Buildings can be divided into various types and described by a huge number of parameters. Within the life cycle of a building, especially during the design and construction phases, a lot of engineers with different points of view, proprietary applications and data formats are involved. The collaboration of all participating engineers is characterised by a high amount of communication. Due to these aspects, a homogeneous building model for all engineers is not feasible. The status quo of civil engineering is the segmentation of the complete model into partial models. Currently, the interdependencies of these partial models are not in the focus of available engineering solutions. This paper addresses the problem of coupling partial models in civil engineering. According to the state-of-the-art, applications and partial models are formulated by the object-oriented method. Although this method solves basic communication problems like subclass coupling directly it was found that many relevant coupling problems remain to be solved. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse and classify the relevant coupling types in building modelling. Coupling in computer science refers to the relationship between modules and their mutual interaction and can be divided into different coupling types. The coupling types differ on the degree by which the coupled modules rely upon each other. This is exemplified by a general reference example from civil engineering. A uniform formulation of coupling patterns is described analogously to design patterns, which are a common methodology in software engineering. Design patterns are templates for describing a general reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem. A template is independent of the programming language and the operating system. These coupling patterns are selected according to the specific problems of building modelling. A specific meta-model for coupling problems in civil engineering is introduced. In our meta-model the coupling patterns are a semantic description of a specific coupling design.
Safety operation of important civil structures such as bridges can be estimated by using fracture analysis. Since the analytical methods are not capable of solving many complicated engineering problems, numerical methods have been increasingly adopted. In this paper, a part of isotropic material which contains a crack is considered as a partial model and the proposed model quality is evaluated. EXtended IsoGeometric Analysis (XIGA) is a new developed numerical approach [1, 2] which benefits from advantages of its origins: eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) and IsoGeometric Analysis (IGA). It is capable of simulating crack propagation problems with no remeshing necessity and capturing singular field at the crack tip by using the crack tip enrichment functions. Also, exact representation of geometry is possible using only few elements. XIGA has also been successfully applied for fracture analysis of cracked orthotropic bodies [3] and for simulation of curved cracks [4]. XIGA applies NURBS functions for both geometry description and solution field approximation. The drawback of NURBS functions is that local refinement cannot be defined regarding that it is based on tensorproduct constructs unless multiple patches are used which has also some limitations. In this contribution, the XIGA is further developed to make the local refinement feasible by using Tspline basis functions. Adopting a recovery based error estimator in the proposed approach for evaluation of the model quality and performing the adaptive processes is in progress. Finally, some numerical examples with available analytical solutions are investigated by the developed scheme.
Polymer modification of mortar and concrete is a widely used technique in order to improve their durability properties. Hitherto, the main application fields of such materials are repair and restoration of buildings. However, due to the constant increment of service life requirements and the cost efficiency, polymer modified concrete (PCC) is also used for construction purposes. Therefore, there is a demand for studying the mechanical properties of PCC and entitative differences compared to conventional concrete (CC). It is significant to investigate whether all the assumed hypotheses and existing analytical formulations about CC are also valid for PCC. In the present study, analytical models available in the literature are evaluated. These models are used for estimating mechanical properties of concrete. The investigated property in this study is the modulus of elasticity, which is estimated with respect to the value of compressive strength. One existing database was extended and adapted for polymer-modified concrete mixtures along with their experimentally measured mechanical properties. Based on the indexed data a comparison between model predictions and experiments was conducted by calculation of forecast errors.
A topology optimization method has been developed for structures subjected to multiple load cases (Example of a bridge pier subjected to wind loads, traffic, superstructure...). We formulate the problem as a multi-criterial optimization problem, where the compliance is computed for each load case. Then, the Epsilon constraint method (method proposed by Chankong and Haimes, 1971) is adapted. The strategy of this method is based on the concept of minimizing the maximum compliance resulting from the critical load case while the other remaining compliances are considered in the constraints. In each iteration, the compliances of all load cases are computed and only the maximum one is minimized. The topology optimization process is switching from one load to another according to the variation of the resulting compliance. In this work we will motivate and explain the proposed methodology and provide some numerical examples.
Numerical simulations in the general field of civil engineering are common for the design process of structures and/or the assessment of existing buildings. The behaviour of these structures is analytically unknown and is approximated with numerical simulation methods like the Finite Element Method (FEM). Therefore the real structure is transferred into a global model (GM, e.g. concrete bridge) with a wide range of sub models (partial models PM, e.g. material modelling, creep). These partial models are coupled together to predict the behaviour of the observed structure (GM) under different conditions. The engineer needs to decide which models are suitable for computing realistically and efficiently the physical processes determining the structural behaviour. Theoretical knowledge along with the experience from prior design processes will influence this model selection decision. It is thus often a qualitative selection of different models. The goal of this paper is to present a quantitative evaluation of the global model quality according to the simulation of a bridge subject to direct loading (dead load, traffic) and indirect loading (temperature), which induce restraint effects. The model quality can be separately investigated for each partial model and also for the coupled partial models in a global structural model. Probabilistic simulations are necessary for the evaluation of these model qualities by using Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis. The method is applied to the simulation of a semi-integral concrete bridge with a monolithic connection between the superstructure and the piers, and elastomeric bearings at the abutments. The results show that the evaluation of global model quality is strongly dependent on the sensitivity of the considered partial models and their related quantitative prediction quality. This method is not only a relative comparison between different models, but also a quantitative representation of model quality using probabilistic simulation methods, which can support the process of model selection for numerical simulations in research and practice.
The evident advances of the computational power of the digital computers enable the modeling of the total system of structures. Such modeling demands compatible representations of the couplings of different structural subsystems. Therefore, models of dynamic interaction between the vehicle and the bridge and models of a bridge bearing, a coupling element between the bridge's superstructure and substructure, are of interest and discussed within this paper. The vehicle-bridge interaction may be described as a function connecting two sets of behavior. In this case, the coupling is embodied by mutual parameters that affect both systems, such as the frequency content of the bridge and the vehicle. Whereas the bridge bearings are elements used specifically to couple, in such elements the deformation and the transferred loads are used in characterizing the coupling The nature of these couplings and their influence on the bridge response is different. However, the need to assess the amount of dynamic response transferred by or within these couplings is a common argument.
With the advances of the computer technology, structural optimization has become a prominent field in structural engineering. In this study an unconventional approach of structural optimization is presented which utilize the Energy method with Integral Material behaviour (EIM), based on the Lagrange’s principle of minimum potential energy. The equilibrium condition with the EIM, as an alternative method for nonlinear analysis, is secured through minimization of the potential energy as an optimization problem. Imposing this problem as an additional constraint on a higher cost function of a structural property, a bilevel programming problem is formulated. The nested strategy of solution of the bilevel problem is used, treating the energy and the upper objective function as separate optimization problems. Utilizing the convexity of the potential energy, gradient based algorithms are employed for its minimization and the upper cost function is minimized using the gradient free algorithms, due to its unknown properties. Two practical examples are considered in order to prove the efficiency of the method. The first one presents a sizing problem of I steel section within encased composite cross section, utilizing the material nonlinearity. The second one is a discrete shape optimization of a steel truss bridge, which is compared to a previous study based on the Finite Element Method.
The process of analysis and design in structural engineering requires the consideration of different partial models, for example loading, structural materials, structural elements, and analysis types. The various partial models are combined by coupling several of their components. Due to the large number of available partial models describing similar phenomena, many different model combinations are possible to simulate the same aspects of a structure. The challenging task of an engineer is to select a model combination that ensures a sufficient, reliable prognosis. In order to achieve this reliable prognosis of the overall structural behavior, a high individual quality of the partial models and an adequate coupling of the partial models is required. Several methodologies have been proposed to evaluate the quality of partial models for their intended application, but a detailed study of the coupling quality is still lacking. This paper proposes a new approach to assess the coupling quality of partial models in a quantitative manner. The approach is based on the consistency of the coupled data and applies for uni- and bidirectional coupled partial models. Furthermore, the influence of the coupling quality on the output quantities of the partial models is considered. The functionality of the algorithm and the effect of the coupling quality are demonstrated using an example of coupled partial models in structural engineering.
Tests on Polymer Modified Cement Concrete (PCC) have shown significant large creep deformation. The reasons for that as well as additional material phenomena are explained in the following paper. Existing creep models developed for standard concrete are studied to determine the time-dependent deformations of PCC. These models are: model B3 by Bažant and Bajewa, the models according to Model Code 90 and ACI 209 as well as model GL2000 by Gardner and Lockman. The calculated creep strains are compared to existing experimental data of PCC and the differences are pointed out. Furthermore, an optimization of the model parameters is performed to fit the models to the experimental data to achieve a better model prognosis.
Known as a sophisticated phenomenon in civil engineering problems, soil structure interaction has been under deep investigations in the field of Geotechnics. On the other hand, advent of powerful computers has led to development of numerous numerical methods to deal with this phenomenon, resulting in a wide variety of methods trying to simulate the behavior of the soil stratum. This survey studies two common approaches to model the soil’s behavior in a system consisting of a structure with two degrees of freedom, representing a two-storey frame structure made of steel, with the column resting on a pile embedded into sand in laboratory scale. The effect of soil simulation technique on the dynamic behavior of the structure is of major interest in the study. Utilized modeling approaches are the so-called Holistic method, and substitution of soil with respective impedance functions.