Jul 30 2014
Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure, today announced the immediate availability of LEAP Bridge Steel for the 3D modeling, design, analysis, and load rating of everyday steel bridges.
The software, which adheres to AASHTO Load and Resistance Factor Design (LRFD) Specifications, enables users to leverage the benefits of bridge information modeling (BrIM), including increased efficiency and data reuse across the bridge lifecycle. It also provides the advantages of optioneering – which enables engineers to quickly consider trade-offs between multiple design strategies. When used with Bentley’s LEAP Bridge Enterprise software for concrete bridges, LEAP Bridge Steel provides bridge engineers and designers a comprehensive solution to evaluate multiple concrete or steel design alternatives.
Raoul Karp, Bentley Systems vice president, structural and BrIM products, said, “The cornerstone of BrIM is intelligent information mobility, which fosters the use of data beyond bridge design and engineering to inform downstream processes such as fabrication, construction, operations, maintenance, and inspection. With easy access to information about the bridge, organizations can optimize business processes – across the bridge lifecycle.”
He continued, “Being a fully integrated product for superstructure and substructure analysis, design, and load rating, Bentley’s LEAP Bridge Steel uniquely facilitates information mobility across various project stages. In addition, the bridge designs can be used in conjunction with MicroStation, GEOPAK, InRoads, MXROAD, the Power Civil products, and InspectTech, which makes it easy for information to move between project disciplines.
“But BrIM isn’t just about information mobility; it also provides project flexibility, which LEAP Bridge Steel supports through its parametric 3D modeling capabilities. Parametric modeling enables engineers to take advantage of optioneering – a hallmark of Bentley’s BIM advancement. With this powerful capability, they can quickly respond to project changes in a timely manner and arrive at the best design alternative for better asset performance.”
Michael A. Grubb, P.E., M.A., Grubb & Associates, LLC, said, “LEAP Bridge Steel addresses a real challenge in the bridge industry – the need for more robust and efficient systems for the design and analysis of everyday steel bridges. LEAP Bridge Steel performs a grillage or line-girder analysis, and then performs comprehensive design code checks and load ratings based on the analysis results. I found LEAP Bridge Steel to be intuitive and was pleased to see how quickly a data-rich 3D solid model can be developed, analyzed, and checked for compliance with AASHTO LRFD. This all-in-one modeling, analysis, and design software is going to enable bridge engineers and design firms to more efficiently design cost-effective steel bridges of varying complexity.”
Christian DeWalt, bridge engineer, Greenman-Pedersen, Inc., said, “We have been using LEAP Bridge Enterprise for our concrete bridge projects, so we were very excited to hear that the product family is being extended to support the design of steel bridges as well. In early testing, we’ve found LEAP Bridge Steel to be a real time-saver. The workflow provides rapid modeling and analysis, so we can produce 3D models very quickly – and they are automatically updated as we make edits in the design. The complex, behind-the-scenes calculations save us many hours, enabling us to ensure compliance to industry standards faster.”
Jie (Jane) Yang, SE, PE, AMEC E&I, said, “Approximately 25 percent of the bridges we design are steel bridges. One of our challenges is the time it takes for the design and analysis. We have been testing LEAP Bridge Steel in our office and have been happy with the intuitive interface and automated calculations it provides. It enables us to easily evaluate multiple design alternatives; we have found that we can analyze these bridges with rich engineering data and produce 3D models in a matter of a few hours, not days.”
With LEAP Bridge Steel, users can:
- create 3D models of bridge superstructures and substructures, including ground data, all in a single program;
- quickly evaluate multiple alternative designs;
- design and construct bridges of a higher quality; and
- take advantage of the software’s intra-operability with other Bentley applications, including MicroStation, GEOPAK, InRoads, MXROAD, the Power Civil products, and InspectTech.
LEAP Bridge Steel users also benefit from faster and more reliable workflows as well as from rework being minimized – due to the accuracy and consistency of the 3D models.