Refine
Document Type
- Conference Proceeding (286)
- Article (3)
Institute
- In Zusammenarbeit mit der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (174)
- Graduiertenkolleg 1462 (31)
- Professur Informatik im Bauwesen (24)
- Institut für Strukturmechanik (ISM) (22)
- Professur Angewandte Mathematik (18)
- Institut für Konstruktiven Ingenieurbau (IKI) (8)
- Professur Stahlbau (4)
- Institut für Bauinformatik, Mathematik und Bauphysik (IBMB) (3)
- Professur Informatik in der Architektur (3)
- Professur Stochastik und Optimierung (3)
- Professur Bodenmechanik (2)
- Professur Computer Vision in Engineering (2)
- Professur Baubetrieb und Bauverfahren (1)
- Professur Bauphysik (1)
- Professur Informations- und Wissensverarbeitung (1)
- Professur Massivbau I (1)
- Professur Tragwerkslehre (1)
Keywords
- Computerunterstütztes Verfahren (289) (remove)
In spite of the extensive research in dynamic soil-structure interaction (SSI), there still exist miscon-ceptions concerning the role of SSI in the seismic performance of structures, especially the ones founded on soft soil. This is due to the fact that current analytical SSI models that are used to evaluate the influence of soil on the overall structural behavior are approximate models and may involve creeds and practices that are not always precise. This is especially true in the codified approaches which in-clude substantial approximations to provide simple frameworks for the design. As the direct numerical analysis requires a high computational effort, performing an analysis considering SSI is computationally uneconomical for regular design applications. This paper outlines the set up some milestones for evaluating SSI models. This will be achieved by investigating the different assumptions and involved factors, as well as varying the configurations of R/C moment-resisting frame structures supported by single footings which are subject to seismic excita-tions. It is noted that the scope of this paper is to highlight, rather than fully resolve, the above subject. A rough draft of the proposed approach is presented in this paper, whereas a thorough illustration will be carried out throughout the presentation in the course of the conference.
Low-skilled labor makes a significant part of the construction sector, performing daily production tasks that do not require specific technical knowledge or confirmed skills. Today, construction market demands increasing skill levels. Many jobs that were once considered to be undertaken by low or un-skilled labor, now demand some kind of formal skills. The jobs that require low skilled labor are continually decreasing due to technological advancement and globalization. Jobs that previously required little or no training now require skilful people to perform the tasks appropriately. The study aims at ameliorating employability of less skilled manpower by finding ways to instruct them for performing constructions tasks. A review of exiting task instruction methodologies in construction and the underlying gaps within them warrants an appropriate way to train and instruct low skilled workers for the tasks in construction. The idea is to ensure the required quality of construction with technological and didactic aids seeming particularly purposeful to prepare potential workers for the tasks in construction without exposing them to existing communication barriers. A BIM based technology is considered promising along with the integration of visual directives/animations to elaborate the construction tasks scheduled to be carried on site.
MODEL DESCRIBING STATIC AND DYNAMIC DISPLACEMENTS OF SILOS WALL DURING THE FLOW OF LOOSE MATERIAL
(2012)
Correct evaluation of wall displacements is a key matter when designing silos. This issue is important from both the standpoint of design engineer (load-bearing capacity of structures) and end-consumer (durability of structures). Commonplace methods of silo design mainly focus on satisfying limit states of load-bearing capacity. Current standards fail to specify methods of dynamic displacements analysis. Measurements of stressacting on silo walls prove that the actual stress is sum of static and dynamic stresses. Janssen came up with differential equation describing state of static equilibrium in cross-section of a silo. By solving the equation static stress of granular solid on silo walls can be determined. Equations of motion were determined from equilibrium equations of feature objects. General solution, describing dynamic stresses was presented as parametric model. This paper presents particular integrals of differential equation, which enable analysing displacements and vibrations for different rigidities of silo walls, types of granular solid and its flow rate.
The paper is a proposal of calculation of internal forces and dislocations in the reinforced concrete beams before and after cracking. For the ideally elastic bars transfer matrix proposed by Rakowski was applied. The effects associated with cracking were introduced by means of the Borcz's theory in the spectrally way. Numerical example was shown. The presented attitude also enables to calculate dynamic problems and those connected with the stability of the compressed and bending cracked beams and columns.
In this paper experimental studies and numerical analysis carried out on reinforced concrete beam are partially reported. They aimed to apply the rigid finite element method to calculations for reinforced concrete beams using discrete crack model. Hence rotational ductility resulting from crack occurrence had to be determined. A relationship for calculating it in static equilibrium was proposed. Laboratory experiments proved that dynamic ductility is considerably smaller. Therefore scaling of the empirical parameter was carried out. Consequently a formula for its value depending on reinforcement ratio was obtained.
DISCRETE CRACK MODEL OF BORCZ FOR CALCULATING THE DEFLECTIONS OF BENDING REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAM
(2012)
In the design of the reinforced concrete beams loaded by the bending moment, it is assumed that the structure can be used at a level of load, that there are local discontinuities - cracks. Designing the element demands checking two limit states of construction, load capacity and usability. Limit states usability include also the deflection of the element. Deflections in the reinforced concrete beams with cracks are based on actual rigidity of the element. After cracking there is a local change in rigidity of the beam. The rigidity is variable in the element’s length and due to the heterogeneous structure of concrete, it is not possible to clearly describe those changes. Most standards of testing methods tend to simplify the calculations and take the average value of the beam’s rigidity on its entire length. The rigidity depends on the level of the maximal load of the beam. Experimental researches verify the value by inserting the coefficients into the formulas used in the theory of elasticity. The researches describe the changes in rigidity in the beam’s length more precisely. The authors take into consideration the change of rigidity, depending on the level of maximum load (continuum models), or localize the changes in rigidity in the area of the cracks (discrete models). This paper presents one of the discrete models. It is distinguished by the fact that the left side of the differential equation, that depends on the rigidity, is constant, and all effects associated with the scratches are taken as the external load and placed on the right side of the equation. This allows to generalize the description. The paper presents a particular integral of the differential equation, which allow analyzing the displacement and vibration for different rigidity of the silo’s walls, the flow rate and type of the flowing material.
FREE VIBRATION FREQUENCIES OF THE CRACKED REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS - METHODS OF CALCULATIONS
(2010)
The paper presents method of calculation of natural frequencies of the cracked reinforced concrete beams including discreet model of crack. The described method is based on the stiff finite elements method. It was modified in such a way as to take into account local discontinuities (ie. cracks). In addition, some theoretical studies as well as experimental tests of concrete mechanics based on discrete crack model were taken into consideration. The calculations were performed using the author’s own numerical algorithm. Moreover, other calculation methods of dynamic reinforced concrete beams presented in standards and guidelines are discussed. Calculations performed by using different methods are compared with the results obtained in experimental tests.
This article presents the Rigid Finite Element Method in the calculation of reinforced concrete beam deflection with cracks. Initially, this method was used in the shipbuilding industry. Later, it was adapted in the homogeneous calculations of the bar structures. In this method, rigid mass discs serve as an element model. In the flat layout, three generalized coordinates (two translational and one rotational) correspond to each disc. These discs are connected by elastic ties. The genuine idea is to take into account a discrete crack in the Rigid Finite Element Method. It consists in the suitable reduction of the rigidity in rotational ties located in the spots, where cracks occurred. The susceptibility of this tie results from the flexural deformability of the element and the occurrence of the crack. As part of the numerical analyses, the influence of cracks on the total deflection of beams was determined. Furthermore, the results of the calculations were compared to the results of the experiment. Overestimations of the calculated deflections against the measured deflections were found. The article specifies the size of the overestimation and describes its causes.
This paper deals with the development of a new multi-objective evolution strategy in combination with an integrated pollution-load and water-quality model. The optimization algorithm combines the advantages of the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm and Self-Adaptive Evolution Strategies. The identification of a good spread of solutions on the pareto-optimum front and the optimization of a large number of decision variables equally demands numerous simulation runs. In addition, statements with regard to the frequency of critical concentrations and peak discharges require continuous long-term simulations. Therefore, a fast operating integrated simulation model is needed providing the required precision of the results. For this purpose, a hydrological deterministic pollution-load model has been coupled with a river water-quality and a rainfall-runoff model. Wastewater treatment plants are simulated in a simplified way. The functionality of the optimization and simulation tool has been validated by analyzing a real catchment area including sewer system, WWTP, water body and natural river basin. For the optimization/rehabilitation of the urban drainage system, both innovative and approved measures have been examined and used as decision variables. As objective functions, investment costs and river water quality criteria have been used.
This paper presents a methodology for uncertainty quantification in cyclic creep analysis. Several models- , namely BP model, Whaley and Neville model, modified MC90 for cyclic loading and modified Hyperbolic function for cyclic loading are used for uncertainty quantification. Three types of uncertainty are included in Uncertainty Quantification (UQ): (i) natural variability in loading and materials properties; (ii) data uncertainty due to measurement errors; and (iii) modelling uncertainty and errors during cyclic creep analysis. Due to the consideration of all type of uncertainties, a measure for the total variation of the model response is achieved. The study finds that the BP, modified Hyperbolic and modified MC90 are best performing models for cyclic creep prediction in that order. Further, global Sensitivity Analysis (SA) considering the uncorrelated and correlated parameters is used to quantify the contribution of each source of uncertainty to the overall prediction uncertainty and to identifying the important parameters. The error in determining the input quantities and model itself can produce significant changes in creep prediction values. The variability influence of input random quantities on the cyclic creep was studied by means of the stochastic uncertainty and sensitivity analysis namely the Gartner et al. method and Saltelli et al. method. All input imperfections were considered to be random quantities. The Latin Hypercube Sampling (LHS) numerical simulation method (Monte Carlo type method) was used. It has been found by the stochastic sensitivity analysis that the cyclic creep deformation variability is most sensitive to the Elastic modulus of concrete, compressive strength, mean stress, cyclic stress amplitude, number of cycle, in that order.
The modeling of crack propagation in plain and reinforced concrete structures is still a field for many researchers. If a macroscopic description of the cohesive cracking process of concrete is applied, generally the Fictitious Crack Model is utilized, where a force transmission over micro cracks is assumed. In the most applications of this concept the cohesive model represents the relation between the normal crack opening and the normal stress, which is mostly defined as an exponential softening function, independently from the shear stresses in tangential direction. The cohesive forces are then calculated only from the normal stresses. By Carol et al. 1997 an improved model was developed using a coupled relation between the normal and shear damage based on an elasto-plastic constitutive formulation. This model is based on a hyperbolic yield surface depending on the normal and the shear stresses and on the tensile and shear strength. This model also represents the effect of shear traction induced crack opening. Due to the elasto-plastic formulation, where the inelastic crack opening is represented by plastic strains, this model is limited for applications with monotonic loading. In order to enable the application for cases with un- and reloading the existing model is extended in this study using a combined plastic-damage formulation, which enables the modeling of crack opening and crack closure. Furthermore the corresponding algorithmic implementation using a return mapping approach is presented and the model is verified by means of several numerical examples. Finally an investigation concerning the identification of the model parameters by means of neural networks is presented. In this analysis an inverse approximation of the model parameters is performed by using a given set of points of the load displacement curves as input values and the model parameters as output terms. It will be shown, that the elasto-plastic model parameters could be identified well with this approach, but require a huge number of simulations.
The Element-free Galerkin Method has become a very popular tool for the simulation of mechanical problems with moving boundaries. The internally applied Moving Least Squares approximation uses in general Gaussian or cubic weighting functions and has compact support. Due to the approximative character of this method the obtained shape functions do not fulfill the interpolation condition, which causes additional numerical effort for the imposition of the essential boundary conditions. The application of a singular weighting function, which leads to singular coefficient matrices at the nodes, can solve this problem, but requires a very careful placement of the integration points. Special procedures for the handling of such singular matrices were proposed in literature, which require additional numerical effort. In this paper a non-singular weighting function is presented, which leads to an exact fulfillment of the interpolation condition. This weighting function leads to regular values of the weights and the coefficient matrices in the whole interpolation domain even at the nodes. Furthermore this function gives much more stable results for varying size of the influence radius and for strongly distorted nodal arrangements than classical weighting function types. Nevertheless, for practical applications the results are similar as these obtained with the regularized weighting type presented by the authors in previous publications. Finally a new concept will be presented, which enables an efficient analysis of systems with strongly varying node density. In this concept the nodal influence domains are adapted depending on the nodal configuration by interpolating the influence radius for each direction from the distances to the natural neighbor nodes. This approach requires a Voronoi diagram of the domain, which is available in this study since Delaunay triangles are used as integration background cells. In the numerical examples it will be shown, that this method leads to a more uniform and reduced number of influencing nodes for systems with varying node density than the classical circular influence domains, which means that the small additional numerical effort for interpolating the influence radius leads to remarkable reduction of the total numerical cost in a linear analysis while obtaining similar results. For nonlinear calculations this advantage would be even more significant.
In engineering science the modeling and numerical analysis of complex systems and relations plays an important role. In order to realize such an investigation, for example a stochastic analysis, in a reasonable computational time, approximation procedure have been developed. A very famous approach is the response surface method, where the relation between input and output quantities is represented for example by global polynomials or local interpolation schemes as Moving Least Squares (MLS). In recent years artificial neural networks (ANN) have been applied as well for such purposes. Recently an adaptive response surface approach for reliability analyses was proposed, which is very efficient concerning the number of expensive limit state function evaluations. Due to the applied simplex interpolation the procedure is limited to small dimensions. In this paper this approach is extended for larger dimensions using combined ANN and MLS response surfaces for evaluating the adaptation criterion with only one set of joined limit state points. As adaptation criterion a combination by using the maximum difference in the conditional probabilities of failure and the maximum difference in the approximated radii is applied. Compared to response surfaces on directional samples or to plain directional sampling the failure probability can be estimated with a much smaller number of limit state points.
ESTIMATING UNCERTAINTIES FROM INACCURATE MEASUREMENT DATA USING MAXIMUM ENTROPY DISTRIBUTIONS
(2010)
Modern engineering design often considers uncertainties in geometrical and material parameters and in the loading conditions. Based on initial assumptions on the stochastic properties as mean values, standard deviations and the distribution functions of these uncertain parameters a probabilistic analysis is carried out. In many application fields probabilities of the exceedance of failure criteria are computed. The out-coming failure probability is strongly dependent on the initial assumptions on the random variable properties. Measurements are always more or less inaccurate data due to varying environmental conditions during the measurement procedure. Furthermore the estimation of stochastic properties from a limited number of realisation also causes uncertainties in these quantities. Thus the assumption of exactly known stochastic properties by neglecting these uncertainties may not lead to very useful probabilistic measures in a design process. In this paper we assume the stochastic properties of a random variable as uncertain quantities caused by so-called epistemic uncertainties. Instead of predefined distribution types we use the maximum entropy distribution which enables the description of a wide range of distribution functions based on the first four stochastic moments. These moments are taken again as random variables to model the epistemic scatter in the stochastic assumptions. The main point of this paper is the discussion on the estimation of these uncertain stochastic properties based on inaccurate measurements. We investigate the bootstrap algorithm for its applicability to quantify the uncertainties in the stochastic properties considering imprecise measurement data. Based on the obtained estimates we apply standard stochastic analysis on a simple example to demonstrate the difference and the necessity of the proposed approach.
In this paper we review two distint complete orthogonal systems of monogenic polynomials over 3D prolate spheroids. The underlying functions take on either values in the reduced and full quaternions (identified, respectively, with R3 and R4), and are generally assumed to be nullsolutions of the well known Riesz and Moisil Théodoresco systems in R3. This will be done in the spaces of square integrable functions over R and H. The representations of these polynomials are explicitly given. Additionally, we show that these polynomial functions play an important role in defining the Szegö kernel function over the surface of 3D spheroids. As a concrete application, we prove the explicit expression of the monogenic Szegö kernel function over 3D prolate spheroids.
Die d - Dirac - Funktion d(x-xi) und Heviside - Funktion wurden vor allem zur Beschreibung diskontinuierlicher Belastungsfunktionen von gebogenen Balken angewendet. Im Referat werden die mathematischen Operationen auf den erwähnten Funktionen dargestellt. Darüber hinaus wird die Möglichkeit eindeutiger Aufschreibung von belibigen Belestungsfunktionen vorgeschlagen, die fast alle Fälle der in der Ingenieurpraxis auftretenden Belastungen umfassen. Die vorgeschlagenen Lösungen geben die Möglichkeit leichter Aufschreibung im Form eines Algorithmus, das die Ausnutzung von Komputertechnik in statischen Berechnungen ermöglicht. Am Ende des Referates werden die Zahlebeispiele dargestellt, die die Möglichkeiten praktischer Anwendungen der besprochenen Funktionen darstellen.
The paper is devoted to the investigation of dynamical behavior of a cable under influence of various types of excitations. Such element has a low rigidity and is sensitive to dynamic effect. The structural scheme is a cable which ends are located at different level. The analysis of dynamical behavior of the cable under effect of kinematical excitation which is represented by the oscillations of the upper part of tower is given. The scheme of cable is accepted such, that lower end of an inclined cable is motionless. The motion of the upper end is assumed only in horizontal direction. The fourth-order Runge-Kutta method was realized in software. The fast Fourier transform was used for spectral analysis. Standard graphical software was adopted for presenting results of investigations. The mathematical model of oscillations of a cable was developed by the account of the viscous damping. The analysis of dynamical characteristics of a cable for various parameters of damping and kinematical excitation was carried out. The time series, spectral characteristics and amplitude-frequencies characteristics was obtained. The resonance amplitude for different oscillating regimes was estimated. It is noted that increasing of the coefficient of the viscous damping and decreasing of the amplitude of tower's oscillations reduces the value of the critical frequency and the resonant amplitudes.
Due to the complex interactions between the ground, the driving machine, the lining tube and the built environment, the accurate assignment of in-situ system parameters for numerical simulation in mechanized tunneling is always subject to tremendous difficulties. However, the more accurate these parameters are, the more applicable the responses gained from computations will be. In particular, if the entire length of the tunnel lining is examined, then, the appropriate selection of various kinds of ground parameters is accountable for the success of a tunnel project and, more importantly, will prevent potential casualties. In this context, methods of system identification for the adaptation of numerical simulation of ground models are presented. Hereby, both deterministic and probabilistic approaches are considered for typical scenarios representing notable variations or changes in the ground model.
A stress based remodeling approach is used to investigate the sensitivity of the collagen architecture in humane eye tissues on the biomechanical response of the lamina cribrosa with a particular focus on the stress environment of the nerve fibers. This approach is based on a multi-level biomechanical framework, where the biomechanical properties of eye tissues are derived from a single crimped fibril at the micro-scale via the collagen network of distributed fibrils at the meso-scale to the incompressible and anisotropic soft tissue at the macro-scale. Biomechanically induced remodeling of the collagen network is captured on the meso-scale by allowing for a continuous reorientation of collagen fibrils. To investigate the multi-scale phenomena related to glaucomatous neuropathy a generalized computational homogenization scheme is applied to a coupled two-scale analysis of the human eye considering a numerical macro- and meso-scale model of the lamina cribrosa.
We provide a critical overview of the current status of computational support for construction the management and building performance evaluation in North-America. This overview is based on the research conducted in relation to the design and construction of the Intelligent Workplace (IW), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. With regard to the commercial software products in the field of construction management the following limitations can be identified: Although project planning, cost estimating and construction simulation are supported, tasks like bidding as well as site and material management have not received the same level of attention. Few project management software packages are integrated in a total design support software system. Little analysis or evaluation options are provided to support managerial decision making. Various research groups address the construction planning and scheduling, construction contracting, site layout generation as well as the integration of these three topics. Currently problems such as efficient material management and calculation of environmental and energy responsive site management are insufficiently addressed within the ongoing research projects. In the domain of building performance simulation and decision support one can notice that, the development and application of computational tools is industry driven. As a result the concerns addressed by the tools are mainly issues pertaining to the selection and sizing of systems and components rather than an integrated performance evaluation. Consequently, these programs are rarely used by building designers, especially in the early design stages, where the predictive capabilities of simulation tools could be of significant value. Although many research institutions address the necessity for the integration of performance simulation within the overall design support environments most of the practically available performance simulation tools still remain mono-dimensional and isolated.
Requires for reliability and durability of structures and their elements with simultaneous material economy have stimulated improvement of constitutive equations for description of elasto-plastic deformation processes. This has led to the development of phenomenological modelling of complex phenomena of irreversible deformation including history-dependent and rate-dependent effects. During the last several decades many works have been devoted to the development of elasto-plastic models, in order to better predict the material behavior under combined variable thermo-mechanical loading. The increase of accuracy of stress analysis and safety factors for complex structures with the help of modern finite-element packages (ABAQUS, ANSYS, COSMOS, LS-DYNA, MSC.MARC, MSC.NASTRAN, PERMAS and other) can be provided only by use of complex and special variants of plasticity theories, which are adequate for the considered loading conditions and based on authentic information about properties of materials. The areas of application of the various theories (models) are as a rule unknown to the users of finite-element packages at the existing variety loading condition sin machine-building designs. At the moment a universal theory of inelasticity is absent and even the most accomplished theories can not guarantee adequate description of deformation processes for arbitrary structure under wide range of loading programs. The classifier of materials, loading conditions, effects (phenomena) and list of basic experiments are developed by the authors. Use of these classifiers for an establishment of hierarchy of models is a first step for introduction of the multimodel analysis into computational practice. The set of the classic and modern inelasticity theories is considered, so that they are applicable for stress analysis of structures under complex loading programs. Among them there are plastic flow theories with linear and nonlinear isotropic and kinematic hardening, multisurface theories, endochronic theory, holonomic theory, rheologic models, theory of elasto-plastic processes, slip theory, physical theories (single crystal and polycrystalline models) and others. The classification of materials provides rearranging by a degree of homogeneous, chemical composition, level of strength and plasticity, behavior under cyclic loading, anisotropy of properties at initial condition, anisotropy of properties during deformation process, structural stability. The classification of loading conditions takes into consideration proportional and non-proportional loading, temperature range, combination of cyclic and monotonous loading, one-axial, two-axial and complex stress state, curvature of strain path, presence of stress concentrators and level of strain gradient. A unified general form of constitutive equations is presented for all used material models based upon the concept of internal state variables. The wide range of mentioned above inelastic material models has been implemented into finite element program PANTOCRATOR developed by authors (see for details www.pantocrator.narod.ru). Application possibility of different material models is considered both for material element and for complex structures subjected to complex non-proportional loading.
A new application of software technology is the application area of smart living or sustainable living. Within this area application platforms are designed and realized with the goal to support value added services. In this context value added services integrates microelectronics, home automation and services to enhance the attractiveness of flats, homes and buildings. Especially real estate companies or service providers dealing with home services are interested in an effective design and management of their services. Service Engineering is the approved approach for designing customer oriented service processes. Service engineering consists of several phases; from situation analysis to service creation and service design to service management. This article will describe how the method service blueprint can be used to design service processes. Smart living includes all actions to enlarge a flat to a smart home for living. One special requirement of this application domain is the use of local components (actuators, sensors) within service processes. This article will show how this extended method supports service providers to improve the quality of customer oriented service processes and the derivation of needed interfaces of involved actors. For the civil engineering process it will be possible to derive needed information from a built in home automation system. The aim is to show, how to get needed smart local components to fullfill later offered it-supported value added services. Value added services focused on inhabitants are grouped to consulting and information, care and supervision, leisure time activities, repairs, mobility and delivery, safety and security, supply and disposal.
In this paper, we present an empirical approach for objective and quantitative benchmarking of optimization algorithms with respect to characteristics induced by the forward calculation. Due to the professional background of the authors, this benchmarking strategy is illustrated on a selection of search methods in regard to expected characteristics of geotechnical parameter back calculation problems. Starting from brief introduction into the approach employed, a strategy for optimization algorithm benchmarking is introduced. The benchmarking utilizes statistical tests carried out on well-known test functions superposed with perturbations, both chosen to mimic objective function topologies found for geotechnical objective function topologies. Here, the moved axis parallel hyper-ellipsoid test function and the generalized Ackley test function in conjunction with an adjustable quantity of objective function topology roughness and fraction of failing forward calculations is analyzed. In total, results for 5 optimization algorithms are presented, compared and discussed.
Civil engineers take advantage of models to design reliable structures. In order to fulfill the design goal with a certain amount of confidence, the utilized models should be able to predict the probable structural behavior under the expected loading schemes. Therefore, a major challenge is to find models which provide less uncertain and more robust responses. The problem gets even twofold when the model to be studied is a global model comprised of different interacting partial models. This study aims at model quality evaluation of global models with a focus on frame-wall systems as the case study. The paper, presents the results of the first step taken toward accomplishing this goal. To start the model quality evaluation of the global frame-wall system, the main element (i.e. the wall) was studied through nonlinear static and dynamic analysis using two different modeling approaches. The two selected models included the fiber section model and the Multiple-Vertical-Line-Element-Model (MVLEM). The influence of the wall aspect ratio (H=L) and the axial load on the response of the models was studied. The results from nonlinear static and dynamic analysis of both models are presented and compared. The models resulted in quite different responses in the range of low aspect ratio walls under large axial loads due to different contribution of the shear deformations to the top displacement. In the studied cases, the results implied that careful attention should be paid to the model quality evaluation of the wall models specifically when they are supposed to be coupled to other partial models such as a moment frame or a soil-footing substructure which their response is sensitive to shear deformations. In this case, even a high quality wall model would not result in a high quality coupled system since it fails to interact properly with the rest of the system.
In many applications such as parameter identification of oscillating systems in civil enginee-ring, speech processing, image processing and others we are interested in the frequency con-tent of a signal locally in time. As a start wavelet analysis provides a time-scale decomposition of signals, but this wavelet transform can be connected with an appropriate time-frequency decomposition. For instance in Matlab are defined pseudo-frequencies of wavelet scales as frequency centers of the corresponding bands. This frequency bands overlap more or less which depends on the choice of the biorthogonal wavelet system. Such a definition of frequency center is possible and useful, because different frequencies predominate at different dyadic scales of a wavelet decomposition or rather at different nodes of a wavelet packet decomposition tree. The goal of this work is to offer better algorithms for characterising frequency band behaviour and for calculating frequency centers of orthogonal and biorthogonal wavelet systems. This will be done with some product formulas in frequency domain. Now the connecting procedu-res are more analytical based, better connected with wavelet theory and more assessable. This procedures doesn’t need any time approximation of the wavelet and scaling functions. The method only works in the case of biorthogonal wavelet systems, where scaling functions and wavelets are defined over discrete filters. But this is the practically essential case, because it is connected with fast algorithms (FWT, Mallat Algorithm). At the end corresponding to the wavelet transform some closed formulas of pure oscillations are given. They can generally used to compare the application of different wavelets in the FWT regarding it’s frequency behaviour.
At the 16th IKM Bock, Falcão and Gürlebeck presented examples of the application of some specially developed Maple-Software in hypercomplex analysis. Other papers of those authors continued this work and showed the efficiency of such tools for concrete numerical calculations as well as for numerical experiments, supporting the detection of new relationships and even theorems in a highly technical theoretical work. The mentioned software has been developed mainly for the use on mapping problems in the Euclidean spaces of dimension 3 and 4 by means of Bergman kernel methods (BKM), which are related to monogenic functions as solutions of generalized Cauchy-Riemann equations with respect to the Euclidean metric (Riesz system). The developed procedures concerning generalized powers of totally regular variables and the corresponding homogeneous polynomials basically rely on results and conventions introduced in the paper "Power series representation for monogenic functions in Rm+1 based on a permutational product", Complex Variables, 15, No.3, 181-191 (1990) by H. Malonek. Since 1992 H. Leutwiler, S. L. Eriksson and others developed in a number of papers a modified Clifford analysis and, particularly, a modified quaternionic analysis. The modification mainly consists in considering generalized Cauchy-Riemann equations with respect to a hyperbolic metric in a half space. The aim of this contribution is to show how through a change of the basic combinatorial relations used in the modified quaternionic analysis the aforementioned Maple-software (that has been recently published on CD-Rom as integrated part of the text book "Funktionentheorie in der Ebene und im Raum" by K. Gürlebeck, K. Habetha, and W. Sprössig, in the series "Grundstudium Mathematik" of Birkhäuser Verlag, 2006) can directly be used for numerical calculations in the modified theory.
The aim of our contribution is to clarify the relation between totally regular variables and Appell sequences of hypercomplex holomorphic polynomials (sometimes simply called monogenic power-like functions) in Hypercomplex Function Theory. After their introduction in 2006 by two of the authors of this note on the occasion of the 17th IKM, the latter have been subject of investigations by different authors with different methods and in various contexts. The former concept, introduced by R. Delanghe in 1970 and later also studied by K. Gürlebeck in 1982 for the case of quaternions, has some obvious relationship with the latter, since it describes a set of linear hypercomplex holomorphic functions all power of which are also hypercomplex holomorphic. Due to the non-commutative nature of the underlying Clifford algebra, being totally regular variables or Appell sequences are not trivial properties as it is for the integer powers of the complex variable z=x+ iy. Simple examples show also, that not every totally regular variable and its powers form an Appell sequence and vice versa. Under some very natural normalization condition the set of all para-vector valued totally regular variables which are also Appell sequences will completely be characterized. In some sense the result can also be considered as an answer to a remark of K. Habetha in chapter 16: Function theory in algebras of the collection Complex analysis. Methods, trends, and applications, Akademie-Verlag Berlin, (Eds. E. Lanckau and W. Tutschke) 225-237 (1983) on the use of exact copies of several complex variables for the power series representation of any hypercomplex holomorphic function.
In recent years special hypercomplex Appell polynomials have been introduced by several authors and their main properties have been studied by different methods and with different objectives. Like in the classical theory of Appell polynomials, their generating function is a hypercomplex exponential function. The observation that this generalized exponential function has, for example, a close relationship with Bessel functions confirmed the practical significance of such an approach to special classes of hypercomplex differentiable functions. Its usefulness for combinatorial studies has also been investigated. Moreover, an extension of those ideas led to the construction of complete sets of hypercomplex Appell polynomial sequences. Here we show how this opens the way for a more systematic study of the relation between some classes of Special Functions and Elementary Functions in Hypercomplex Function Theory.
Portugal is one of the European countries with higher spatial and population freeway network coverage. The sharp growth of this network in the last years instigates the use of methods of analysis and the evaluation of their quality of service in terms of the traffic performance, typically performed through internationally accepted methodologies, namely that presented in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM). Lately, the use of microscopic traffic simulation models has been increasingly widespread. These models simulate the individual movement of the vehicles, allowing to perform traffic analysis. The main target of this study was to verify the possibility of using microsimulation as an auxiliary tool in the adaptation of the methodology by HCM 2000 to Portugal. For this purpose, were used the microscopic simulators AIMSUN and VISSIM for the simulation of the traffic circulation in the A5 Portuguese freeway. The results allowed the analysis of the influence of the main geometric and traffic factors involved in the methodology by HCM 2000. In conclusion, the study presents the main advantages and limitations of the microsimulators AIMSUN and VISSIM in modelling the traffic circulation in Portuguese freeways. The main limitation is that these microsimulators are not able to simulate explicitly some of the factors considered in the HCM 2000 methodology, which invalidates their direct use as a tool in the quantification of those effects and, consequently, makes the direct adaptation of this methodology to Portugal impracticable.
This research focuses on an approach to describe principles in architectural layout planning within the domain of revitalization. With the aid of mathematical rules, which are executed by a computer, solutions to design problems are generated. Provided that "design" is in principle a combinatorial problem, i.e. a constraint-based search for an overall optimal solution of a problem, an exemplary method will be described to solve such problems in architectural layout planning. To avoid conflicts relating to theoretical subtleness, a customary approach adopted from Operations Research has been chosen in this work. In this approach, design is a synonym for planning, which could be described as a systematic and methodical course of action for the analysis and solution of current or future problems. The planning task is defined as an analysis of a problem with the aim to prepare optimal decisions by the use of mathematical methods. The decision problem of a planning task is represented by an optimization model and the application of an efficient algorithm in order to aid finding one or more solutions to the problem. The basic principle underlying the approach presented herein is the understanding of design in terms of searching for solutions that fulfill specific criteria. This search is executed by the use of a constraint programming language.
The design and application of high performance materials demands extensive knowledge of the materials damage behavior, which significantly depends on the meso- and microstructural complexity. Numerical simulations of crack growth on multiple length scales are promising tools to understand the damage phenomena in complex materials. In polycrystalline materials it has been observed that the grain boundary decohesion is one important mechanism that leads to micro crack initiation. Following this observation the paper presents a polycrystal mesoscale model consisting of grains with orthotropic material behavior and cohesive interfaces along grain boundaries, which is able to reproduce the crack initiation and propagation along grain boundaries in polycrystalline materials. With respect to the importance of modeling the geometry of the grain structure an advanced Voronoi algorithm is proposed to generate realistic polycrystalline material structures based on measured grain size distribution. The polycrystal model is applied to investigate the crack initiation and propagation in statically loaded representative volume elements of aluminum on the mesoscale without the necessity of initial damage definition. Future research work is planned to include the mesoscale model into a multiscale model for the damage analysis in polycrystalline materials.
In civil engineering practice, values of column forces are often required before any detailed analysis of the structure has been performed. One of the reasons for this arises from the fast-tracked nature of the majority of construction projects: foundations are laid and base columns constructed whilst analysis and design are still in progress. A need for quick results when feasibility studies are performed or when evaluating the effect of design changes on supporting columns form other situations in which column forces are required, but where a detailed analysis to get these forces seems superfluous. Thus it was concluded that the development of an efficient tool for column force calculations, in which the extensive input required in a finite element analysis is to be avoided, would be highly beneficial. The automation of the process is achieved by making use of a Voronoi diagram. The Voronoi diagram is used a) for subdividing the floor into influence areas and b) as a basis for automatic load assignment. The implemented procedure is integrated into a CAD system in which the relevant geometric information of the floor, i.e. its shape and column layout, can be defined or uploaded. A brief description of the implementation is included. Some comparative results and considerations regarding the continuation of the study are given.
Steel profiles with slender cross-sections are characterized by their high susceptibility to instability phenomena, especially local buckling, which are intensified under fire conditions. This work presents a study on numerical modelling of the behaviour of steel structural elements in case of fire with slender cross-sections. To accurately carry out these analyses it is necessary to take into account those local instability modes, which normally is only possible with shell finite elements. However, aiming at the development of more expeditious methods, particularly important for analysing complete structures in case of fire, recent studies have proposed the use of beam finite elements considering the presence of local buckling through the implementation of a new effective steel constitutive law. The objective of this work is to develop a study to validate this methodology using the program SAFIR. Comparisons are made between the results obtained applying the referred new methodology and finite element analyses using shell elements. The studies were made to laterally restrained beams, unrestrained beams, axially compressed columns and columns subjected to bending plus compression.
This paper presents a robust model updating strategy for system identification of wind turbines. To control the updating parameters and to avoid ill-conditioning, the global sensitivity analysis using the elementary effects method is conducted. The formulation of the objective function is based on M¨uller-Slany’s strategy for multi-criteria functions. As a simulationbased optimization, a simulation adapter is developed to interface the simulation software ANSYS and the locally developed optimization software MOPACK. Model updating is firstly tested on the beam model of the rotor blade. The defect between the numerical model and the reference has been markedly reduced by the process of model updating. The effect of model updating becomes more pronounced in the comparison of the measured and the numerical properties of the wind turbine model. The deviations of the frequencies of the updated model are rather small. The complete comparison including the free vibration modes by the modal assurance criteria shows the excellent coincidence of the modal parameters of the updated model with the ones from the measurements. By successful implementation of the model validation via model updating, the applicability and effectiveness of the solution concept has been demonstrated.
There are many different approaches to simulate the mechanical behavior of RC−Frames with masonry infills. In this paper, selected modeling techniques for masonry infills and reinforced concrete frame members will be discussed − stressing the attention on the damaging effects of the individual members and the entire system under quasi−static horizontal loading. The effect of the infill walls on the surrounding frame members is studied using equivalent strut elements. The implemented model consider in−plane failure modes for the infills, such as bed joint sliding and corner crushing. These frame member models differ with respect to their stress state. Finally, examples are provided and compared with experimental data from a real size test executed on a three story RC−Frame with and without infills. The quality of the model is evaluated on the basis of load−displacement relationships as well as damage progression.
Interval analysis extends the concept of computing with real numbers to computing with real intervals. As a consequence, some interesting properties appear, such as the delivery of guaranteed results or confirmed global values. The former property is given in the sense that unknown numerical values are in known to lie in a computed interval. The latter property states that the global minimum value, for example, of a given function is also known to be contained in a interval (or a finite set of intervals). Depending upon the amount computation effort invested in the calculation, we can often find tight bounds on these enclosing intervals. The downside of interval analysis, however, is the mathematically correct, but often very pessimistic size of the interval result. This is in particularly due to the so-called dependency effect, where a single variable is used multiple times in one calculation. Applying interval analysis to structural analysis problems, the dependency has a great influence on the quality of numerical results. In this paper, a brief background of interval analysis is presented and shown how it can be applied to the solution of structural analysis problems. A discussion of possible improvements as well as an outlook to parallel computing is also given.
This paper is focused on the first numerical tests for coupling between analytical solution and finite element method on the example of one problem of fracture mechanics. The calculations were done according to ideas proposed in [1]. The analytical solutions are constructed by using an orthogonal basis of holomorphic and anti-holomorphic functions. For coupling with finite element method the special elements are constructed by using the trigonometric interpolation theorem.
It is well known that complex quaternion analysis plays an important role in the study of higher order boundary value problems of mathematical physics. Following the ideas given for real quaternion analysis, the paper deals with certain orthogonal decompositions of the complex quaternion Hilbert space into its subspaces of null solutions of Dirac type operator with an arbitrary complex potential. We then apply them to consider related boundary value problems, and to prove the existence and uniqueness as well as the explicit representation formulae of the underlying solutions.
MULTI-SITE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT SCHEDULING CONSIDERING RESOURCE MOVING TIME IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
(2010)
Under the booming construction demands in developing countries, particularly in Vietnam situation, construction contractors often perform multiple concurrent projects in different places. In construction project scheduling processes, the existing scheduling methods often assume the resource moving time between activities/projects to be negligible. When multiple projects are deployed in different places and far from each other, this assumption has many shortcomings for properly modelling the real-world constraints. Especially, with respect to developing countries such as the Vietnam which contains transportation systems that are still in backward and low technical standards. This paper proposes a new algorithm named Multi-Site Construction Project Scheduling - MCOPS. The objective of this algorithm is to solve the problem of minimising multi-site construction project duration under limited available conditions of renewable resources (labour, machines and equipment) combining with the moving time of required resource among activities/projects. Additionally, in order to mitigate the impact of resource moving time into the multi-site project duration, this paper proposed a new priority rule: Minimum Resource Moving Time (MinRMT). The MinRMT is applied to rank the finished activities according to a priority order, to support the released resources to the scheduling activities. In order to investigate the impact of the resource moving time among activities during the scheduling process, computational experimentation was implemented. The results of the MCOPS-based computational experiments showed that, the resource moving time among projects has significantly impacted the multi-site project durations and this amount of time can not be ignored in the multi-site project scheduling process. Besides, the efficient application of the MinRMT is also demonstrated through the achieved results of the computational experiment in this paper. Though the efforts in this paper are based on the Vietnamese construction conditions, the proposed method can be usefully applied in other developing countries which have similar construction conditions.
In this note, we describe quite explicitly the Howe duality for Hodge systems and connect it with the well-known facts of harmonic analysis and Clifford analysis. In Section 2, we recall briefly the Fisher decomposition and the Howe duality for harmonic analysis. In Section 3, the well-known fact that Clifford analysis is a real refinement of harmonic analysis is illustrated by the Fisher decomposition and the Howe duality for the space of spinor-valued polynomials in the Euclidean space under the so-called L-action. On the other hand, for Clifford algebra valued polynomials, we can consider another action, called in Clifford analysis the H-action. In the last section, we recall the Fisher decomposition for the H-action obtained recently. As in Clifford analysis the prominent role plays the Dirac equation in this case the basic set of equations is formed by the Hodge system. Moreover, analysis of Hodge systems can be viewed even as a refinement of Clifford analysis. In this note, we describe the Howe duality for the H-action. In particular, in Proposition 1, we recognize the Howe dual partner of the orthogonal group O(m) in this case as the Lie superalgebra sl(2 1). Furthermore, Theorem 2 gives the corresponding multiplicity free decomposition with an explicit description of irreducible pieces.
Many structures in different engineering applications suffer from cracking. In order to make reliable prognosis about the serviceability of those structures it is of utmost importance to identify cracks as precisely as possible by non-destructive testing. A novel approach (XIGA), which combines the Isogeometric Analysis (IGA) and the Extended Finite Element Method (XFEM) is used for the forward problem, namely the analysis of a cracked material, see [1]. Applying the NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline) based approach from IGA together with the XFEM allows to describe effectively arbitrarily shaped cracks and avoids the necessity of remeshing during the crack identification problem. We want to exploit these advantages for the inverse problem of detecting existing cracks by non-destructive testing, see e.g. [2]. The quality of the reconstructed cracks however depends on two major issues, namely the quality of the measured data (measurement error) and the discretization of the crack model. The first one will be taken into account by applying regularizing methods with a posteriori stopping criteria. The second one is critical in the sense that too few degrees of freedom, i.e. the number of control points of the NURBS, do not allow for a precise description of the crack. An increased number of control points, however, increases the number of unknowns in the inverse analysis and intensifies the ill-posedness. The trade-off between accuracy and stability is aimed to be found by applying an inverse multilevel algorithm [3, 4] where the identification is started with short knot vectors which successively will be enlarged during the identification process.
In this paper we present an inverse method which is capable of identifying system components in a hydro-mechanically coupled system, i.e. for fluid flow in porous media. As an example we regard water dams that were constructed more than hundred years ago but which are still in use. Over the time ageing processes have changed the condition of these dams. Within the dams fissures might have grown. The proposed method is designed to locate these fissures out of combined mechanical and hydraulic measurements. In a numerical example the fissures or damaged zones are described by a smeared crack model. The task is now to identify simultaneously the spatial distribution of Young’s modulus and the hydraulic permeability due to the fact, that in regions where damages are present, the mechanical stiffness of the system is reduced and the permeability increased. The inversion is shown to be an ill-posed problem. As a consequence regularizing methods have to be applied, where the nonlinear Landweber method (a gradient type method combined with a discrepancy principle) has proven to be an efficient choice.
Prozesse im Bauingenieurwesen sind komplex und beinhalten eine große Anzahl verschiedener Aufgaben mit vielen logischen Abhängigkeiten. Basierend auf diesen projektspezifischen Abhängigkeiten wird gewöhnlich ein Bauablaufplan manuell erstellt. In der Regel existieren mehrere Varianten und somit alternative Bauabläufe um ein Projekt zu realisieren. Welche dieser Ausführungsvarianten zur praktischen Anwendung kommt, wird durch den jeweiligen Projektmanager bestimmt. Falls Ä;nderungen oder Störungen während des Bauablaufs auftreten, müssen die davon betroffenen Aufgaben und Abläufe per Hand modifiziert und alternative Aufgaben sowie Abläufe stattdessen ausgeführt werden. Diese Vorgehensweise ist oft sehr aufwändig und teuer. Aktuelle Forschungsansätze beschäftigen sich mit der automatischen Generierung von Bauabläufen. Grundlage sind dabei Aufgaben mit ihren erforderlichen Voraussetzungen und erzeugten Ergebnissen. Im Rahmen dieses Beitrags wird eine Methodik vorgestellt, um Bauabläufe mit Ausführungsvarianten in Form von Workflow-Netzen zu jeder Zeit berechnen zu können. Die vorgestellte Methode wird anhand eines Beispiels aus dem Straßenbau schematisch dargestellt.
Für die Ausführung des Oberbaus von Verkehrsflächen existiert in Abhängigkeit von projektspezifischen Voraussetzungen eine Vielzahl von verschiedenen Varianten. Aufgrund von Erfahrungen der Projektplaner werden bei ähnlichen Voraussetzungen häufig gleichartige Ausführungsvarianten gewählt. Um eine mögliche Lösungsvariante für den Straßenoberbau zu erhalten, sollten daher nicht nur die gesetzlichen Richtlinien sondern auch bereits beendete Projekte berücksichtigt werden. Im Rahmen eines Wissenschaftlichen Kollegs an der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar wurde die Anwendung des Case-Based Reasoning für die Auswahl von Ausführungsvarianten für den Straßenoberbau untersucht. In diesem Beitrag werden die grundlegenden Konzepte des Case-Based Reasoning und die Bestimmung von ähnlichen Varianten anhand einfacher Beispiele aus dem Straßenoberbau dargestellt.
The planning of projects in building engineering is a complex process which is characterized by a dynamical composition and many modifications during the definition and execution time of processes. For a computer-aided and network-based cooperation a formal description of the planning process is necessary. In the research project “Relational Process Modelling in Cooperative Building Planning” a process model is described by three parts: an organizational structure with participants, a building structure with states and a process structure with activities. This research project is part of the priority program 1103 “Network-Based Cooperative Planning Processes in Structural Engineering” promoted by the German Research Foundation (DFG). Planning processes in civil engineering can be described by workflow graphs. The process structure describes the logical planning process and can be formally defined by a bipartite graph. This structure consists of activities, transitions and relationships between activities and transitions. In order to minimize errors at execution time of a planning process a consistent and structurally correct process model must be guaranteed. This contribution considers the concept and the algorithms for checking the consistency and the correctness of the process structure.
For many applications, nonuniformly distributed functional data is given which lead to large–scale scattered data problems. We wish to represent the data in terms of a sparse representation with a minimal amount of degrees of freedom. For this, an adaptive scheme which operates in a coarse-to-fine fashion using a multiscale basis is proposed. Specifically, we investigate hierarchical bases using B-splines and spline-(pre)wavelets. At each stage a leastsquares approximation of the data is computed. We take into account different requests arising in large-scale scattered data fitting: we discuss the fast iterative solution of the least square systems, regularization of the data, and the treatment of outliers. A particular application concerns the approximate continuation of harmonic functions, an issue arising in geodesy.
THE INFLUENCE OF THE LOCAL CONCAVITY ON THE FUNCTIONING OF BEARING SHELL OF HIGH-RISE CONSTRUCTION
(2012)
Areas with various defects and damages, which reduce carrying capacity, were examined in a study of metal chimneys. In this work, the influence of the local dimples on the function of metal chimneys was considered. Modeling tasks were completed in the software packages LIRA and ANSYS. Parameters were identified, which characterize the local dimples, and a numerical study of the influence of local dimples on the stress-strain state of shells of metal chimneys was conducted. A distribution field of circular and meridional tension was analyzed in a researched area. Zones of influence of dimples on the bearing cover of metal chimneys were investigated. The bearing capacities of high-rise structures with various dimple geometries and various cover parameters were determined with respect to specified areas of the trunk. Dependent relationships are represented graphically for the decrease in bearing capacity of a cover with respect to dimples. Diameter and thickness of covers of metal chimneys were constructed according to the resulting data.
We show a close relation between the Schrödinger equation and the conductivity equation to a Vekua equation of a special form. Under quite general conditions we propose an algorithm for explicit construction of pseudoanalytic positive formal powers for the Vekua equation that as a consequence gives us a complete system of solutions for the Schrödinger and the conductivity equations. Besides the construction of complete systems of exact solutions for the above mentioned second order equations and the Dirac equation, we discuss some other applications of pseudoanalytic function theory.
In this paper we present some rudiments of a generalized Wiman-Valiron theory in the context of polymonogenic functions. In particular, we analyze the relations between different notions of growth orders and the Taylor coefficients. Our main intention is to look for generalizations of the Lindel¨of-Pringsheim theorem. In contrast to the classical holomorphic and the monogenic setting we only obtain inequality relations in the polymonogenic setting. This is due to the fact that the Almansi-Fischer decomposition of a polymonogenic function consists of different monogenic component functions where each of them can have a totally different kind of asymptotic growth behavior.
The quaternionic operator calculus can be applied very elegantly to solve many important boundary value problems arising in fluid dynamics and electrodynamics in an analytic way. In order to set up fully explicit solutions. In order to apply the quaternionic operator calculus to solve these types of boundary value problems fully explicitly, one has to evaluate two types of integral operators: the Teodorescu operator and the quaternionic Bergman projector. While the integral kernel of the Teodorescu transform is universal for all domains, the kernel function of the Bergman projector, called the Bergman kernel, depends on the geometry of the domain. Recently the theory of quaternionic holomorphic multiperiodic functions and automorphic forms provided new impulses to set up explicit representation formulas for large classes of hyperbolic polyhedron type domains. These include block shaped domains, wedge shaped domains (with or without additional rectangular restrictions) and circular symmetric finite and infinite cylinders as particular subcases. In this talk we want to give an overview over the recent developments in this direction.
The aim of this paper we discuss explicit series constructions for the fundamental solution of the Helmholtz operator on some important examples non-orientable conformally at manifolds. In the context of this paper we focus on higher dimensional generalizations of the Klein bottle which in turn generalize higher dimensional Möbius strips that we discussed in preceding works. We discuss some basic properties of pinor valued solutions to the Helmholtz equation on these manifolds.
Procedures of a construction of general solutions for some classes of partial differential equations (PDEs) are proposed and a symmetry operators approach to the raising the orders of the polynomial solutions to linear PDEs are develops. We touch upon an ''operator analytic function theory'' as the solution of a frequent classes of the equations of mathematical physics, when its symmetry operators forms vast enough space. The MAPLE© package programs for the building the operator variables is elaborated also.
Cost and Schedule Controlling in Relation to Liquidity Management during Construction Projects
(2004)
The present paper describes a software application which can be used for relating the scheduled events of a construction project with the respective financial parameters, leading to an overall improvement in general controlling and liquidity management. For this purpose, existing construction schedules are taken and details of the assignment are recorded. Thus it becomes possible to assess a future payment status should changes in the designated schedule occur.
This paper presents two new methods for analysis of a technical state of large-panel residential buildings. The first method is based on elements extracted from the classical methods and on data about repairs and modernization collected from building documentations. The technical state of a building is calculated as a sum of several groups of elements defining the technical state. The deterioration in this method depends on: - time, which has passed since last repair of element or time which has passed since construction, - estimate of the state of element groups which can be determined on basis of yearly controls. This is a new unique method. it is easy to use, does not need expertise. The required data could be extracted easily from building documentations. For better accuracy the data from building inspections should be applied (in Poland inspections are made every year). The second method is based on the extracted data processing by means of the artificial neural networks. The aim is to learn the artificial neural network configurations for a set of data containing values of the technical state and information about building repairs for last years (or other information and building parameters) and next to analyse new buildings by the instructed neural network. The second profit from using artificial neural networks is the reduction of number of parameters. Instead of more then 40 parameters describing building, about 6-12 are usually sufficient for satisfactory accuracy. This method could have lower accuracy but it is less prone to data errors.
The Lucas-Kanade tracker has proven to be an efficient and accurate method for calculation of the optical flow. However, this algorithm can reliably track only suitable image features like corners and edges. Therefore, the optical flow can only be calculated for a few points in each image, resulting in sparse optical flow fields. Accumulation of these vectors over time is a suitable method to retrieve a dense motion vector field. However, the accumulation process limits application of the proposed method to fixed camera setups. Here, a histogram based approach is favored to allow more than a single typical flow vector per pixel. The resulting vector field can be used to detect roads and prescribed driving directions which constrain object movements. The motion structure can be modeled as a graph. The nodes represent entry and exit points for road users as well as crossings, while the edges represent typical paths.
CONSTITUTIVE MODELS FOR SUBSOIL IN THE CONTEXT OF STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS IN CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
(2010)
Parameters of constitutive models are obtained generally comparing the results of forward numerical simulations to measurement data. Mostly the parameter values are varied by trial-and-error in order to reach an improved fit and obtain plausible results. However, the description of complex soil behavior requires advanced constitutive models where the rising complexity of these models mainly increases the number of unknown constitutive parameters. Thus an efficient identification "by hand" becomes quite difficult for most practical geotechnical problems. The main focus of this article is on finding a vector of parameters in a given search space which minimizes discrepancy between measurements and the associated numerical result. Classically, the parameter values are estimated from laboratory tests on small samples (triaxial tests or oedometer tests). For this purpose an automatic population-based approach is present to determine the material parameters for reconstituted and natural Bothkennar Clay. After the identification a statistical assessment is carried out of numerical results to evaluate different constitutive models. On the other side a geotechnical problem, stone columns under an embankment, is treated in a well instrumented field trial in Klagenfurt, Austria. For the identification purpose there are measurements from multilevel-piezometers, multilevel-extensometers and horizontal inclinometer. Based on the simulation of the stone columns in a FE-Model the identification of the constitutive parameters is similar to the experimental tests by minimizing the absolute error between measurement and numerical curves.
For assessment of old buildings, thermal graphic analysis aided with infra-red camera have been employed in a wide range nowadays. Image processing and evaluation can be economically practicable only if the image evaluation can also be automated to the largest extend. For that reason methods of computer vision are presented in this paper to evaluate thermal images. To detect typical thermal image elements, such as thermal bridges and lintels in thermal images respectively gray value images, methods of digital image processing have been applied, of which numerical procedures are available to transform, modify and encode images. At the same time, image processing can be regarded as a multi-stage process. In order to be able to accomplish the process of image analysis from image formation through perfecting and segmentation to categorization, appropriate functions must be implemented. For this purpose, different measuring procedures and methods for automated detection and evaluation have been tested.
A concept for integrated modeling of urban and rural hydrology is introduced. The concept allows for simulations on the catchment scale as well as on the local scale. It is based on a 2-layer-approach which facilitates the parallel coupling of a catchment hydrology model with an urban hydrology model, considering the interactions between the two systems. The concept has been implemented in a computer model combining a grid based distributed hydrological catchment model and a hydrological urban stormwater model based on elementary units. The combined model provides a flexible solution for time and spatial scale integration and offers to calculate separate water balances for urban and rural hydrology. Furthermore, it is GIS-based which allows for easy and accurate geo-referencing of urban overflow structures, which are considered as points of interactions between the two hydrologic systems. Due to the two-layer-approach, programs of measures can be incorporated in each system separately. The capabilities of the combined model have been tested on a hypothetical test case and a real world application. It could be shown that the model is capable of accurately quantifying the effects of urbanization in a catchment. The affects of urbanization can be analyzed at the catchment outlet, but can also be traced back to its origins, due to the geo-referencing of urban overflow structures. This is a mayor advantage over conventional hydrological catchment models for the analysis of land use changes.
In diesem Beitrag wird eine mobile Software-Komponente zur Vor-Ort-Unterstützung von Bauwerksprüfungen gemäß DIN 1076 „Ingenieurbauwerke im Zuge von Strassen und Wegen, Überwachung und Prüfung“ vorgestellt, welche sich im praktischen Einsatz bei der Hochbahn AG Hamburg befindet. Mit Hilfe dieses Werkzeugs kann die Aktivität am Bauwerk in den gesamten softwaregestützten Geschäftsprozess der auwerksinstandhaltung integriert und somit die Bearbeitungszeit einer Bauwerksprüfung von der Vorbereitung bis zur Prüfbericht-Erstellung reduziert werden. Die Technologie des Mobile Computing wird unter Berücksichtigung spezieller fachlicher Randbedingungen, wie z.B. dem Einsatzort unter freiem Himmel, erläutert und es werden Methoden zur effizienten Datenerfassung mit Stift und Sprache vorgestellt und bewertet. Ferner wird die Einschränkung der Hardware durch die geringere Größe der Endgeräte, die sich durch die Bedingung der Mobilität ergibt, untersucht.
This is an implementation of the Fillmore–Springer–Cnops construction (FSCc) based on the Clifford algebra capacities of the GiNaC computer algebra system. FSCc linearises the linear-fraction action of the Mobius group. This turns to be very useful in several theoretical and applied fields including engineering. The core of this realisation of FSCc is done for an arbitrary dimension, while a subclass for two dimensional cycles add some 2D-specific routines including a visualisation to PostScript files through the MetaPost or Asymptote software. This library is a backbone of many result published in, which serve as illustrations of its usage. It can be ported (with various level of required changes) to other CAS with Clifford algebras capabilities.
Geotechnical constructions are sophisticated structures due to the non-linear soil behaviour and the complex soil-structure interaction, which entails great exigencies on the liable engineer during the design process. The process can be schematised as a difficult and, depending on the opportunities and skills of the processor more or less innovative, creative and heuristic search for one or a multiple of defined objectives under given boundary conditions. Wholistic approaches including numerical optimisation which support the constructing engineer in this task do not currently exist. Abstract problem formulation is not state of the art; commonly parameter studies are bounded by computational effort. Thereby potential regarding cost effectiveness, construction time, load capacity and/or serviceability are often used insufficiently. This paper describes systematic approaches for comprehensive optimisation of selected geotechnical constructions like combined pile raft foundations and quay wall structures. Several optimisation paradigms like the mono- and the multi-objective optimisation are demonstrated and their use for a more efficient design concerning various intentions is shown in example. The optimisation is implemented by using Evolutionary Algorithms. The applicability to geotechnical real world problems including nonlinearities, discontinuities and multi-modalities is shown. The routines are adapted to common problems and coupled with conventional analysis procedures as well as with numerical calculation software based on the finite element method. Numerical optimisation of geotechnical design using efficient algorithms is able to deliver highly effective solutions after investing more effort into the parameterization of the problem. Obtained results can be used for realizing different constructions near the stability limit, visualizing the sensitivity regarding the construction parameters or simply procuring more effective solutions.
The present study was designed to investigate the underlying factors determining the visual impressions of design-patterns that have complex textures. Design-patterns produced by "the dynamical system defined by iterations of discrete Laplacians on the plane lattice" were adopted as stimuli because they were not only complex, but also defined mathematically. In the experiment, 21 graduate and undergraduate students sorted 102 design-patterns into several groups by visual impressions. Those 102 patterns were classified into 12 categories by the cluster analysis. The results showed that the regularity of pattern was a most efficient factor for determining visual impressions of design-pattern, and there were some correspondence between visual impressions and mathematical variables of design-pattern. Especially, the visual impressions were influenced greatly by the neighborhood, and less influenced by steps of iterations.
VARIATIONAL POSITING AND SOLUTION OF COUPLED THERMOMECHANICAL PROBLEMS IN A REFERENCE CONFIGURATION
(2015)
Variational formulation of a coupled thermomechanical problem of anisotropic solids for the case of non-isothermal finite deformations in a reference configuration is shown. The formulation of the problem includes: a condition of equilibrium flow of a deformation process in the reference configuration; an equation of a coupled heat conductivity in a variational form, in which an influence of deformation characteristics of a process on the temperature field is taken into account; tensor-linear constitutive relations for a hypoelastic material; kinematic and evolutional relations; initial and boundary conditions. Based on this formulation several axisymmetric isothermal and coupled problems of finite deformations of isotropic and anisotropic bodies are solved. The solution of coupled thermomechanical problems for a hollow cylinder in case of finite deformation showed an essential influence of coupling on distribution of temperature, stresses and strains. The obtained solutions show the development of stressstrain state and temperature changing in axisymmetric bodies in the case of finite deformations.
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.
In order to make control decisions, Smart Buildings need to collect data from multiple sources and bring it to a central location, such as the Building Management System (BMS). This needs to be done in a timely and automated fashion. Besides data being gathered from different energy using elements, information of occupant behaviour is also important for a building’s requirement analysis. In this paper, the parameter of Occupant Density was considered to help find behaviour of occupants towards a building space. Through this parameter, support for building energy consumption and requirements based on occupant need and demands was provided. The demonstrator presented provides information on the number of people present in a particular building space at any time, giving the space density. Such collections of density data made over a certain period of time represents occupant behaviour towards the building space, giving its usage patterns. Similarly, inventory items were tracked and monitored for moving out or being brought into a particular read zone. For both, people and inventory items, this was achieved using small, low-cost, passive Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Occupants were given the tags in a form factor of a credit card to be possessed at all times. A central database was built where occupant and inventory information for a particular building space was maintained for monitoring and providing a central data access.
A central issue for the autonomous navigation of mobile robots is to map unknown environments while simultaneously estimating its position within this map. This chicken-eggproblem is known as simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). Asctec’s quadrotor Pelican is a powerful and flexible research UAS (unmanned aircraft system) which enables the development of new real-time on-board algorithms for SLAM as well as autonomous navigation. The relative UAS pose estimation for SLAM, usually based on low-cost sensors like inertial measurement units (IMU) and barometers, is known to be affected by high drift rates. In order to significantly reduce these effects, we incorporate additional independent pose estimation techniques using exteroceptive sensors. In this article we present first pose estimation results using a stereo camera setup as well as a laser range finder, individually. Even though these methods fail in few certain configurations we demonstrate their effectiveness and value for the reduction of IMU drift rates and give an outlook for further works towards SLAM.
The management of resources is an essential task in each construction company. Today, ERP systems and e-Business systems are available to assist construction companies to efficiently organise the allocation of their personnel and equipment within the company, but they cannot provide the company with the idle resources for every single task that has to be performed during a construction project. Therefore, companies should have an alternative solution to better exploit expensive resources and compensate their fixed costs, but also have them available at the right time for their own business activities. This paper outlines the approach taken by the EU funded project “e-Sharing” (IST-2001-33325) to support resource management between construction companies. It will describe requirements for the management of construction resources, its core features, and the integration approach. Therefore, we will outline the approach of an integrated resource type model supporting the management and classification of construction equipment, construction tasks and qualification profiles. The development is based on a cross-domain analysis and evaluation of existing models. ...
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.
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.
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 design of challenging space structures frequently relies on the theory of folded plates. The models are composed of plane facets of which the bending and membrane stiffness are coupled along the folds. In conventional finite element analysis of faceted structures the continuity of the displacement field is enforced exclusively at the nodes. Since approximate solutions for transverse and for in-plane displacements are not members of the same function space, separation occurs in between the common nodes of adjacent elements. It is shown that the kinematic assumptions of Bernoulli are accounted for this incompatibility along the edges in facet models. A general answer to this problem involves substantial modification of plate and membrane theory, but a straight forward formulation can be derived for simply folded plates, structures, whose folds do not intersect. A broad class of faceted structures, including models of various curved shells, belong to this category and can be calculated consistently. The additional requirements to assure continuity concern the mapping of displacement derivatives on the edges. An appropriate finite facet element provides node and edge-oriented degrees of freedom, whose transformation to system degrees of freedom, depends on the geometric configuration at each node. The concept is implemented using conform triangular elements. To evaluate the new approach, the energy norm of representative structures for refined meshes is calculated. The focus is placed on the mathematical convergence towards reliable solutions obtained from finite volume models.
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.
Bridge vibration due to traffic loading has been subject of extensive research in the last decades. Such studies are concerned with deriving solutions for the bridge-vehicle interaction (BVI) and analyzing the dynamic responses considering randomness of the coupled model’s (BVI) input parameters and randomness of road unevenness. This study goes further to examine the effects of such randomness of input parameters and processes on the variance of dynamic responses in quantitative measures. The input parameters examined in the sensitivity analysis are, stiffness and damping of vehicle’s suspension system, axle spacing, and stiffness and damping of bridge. This study also examines the effects of the initial excitation of a vehicle on the influences of the considered input parameters. Variance based sensitivity analysis is often applied to deterministic models. However, the models for the dynamic problem is a stochastic one due to the simulations of the random processes. Thus, a setting using a joint meta-model; one for the mean response and other for the dispersion of the response is developed. The joint model is developed within the framework of Generalized Linear Models (GLM). An enhancement of the GLM procedure is suggested and tested; this enhancement incorporates Moving Least Squares (MLS) approximation algorithms in the fitting of the mean component of the joint model. The sensitivity analysis is then performed on the joint-model developed for the dynamic responses caused by BVI.
SELECTION AND SCALING OF GROUND MOTION RECORDS FOR SEISMIC ANALYSIS USING AN OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM
(2015)
The nonlinear time history analysis and seismic performance based methods require a set of scaled ground motions. The conventional procedure of ground motion selection is based on matching the motion properties, e.g. magnitude, amplitude, fault distance, and fault mechanism. The seismic target spectrum is only used in the scaling process following the random selection process. Therefore, the aim of the paper is to present a procedure to select a sets of ground motions from a built database of ground motions. The selection procedure is based on running an optimization problem using Dijkstra’s algorithm to match the selected set of ground motions to a target response spectrum. The selection and scaling procedure of optimized sets of ground motions is presented by examining the analyses of nonlinear single degree of freedom systems.
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.
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.
Sensor faults can affect the dependability and the accuracy of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. Recent studies demonstrate that artificial neural networks can be used to detect sensor faults. In this paper, decentralized artificial neural networks (ANNs) are applied for autonomous sensor fault detection. On each sensor node of a wireless SHM system, an ANN is implemented to measure and to process structural response data. Structural response data is predicted by each sensor node based on correlations between adjacent sensor nodes and on redundancies inherent in the SHM system. Evaluating the deviations (or residuals) between measured and predicted data, sensor faults are autonomously detected by the wireless sensor nodes in a fully decentralized manner. A prototype SHM system implemented in this study, which is capable of decentralized autonomous sensor fault detection, is validated in laboratory experiments through simulated sensor faults. Several topologies and modes of operation of the embedded ANNs are investigated with respect to the dependability and the accuracy of the fault detection approach. In conclusion, the prototype SHM system is able to accurately detect sensor faults, demonstrating that neural networks, processing decentralized structural response data, facilitate autonomous fault detection, thus increasing the dependability and the accuracy of structural health monitoring systems.
Mit diesen Ausführungen wird ein Beitrag zum weiteren Erhalt der historischen Bausubstanz in Mecklenburg aus der Sicht der Tragwerksanalyse geleistet. Dabei bestätigt es sich immer mehr, dass mit dem Modell der Geometrie, der Belastung und des Materials gleichberechtigte Modelle für eine wirklichkeitsnahe Einschätzung des Tragverhaltens eines Tragwerks vorliegen müssen. Es zeigt sich, dass dabei die besten Berechnungsprogramme nur die Ergebnisse liefern können, die mit den Eingabedaten zu erzielen sind. So hat sich der Forschungsschwerpunkt im Lehrgebiet Tragwerkslehre des FB Architektur an der Hochschule Wismar in den letzten Jahren auf die realistische Abbildung der Wechselwirkung zwischen der Bauaufnahme und der geometrischen Modellierung konzentriert. In diesem Bereich zeigen sich als Schwerpunkte die Wechselwirkung zwischen Schäden und Tragwerksanalyse und die Wechselwirkung zwischen der aufgenommenen Geometrie und dem geometrischen Modell für die Tragwerksanalyse. Die Fülle der aufgenommenen Daten sind dabei in der Regel mehr hinderlich als ein Segen für die Tragwerksanalyse. Hier wurde gezeigt, welche und wie viele geometrische Daten für das geometrische Modell für die Tragwerksanalyse sinnvoll sind. Da die eigene Datenaufnahme relativ viel Zeit beansprucht, wurde eine "geistige" Bauaufnahme durchgeführt. Dazu wird der historische Planungsprozess in den einzelnen Formfindungsschritten nachvollzogen und in die virtuelle Realität überführt. Mit dieser Methode ergeben sich unterschiedliche Bauzustände und es lassen sich auch mögliche Bauphasen abbilden. Die Tragwerksanalyse dieser virtuellen Realität zeigt dann mögliche Schwächen der Tragwerke und/oder die Notwendigkeit konstruktiver Veränderungen. Ein Vergleich der Ergebnisse der Tragwerksanalyse mit der Realität anhand des vorliegenden Datenbestands liefert die Grundlage für den aktuellen Handlungsbedarf. Da der Bauzustand eines Bauwerkes unter einer zeitlichen Veränderung steht, werden Methoden überprüft, die es ermöglichen, einen einmal vorgelegten Datenbestand aufzubereiten und weiter zu verwalten.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THERMO-HYGRAL ALKALI-SILICA REACTION MODEL IN CONCRETE AT THE MESOSCALE
(2010)
This research aims to model Alkali-Silica Reaction gel expansion in concrete under the influence of hygral and thermal loading, based on experimental results. ASR provokes a heterogeneous expansion in concrete leading to dimensional changes and eventually the premature failure of the concrete structure. This can result in map cracking on the concrete surface which will decrease the concrete stiffness. Factors that influence ASR are parameters such as the cement alkalinity, the number of deleterious silica from the aggregate used, concrete porosity, and external factors like temperature, humidity and external source of alkali from ingression of deicing salts. Uncertainties of the influential factors make ASR a difficult phenomenon to solve; hence my approach to this matter is to solve the problem using stochastic modelling, where a numerical simulation of concrete cross-section with integration of experimental results from Finger-Institute for Building Materials Science at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. The problem is formulated as a multi-field problem, combining heat transfer, fluid transfer and the reaction rate model with the mechanical stress field. Simulation is performed as a mesoscale model considering aggregates and mortar matrix. The reaction rate model will be conducted using experimental results from concrete expansions due to ASR gained from concrete prism tests. Expansive strains values for transient environmental conditions due to the reaction rate will be determined from calculation based on the reaction rate model. Results from these models will be able to predict the rate of ASR expansion and the cracking propagation that may arise.
One of the most promising and recent advances in computer-based planning is the transition from classical geometric modeling to building information modeling (BIM). Building information models support the representation, storage, and exchange of various information relevant to construction planning. This information can be used for describing, e.g., geometric/physical properties or costs of a building, for creating construction schedules, or for representing other characteristics of construction projects. Based on this information, plans and specifications as well as reports and presentations of a planned building can be created automatically. A fundamental principle of BIM is object parameterization, which allows specifying geometrical, numerical, algebraic and associative dependencies between objects contained in a building information model. In this paper, existing challenges of parametric modeling using the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) as a federated model for integrated planning are shown, and open research questions are discussed.
Seit die Datenverarbeitung in ihrer Komplexität sich der Thematik des Computer Integrated Manufacturing widmet gehört die Produktionsplanung und Steuerung zu jenen Bereichen, in denen eine Computerunterstützung am vordringlichsten erschien. Später sind betriebswirtschaftliche Gesamtlösungen entstanden, die (bis heute recht unpräzise) als Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)-Systeme bezeichnet werden und in ihren Logistik-Modulen auch Funktionen der Produktionsplanung abdecken. Alle bekannten MRP-, PPS- und auch ERP-Systeme beruhen auf einer Sukzessivplanung. Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) Systems finden seit etwa 1995 zunehmend Interesse. Neben Demand Planning, Production Planning and Scheduling, Distribution Planning, Transportation Planning und Supply Chain Planning werden Lösungen für Anzahl und Standorte von Produktionsstätten und Auslieferungslagern, Zuordnung zu Produktionsstätten, Kapazitätsbestimmung für Arbeitskräfte und Betriebsmittel je Standort, Lagerhaltung je Teil und Lager, Bestimmung benötigter Transportmittel und Häufigkeit ihres Einsatzes, Zuordnung von Lagern zu Produktionsstätten von Märkten zu Lagern u.a.m. von APS-Systemen erwartet. D.h. APS-Systeme ergänzen ERP-Lösungen, nutzen die bereits durch das ERP-System vorhandenen Daten und benötigen neuartige Algorithmen und (Meta-) Heuristiken. Im Rahmen des Vortrages werden Modelle und Echtzeitalgorithmen zur Optimierung der Logistik für Prozesse mit kurzfristigen Anforderungen, geographisch verteilter Produktion, Lagerhaltung der Ausgangs-, Zwischen- und Endprodukte und wechselnden Transport-Bedingungen aus der Sicht der praktischen Umsetzung und Anwendung in Form einer ASP-Lösung aufgezeigt und diskutiert.
Performing parameter identification prior to numerical simulation is an essential task in geotechnical engineering. However, it has to be kept in mind that the accuracy of the obtained parameter is closely related to the chosen experimental setup, such as the number of sensors as well as their location. A well considered position of sensors can increase the quality of the measurement and to reduce the number of monitoring points. This Paper illustrates this concept by means of a loading device that is used to identify the stiffness and permeability of soft clays. With an initial setup of the measurement devices the pore water pressure and the vertical displacements are recorded and used to identify the afore mentioned parameters. Starting from these identified parameters, the optimal measurement setup is investigated with a method based on global sensitivity analysis. This method shows an optimal sensor location assuming three sensors for each measured quantity, and the results are discussed.
The present article proposes an alternative way to compute the torsional stiffness based on three-dimensional continuum mechanics instead of applying a specific theory of torsion. A thin, representative beam slice is discretized by solid finite elements. Adequate boundary conditions and coupling conditions are integrated into the numerical model to obtain a proper answer on the torsion behaviour, thus on shear center, shear stress and torsional stiffness. This finite element approach only includes general assumptions of beam torsion which are independent of cross-section geometry. These assumptions essentially are: no in-plane deformation, constant torsion and free warping. Thus it is possible to achieve numerical solutions of high accuracy for arbitrary cross-sections. Due to the direct link to three-dimensional continuum mechanics, it is possible to extend the range of torsion analysis to sections which are composed of different materials or even to heterogeneous beams on a high scale of resolution. A brief study follows to validate the implementation and results are compared to analytical solutions.
The present paper is part of a comprehensive approach of grid-based modelling. This approach includes geometrical modelling by pixel or voxel models, advanced multiphase B-spline finite elements of variable order and fast iterative solver methods based on the multigrid method. So far, we have only presented these grid-based methods in connection with linear elastic analysis of heterogeneous materials. Damage simulation demands further considerations. The direct stress solution of standard bilinear finite elements is severly defective, especially along material interfaces. Besides achieving objective constitutive modelling, various nonlocal formulations are applied to improve the stress solution. Such a corrective data processing can either refer to input data in terms of Young's modulus or to the attained finite element stress solution, as well as to a combination of both. A damage-controlled sequentially linear analysis is applied in connection with an isotropic damage law. Essentially by a high resolution of the heterogeneous solid, local isotropic damage on the material subscale allows to simulate complex damage topologies such as cracks. Therefore anisotropic degradation of a material sample can be simulated. Based on an effectively secantial global stiffness the analysis is numerically stable. The iteration step size is controlled for an adequate simulation of the damage path. This requires many steps, but in the iterative solution process each new step starts with the solution of the prior step. Therefore this method is quite effective. The present paper provides an introduction of the proposed concept for a stable simulation of damage in heterogeneous solids.
A fast solver method called the multigrid preconditioned conjugate gradient method is proposed for the mechanical analysis of heterogeneous materials on the mesoscale. Even small samples of a heterogeneous material such as concrete show a complex geometry of different phases. These materials can be modelled by projection onto a uniform, orthogonal grid of elements. As one major problem the possible resolution of the concrete specimen is generally restricted due to (a) computation times and even more critical (b) memory demand. Iterative solvers can be based on a local element-based formulation while orthogonal grids consist of geometrical identical elements. The element-based formulation is short and transparent, and therefore efficient in implementation. A variation of the material properties in elements or integration points is possible. The multigrid method is a fast iterative solver method, where ideally the computational effort only increases linear with problem size. This is an optimal property which is almost reached in the implementation presented here. In fact no other method is known which scales better than linear. Therefore the multigrid method gains in importance the larger the problem becomes. But for heterogeneous models with very large ratios of Young's moduli the multigrid method considerably slows down by a constant factor. Such large ratios occur in certain heterogeneous solids, as well as in the damage analysis of solids. As solution to this problem the multigrid preconditioned conjugate gradient method is proposed. A benchmark highlights the multigrid preconditioned conjugate gradient method as the method of choice for very large ratio's of Young's modulus. A proposed modified multigrid cycle shows good results, in the application as stand-alone solver or as preconditioner.
Advanced finite elements are proposed for the mechanical analysis of heterogeneous materials. The approximation quality of these finite elements can be controlled by a variable order of B-spline shape functions. An element-based formulation is developed such that the finite element problem can iteratively be solved without storing a global stiffness matrix. This memory saving allows for an essential increase of problem size. The heterogeneous material is modelled by projection onto a uniform, orthogonal grid of elements. Conventional, strictly grid-based finite element models show severe oscillating defects in the stress solutions at material interfaces. This problem is cured by the extension to multiphase finite elements. This concept enables to define a heterogeneous material distribution within the finite element. This is possible by a variable number of integration points to each of which individual material properties can be assigned. Based on an interpolation of material properties at nodes and further smooth interpolation within the finite elements, a continuous material function is established. With both, continuous B-spline shape function and continuous material function, also the stress solution will be continuous in the domain. The inaccuracy implied by the continuous material field is by far less defective than the prior oscillating behaviour of stresses. One- and two-dimensional numerical examples are presented.
Planning and construction processes are characterized by the peculiarity that they need to be designed individually for each project. It is necessary to set up an individual schedule for each project. As a basis for a new project, schedules from already finished projects are used, but adaptions are always necessary. In practice, scheduling tools only document a process. Schedules cover a set of activities, their duration and a set of interdependencies between activities. The design of a process is up to the user. It is not necessary to specify each interdependency, and completeness and correctness need to be checked manually. No methodologies are available to guarantee properties such as correctness or completeness. The considerations presented in the paper are based on an approach where a planning and a construction process including the interdependencies between planning and construction activities are regarded as a result. Selected information need to be specified by a user, and a proposal for an order of planning and construction activities is computed. As a consequence, process properties such as correctness and completeness can be guaranteed with respect to user input. Especially in Germany, clients are allowed to modify their requirements at any time. This leads to modifications in the planning and construction processes. This paper covers a mathematical formulation for this problem based on set theory. A complex structure is set up covering objects and relations; and operations are defined that guarantee consistency in the underlying and versioned process description. The presented considerations are based on previous work. This paper can be regarded as the next step in a series of previous work describing how a suitable concept for handling, planning and construction processes in civil engineering can be formed.
Digital models of buildings are widely used in civil engineering. In these models, geometric information is used as leading information. Engineers are used to have geometric information, and, for instance, it is state of the art to specify a point by its three coordinates. However, the traditional approaches have disadvantages. Geometric information is over-determined. Thus, more geometric information is specified and stored than needed. In addition, engineers already deal with topological information. A denotation of objects in buildings is of topological nature. It has to be answered whether approaches where topological information becomes a leading role would be more efficient in civil engineering. This paper presents such an approach. Topological information is modelled independently of geometric information. It is used for denoting the objects of a building. Geometric information is associated to topological information so that geometric information “weights” a topology.
The concept presented in this paper has already been used in surveying existing buildings. Experiences in the use of this concept showed that the number of geometric information that is required for a complete specification of a building could be reduced by a factor up to 100. Further research will show how this concept can be used in planning processes.
This paper presents a specific modeling technique that is focused on preparing planning processes in civil engineering. Planning processes in civil engineering are characterized by some peculiarities so that the sequence of planning tasks needs to be determined for each planning project. Neither the use of optimized partial processes nor the use of lower detailed and optimized processes guarantee an optimal overall planning process. The modeling technique considers these peculiarities. In a first step, it is focused on the logic of the planning process. Algorithms based on the graph theory determine that logic. This approach ensures consistency and logical correctness of the description of a planning process at the early beginning in its preparation phase. Sets of data – the products of engineers like technical drawings, technical models, reports, or specifications – form the core of the presented modeling technique. The production of these sets of data requires time and money. This is expressed by a specific weighting of each set of data in the presented modeling technique. The introduction of these weights allows an efficient progress measurement and controlling of a planning project. For this purpose, a link between the modeling technique used in the preparation phase and the execution phase is necessary so that target and actual values are available for controlling purposes. The present paper covers the description of this link. An example is given to illustrate the use of the modeling technique for planning processes in civil engineering projects.
It is well-known that the solution of the fundamental equations of linear elasticity for a homogeneous isotropic material in plane stress and strain state cases can be equivalently reduced to the solution of a biharmonic equation. The discrete version of the Theorem of Goursat is used to describe the solution of the discrete biharmonic equation by the help of two discrete holomorphic functions. In order to obtain a Taylor expansion of discrete holomorphic functions we introduce a basis of discrete polynomials which fulfill the so-called Appell property with respect to the discrete adjoint Cauchy-Riemann operator. All these steps are very important in the field of fracture mechanics, where stress and displacement fields in the neighborhood of singularities caused by cracks and notches have to be calculated with high accuracy. Using the sum representation of holomorphic functions it seems possible to reproduce the order of singularity and to determine important mechanical characteristics.
Summer overheating in buildings is a common problem, especially in office buildings with large glazed facades, high internal loads and low thermal mass. Phase change materials (PCM) that undergo a phase transition in the temperature range of thermal comfort can add thermal mass without increasing the structural load of the building. The investigated PCM were micro-encapsulated and mixed into gypsum plaster. The experiments showed a reduction of indoor-temperature of up to 4 K when using a 3 cm layer of PCM-plaster with micro-encapsulated paraffin. The measurement results could validate a numerical model that is based on a temperature dependent function for heat capacity. Thermal building simulation showed that a 3 cm layer of PCM-plaster can help to fulfil German regulations concerning heat protection of buildings in summer for most office rooms.
We briefly review and use the recent comprehensive research on the manifolds of square roots of −1 in real Clifford geometric algebras Cl(p,q) in order to construct the Clifford Fourier transform. Basically in the kernel of the complex Fourier transform the complex imaginary unit j is replaced by a square root of −1 in Cl(p,q). The Clifford Fourier transform (CFT) thus obtained generalizes previously known and applied CFTs, which replaced the complex imaginary unit j only by blades (usually pseudoscalars) squaring to −1. A major advantage of real Clifford algebra CFTs is their completely real geometric interpretation. We study (left and right) linearity of the CFT for constant multivector coefficients in Cl(p,q), translation (x-shift) and modulation (w -shift) properties, and signal dilations. We show an inversion theorem. We establish the CFT of vector differentials, partial derivatives, vector derivatives and spatial moments of the signal. We also derive Plancherel and Parseval identities as well as a general convolution theorem.
In the final decades many scientists were occupied intensively with the change of materials during a process and their mathematical descriptions. The extensive and extensive analyses were supported by the advanced computer science. A mathematical description of the phase transformation is a condition for a realistic FE simulation of the state of microstructure. It is possible to simulate the temperature and stress field also in complex construction based on the state of microstructure. In the last years a great number of mathematical models were expanded to describe the transformation between different phases. For the development of the models for transformation kinetics it is practical to subdivide into isothermal and non-isothermal processes according to the thermal conditions. Some models for the description of the transformation with non-isothermal processes represent extensions for isothermal of processes. A part of parameters for the describing equations can be derived from the time-temperature-transformation diagrams in the literature. Furthermore the two possibilities of transformation are considered by different models - diffusion controlled and not diffusion controlled. The material-specific characteristics can be simulated during the transformation for each individual phase in a realistic FE analyses. Also new materials can be simulated after a modification of the parameters in the describing equations for the phase transformation. The effects in the temperature and stress field are a substantial reason for the investigation of the phase transformation during the welding and TIG-dressing processes.
The concrete is modeled as a material with damage and plasticity, whereat the viscoplastic and the viscoelastic behaviour depends on the rate of the total strains. Due to the damage behaviour the compliance tensor develops different properties in tension and compression. There have been tested various yield surfaces and flow rules, damage rules respectively to their usability in a concrete model. One three-dimensional yield surface was developed from a failure surface based on the Willam--Warnke five-parameter model by the author. Only one general uni-axial stress-strain-relation is used for the numeric control of the yield surface. From that curve all necessary parameters for different strengths of concrete and different strain rates can be derived by affine transformations. For the flow rule in the compression zone a non associated inelastic potential is used, in the tension zone a Rankine potential. Conditional on the time-dependent formulation, the symmetry of the system equations is maintained in spite of the usage of non-associated potentials for the derivation of the inelastic strains. In case of quasi statical computations a simple viscoplastic law is used that is rested on an approach to Perzyna. The principle of equality of dissipation power in the uni-axial and the three-axial state of stress is used. It is modified by a factor that depends on the actual stress ratio and in comparison with the Kupfer experiments it implicates strains that are more realistic. The implementation of the concrete model is conducted in a mixed hybrid finite element. Examples in the structural level are introduced for verification of the concrete model.
DECENTRALIZED APPROACHES TO ADAPTIVE TRAFFIC CONTROL AND AN EXTENDED LEVEL OF SERVICE CONCEPT
(2006)
Traffic systems are highly complex multi-component systems suffering from instabilities and non-linear dynamics, including chaos. This is caused by the non-linearity of interactions, delays, and fluctuations, which can trigger phenomena such as stop-and-go waves, noise-induced breakdowns, or slower-is-faster effects. The recently upcoming information and communication technologies (ICT) promise new solutions leading from the classical, centralized control to decentralized approaches in the sense of collective (swarm) intelligence and ad hoc networks. An interesting application field is adaptive, self-organized traffic control in urban road networks. We present control principles that allow one to reach a self-organized synchronization of traffic lights. Furthermore, vehicles will become automatic traffic state detection, data management, and communication centers when forming ad hoc networks through inter-vehicle communication (IVC). We discuss the mechanisms and the efficiency of message propagation on freeways by short-range communication. Our main focus is on future adaptive cruise control systems (ACC), which will not only increase the comfort and safety of car passengers, but also enhance the stability of traffic flows and the capacity of the road (“traffic assistance”). We present an automated driving strategy that adapts the operation mode of an ACC system to the autonomously detected, local traffic situation. The impact on the traffic dynamics is investigated by means of a multi-lane microscopic traffic simulation. The simulation scenarios illustrate the efficiency of the proposed driving strategy. Already an ACC equipment level of 10% improves the traffic flow quality and reduces the travel times for the drivers drastically due to delaying or preventing a breakdown of the traffic flow. For the evaluation of the resulting traffic quality, we have recently developed an extended level of service concept (ELOS). We demonstrate our concept on the basis of travel times as the most important variable for a user-oriented quality of service.
Für eine beherrschbare Koordination und Durchführung von Planungsaufgaben in Bauprojekten wird der Planungsprozess zunehmend in formalisierten Modellen – Prozessmodellen – beschrieben. Die Produktmodellforschung ihrerseits widmet sich der Speicherung von Planungsdaten in Form von objektorientierten Modellen im Rechner. Hauptaugenmerk sind dabei die Wahrung der Konsistenz und die Modellierung von Abhängigkeiten innerhalb dieses Planungsmaterials. Der Bezug zu den Akteuren der Planung wird nicht direkt hergestellt. Ein formal beschriebener Planungsprozesses kann in der Praxis noch nicht derart realisiert werden, dass ein Zugriff auf Einzelobjekte des Planungsprozesses gewährleistet ist. Bestehende Planungsunterstützungs- und Workflowmanagement-Systeme abstrahieren und ordnen das Planungsmaterial nach wie vor auf Dateiebene. Der vorliegende Artikel beschreibt eine Methode für die geeignete Verbindung von formalisierten Prozessmodellen in der Bauplanung mit den Einzelobjekten, die in den modellorientierten Objektmengen kodiert sind. Dabei wird die Zugehörigkeit bestimmter Objekte zu Plänen und Dokumenten (zum Zwecke des Datenaustauschs) nicht länger durch die physische Zuordnung zu Dateien festgelegt. Es wird ein formales Beschreibungsmittel vorgestellt, welches die entsprechende Teilmengenbildung aus der Gesamtheit der Planungsobjekte ermöglicht. Für die bisherigen Formen des Datenaustausches werden aus den Objektmodellen der Planung Teilmengen herausgelöst und physikalisch zwischen den Planern transportiert. Das neue Beschreibungsmittel hingegen erlaubt es, die Bildungsvorschrift für Objektteilmengen statt der Mengen selbst zwischen den Planern auszutauschen. Der Zugriff auf die konkreten Objekte findet dann direkt modellbasiert statt.
In construction engineering, a schedule’s input data, which is usually not exactly known in the planning phase, is considered deterministic when generating the schedule. As a result, construction schedules become unreliable and deadlines are often not met. While the optimization of construction schedules with respect to costs and makespan has been a matter of research in the past decades, the optimization of the robustness of construction schedules has received little attention. In this paper, the effects of uncertainties inherent to the input data of construction schedules are discussed. Possibilities are investigated to improve the reliability of construction schedules by considering alternative processes for certain tasks and by identifying the combination of processes generating the most robust schedule with respect to the makespan of a construction project.
In this paper three different formulations of a Bernoulli type free boundary problem are discussed. By analyzing the shape Hessian in case of matching data it is distinguished between well-posed and ill-posed formulations. A nonlinear Ritz-Galerkin method is applied for discretizing the shape optimization problem. In case of well-posedness existence and convergence of the approximate shapes is proven. In combination with a fast boundary element method efficient first and second order shape optimization algorithms are obtained.
Adopting the European laws concerning environmental protection will require sustained efforts of the authorities and communities from Romania; implementing modern solutions will become a fast and effective option for the improvement of the functioning systems, in order to prevent disasters. As a part of the urban infrastructure, the drainage networks of pluvial and residual waters are included in the plan of promoting the systems which protect the environmental quality, with the purpose of integrated and adaptive management. The paper presents a distributed control system for sewer network of Iasi town. Unsatisfactory technical state of the actual sewer system is exposed, focusing on objectives related to implementation of the control system. The proposed distributed control system of Iasi drainage network is based on the implementation of the hierarchic control theory for diagnose, sewer planning and management. There are proposed two control levels: coordinating and local execution. Configuration of the distributed control system, including data acquisition and conversion equipment, interface characteristics, local data bus, data communication network, station configuration are widely described. The project wish to be an useful instrument for the local authorities in the preventing and reducing the impact of future natural disasters over the urban areas by means of modern technologies.