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The paper proposes a new method for general 3D measurement and 3D point reconstruction. Looking at its features, the method explicitly aims at practical applications. These features especially cover low technical expenses and minimal user interaction, a clear problem separation into steps that are solved by simple mathematical methods (direct, stable and optimal with respect to least error squares), and scalability. The method expects the internal and radial distortion parameters of the used camera(s) as inputs, and a plane quadrangle with known geometry within the scene. At first, for each single picture the 3D position of the reference quadrangle (with respect to each camera coordinate frame) is calculated. These 3D reconstructions of the reference quadrangle are then used to yield the relative external parameters of each camera regarding the first one. With known external parameters, triangulation is finally possible. The differences from other known procedures are outlined, paying attention to the stable mathematical methods (no usage of nonlinear optimization) and the low user interaction with good results at the same time.
Since the 90-ties the Pascal matrix, its generalizations and applications have been in the focus of a great amount of publications. As it is well known, the Pascal matrix, the symmetric Pascal matrix and other special matrices of Pascal type play an important role in many scientific areas, among them Numerical Analysis, Combinatorics, Number Theory, Probability, Image processing, Sinal processing, Electrical engineering, etc. We present a unified approach to matrix representations of special polynomials in several hypercomplex variables (new Bernoulli, Euler etc. polynomials), extending results of H. Malonek, G.Tomaz: Bernoulli polynomials and Pascal matrices in the context of Clifford Analysis, Discrete Appl. Math. 157(4)(2009) 838-847. The hypercomplex version of a new Pascal matrix with block structure, which resembles the ordinary one for polynomials of one variable will be discussed in detail.
In this paper proposed the application of two-parameters damage model, based on non-linear finite element approach, to the analysis of masonry panels. Masonry is treated as a homogenized material, for which the material characteristics can be defined by using homogenization technique. The masonry panels subjected to shear loading are studied by using the proposed procedure within the framework of three-dimensional analyses. The nonlinear behaviour of masonry can be modelled using concepts of damage theory. In this case an adequate damage function is defined for taking into account different response of masonry under tension and compression states. Cracking can, therefore, be interpreted as a local damage effect, defined by the evolution of known material parameters and by one or several functions which control the onset and evolution of damage. The model takes into account all the important aspects which should be considered in the nonlinear analysis of masonry structures such as the effect of stiffness degradation due to mechanical effects and the problem of objectivity of the results with respect to the finite element mesh. Finally the proposed damage model is validated with a comparison with experimental results available in the literature.
This paper deals with the modelling and the analysis of masonry vaults. Numerical FEM analyses are performed using LUSAS code. Two vault typologies are analysed (barrel and cross-ribbed vaults) parametrically varying geometrical proportions and constraints. The proposed model and the developed numerical procedure are implemented in a computer analysis. Numerical applications are developed to assess the model effectiveness and the efficiency of the numerical procedure. The main object of the present paper is the development of a computational procedure which allows to define 3D structural behaviour of masonry vaults. For each investigated example, the homogenized limit analysis approach has been employed to predict ultimate load and failure mechanisms. Finally, both a mesh dependence study and a sensitivity analysis are reported. Sensitivity analysis is conducted varying in a wide range mortar tensile strength and mortar friction angle with the aim of investigating the influence of the mechanical properties of joints on collapse load and failure mechanisms. The proposed computer model is validated by a comparison with experimental results available in the literature.
This paper presents results of applying Fuzzy Inference System for estimation of the number of potential Park and Ride users. Usually it is difficult to evaluate the number of users because it depends on human factor and data in the considered system are uncertain. In such situation the traditional mathematical approaches can not take into consideration rough data. Therefore a fuzzy approach can be applied in this case. A fuzzy methodology is treated as a proper way to describe choice of mode of transport, and especially that uncertainty accompanied of choosing process has rather fuzzy character. The proposed approach is based on the Mamdani Fuzzy Inference System and for calculation there is used Matlab software with Fuzzy Logic Toolbox. Mamdani model requires, as an input data, knowledge of the shape of membership function. These functions can be calibrated taking into consideration results of questionnaires conducted among users of Park and Ride system. Due to lack of representative sample of users, one has decided to use results of experts' questionnaires as a input data for calibration the shape of membership functions. Describing factor will be generalized cost of the trip for different modes of transport. Proposed approach consists of two main stages: modeling of share of public/private transport trips and Multimodal model estimating number of Park and Ride users. Verification of presented methodology is treated as an indirect proof. Proposed approach can be applied for estimation of bi-modal split. Then the results are compared with traditional approaches based on logit functions. Comparable results of proposed fuzzy approach with traditional logit models can be treated as a confirmation of chosen methodology.
In this paper we evaluate 2D models for soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC), that incorporate the hysteretic nature of the relationship between volumetric water content θ and suction ψ. The models are based on nonlinear least squares estimation of the experimental data for sand. To estimate the dependent variable θ the proposed models include two independent variables, suction and sensors reading position (depth d in the column test). The variable d represents not only the position where suction and water content are measured but also the initial suction distribution before each of the hydraulic loading test phases. Due to this the proposed 2D regression models acquire the advantage that they: (a) can be applied for prediction of θ for any position along the column and (b) give the functional form for the scanning curves.
Building information modeling offers a huge potential for increasing the productivity and quality of construction planning processes. Despite its promising concept, this approach has not found widespread use. One of the reasons is the insufficient coupling of the structural models with the general building model. Instead, structural engineers usually set up a structural model that is independent from the building model and consists of mechanical models of reduced dimension. An automatic model generation, which would be valuable in case of model revisions is therefore not possible. This can be overcome by a volumetric formulation of the problem. A recent approach employed the p-version of the finite element method to this problem. This method, in conjunction with a volumetric formulation is suited to simulate the structural behaviour of both „thick“ solid bodies and thin-walled structures. However, there remains a notable discretization error in the numerical models. This paper therefore proposes a new approach for overcoming this situation. It sugggests the combination of the Isogeometric analysis together with the volumetric models in order to integrate the structural design into the digital, building model-centered planning process and reduce the discretization error. The concept of the isogeometric analysis consists, roughly, in the application of NURBS functions to represent the geometry and the shape functions of the elements. These functions possess some beneficial properties regarding numerical simulation. Their use, however, leads to some intricacies related to the setup of the stiffness matrix. This paper describes some of these properties.
Optimum technological solutions must take into account the entire life cycle of structures including design procedures as well as quality assurance, inspection, maintenance, and repair strategies. Unfortunately, current design standards do not provide a satisfactory basis to ensure expected structural lifetimes. The latter may vary from only a few years for temporary structures to over a century for bridges, water dams or nuclear repositories. Consistent scientific concepts are urgently required to cover this wide spectrum of lifetimes in structural design and maintenance. This was a motivation for a group of scientists at the Ruhr-University Bochum (RUB) to start a special research program supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the Cooperative Research Center SFB 398 since 1996. Institutes of the University Wuppertal and of the University Essen-Duisburg joined the research group. The goal of the Center is to study sources of damage and deterioration in materials and structures, to develop consistent models and simulation methods, to predict structural lifetimes and finally to integrate this predictions into new lifetime-oriented design strategies.
Research activities in our center are organised in three Project Groups as follows:
- Modelling of lifetime effects
- Methods for lifetime-oriented structural analyses
- Future lifespan-oriented design strategies.
... WITHOUT RIGHT ANGLE.
(2006)
Currently sculptural design is one of the most discussed themes in architecture. Due to their light weight, easy transportation and assembly, as well as an almost unlimited structural variety, parameterised spatial structures are excellently suited for constructive realisation of free formed claddings. They subdivide the continuous surface into a structure of small sized nodes, straight members and plane glass panels. Thus they provide an opportunity to realise arbitrary double-curved claddings with a high degree of transparency, using industrial semi-finished products (steel sections, flat glass). Digital design strategies and a huge number of similar looking but in detail unique structural members demand a continuous digital project handling. Within a research project, named MYLOMESH, a free-formed spatial structure was designed, constructed, fabricated and assembled. All required steps were carried out based on digital data. Different digital connections (scripts) between varying software tools, which are usually not used in the planning process of buildings, were created. They allow a completely digital workflow. The project, its design, meshing, constructive detailing and the above-mentioned scripts are described in this paper.
Information technology plays a key role in the everyday operation of buildings and campuses. Many proprietary technologies and methodologies can assist in effective Building Performance Monitoring (BPM) and efficient managing of building resources. The integration of related tools like energy simulator packages, facility, energy and building management systems, and enterprise resource planning systems is of benefit to BPM. However, the complexity to integrating such domain specific systems prevents their common usage. Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) has been deployed successfully in many large multinational companies to create integrated and flexible software systems, but so far this methodology has not been applied broadly to the field of BPM. This paper envisions that SOA provides an effective integration framework for BPM. Service oriented architecture for the ITOBO framework for sustainable and optimised building operation is proposed and an implementation for a building performance monitoring system is introduced.
DIGITAL SUPPORT OF MATERIAL- AND PRODUCT SELECTION IN THE ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN- AND PLANNING PROCESS
(2006)
Architecture is predominantly perceived over the surfaces limiting the space. The used surface materials thereby should support the design intention and have to fulfil various technical and economical requirements. If the architect wants to select the "right" or the "best" material he has to play with very different and sometimes contradicting criteria and must weight these individually for the special purpose. This selection process is supported only insufficiently by today's digital systems. If it would be possible to illustrate all the various parameters by numerical values, the method of multidimensional scaling will offer a solution for architects to find the material which is best fitting on basis of his individual weighting of criteria. By displaying the result of the architect's multidimensional query in a spatial arrangement multidimensional scaling can support an interactive selection process with additional feedback over the applied search strategy.
The paper is devoted to a study of properties of homogeneous solutions of massless field equation in higher dimensions. We first treat the case of dimension 4. Here we use the two-component spinor language (developed for purposes of general relativity). We describe how are massless field operators related to a higher spin analogues of the de Rham sequence - the so called Bernstein-Gel'fand-Gel'fand (BGG) complexes - and how are they related to the twisted Dirac operators. Then we study similar question in higher (even) dimensions. Here we have to use more tools from representation theory of the orthogonal group. We recall the definition of massless field equations in higher dimensions and relations to higher dimensional conformal BGG complexes. Then we discuss properties of homogeneous solutions of massless field equation. Using some recent techniques for decomposition of tensor products of irreducible $Spin(m)$-modules, we are able to add some new results on a structure of the spaces of homogenous solutions of massless field equations. In particular, we show that the kernel of the massless field equation in a given homogeneity contains at least on specific irreducible submodule.
We consider a structural truss problem where all of the physical model parameters are uncertain: not just the material values and applied loads, but also the positions of the nodes are assumed to be inexact but bounded and are represented by intervals. Such uncertainty may typically arise from imprecision during the process of manufacturing or construction, or round-off errors. In this case the application of the finite element method results in a system of linear equations with numerous interval parameters which cannot be solved conventionally. Applying a suitable variable substitution, an iteration method for the solution of a parametric system of linear equations is firstly employed to obtain initial bounds on the node displacements. Thereafter, an interval tightening (pruning) technique is applied, firstly on the element forces and secondly on the node displacements, in order to obtain tight guaranteed enclosures for the interval solutions for the forces and displacements.
Due to increasing numbers of wind energy converters, the accurate assessment of the lifespan of their structural parts and the entire converter system is becoming more and more paramount. Lifespan-oriented design, inspections and remedial maintenance are challenging because of their complex dynamic behavior. Wind energy converters are subjected to stochastic turbulent wind loading causing corresponding stochastic structural response and vibrations associated with an extreme number of stress cycles (up to 109 according to the rotation of the blades). Currently, wind energy converters are constructed for a service life of about 20 years. However, this estimation is more or less made by rule of thumb and not backed by profound scientific analyses or accurate simulations. By contrast, modern structural health monitoring systems allow an improved identification of deteriorations and, thereupon, to drastically advance the lifespan assessment of wind energy converters. In particular, monitoring systems based on artificial intelligence techniques represent a promising approach towards cost-efficient and reliable real-time monitoring. Therefore, an innovative real-time structural health monitoring concept based on software agents is introduced in this contribution. For a short time, this concept is also turned into a real-world monitoring system developed in a DFG joint research project in the authors’ institute at the Ruhr-University Bochum. In this paper, primarily the agent-based development, implementation and application of the monitoring system is addressed, focusing on the real-time monitoring tasks in the deserved detail.
The concept is presented of the sensitivity analysis of the limit state of the structure with respect to selected basic variables. The sensitivity is presented in the form of the probability distribution of the limit state of the structure. The analysis is performed by the problem-oriented Monte Carlo simulation procedure. The procedure is based on the problem's definition of the elementary event, as a structural limit state. Thus the sample space consists of limit states of the structure. Defined on the sample space the one-dimensional random multiplier is introduced. This multiplier refers to the dominant basic variable (group of variables) of the problem. Numerical procedure results in the set of random numbers. Normalized relative histogram of this set is an estimator of the PDF of the limit state of the structure. Estimators of reliability, or the probability of failure are statistical characteristics of this histogram. The procedure is illustrated by the example of sensitivity analysis of the serviceability limit state of monumental structure. It is the colonnade of Licheń Basilica, situated in central Poland. Limit state of the structure is examined with reference to the upper deck horizontal deflection. Wind actions are taken as dominant variables. An assumption is made that the wind load intensities acting on the lower and on the upper storey of the colonnade, respectively, are identically distributed, but correlated random variables. Three correlation variants of these variables are considered. Relevant limit state histograms are analysed thereafter. The paper ends with the conclusions referring to the method and some general remarks on the fully probabilistic design.
In order to model and simulate collapses of large scale complex structures, a user-friendly and high performance software system is essential. Because a large number of simulation experiments have to be performed, therefore, next to an appropriate simulation model and high performance computing, efficient interactive control and visualization capabilities of model parameters and simulation results are crucial. To this respect, this contribution is concerned with advancements of the software system CADCE (Computer Aided Demolition using Controlled Explosives) that is extended under particular consideration of computational steering concepts. Thereby, focus is placed on problems and solutions for the collapse simulation of real world large scale complex structures. The simulation model applied is based on a multilevel approach embedding finite element models on a local as well as a near field length scale, and multibody models on a global scale. Within the global level simulation, relevant effects of the local and the near field scale, such as fracture and failure processes of the reinforced concrete parts, are approximated by means of tailor-made multibody subsystems. These subsystems employ force elements representing nonlinear material characteristics in terms of force/displacement relationships that, in advance, are determined by finite element analysis. In particular, enhancements concerning the efficiency of the multibody model and improvements of the user interaction are presented that are crucial for the capability of the computational steering. Some scenarios of collapse simulations of real world large scale structures demonstrate the implementation of the above mentioned approaches within the computational steering.
CRITICAL STRESS ASSESSMENT IN ANGLE TO GUSSET PLATE BOLTED CONNECTION BY SIMPLIFIED FEM MODELLING
(2010)
Simplified modelling of friction grip bolted connections of steel member – to – gusset plate is often applied in engineering practise. The paper deals with the simplification of pre-tensioned bolt model and simplification of load transfer within connection. Influence on normal strain (and thus stress) distribution at critical cross-section is investigated. Laboratory testing of single-angle or double-angle members – to – gusset plates bolted connections were taken as basis for numerical analysis. FE models were created using 1D and 2D elements. Angles and gusset plates were modelled with shell elements. Two methods of modelling of friction grip bolting were considered: bolt-regarding approach with 1D element systems modelling bolts and two variants of bolt-disregarding approach with special constraints over some part of member and gusset plate surfaces in contact: a) constraints over whole area of contact, b) constraints over the area around each bolt shank (“partially tied”). Modelling of friction grip bolted connections using simplified bolt modelling may be effective, especially in the case of analysis concerning elastic range only. In such a case disregarding bolts and replacing them with “partially tied” modelling seems to be more attractive. It is less time-consuming and provides results of similar accuracy in comparison to analysis utilizing simplified bolt modelling.
VARIATION OF ROTATIONAL RESTRAINT IN GRID DECK CONNECTION DUE TO CORROSION DAMAGE AND STRENGTHENING
(2006)
The approach to assessment of rotational restraint of stringer-to-crossbeam connection in a deck of 100-year old steel truss bridge is presented. Sensitivity of rotational restraint coefficient of the connection to corrosion damage and strengthening is analyzed. Two criteria of the assessment of the rotational restraint coefficient are applied: static and kinematic one. The former is based on bending moment distribution in the considered member, the latter one – on the member rotation at the given joint. 2D-element model of finite element method is described: webs and flanges are modeled with shell elements, while rivets in the connection – with system of beam and spring elements. The method of rivet modeling is verified by T-stub connection test results published in literature. FEM analyses proved that recorded extent of corrosion damage does not alter the initial rotational restraint of stringer-to-crossbeam connection. Strengthening of stringer midspan influences midspan bending moment and stringer end rotation in a different way. Usually restoring member load bearing capacity means strengthening its critical regions (where the highest stress levels occur). This alters flexural stiffness distribution over member length and influences rotational restraint at its connection to other members. The impact depends on criterion chosen for rotational restraint coefficient assessment.
The uncertainty existing in the construction industry is bigger than in other industries. Consequently, most construction projects do not go totally as planned. The project management plan needs therefore to be adapted repeatedly within the project lifecycle to suit the actual project conditions. Generally, the risks of change in the project management plan are difficult to be identified in advance, especially if these risks are caused by unexpected events such as human errors or changes in the client preferences. The knowledge acquired from different resources is essential to identify the probable deviations as well as to find proper solutions to the faced change risks. Hence, it is necessary to have a knowledge base that contains known solutions for the common exceptional cases that may cause changes in each construction domain. The ongoing research work presented in this paper uses the process modeling technique of Event-driven Process Chains to describe different patterns of structure changes in the schedule networks. This results in several so called “change templates”. Under each template different types of change risk/ response pairs can be categorized and stored in a knowledge base. This knowledge base is described as an ontology model populated with reference construction process data. The implementation of the developed approach can be seen as an iterative scheduling cycle that will be repeated within the project lifecycle as new change risks surface. This can help to check the availability of ready solutions in the knowledge base for the situation at hand. Moreover, if the solution is adopted, CPSP, “Change Project Schedule Plan „a prototype developed for the purpose of this research work, will be used to make the needed structure changes of the schedule network automatically based on the change template. What-If scenarios can be implemented using the CPSP prototype in the planning phase to study the effect of specific situations without endangering the success of the project objectives. Hence, better designed and more maintainable project schedules can be achieved.
Monitoring und Bewertung sind Hauptaufgaben im Management bzw. der Revitalisierung von Bauwerken. Unterschiedliche Verfahren können bei der Akquisition der erforderlichen geometrischen Information, wie z. B. Größe oder Verformung eines Gebäudes, eingesetzt werden. Da das Potenzial der digitalen Fotografie kontinuierlich wächst, stellt die Industriephotogrammetrie heute eine bedeutende Alternative zu den klassischen Verfahren wie Dehnmessstreifen oder anderen taktilen Sensoren dar. Moderne Industriephotogrammetrie erfasst die Bilder mittels digitaler Systeme. Dies bedeutet, dass die Information digitaler Bilder mit Hilfe der digitalen Bildverarbeitung untersucht werden muss, um die Bildkoordinaten der Messpunkte zu erhalten. Eine der Aufgaben der Bildverarbeitung für photogrammetrische Zwecke besteht somit darin, den Mittelpunkt von kreisförmigen Marken zu lokalisieren. Die modernen Operatoren liefern Subpixelgenauigkeit für die Koordinaten des Punktes. Das optische Messverfahren der Industriephotogrammetrie erfordert hinsichtlich der Hardware in erster Linie hochauflösende digitale Kameras. Dabei lassen sich die Kameras in Videokameras, HighSpeed-Kameras, intelligente Kameras sowie so genannte Consumer und Professionelle Kameras unterscheiden. Die geometrische Auflösung digitaler HighEnd-Kameras liegt heute bei über 10 Megapixel. In punkto Datentransfer zum Rechner sind verschiedene Standards am Markt verfügbar, z. B. USB2.0, GigE-Vision, CameraLink oder Firewire. Die Wahl des Standards hängt immer von der spezifischen Aufgabenstellung ab, da keine der Techniken eine führende Position einnimmt. Die moderne Photogrammetrie bietet viele neue Möglichkeiten für das Monitoring und die Bewertung von Bauwerken. Sie kann ein-, zwei-, drei- oder vierdimensionale Informationen liefern, falls erforderlich auch in Echtzeit. Als berührungsloses Messverfahren ist der Einsatz der Photogrammetrie noch möglich, wenn die taktilen Sensoren z. B. aufgrund ihres Platzbedarfes nicht mehr eingesetzt werden können. Hochauflösende Videokameras erlauben es, selbst dynamische Untersuchungen mit großer Präzision durchzuführen.
Car following models are used to describe the behavior of a number of cars on the road dependent on the distance to the car in front. We introduce a system of ordinary differential equations and perform a theoretical and numerical analysis in order to find solutions that reflect various traffic situations. We present three different variations of the model motivated by reality.
Die Kommunale Wohnungsgesellschaft mbH Erfurt(KoWo) ist mit ihren rund 20.000 Wohnungen in der Landeshauptstadt das größte Wohnungsunternehmen in Thüringen. Der Immobilienbestand ist heterogen in seinem technischen Zustand und im Bezug auf die unterschiedlichen Lagen der Objekte. Bedingt durch Leerstände und unterschiedliche Modernisierungsmaßnahmen und -stände unterscheidet sich die Wirtschaftlichkeit verschiedener Objekte deutlich. Ohne eine einheitliche Einwertung des Immobilienbestandes im Bezug auf die Objektattraktivität, die Standortqualität und die Objektwirtschaftlichkeit fällt eine langfristige strategische Entwicklung des Immobilienportfolios schwer. Über die Schritte der technischen Bestandserfassung, die Einwertung über ein Scorintmodell, die Abbildung in einem Portfoliomodell mit zugehöriger Normstrategie bis hin zur Weiterverarbeitung der Daten in der 20-jährigen Instandsetzungsplanung wird praxisnah aufgezeigt, wie die Vorgehensweise bei der Einwertung des Immobilienportfolios ist.
The numerical simulation of microstructure models in 3D requires, due to enormous d.o.f., significant resources of memory as well as parallel computational power. Compared to homogeneous materials, the material hetrogeneity on microscale induced by different material phases demand for adequate computational methods for discretization and solution process of the resulting highly nonlinear problem. To enable an efficient/scalable solution process of the linearized equation systems the heterogeneous FE problem will be described by a FETI-DP (Finite Element Tearing and Interconnecting - Dual Primal) discretization. The fundamental FETI-DP equation can be solved by a number of different approaches. In our approach the FETI-DP problem will be reformulated as Saddle Point system, by eliminating the primal and Lagrangian variables. For the reduced Saddle Point system, only defined by interior and dual variables, special Uzawa algorithms can be adapted for iteratively solving the FETI-DP saddle-point equation system (FETI-DP SPE). A conjugate gradient version of the Uzawa algorithm will be shown as well as some numerical tests regarding to FETI-DP discretization of small examples using the presented solution technique. Furthermore the inversion of the interior-dual Schur complement operator can be approximated using different techniques building an adequate preconditioning matrix and therewith leading to substantial gains in computing time efficiency.
Quality is one of the most important properties of a product. Providing the optimal quality can reduce costs for rework, scrap, recall or even legal actions while satisfying customers demand for reliability. The aim is to achieve ``built-in'' quality within product development process (PDP). The common approach therefore is the robust design optimization (RDO). It uses stochastic values as constraint and/or objective to obtain a robust and reliable optimal design. In classical approaches the effort required for stochastic analysis multiplies with the complexity of the optimization algorithm. The suggested approach shows that it is possible to reduce this effort enormously by using previously obtained data. Therefore the support point set of an underlying metamodel is filled iteratively during ongoing optimization in regions of interest if this is necessary. In a simple example, it will be shown that this is possible without significant loss of accuracy.
Im Bereich der Altbausanierung und der Bestandserfassung im Bauwesen ist es häufig notwendig, bestehende Pläne hinsichtlich des Bauwerkszustandes zu aktualisieren oder, wenn diese Pläne nicht (mehr) zugänglich sind, gänzlich neue Planunterlagen des Ist-Zustandes zu erstellen. Ein komfortabler Weg, diese Bauwerksdaten zu erheben, eröffnet die Technologie der Laservermessung. Der vorliegende Artikel stellt in diesem Zusammenhang Ansätze zur Teilautomatisierung der Generierung eines dreidimensionalen Computermodells eines Bauwerkes vor. Als Ergebnis wird ein Volumenmodell bereitgestellt, in dem zunächst die geometrischen und topologischen Informationen über Flächen, Kanten und Punkte im Sinne eines B-rep Modells beschrieben sind. Die Objekte dieses Volumenmodells werden mit Verfahren aus dem Bereich der künstlichen Intelligenz analysiert und in Bauteilklassen systematisch kategorisiert. Die Kenntnis der Bauteilsemantik erlaubt es somit, aus den Daten ein Bauwerks-Produktmodell abzuleiten und dieses einzelnen Fachplanern – etwa zur Erstellung eines Energiepasses – zugänglich zu machen. Der Aufsatz zeigt den erfolgreichen Einsatz virtueller neuronaler Netze im Bereich der Bestandserfassung anhand eines komplexen Beispiels.
Unconstrained models are very often found in the broad spectrum of different theories of traffic demand models. In these models there are none or only one-sided restrictions influencing the choice of the individual. However in the traffic demand different deciding dependencies of the traffic volume with regard to the specific conditions of the territory structure potentials exist. Kichhoff and Lohse introduced bi- and tri-linearly constrained models to show these dependencies. In principle, the dependencies are described as hard, elastic and open boundary sum criteria. In this article a model is formulated which gets away from these predefined boundary sum criteria and allows a free determination of minimal and maximal boundary sum criteria. The iterative solution algorithm is shown according to a FURNESS procedure at the same time. With the approach of freely selectable minimal and maximal boundary sum criteria the modeling transport planner gets the possibility to show the traffic event even better. Furthermore all common boundary sum criteria can be calculated with this model. Therewith the often necessary and sensible standard and special cases can also be modeled.
Räume und Gebäude sind heute wegen der enormen Funktionalität der technischen Gebäudeausrüstung (TGA) in Kombination mit der sonstigen Ausstattung und den diversen Anwendungsprozessen und Nutzergruppen ohne innovative Konzepte der integrierten Bedienung kaum noch beherrschbar bzw. optimal nutzbar. Dies gilt sowohl für Wohn- als auch für Zweckimmobilien. Die Gebäudeleittechnik (GLT) und die Gebäudeautomation (GA) können hier unter sinnvoller Integration der Möglichkeiten der Mikroelektronik, Multimedia-, Kommunikations- und Informationstechnik erheblich zu nutzbringenden Innovationen beitragen. Die Automobilindustrie hat in den letzten Jahren gezeigt, wie durch einen integralen Systemansatz und durch Einsatz von Elektronik, Kommunikations- und Informationstechnik eine sinnvolle technische Assistenz der Anwender machbar ist. Genannt sei hier das Konzept des Cockpits mit integrierter Funktionsbündelung und der Informationskonzentration am Armaturenbrett. Im Gegensatz zum Automobil ist der Bereich der technischen Gebäudeausstattung in Wohn- und Nutzimmobilien gekennzeichnet durch eine starke Fragmentierung in unterschiedlichste Gewerke unter Beteiligung vieler oft schlecht koordinierter Akteure. Durch das Duisburger inHaus-Innovationszentrum für Intelligente Raum- und Gebäudesysteme der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft wurden in den letzten Jahren neuartige Konzepte der Systemintegration heterogener Technik auf der Basis von Middleware-Plattformen und Multimedia-Technologien und -Geräten entwickelt, getestet und in die Anwendung getragen. Einer der ersten Systemanwendungen dieses offenen Infrastrukturkonzepts ist die integrierte Systembedienung mit zum Teil völlig neuen Bedienkonzepten und einer starken Bedienungsvereinfachung auch komplexester Technikausrüstungen in Immobilien. Der Beitrag beschreibt nach einer Analyse der Ausgangslage die technologischen Grundzüge der integrierten Systembedienung. Es folgen einige Anwendungsbeispiele und eine zusammenfassende Bewertung mit einem Ausblick auf weiterführende Aktivitäten.
Mikroelektronik und Mikrosystemtechnik in Kombination mit Informations- und Kommunikations-technik erlauben es mittlerweile, Rechenleistung und Kommunikationsfähigkeit in kleinsten Formaten, mit geringsten Energien und zu günstigen Preisen nutzbringend in unser privates und berufliches Umfeld einzubringen. Beispiele sind Notebook-PC, PDA, Handy und das Navigationßystem im Auto. Aber auch eingebettete Elektronik in Komponenten, Geräten und Systemen ist nunmehr zur Selbstverständlichkeit geworden. Bekannte Beispiele aus der Haustechnik sind Mikroprozeßoren in Heizungs- und Alarmanlagen und aber auch in Komponenten wie Brand- und Bewegungsmelder. Wir nähern uns dem vor einigen Jahren noch als Vision bezeichneten Zustand der überall vorhandenen elektronischen Rechenleistung (engl. ubiquitous computing) bzw. des von Informationsverarbeitung durchdrungenen täglichen Umfelds (engl. pervasive computing). Werden die TGA-Komponenten genau wie die größeren Computerkomponenten (z.B. PCs, Server) über Datenschnittstellen zu räumlich verteilten Netzwerken verknüpft (z.B. Internet, Intranet) und mit einer systemübergreifenden und adäquaten Intelligenz (Software) programmiert, so können neuartige Funktionalitäten im jeweiligen Anwendungsumfeld (engl. ambient intelligence, kurz AmI, [1]) entstehen. Hier liegt bei Gebäuden und Räumen speziell eine große Chance, die bislang einer ganzheitlichen Systemkonzeption unter Einschluß von Architektur, Gebäudephysik, technischer Gebäudeausrüstung (TGA) und Gebäudeautomation (GA) im Wege stehende Gewerketrennung zu überwinden. Es entstehen für div. Anwendungszwecke systemisch integrierte >smart areas< (nach Prof. Becker, FH Biberach). Im vorliegenden Beitrag erläuterte Beispiele für AmI-Lösungen im Immobilienbereich sind Raumsysteme zur automatischen und sicheren Erkennung von Notfällen, z.B. in Pflegeheimen; sich automatisch an die Nutzung und den Nutzer bzgl. Klima und Beleuchtung adaptierende Raumsysteme im Büro- oder Hotelbereich und die elektronische Aßistenz des Bau- und Betriebsprozeßes von Gebäuden. Im Duisburger inHaus-Innovationszentrum für Intelligente Raum- und Gebäudesysteme der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft wurden in den letzten Jahren erste Lösungen mit diesem neuartigen Ansatz konzipiert, entwickelt und erprobt. Der Beitrag beschreibt nach einer kurzen Skizzierung des Ambient-Intelligence-Ansatzes an Beispielen Möglichkeiten für den Transfer dieser neuen Technologie in den Raum- und Gebäudebereich. Es folgt eine abschließende Zusammenfaßung und eine Einschätzung der Zukunftspotenziale der Ambient Intelligence in Raum und Bau.
In distributed project organisations and collaboration there is a need for integrating unstructured self-contained text information with structured project data. We consider this a process of text integration in which various text technologies can be used to externalise text content and consolidate it into structured information or flexibly interlink it with corresponding information bases. However, the effectiveness of text technologies and the potentials of text integration greatly vary with the type of documents, the project setup and the available background knowledge. The goal of our research is to establish text technologies within collaboration environments to allow for (a) flexibly combining appropriate text and data management technologies, (b) utilising available context information and (c) the sharing of text information in accordance to the most critical integration tasks. A particular focus is on Semantic Service Environments that leverage on Web service and Semantic Web technologies and adequately support the required systems integration and parallel processing of semi-structured and structured information. The paper presents an architecture for text integration that extends Semantic Service Environments with two types of integration services. Backbone to the Information Resource Sharing and Integration Service is a shared environment ontology that consolidates information on the project context and the available model, text and general linguistic resources. It also allows for the configuration of Semantic Text Analysis and Annotation Services to analyse the text documents as well as for capturing the discovered text information and sharing it through semantic notification and retrieval engines. A particular focus of the paper is the definition of the overall integration process configuring a complementary set of analyses and information sharing components.
In this paper we evaluate 2D models for soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC), that incorporate the hysteretic nature of the relationship between volumetric water content Θ and suction Ψ. The models are based on nonlinear least squares estimation of the experimental data for sand. To estimate the dependent variable Θ the proposed models include two independent variables, suction and sensors reading position (depth d in the column test). The variable d represents not only the position where suction and water content are measured but also the initial suction distribution before each of the hydraulic loading test phases. Due to this the proposed 2D regression models acquire the advantage that they: (a) can be applied for prediction of Θ for any position along the column and (b) give the functional form for the scanning curves.
The use of virtual reality techniques in the development of educational applications brings new perspectives to the teaching of subjects related to the field of civil construction in Civil Engineering domain. In order to obtain models, which would be able to visually simulate the construction process of two types of construction work, the research turned to the techniques of geometric modelling and virtual reality. The applications developed for this purpose are concerned with the construction of a cavity wall and a bridge. These models make it possible to view the physical evolution of the work, to follow the planned construction sequence and to visualize details of the form of every component of the works. They also support the study of the type and method of operation of the equipment necessary for these construction procedures. These models have been used to distinct advantage as educational aids in first-degree courses in Civil Engineering. Normally, three-dimensional geometric models, which are used to present architectural and engineering works, show only their final form, not allowing the observation of their physical evolution. The visual simulation of the construction process needs to be able to produce changes to the geometry of the project dynamically. In the present study, two engineering construction work models were created, from which it was possible to obtain three-dimensional models corresponding to different states of their form, simulating distinct stages in their construction. Virtual reality technology was applied to the 3D models. Virtual reality capacities allow the interactive real-time viewing of 3D building models and facilitate the process of visualizing, evaluating and communicating.
The main aim of the research project in progress is to develop virtual models as tools to support decision-making in the planning of construction maintenance. The virtual models gives the capacity to allow them to transmit, visually and interactively, information related to the physical behaviour of materials, components of given infrastructures, defined as a function of the time variable. The interactive application allows decisions to be made on conception options in the definition of plans for maintenance, conservation or rehabilitation. The first virtual prototype that is now in progress concerns just lamps. It allows the examination of the physical model, visualizing, for each element modelled in 3D and linked to a database, the corresponding technical information concerned with the wear and tear aspects of the material, calculated for that period of time. In addition, the analysis of solutions for repair work or substitution and inherent cost are predicted, the results being obtained interactively and visualized in the virtual environment itself. The aim is that the virtual model should be able to be applied directly over the 3D models of new constructions, in situations of rehabilitation. The practical usage of these models is directed, then, towards supporting decision-making in the conception phase and the planning of maintenance. In further work other components will be analysed and incorporated into the virtual system.
Die effektive Kooperation aller beteiligten Fachplaner im Bauplanungsprozess ist die Voraussetzung für wirtschaftliches und qualitativ hochwertiges Bauen. Bauprojektorganisationen bestehen in der Regel aus zahlreichen unabhängigen Planungspartnern, die örtlich verteilt spezifische Planungsaufgaben bearbeiten und die Ergebnisse in Teilproduktmodellen ablegen. Da Planungsprozesse im Bauwesen stark arbeitsteilig ablaufen, sind die Teilproduktmodelle der einzelnen Fachplanungen in hohem Maße voneinander abhängig. Ziel des hier vorgestellten Ansatzes ist die Integration der Teilproduktmodelle der Gebäudeplanung in einem netzwerkbasierten Modellverbund am Beispiel der Brandschutzplanung. Im Beitrag werden die Probleme der Verteiltheit und insbesondere der semantischen Heterogenität der involvierten Teilproduktmodelle betrachtet. Der verteilte Zugriff wird mithilfe mobiler Software-Agenten realisiert. Die Agenten können sich dabei frei im netzwerkbasierten Planungsverbund bewegen und agieren als Vertreter der Fachplaner. Das Problem der semantischen Heterogenität der Teilproduktmodelle wird auf der Basis von Ontologien gelöst. Dazu werden erstens Domänenontologien entwickelt, die Objekte der realen Welt einer abgeschlossenen Domäne, hier des Brandschutzes, abbilden. Zweitens werden Applikationsontologien entwickelt, die die einzelnen proprietären Datenhaltungen (im Sinne von Teilproduktmodellen) der jeweiligen Fachplanungen repräsentieren. Beide Ontologien werden mit einem regelbasierten Ansatz verknüpft. Im vorgestellten Anwendungsfall Brandschutz dient die Domänenontologie als einheitliche Schnittstelle für den Zugriff auf die verteilten Modelle und abstrahiert dabei von deren Datenbankspezifika und proprietären Schemata. Mithilfe von mobilen Agenten und semantischen Technologien kann so eine Plattform zur Verfügung gestellt werden, die erstens die dynamische Integration von Ressourcen in den Planungsverbund erlaubt und zweitens auf deren Basis unabhängig von der Verteiltheit und Heterogenität der eingebundenen Ressourcen ingenieurgerechte Verarbeitungsmethoden realisiert werden können.
The changed global security situation in the last eight years has shown the importance of emergency management plans in public buildings. Therefore, the use of computer simulators for surveying fire safety design and evacuation process is increasing. The aim of these simulators is to have more realistic evacuation simulations. The challenge is, firstly, to realize the virtual simulation environment based on geometrical and material boundary conditions, secondly, to considerate the mutual interaction effects between different parameters and, finally, to have a realistic visualization of the simulated results. In order to carry out this task, an especial new software method on a BIM-platform has to be developed which can integrate all required simulations and will be able to have an immersive output BIM ISEE (Immersive Safety Engineering Environment). The new BIM-ISEE will integrate the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) for fire and evacuation simulation in the Autodesk Revit which is a BIM-platform and will represent the simulation results in the immersive virtual environment at the institute (CES-Lab). With BIM-ISEE the fire safety engineer will be able to obtain more realistic visualizations in the immersive environment, to modify his concept more effectively, to evaluate the simulation results more accurately and to visualize the various simulation results. It can also give the rescue staff the opportunity to perform and evaluate emergency evacuation trainings.
Durch die Betrachtung des Produktions-Prozesses als zentrales Transformationselement wird die Struktur der Bauproduktion realitätsnah gefasst. Die Integration der prozessorientierten Kostendefinition setzt relevante Kostenparameter und Produktionsfaktoren so in Beziehung, dass sie im Einklang mit der realen Kostenstruktur und Kostendynamik einer Baustelle stehen. Die Beziehung zwischen Bauzeit und Kosten wird direkt erfasst und ausgewertet. Der hohen Dynamik der Bauproduktion zwischen kapazitätsbeschränkten Einsatzmitteln und Produktionsprozessen wurde durch das Poolmodell und der Simulation als Berechnungsmethode Rechnung getragen. Eine einfache Modellierung von sich zyklusartig wiederholenden Arbeitsvorgängen (Taktplanung) ist möglich. Die Taktbildung vollzieht sich bei der Simulation durch Kapazitätsbeschränkungen ohne Zutun des Benutzers. Durch eine Optimierungsmethode kann automatisiert nach der kostengünstigsten oder zeitlich schnellsten Produktionsvariante gesucht werden
MODELLING THE PLASTIC HINGE IN THE STATICALLY INDETERMINABLE REINFORCED CONCRETE BAR ELEMENTS
(2006)
The paper presents the example numerical model to calculate the reinforced concrete bar structures. Usually applied methods of structure dimensioning do not include the case of plastic hinges occurrence under the limit load of construction. The model represented by A. Borcz is based on the differential equation of deflection line of the beam and it includes the effects of rearrangement of the internal forces and reological effects. The experimental parameters obtained in earlier investigations describe effects resulting from the rise of plastic hinges in the proposed equation.
We present the way of calculation of displacement in the bent reinforced concrete bar elements where rearrangement of internal forces and plastic hinge occurred. The described solution is based on prof. Borcz’s mathematical model. It directly takes into consideration the effects connected with the occurrence of plastic hinge, such as for example a crack, by means of a differential equation of axis of the bent reinforced concrete beam. The EN Eurocode 2 makes it possible to consider the influence of plastic hinge on the values of the reinforced concrete structures. This influence can also be assumed using other analytical methods. However, the results obtained by the application of Eurocode 2 are higher from those received in testing. Just comparably big error level occurs when calculations are made by means of Borcz’s method, but in the latter case, the results depend on the assumptions made beforehand. This method makes it possible to apply the experimental results using parameters r1 i r0. When the experimental results are taken into account, one could observe the compatibility between the calculations and actual deflections of the structure.
Several results concerning the distribution of the headway of busses in the flow behind a traffic signal are presented. In the main focus of interest is the description of analytical models, which are verified by the results of Monte-Carlo-Methods. The advantage of analytical models (verified, but not derived by simulation methods) is their flexibility with respect to possible generalizations. For instance, several random distributions of the flow incoming to the traffic signal can be compared. The attention will be directed at the question, how the primary headway H (analyzed in front of the traffic signal) is mapped to the headway H’ analyzed behind of the traffic signal and how the random distribution of H is mapped to that of H’. For the traffic flow in front of the traffic signal several models will be discussed. The first case considers the situation, that busses operate on a common lane with the individual motor car traffic and the traffic flow is saturated. In the second situation, busses operate on a separated bus lane. Moreover, a mixed situation is discussed to model as close to reality as possible.
This research focuses on the Case-based Reasoning paradigm in architectural design (CBD) and education. Initial point for further exploring this only seemingly comprehensive investigated field of research constitutes the finding that promising looking concepts exist but that they do not play a role in daily routine of designing architects or in university education. In search of reasons for this limited success a critical review of the CBR approach to architectural education and design was performed. The aim was to identify gaps in the CBD research and to discover potential fields of research within CBR research in architectural education and design to improve acceptance and practical suitability. Two major shortcomings could be identified. In the first place the way retrieval mechanisms of systems under investigation relate to the needs of architectural designers and students. At second: Successful CBD systems rely on the work of third-parties in sharing their experiences with others and filling the databases with relevant cases. Therefore two questions remain unanswered: The question of which projects become part of the database and how get existing projects not only described but evaluated. This is an essential task and prerequisite to meet the requirements of the underlying theory of CBR.
Die digitale Unterstützung der Planungsprozesse ist ein aktueller Forschungs- und Arbeitsschwerpunkt der Professur Informatik in der Architektur (InfAR) und der Juniorprofessur Architekturinformatik der Fakultät Architektur an der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. Verankert in dem DFG Sonderforschungsbereich 524 'Werkzeuge und Konstruktionen für die Revitalisierung von Bauwerken' entstehen Konzepte und Prototypen für eine fachlich orientierte Planungsunterstützung. Vor dem Hintergrund zunehmender Komplexität der Bauaufgaben steigt die Zahl der an einem Projekt Beteiligten und deren örtliche Verteilung. Planungsvorhaben sind dadurch verstärkt gekennzeichnet durch einen erhöhten Aufwand in Planungskoordination, -organisation und Kommunikation. Globale Computernetzwerke - das Internet - bieten Potential zur Lösung dieser Aufgaben. Vor diesem Hintergrund sind in der letzten Zeit eine Vielzahl von Systemen die sich unterschiedlichsten Techniken bedienen entstanden. Allen diesen Systemen gemein ist die Vision der Optimierung des Planungsprozesses, Vereinfachung der Kommunikation und die Verbesserung des Zeitmanagements. Aus Sicht der Architekten stellt sich die Situation derzeit als ambivalent dar: Einerseits sind die Ideen, die den 'IBPM - Systemen' zugrunde liegen, nachvollziehbar und offerieren einen sofort messbaren Nutzen. Auf der anderen Seite stehen vielfältige Aspekte, die den uneingeschränkten Einsatz dieser Systeme augenscheinlich verhindern. Ein Focus bei der Beleuchtung dieser Schwachstellen liegt auf dem omnipräsentem Problem der mangelhaften Unterstützung graphischer Daten als die bedeutendste Informationsgrundlage im Planungsprozess. Aus der konkreten, fachspezifischen Analyse des Planungsprozesses, der Untersuchung potentieller Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten vorhandener Systeme und der intensiven Auseinandersetzung mit neuen Internettechnologien entstand im Zuge dieses Forschungsschwerpunktes eine architekturpraxisnahe Applikation, die das Internet weg vom reinen Präsentationsmedium, über ein reines Kommunikationsmittel hinaus, hin zu einer leistungsfähigen interaktiven Schnittstelle für alle am Entwurfs- und Planungsprozess Beteiligten erschließt.
By the use of numerical methods and the rapid development of computer technology in the recent years, a large variety, complexity, refinement and capability of partial models have been achieved. This can be noticed in the evaluation of the reliability of structures, e.g. the increased use of spatial structural systems. For the different fields of civil engineering, well developed partial models already exist. Because these partial models are most often used separately, the general view is not entirely illustrated. Until now, there has been no common methodology for evaluating the efficiency of models; the trust in the prediction of a special engineering model has generally relied on the engineer’s experience. In this paper the basics of evaluation of simple models and coupled partial models of frame structures will be discussed using sustainable numerical methods. Furthermore, quality classes (levels) of design tasks will be defined based on their practical relevance. In addition, analysis methods will be systemized. After analysis of different published assessment methods, it may be noted, that the Efficiency Indicator Method (EWM) is most suitable for the observed evaluation problem. Therefore, the EWM was modified to the Model Efficiency Analysis (MEA) for the purpose of a holistic evaluation. The criteria are characterized by two groups, benefit and expenditure, and it is possible by calculating the quotient (benefit/expenditure) to make a statement about the efficiency of the observed models. Presently, the expenditure value is not a subject of investigation, and so the model efficiency is calculated only by the benefit value. This paper also contains the associated criteria catalog, different normalization methods, as well as weighting possibilities.
In the paper presented, reinforced concrete shells of revolution are analyzed in both meridional and circumferential directions. Taking into account the physical non-linearity of the material, the internal forces and the deflections of the shell as well as the strain distribution at the cross-sections are calculated. The behavior of concrete under compression is described by linear and non-linear stress-strain relations. The description of the behavior of concrete under tension must account for tension stiffening effects. A tri-linear function is used to formulate the material law of reinforcement. The problem cannot be solved analytically due to the physical non-linearity. Thus a numerical solution is formulated by means of the LAGRANGE Principle of the minimum of the total potential energy. The kinematically admissible field of deformation is defined by the displacements u in the meridional and w in the radial direction. These displacements must satisfy the equations of compatibility and the kinematical boundary conditions of the shell. The strains are linearly distributed across the wall thickness. The strain energy depends on the specific of the material behavior. Using integral formulations of the material law [1], the strain energy of each part of the cross-section is defined as a function of the strains at the boundaries of the cross-sections. The shell is discretised in the meridional direction. Various methods of numerical differentiation and numerical integration are applied in order to determine the deformations and the strain energy. The unknown displacements u and w are calculated by a non-restricted extremum problem based on the minimum of the total potential energy. From mathematical point of view, the objective function is a convex function, thus the minimum can be determined without difficulty. The advantage of this formulation is that unlike non-linear methods with path-following algorithms the calculation does not have to account for changing stiffness and load increments. All iterations necessary to find the solution are integrated into the “Solver”. The model presented provides many ways of investigating the influence of various material parameters on the stresses and deformations of the entire shell structure.
The presented method for an physically non-linear analysis of stresses and deformations of composite cross-sections and members based on energy principles and their transformation to non-linear optimisation problems. From the LAGRANGE principle of minimum of total potential energy a kinematic formulation of the mechanical problem can be developed, which has the general advantage that pre-deformations excited by shrinkage, temperature, residual deformations after unloading et al., can be considered directly. Thus the non-linear analysis of composite cross-sections with layers of different mechanical properties and different preloading becomes possible and cracks in concrete, stiffness degradation and other specifics of the material behaviour can be taken into account without cardinal modification of the mathematical model. The impact of local defects on the bearing capacity of an entire element can also be analysed in this principle way. Standard computational systems for mathematical optimisation or general programs for spreadsheet analysis enable an uncomplicated implementation of the developed models and an effective non-linear analysis for composite cross-sections and elements.
An energy method based on the LAGRANGE Principle of the minimum of total potential en-ergy is presented to calculate the stresses and strains of composite cross-sections. The stress-strain relation of each partition of the cross-section can be an arbitrary piecewise continuous function. The strain energy is transformed into a line integral by GAUSS’s integral theorem. The total strain of each partition of the cross-section is split into load-dependent strain and pre-strain. Pre-strains have to be taken into account when the cross-section is pre-stressed, retrofit-ted or influenced by shrinkage, temperature etc. The unconstrained minimum problem can be solved for each load combination using standard software. The application of the method presented in the paper is demonstrated by means of examples.
A new approach to the non-linear analysis of cross-sections loaded by normal forces and bending moments is presented in the paper. The mechanical model is based on the LAGRANGE principle of minimum of total potential energy. Deformations, stresses and limit load parameters are obtained by solving a non-linear optimisation problem. The mathematical model is independent of the specifics of material. In addition to the stress strain relation and the specific strain energy W(ε) two further functions F(ε) and Φ(ε) are introduced to describe the material behaviour. Thus cracks in concrete, non-linearity of material etc. can be taken into account without basic modification of the numerical algorithm. For polygonal cross-sections the GAUSS' integral theorem is used. Numerical solutions of the non-linear optimisation problems can be found by application of standard software. Thus the analysis of reinforced concrete cross-sections or more general composite cross-sections with non-linear behaviour of material is as simple as in the case of linear elasticity. The application of the method is demonstrated for polygonal cross-sections. Pre-stresses or pre-strains can easily be included in the mathematical model.
As numerical techniques for solving PDE or integral equations become more sophisticated, treatments of the generation of the geometric inputs should also follow that numerical advancement. This document describes the preparation of CAD data so that they can later be applied to hierarchical BEM or FEM solvers. For the BEM case, the geometric data are described by surfaces which we want to decompose into several curved foursided patches. We show the treatment of untrimmed and trimmed surfaces. In particular, we provide prevention of smooth corners which are bad for diffeomorphism. Additionally, we consider the problem of characterizing whether a Coons map is a diffeomorphism from the unit square onto a planar domain delineated by four given curves. We aim primarily at having not only theoretically correct conditions but also practically efficient methods. As for FEM geometric preparation, we need to decompose a 3D solid into a set of curved tetrahedra. First, we describe some method of decomposition without adding too many Steiner points (additional points not belonging to the initial boundary nodes of the boundary surface). Then, we provide a methodology for efficiently checking whether a tetrahedral transfinite interpolation is regular. That is done by a combination of degree reduction technique and subdivision. Along with the method description, we report also on some interesting practical results from real CAD data.
Major problems of applying selective sensitivity to system identification are requirement of precise knowledge about the system parameters and realization of the required system of forces. This work presents a procedure which is able to deriving selectively sensitive excitation by iterative experiments. The first step is to determine the selectively sensitive displacement and selectively sensitive force patterns. These values are obtained by introducing the prior information of system parameters into an optimization which minimizes the sensitivities of the structure response with respect to the unselected parameters while keeping the sensitivities with respect to the selected parameters as a constant. In a second step the force pattern is used to derive dynamic loads on the tested structure and measurements are carried out. An automatic control ensures the required excitation forces. In a third step, measured outputs are employed to update the prior information. The strategy is to minimize the difference between a predicted displacement response, formulated as function of the unknown parameters and the measured displacements, and the selectively sensitive displacement calculated in the first step. With the updated values of the parameters a re-analysis of selective sensitivity is performed and the experiment is repeated until the displacement response of the model and the actual structure are conformed. As an illustration a simply supported beam made of steel, vibrated by harmonic excitation is investigated, thereby demonstrating that the adaptive excitation can be obtained efficiently.
The paper presents a linear static analysis on continuous orthotropic thin-walled shell structures simply supported at the transverse ends with a random deformable contour of the cross section. The external loads can be random as well. The class of this structures involves most of the bridges, scaffold bridges, some roof structures etc. A numerical example of steel continuous structures on five spans with an open contour of the cross-section has been solved. The examination of the structure has used the following two computation models: a prismatic structure consisting of isotropic strips, a plates and ribs, with considering their real interaction, and a smooth orthotropic plate equivalent to the structure in the first model. The displacements and forces of the structure characterizing its stressed and deformed condition have been determined. The results obtained from the two solutions have been analyzed. The study on the structure is made with the force method in combination with the analytical finite strip method (AFSM) in displacements. The basic system is obtained by separating the superstructure from the understructure at the places of intermediate supports and consists of two parts. The first part is a single span thin-walled prismatic shell structure; the second part presents supports (columns, space frames etc.). The connection between the superstructure and intermediate supports is made under random supporting conditions. The forces at the supporting points in the direction of the connections removed are assumed to be the basic unknowns of the force method. The solution of the superstructure has been accomplished by the AFSM in displacements. The structure is divided in only one (transverse) direction into a finite number of plain strips connected to each other in longitudinal linear nodes. The three displacements of the points on the node lines and the rotation around those lines have been assumed to be the basic unknown in each node. The boundary conditions of each strip of the basic system correspond to the simply support along the transverse ends and the restraint along the longitudinal ones. The particular strip of the basic system has been solved by the method of the single trigonometric series. The method is reduced to solving a discrete structure in displacements and restoring its continuity at the places of the sections made in respect to both the displacements and forces. The two parts of the basic system have been solved in sequence under the action of single values of each of the basic unknowns and with the external load. The solution of the support part is accomplished using software for analyzing structures by the FEM. The basic unknown forces have been determined from system of canonic equations, the conditions of the deformations continuity on the places of the removed connections under superstructure and intermediate supports. The final displacements and forces at a random point of a continuous superstructure have been determined using the principle of superposition. The computations have been carried by software developed with Visual Fortran version 5.0 for PC.
The paper is dedicated to decidability exploration of market segmentation problem with the help of linear convolution algorithms. Mathematical formulation of this problem represents interval task of bipartite graph cover by stars. Vertices of the first partition correspond to types of commodities, vertices of the second – to customers groups. Appropriate method is offered for interval problem reduction to two-criterion task that has one implemented linear convolution algorithm. Unsolvability with the help of linear convolution algorithm of multicriterion, and consequently interval, market segmentation problem is proved.
Water resources development and management is a complex problem. It includes the design and operation of single system components, often as part of larger interrelated systems and usually on the basis of river basins. While several decades ago the dominant objective was the maximization of economic benefit, other objectives have evolved as part of the sustainable development envisaged. Today, planning and operation of larger water resources systems is practically impossible without adequate computer tools, normally being one or several models, increasingly combined with data bank management systems and multi criteria assessment procedures in decision support systems. The use of models in civil engineering already has a long history when structural engineering is considered. These design support models, however, must rather be seen as expert systems made to support the engineer with his daily work. They often have no direct link to stakeholders and the decision makers community. The scale of investigation is often much larger in water resources engineering than in structural engineering which is related to different stakeholders and decision making procedures. Still, several similarities are obvious which can be summarized as the search for a compromise solution on a complex, i.e. multiobjective and interdisciplinary decision problem. While in structural engineering e.g. aestetics, stability and energy consumption might be important evaluation criteria in addition to construction and maintenance cost other or additional criteria have to be considered in water resources planning such as political, environmental and social criteria. In this respect civil engineers tend to overemphasize technical criteria. For the future the existing expert systems should be embedded into an improved decision support shell, keeping in mind that decision makers are hardly interested in numerical modelling results. The paper will introduce into the problem and demonstrate the state of the art by means of an example.
Nonlinear analyses are characterised by approximations of the fundamental equations in different quality. Starting with a general description of nonlinear finite element formulation the fundamental equations are derived for plane truss elements. Special emphasis is placed on the determination of internal and external system energy as well as influence of different quality approaches for the displacement-strain relationship on solution quality. To simplify the solution procedure the nonlinear function describing the kinematics is expanded into a Taylor series and truncated after the n-th series term. The different kinematics influence speed of convergence as well as exactness of solution. On a simple truss structure this influence is shown. To assess the quality of different formulations concerning the nonlinear kinematic equation three approaches are discussed. First the overall internal and external energy is compared for different kinematical models. In a second step the energy content related to single terms describing displacement-strain relationship is investigated and used for quality control following two different paths. Based on single ε-terms an adaptive scheme is used to change the kinematical model depending on increasing nonlinearity of the structure. The solution quality has turned out satisfactory compared to the exact result. More detailed investigations are necessary to find criteria for the threshold values for the iterative process as well as for decision on number and step size of incremental load steps.
Sand-bentonite mixtures are well recognized as buffer and sealing material in nuclear waste repository constructions. The behaviour of compacted sand-bentonite mixture needs to be well understood in order to guarantee the safety and the efficiency of the barrier construction. This paper presents numerical simulations of swelling test and coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) test on compacted sand-bentonite mixture in order to reveal the influence of the temperature and hydraulic gradients on the distribution of temperature, mechanical stress and water content in such materials. Sensitivity analysis is carried out to identify the parameters which influence the most the response of the numerical model. Results of back analysis of the model parameters are reported and critically assessed.
A four-node quadrilateral shell element with smoothed membrane-bending based on Mindlin-Reissner theory is proposed. The element is a combination of a plate bending and membrane element. It is based on mixed interpolation where the bending and membrane stiffness matrices are calculated on the boundaries of the smoothing cells while the shear terms are approximated by independent interpolation functions in natural coordinates. The proposed element is robust, computationally inexpensive and free of locking. Since the integration is done on the element boundaries for the bending and membrane terms, the element is more accurate than the MITC4 element for distorted meshes. This will be demonstrated for several numerical examples.
In spite of the extensive research in dynamic soil-structure interaction (SSI), there still exist miscon-ceptions concerning the role of SSI in the seismic performance of structures, especially the ones founded on soft soil. This is due to the fact that current analytical SSI models that are used to evaluate the influence of soil on the overall structural behavior are approximate models and may involve creeds and practices that are not always precise. This is especially true in the codified approaches which in-clude substantial approximations to provide simple frameworks for the design. As the direct numerical analysis requires a high computational effort, performing an analysis considering SSI is computationally uneconomical for regular design applications. This paper outlines the set up some milestones for evaluating SSI models. This will be achieved by investigating the different assumptions and involved factors, as well as varying the configurations of R/C moment-resisting frame structures supported by single footings which are subject to seismic excita-tions. It is noted that the scope of this paper is to highlight, rather than fully resolve, the above subject. A rough draft of the proposed approach is presented in this paper, whereas a thorough illustration will be carried out throughout the presentation in the course of the conference.
The paper is a proposal of calculation of internal forces and dislocations in the reinforced concrete beams before and after cracking. For the ideally elastic bars transfer matrix proposed by Rakowski was applied. The effects associated with cracking were introduced by means of the Borcz's theory in the spectrally way. Numerical example was shown. The presented attitude also enables to calculate dynamic problems and those connected with the stability of the compressed and bending cracked beams and columns.
FREE VIBRATION FREQUENCIES OF THE CRACKED REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS - METHODS OF CALCULATIONS
(2010)
The paper presents method of calculation of natural frequencies of the cracked reinforced concrete beams including discreet model of crack. The described method is based on the stiff finite elements method. It was modified in such a way as to take into account local discontinuities (ie. cracks). In addition, some theoretical studies as well as experimental tests of concrete mechanics based on discrete crack model were taken into consideration. The calculations were performed using the author’s own numerical algorithm. Moreover, other calculation methods of dynamic reinforced concrete beams presented in standards and guidelines are discussed. Calculations performed by using different methods are compared with the results obtained in experimental tests.
This paper deals with the development of a new multi-objective evolution strategy in combination with an integrated pollution-load and water-quality model. The optimization algorithm combines the advantages of the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm and Self-Adaptive Evolution Strategies. The identification of a good spread of solutions on the pareto-optimum front and the optimization of a large number of decision variables equally demands numerous simulation runs. In addition, statements with regard to the frequency of critical concentrations and peak discharges require continuous long-term simulations. Therefore, a fast operating integrated simulation model is needed providing the required precision of the results. For this purpose, a hydrological deterministic pollution-load model has been coupled with a river water-quality and a rainfall-runoff model. Wastewater treatment plants are simulated in a simplified way. The functionality of the optimization and simulation tool has been validated by analyzing a real catchment area including sewer system, WWTP, water body and natural river basin. For the optimization/rehabilitation of the urban drainage system, both innovative and approved measures have been examined and used as decision variables. As objective functions, investment costs and river water quality criteria have been used.
The modeling of crack propagation in plain and reinforced concrete structures is still a field for many researchers. If a macroscopic description of the cohesive cracking process of concrete is applied, generally the Fictitious Crack Model is utilized, where a force transmission over micro cracks is assumed. In the most applications of this concept the cohesive model represents the relation between the normal crack opening and the normal stress, which is mostly defined as an exponential softening function, independently from the shear stresses in tangential direction. The cohesive forces are then calculated only from the normal stresses. By Carol et al. 1997 an improved model was developed using a coupled relation between the normal and shear damage based on an elasto-plastic constitutive formulation. This model is based on a hyperbolic yield surface depending on the normal and the shear stresses and on the tensile and shear strength. This model also represents the effect of shear traction induced crack opening. Due to the elasto-plastic formulation, where the inelastic crack opening is represented by plastic strains, this model is limited for applications with monotonic loading. In order to enable the application for cases with un- and reloading the existing model is extended in this study using a combined plastic-damage formulation, which enables the modeling of crack opening and crack closure. Furthermore the corresponding algorithmic implementation using a return mapping approach is presented and the model is verified by means of several numerical examples. Finally an investigation concerning the identification of the model parameters by means of neural networks is presented. In this analysis an inverse approximation of the model parameters is performed by using a given set of points of the load displacement curves as input values and the model parameters as output terms. It will be shown, that the elasto-plastic model parameters could be identified well with this approach, but require a huge number of simulations.
The Element-free Galerkin Method has become a very popular tool for the simulation of mechanical problems with moving boundaries. The internally applied Moving Least Squares approximation uses in general Gaussian or cubic weighting functions and has compact support. Due to the approximative character of this method the obtained shape functions do not fulfill the interpolation condition, which causes additional numerical effort for the imposition of the essential boundary conditions. The application of a singular weighting function, which leads to singular coefficient matrices at the nodes, can solve this problem, but requires a very careful placement of the integration points. Special procedures for the handling of such singular matrices were proposed in literature, which require additional numerical effort. In this paper a non-singular weighting function is presented, which leads to an exact fulfillment of the interpolation condition. This weighting function leads to regular values of the weights and the coefficient matrices in the whole interpolation domain even at the nodes. Furthermore this function gives much more stable results for varying size of the influence radius and for strongly distorted nodal arrangements than classical weighting function types. Nevertheless, for practical applications the results are similar as these obtained with the regularized weighting type presented by the authors in previous publications. Finally a new concept will be presented, which enables an efficient analysis of systems with strongly varying node density. In this concept the nodal influence domains are adapted depending on the nodal configuration by interpolating the influence radius for each direction from the distances to the natural neighbor nodes. This approach requires a Voronoi diagram of the domain, which is available in this study since Delaunay triangles are used as integration background cells. In the numerical examples it will be shown, that this method leads to a more uniform and reduced number of influencing nodes for systems with varying node density than the classical circular influence domains, which means that the small additional numerical effort for interpolating the influence radius leads to remarkable reduction of the total numerical cost in a linear analysis while obtaining similar results. For nonlinear calculations this advantage would be even more significant.
In engineering science the modeling and numerical analysis of complex systems and relations plays an important role. In order to realize such an investigation, for example a stochastic analysis, in a reasonable computational time, approximation procedure have been developed. A very famous approach is the response surface method, where the relation between input and output quantities is represented for example by global polynomials or local interpolation schemes as Moving Least Squares (MLS). In recent years artificial neural networks (ANN) have been applied as well for such purposes. Recently an adaptive response surface approach for reliability analyses was proposed, which is very efficient concerning the number of expensive limit state function evaluations. Due to the applied simplex interpolation the procedure is limited to small dimensions. In this paper this approach is extended for larger dimensions using combined ANN and MLS response surfaces for evaluating the adaptation criterion with only one set of joined limit state points. As adaptation criterion a combination by using the maximum difference in the conditional probabilities of failure and the maximum difference in the approximated radii is applied. Compared to response surfaces on directional samples or to plain directional sampling the failure probability can be estimated with a much smaller number of limit state points.
ESTIMATING UNCERTAINTIES FROM INACCURATE MEASUREMENT DATA USING MAXIMUM ENTROPY DISTRIBUTIONS
(2010)
Modern engineering design often considers uncertainties in geometrical and material parameters and in the loading conditions. Based on initial assumptions on the stochastic properties as mean values, standard deviations and the distribution functions of these uncertain parameters a probabilistic analysis is carried out. In many application fields probabilities of the exceedance of failure criteria are computed. The out-coming failure probability is strongly dependent on the initial assumptions on the random variable properties. Measurements are always more or less inaccurate data due to varying environmental conditions during the measurement procedure. Furthermore the estimation of stochastic properties from a limited number of realisation also causes uncertainties in these quantities. Thus the assumption of exactly known stochastic properties by neglecting these uncertainties may not lead to very useful probabilistic measures in a design process. In this paper we assume the stochastic properties of a random variable as uncertain quantities caused by so-called epistemic uncertainties. Instead of predefined distribution types we use the maximum entropy distribution which enables the description of a wide range of distribution functions based on the first four stochastic moments. These moments are taken again as random variables to model the epistemic scatter in the stochastic assumptions. The main point of this paper is the discussion on the estimation of these uncertain stochastic properties based on inaccurate measurements. We investigate the bootstrap algorithm for its applicability to quantify the uncertainties in the stochastic properties considering imprecise measurement data. Based on the obtained estimates we apply standard stochastic analysis on a simple example to demonstrate the difference and the necessity of the proposed approach.
The paper is devoted to the investigation of dynamical behavior of a cable under influence of various types of excitations. Such element has a low rigidity and is sensitive to dynamic effect. The structural scheme is a cable which ends are located at different level. The analysis of dynamical behavior of the cable under effect of kinematical excitation which is represented by the oscillations of the upper part of tower is given. The scheme of cable is accepted such, that lower end of an inclined cable is motionless. The motion of the upper end is assumed only in horizontal direction. The fourth-order Runge-Kutta method was realized in software. The fast Fourier transform was used for spectral analysis. Standard graphical software was adopted for presenting results of investigations. The mathematical model of oscillations of a cable was developed by the account of the viscous damping. The analysis of dynamical characteristics of a cable for various parameters of damping and kinematical excitation was carried out. The time series, spectral characteristics and amplitude-frequencies characteristics was obtained. The resonance amplitude for different oscillating regimes was estimated. It is noted that increasing of the coefficient of the viscous damping and decreasing of the amplitude of tower's oscillations reduces the value of the critical frequency and the resonant amplitudes.
A stress based remodeling approach is used to investigate the sensitivity of the collagen architecture in humane eye tissues on the biomechanical response of the lamina cribrosa with a particular focus on the stress environment of the nerve fibers. This approach is based on a multi-level biomechanical framework, where the biomechanical properties of eye tissues are derived from a single crimped fibril at the micro-scale via the collagen network of distributed fibrils at the meso-scale to the incompressible and anisotropic soft tissue at the macro-scale. Biomechanically induced remodeling of the collagen network is captured on the meso-scale by allowing for a continuous reorientation of collagen fibrils. To investigate the multi-scale phenomena related to glaucomatous neuropathy a generalized computational homogenization scheme is applied to a coupled two-scale analysis of the human eye considering a numerical macro- and meso-scale model of the lamina cribrosa.
Requires for reliability and durability of structures and their elements with simultaneous material economy have stimulated improvement of constitutive equations for description of elasto-plastic deformation processes. This has led to the development of phenomenological modelling of complex phenomena of irreversible deformation including history-dependent and rate-dependent effects. During the last several decades many works have been devoted to the development of elasto-plastic models, in order to better predict the material behavior under combined variable thermo-mechanical loading. The increase of accuracy of stress analysis and safety factors for complex structures with the help of modern finite-element packages (ABAQUS, ANSYS, COSMOS, LS-DYNA, MSC.MARC, MSC.NASTRAN, PERMAS and other) can be provided only by use of complex and special variants of plasticity theories, which are adequate for the considered loading conditions and based on authentic information about properties of materials. The areas of application of the various theories (models) are as a rule unknown to the users of finite-element packages at the existing variety loading condition sin machine-building designs. At the moment a universal theory of inelasticity is absent and even the most accomplished theories can not guarantee adequate description of deformation processes for arbitrary structure under wide range of loading programs. The classifier of materials, loading conditions, effects (phenomena) and list of basic experiments are developed by the authors. Use of these classifiers for an establishment of hierarchy of models is a first step for introduction of the multimodel analysis into computational practice. The set of the classic and modern inelasticity theories is considered, so that they are applicable for stress analysis of structures under complex loading programs. Among them there are plastic flow theories with linear and nonlinear isotropic and kinematic hardening, multisurface theories, endochronic theory, holonomic theory, rheologic models, theory of elasto-plastic processes, slip theory, physical theories (single crystal and polycrystalline models) and others. The classification of materials provides rearranging by a degree of homogeneous, chemical composition, level of strength and plasticity, behavior under cyclic loading, anisotropy of properties at initial condition, anisotropy of properties during deformation process, structural stability. The classification of loading conditions takes into consideration proportional and non-proportional loading, temperature range, combination of cyclic and monotonous loading, one-axial, two-axial and complex stress state, curvature of strain path, presence of stress concentrators and level of strain gradient. A unified general form of constitutive equations is presented for all used material models based upon the concept of internal state variables. The wide range of mentioned above inelastic material models has been implemented into finite element program PANTOCRATOR developed by authors (see for details www.pantocrator.narod.ru). Application possibility of different material models is considered both for material element and for complex structures subjected to complex non-proportional loading.
A new application of software technology is the application area of smart living or sustainable living. Within this area application platforms are designed and realized with the goal to support value added services. In this context value added services integrates microelectronics, home automation and services to enhance the attractiveness of flats, homes and buildings. Especially real estate companies or service providers dealing with home services are interested in an effective design and management of their services. Service Engineering is the approved approach for designing customer oriented service processes. Service engineering consists of several phases; from situation analysis to service creation and service design to service management. This article will describe how the method service blueprint can be used to design service processes. Smart living includes all actions to enlarge a flat to a smart home for living. One special requirement of this application domain is the use of local components (actuators, sensors) within service processes. This article will show how this extended method supports service providers to improve the quality of customer oriented service processes and the derivation of needed interfaces of involved actors. For the civil engineering process it will be possible to derive needed information from a built in home automation system. The aim is to show, how to get needed smart local components to fullfill later offered it-supported value added services. Value added services focused on inhabitants are grouped to consulting and information, care and supervision, leisure time activities, repairs, mobility and delivery, safety and security, supply and disposal.
In many applications such as parameter identification of oscillating systems in civil enginee-ring, speech processing, image processing and others we are interested in the frequency con-tent of a signal locally in time. As a start wavelet analysis provides a time-scale decomposition of signals, but this wavelet transform can be connected with an appropriate time-frequency decomposition. For instance in Matlab are defined pseudo-frequencies of wavelet scales as frequency centers of the corresponding bands. This frequency bands overlap more or less which depends on the choice of the biorthogonal wavelet system. Such a definition of frequency center is possible and useful, because different frequencies predominate at different dyadic scales of a wavelet decomposition or rather at different nodes of a wavelet packet decomposition tree. The goal of this work is to offer better algorithms for characterising frequency band behaviour and for calculating frequency centers of orthogonal and biorthogonal wavelet systems. This will be done with some product formulas in frequency domain. Now the connecting procedu-res are more analytical based, better connected with wavelet theory and more assessable. This procedures doesn’t need any time approximation of the wavelet and scaling functions. The method only works in the case of biorthogonal wavelet systems, where scaling functions and wavelets are defined over discrete filters. But this is the practically essential case, because it is connected with fast algorithms (FWT, Mallat Algorithm). At the end corresponding to the wavelet transform some closed formulas of pure oscillations are given. They can generally used to compare the application of different wavelets in the FWT regarding it’s frequency behaviour.
At the 16th IKM Bock, Falcão and Gürlebeck presented examples of the application of some specially developed Maple-Software in hypercomplex analysis. Other papers of those authors continued this work and showed the efficiency of such tools for concrete numerical calculations as well as for numerical experiments, supporting the detection of new relationships and even theorems in a highly technical theoretical work. The mentioned software has been developed mainly for the use on mapping problems in the Euclidean spaces of dimension 3 and 4 by means of Bergman kernel methods (BKM), which are related to monogenic functions as solutions of generalized Cauchy-Riemann equations with respect to the Euclidean metric (Riesz system). The developed procedures concerning generalized powers of totally regular variables and the corresponding homogeneous polynomials basically rely on results and conventions introduced in the paper "Power series representation for monogenic functions in Rm+1 based on a permutational product", Complex Variables, 15, No.3, 181-191 (1990) by H. Malonek. Since 1992 H. Leutwiler, S. L. Eriksson and others developed in a number of papers a modified Clifford analysis and, particularly, a modified quaternionic analysis. The modification mainly consists in considering generalized Cauchy-Riemann equations with respect to a hyperbolic metric in a half space. The aim of this contribution is to show how through a change of the basic combinatorial relations used in the modified quaternionic analysis the aforementioned Maple-software (that has been recently published on CD-Rom as integrated part of the text book "Funktionentheorie in der Ebene und im Raum" by K. Gürlebeck, K. Habetha, and W. Sprössig, in the series "Grundstudium Mathematik" of Birkhäuser Verlag, 2006) can directly be used for numerical calculations in the modified theory.
In recent years special hypercomplex Appell polynomials have been introduced by several authors and their main properties have been studied by different methods and with different objectives. Like in the classical theory of Appell polynomials, their generating function is a hypercomplex exponential function. The observation that this generalized exponential function has, for example, a close relationship with Bessel functions confirmed the practical significance of such an approach to special classes of hypercomplex differentiable functions. Its usefulness for combinatorial studies has also been investigated. Moreover, an extension of those ideas led to the construction of complete sets of hypercomplex Appell polynomial sequences. Here we show how this opens the way for a more systematic study of the relation between some classes of Special Functions and Elementary Functions in Hypercomplex Function Theory.
This research focuses on an approach to describe principles in architectural layout planning within the domain of revitalization. With the aid of mathematical rules, which are executed by a computer, solutions to design problems are generated. Provided that "design" is in principle a combinatorial problem, i.e. a constraint-based search for an overall optimal solution of a problem, an exemplary method will be described to solve such problems in architectural layout planning. To avoid conflicts relating to theoretical subtleness, a customary approach adopted from Operations Research has been chosen in this work. In this approach, design is a synonym for planning, which could be described as a systematic and methodical course of action for the analysis and solution of current or future problems. The planning task is defined as an analysis of a problem with the aim to prepare optimal decisions by the use of mathematical methods. The decision problem of a planning task is represented by an optimization model and the application of an efficient algorithm in order to aid finding one or more solutions to the problem. The basic principle underlying the approach presented herein is the understanding of design in terms of searching for solutions that fulfill specific criteria. This search is executed by the use of a constraint programming language.
The design and application of high performance materials demands extensive knowledge of the materials damage behavior, which significantly depends on the meso- and microstructural complexity. Numerical simulations of crack growth on multiple length scales are promising tools to understand the damage phenomena in complex materials. In polycrystalline materials it has been observed that the grain boundary decohesion is one important mechanism that leads to micro crack initiation. Following this observation the paper presents a polycrystal mesoscale model consisting of grains with orthotropic material behavior and cohesive interfaces along grain boundaries, which is able to reproduce the crack initiation and propagation along grain boundaries in polycrystalline materials. With respect to the importance of modeling the geometry of the grain structure an advanced Voronoi algorithm is proposed to generate realistic polycrystalline material structures based on measured grain size distribution. The polycrystal model is applied to investigate the crack initiation and propagation in statically loaded representative volume elements of aluminum on the mesoscale without the necessity of initial damage definition. Future research work is planned to include the mesoscale model into a multiscale model for the damage analysis in polycrystalline materials.
In civil engineering practice, values of column forces are often required before any detailed analysis of the structure has been performed. One of the reasons for this arises from the fast-tracked nature of the majority of construction projects: foundations are laid and base columns constructed whilst analysis and design are still in progress. A need for quick results when feasibility studies are performed or when evaluating the effect of design changes on supporting columns form other situations in which column forces are required, but where a detailed analysis to get these forces seems superfluous. Thus it was concluded that the development of an efficient tool for column force calculations, in which the extensive input required in a finite element analysis is to be avoided, would be highly beneficial. The automation of the process is achieved by making use of a Voronoi diagram. The Voronoi diagram is used a) for subdividing the floor into influence areas and b) as a basis for automatic load assignment. The implemented procedure is integrated into a CAD system in which the relevant geometric information of the floor, i.e. its shape and column layout, can be defined or uploaded. A brief description of the implementation is included. Some comparative results and considerations regarding the continuation of the study are given.
There are many different approaches to simulate the mechanical behavior of RC−Frames with masonry infills. In this paper, selected modeling techniques for masonry infills and reinforced concrete frame members will be discussed − stressing the attention on the damaging effects of the individual members and the entire system under quasi−static horizontal loading. The effect of the infill walls on the surrounding frame members is studied using equivalent strut elements. The implemented model consider in−plane failure modes for the infills, such as bed joint sliding and corner crushing. These frame member models differ with respect to their stress state. Finally, examples are provided and compared with experimental data from a real size test executed on a three story RC−Frame with and without infills. The quality of the model is evaluated on the basis of load−displacement relationships as well as damage progression.
Interval analysis extends the concept of computing with real numbers to computing with real intervals. As a consequence, some interesting properties appear, such as the delivery of guaranteed results or confirmed global values. The former property is given in the sense that unknown numerical values are in known to lie in a computed interval. The latter property states that the global minimum value, for example, of a given function is also known to be contained in a interval (or a finite set of intervals). Depending upon the amount computation effort invested in the calculation, we can often find tight bounds on these enclosing intervals. The downside of interval analysis, however, is the mathematically correct, but often very pessimistic size of the interval result. This is in particularly due to the so-called dependency effect, where a single variable is used multiple times in one calculation. Applying interval analysis to structural analysis problems, the dependency has a great influence on the quality of numerical results. In this paper, a brief background of interval analysis is presented and shown how it can be applied to the solution of structural analysis problems. A discussion of possible improvements as well as an outlook to parallel computing is also given.
MULTI-SITE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT SCHEDULING CONSIDERING RESOURCE MOVING TIME IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
(2010)
Under the booming construction demands in developing countries, particularly in Vietnam situation, construction contractors often perform multiple concurrent projects in different places. In construction project scheduling processes, the existing scheduling methods often assume the resource moving time between activities/projects to be negligible. When multiple projects are deployed in different places and far from each other, this assumption has many shortcomings for properly modelling the real-world constraints. Especially, with respect to developing countries such as the Vietnam which contains transportation systems that are still in backward and low technical standards. This paper proposes a new algorithm named Multi-Site Construction Project Scheduling - MCOPS. The objective of this algorithm is to solve the problem of minimising multi-site construction project duration under limited available conditions of renewable resources (labour, machines and equipment) combining with the moving time of required resource among activities/projects. Additionally, in order to mitigate the impact of resource moving time into the multi-site project duration, this paper proposed a new priority rule: Minimum Resource Moving Time (MinRMT). The MinRMT is applied to rank the finished activities according to a priority order, to support the released resources to the scheduling activities. In order to investigate the impact of the resource moving time among activities during the scheduling process, computational experimentation was implemented. The results of the MCOPS-based computational experiments showed that, the resource moving time among projects has significantly impacted the multi-site project durations and this amount of time can not be ignored in the multi-site project scheduling process. Besides, the efficient application of the MinRMT is also demonstrated through the achieved results of the computational experiment in this paper. Though the efforts in this paper are based on the Vietnamese construction conditions, the proposed method can be usefully applied in other developing countries which have similar construction conditions.
In this note, we describe quite explicitly the Howe duality for Hodge systems and connect it with the well-known facts of harmonic analysis and Clifford analysis. In Section 2, we recall briefly the Fisher decomposition and the Howe duality for harmonic analysis. In Section 3, the well-known fact that Clifford analysis is a real refinement of harmonic analysis is illustrated by the Fisher decomposition and the Howe duality for the space of spinor-valued polynomials in the Euclidean space under the so-called L-action. On the other hand, for Clifford algebra valued polynomials, we can consider another action, called in Clifford analysis the H-action. In the last section, we recall the Fisher decomposition for the H-action obtained recently. As in Clifford analysis the prominent role plays the Dirac equation in this case the basic set of equations is formed by the Hodge system. Moreover, analysis of Hodge systems can be viewed even as a refinement of Clifford analysis. In this note, we describe the Howe duality for the H-action. In particular, in Proposition 1, we recognize the Howe dual partner of the orthogonal group O(m) in this case as the Lie superalgebra sl(2 1). Furthermore, Theorem 2 gives the corresponding multiplicity free decomposition with an explicit description of irreducible pieces.
In this paper we present an inverse method which is capable of identifying system components in a hydro-mechanically coupled system, i.e. for fluid flow in porous media. As an example we regard water dams that were constructed more than hundred years ago but which are still in use. Over the time ageing processes have changed the condition of these dams. Within the dams fissures might have grown. The proposed method is designed to locate these fissures out of combined mechanical and hydraulic measurements. In a numerical example the fissures or damaged zones are described by a smeared crack model. The task is now to identify simultaneously the spatial distribution of Young’s modulus and the hydraulic permeability due to the fact, that in regions where damages are present, the mechanical stiffness of the system is reduced and the permeability increased. The inversion is shown to be an ill-posed problem. As a consequence regularizing methods have to be applied, where the nonlinear Landweber method (a gradient type method combined with a discrepancy principle) has proven to be an efficient choice.
Prozesse im Bauingenieurwesen sind komplex und beinhalten eine große Anzahl verschiedener Aufgaben mit vielen logischen Abhängigkeiten. Basierend auf diesen projektspezifischen Abhängigkeiten wird gewöhnlich ein Bauablaufplan manuell erstellt. In der Regel existieren mehrere Varianten und somit alternative Bauabläufe um ein Projekt zu realisieren. Welche dieser Ausführungsvarianten zur praktischen Anwendung kommt, wird durch den jeweiligen Projektmanager bestimmt. Falls Ä;nderungen oder Störungen während des Bauablaufs auftreten, müssen die davon betroffenen Aufgaben und Abläufe per Hand modifiziert und alternative Aufgaben sowie Abläufe stattdessen ausgeführt werden. Diese Vorgehensweise ist oft sehr aufwändig und teuer. Aktuelle Forschungsansätze beschäftigen sich mit der automatischen Generierung von Bauabläufen. Grundlage sind dabei Aufgaben mit ihren erforderlichen Voraussetzungen und erzeugten Ergebnissen. Im Rahmen dieses Beitrags wird eine Methodik vorgestellt, um Bauabläufe mit Ausführungsvarianten in Form von Workflow-Netzen zu jeder Zeit berechnen zu können. Die vorgestellte Methode wird anhand eines Beispiels aus dem Straßenbau schematisch dargestellt.
Für die Ausführung des Oberbaus von Verkehrsflächen existiert in Abhängigkeit von projektspezifischen Voraussetzungen eine Vielzahl von verschiedenen Varianten. Aufgrund von Erfahrungen der Projektplaner werden bei ähnlichen Voraussetzungen häufig gleichartige Ausführungsvarianten gewählt. Um eine mögliche Lösungsvariante für den Straßenoberbau zu erhalten, sollten daher nicht nur die gesetzlichen Richtlinien sondern auch bereits beendete Projekte berücksichtigt werden. Im Rahmen eines Wissenschaftlichen Kollegs an der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar wurde die Anwendung des Case-Based Reasoning für die Auswahl von Ausführungsvarianten für den Straßenoberbau untersucht. In diesem Beitrag werden die grundlegenden Konzepte des Case-Based Reasoning und die Bestimmung von ähnlichen Varianten anhand einfacher Beispiele aus dem Straßenoberbau dargestellt.
We present a system that applies a custom-built pan-tilt-zoom camera for laser-pointer tracking in arbitrary real environments. Once placed in a building environment, it carries out a fully automatic self-registration, registrations of projectors, and sampling of surface parameters, such as geometry and reflectivity. After these steps, it can be used for tracking a laser spot on the surface as well as an LED marker in 3D space, using inter-playing fisheye context and controllable detail cameras. The captured surface information can be used for masking out areas that are critical to laser-pointer tracking, and for guiding geometric and radiometric image correction techniques that enable a projector-based augmentation on arbitrary surfaces. We describe a distributed software framework that couples laser-pointer tracking for interaction, projector-based AR as well as video see-through AR for visualizations with the domain specific functionality of existing desktop tools for architectural planning, simulation and building surveying.
For many applications, nonuniformly distributed functional data is given which lead to large–scale scattered data problems. We wish to represent the data in terms of a sparse representation with a minimal amount of degrees of freedom. For this, an adaptive scheme which operates in a coarse-to-fine fashion using a multiscale basis is proposed. Specifically, we investigate hierarchical bases using B-splines and spline-(pre)wavelets. At each stage a leastsquares approximation of the data is computed. We take into account different requests arising in large-scale scattered data fitting: we discuss the fast iterative solution of the least square systems, regularization of the data, and the treatment of outliers. A particular application concerns the approximate continuation of harmonic functions, an issue arising in geodesy.
We show a close relation between the Schrödinger equation and the conductivity equation to a Vekua equation of a special form. Under quite general conditions we propose an algorithm for explicit construction of pseudoanalytic positive formal powers for the Vekua equation that as a consequence gives us a complete system of solutions for the Schrödinger and the conductivity equations. Besides the construction of complete systems of exact solutions for the above mentioned second order equations and the Dirac equation, we discuss some other applications of pseudoanalytic function theory.
The quaternionic operator calculus can be applied very elegantly to solve many important boundary value problems arising in fluid dynamics and electrodynamics in an analytic way. In order to set up fully explicit solutions. In order to apply the quaternionic operator calculus to solve these types of boundary value problems fully explicitly, one has to evaluate two types of integral operators: the Teodorescu operator and the quaternionic Bergman projector. While the integral kernel of the Teodorescu transform is universal for all domains, the kernel function of the Bergman projector, called the Bergman kernel, depends on the geometry of the domain. Recently the theory of quaternionic holomorphic multiperiodic functions and automorphic forms provided new impulses to set up explicit representation formulas for large classes of hyperbolic polyhedron type domains. These include block shaped domains, wedge shaped domains (with or without additional rectangular restrictions) and circular symmetric finite and infinite cylinders as particular subcases. In this talk we want to give an overview over the recent developments in this direction.
Procedures of a construction of general solutions for some classes of partial differential equations (PDEs) are proposed and a symmetry operators approach to the raising the orders of the polynomial solutions to linear PDEs are develops. We touch upon an ''operator analytic function theory'' as the solution of a frequent classes of the equations of mathematical physics, when its symmetry operators forms vast enough space. The MAPLE© package programs for the building the operator variables is elaborated also.
This paper presents two new methods for analysis of a technical state of large-panel residential buildings. The first method is based on elements extracted from the classical methods and on data about repairs and modernization collected from building documentations. The technical state of a building is calculated as a sum of several groups of elements defining the technical state. The deterioration in this method depends on: - time, which has passed since last repair of element or time which has passed since construction, - estimate of the state of element groups which can be determined on basis of yearly controls. This is a new unique method. it is easy to use, does not need expertise. The required data could be extracted easily from building documentations. For better accuracy the data from building inspections should be applied (in Poland inspections are made every year). The second method is based on the extracted data processing by means of the artificial neural networks. The aim is to learn the artificial neural network configurations for a set of data containing values of the technical state and information about building repairs for last years (or other information and building parameters) and next to analyse new buildings by the instructed neural network. The second profit from using artificial neural networks is the reduction of number of parameters. Instead of more then 40 parameters describing building, about 6-12 are usually sufficient for satisfactory accuracy. This method could have lower accuracy but it is less prone to data errors.
The Lucas-Kanade tracker has proven to be an efficient and accurate method for calculation of the optical flow. However, this algorithm can reliably track only suitable image features like corners and edges. Therefore, the optical flow can only be calculated for a few points in each image, resulting in sparse optical flow fields. Accumulation of these vectors over time is a suitable method to retrieve a dense motion vector field. However, the accumulation process limits application of the proposed method to fixed camera setups. Here, a histogram based approach is favored to allow more than a single typical flow vector per pixel. The resulting vector field can be used to detect roads and prescribed driving directions which constrain object movements. The motion structure can be modeled as a graph. The nodes represent entry and exit points for road users as well as crossings, while the edges represent typical paths.
CONSTITUTIVE MODELS FOR SUBSOIL IN THE CONTEXT OF STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS IN CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
(2010)
Parameters of constitutive models are obtained generally comparing the results of forward numerical simulations to measurement data. Mostly the parameter values are varied by trial-and-error in order to reach an improved fit and obtain plausible results. However, the description of complex soil behavior requires advanced constitutive models where the rising complexity of these models mainly increases the number of unknown constitutive parameters. Thus an efficient identification "by hand" becomes quite difficult for most practical geotechnical problems. The main focus of this article is on finding a vector of parameters in a given search space which minimizes discrepancy between measurements and the associated numerical result. Classically, the parameter values are estimated from laboratory tests on small samples (triaxial tests or oedometer tests). For this purpose an automatic population-based approach is present to determine the material parameters for reconstituted and natural Bothkennar Clay. After the identification a statistical assessment is carried out of numerical results to evaluate different constitutive models. On the other side a geotechnical problem, stone columns under an embankment, is treated in a well instrumented field trial in Klagenfurt, Austria. For the identification purpose there are measurements from multilevel-piezometers, multilevel-extensometers and horizontal inclinometer. Based on the simulation of the stone columns in a FE-Model the identification of the constitutive parameters is similar to the experimental tests by minimizing the absolute error between measurement and numerical curves.
For assessment of old buildings, thermal graphic analysis aided with infra-red camera have been employed in a wide range nowadays. Image processing and evaluation can be economically practicable only if the image evaluation can also be automated to the largest extend. For that reason methods of computer vision are presented in this paper to evaluate thermal images. To detect typical thermal image elements, such as thermal bridges and lintels in thermal images respectively gray value images, methods of digital image processing have been applied, of which numerical procedures are available to transform, modify and encode images. At the same time, image processing can be regarded as a multi-stage process. In order to be able to accomplish the process of image analysis from image formation through perfecting and segmentation to categorization, appropriate functions must be implemented. For this purpose, different measuring procedures and methods for automated detection and evaluation have been tested.
A concept for integrated modeling of urban and rural hydrology is introduced. The concept allows for simulations on the catchment scale as well as on the local scale. It is based on a 2-layer-approach which facilitates the parallel coupling of a catchment hydrology model with an urban hydrology model, considering the interactions between the two systems. The concept has been implemented in a computer model combining a grid based distributed hydrological catchment model and a hydrological urban stormwater model based on elementary units. The combined model provides a flexible solution for time and spatial scale integration and offers to calculate separate water balances for urban and rural hydrology. Furthermore, it is GIS-based which allows for easy and accurate geo-referencing of urban overflow structures, which are considered as points of interactions between the two hydrologic systems. Due to the two-layer-approach, programs of measures can be incorporated in each system separately. The capabilities of the combined model have been tested on a hypothetical test case and a real world application. It could be shown that the model is capable of accurately quantifying the effects of urbanization in a catchment. The affects of urbanization can be analyzed at the catchment outlet, but can also be traced back to its origins, due to the geo-referencing of urban overflow structures. This is a mayor advantage over conventional hydrological catchment models for the analysis of land use changes.
In diesem Beitrag wird eine mobile Software-Komponente zur Vor-Ort-Unterstützung von Bauwerksprüfungen gemäß DIN 1076 „Ingenieurbauwerke im Zuge von Strassen und Wegen, Überwachung und Prüfung“ vorgestellt, welche sich im praktischen Einsatz bei der Hochbahn AG Hamburg befindet. Mit Hilfe dieses Werkzeugs kann die Aktivität am Bauwerk in den gesamten softwaregestützten Geschäftsprozess der auwerksinstandhaltung integriert und somit die Bearbeitungszeit einer Bauwerksprüfung von der Vorbereitung bis zur Prüfbericht-Erstellung reduziert werden. Die Technologie des Mobile Computing wird unter Berücksichtigung spezieller fachlicher Randbedingungen, wie z.B. dem Einsatzort unter freiem Himmel, erläutert und es werden Methoden zur effizienten Datenerfassung mit Stift und Sprache vorgestellt und bewertet. Ferner wird die Einschränkung der Hardware durch die geringere Größe der Endgeräte, die sich durch die Bedingung der Mobilität ergibt, untersucht.
This is an implementation of the Fillmore–Springer–Cnops construction (FSCc) based on the Clifford algebra capacities of the GiNaC computer algebra system. FSCc linearises the linear-fraction action of the Mobius group. This turns to be very useful in several theoretical and applied fields including engineering. The core of this realisation of FSCc is done for an arbitrary dimension, while a subclass for two dimensional cycles add some 2D-specific routines including a visualisation to PostScript files through the MetaPost or Asymptote software. This library is a backbone of many result published in, which serve as illustrations of its usage. It can be ported (with various level of required changes) to other CAS with Clifford algebras capabilities.
Geotechnical constructions are sophisticated structures due to the non-linear soil behaviour and the complex soil-structure interaction, which entails great exigencies on the liable engineer during the design process. The process can be schematised as a difficult and, depending on the opportunities and skills of the processor more or less innovative, creative and heuristic search for one or a multiple of defined objectives under given boundary conditions. Wholistic approaches including numerical optimisation which support the constructing engineer in this task do not currently exist. Abstract problem formulation is not state of the art; commonly parameter studies are bounded by computational effort. Thereby potential regarding cost effectiveness, construction time, load capacity and/or serviceability are often used insufficiently. This paper describes systematic approaches for comprehensive optimisation of selected geotechnical constructions like combined pile raft foundations and quay wall structures. Several optimisation paradigms like the mono- and the multi-objective optimisation are demonstrated and their use for a more efficient design concerning various intentions is shown in example. The optimisation is implemented by using Evolutionary Algorithms. The applicability to geotechnical real world problems including nonlinearities, discontinuities and multi-modalities is shown. The routines are adapted to common problems and coupled with conventional analysis procedures as well as with numerical calculation software based on the finite element method. Numerical optimisation of geotechnical design using efficient algorithms is able to deliver highly effective solutions after investing more effort into the parameterization of the problem. Obtained results can be used for realizing different constructions near the stability limit, visualizing the sensitivity regarding the construction parameters or simply procuring more effective solutions.
The present study was designed to investigate the underlying factors determining the visual impressions of design-patterns that have complex textures. Design-patterns produced by "the dynamical system defined by iterations of discrete Laplacians on the plane lattice" were adopted as stimuli because they were not only complex, but also defined mathematically. In the experiment, 21 graduate and undergraduate students sorted 102 design-patterns into several groups by visual impressions. Those 102 patterns were classified into 12 categories by the cluster analysis. The results showed that the regularity of pattern was a most efficient factor for determining visual impressions of design-pattern, and there were some correspondence between visual impressions and mathematical variables of design-pattern. Especially, the visual impressions were influenced greatly by the neighborhood, and less influenced by steps of iterations.
In order to make control decisions, Smart Buildings need to collect data from multiple sources and bring it to a central location, such as the Building Management System (BMS). This needs to be done in a timely and automated fashion. Besides data being gathered from different energy using elements, information of occupant behaviour is also important for a building’s requirement analysis. In this paper, the parameter of Occupant Density was considered to help find behaviour of occupants towards a building space. Through this parameter, support for building energy consumption and requirements based on occupant need and demands was provided. The demonstrator presented provides information on the number of people present in a particular building space at any time, giving the space density. Such collections of density data made over a certain period of time represents occupant behaviour towards the building space, giving its usage patterns. Similarly, inventory items were tracked and monitored for moving out or being brought into a particular read zone. For both, people and inventory items, this was achieved using small, low-cost, passive Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. Occupants were given the tags in a form factor of a credit card to be possessed at all times. A central database was built where occupant and inventory information for a particular building space was maintained for monitoring and providing a central data access.
Tests on Polymer Modified Cement Concrete (PCC) have shown significant large creep deformation. The reasons for that as well as additional material phenomena are explained in the following paper. Existing creep models developed for standard concrete are studied to determine the time-dependent deformations of PCC. These models are: model B3 by Bažant and Bajewa, the models according to Model Code 90 and ACI 209 as well as model GL2000 by Gardner and Lockman. The calculated creep strains are compared to existing experimental data of PCC and the differences are pointed out. Furthermore, an optimization of the model parameters is performed to fit the models to the experimental data to achieve a better model prognosis.
The design of challenging space structures frequently relies on the theory of folded plates. The models are composed of plane facets of which the bending and membrane stiffness are coupled along the folds. In conventional finite element analysis of faceted structures the continuity of the displacement field is enforced exclusively at the nodes. Since approximate solutions for transverse and for in-plane displacements are not members of the same function space, separation occurs in between the common nodes of adjacent elements. It is shown that the kinematic assumptions of Bernoulli are accounted for this incompatibility along the edges in facet models. A general answer to this problem involves substantial modification of plate and membrane theory, but a straight forward formulation can be derived for simply folded plates, structures, whose folds do not intersect. A broad class of faceted structures, including models of various curved shells, belong to this category and can be calculated consistently. The additional requirements to assure continuity concern the mapping of displacement derivatives on the edges. An appropriate finite facet element provides node and edge-oriented degrees of freedom, whose transformation to system degrees of freedom, depends on the geometric configuration at each node. The concept is implemented using conform triangular elements. To evaluate the new approach, the energy norm of representative structures for refined meshes is calculated. The focus is placed on the mathematical convergence towards reliable solutions obtained from finite volume models.