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How ILX Calcs is tested
What the verification report says: published examples where they exist, hand calculations where they do not, every difference recorded, and what is still to come.
Transcript
How ILX Calcs is tested.
What this is
When you put your name on a calculation, you should know what stands behind the numbers, and what does not yet. Here is what the verification report says.
The claim
Every calculation type is tested, on every change, against published design examples and code tables where they exist, and against hand calculations from the code equations where they do not.
The numbers
In this release, more than 2,000 worked examples compare more than 7,000 values. Most of the values match, within a stated tolerance. There are no unexplained failures. Every other value is a documented difference, and there are more than 200 of those.
Published examples
Most of the examples come from published sources: the AISC Design Examples and the Steel Manual, the American Wood Council's tables and examples, StructurePoint, CRSI, SSMA and others. Each one is entered as printed, run through the program, and compared. You can read them yourself in the app, under Settings, Verification, example by example.
Hand calculations
Where no published example runs through a whole calculation, the test is a hand calculation, worked out from the code equations, independently of the program. Nearly 400 examples are of this kind. That is weaker evidence than a published result, because it shows the program does what we read the code to say. The report labels which is which, type by type.
Recorded differences
When ILX Calcs and a publication differ, the reason is written down: rounding, a chart read by eye, a newer edition, an error in the publication, or a different method. Nothing is quietly skipped. Some differences are on the less conservative side, and the entry says so.
The test suite
Beyond the worked examples, an automated test suite checks unusual inputs, US and metric units, LRFD and ASD, reports, drawings and edge cases, and runs on every change before a release.
What is still to come
Here is what is not done. A full code review, of every module against purchased copies of the current codes, is still to come. Today, some modules are written from older editions or from published summaries, because the current document is not yet on hand. Their clauses are marked, to confirm against the code text, in the checks. And the truss designers carry a preview label, because no published complete truss example is on file.
You are the engineer of record
So use the report for what it is. It shows what was compared. It does not replace your judgment. You remain the engineer of record, and the calculation is yours to check.
The verification report
All of it is on the verification page, free to read, with a PDF to download, for the release you are using.
ILX Calcs. Learn more at ilxcalcs.com, or write to us at services@ilxstudio.com. ILX Studio, LLC is not affiliated with any code organization.