First introduced in 1976 under the sponsorship of FHWA, CANDE is a design and analysis tool for all types and sizes of buried structures. CANDE is widely used by state DOTs, industries, consulting firms, and universities in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, and Australia. CANDE provides an elastic solution (Level 1), automated finite element mesh generation for common configurations (Level 2), and a user-defined finite element mesh (Level 3). The earlier version, CANDE-89, operates in a batch-mode environment. Significant changes have occurred in computer technology since the issuance of CANDE-89, such as Windows®-based programming environments. Moreover, recent NCHRP studies have introduced new design criteria and analysis techniques, which have been incorporated into AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications. The objective of NCHRP Project 15-28 was to modernize and upgrade CANDE-89. The http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_rpt_619.pdfproducts of this research are CANDE-2007, a user-friendly Windows®-based, buried structure analysis and load and resistance factor design program; a comprehensive user’s manual and system manual; and a tutorial. Enhancements over earlier versions include an updated finite element analysis engine and graphical tools for interpreting the CANDE output. This report may be accessed by Internet users at The CANDE analysis solver was enhanced to include an automated bandwidth minimizer, an algorithm for predicting large deformations, and LRFD design methodology. In addition to the solver enhancements, an integrated environment was developed to allow input through a menu-driven Windows® interface, a viewer to plot the finite element mesh geometry and results, an output report generator, a graph viewer to review and plot culvert element responses, and a context-sensitive help system. This research was performed by Michael Baker Jr., Inc. assisted by Michael G. Katona and Simpson, Gumpertz and Heger Inc. The report fully documents the software development effort leading to CANDE-2007. (Author/publisher).
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