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    (c) Cervenka Consulting 2000-2025

    ---------------------------------------------------
    RELEASE NOTES FOR ATENA-GiD interface build 24545
    ---------------------------------------------------

    Modified on April 2025 by Zdenek Janda, Jan Cervenka 

    CONTENTS:
    =========

    1. INTRODUCTION
    2. INSTALLATION
    3. KNOWN PROBLEMS
    4. NEW FEATURES
    5. BUG FIXES
    6. CONTACT


    1. INTRODUCTION

    This archive contains script files for interfacing GiD with ATENA. 
    GiD is a general purpose finite element pre and post processor (http://www.gidhome.com).
    In conjuction with ATENA it is used as a pre-processor or post-processor.
    
    2. INSTALLATION

    More info about ATENA-GiD interface instalation you can find in ATENA-GiD User's Manual
    Problem type Static, Dynamic, Transport and Creep are supported.
    ATENA-GiD problem type scripts are suited for the GiD versions included in the particular ATENA installer in GiD versions 
    
    3. NEW FEATURES

    in version 24318(22.04.2025)
     - Spring surfaces use the quad elements now
     - Material Springs use local direction system.
     - Ground Accelerogram in X,Y, and Z all in one interval
     - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

    in version 23338(10.09.2024)
     - New Total option for conditions (deformation, rotation, temperature, moisture)
     - Activation of the interface material/elements through DigiCon tracks.
     - Fixing input writing for max monitors.
     - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

    in version 22573(12.12.2023)
     - Fixing bug with global monitors on end of inp file
     - Fixing bug with ConMix start
     - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

    in version 22312(27.9.2023)
     - New definitons for Digicon (mnode + qcode)
     - New generators for Cementitious2Variable material
     - No more AtenaWin for calculation
     - New Atena 2023 option for calculation
     - Import EPWFile to transport analysis
     - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

    in version 21418(20.10.2022)
     - New CCModelACI209R2, CCModelCSA_S6_14 materials in creep
     - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

    in version 20814(28.1.2022)
     - New CCSteelDRC, CCCyclingSmearedReinf materials for reinforcement
     - New conditions Rotation_for_
     - New generators for Moisture_Temperature_Boundary_for_ and Chlorides_for_ condition
     - New CEB_FIB_model_code_2010 generator  for Bond
     - Bond function has dependency on temperature, corosion and location.
     - New Define_Local_X_Direction for Interface material
     - Automatic multipliers for total conditions
     - During save-as saving all others files.. inp, out, msg, err, layout, old results, ...
     - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

    in version 18885(9.9.2020)
    - New rusian SP63 material generator for concrete.
    - New Advanced_durability_parameters for chlorides and carbonatation conditions.
    - New parameters SUBSTEPS_PER_FT, MAX_SUBSTEPS, LIMIT_TAU_CRACK for concrete.
    - New OPTIMIZE_TRACK method in DigiCon 3D printing simulation.
    - New Load_Force_for_Surface_2D_Shell condition
    - New Global_Shell_Nodes_for_ condition for shells connecting.
    - New material model Cementitious2FRC + generator for modelling fiber reinforced concrete
    - New Step_multiplier in intervals.
    - New function AVERage available in monitors for reinforcement 
    - New conditions Base_Temperature, Base_Humidity, Initial_Temperature_for_, Initial_Humidity_for_ 
    - New automatic name for monitors, for compatibility with the ATENA Studio feature allowing to find the data for previously defined graphs after meshing
    - Enabling Axi_symmetric_task for Creep and Transport
    - Fixing a bug in normal vector of springs conditions.
    - New parameter DELTA_AGE in all creep materials.
    - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

    in version 17273(6.11.2019)
    - Time evolution can be specified also for the parameters: wd, eps_cp in Cementitious variable material.
    - New functionality to support modelling of 3D printing of concrete (DigiCon2).
    - Now it is possible define a step length for the Arc-length method only for selected nodes.
    - New Random material for SARA.
    - New condition ASR for modelling alkali-silica reaction in concrete.
    - Better definition of LoadCase monitor. This allows to more easily monitor the loading level
    - Fix error in chlorides and carbonation conditions.
    - New CRUSH_BAND_MIN parameter in cementitious material family
    - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

   in version 16494(21.12.2018)
   - New function QuickMesher (Problem Data), quick mesh if you dont want write the inp.
   - New rotation conditions for 1D beams
   - New options IGNORE_NEGATIVE_JACOBIAN a IGNORE_ELEMENT_TYPE_EXCEPTION in material properties.
   - Material Microplane4 and CCModelB3 are not available anymore 
   - New condition Fixed_Contact_for_Volume - now you can Fixed volumed as well.  
   - Now you can use time function in chlorides conditions.
   - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface. 

   in version 15320(10.10.2017)

    - New material parameter CRACK_SPACING_MIN in Cementitious materials
    - From now, you can change material activity before each step of interval
    - Quadratic line spring material + nonquadratic condition springs
    - You can deactivate solid material in shell and reinforced concrete.
    - You can define beam material components by fibres' coords + you can generate basic shapes
    - More parameters for Chlorides condition
    - More parameters for Master-Slave condition for 1Dbeam and 2Dshell
    - Bugfix in MaterialActivity in Interval Data. The problem probably only appears when more than 25 materials are used in the model.
    - Fixing of various small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface. 

   in version 14265 (4.1.2017)

    - 2D shell and 1D Beam elements
    - New conditions Load_Moment_for_Point and Weight_for_1Dbeam_Line
    - New conditions Load_universally_for_Surface and Load_universally_for_Line for general loading settings
    - New dummy material for use with Load_universally_ conditions
    - New possibility in cond Elements_Activity_for_Line, now you can change the reinforcement material during analysis
    - After calculating each step, you can view the monitor values in a special file in the calculation folder
    - New possibility to model Injected Cables (INTERNAL_CABLE geometry)
    - New Wobble_Coefficient in reinforcement with INTERNAL_CABLE
    - New parameter TENSION_ELIPS in Interface material
    - Fixing of various some small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

   in version 13213 (27.5.2016)

    - Condition Rotation_Constraint for DoFs 4,5,6 for 2D shell and 1D beam elements
    - 2D shell and 1D Beam elements (preliminary development version)
    - Material CCSmearedReinf available for reinforcement in Beam elements
    - Prestressing_for_Reinf_Line condition
    - Reinforcement Prestraining by function along the cable
    - The max. number of points increased to 7 for multilinear reinf fucntion
    - Fatigue Applied Cycles Monitor
    - Tools for automatic generation of fatigue steps (development version for testing)
    - Definition of TransportMaterialLevel7 material with ConMix
    - Transport material generator
    - SLAP_ITERATION_LIMIT for setting iteration max limit for sparse iterative solvers (ICCG, DCG, DCGN, LUCN)
    - Material NLCem2Variable available in Creep
    - Improved material activity in intervals
    - New condition Boundary_Reactions_for_Line - loading by load from previous load cases (Austrian tunelling method)
    - Element activity for Interface material
    - Material definition from file
    - DoFs 4,5,6 now available for max_monitor
    - New CCIsoGap<xxxx> elements in axi-symetrics tasks
    - New option TANGENT_OF_SURFACE in condition Spring_for_Surface
    - Fixing of various some small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

   in version 10529 (15.10.2014)
    - New monitors for Monitor_for_Point_Nearest_Node_IP. It is monitoring quantities in the nearest node or IP
    - New monitors Monitor_for_*_Nearest_IP can be used to monitor quantities in the nearest IP of selected material.
    - New linear equation solver PARDISO
    - Acceleration and displacement history can be defined by a function
    - The default values for emissivity were modified
    - New type of element CCIsoShellBrick<xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> for shell material
    - New triangular type element for shell
    - New material CC3DNonLinCementitious2Variable
    - Reinforced concrete has 6 smeared reinforced layers
    - Bond model with memory can be used for reinforcement
    - Local damping coefficient for each material
    - New condition Reinforcement_Reconnect, which can be used in construction process modelling
    - New Components 4,5,6 in monitors, which enable monitoring more than 3 components
    - New condition Reinforcement Prestressing can be defined by a function along a cable
    - Inclined supports can be defined by normal, or directional vector
    - Spring_for_line can be defined for normal direction in 2D model
    - New ways to run the nonlinear calculation: 32/64bit, number of threads, AtenaConsole, AtenaStudio, AtenaWin. The execution is controlled by a .bat file.
    - New creep material models CCModelCP2010 and CCModelEN1992
    - Element activity is now working also for shell elements
    - Fixed bug in definition FIXED (start/end/both/none) for cable and bar_with_bond. It is necessary to redefine it.
    - New option Inactive reinforcement in compression reinforced concrete and shell reinforcements
    - New generation tools for gradient coefficients for linear loads in load_force_for_line and load_force_for_surface
    - The generation of material parameters is more consistent with fib model code
    - Fixing of various some small bugs and improvement of various help hints in the ATENA-GiD interface.

  in version 9048 (2.10.2013)
    - New monitors for ELEM_TOTAL_TEMPERATURE,INTERFACE_STRESS and INTERFACE_DISPLACEMENT.
    - Fix bug in Eps_cp generator for EC2 concrete.
    - Reinforcement bond used diameter from material parameters now.
    - Adding CCCyclicReinf to EuroCode2 reinforcements.
    - New default value for Sheel Ref_thickness.
    - New default value for Fixed_Crack = 1.
    - New button go to StudioPost.
    - Fix bug in CCPlaneSpring.
    - Fixing of various some small bugs and improvement of various help hints
      in ATENA-GiD interface.

  in version 8387 (26.3.2013)
    - New Pardiso solver in the list of available solvers.
      It is a fast sparse parallel direct solver for systems of linear equations.
    - Bazant_Xi_1994(CCModelBaXi94) is not supported anymore. The model
      is replaced by the more general CCMaterialTransport
    - New parameter TIME_UNIT_IN_TRANSPORT for transport data import. 
      It allows to use different time units in the transport and stress analysis.
    - New parameters FCYL0_28 FT28 GF28 in B3Improved material allows
      to consider aging effect on fc, ft, Gf in the creep analysis.
    - New parameter for autogenous_shrinkage in the creep analysis.
    - Improved support for Reinforcement Bond allows automatic generation
      Of slip functions based on fib model code 2012, Bigaj and user defined function.
    - New dynamic parameters for Damping and other user dynamic settings.
    - New material Microplane 7 suitable for concrete or other brittle materials.
    - New condition Moisture_Temperature_Boundary for transport analysis supports
      the convection condition for moisture and convection and radiation condition
      for thermal analysis.
    - Initial temperature parameter was removed in the temperature dependent materials.
      These materials support the definition of temperature dependent parameters
      using total temperature functions now.
    - The loads are written in the "inp" file in the interval block and not at the beginning
      Of the "inp" file as before. This resolves some problems when restarting analysis 
      from certain steps from GiD.
    - New possibility to define general functions that can be used in other places during
      the model definition. The functions are defined as special material types.
    - New check included if all entities with assigned material are also selected for
      meshing.
    - Fixing of various some small bugs and improvement of various help hints
      in the ATENA-GiD interface.

  in version 7723 (30.8.2012)
    - includes support for the new AtenaStudio (32bit, 64bit)
    - new nonlinear solution options: "Use_Iteration_With_Lowest_Error" and "Repeat_No_Converged_Step"
    - all problemtypes use AtenaCalculation directory
    - some small bugs were fixed
    - the selections are now defined at the beginning of each interval
      in the inp file. This facilitates the correct behavior of the restart command in GiD
    - the user can define the distance tolerance for the correct behavior of the fixed contact conditions 
      Different values can be specified for different fixed contact names.
    - new parameter Negligable_Size - it affects accuracy of the nonlinear analysis
    - new units (week, month, year)
    - new generator of concrete material properties based on Fc
    - new name for our problem data -> ATENA. Unfortunately, you have to transform your model.

  in version 7189 (22.5.2012)
    - Improvement and simplifying the restart option in ATENA-GID  
    - Results can be imported only from selected steps (automatic search for them)
    - Import results from reinforcements
    - 32bit or 64 bit analysis is supported for analysis run and result import
    - Adding a lot of help attributes for the items
    - Better time rounding in dynamic problemtype (Previously a runtime error 
      may have occurred due to rounding problems)
    - New function Update Check (You can check if new version of ATENA and 
      ATENA-GID interface is available)
    - Now you can choose direction for Ground_accelerogram_load
    - SKIP_DOFS_MASK in fixed_contact conditions (some dofs can be eliminated 
      in master-slave connection)
    - you can choose SUMMATION and AVERAGE options for monitors
    - Fixed problems with construction process
    - New stop criteria: Absolute_Step_Stop_Residual
    - Added more advanced contacts (Moving Gaps)
    - New automatic monitor:  Step convergence monitor (You better see the 
      convergence error at the end of each step)
    - New option in reinforcement modeling with bond, which allows sliding of both reinforcement ends
    - Now you can use non-quadratic gap elements even when quadratic mesh is selected in GiD  
    - Improved connecting of beam elements (CCBeamNLConnection)
    - Now you can set Temperature-min in Fire Boundary condition
    - Added option to apply initial opening on contacts (It is possible to model 
      contacts with initial opening)
    - Implementation of hydration heat and general heat sources/sinks 
      (materials CCTransportMaterialLevel1-CCTransportMaterialLevel7)(CERHYD)
    - Added material Cementitious2User to Creep problemtype
    - New parameter SHEAR_FACTOR in cementitious materials
    - Added a new parameter UNLOADING to control unloading 
      in the NonLinearCementitious2 material family

    
  in version 3083 (26.10.2009)
    - New wedge element
    - Time bug in Dynamic
    - Many small bugs were fixed 

  in version 2882 (3.9.2009)
    - New material parameters for CC3DNonLinCementitious2 (FC_REDUCTION, AGG_SIZE)
    - New monitors for reinforcements
    - New monitors ELEM_TOTAL_TEMPERATURE
    - New calculator for Drucker-Prageru material parameters
    - Combining linear and qudratic elements in one model (Element_geometry tap)
    - Load history generator in Transport (similar to Dynamics)
    - Add new condition - Fixed Contact for Points
    - For 2D problems, the normal direction is checked for all surfaces and the orientation is corrected where needed.
    - Many bugs were fixed 

  in version 2616 (18.6.2009)
    - Fire boundary condition is now in a separate load case and can be mixed with incremental conditions.
    - Fixed bug - Initial stress conditions.
    - New monitors for Dynamic problemtype - VELOCITIES, ACCELERATIONS  
    
  in version 2483 (13.5.2009)
    - New ETK (EN 1363, ISO 834) fire curve 
    - User friendly definition of temperature dependent materials (concrete, steel, reinforcement) including
      direct support of EC2 standards 
    - Concrete and reinforcement material properties automatically generated based on EC2 material types
    - Automatic start of analysis in AtenaWin
    - New icons in interface
  
    4. KNOWN PROBLEMS

   -  In GiD version 9.0.x, an error occurs when clicking the Ground Accelerogram
      checkbox. This problem is solved in the beta version 9.3.1b and in version 10.

    - In Windows Vista or W7, "Desktop Composition" has to be disabled if you notice
      display problems. Right click on the GiD items in the start
      menu, select Properties, then the Compatibility tab. Check the box
      "Disable desktop composition". In some cases, changing the display theme
      (Control Panel - Appearance and Personalization - Personalization - Theme)
      to "Windows Classic" can also help with display problems.

    - If you receive error messages while opening ATENA-GiD example files,
      it is recommended to transform the example data to the corresponding
      problem type. This is done by selecting the appropriate problem
      type in the menu Data | Problem type | Atena. In the subsequent
      dialog it is recommended to select the "Transform to new problem
      type" check box, otherwise all pre-defined boundary conditions
      and materials may be lost. 
      From scripts rev. 2375, the transformation should be automatically offered 
      when opening a model created in older ATENA-GiD version.

    - Limiting conditions for spring:
    
      1) The Spring_for_Surface boundary condition
         - can be applied more than once on a single entity.
         Written into .inp as triangles. If the mesh on the surface is not
         triangular, the quads are automatically divided into triangles when
         writing .inp.
      2) The Spring_for_Line boundary condition
         - can be applied more than once on a single entity.
         In .inp, it is represented as nodal springs, not line springs.
         Therefore, Spring_area and not Spring_thickness is defined in the
         template.
      3) The Spring_for_Point boundary condition 
         - can be applied more than once on a single entity.
         Nodal springs.

    - Limiting material for spring:

      1) The CCSpringMaterial is a new option allowing to define springs using
      generated finite element mesh.
      - can only be applied once to a single entity. For multiple springs,
      this limitation can be circumvented by copying the surface/line with
      a zero distance vector and generating separate finite elements on each
      copy.
      It can be applied to a line or surface. It has to be ensured that FE mesh
      is generated for the line/surface (if there is a problem, go to the
      Mesh -> MeshCriteria menu).

      This spring definition is represented as ordinary FE's in .inp, including
      for lines. Therefore, Spring_Thickness (and not Spring_Area) is set in
      the material template.

    - Support for element plane springs in 3D with elemental and material interpretation. 
      Old interpretation was nodal spring.
      Please, transform the problemtype (Menu Data->Problem type->Atena->checked problemtype).

    - Limiting conditions for using the Restart_of_Analysis function:

      1) The step from which the analysis should be restarted has to be
      previously saved. This is NOT automatically fulfilled if
      Store_Data_for_this_Interval_Steps->SAVE_ALL is not enabled for the
      corresponding interval.

      2) Creep and Dynamics calculate the last step at the STOP_TIME of the
      whole model. If you need to add new analysis steps before the STOP_TIME,
      restart from the preceding (i.e., penultimate) step. The time of the added
      step can not exceed the STOP_TIME, and it also can not be lower than the
      time of the restarted step.

   -  Limiting conditions for using BC Element_Activity_for...

      1) The region to be deleted or created has to have a separate material.

      2) Whole groups are now deleted and not single group elements. Therefore,
      the meshed region has to have a single element type, which is so far
      always fulfilled in GiD.

   -  Limiting conditions for using Beam and Shell elements:

      1) Prior to meshing, bilinear-quadratic elements have to be chosen

      2) The region has to be meshed with brick elements only

   -  Limiting conditions for Transport problems:

      Only a few element types are allowed for meshing:

Atena Input File Format manual : Table 138: Finite elements to transport analysis
Element           Description                                                                   Equivalent element for static analysis
IsoQuad4_2D       Linear quadrilateral isoparametric element                                    CCIsoQuad4_2D
IsoQuad8_2D       Nonlinear quadrilateral isoparametric element                                 CCIsoQuad8_2D
IsoBrick8_3D      Nonlinear quadrilateral isoparametric element with Hetherosis approximation   CCIsoBrick8_2D
IsoTriangle3_2D   Linear triangular isoparametric element                                       CCIsoTriangle3_2D
IsoTetra4_3D      Linear tetrahedral isoparametric element                                      CCIsoTetra4_3D

   -  The SHELL and BEAM material definitions have changed in ATENA-GiD version 2187. 
      We are sorry they can not be updated automatically, please re-define and re-assign them.
      
   -  In the versions before scripts 2198, the temperature values in the temp.
      dep. functions had to be given relative to the reference temperature, 
      which means the user had to re-define all the functions to adjust to 
      another reference/initial temperature. Since version 2198, the functions 
      are defined in absolute temperatures and the adjustment due to the initial 
      temperature is done automatically when writing the input file. You can set 
      the init. temp. in this dialog to 0 to have the same behavior as in the 
      previous version.

   -  Postprocessing for beam elements is not yet supported, testing only.


    5. CONTACT

    CERVENKA CONSULTING
    NA HREBENKACH 55, 150 00 PRAHA 5
    CZECH REPUBLIC

    phone: +420 220 610 018
    fax: +420 220 612 227
    WWW: www.cervenka.cz
    e-mail: cervenka@cervenka.cz

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