Specification of Wheel and Axle Loads
Wheel/axle loads are created by clicking on any one of the six buttons at the top of the load panel. The load will automatically appear in blue at (x,y) = (0,0) in the system plan view, and can now be moved to any desired position by a mouse click-and-drag operation in the plan view. Up to 100 individual wheel or axle loads can be simultaneously applied to the model. Any existing wheel or axle load can be highlighted by clicking on it, which changes its color from black to blue. To delete an existing load, first highlight it with a left mouse click, and then right mouse-click to delete.
When a load is created or highlighted, a graphic appears in the load input panel showing the load magnitude and wheel/axle geometry as illustrated in Figure 1 below. The user can enter desired values for all geometric parameters in the appropriate units. The geometric parameters A, B, L, W and S are detailed in the EverFE graphic. The x and y values are the distances from the center of gravity of the axle to the model coordinate origin.
Figure 1: Axle Load and Geometry Definition
Tip: To accurately position a load near a slab corner or edge without typing in coordinates, zoom in on the region where you want to place the load, and drag the load into position with the mouse. Be careful to ensure that each wheel in the axle is located entirely on a slab, since portions of the wheel not on the slab can degrade solution accuracy.