y1.

December 12, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65h is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF DECEMBER 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65h is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• For ACI based codes the prestress class (U, T, or C) will now be defined for each extremity of the section (e.g. top or bottom) instead of one classification for the whole section. This will avoid confusion in the concrete stress summary table.
• Corrected the limiting of the effective coefficient of friction (μe) for the ACI codes using the PCI recommendations.

November 10, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65g is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF NOVEMBER 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65g is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected the length of the transfer length and interface shear force for horizontal shear at negative moments when using the Moment Region method.
• Added new analysis reports for flexure, shear, and torsion which include the analysis results for each individual ULS load combination. These reports are for use on-screen only, they are not formatted for printing.

October 3, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65f is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF OCTOBER 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65f is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Revised the wording of the "Deflection Limits - Final Service" graph for better clarity. The graph has also been renamed the "Change in Deflection - Final Service" graph.

August 12, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65e is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF AUGUST 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65e is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected the long-term deflection multipliers assumed at the CIP Placement stage as used for the net deflection.
• Corrected effective width reported in Summary Report for one-sided slabs. Actual strength calcualtion using effective width was correct.

July 7, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65d is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF JULY 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65d is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected the crack width calculation report for non-prestressed beams.
• Adjusted sectional horizontal interface shear check to limit interface shear to flexural load capacity carried by cast-in-place pour (non-AS codes).
• Concise Beam will now guard against sustained loads being specified as reversible.

June 13, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65c is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF JUNE 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65c is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Corrected the crack width calculation under AS3600-18 for non-prestressed beams.

March 4, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65b is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF MARCH 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65b is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Removed cast-in-place stage flexural and shear design check reports from the Summary report when those checks are not performed.
• Adjusting reading of precast sections from a text file with large coordinate values.

February 1, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65a is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF FEBRUARY 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65a is a maintenance release which includes the following changes;

• Improved PCI hollowcore load distribution to account for the location of distributed loads within a cantilever. Previous versions of Concise Beam used the full cantilever length to determine the load distribution.
• Adjusted hollowcore fill dialog to show the section with the most voids, intended to be the full hollowcore section.
• Corrected an error in the flexure calculations during the cast-in-place pour which may have affect a few beams.

January 12, 2022 - Concise Beam version 4.65 is now available for download

YOUR COMMERCIAL LICENSE MUST BE CURRENT UP TO THE END OF JANUARY 2022 AT THE EARLIEST TO BE ABLE TO USE THIS RELEASE. Users evaluating this new release will be able to use this version for the remainder of their 30 day evaluation period. If your license has expire please contact me about how to bring your license up to date in order to use this latest release and to receive technical support. You do not need to install any previous versions of Concise Beam before installing this latest release.

Version 4.65 is a major release which includes the following changes;

• Added the changes in ammendment 2 to AS3600-2018.
• Added optional flexural strength check at CIP Placement stage.
• Added optional shear strength check at CIP Placement stage.
• Added option to CIP Pour dialog to perform ULS strength checks during pour.
• Added hydration rate to design parameters dialog.
• Added ability to input pre-defined load distribution factors for the CSA S6 highway live load.
• Added an additional constant to the strand transfer length equation based on end slippage to increase the estimate for an upper-bound design value. If the constant is zero, the default, the equation will provide a mean estimate of the transfer length.
• Improved support for CSA S6-19 including interface shear.
• Added warning messages for overstress of uncracked concrete stress for prestressed beams.
• Added cellular beam and trapezoidal girder to section templates.
• Added calculation option G5 to allow flexural load distribution narrower than the beam.
• FLS (fatigue) reports now available for all codes.
• Cleaned up section generator.
• Revised long-term deflection modifiers to interpolate between modifiers at midspan and the supports at cantilevers.
• New option to limit travel of udl portion of moving live load (e.g. lighter traffic) same as truck.
• Adjusted warning for large openings.
• Renamed text reports and graphs to make them easier to find in list.
• Fixed ULS load envelope initiation.
• Fixed governing ULS load combination number in envelope.
• A new file format has been created for the problem files to accommodate additional data used by the program. It still uses the *.con extension but cannot be read by versions of Concise Beam prior to version 4.65. Version 4.65 will read files created by Concise Beam version 2.x, 3.x, and all prior versions of Concise Beam 4.x. Files will now be saved in the new file format.

more news...