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- 2004 (220) (remove)
The method of the finite elements is an adaptable numerical procedure for interpolation as well as for the numerical approximation of solutions of partial differential equations. The basis of these procedure is the formulation of suitable finite elements and element decompositions of the solution space. Classical finite elements are based on triangles or quadrangles in the two-dimensional space and tetrahedron or hexahedron in the threedimensional space. The use of arbitrary-dimensional convex and non-convex polyhedrons as the geometrical basis of finite elements increases the flexibility of generating finite element decompositions substantially and is sometimes the only way to get a clear decomposition...
Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist es zu zeigen, ob die Anwendung der Methode der Finiten Elemente für die Berechnungen von aussteifenden Wandkonstruktionen in Holzrahmen- bzw. Holztafelbauweise richtige und verallgemeinerbare Ergebnisse liefert und damit: · zur Bemessung von Konstruktionen dienen kann, · die Nachrechnung bestehender Konstruktionen mit von der Norm abweichenden Ausführungsdetails erlaubt und · einen Ersatz für 1:1-Versuche an Wandscheiben darstellt. Die Ergebnisse lassen sich wie folgt zusammenfassen: Unter den derzeitigen Bedingungen stellt die Methode der Berechnung mit Finiten Elementen für die Bemessung von Ein- und Zweirastertafeln, vor allem für die bautechnische Praxis, keine sinnvolle Alternative zu den in den Normen genannten Berechnungsverfahren dar. Für Ein- und Zweirastersysteme sind die Nachweisverfahren der DIN 1052 bzw. des Eurocode 5 ausreichend. Sie können durch das Berechnungsverfahren nach KESSEL sinnvoll ergänzt werden. Die Drucklastverteilung in den Vertikalrippen wird jedoch nur unzureichend erfasst. Für Konstruktionen wie die in dieser Arbeit untersuchte Mehrrastertafel stehen derzeit keine geeigneten Berechnungsverfahren zur Verfügung. Die Anwendbarkeit der FE-Methode für die Nachrechnung bestehender Konstruktionen mit von der Norm abweichenden Konstruktionsdetails konnte in dieser Arbeit nicht nachgewiesen werden. Für die FE-Modellbildung von Wandscheiben des Holzrahmenbaus wurden verschiedenen Detaillösungen gezeigt. Es wurde gezeigt, welche Konstruktionsdetails der Wandscheiben signifikante Auswirkungen auf das Gesamttragverhalten haben. Die FE-Methode kann in der in dieser Arbeit verwendeten Form zur Vorbereitung von Versuchen an 1:1-Modellen dienen und wertvolle Hinweise zum Einfluß verschiedener Konstruktionsdetails auf das Gesamttragverhalten der Wandtafel liefern, um gezielt Veränderungen vornehmen zu können. Insofern stellen Berechnungen mit der FE-Methode eine sinnvolle Ergänzung dar.
The AEC industry is conscious of the potentials arising from the usage of mobile computer systems to increase productivity by streamlining their business processes. Discussions are no longer on whether or not to use a mobile computer solution, but rather, on how it should be used. However, the implantation process of this new technology in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) and Facility Management (FM) practise is very slow and should be improved. One way to encourage and ease the usage of mobile computer systems in AEC is a more process-oriented usability and context appropriateness of mobile computer solutions. Context-sensitivity is defined as a crucial feature to be taken into account for further research in the area of Mobile Computing. Context-sensitive, mobile IT-solutions depend on two features: (1) flexible definitions of (construction) processes describing the context and (2) tools for flexible, multi-dimensional information management representing the context. It is on this premise that the authors propose the n-dimensional data management approach for the implementation of mobile computing solutions. In this paper, we analyse working scenarios in the AEC and FM sector, defining context aspects which are transformed and formalized as dimension hierarchies of the envisaged context model.
Creation of hierarchical sequence of the plastic and viscoplastic models according to different levels of structure approximations is considered. Developed strategy of multimodel analysis, which consists of creation of the inelastic models library, determination of selection criteria system and caring out of multivariant sequential clarifying computations, is described. Application of the multimodel approach in numerical computations has demonstrated possibility of reliable prediction of stress-strain response under wide variety of combined nonproportional loading.
The research reported in this article was conducted to mainly explore the two common numeric prediction techniques, the model tree and the regression tree, when used in conjunction with bagging as a wrapper method. Bagging is used to improve the prediction accuracy of these two algorithms, and results are compared with the ones obtained earlier by the k-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm. From the conducted experiments, both the bagged regression tree and bagged model tree produce better results than not only their corresponding regression tree and model tree alone, but also the KNN with optimal value of k equal to 7. In addition, the bagged model tree yields the lowest prediction errors and a highest correlation coefficient of 0.81. It is demonstrated that it is feasible to use the bagged model tree for engineering applications in prediction problems such as estimating the remaining service life of bridge decks.
Building design in Civil Engineering is characterized by the cooperation of experts in multiple disciplines. Close cooperation of engineers in different fields is the basis of high product quality, short development periods and a minimum of investment costs. For each building the engineers have to create a new fire engineering model. The consistent realization of the fire engineering model in all details has high demands on communication, collaboration and building models. Thereby, to preserve the related design models consistent to each other and compatible with the rules of fire engineering is a complex task. In addition, regulations and guidelines vary according to the building location, so the knowledge base must be integrated dynamically into the planning process. This contribution covers the integration of engineers and design models into a cooperation network on the basis of mobile agents. The distributed models of architectural design, structural planning and fire engineering are supported. These models are implemented as XML-based models which can be accessed by mobile agents for information retrieval and for processing tasks. Agents are provided to all planners, they are enabled to check up the distributed design models with the knowledge base of the fire protection regulations,. With the use of such an agent each planner is supported to check up his planning for accordance with the fire protection requirements. The fire-engineering-agent analyzes the design and detects inconsistencies by processing fire protection requirements and design model facts in a rule-based expert system. The possibility to check the planning information at an early state in the sense of compatibility to the fire protection regulations enables a comprehensive diagnosis of the design and the reduction of planning errors.
The highway product model based on the length information of the centerline, and the application system is developed. This paper shows the schema and the modeling process of the product model, which includes geometric elements such as an alignment, lanes, sidewalks, shoulders and sprits, and accessories such as guard fences, plantings and signs. Furthermore, The Highway Sequence Editor (HSE) is developed as an application system to verify the model.
There are many construction projects in China and mass documents are exchanged among the multi-party, including the owner, the contractor and the engineer in the projects. Based on previous studies, an approach to the utilization of the exchanged documents is established by using data warehouse technology and a prototype system called EXPLYZER is developed. The approach and the prototype system are verified through their application in a construction project. It is concluded that the approach can support the decision-making in project management.
A comprehensive framework of information management system for construction projects in China has been established through extensive literature survey and field investigation. It utilizes the potential information technologies and covers the practical management patterns as well as the major aspects of construction project management. It can be used to guide and evaluate the design of the information management systems for construction projects in order to make the system to be applicable to a wide variety of construction projects and survive the changes in project management.
In this contribution, the design of an analysis environment is presented, that supports an analyst to come to a decision within a gradual collaborative planning process. An analyst represents a project manager, planner or any other person, involved in the planning process. Today, planning processes are managed by several geographically distributed planners and project managers. Thus, complexity of such a process rises even more. Prediction of consequences of many planning decisions is not possible, in particular since assessment of a planning advance is not trivial. There have to be considered several viewpoints, that depend on individual perceptions. In the following, methods are presented to realize planning decision support.
Advances in construction data analysis techniques have provided useful tools to discover explicit knowledge on historical databases supporting project managers’ decision making. However, in many situations, historical data are extracted and preprocessed for knowledge discovery based on time-consuming and problem-specific data preparation solutions, which often results in inefficiencies and inconsistencies. To overcome the problem, we are working on the development of a new data fusion methodology, which is designed to provide timely and consistent access to historical data for efficient and effective management knowledge discovery. The methodology is intended to be a new bridge between historical databases and data analysis techniques, which shields project managers from complex data preparation solutions, and enables them to use discovered knowledge for decision making more conveniently. This paper briefly describes the motivation, the background and the initial results of the ongoing research.
A vast growth of advanced information technology systems and tools nowadays is opening new ways to collect accurate as-built data. Since the turn of the millennium, new technology developments enable for the first time to gather accurate as-built information. Accurate as-built data will be of great usage to construction management as well as to designers and engineers. Given that most of the planned data are already digitally available, as-built data remains on paper forms. Information technology developments are opening new ways to digitize construction field data in order to develop intelligent tools for construction management allowing design engineers to update as-planned data. 3D Laser scanning, digital close-range photogrammetry and mobile computing are among the promising data collection technologies, which are auspicious to create new opportunities to develop advanced construction management and engineering tools. Primarily, accurate collected as-built data will be highly beneficial for the process of updating as-planned data.
This paper presents an application of dynamic decision making under uncertainty in planning and estimating underground construction. The application of the proposed methodology is illustrated by its application to an actual tunneling project—The Hanging Lake Tunnel Project in Colorado, USA. To encompass the typical risks in underground construction, tunneling decisions are structured as a risk-sensitive Markov decision process that reflects the decision process faced by a contractor in each tunneling round. This decision process consists of five basic components: (1) decision stages (locations), (2) system states (ground classes and tunneling methods), (3) alternatives (tunneling methods), (4) ground class transition probabilities, and (5) tunneling cost structure. The paper also presents concepts related to risk preference that are necessary to model the contractor’s risk attitude, including the lottery concept, utility theory, and the delta property. The optimality equation is formulated, the model components are defined, and the model is solved by stochastic dynamic programming. The main results are the optimal construction plans and risk-adjusted project costs, both of which reflect the dynamics of subsurface construction, the uncertainty about geologic variability as a function of available information, and the contractor’s risk preference.
Although there are some good reasons to design engineering software as a stand-alone application for a single computer, there are also numerous possibilities for creating distributed engineering applications, in particular using the Internet. This paper presents some typical scenarios how engineering applications can benefit from including network capabilities. Also, some examples of Internet-based engineering applications are discussed to show how the concepts presented can be implemented.
In der täglichen Ingenieurpraxis werden in zunehmenden Maße numerische Analysen im Rahmen der Finite-Elemente-Methode auch zur Untersuchung stabilitätsgefährdeter Strukturen eingesetzt. Für die aktuelle Praxis, insbesondere im konstruktiven Stahlbau, ist jedoch festzustellen, dass zwischen der fortgeschrittenen Theorie und dem Niveau der praktischen Anwendung numerischer Stabilitätsanalysen eine große Kluft besteht. Aus praktischer Sicht erscheint es unumgänglich, die weiter wachsende Diskrepanz zwischen den umfangreichen theoretischen Möglichkeiten und der gegenwärtigen Praxis abzubauen. Damit steht der praktisch tätige Ingenieur vor der Aufgabe, sein Wissen auf dem Gebiet numerischer Stabilitätsanalysen zu vertiefen und bereits vorhandene FE-Programme um Berechnungsalgorithmen für umfassende numerische Stabilitätsanalysen zu erweitern. Dafür werden in der Arbeit die Grundlagen einer FEM- orientierten modernen Stabilitätstheorie einheitlich und aus Sicht einer praktischen Anwendung aufbereitet. Die Darstellung von realisierten programmtechnischen Umsetzungen für erweiterte Analysenmethoden wie Nachbeulanalysen, Pfadwechsel und Approximationen imperfekter Pfade ermöglicht eine Erweiterung des Methodenvorrates. Die innerhalb der Arbeit untersuchten Beispiele zeigen, dass durch die Anwendung der behandelten Verfahren das Tragverhalten einer stabilitätsgefährdeten Struktur wesentlich besser eingeschätzt werden kann als bei Beschränkung auf die herkömmlichen Analysemethoden.
Wechselwirkung zwischen Baugrundmodell und Gründungsentwurf am Beispiel eines Maschinenfundaments
(2004)
Die Beschreibung und Modellierung des Baugrundes erweist sich aufgrund seiner Genese als schwierig. Diese Tatsache soll am Beispiel eines Gründungsentwurfs, durch die Gegenüberstellung zweier unterschiedlicher Modellansätze demonstriert werden. In diese Betrachtung gehen zum einen "Subjektive Schätzungen" und zum anderen "[Geo]Statistische Baugrundmodelle" ein. Die Bemessung erfolgt anhand einer identischen Ausgangsdatenbasis. Im Ergebnis zeigen sich große Abweichungen zwischen beiden Modellansätzen, die sich auf unterschiedlichen Umgang mit den streuenden Baugrundkenngrößen zurückführen lassen. Die streuenden Baugrundkenngrößen werden bei den "Subjektiven Schätzungen" durch einen einzigen, ungünstig wirkenden Kennwert repräsentiert, der die Eigenschaften eines Homogenbereichs beschreibt. Bei den "[Geo]Statistischen Baugrundmodellen" werden die Baugrundkenngrößen in ihrer Streubreite erfasst, ausgewertet und mit der Monte-Carlo-Simulation in der Grenzzustandsfunktion berücksichtigt.
Zur Verbindung des flächigen Bauteils Brettstapelelement mit mineralischer Deckschicht sind bisher kaum geeignete einfachste Fugenausbildungen untersucht. Bei dieser biegebeanspruchten hybriden Verbundkombination bietet das zugbeanspruchte Holz und die druckbeanspruchte mineralische Deckschicht im Verbund ein günstigeres Biegetragverhalten und verbessert im Vergleich zum reinen Brettstapeldeckenelement dessen Eigenschaften. Für die Steifigkeit und die Tragfähigkeit der Verbundkonstruktion ist die Ausbildung der Verbundfuge, die effektive Übertragung der Schubkraft ausschlaggebend. Die vom Verfasser der Arbeit durchgeführten Versuche haben gezeigt, dass der Einsatz alternativer Verbundfugenausführungen grundsätzlich möglich ist. Mit diesem Wissen scheint neben dem Einsatz nachgiebiger Verbindungsmittel auch die Heranziehung, Erfassung und Optimierung des Flächen- sowie Reibungsverbundes zwischen flächigen Holzelementen und mineralischen Deckschichten eine effiziente und sichere Fugenausbildung darzustellen. Für weiterreichende und genauere Aussagen, sind neben der versuchstechnischen Abklärung der Wirksamkeit möglicher chemischer als auch mechanischer Modifikationen der Holzoberfläche in der Verbundfuge computergestützte Kurzzeit- sowie auch Langzeituntersuchungen zur Abschätzung der Möglichkeiten und Zuverlässigkeit des Flächenverbundes zwischen Brettstapelelement und mineralischer Deckschicht unabdingbar gewesen. Als Deckschichtvarianten kamen Normalbeton, Zementestrich, Anhydritestrich und Geopolymerbeton zur Anwendung. Es konnte durch eine statistische Auswertung im Resultat ein Gesamtüberblick über das Tragverhalten von hybriden Verbundelementen mit mineralischen Deckschichten und spezieller Oberflächenbehandlung des Holzes gegeben werden. Dabei wirkten sich die Vorteile bei der Nutzung des Flächenverbundes vor allem auf den Gebrauchszustand des Bauteils aus. Die Steifigkeit des Verbundbauteils wurde durch den Flächenverbund erhöht und es wurden damit günstigere Voraussetzungen für den Nachweis der Gebrauchstauglichkeit vor allem bei Spannweiten über 5,0 m erzielt. Die Untersuchungen zeigen die grundlegende Anwendbarkeit für Brettstapel im Flächenverbund mit mineralischen Baustoffen.
PKPM series CAD software is an integrated CAD system for building design, which integrated the following parts: architectural design, structural design, building service design and statistic analysis of quantity and budget. These four parts share the same database with high efficiency. Over 80% of design corporation in China are using PKPM series CAD software. The detailed information and some key modules of PKPM series CAD software are mainly introduced in this paper.
Framed-tube system with multiple internal tubes is analysed using an orthotropic box beam analogy approach in which each tube is individually modelled by a box beam that accounts for the flexural and shear deformations, as well as the shear-lag effects. A simple numerical modeling technique is proposed for estimating the shear-lag phenomenon in tube structures with multiple internal tubes. The proposed method idealizes the framed-tube structures with multiple internal tubes as equivalent multiple tubes, each composed of four equivalent orthotropic plate panels. The numerical analysis is based on the minimum potential energy principle in conjunction with the variational approach. The shear-lag phenomenon of such structures is studied taking into account the additional bending moments in the tubes. A detailed work is carried out through the numerical analysis of the additional bending moment. The moment factor is further introduced to identify the shear lag phenomenon along with the additional moment.
Seit ihren Anfängen im ausgehenden 19. Jh. ist der brandenburgischen Hausforschung ein Phänomen in der Entwicklung des ländlichen Wohnhauses bekannt, das in der vorliegenden Arbeit als Typenwandel bezeichnet wird: Zahlreiche Landschaften der ehemaligen Kurmark Brandenburg wurden bis in das 18. Jh. hinein von einem giebelständigen Haustyp - dem sogenannten Märkischen Mittelflurhaus - geprägt. Im Verlauf des 18. und 19. jh. wurde dieser von einem traufständigen Haustyp - dem sogenannten Mitteldeutschen Ernhaus - >verdrängt<. Dieser Typenwandel ist wie jeder Wandel einer tradierten Hausform auf einen Komplex verschiedener Faktoren und Einflussgrößen zurückzuführen. Über diese Faktoren und Einflussgrößen bestehen in der bisherigen regionalen Hausforschung folgende Thesen: Zum einen wird angenommen, dass das Vorbild der im Rahmen der friderizianischen Kolonisation seit der Mitte des 18. Jh. zahlreich erbauten, traufständigen Kolonistenhäuser diesen Typenwandel beeinflusst oder ausgelöst habe. Zum anderen seien die baupolizeilichen Vorschriften und der Einfluss der preußischen Landbauschule - vertreten durch das Oberbaudepartement - ein auslösender oder beschleunigender Faktor gewesen. Aufgabe der Untersuchung ist es, diese Thesen anhand eines geeigneten Untersuchungsgebietes zu diskutieren. Als solches eignete sich das Oderbruch insbesondere, weil es das größte zusammenhängende Siedlungsgebiet auf deutscher Seite darstellt, das unter der Regentschaft Friedrichs des Großen kolonisiert wurde, und seine allmähliche Trockenlegung seit der Mitte des 18. Jh. von intensiven obrigkeitlichen Eingriffen begleitet war. Mit der zusätzlichen Abgrenzung der untersuchten Hausformen auf diejenigen der ländlichen Mittelschicht, d.h. auf die Häuser der Bauern, Fischer und Kossäten, basiert die zentrale stratigrafische Untersuchung des Wandlungsprozesses einerseits auf durch die Autorin selbst erarbeiteter Bauforschung am rezenten Hausbestand und andererseits auf der Auswertung umfangreichen Archivmaterials. Der durch zahlreiche Übergangsformen nachweisbare Prozess der Herausbildung des jüngeren Haustyps aus dem älteren Haustyp heraus widerlegt die bisherige Annahme, dass der Typenwandel lediglich eine Grenzverschiebung zwischen den geografischen Verbreitungsgebieten zweier frühneuzeitlicher Haustypen gewesen sei. Die archivalische Überlieferung zur friderizianischen Kolonisation, zum ländlichen Baugeschehen im ausgehenden 18. und beginnenden 19. Jh. sowie zur obrigkeitlichen Reglementierung des >Unterthanenbauwesens< erbringt den eindeutigen Nachweis, dass weder das Vorbild der Kolonistenhäuser noch irgendeine Form der obrigkeitlichen Einflussnahme für den Wandel vom giebelständigen zum traufständigen Haustyp von Bedeutung waren. Vielmehr erweisen sich die Auswirkungen der Agrarreformen auf die bäuerlichen Betriebe als der ausschlaggebende Faktor für den Typenwandel. Die bisher angewandten Begriffe zur Bezeichnung der Haustypen stellen sich im Ergebnis der Untersuchung nicht nur als irreführend sondern falsch heraus. Die Arbeit eröffnet deshalb eine Debatte zur Neudefinition der Typenbegriffe innerhalb der regionalen Hausforschung.
This paper describes a research project that addresses the difficulties in dealing with regulatory documents such as national and regional codes. These documents tend to be voluminous, heavily cross-referenced, possibly ambiguous and even conflicting at times. There are often multiple documents that need to be consulted and satisfied; however it is a difficult task to locate all of the relevant provisions. In addition, sections dealing with the same or similar conceptual ideas sometimes lay down conflicting requirements. We propose a framework for regulation representation, analysis and comparison with emphasis on the extraction of similarities between provisions. We focus on accessibility regulations, whose intent is to provide the same or equivalent access to a building and its facilities for disabled persons. An XML regulatory repository is developed to extract structural as well as non-structural features from government regulations to help user understanding and computational analysis. A similarity analysis is performed between different sources of regulations. In order to achieve a better comparison between provisions, we employ a combination of feature matching and structural analysis. Results are shown on comparisons between American and European codes, as well as on the domain of electronic-rulemaking.
The main objective of the present work is to establish a link between the scientific fields of engineering seismology and structural engineering. Substantially it deals with the application and enhancements of methods coming from engineering seismology as well as their junctions to the fields of structural engineering respectively earthquake engineering. Based on real occurred earthquake damage inflicted to multistoried reinforced-concrete frame buildings, the influence of local site effects on the grade of structural damage is worked out. This relying on comprehensive investigations conducted during numerous field missions of German TaskForce after damaging earthquakes in Venezuela and Türkiye. Instrumental investigations on both the structure and its local subsoil in order to identify the damage potential of seismic ground motion take center stage of the thesis. Thereby it is examined whether or not an estimated seismic demand representative in amplitude level and frequency characteristics is able to cause structural damage considering the vulnerability of the structure itself as well as the local site and subsoil conditions. Investigations are concentrated on selected RC frame structures with or without masonry infill walls.
How does it come to particular structure formations in the cities and which strengths play a role in this process? On which elements can the phenomena be reduced to find the respective combination rules? How do general principles have to be formulated to be able to describe the urban processes so that different structural qualities can be produced? With the aid of mathematic methods, models based on four basic levels are generated in the computer, through which the connections between the elements and the rules of their interaction can be examined. Conclusions on the function of developing processes and the further urban origin can be derived.
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.
In this paper, systematic analyses for the shoring systems installed to support the applied loads during construction are performed on the basis of the numerical approach. On the basis of a rigorous time-dependent analysis, structural behaviors of reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures according to the changes in design variables such as the types of shoring systems, shore stiffness and shore spacing are analyzed and discussed. The time-dependent deformations of concrete such as creep and shrinkage and construction sequences of frame structures are also taken into account to minimize the structural instability and to reach to an improved design of shoring system because these effects may increase the axial forces delivered to the shores. In advance, the influence of the column shortening effect, generally mentioned in a tall building structure, is analyzed. From many parametric studies, it has been finally concluded that the most effective shoring system in RC frame structures is 2S1R (two shores and one reshore) regardless of the changes in design variables.
In our project, we develop new tools for the conceptual design phase. During conceptual design, the coarse functionality and organization of a building is more important than a detailed worked out construction. We identify two roles, first the knowledge engineer who is responsible for knowledge definition and maintenance; second the architect who elaborates the conceptual design. The tool for the knowledge engineer is based on graph technology, it is specified using PROGRES and the UPGRADE framework. The tools for the architect are integrated to the industrial CAD tool ArchiCAD. Consistency between knowledge and conceptual design is ensured by the constraint checker, another extension to ArchiCAD.
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 introduces the current development of electronic catalogues of construction products. The common system architecture of Web-based electronic products catalogues are discussed, followed by a discussion on construction products information standardization and latest distributed-systems technologies for communicating construction products information. Finally, this paper presents an implementation of Web service in e-commerce systems to enable sharing of construction products information.
Development of Urban Land Use Model to Compare Transit-Oriented and Automobile-Oriented Cities
(2004)
This study is an attempt to develop a simple simulation model that can compare the differences between automobile-oriented and transit-oriented cities, and clarify the difference between city forms by transportation modes. Following a theoretical model development, a series of simulation runs are tried. The model allocates people who commute to CBD from residential zones along a transportation corridor. As a result of many simulation analyses, it is shown that automobiles need much more traffic space in comparison with the transit as is shown by the proposed traffic space ratio both in CBD and along the corridor.
In this Paper, we explored the relation between the electricity consumption in residential sector and the automobile energy consumption in transportation sector in accordance with the location of city by employing Geographic Information System (GIS). We found in the study that the electricity consumption per capita has a tendency that is higher in city center and lower in suburbs in Utsunomiya city. It is also noted that there is little difference among total consumption between city center and suburbs, despite the fact that the density of electric appliances tends to increase in a small size house of city center and the amount of automobile energy consumption from residence is lower in city center than in suburbs.
In current AEC practice client requirements are typically recorded in a building program, which, depending on the building type, covers various aspects from the overall goals, activities and spatial needs to very detailed material and condition requirements. This documentation is used as the starting point of the design process, but as the design progresses, it is usually left aside and changes are made incrementally based on the previous design solution. These incremental small changes can lead to a solution that may no longer meet the original requirements. In addition, design is by nature an iterative process and the proposed solutions often also cause evolution in the client requirements. However, the requirements documentation is usually not updated accordingly. Finding the latest updates and evolution of the requirements from the documentation is very difficult, if not impossible. This process can lead to an end result, which is significantly different from the documented requirements. Some important requirements may not be satisfied, and even if the design process was based on agreed-upon changes in the scope and requirements, differences in the requirements documents and in the completed building can lead to well-justified doubts about the quality of the design and construction process...
In recent years, the survey is performed for repair, such as a bridge and a building built in past, spending great expense. And it is anxious for the survey technique that doesn’t need cost and time more. Then, we made an idea of the technique of precise 3D model creation by 2D pictures. However, the technique of performing the improvement in accuracy of convergent photographing and automatic acquisition of corresponding points was not established. Therefore, in this research, we try to obtain a semi-automation of corresponding points acquisition from initial corresponding points and the improvement in accuracy of convergent photographing. Moreover, we applied the research to the used house of Japanese real estate, and the applicable field was selected as the high needs of the residence of 3D model. And we developed the system that everyone could create Web / 3D model house by VRML easily without requiring expensive apparatuses or expertise.
This paper presents results of a study on distributed, or parallel, evolutionary computation in the topological design of steel structural systems in tall buildings. It describes results of extensive experimental research on various parallel evolutionary architectures applied to a complex structural design problem. The experiments were conducted using Inventor 2003, a networkbased evolutionary design support tool developed at George Mason University. First, a general introduction to evolutionary computation is provided with an emphasis on recent developments in parallel evolutionary architectures. Next, a discussion of conceptual design of steel structural systems in tall buildings is presented. Further, Inventor 2003 is briefly introduced as well as its design representation and evolutionary computation characteristics. Next, the results obtained from systematic design experiments conducted with Inventor 2003 are discussed. The objective of these experiments was to qualitatively and quantitatively investigate evolution of steel structural systems in tall buildings during a distributed evolutionary design process as well as to compare efficiency and effectiveness of various parallel evolutionary architectures with the traditional evolutionary design approaches. Two connectivity topologies (ring topology and fully-connected topology) have been investigated for four populations of structural designs evolving in parallel and using various migration strategies. Also, results of the initial sensitivity studies are reported in which two ways of initializing distributed evolutionary design processes were investigated, using either arbitrarily selected designs as initial parents or randomly generated ones. Finally, initial research conclusions are presented.
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. ...
Analysis System for Bridge Test (Chinese name abbr.: QLJC) is an application software specially designed for bridge test to analyze the static and dynamic character of bridge structures, calculate efficiency ratio of load test, pick up the results of observation points and so on. In this paper, research content, system design, calculation theory, characteristics and practical application of QLJC is introduced in detail.
Some key facts about the economic environment of construction industry are explained. It is shown that construction industry is very heterogeneous and has changed drastically during the recent years due to a rapidly moving commercial environment. Two examples of todays’s use of virtual construction tools in construction projects are presented. The first example is the document control for a large international project. The second is the application of 4D modelling in the preconstruction phase of a dam project. It is shown that virtual construction, is a major international trend that currently takes up speed. Some generic industry needs for Research and Development which aims at short and medium term results are presented.
The paper presents the abstraction of process relevant information in order to enable the workflow management based on semantic data. It is shown for three examples, how the standards define the information needed to perform a certain planning activity. Abstraction of process relevant information is discussed for different granularities of the underlying processmodel. As one possible application ProMiSE is introduced, which uses process relevant data in individual tokens in a petri-net based process-model.
The contribution introduces an adaptable process model to meet the special requirements of the coordination of planning activities in AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction). The process model is based on the concept of Coloured Petri-Nets and uses metainformation to characterize process-relevant information and to enable process-control based on the actual results of the planning.
Efforts to define standards for representing AEC/FM data have been fairly successful. However defining a standard reference process model has not met with the same success. Yet almost every conceptual modelling or software development project starts by defining the business processes to be supported and the related requirements to be satisfied. This paper describes a new process-centred methodology for user requirements capture developed in the ICCI project (IST-2001-33022). Its essence is in recognising user requirements and use cases in the context of the real construction process, identifying the actors and roles for each individual activity and associating these activities with information, communication and standardisation requirements on the basis of a formalised specification, named the Process Matrix. In the paper we outline the history of process matrix development, introduce the basic structure of the matrix and show how it can be further extended and refined. We present also a web-based software implementation of the developed approach, describe how it has been used in ICCI and outline further perspectives.
A large-scale computer modeling and simulation method is presented for environmental flows in urban area. Several GIS and CAD data were used for the preparation of shape model and an automatic mesh generation method based on Delaunay method was developed. Parallel finite element method based on domain decomposition method was employed for the numerical simulation of natural phenomena. The present method was applied to the simulation of flood flow and wind flow in urban area. The present method is shown to be a useful planning and design tool for the natural disasters and the change of environments.
Die ein- und zweidimensionale numerische Berechnung der Fließvorgänge in offenen Gerinnen findet zunehmend auch Anwendung in der Modellierung immer komplexerer Prozesse im unter Anderem im Bereich der Ökosystemmodellierung in Gebirgs- und Mittelgebirgsbächen. In diesem Bereich existieren zurzeit noch Probleme hinsichtlich der hydraulischen Prognoserechnungen. Neben den numerischen Grundlagen werden die Abhängigkeiten des Strömungsfeldes von der Rauheitsstruktur der Sohle und der Überdeckungshöhe behandelt. Zur Untersuchung der Fließwiderstandsgleichungen wurden Laborversuche in einer Versuchsrinne durchgeführt. Es wird gezeigt, dass der üblicherweise verwendete Ansatz des mittleren Sohlgefälles bei der Berechnung der Sohlschubspannungsgeschwindigkeit u* in Stufen-Becken-Sequenzen nicht zulässig ist. Stattdessen ist es erforderlich, die lokalen Energieliniengefälle zu bestimmen und einzusetzen. Die Anwendung der aus der Literatur bekannten Ansätze zur Beschreibung des Fließwiderstandes führt zu keinen befriedigenden Ergebnissen und wird ausführlich diskutiert. In der Untersuchung der verschiedenen Fließwiderstandsbeziehungen zeigte sich, dass insbesondere die ungenügende Beschreibung der Rauheitstruktur der Sohloberfläche durch einen charakteristischen Korndurchmesser des Sohlmaterials als unzureichend anzusehen ist. Hinsichtlich der Beschreibung rauer Oberflächenstrukturen wurde ein einfacher Segmentierungsalgorithmus entwickelt, der es erlaubt, komplizierte Oberflächenstrukturen zu vereinfachen und über die Standardabweichung abschnittsweise Rauheiten zuzuweisen. Dieses Verfahren wird in einem zweidimensionalen hydraulischen Modell eingesetzt. Hierdurch wird für die Wassertiefenbestimmung als auch für die Fließgeschwindigkeitsbestimmung eine Berücksichtigung der speziellen topographischen Verhältnisse ermöglicht.
The goal of the research is the development of a computer system to plan, simulate and visualize erection processes in construction. In the research construction cranes are treated as robots with predefined degrees of freedom and crane-specific motion planning techniques are developed to generate time-optimized and collision-free paths for each piece to be erected in the project. Using inverse kinematics and structural dynamics simulation, the computer system then computes the crane motions and velocities necessary to achieve the previously calculated paths. The main benefits of the research are the accurate planning and scheduling of crane operations leading to optimization of crane usage and project schedules, as well as improving overall crane safety in the project. This research is aimed at the development of systems that will allow computer-assisted erection of civil infrastructure and ultimately to achieve fully-automated erection processes using robotic cranes...
The goal of the research is to increase the understanding of dynamic behaviors during the crane operation, and develops computer-aided methods to improve the training of crane operators. There are approximately 125,000 cranes in operation today in the construction industry, responsible for major portion of erection activities. Unfortunately, many accidents occur every year in the U.S. and other countries related to the operation of cranes in construction sites. For example on November 28, 1989 a tower crane collapse during the construction of a building in San Francisco killing four construction workers, one civilian and injuring 28. According to the statistics from Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA), there were 137 crane-related fatalities from 1992 to 2001 in the US. A well-known internet website that keeps track of crane-related accidents (craneaccidents.com), reports 516 accidents and 277 fatalities from 2000 to 2002. These statistics show that even though many measures have been taken to decrease the number of crane-related accidents (Braam, 2002), the number of crane related accidents is still very large. It is important to recognize that each construction related fatality is not only a great human loss but also increases the costs of insurance, lawsuits, and the construction budget due to delay of a project (Paulson 1992)...
Most retaining walls and box culverts built for arterial road construction are simple, and the design process of these structures is often repetitive and labor-intensive because they are so similar in structural configuration. Although some integrated design automation systems developed for retaining walls and box culverts have expedited the design process of these structures, the process of collecting and distributing the resultant engineering documents has not been fully integrated with the computer applications. We have been developing a Web-based design automation system to manage the resultant documents as well as to speed up the repetitive design process. Manipulation of engineering drawings in the Web page is one of the critical functions needed for Web-based design automation. eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and XML-based vector graphics are expected to facilitate the representation of engineering drawings in the Web page. In this paper, we present how we used XML and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) to compose engineering drawings and represent them in the Web page. XML Data Island we designed to define drawing components turned out effective in manipulating the engineering drawings in the Web page.
The paper investigates accuracy of deflection predictions made by the finite element package ATENA and design code methods ACI and EC2. Deflections have been calculated for a large number of experimental reinforced concrete beams reported by three investigators. Statistical parameters have been established for each of the technique at different load levels, separately for the beams with small and moderate reinforcement ratio.
There exists a big gap between the capabilities of current 3D-CAD applications and their actual usage in practice. Many architects and planners still prefer to draft in 2D because the benefits of 3D modeling are difficult to explain. This presentation offers a basis to view the 3D building model not merely as the source for 2D plan generation. By adding extra dimensions like Time and Cost to the 3D building model it becomes possible to generate dynamic information on building construction progress with regards to used material, resources and cost. These additional benefits are key elements to many planners and contractors and may therefore widen the acceptance of 3D building modeling in general.
Transport problems, as, for instance, the transport of sediment in hydraulic engineering and the transport of harmful substances through porous media, play an important role in many fields of civil engineering. Other examples include the dissipation of heat or sound as well as the simulation of traffic with macroscopic models. The contribution explains the analysis of the applicability of Voronoi-based finite volume methods for the approximation of solutions of transport problems. A special concern is the discretisation of the transport equation. Current limitations of the method as well as ideas for stabilisation are explained with examples.
All construction project are constrained by their schedules, budgets and specifications, and safety and environmental regulations. These constraints made construction management more complex and difficult. At the same time, many historical data that can support the decisions in the future are kept in construction enterprises,. To use the historical data effectively and efficiently, it is essential to apply the data warehouse and data mining technologies. This paper introduces a research which aims to develop a data warehouse system according to the requirements of construction enterprises and use data mining technology to learn useful information and knowledge from the data warehouse system. The design, the development and the application of this system are detailedly introduced in this paper.
The construction industry is a supportive industry in China. IT (information technolgy), including computer technology and communication technology, as a whole is regarded as the most important means to upgrade the construction industry so that research projects were organized by Chinese government to further the application of IT in the construction industry. This study originated from one of the projects and is aimed at grasping the general situation on the application of IT in the construction industry. A questionnaire was designed for the survey, which used stratified proportional sampling method, and was carried out under the help of a government agency. This study can not only provide sound foundation for the government to make relative policies, but also reveal references for the firms in construction industry to apply IT in their business. This paper presents the preliminary result of the survey.
With the speedy development of transportation of China, especially construction of many high-grade highways, some information technology successes have been achieved in the highway and bridge engineering, such as survey, design, construction and maintenance etc. In this paper, some applications about information technology in the highway engineering were introduced and some bridge professional software developed by RIOH (Research Institute Of Highways) in recent years was also introduced.
A distributed geotechnical remote analysis of data system (Distributed G-RAD) can benefit both owners and contractors in providing better quality control and assurance on geotechnical projects. The Distributed G-RAD approach involves efficient data acquisition using PDAs with GPS capability, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for labeling soil samples, laser scanning for measuring lift thickness and volumes of stockpiles and borrow pits. Spatial data storage is provided using a geographic information system (GIS). Portions of this system are already developed while other parts are still being considered. This paper also describes how RFID and laser scanning technologies can be used in the larger Distributed G-RAD system.
Die Bedeutung von klassischen Elementen in virtueller Architektur - Untersucht am Beispiel der Wand
(2004)
Die Dissertation exploriert und evaluiert die Definition einer Entsprechung der architektonischen Kategorie der Wand für virtuelle Architekturen. Es wird der Frage nachgegangen, inwieweit eine architektonische Strukturierung in der virtuellen Architektur fortzuführen ist, um Handlungs- und Kommunikationsstrukturen zu sichern. Der erste Teil motiviert die Arbeit und vermittelt die Grundlagen und Termini, die in einem direkten Zusammenhang mit der virtuellen Architektur verwendet werden. Der folgende Teil konzentriert sich ausschließlich auf die reale Architektur. Ausgehend vom Element der Wand wird, in einer analytischen und architekturtheoretischen Betrachtung, ein Modell von Raumkategorien entwickelt, welches im Hinblick auf die virtuelle Architektur von besonderer Bedeutung ist. Die aus der Analyse gewonnen Erkenntnisse in Form von Raumkategorien werden im dritten Teil aus der realen in die virtuelle Architektur übertragen. Das folgende Kapitel beschreibt drei Experimente, die Fra-gen, Hypothesen und Ansätze aus den vorangegangenen Kapiteln empirisch evaluieren. Im abschließenden Kapitel werden die Erkenntnisse der experimentellen Untersuchung im Kontext des architektonischen Gestaltens von virtuellen Architekturen diskutiert.
Building project, with many different players involved, requires open and commonly accepted standard for product model description. Product model based design tools support easy comparisons of design alternatives and optimisation of design solution technical quality. This supports client s decision-making and design target comparisons through the whole building project. Use of product models enable these tasks to meet both schedule and cost requirements Olof Granlund is using product models and interoperable software as the main tool in projects. The use and the realised benefits are illustrated by examples from 3 different real projects: University building, where product models were used already in the very early phases by the whole design team. Office building for research organisation, where product models were used in so called self-reporting building system. Headquarters for international company, where product models were widely used for building performance analysis and visualisations in design phase as well as for facilities management system configuration for operational phase.
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.
An architecture of a distributed planning system for the building industry has been developed. The emphasis is on highly collaborative environments in steelwork, timber construction etc. where designers concurrently handle 3D models. The overall system connects local design systems by the so-called Design Framework DFW. This framework consists of the definition of distributed components and protocols which make the collaborative design work. The process of collaborative design has been formalized on an abstract level. This paper describes how this has been done. A sample is given to illustrate the mapping of concrete scenarios of the ‘real design world’ to an abstract scenario level. This work is funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG as part of the project SPP1103 (Meißner et al. 2003).
On Computer-Aided Instruction Tools for Teaching College Engineering Mechanics Related Courses
(2004)
In this research, questionnaires are designed to survey among teachers and students the current situation of applying Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) tools to teaching and learning of college engineering mechanics related courses in Taiwan. The needs for CAI tools for teaching these mechanics related courses are investigated in the survey. Several prototypes of interactive multimedia tools are designed and implemented using information technologies. The applicability and effectiveness of these tools on assisting teaching of engineering mechanics related courses are discussed and evaluated. Moreover, a website for managing and sharing collected and developed CAI resources is constructed.
A simulation system has been developed as a computer aided design tool to evaluate the effect of proposed design on the thermal environment during the designing process. This system calculates outdoor surface temperatures in order to evaluate the thermal impact of a design factor in outdoor space. In this study, the previous heat balance simulation system was improved to predict the surface temperature of a proposed design using 3D-CAD. This system is able to input the complicated outdoor spatial forms efficiently and also to evaluate the surface temperature distribution from any viewpoint.
The complexity of the relationships between the actors of a building project requires high efficiency in communication. Among other things, data sharing is crucial. The exchange of data is made possible by interfaces between expert programs, which rely on product models. The latter are neutral standards with formal definitions of building objects and their attributes. This paper deals with the state of the art and the research activities concerning product models in the steel construction domain and the advantages provided by this technology for the sector.
The uniqueness and the long life cycle of buildings imply a dynamically modifiable building model. The technological foundation for the management of digital building models, a dynamic model management system (MMS), developed by our research group, allows to explicitly access and to modify the object model of the stored planning data. In this paper, the integration of constraints in digital building models will be shown. Constraints are conditions, which apply to the instances of domain model classes, and are defined by the user at runtime of the information system. For the expression of constraints, the Constraint Modelling Language (CML) has been developed and will be described in this paper. CML is a powerful, intuitively usable object-oriented language, which allows the expression of constraints at a high semantic level. A constrained-enabled MMS can verify, whether an instance fulfils the applying constraints. To ensure flexibility, the evaluation of constraints is not implicitly performed by the systems, but explicitly initiated by the user. A classification of constraint types and example usage scenarios are given.
The construction industry is a project-based business bringing together many different organisations to complete a desired goal. The strategic use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has enabled this goal to be completed more effectively. Two issues require addressing, the technology itself and the implementation factors of the technology. Such implementation factors should consider, among other factors, the legal and contractual issues associated with the use of ICT, training requirements and its effects on the organisational culture. To date the legal and contractual issues have not been extensively covered, and it is recognised that the technologies have not been properly covered by any recognised legal and contractual practices. This in turn is threatening to inhibit the growth and prosperity of the use of the technology on construction projects. This paper discusses these legal and contractual issues and describes methods and tools that can be used to enable the growth of technology to be used in a legal and contractually valid environment.
Das Langzeittragverhalten von Stützen aus Holz wird entscheidend von der Größe der Dauerlast und dem umgebenden Klima beeinflusst. Im Gegensatz zu Biegeträgern haben diese Effekte auch Einfluss auf den Grenzzustand der Tragfähigkeit und sind unmittelbar Gegenstand von Sicherheitsaspekten. Der Eurocode 5 beachtet dies überhaupt nicht, während in DIN 1052 (2004:08) Hinweise zur Bemessung gegeben sind. Da der Baustoff Holz infolge seines Wuchscharakters stark streuende Materialparameter aufweist, ist es kaum möglich, Experimente in ausreichendem Umfang durchzuführen. Gegen eine solche experimentelle Untersuchung sprechen auch die zu erwartenden hohen Kosten sowie die langandauernden Versuche unter Klimabeanspruchung. Aus diesem Grund wird auf virtuelle Versuche mit Hilfe des Computerprogramms ISOBEAM zurückgegriffen. Dazu sind allerdings abgesicherte Materialmodelle wichtig, die hier an Experimenten mit Klein- und Kleinstproben sowie mit Versuchkörpern baupraktisch relevanter Abmessungen angepasst wurden. Mit diesem verifizierten Modell war es möglich, gezielt Parameterstudien durchzuführen. Der Einfluss der Einbauholzfeuchte auf das hygrothermische Langzeittragverhalten wurde genauso untersucht wie der der Nutzungsklasse und der Querschnittsabmessungen. Die Ergebnisse der virtuellen Versuche dienten zum einen der Überprüfung der Vorgehensweise nach DIN 1052 (2004:08) und zum anderen zur Anpassung neuer Vorschläge zur Bemessung. Es wurde Wert darauf gelegt, dass sich die Vorschläge neuer Bemessungskonzepte an die bestehenden normativen Bemessungsregeln anlehnen. Zum einen wurde das Bemessungsverfahren nach Theorie II. Ordnung um eine weitere Ausmitte zur Berücksichtigung des Kriechens ergänzt, zum anderen wurde beim Ersatzstabverfahren der Beiwert entsprechend modifiziert. Alternativ ist es möglich, den Modifikationsbeiwert neu an die virtuellen Versuchsergebnisse anzupassen. Die Einbauholzfeuchte wurde ebenfalls über einen zusätzlichen Modifikationsfaktor berücksichtigt.
Collaboration in AEC Design : Web-enabling Applications using Peer-to-Peer Office Communicator
(2004)
A market analysis conducted by Gartner Dataquest in August 2001 has shown the typical characteristics of the AEC design process. High volatility in membership of AEC design groups and members dispersed over several external offices is the common collaboration scenario. Membership is most times short lived, compared to the overall duration of the process. A technical solution has to take that into account by making joining and leaving a collaborative work group very easy. The modelling of roles of collaboration between group members must be based on a commonly understood principle like the publisher / subscriber model, where the individual that is responsible for the distribution of vital information is clear. Security issues and trust in the confidentiality of the system is a central concern for the acceptance of the system. Therefore, keeping the subset of data that will be published under the absolute control of the publisher is a must. This is not the case with server-based scenarios, sometimes even due to psychological reasons. A loosely bound Peer-to-Peer network offers advantages over a server-based solution, because of less administrative overhead and simple installation procedures. In a peer-to-peer environment, a publish/subscribe role model can be more easily implemented. The publish/subscribe model matches the way AEC processes are modelled in real world scenarios today, where legal proof of information exchange between external offices is of high importance. Workflow management systems for small to midsize companies of the AEC industry may adopt the peer-to-peer approach to collaboration in the future. Further investigations are being made on the research level (WINDS) by integrating the viewer and redlining application Collaborate! into a collaborative environment.
This paper deals with two different agent-based approaches aimed at the incorporation of complex design information into multi-agent planning systems. The first system facilitates collaborative structural design processes, the second one supports fire engineering in buildings. Both approaches are part of two different research projects that belong to the DFG1 priority program 1103 entitled “Network-based Co-operative Planning Processes in Structural Engineering“ (DFG 2000). The two approaches provide similar database wrapper agents to integrate relevant design information into two multi-agent systems: Database wrapper agents make the relevant product model data usable for further agents in the multi-agent system, independent on their physical location. Thus, database wrapper agents act as an interface between multi-agent system and heterogeneous database systems. The communication between the database wrapper agents and other requesting agents presumes a common vocabulary: a specific database ontology that maps database related message contents into database objects. Hereby, the software-wrapping technology enables the various design experts to plug in existing database systems and data resources into a specific multi-agent system easily. As a consequence, dynamic changes in the design information of large collaborative engineering projects are adequately supported. The flexible architecture of the database wrapper agent concept is demonstrated by the integration of an XML and a relational database system.
This article discusses how the failures of construction projects could be prevented. The focus is on using IT tools in communication. The article is based on the findings of the PROLABproject. The project seeks to find solutions for how the information can effectively be used in project management, specially in construction projects, what kind of procedures help the management of the knowledge and how the obstacles for efficient ways of administrating the information can be removed. These obstacles can be either related to use of new technology or to organization culture. The paper discusses e-mail as a medium of communication with the media richness framework (Fulk & Boyd 1991) based on the interviews done with the participants of construction projects. We found out that the emails were used in both rich way and not so rich way. Obstacles of rich use of IT communication were partly technical and partly psychological. Technology acceptance model (TAM) is used to study the actual use of emails in communication. Obstacles of the use of emails were mostly individual differences like the skills to use the system or external variables like they did not have proper software to open the attachments. Also people talked about information overload. Emails often push too much information. Keywords: IT tools, Communication, Knowledge management, Construction
The promise of lower costs for sensors that can be used for construction inspection means that inspectors will continue to have new choices to consider in creating inspection plans. However, these emerging inspection methods can require different activities, resources, and decisions such that it can be difficult to compare the emerging methods with other methods that satisfy the same inspection needs. Furthermore, the context in which inspection is performed can significantly influence how well certain inspection methods are suited for a given set of goals for inspection. Context information, such as weather, security, and the regulatory environment, can be used to understand what information about a component should be collected and how an inspection should be performed. The research described in this paper is aimed at developing an approach for comparing and selecting inspection plans. This approach consists of (1) refinement of given goals for inspection, if necessary, in order to address any additional information needs due to a given context and in order to reach a level of detail that can be addressed by an inspection activity; (2) development of constraints to describe how an inspection should be achieved; (3) matching of goals to available inspection methods, and generation of activities and resource plans in order to address the goals; and (4) selection of an inspection plan from among the possible plans that have been identified. The authors illustrate this approach with observations made at a local construction site.
The paper introduced the research and application of the highway construction management information integrated system. Explained the development and application of highway survey applet run on mobile telephone supporting Java and the technique of transmitting engineering data by GPRS wireless network technology. And expounded the development and application of highway engineering construction field data collecting software run on Pocket-PC. Recommended the technique of engineering long distance data transmitting based on C/S structure adopting VPN (Virtual Private Networks) technology. Especially expatiated on the research on the platform of highway construction management information integrated system adopting geography information system (GIS) technique, database technique and network technique. And said all to subsystem about bid manage, contract management, engineering design drawing, engineering survey calculation, measure and pay, data processing on engineering experiment, quantity assessing, project plan and progress, engineering document management etc. Besides? proposed highway construction project visual analysis and inquiry system based on Web-GIS; Explained the research and application of highway engineering construction OA based on B/S structure; real-time workflow and information processing such as the management of administration, business and procedure of authorization and information distribution. At last, the author described the prospect of the application of C/S and B/S structure in trade software development in the highway construction management.
Variantenuntersuchung für eine dauerhafte Bahndammsanierung unter zu Hilfenahme numerischer Methoden
(2004)
Das Ziel der Arbeit war es, die Standsicherheit eines Bahndammes im Vergleich der in Deutschland gültigen Vorschriften (DIN 1054 und Eurocode 7) zu untersuchen. Sollte sich dabei herausstellen, dass der Bahndamm in der gegebenen Situation die Standsicherheitsanforderungen nicht erfüllt sollten verschiedene Sanierungsvarianten vorgeschlagen und für eine Vorzugsvariante die wichtigsten Nachweise durchgeführt werden. Zunächst wurden die Allgemeinen Grundlagen der zur Zeit in Deutschland gültigen Vorschriften erläutert und anschließend auf das konkrete Projekt bezogen gegenübergestellt. Es stellte sich heraus, dass die Anforderungen an die Standsicherheit bei Berechnung nach beiden Vorschriften nicht erfüllt werden konnten. Somit war es notwendig für die gegebene Situation mögliche Sanierungsvorschläge zu entwickeln. Diese wurden anschließend kurz vorgestellt und erläutert. Schließlich wurden für die Vorzugsvariante die wichtigsten Nachweise im Vergleich der Vorschriften (DIN 1054 und Eurocode 7) durchgeführt und verglichen.
In this research project we intend to transfer the whole AEC-Bidding process to an agent-based virtual marketplace. Hereby, the existing legal regulations have to be considered. Important aspects in developing the virtual marketplace are to provide the possibility to realize an agentbased bidding consortium as well as to integrate subcontractors.
In the focus of the Bologna-contract of the European secretaries of education the universities are invited to aim a unification and comparability of certificates and to offer compatible and cooperative models of education. Among existing lectures in the Internet there will arise a new competition between the universities in netbased teaching and learning environments. For the use of distributed sources of information and for the possibility to generate free configurable sequences of education modules you need management systems which are able to handle different formats of documents and to assemble it to consistent and valid lessons. Beside elementar viewing-functions, fusion of information also administrative tasks are needed, e.g. automated efficiency controls, adaptive learning surroundings. This paper attends to three aspects: - netbased teaching and learning in the area of the instruction of civil engineers - netbased information assembling and fusion of knowledge bases to higher level documents - netbased learning with international coordinated projects
Beside the standard calculation programs for civil engineering buildings mathematical programs have been lately established for the solution of differential equations for the analysis of mechanical and static systems. Programs like Maple, Matlab, MathCAD and Mathematica are popular in this field. To the knowledge of the authors, the widest application functionality offers the program Maple. Its advantages are, e.g. the alternatively symbolic or numerical solution of differential equation systems, the easy handling of parameter studies, the immediate visualization of results, the definition of macros for selected calculation steps and their export in other computer languages and, not least, the automatically generated, very clear documentation of the matehematical calculus.
Re-examination of the behaviour of structures can be necessary due to deterioration or changes in the traffic situation during their lifetime. The Finite Element Method (FEM) is widely used in order to accomplish numerical analysis. Considering the development of computer performance, more detailed FEM models can be analyzed, even on site, with mobile computers. To compensate the increasing amount of data needed for the model input, measures need to be taken to save time, by distributing the work. In order to provide consistency to the model, fedback data must be checked upon reception. A local wireless computer network of ultra-portable devices linked together with a computer can provide the coordination necessary for efficient parallel working. Based on a digital model consisting of all data gathered, structural modelling and numerical analysis are performed automatically. Thus, the user is released from the work that can be automatized and the time needed for the overall analysis of a structure is decreased.
The process of matching data represented in two different data models is a longstanding issue in the exchange of data between different software systems. While the traditional manual matching approach cannot meet today’s demands on data exchange, research shows that a fully automated generic approach for model matching is not likely, and generic semi-automated approaches are not easy to implement. In this paper, we present an approach that focuses on matching data models in a specific domain. The approach combines a basic model matching approach and a version matching approach to deduce new matching rules to enable data transfer between two evolving data models.
Physically Based Modeling and Multi-Physical Simulation System for Wood Structure Fire Performance
(2004)
This research is devoted to promoting the performance-based engineering in wood structure fire. It looks into the characteristic of the material, structural composing and collapse detecting to find out the main factors in the wood structure collapse in fire. The aim of the research is to provide an automatic simulation platform for the complicated circulation. A physically based model for slim member for beams and columns and a frame of multi-physical simulation are provided to implement the system. The physically based model contains material model, structural mechanics model, material mechanics model, as well as geometry model for the compositive simulation. The multi-physical simulation is built on the model and has the capacity to carry out a simulation combining structural, fire (thermal, CFD) and material degradation simulation. The structural and fire simulation rely on two sophisticated software respectively, ANSYS (an FEA software) and FDS (with a core of CFD). Researchers of the paper develop system by themselves to combine the two existing ones. The system has the capability to calculate the wood char to find out the loss of cross-section and to detect the collapse caused in different ways. The paper gives a sample of Chinese traditional house to show how this simulation system works.
The influence of vortex-induces vibrations on vertical tie rods has been proved as a determinant load factor in the lifetime-oriented dimensioning of arched steel bridges. Particularly, the welded connection plates between the suspenders and the arches often exhibit cracks induced primarily rods. In this context, the synchronization of the vortex-shedding to the rod motion in a critical wind velocity range, the so-called lock-in effect, is of essential interest.
Verbundverhalten von GFK-Bewehrungsstäben und Rissentwicklung in GFK-stabbewehrten Betonbauteilen
(2004)
In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden im Rahmen von Ausziehversuchen die Verbundeigenschaften verschiedener Bewehrungsstäbe aus glasfaserverstärkten Kunststoffen (GFK) unter Berücksichti-gung signifikanter Einflussgrößen auf das Verbundverhalten wie Oberflächenprofilierung der Stäbe, Stabdurchmesser, Betonfestigkeit, Verbundlänge sowie Beanspruchungsart unter einheitlichen Versuchsrandbedingungen bestimmt. Es erfolgt eine Bewertung der Einflussgrößen, der Verbundeigenschaften und des Verbundversagens der untersuchten GFK-Bewehrungsstäbe. Basierend auf der Modellbildung zum Verbund zwischen GFK-Stäben und Beton wird die Bestimmung der Verankerungslänge aufgezeigt. Im Rahmen von Versuchen an GFK-stabbewehrten Dehnkörpern und Balken wird die Auswirkung der spezifischen mechanischen Eigenschaften der GFK-Stäbe auf die Rissentwicklung gegenüber stahlbewehrten Bauteilen untersucht. Insbesondere wird betrachtet, welchen Einfluss das Bewehrungsmaterial, der Bewehrungsgrad, die Betonfestigkeit sowie die Belastungsart auf die Mitwirkung des Betons auf Zug zwischen den Rissen sowie auf die Entwicklung des Rissbildes, der Rissbreiten und der Rissabstände haben. Auf Grundlage der experimentellen Untersuchungen wird die Übertragbarkeit der für Stahlbetonbauteile üblichen Ansätze zur Bestimmung der Rissbreite auf GFK-stabbewehrte Betonbauteile bewertet.
A/E/C Team members, while collaborating on building projects, rely on past experiences and content through the use of project design archives (whether in paper or digital format). This leads to underutilization of potential knowledge, as decision-making of data, information, and knowledge reuse is limited by access to these archives, due to sheer size and inconvenient presentation. This paper presents an integrated solution that leverages two technologies CoMem (Corporate Memory) and iRoom (interactive Room) developed at Stanford. This addresses critical limitations, i.e., content, context, visualization and interactivity, constraining the process of collaborative exploration towards knowledge reuse and decision-making.
Re-using knowledge in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms can lead to greater competitive advantage, improved designs, and more effective management of constructed facilities. This paper discusses the importance of exploration and discovery of reusable knowledge from a corporate archive as opposed to simple search and retrieval. We describe and illustrate through a scenario of use an exploration framework and prototype, CoMemTM that formalizes the added value of exploration in the process of knowledge reuse. We discuss two exploration activities: (i) Breadth- Only overview exploration that assist a user to rapidly localize pockets of re-usable knowledge from the large corporate archive and (ii) Iterative breadth-depth exploration that enables a user to identify those re-usable components of the Corporate Memory that may yield design issues that were not originally considered.
This ethnographic study reports on emerging work processes and practices observed in the AEC (Architecture/Engineering/Construction) Global Teamwork program, i.e., what people experience when interacting with and through collaboration technologies, why people practice in the way they do, how the practice fits into the environment and changes the work patterns. It presents the experience of two high-performance typical but extreme AEC teamwork cases adopting and adapting to collaboration technologies and how these technologies in practice impact their work processes. The findings illustrate the importance of collaboration technologies in cross-disciplinary, global teamwork. Observations indicate that high performance teams that use the collaboration technologies effectively exhibit collaboration readiness at an early stage and manage to define a “third way” to meet the demands of the cross-disciplinary, multi cultural and geographically distributed AEC workspace. The observations and implications represent the blueprint for yearly innovations and improvements to the design of the AEC Global Teamwork program.
The methods currently used for scheduling building processes have some major advantages as well as disadvantages. The main advantages are the arrangement of the tasks of a project in a clear, easily readable form and the calculation of valuable information like critical paths. The main disadvantage on the other hand is the inflexibility of the model caused by the modeling paradigms. Small changes of the modeled information strongly influence the whole model and lead to the need to change many more details in the plan. In this article an approach is introduced allowing the creation of more flexible schedules. It aims towards a more robust model that lowers the need to change more than a few information while being able to calculate the important propositions of the known models and leading to further valuable conclusions.
This paper reports on the latest results in the development of a new approach for simulating the thermal behavior of buildings that overcomes the limitations of conventional heat-transfer simulation methods such as FDM and FEM. The proposed technique uses a coarse-grain approach to model development whereby each element represents a complete building component such as a wall, internal space, or floor. The thermal behavior of each coarse-grain element is captured using empirical modeling techniques such as artificial neural networks (ANNs). The main advantages of the approach compared to conventional simulation methods are: (a) simplified model construction for the end-user; (b) simplified model reconfiguration; (c) significantly faster simulation runs (orders of magnitude faster for two and three-dimensional models); and (d) potentially more accurate results. The paper demonstrates the viability of the approach through a number of experiments with a model of a composite wall. The approach is shown to be able to sustain highly accurate longterm simulation runs, if the coarse-grain modeling elements are implemented as ANNs. In contrast, an implementation of the coarse-grain elements using a linear model is shown to function inaccurately and erratically. The paper concludes with an identification of on-going work and future areas for development of the technique.
The Priority Programme ‘Network Based Co-operation in Structural Engineering’ of the ‘German Research Foundation’ (DFG) has been established in the year 2000. This paper describes and discusses the main research directions and first results of the workgroup ‘Distributed Product Models’. The five projects of the workgroup have developed completely different solutions for specific application domains. Each solution concept deals with a consistent product modeling and knowledge processing in a distributed environment in the planning process. The individual solution approaches of the projects are described and the underlying basic assumptions are discussed. A unified system architecture is described for all projects of the workgroup. Two different approaches (object-oriented and graph-based models) have been introduced for product and knowledge modeling. The common structure of these models will be explained to fully understand the differences of these modeling approaches. Finally the concepts for co-operative work and conflict management in a distributed environment are described: The solution approaches will be distinguished by classifying the supported co-operation according to time. A final scientific summary describes the state-of-the-art in network based co-operation in structural engineering: The role of research directions like knowledge modeling, standard product modeling and versioning in the distributed planning process will be explained.
We present a software prototype for fluid flow problems in civil engineering, which combines essential features of Computational Steering approaches with efficient methods for model transfer and high performance computing. The main components of the system are described: - The modeler with a focus on the data management of the product model - The pre-processing and the post-processing toolkit - The simulation kernel based on the Lattice Boltzmann method - The required hardware for real-time computing
The scientific transfer of key technology features to developing countries, together with adequate competence, localisation and adaptation, is the primary purpose of the proposed investigation. It is evident that introducing high-level CAD design and detailing will improve the planning process in developing countries. Successful utilization of applied information technology for the planning process, however, depends on the user-interface of individual software. Therefore, to open the great opportunity embedded in CAD software for clients globally, the language and character-set barrier of traditional user-interfaces must be overcome. A proposal for a research program is given here to address such issue in favour of global civil engineering.
A wide variety of behavioural models exist in microscopic traffic simulation. Commercial programms often use closed-source policies and are confined to their respective simulation platforms. Open-source approaches mainly focus on distinctive, highly specialized traffic situations. In the scope of this paper, an open-source framework for developing modular, objectoriented simulation systems is presented, capable of simultaneously accommodating different driving models and enabling the user to modify and extend the catalogue of driving behaviours. The existing driving behaviours and the computational implementation of the simulation are being described.
Available construction time-cost trade-off analysis models can be used to generate trade-offs between these two important objectives, however, their application is limited in large-scale construction projects due to their impractical computational requirements. This paper presents the development of a scalable and multi-objective genetic algorithm that provides the capability of simultaneously optimizing construction time and cost large-scale construction projects. The genetic algorithm was implemented in a distributed computing environment that utilizes a recent standard for parallel and distributed programming called the message passing interface (MPI). The performance of the model is evaluated using a set of measures of performance and the results demonstrate the capability of the present model in significantly reducing the computational time required to optimize large-scale construction projects.
A Multi-objective Model for Optimizing Construction Planning of Repetitive Infrastructure Projects
(2004)
This paper presents the development of a model for optimizing resource utilization in repetitive infrastructure projects. The model provides the capability of simultaneous minimization of both project duration and work interruptions for construction crews. The model provides in a single run, a set of nondominated solutions that represent the tradeoff between these two objectives. The model incorporates a multiobjective genetic algorithm and scheduling algorithm. The model initially generates a randomly selected set of solutions that evolves to a near optimal set of tradeoff solutions in subsequent generations. Each solution represents a unique scheduling solution that is associated with certain project duration and a number of interruption days for utilized construction crews. As such, the model provides project planners with alternative schedules along with their expected duration and resource utilization efficiency.
The approach discussed here is part of research into an overall concept for digital instruments which support the entire planning process and help in enabling planning decisions to be based upon clear reasoning and plausible arguments. Such specialist systems must take into account currently available technology, such as networked working patterns, object-orientation, building and product models as well as the working method of the planner. The paper describes a plausibility instrument for the formulation of colour scheme proposals for building interiors and elevations. With the help of intuitively usable light simulations, colour, material and spatial concepts can be assessed realistically. The software prototype “Coloured Architecture” is conceived as a professional extension to conventional design tools for the modelling of buildings. As such it can be used by the architect in the earliest design phases of the planning process as well as for colour implementation on location.
In the field of Civil Engineering, the content of reinforcement concrete design course (RC course) has complicated design procedures and many difficult specifications to recognize, so most of the students regard the RC course a tough course, and teachers very often find the class time insufficient. Also, teachers of the RC course usually spend a lot of time in organizing the examinations for handling tedious calculations and complicated logical reasoning. Furthermore, correcting examination papers with partial scoring takes even more time of the teacher’s. Therefore, the objective of this research is to design and develop a partial scoring assessment system to meet the needs in engineering design courses, such as the RC course. This assessment system can generate test items with variable parameters. It also supports inference diagnosis on the examinee’s misconceptions and gives partial scores in grading the examination. In this research, the example test subject is the analysis of rectangular reinforced concrete beam with single layer steel bars.
This paper will present a number of technical aspects for one of the most elaborate instrumentation and data acquisition projects ever undertaken in Canada. Confederation Bridge, the longest bridge built over ice covered seawater has been equipped with the state of the art data acquistition devices and systems as well as data transfer networks. The Bridge has been providing a fixed surface connection between Prince Edward Island and Province of New Brunswick in Canada since its opening in 1997. The Bridge has a rather long design service life of 100 years. Because of its large size and long span length, its design is not covered by any existing codes or standards worldwide. The focus of the paper is to introduce the data acquisition, transfer, processing and management systems. The instrumentation and communications infrastructure and devices will be presented in some details along with the data processing and management systems and techniques. Teams of engineers and researchers use the collected data to verify the analysis and design assumptions and parameters as well as investigate the short-term and long-term behaviour and health of the Bridge. The collected data are also used in furthering research activities in the field of bridge engineering and in elevating our knowledge about behaviour, reliability and durability of such complex structures, their components and materials.
As computer programs become ever more complex, software development has shifted from focusing on programming towards focusing on integration. This paper describes a simulation access language (SimAL) that can be used to access and compose software applications over the Internet. Specifically, the framework is developed for the integration of tools for project management applications. The infrastructure allows users to specify and to use existing heterogeneous tools (e.g., Microsoft Project, Microsoft Excel, Primavera Project Planner, and AutoCAD) for simulation of project scenarios. This paper describes the components of the SimAL language and the implementation efforts required in the development of the SimAL framework. An illustration example bringing on-line weather forecasting service for project scheduling and management applications is provided to demonstrate the use of the simulation language and the infrastructure framework.
The construction management has been under pressure to reduce operating costs and to improve productivity using innovative information technologe (IT) solutions conformed to structural characteristics, site conditions and past experiences. Given the growing emphasis on effectiveness and efficiency in construction projects, there is an imminent need to develop a formal procedure to select the best IT application for each proposed construction project and research and development (R&D) project. As there are numerous factors that have to be considered in selecting appropriate IT in a given situation, decision-makers need to have multicriteria decision-making ability. To enable them to make the most appropriate decision in any situation, it is important that effective tools incorporating multicriteria decision-making techniques are available. In this paper, an Analytic Network Process (ANP) model is conducted for the selection of appropriate IT application for innovative construction management prior to construction or research. The paper concludes that the ANP is a viable and capable tool for conducting IT application selection in multicriteria decision-making environment.
Spatial data acquisition, integration, and modeling for real-time project life-cycle applications
(2004)
Current methods for site modeling employs expensive laser range scanners that produce dense point clouds which require hours or days of post-processing to arrive at a finished model. While these methods produce very detailed models of the scanned scene, useful for obtaining as-built drawings of existing structures, the associated computational time burden precludes the methods from being used onsite for real-time decision-making. Moreover, in many project life-cycle applications, detailed models of objects are not needed. Results of earlier research conducted by the authors demonstrated novel, highly economical methods that reduce data acquisition time and the need for computationally intensive processing. These methods enable complete local area modeling in the order of a minute, and with sufficient accuracy for applications such as advanced equipment control, simple as-built site modeling, and real-time safety monitoring for construction equipment. This paper describes a research project that is investigating novel ways of acquiring, integrating, modeling, and analyzing project site spatial data that do not rely on dense, expensive laser scanning technology and that enable scalability and robustness for real-time, field deployment. Algorithms and methods for modeling objects of simple geometric shape (geometric primitives from a limited number of range points, as well as methods provide a foundation for further development required to address more complex site situations, especially if dynamic site information (motion of personnel and equipment). Field experiments are being conducted to establish performance parameters and validation for the proposed methods and models. Initial experimental work has demonstrated the feasibility of this approach.
This paper presents an agent-based software, Virtual Administrator System (VAS) for the smallscale maintenance of school buildings. VAS is capable of handling a heavy load of routine, lowtech maintenance jobs. It assigns a different priority to each job application according to its significance and urgency, and automatically adjusts schedules for maintenance engineers when on-site supervision is needed. The system can help ease off the burden of routine small-scale maintenance work, making it more cost-effective and efficient in the overall management of school building maintenance. VAS posts jobs on the Web in a multi-media format and classified all applications into four categories: the on-call maintenance contract, the term maintenance contract, the guaranty maintenance contract, and the regular maintenance contract. It then estimates their urgency level and passes the information to maintenance engineers who will decide whether on-site inspection is needed. Based on the engineers’ feedback, VAS automatically implements the scheduling for inspection as well as sends out real-time or batch notifications to contractors. All these activities are recorded in a database to allow continuous research and data mining and the analysis and diagnosis of specific jobs for followup maintenance plans.
The paper summarizes a part of research carried out in ICCI project and provides a current review of ICT infrastructures supporting collaboration. It covers taxonomies, protocols, standards, components, typical subsystems as well as future trends and recommendation for two most important technologies with applications in AEC: (1) EIP (Enterprise information portal) – a single gateway to a company's information, knowledge base, and applications for all actors; (2) RTC (Real-Time Communication and Collaboration technologies) that provide means for asynchronous communication between geographically dislocated people using ICT. Proposed future developments are: orientation towards web services - with building information models, business intelligence, personalization, AEC information retrieval, p2p workspaces and grids.
The design of mobile IT systems, especially the design of wearable computer systems, is a complex task that requires computer science knowledge, such as that related to hardware configuration and software development, in addition to knowledge of the domain in which the system is intended to be used. Particularly in the AEC sector, it is necessary that the support from mobile information technology fit the work situation at hand. Ideally, the domain expert alone can adjust the wearable computer system to achieve this fit without having to consult IT experts. In this paper, we describe a model that helps in transferring existing design knowledge from non-AEC domains to new projects in the construction area. The base for this is a model and a methodology that describes the usage scenarios of said computer systems in an application-neutral and domain-independent way. Thus, the actual design information and experience will be transferable between different applications and domains.
This paper describes a framework for computer-aided conceptual design of building structures that results from building architectural considerations. The central task that is carried out during conceptual design is the synthesis of the structural system. This paper proposes a methodology for the synthesis of structural solutions. Given the nature of architectural constraints, user-model interactivity is devised as the most suitable computer methodology for driving the structural synthesis process. Taking advantage of the hierarchical organization of the structural system, this research proposes a top-down approach for structural synthesis. Through hierarchical refinement, the approach lends itself to the synthesis of global and local structural solutions. The components required for implementing the proposed methodology are briefly described. The main components have been incorporated in a proof-of-concept prototype that is being tested and validated with actual buildings.
Current software solutions for real estate planning, construction and use, do not model the complete life cycle of a building. Well-integrated software tools exist for the planning and construction phases. Data integrity exists throughout the planning and construction phases, but problems occur at the transition to the use-phase. At this interface, the complete data set of planning and execution gets lost. Another software deficiency is that current software solutions don’t handle construction work and maintenance work equally. This is why a new software generation is demanded, which continuously covers the entire workflow process from the planning phase to the demolition of a building. New data concepts have to be developed, which allow bringing work items for construction together with work items for real estate use.
The presented work focuses on collaboration- experiences gathered with complex design and engineering projects, using the learning platform POLE- Europe. Within the POLE environment student-teams from different universities, disciplines and cultural backgrounds are assigned to real-world projects with clearly defined design - tasks, usually to be accomplished within one semester while working in a virtual environment for most of the time. The concept of POLE and the information and collaboration technology is described.