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Tutorials

Included in this topic are two tutorials designed to give hands-on practice building and solving EverFE2.23 projects, as well as interpreting the finite-
element analysis results. The tutorials vary in complexity: Tutorial 1 examines the construction and solution of a simple model of a single slab subjected
to an axle load and bilinear thermal gradient, while Tutorial 2 considers a model of a six-slab system with doweled joints and transverse ties.

Tutorial 1: Model of a Single Slab

In this example, a model of a single slab founded on two base layers and subjected to a combination of axle and thermal loading will be created, solution
generated, and the results of the simulation interpreted. The example covered here is identical to the solved project "single_slab" that is installed with
EverFE2.23.

Model Creation and Geometry. Begin by starting EverFE, selecting New from the File menu, and creating a blank project with metric units. You will
now be in the Geometry panel with the default single-slab model. The only change that you need to make is adding an elastic subgrade layer by
checking 2 layers in the Base and Subgrade sub-panel; the thickness of the base layer should be 150 mm and the subgrade thickness should be 300 mm.
At this point, save the model using the Save As option under the File menu under the name "Example_1". The EverFE window should now appear as
shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Geometry Panel During Model Creation

Material Properties. Now, click on the Material tab to display the Material panel. The default material properties for the slab (E = 28000 MPa) and base
layer (E = 5000 MPa) will be maintained; however, change the subgrade elastic modulus from 200 to 300 MPa, which might be typical for a good
gravel subgrade or sub-base. The other change that we will make is revising the Slab/Base Interface properties. Make sure that the Bonded Base
checkbox is not selected, which implies that the slab and base are unbonded, and the Initial Stiffness and Slip Displacement parameters are both zero,
which implies that there is no shear stress transferred between the slab and base. Change the Initial Stiffness to 1 MPa/mm and the Slip Displacement to
0.1 mm, which will result in shear stresses where there is contact and relative slip at the slab-base interface. The EverFE window will now appear as
shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2: Material Panel During Model Creation

Axle and Thermal Loads. We are now ready to define loads. Click on the Loading tab to bring up the loading panel, which will show no loads on the
model. Click on the Dual Wheel Tandem button to create the corresponding axle load. Only the right half of the axle will appear in the plan and elevation
views, since the center of gravity of the axle is automatically located at the coordinate origin. Center the entire axle at the center of the 4600 mm long
slab by changing the (x, y) coordinates of the axle from the default (0,0) to (2300,0). Alternatively, you can move the axle to the desired location using a
mouse click-and-drag operation. All other axle parameters (Load, L, W, etc.) will remain unchanged from the default values.

Now, let's define a bilinear thermal gradient. Set the parameter "# of Temp. Changes" to 3, and define temperature changes 1, 2 and 3 as -5, -3, and 5,
respectively. This defines a bilinear thermal gradient, where -5 is the temperature change at the top of the slab, -3 is the change at the mid-thickness of
the slab, and 5 is the change at the bottom of the slab. The loading panel will now appear as shown below in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Loading Panel During Model Creation

Meshing. Since only a single slab is being modeled, the Dowel and Interlock tabs are inactive. Click on the Meshing tab to open the meshing panel. This
will cause white lines to be overlaid on the plan and elevation views indicating the default finite-element mesh, which has 12x12 elements in plan, 2
elements through the slab thickness, and 1 element through both the base and subgrade layers. For now, no changes will be made to the default mesh
parameters, although mesh refinement will be considered later in this example. The meshing input panel will appear as shown below in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Meshing Panel During Model Creation

Solve. Now, we are ready to generate a solution. Click on the Solve menu and select Run the Shown Analysis, which will execute the finite-element
solver. There is no need to save the project before running, since it is automatically saved when the analysis is started. While the model is running, a
small frame with a white background will appear that displays details of the progress of the finite-element solution. This particular project requires
about 60 seconds to run on a Dell Optiplex with a 2.80 GHz Pentium IV.

View Displaced Shape. Note that the title of the EverFE window now displays Current Project: Example 1 (A Solution Exists). The Visualize menu is

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now active, and the model results can be displayed. Start by selecting Displacements from the Visualize menu. This will bring up a dialog box; simply
click OK, and a few seconds later (after the solution has been loaded into memory) the EverFE displacement visualization sub-panel will appear. Click
on the Show the Base checkbox at the top left of the panel, and then click the View Displacements button. This will bring up a window with a white
background and a picture of the displaced shape of the slab and base layer as shown below in Figure 5. Note how the slab has separated from the base at
the corners under the action of the bilinear negative thermal gradient. The view can be rotated and zoomed. Do not close the visualization window
shown in Figure 5, as this will also end your EverFE session. However, you can minimize the window to reduce screen clutter.

Figure 5: Displaced Shape of Slab and Base

Stresses are generally the critical result of any analysis. To view stresses, select Stresses from the Visualize menu. This will bring up the stress
visualization panel shown below in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Default Stress Visualization Window

View Stresses. The x-y plane at the top of the slab is the default plane for stress viewing, and the maximum principal stress is also selected by default.
The scaling parameter is set to local, and the Color Map is selected. Clicking on the View Stresses button will bring up the visualization window shown
below in Figure 7. The view shown in Figure 7 is a plan view looking down the z-axis; however, the view can be scaled and rotated in three
dimensions. The maximum stress is 0.341 MPa, which occurs the the top center of the slab.

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Figure 7: Maximum Principal Stresses on Top of Slab

To view stresses on other planes within the slab, change the Horizontal plane to any value between 3 (the bottom) and 7 (the top), either by typing a
number in the entry box or clicking the arrows. Since two elements were used through the slab thickness, there are 5 planes of nodes and thus five
planes with saved stresses numbered 3 - 7. Changing the plane to 5, which is the mid-thickness of the slab, and clicking the View Stresses button brings
up the following colormap of Figure 8; note that with this particular thermal gradient and axle loading, the maximum stress at the mid-thickness is
actually larger than that on top of the slab (0.694 MPa). In addition to viewing stress colormaps, you can retrieve precise values for stresses and
displacements at any point in the slab or base.

Figure 8: Maximum Principal Stresses at Mid-Thickness of Slab

Model Accuracy and Mesh Refinement. At this point, a critical question is the accuracy of the results. The best way to verify the model accuracy is
through a mesh refinement, which is covered in two meshing examples. The current analysis poses some interesting issues, however, arising from the
binlinear thermal gradient and to some extent the slab-base shear transfer due to the 1 MPa/mm shear stiffness at the slab-base interface. To investigate
this issue in the present model, a series of meshes with increasing refinement have been constructed for the model as presented, and for the same model
with a linear thermal gradient (-5o C at the top of slab, 5o C at the bottom of slab). The maximum principal stresses at the top and mid-thickness of the
slab are presented below in Table 1. It is important to note that 30X30 elements in plan are required to demonstrate convergence with the binlinear
thermal gradient, while 12x12 elements gives a reasonable result and 24x24 elements gives an excellent result with the linear thermal gradient.

Table 1: Slab Principal Stresses in MPa (Top/Mid-Thickness)

Number of Element Divisions (x,y,z)

Thermal Gradient
12x12x2 18x18x2 24x24x2 30x30x2 36x36x2
bilinear 0.341/0.692 0.327/0.678 0.322/0.621 0.320/0.593 0.319/0.593
linear 0.965/0.086 0.965/0.101 0.959/0.107 0.956/0.104 0.956/0.097

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Tutorial 2: Model of a Six-Slab System

This example considers a model of a six slab system with skewed joints. In addition to complex geometry, this tutorial illustrates the specification of
dowels and transverse ties, aggregate interlock, nonlinear thermal gradients, and a variety of axle loads. In addition to these tutorials, solved examples
can be found under the topics of mesh refinement; linear aggregate interlock and nonlinear aggregate interlock; and dowel looseness and dowel-slab
support. This example is identical to the solved project "test_2_3_skew" that is installed with EverFE2.23 with the exception of dowel, tie and aggregate
interlock properties.

Model Creation and Geometry. Start model creation from scratch by opening EverFE and using the New-Metric option under the File menu, which will
cause EverFE to display a single slab resting on a single base layer. Now, in the Geometry panel, select a 3 rows, 2 columns layout. Set Column 1 Length
and Column 2 Length to 4600 mm, and set the Column 1 Width and Column 2 Width to 3600 mm. The third row of slabs will be a shoulder, which will
have a width of 1800 mm. The slab thickness should be fixed at 250 mm. Finally, set the First Skew Angle to 15, the Second Skew Angle to -12, and the
Third Skew Angle to 15. A single base layer of 150 mm thick will be considered in the analysis. Save the model as "Example 2" with the Save As option
from the File menu. The basic geometry of the model has now been defined, and the EverFE main window should appear as shown below in Figure 1.
Note that by default, transverse joints are doweled and all longitudinal joints are tied.

Figure 1: Geometry Panel During Model Construction

Material Properties. At this point, we are ready to define material properties. Click on the Material tab. In this example, we will not change the slab
material properties or the dowel and tie properties from the default values; however, set the base layer elastic modulus E to 1000 MPa. The Slab/Base
Interface should be unbonded (i.e. the Bonded Base checkbox must not be checked). Set the Initial Stiffness of the interface to 0.1 MPa/mm and the Slip
Displacement to 0.1 mm. The dense liquid subgrade k should be left at the default value of 0.03 MPa/mm. The material properties are now defined, and
the EverFE main window should appear as shown below in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Material Panel During Model Construction

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Axle and Thermal Loads. The next step is defining the loads. Click on the Loading tab to bring up the Loading panel, and start by creating a Dual
Wheel Tandem axle with a total load of 120 kN (the default value). The axle will appear in blue centered at (x,y) = (0,0); re-position the load to (x,y) =
(3100, -2950), which will locate the lower right wheel pair near the upper left slab corner. Leave all other axle geometric properties at the default values.
Now, create a second axle load by clicking the Dual Wheel Axle button. The default load for this axle is 80 kN, but change it to 120 kN. Locate the axle
at (x,y) = (5100, 650) by manually entering these coordinates in the appropriate entry boxes. The remaining axle parameters should remain at their
default values. The last axle load must be created using the Multi-Wheel Axle button, which by default has three wheels and a load of 120 kN. Change the
number of wheels to six, and position this axle at (x,y) = (2400,2400). Finally, create a bilinear thermal gradient by specifying three temperature changes
of -6, -4, and 5 degrees. All loads have now been defined, and the Loading panel should appear as shown below in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Loading Panel During Model Construction

Dowels and Transverse Ties. Enter the dowel and transverse tie modeling parameters panel by clicking on the Dowel tab. In this model, the top two
slabs are travel lanes, and the bottom row is a shoulder. First, make sure that the Looseness checkbox is de-selected, since we will model dowel-slab
interaction with dowel-slab support and restraint moduli. To set the dowel parameters for the transverse joint in the first row, select First Row Dowels
from the list at the upper left of the input panel. Select the Even spacing option, and specify a value of 300 mm for Edge 1 and a total of 11 dowels,
which gives a dowel spacing of 300 mm. In this model, we want to simulate high load transfer efficiency with no dowel-slab bond, i.e. nearly ideal
performance. To do this, change the dowel-slab support modulus from the default value of 1000 MPa/mm to 100,000 MPa/mm, and keep the dowel-slab
restraint modulus fixed at 0. The dowel Diameter will be set to 32 mm. Now, select Second Row Dowels from the list on the upper left of the input panel,
and use the same geometric and material parameters used for the First Row Dowels. The shoulder (bottom row of slabs) is not doweled, which is treated
by setting the number of dowels in the third row to 0.

Both longitudinal joints will be tied with 13 mm diameter, 1000 mm long ties spaced at 600 mm on center. At the bottom of the dowel input panel,
change the tie Spacing for both joint from the default value of 1000 to 600. In addition, change both the Tie-slab support and restraint moduli from their
default values to 100,000 MPa/mm to simulate good tie load transfer and a high degree of bond typical of deformed ties. All dowel and tie parameters
are completely defined, and EverFE should appear as shown below in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Dowel Panel During Model Construction

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Aggregate Interlock. No aggregate interlock will be considered for this model. Click on the Interlock tab, select Linear Model, and set the Joint
Stiffness to 0 MPa/mm. The Joint Opening should be set to 1.0 mm. The aggregate interlock panel will appear as shown below in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Aggregate Interlock Panel During Model Construction

Meshing. Now, click on the Meshing tab and enter the meshing panel. Here, we will use the default meshing parameters with the exception of the
Number of Elements along Y in Row 3, which will be set to 8. The meshing panel will appear as shown below in Figure 6. Note that mesh refinement is
an important issue, and a similar example to this tutorial can be found here.

Figure 6: Meshing Panel During Model Construction

Solve. Now, we are ready to generate a solution. Click on the Solve menu and select Run the Shown Analysis, which will execute the finite-element
solver. There is no need to save the project before running, since it is automatically saved when the analysis is run. While the model is running, a small
frame with a white background will appear that displays details of the progress of the finite-element solution. This particular project requires about 12
minutes to run on a Dell Optiplex with a 2.80 GHz Pentium IV.

View Displaced Shape. Note that the title of the EverFE window now displays Current Project: Example_2 (A Solution Exists). The Visualize menu is
now active, and the model results can be displayed. Start by selecting Displacements from the Visualize menu. This will bring up a dialog box; simply
click OK, and a few seconds later (after the solution has been loaded) the EverFE displacement visualization sub-panel will appear. Click on the Show all
Slabs and the Show the Base checkboxes at the top left of the panel, and then click the View Displacements button. This will bring up a window with a
white background and a picture of the displaced shape of the slab and base layer as shown below in Figure 7. Note how the slabs have separated from
their base at the edges and corners under the action of the negative thermal gradient. The view can be rotated and zoomed. Zooming in and rotating the
view about the z axis gives the view shown in Figure 8, which illustrates the high degree of load transfer at the transverse joint in the upper two rows of
slabs due to the dowels; in contrast, there is substantial differential displacement at the transverse joint in the tied shoulder. Do not close the
visualization window, as this will also end your EverFE session. However, you can minimize the window to reduce screen clutter.

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Figure 7: Displaced Shape

Figure 8: View Showing Differential Joint Displacements

View Stresses. The x-y plane at the top of the slab is the default plane for stress viewing, and the Max Principal stress is also selected by default. The
scaling parameter is set to Local, and the Color Map is selected. Selecting all of the slabs by clicking on each individually in the plan view, clicking on
the View Stresses button, and zooming in with the right mouse button will give visualization window shown below in Figure 9. The view shown in
Figure 9 is a plan view looking down the z-axis; however, the view can be scaled and rotated in three dimensions. The maximum principal stress in this
plane is 1.05 MPa, which occurs the the top center of the upper right slab, which is significantly longer than the other slabs and therefore more affected
by the negative thermal gradient.

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Figure 9: Stresses in x-y Plane at Top of Slabs

View Results for Points. Detailed information on all stress and displacement components can be retrieved at any point in the slabs or base layer. Select
the Results for Points option from the Visualize menu. Set Z to -250 mm in the entry box on the lower right of the panel, which moves the red dot to the
top of the slab. Now, click and drag on the red dot in the plan view to move it around the model; note how coordinates of the dot and the stress and
displacement components are continually updated. Drag the red dot to the position (x, y) = (6910, -280) shown below in Figure 10 ; the maximum
principal stress should read about 0.572 MPa.

Figure 10: Results for Points

Results for Dowels. It is interesting to view the internal forces in the dowels. Select Results for Dowels from the Visualization menu. This will
automatically highlight the uppermost dowel in the model in red, and show a peak shear in this dowel of 5,174 N. Clicking on the dowel below it shows
that it has a peak shear of 4,750 N. Checking each dowel in the model shows that the maximum shear of 20,266 N occurs in the bottom-most dowel
highlighted in Figure 11. With the Fs checkbox selected, click the View Now button to bring up the shear diagram for this dowel shown in Figure 12.
Note the locally high shear that is constant across the joint. This value decays very quickly due to the high dowel-slab support modulus used in this
simulation; use of a softer dowel-slab support modulus will result in a lower peak dowel shear and a more gradual decrease in shear along the embedded
portions of the dowel.

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Figure 11: Selecting the Critical Dowel

Figure 12: Shear Diagram for the Critical Dowel

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Tutorials

Included in this topic are two tutorials designed to give hands-on practice building and solving EverFE2.23 projects, as well as interpreting the finite-
element analysis results. The tutorials vary in complexity: Tutorial 1 examines the construction and solution of a simple model of a single slab subjected
to an axle load and bilinear thermal gradient, while Tutorial 2 considers a model of a six-slab system with doweled joints and transverse ties.

Tutorial 1: Model of a Single Slab

In this example, a model of a single slab founded on two base layers and subjected to a combination of axle and thermal loading will be created, solution
generated, and the results of the simulation interpreted. The example covered here is identical to the solved project "single_slab" that is installed with
EverFE2.23.

Model Creation and Geometry. Begin by starting EverFE, selecting New from the File menu, and creating a blank project with metric units. You will
now be in the Geometry panel with the default single-slab model. The only change that you need to make is adding an elastic subgrade layer by
checking 2 layers in the Base and Subgrade sub-panel; the thickness of the base layer should be 150 mm and the subgrade thickness should be 300 mm.
At this point, save the model using the Save As option under the File menu under the name "Example_1". The EverFE window should now appear as
shown below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Geometry Panel During Model Creation

Material Properties. Now, click on the Material tab to display the Material panel. The default material properties for the slab (E = 28000 MPa) and base
layer (E = 5000 MPa) will be maintained; however, change the subgrade elastic modulus from 200 to 300 MPa, which might be typical for a good
gravel subgrade or sub-base. The other change that we will make is revising the Slab/Base Interface properties. Make sure that the Bonded Base
checkbox is not selected, which implies that the slab and base are unbonded, and the Initial Stiffness and Slip Displacement parameters are both zero,
which implies that there is no shear stress transferred between the slab and base. Change the Initial Stiffness to 1 MPa/mm and the Slip Displacement to
0.1 mm, which will result in shear stresses where there is contact and relative slip at the slab-base interface. The EverFE window will now appear as
shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2: Material Panel During Model Creation

Axle and Thermal Loads. We are now ready to define loads. Click on the Loading tab to bring up the loading panel, which will show no loads on the
model. Click on the Dual Wheel Tandem button to create the corresponding axle load. Only the right half of the axle will appear in the plan and elevation
views, since the center of gravity of the axle is automatically located at the coordinate origin. Center the entire axle at the center of the 4600 mm long
slab by changing the (x, y) coordinates of the axle from the default (0,0) to (2300,0). Alternatively, you can move the axle to the desired location using a
mouse click-and-drag operation. All other axle parameters (Load, L, W, etc.) will remain unchanged from the default values.

Now, let's define a bilinear thermal gradient. Set the parameter "# of Temp. Changes" to 3, and define temperature changes 1, 2 and 3 as -5, -3, and 5,
respectively. This defines a bilinear thermal gradient, where -5 is the temperature change at the top of the slab, -3 is the change at the mid-thickness of
the slab, and 5 is the change at the bottom of the slab. The loading panel will now appear as shown below in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Loading Panel During Model Creation

Meshing. Since only a single slab is being modeled, the Dowel and Interlock tabs are inactive. Click on the Meshing tab to open the meshing panel. This
will cause white lines to be overlaid on the plan and elevation views indicating the default finite-element mesh, which has 12x12 elements in plan, 2
elements through the slab thickness, and 1 element through both the base and subgrade layers. For now, no changes will be made to the default mesh
parameters, although mesh refinement will be considered later in this example. The meshing input panel will appear as shown below in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Meshing Panel During Model Creation

Solve. Now, we are ready to generate a solution. Click on the Solve menu and select Run the Shown Analysis, which will execute the finite-element
solver. There is no need to save the project before running, since it is automatically saved when the analysis is started. While the model is running, a
small frame with a white background will appear that displays details of the progress of the finite-element solution. This particular project requires
about 60 seconds to run on a Dell Optiplex with a 2.80 GHz Pentium IV.

View Displaced Shape. Note that the title of the EverFE window now displays Current Project: Example 1 (A Solution Exists). The Visualize menu is

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now active, and the model results can be displayed. Start by selecting Displacements from the Visualize menu. This will bring up a dialog box; simply
click OK, and a few seconds later (after the solution has been loaded into memory) the EverFE displacement visualization sub-panel will appear. Click
on the Show the Base checkbox at the top left of the panel, and then click the View Displacements button. This will bring up a window with a white
background and a picture of the displaced shape of the slab and base layer as shown below in Figure 5. Note how the slab has separated from the base at
the corners under the action of the bilinear negative thermal gradient. The view can be rotated and zoomed. Do not close the visualization window
shown in Figure 5, as this will also end your EverFE session. However, you can minimize the window to reduce screen clutter.

Figure 5: Displaced Shape of Slab and Base

Stresses are generally the critical result of any analysis. To view stresses, select Stresses from the Visualize menu. This will bring up the stress
visualization panel shown below in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Default Stress Visualization Window

View Stresses. The x-y plane at the top of the slab is the default plane for stress viewing, and the maximum principal stress is also selected by default.
The scaling parameter is set to local, and the Color Map is selected. Clicking on the View Stresses button will bring up the visualization window shown
below in Figure 7. The view shown in Figure 7 is a plan view looking down the z-axis; however, the view can be scaled and rotated in three
dimensions. The maximum stress is 0.341 MPa, which occurs the the top center of the slab.

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Figure 7: Maximum Principal Stresses on Top of Slab

To view stresses on other planes within the slab, change the Horizontal plane to any value between 3 (the bottom) and 7 (the top), either by typing a
number in the entry box or clicking the arrows. Since two elements were used through the slab thickness, there are 5 planes of nodes and thus five
planes with saved stresses numbered 3 - 7. Changing the plane to 5, which is the mid-thickness of the slab, and clicking the View Stresses button brings
up the following colormap of Figure 8; note that with this particular thermal gradient and axle loading, the maximum stress at the mid-thickness is
actually larger than that on top of the slab (0.694 MPa). In addition to viewing stress colormaps, you can retrieve precise values for stresses and
displacements at any point in the slab or base.

Figure 8: Maximum Principal Stresses at Mid-Thickness of Slab

Model Accuracy and Mesh Refinement. At this point, a critical question is the accuracy of the results. The best way to verify the model accuracy is
through a mesh refinement, which is covered in two meshing examples. The current analysis poses some interesting issues, however, arising from the
binlinear thermal gradient and to some extent the slab-base shear transfer due to the 1 MPa/mm shear stiffness at the slab-base interface. To investigate
this issue in the present model, a series of meshes with increasing refinement have been constructed for the model as presented, and for the same model
with a linear thermal gradient (-5o C at the top of slab, 5o C at the bottom of slab). The maximum principal stresses at the top and mid-thickness of the
slab are presented below in Table 1. It is important to note that 30X30 elements in plan are required to demonstrate convergence with the binlinear
thermal gradient, while 12x12 elements gives a reasonable result and 24x24 elements gives an excellent result with the linear thermal gradient.

Table 1: Slab Principal Stresses in MPa (Top/Mid-Thickness)

Number of Element Divisions (x,y,z)

Thermal Gradient
12x12x2 18x18x2 24x24x2 30x30x2 36x36x2
bilinear 0.341/0.692 0.327/0.678 0.322/0.621 0.320/0.593 0.319/0.593
linear 0.965/0.086 0.965/0.101 0.959/0.107 0.956/0.104 0.956/0.097

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Tutorial 2: Model of a Six-Slab System

This example considers a model of a six slab system with skewed joints. In addition to complex geometry, this tutorial illustrates the specification of
dowels and transverse ties, aggregate interlock, nonlinear thermal gradients, and a variety of axle loads. In addition to these tutorials, solved examples
can be found under the topics of mesh refinement; linear aggregate interlock and nonlinear aggregate interlock; and dowel looseness and dowel-slab
support. This example is identical to the solved project "test_2_3_skew" that is installed with EverFE2.23 with the exception of dowel, tie and aggregate
interlock properties.

Model Creation and Geometry. Start model creation from scratch by opening EverFE and using the New-Metric option under the File menu, which will
cause EverFE to display a single slab resting on a single base layer. Now, in the Geometry panel, select a 3 rows, 2 columns layout. Set Column 1 Length
and Column 2 Length to 4600 mm, and set the Column 1 Width and Column 2 Width to 3600 mm. The third row of slabs will be a shoulder, which will
have a width of 1800 mm. The slab thickness should be fixed at 250 mm. Finally, set the First Skew Angle to 15, the Second Skew Angle to -12, and the
Third Skew Angle to 15. A single base layer of 150 mm thick will be considered in the analysis. Save the model as "Example 2" with the Save As option
from the File menu. The basic geometry of the model has now been defined, and the EverFE main window should appear as shown below in Figure 1.
Note that by default, transverse joints are doweled and all longitudinal joints are tied.

Figure 1: Geometry Panel During Model Construction

Material Properties. At this point, we are ready to define material properties. Click on the Material tab. In this example, we will not change the slab
material properties or the dowel and tie properties from the default values; however, set the base layer elastic modulus E to 1000 MPa. The Slab/Base
Interface should be unbonded (i.e. the Bonded Base checkbox must not be checked). Set the Initial Stiffness of the interface to 0.1 MPa/mm and the Slip
Displacement to 0.1 mm. The dense liquid subgrade k should be left at the default value of 0.03 MPa/mm. The material properties are now defined, and
the EverFE main window should appear as shown below in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Material Panel During Model Construction

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Axle and Thermal Loads. The next step is defining the loads. Click on the Loading tab to bring up the Loading panel, and start by creating a Dual
Wheel Tandem axle with a total load of 120 kN (the default value). The axle will appear in blue centered at (x,y) = (0,0); re-position the load to (x,y) =
(3100, -2950), which will locate the lower right wheel pair near the upper left slab corner. Leave all other axle geometric properties at the default values.
Now, create a second axle load by clicking the Dual Wheel Axle button. The default load for this axle is 80 kN, but change it to 120 kN. Locate the axle
at (x,y) = (5100, 650) by manually entering these coordinates in the appropriate entry boxes. The remaining axle parameters should remain at their
default values. The last axle load must be created using the Multi-Wheel Axle button, which by default has three wheels and a load of 120 kN. Change the
number of wheels to six, and position this axle at (x,y) = (2400,2400). Finally, create a bilinear thermal gradient by specifying three temperature changes
of -6, -4, and 5 degrees. All loads have now been defined, and the Loading panel should appear as shown below in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Loading Panel During Model Construction

Dowels and Transverse Ties. Enter the dowel and transverse tie modeling parameters panel by clicking on the Dowel tab. In this model, the top two
slabs are travel lanes, and the bottom row is a shoulder. First, make sure that the Looseness checkbox is de-selected, since we will model dowel-slab
interaction with dowel-slab support and restraint moduli. To set the dowel parameters for the transverse joint in the first row, select First Row Dowels
from the list at the upper left of the input panel. Select the Even spacing option, and specify a value of 300 mm for Edge 1 and a total of 11 dowels,
which gives a dowel spacing of 300 mm. In this model, we want to simulate high load transfer efficiency with no dowel-slab bond, i.e. nearly ideal
performance. To do this, change the dowel-slab support modulus from the default value of 1000 MPa/mm to 100,000 MPa/mm, and keep the dowel-slab
restraint modulus fixed at 0. The dowel Diameter will be set to 32 mm. Now, select Second Row Dowels from the list on the upper left of the input panel,
and use the same geometric and material parameters used for the First Row Dowels. The shoulder (bottom row of slabs) is not doweled, which is treated
by setting the number of dowels in the third row to 0.

Both longitudinal joints will be tied with 13 mm diameter, 1000 mm long ties spaced at 600 mm on center. At the bottom of the dowel input panel,
change the tie Spacing for both joint from the default value of 1000 to 600. In addition, change both the Tie-slab support and restraint moduli from their
default values to 100,000 MPa/mm to simulate good tie load transfer and a high degree of bond typical of deformed ties. All dowel and tie parameters
are completely defined, and EverFE should appear as shown below in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Dowel Panel During Model Construction

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Aggregate Interlock. No aggregate interlock will be considered for this model. Click on the Interlock tab, select Linear Model, and set the Joint
Stiffness to 0 MPa/mm. The Joint Opening should be set to 1.0 mm. The aggregate interlock panel will appear as shown below in Figure 5.

Figure 5: Aggregate Interlock Panel During Model Construction

Meshing. Now, click on the Meshing tab and enter the meshing panel. Here, we will use the default meshing parameters with the exception of the
Number of Elements along Y in Row 3, which will be set to 8. The meshing panel will appear as shown below in Figure 6. Note that mesh refinement is
an important issue, and a similar example to this tutorial can be found here.

Figure 6: Meshing Panel During Model Construction

Solve. Now, we are ready to generate a solution. Click on the Solve menu and select Run the Shown Analysis, which will execute the finite-element
solver. There is no need to save the project before running, since it is automatically saved when the analysis is run. While the model is running, a small
frame with a white background will appear that displays details of the progress of the finite-element solution. This particular project requires about 12
minutes to run on a Dell Optiplex with a 2.80 GHz Pentium IV.

View Displaced Shape. Note that the title of the EverFE window now displays Current Project: Example_2 (A Solution Exists). The Visualize menu is
now active, and the model results can be displayed. Start by selecting Displacements from the Visualize menu. This will bring up a dialog box; simply
click OK, and a few seconds later (after the solution has been loaded) the EverFE displacement visualization sub-panel will appear. Click on the Show all
Slabs and the Show the Base checkboxes at the top left of the panel, and then click the View Displacements button. This will bring up a window with a
white background and a picture of the displaced shape of the slab and base layer as shown below in Figure 7. Note how the slabs have separated from
their base at the edges and corners under the action of the negative thermal gradient. The view can be rotated and zoomed. Zooming in and rotating the
view about the z axis gives the view shown in Figure 8, which illustrates the high degree of load transfer at the transverse joint in the upper two rows of
slabs due to the dowels; in contrast, there is substantial differential displacement at the transverse joint in the tied shoulder. Do not close the
visualization window, as this will also end your EverFE session. However, you can minimize the window to reduce screen clutter.

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Figure 7: Displaced Shape

Figure 8: View Showing Differential Joint Displacements

View Stresses. The x-y plane at the top of the slab is the default plane for stress viewing, and the Max Principal stress is also selected by default. The
scaling parameter is set to Local, and the Color Map is selected. Selecting all of the slabs by clicking on each individually in the plan view, clicking on
the View Stresses button, and zooming in with the right mouse button will give visualization window shown below in Figure 9. The view shown in
Figure 9 is a plan view looking down the z-axis; however, the view can be scaled and rotated in three dimensions. The maximum principal stress in this
plane is 1.05 MPa, which occurs the the top center of the upper right slab, which is significantly longer than the other slabs and therefore more affected
by the negative thermal gradient.

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Figure 9: Stresses in x-y Plane at Top of Slabs

View Results for Points. Detailed information on all stress and displacement components can be retrieved at any point in the slabs or base layer. Select
the Results for Points option from the Visualize menu. Set Z to -250 mm in the entry box on the lower right of the panel, which moves the red dot to the
top of the slab. Now, click and drag on the red dot in the plan view to move it around the model; note how coordinates of the dot and the stress and
displacement components are continually updated. Drag the red dot to the position (x, y) = (6910, -280) shown below in Figure 10 ; the maximum
principal stress should read about 0.572 MPa.

Figure 10: Results for Points

Results for Dowels. It is interesting to view the internal forces in the dowels. Select Results for Dowels from the Visualization menu. This will
automatically highlight the uppermost dowel in the model in red, and show a peak shear in this dowel of 5,174 N. Clicking on the dowel below it shows
that it has a peak shear of 4,750 N. Checking each dowel in the model shows that the maximum shear of 20,266 N occurs in the bottom-most dowel
highlighted in Figure 11. With the Fs checkbox selected, click the View Now button to bring up the shear diagram for this dowel shown in Figure 12.
Note the locally high shear that is constant across the joint. This value decays very quickly due to the high dowel-slab support modulus used in this
simulation; use of a softer dowel-slab support modulus will result in a lower peak dowel shear and a more gradual decrease in shear along the embedded
portions of the dowel.

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Figure 11: Selecting the Critical Dowel

Figure 12: Shear Diagram for the Critical Dowel

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