Rev 12.0 is a major release for our newer software. With this release, on most machines, two new configuration files are available. When a program is first executed, it will attempt to open a file ultra.mac in the installation directory. This file can be used to store and load into the program any installation specific macros. Also, each time the program is executed, it will attempt to open a file ultra.cus in the same directory. This file can be used to "customize" the program for your particular installation. On a SUN, the program will also attempt to open the file ~/ultra.cus so that each user can customize the program to suite his tastes. A new option -US_DATE has been added to the &DEVICE command. This option allows one to change the date printed from the US style to the more command one in which the day precedes the month.

In our on-going effort to make the general operation of the software more understandable, several changes have been made to &PARMS and &DEFAULT. Many of the options of &PARMS were moved to &DEFAULT, and some of the options of &DEFAULT were moved to a new command &REP_SEL. In particular, the options -VERT, -HORIZ, -HEIPNT, -NUMP, -PROB and -STGAXIS were moved from &PARMS to &DEFAULT. Also, the options -LOADS, -CLASS, -NODE, -ELEMENT, -BODY, -PART, -LGROUP, and -GROUP were moved from &DEFAULT to &REP_SEL. Finally, -ALLOW option of &PARMS has been moved to the MOMENT command, and the -PROB option of &ENV has been deleted.

The manuals have been changed so that the units required in both imperial and SI units are specified when commands are defined. Also, all programs now accept a definition of the density by giving the specific gravity instead of density. In other words, the option -SPGRAVITY was added to &DEFAULT and to the class definition commands and the option -SPGWATER was added to &PARMS command. In the reports which previously reported density, specific gravity is now reported.

The options -SAVE and -REMEMBER have been added to the &DEFAULT command. These operate in a similar fashion to the same options of &PARMS, and they allow one to "temporarily" change defaults and later return to the previous settings.

A new option, -CMFAC has been added to the &DEFAULT and BEAM commands. This option allows one to define the CM factors which will be used in code checking the element. Also, the options -KY and -KZ have been replaced with the single option -KFAC. The original ones have been removed from the documentation, but will remain valid for the near future.

Several features have been added for wind force computation. First, a new option has been added to &PARMS so that the shape coefficient for tubular members can be altered. In the past, it was set to .5 and this is now the default, but the user can alter it with -WCSTUBE. Second, a new option -W_PROFILE has been added to &ENV. In the past, the wind speed variation with height was accounted for via the ABS height coefficients. This is still the default, but by using the new option, one can specify a power for a power law height variation.

Several new options were added to the class definition command so that the weight per length, displacement per length, wind diameter, drag diameter, buoyancy diameter, and added mass diameter can be over-ridden. This allows one to alter the class and not have to add #ELATs for each class one wishes to alter. Also, the way of defining classes for connectors has completely changed. The old way is still available, but has been remove from the documentation.

Several additional attributes have been added to compartments, and a new command has been added to define them. In particular, one can now specify the specific gravity of the {{contents}} of compartments. The commands: SECT, LOCATION, and VALVE have been deleted and a new command CMP_ATTR has been added. This new command which is valid both during an inmodel and in the MEDIT menu, allows one to specify the SECT properties for longitudinal strength, the location, diameter and friction factor for valves, the minimum percent full, and the density of the contents of a compartment.

Since the "newton" option of EQUI has proven to be quite reliable, the default has been changed to be -NEWTON YES. Also, the default for &ENV has been changed from -SCALE YES to -SCALE NO.

Several changes have been made in the frequency domain. First, the areas use to compute the viscous drag for Morrisons' elements are now generated each time the response operators are computed. Thus, one can now add elements, alter the drag coefficients, etc. and re-compute the RAOs without performing a new PRCOMP.

In the past, the wave height and clearance which resulted from the TIME command were not really correct unless the point at which the RAO was computed was the vessel origin. This has been fixed so that now, the wave height is the true wave height at the point where the motion is computed. Consequently, the clearance is now a true measure of the clearance between the point and the water surface.

The -TIME option in the process post-processing menu has been changed to -EVENT to make it more applicable to static process post-processing. The -TIME option remains, but has been removed from the documentation.

Several additions have been made in structural post-processing. In the past, the stress concentration factors computed for tubular joint fatigue were according to Kwang and Smedley. One now has the option of using API stress concentration factors instead of these. Also, the "report limits" are now honored for all fatigue computations, and all fatigue computations have summaries and detail reports. A new option, -EXP_CODE, has been added to the CODECK command which alters the report to include the allowables.

The final changes are available at an extra charge, and they allow one the define "rod" connectors and pipe assemblies. A rod connector is an assembly of large deflection beam elements which have inertia and which can have a load which acts along the length of the connector. This type of connection allows one to investigate the effects of "structural dynamics" of mooring lines and TLP tendons. Pipe assemblies are simply a rod element combined with other connectors so that one can simulate the laying of pipe from either a stinger or from a set of davits.