Test data files¶

Getting started · 5 of 6

Every import in HRC Designer reads the same thing: two numeric columns. The first column is the x quantity, the second is the y quantity. Everything else in the file is ignored.

File format¶

Import button	Column 1	Column 2
Import Exp. Data on the Load-Deflection tab	Mid-span deflection	Load
Import Exp. Data on the Load-CMOD tab (EN 14651 module)	Measured CMOD	Load
Import Exp. Data on the Tension Model tab	Tensile strain	Tensile stress
Import Crack Data on the Tension Model tab (EN 14651 module)	Crack width	Tensile stress
Import Exp. Data on the Compression Model tab	Compressive strain	Compressive stress

Version note. In earlier builds the notched-beam tab is named Load-Crack Width and its import offers a fixed CMOD-to-CTOD conversion. Reading the measured CMOD exactly as imported belongs to the EN 14651 change listed under Unreleased in the release notes. The unnotched-beam and compression imports in the table are unchanged.

Rules:

Accepted files: .xlsx, .xls, .csv and .txt. Any delimiter works for text files, and a comma decimal separator is recognised.
Header rows, unit rows and text cells are skipped. Numbers stored as text are read.
A file with more than two numeric columns opens a small dialog that asks which two columns to use.
Values must be in the module's current unit system. Deflection and crack width in mm or inch, load in N or lbf, stress in MPa or psi, strain as a fraction of 1 when imported (the boxes then display it in percent).
The first row is the origin of the test. A curve that starts at a negative deflection or crack width triggers a prompt that offers to shift it to zero.

Curve stack¶

Each import adds a curve to the plot and makes it the active curve, shown in the legend as Experimental Curve n (Active). Auto-Fit always fits the active curve. Clear Exp. Data removes the most recent curve first, so several specimens can be compared on one plot and cleared one by one.

Sanity check on import¶

Before any fit, the imported curve is compared with the beam on screen. The check reports a probable unit mismatch when:

the peak load implies a flexural stress above 80 MPa, or below 0.3 MPa, on the beam geometry entered;
the largest deflection is more than a fifth of the span;
the largest crack width exceeds the section depth;
the x column runs backwards in places, which points to unloading loops or a sensor that was reset;
fewer than a handful of points were found.

The dialog names the number that looks wrong and the unit conversion that would explain it (N read as kN, mm read as inch). Fix the file or flip the US / SI switch, then import again.

Example files¶

The records and projects used by the worked examples in this manual are downloadable here, for use with your own copy of the modules. All are in SI units. They are the files this manual is written on; the reference project a module loads with File → Open Example Project is chosen separately and may be a different specimen.

Measured records, two columns, for the import buttons above:

File	Use in
ASTM_C1609_example_load_deflection_SI.xlsx	ASTM C1609 module, Load-Deflection tab. Beam 150 × 150 mm, 450 mm span, 4-point bending, load spacing 150 mm.
EN14651_example_load_CMOD_SI.xlsx	EN 14651 module. Specimen 70A of Colombo et al. (2023): SFRC prism 150 × 150 × 500 mm span, 25 mm notch, fiber type A at 70 kg/m³.
TRC_example_load_deflection_SI.xlsx	TRC module, Load-Deflection tab.

Whole projects, geometry and material laws and record together, for File → Open:

File	Use in
ASTM_C1609_first_example_SI.mat	ASTM C1609 module. The FRC beam with a 150 × 150 mm section and 450 mm span of Run your first example and of the ASTM C1609 page, with its fitted tension law.
EN14651_70A_worked_example_SI.mat	EN 14651 module. Specimen 70A, the worked study of the EN 14651 page, fitted under the measured-CMOD workflow listed under Unreleased in the release notes.

Material laws for File → Import Material in the design modules:

File	Use in
material_ASTM_C1609_example.xlsx	Hybrid, FRP and Cross-Sectional modules. A matching material workbook for the ASTM C1609 beam above, carrying the `Tension_Data`, `Compression_Data` and `Input_Parameters` sheets. It is not a full output workbook; Download Output Data writes more sheets than these.