Cable element added to Tunnel Designer Reinforcement tab

The tunnel designer has been updated to include the Cable element when defining the reinforcements. After adding reinforcements to a tunnel segment, the user can, in the property tree of the Reinforcements tab, now select from a new drop-down menu called "Element type" and choose between "Cable bolt" or "Rock bolt". The former uses the new element, the latter still uses the approach of previous releases namely the embedded beam element. The Cable element also naturally integrates in the tunnel designer's sequencing mode allowing activation/deactivation and pre-stressing of cable reinforcement patterns.

Combined Reinforcements in Tunnel Designer

The Tunnel designer's reinforcement definition has been extended with the option "Number of parts". This allows users to easily extend the number of line segments to a maximum of 2, for each added reinforcement pattern and then set different element types and properties per part. With 2 parts users can quickly generate a cable element consisting of 2 parts of different lengths, allowing later pre-stressing 1 of the parts separately from the other part, or allowing different material sets per part. Another option is generating combined reinforcement consisting of a node-to-node anchor and a connected rockbolt. These Combined Reinforcements are naturally integrated into the Sequencing Mode of the Tunnel Designer and allow activation/deactivation and pre-stressing cables per part for a defined reinforcement pattern.

Other changes and improvements