C:\MacStars 2000\Mac 2000 Documents_ENG\Improvements of Release 2.0.

doc

January 2003

MACSTARS 2000 - Rel. 2.0 January 2003

Implementations and amendments

This is the latest version of Macstars 2000 following to the implementations we made in January 2003,
relevant to:
1 - POSSIBILITY TO MODIFY THE REINFORCEMENT PARAMETERS
2 - POSSIBILITY TO PLACE A TIEBACK AT ANY POSITION
3 - POSSIBILITY TO INPUT A BACKING OF THE SECONDARY REINFORCEMENT
4 - POSSIBILITY TO RUN THE INTERNAL CHECKS WITH THE AASHTO EXCEL SPREADSHEET
5 - ADDING OF INFORMATION RELEVANT TO THE FOUNDATION PRESSURES
6 - MODIFICATION OF THE INTERACTION COEFFICIENT IN THE DB: USE OF
7 - VIEW OF THE CRITICAL SURFACES

C:\MacStars 2000\Mac 2000 Documents_ENG\Improvements of Release 2.0.doc

January 2003

1- POSSIBILITY TO MODIFY THE REINFORCEMENT PARAMETERS (ONLY WITH THE DONGLE)

In order to avoid the users to ask OM to modify the reinforcement database for a change of any of the
reinforcement properties, Macstars 2.0 allows the user to customise the reinforcement database.
The reinforcement menu is only available when no Macstars documents (.MAC files) are open.

The commands allow the user to modify the reinforcement properties (partial and pullout factors,
tensile strength, etc.) and to save the modification under a new file having .RNF extension.
Once the customised database is loaded, the file will be used for all the .mac files loaded or created
afterwards.
In order to re-load the original reinforcement database, it is necessary to close Macstars and run it
again.
This option is only available to the Macstars users with hardlock!!!

C:\MacStars 2000\Mac 2000 Documents_ENG\Improvements of Release 2.0.doc

January 2003

2- POSSIBILITY TO PLACE A TIEBACK AT ANY POSITION

When the tieback is not placed on the superficial soil profile (i.e. when it is used to consolidate an
excavation profile behind a RSS), it is now possible to place it at any position by choosing the Free
placing option and then input its X, Y coordinates.

C:\MacStars 2000\Mac 2000 Documents_ENG\Improvements of Release 2.0.doc

January 2003

3- POSSIBILITY TO INPUT A BACKING OF THE SECONDARY REINFORCEMENT

Presently Macstars only allows to model the following connection scheme when the main
reinforcement is made of Gabions or System Terramesh:

With the new option it is possible (in compliance with the requirements of some national standard such
as the French one), for the blocks where the Gabions or the Terramesh System is the main
reinforcement, to define, by clicking on Reinforcement backing, the possible backing of the first
secondary reinforcement (equal to the gabion width) and, if necessary, also its wrapped length.

In any case the vertical spacing of the secondary reinforcement is equal to the Terramesh (or gabion)
height.
Therefore also the following schemes can be modelled with the new release:

C:\MacStars 2000\Mac 2000 Documents_ENG\Improvements of Release 2.0.doc

January 2003

4- POSSIBILITY TO RUN THE INTERNAL CHECKS WITH THE AASHTO EXCEL SPREADSHEET
In order to allow the user to run the internal checks in full accordance to the AASHTO prescriptions,
whose calculation method is much simpler than the Macstarss one, an Excel spreadsheet which fully
complies with the AASHTO prescriptions has been added to the software: if the user wants to use it, he
has to choose the relevant EXCEL spreadsheet in the stability analysis menu.

This option allows the user to create an Excel spreadsheet already containing the information relevant
to the structure modelled in Macstars.
It is possible to run AASHTO internal stability checks for structures with up to 2 superposed System
Terramesh blocks, having the same length and facing inclination; the 2 blocks must also have the
same structural embankment soil.

C:\MacStars 2000\Mac 2000 Documents_ENG\Improvements of Release 2.0.doc

January 2003

5- MORE AVAILABLE INFORMATION RELEVANT TO THE FOUNDATION PRESSURES

In order to give the user more data relevant to foundation pressure calculation, the following
information are now available when the wall checks calculations are run:
- Width of the equivalent foundation
- Eccentricity of normal force
- Lever arm of horizontal force
- Normal force

C:\MacStars 2000\Mac 2000 Documents_ENG\Improvements of Release 2.0.doc

January 2003

6- MODIFICATION OF THE INTERACTION COEFFICIENT IN THE DB: USE OF

The previous Macstars 2000 version used to work with the reinforcements friction coefficient f, which is
related to (pullout factor) by the following relationship:
f = tg
This choice was not very effective, as the numerical values used by the software were different from
the ones that are widely known for each reinforcement and the friction value did not take into account
the actual friction angle of the soil used for the structural embankment.
In the new Macstars version, in order to make things more understandable and correct, reference is
made to the of the reinforcement (that shall be updated in the DB) and to actual friction angle of the
soil used for the structural embankment (i.e. the value input by the user); the pullout resistance Fpo is
finally given by:
Fpo = 2 v L W tg
Following to this more accurate approach, the safety factor on the pullout coefficient, previously set to
1.1, has been set to 1 for all the reinforcements.

C:\MacStars 2000\Mac 2000 Documents_ENG\Improvements of Release 2.0.doc

January 2003

7- VIEW OF THE CRITICAL SURFACES

In order to allow the user to visualize the location of the most critical surfaces, it is possible, by
choosing the Surface Legend option from the View menu, to obtain the critical surfaces coded by color
in relationship to their SF factor.
Cyan-Blue for SF<1
Green-Yellow for 1<SF<1.3
Magenta-Red for SF>1.3
thus enabling the user to locate the most critical areas in terms of instability.