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The aim of this paper is to present so-called discrete-continual boundary element method (DCBEM) of structural analysis. Its field of application comprises buildings constructions, structures and also parts and components for the residential, commercial and un-inhabitant structures with invariability of physical and geometrical parameters in some dimensions. We should mention here in particular such objects as beams, thin-walled bars, strip foundations, plates, shells, deep beams, high-rise buildings, extensional buildings, pipelines, rails, dams and others. DCBEM comes under group of semianalytical methods. Semianalytical formulations are contemporary mathematical models which currently becoming available for realization due to substantial speed-up of computer productivity. DCBEM is based on the theory of the pseudodifferential boundary equations. Corresponding pseudodifferential operators are discretely approximated using Fourier analysis or wavelet analysis. The main DCBEM advantages against the other methods of the numerical analysis is a double reduction in dimension of the problem (discrete numerical division applied not to the full region of the interest but only to the boundary of the region cross section, as a matter of fact one is solving an one-dimensional problem with the finite step on the boundary area of the region), one has opportunities to carrying out very detailed analysis of the specific chosen zones, simplified initial data preparation, simplistic and adaptive algorithms. There are two methods to define and conduct DCBEM analysis developed – indirect (IDCBEM) and direct (DDCBEM), thus indirect like in boundary element method (BEM) applied and used little bit more than direct.
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.
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
Für eine beherrschbare Koordination und Durchführung von Planungsaufgaben in Bauprojekten wird der Planungsprozess zunehmend in formalisierten Modellen – Prozessmodellen – beschrieben. Die Produktmodellforschung ihrerseits widmet sich der Speicherung von Planungsdaten in Form von objektorientierten Modellen im Rechner. Hauptaugenmerk sind dabei die Wahrung der Konsistenz und die Modellierung von Abhängigkeiten innerhalb dieses Planungsmaterials. Der Bezug zu den Akteuren der Planung wird nicht direkt hergestellt. Ein formal beschriebener Planungsprozesses kann in der Praxis noch nicht derart realisiert werden, dass ein Zugriff auf Einzelobjekte des Planungsprozesses gewährleistet ist. Bestehende Planungsunterstützungs- und Workflowmanagement-Systeme abstrahieren und ordnen das Planungsmaterial nach wie vor auf Dateiebene. Der vorliegende Artikel beschreibt eine Methode für die geeignete Verbindung von formalisierten Prozessmodellen in der Bauplanung mit den Einzelobjekten, die in den modellorientierten Objektmengen kodiert sind. Dabei wird die Zugehörigkeit bestimmter Objekte zu Plänen und Dokumenten (zum Zwecke des Datenaustauschs) nicht länger durch die physische Zuordnung zu Dateien festgelegt. Es wird ein formales Beschreibungsmittel vorgestellt, welches die entsprechende Teilmengenbildung aus der Gesamtheit der Planungsobjekte ermöglicht. Für die bisherigen Formen des Datenaustausches werden aus den Objektmodellen der Planung Teilmengen herausgelöst und physikalisch zwischen den Planern transportiert. Das neue Beschreibungsmittel hingegen erlaubt es, die Bildungsvorschrift für Objektteilmengen statt der Mengen selbst zwischen den Planern auszutauschen. Der Zugriff auf die konkreten Objekte findet dann direkt modellbasiert statt.
The concrete is modeled as a material with damage and plasticity, whereat the viscoplastic and the viscoelastic behaviour depends on the rate of the total strains. Due to the damage behaviour the compliance tensor develops different properties in tension and compression. There have been tested various yield surfaces and flow rules, damage rules respectively to their usability in a concrete model. One three-dimensional yield surface was developed from a failure surface based on the Willam--Warnke five-parameter model by the author. Only one general uni-axial stress-strain-relation is used for the numeric control of the yield surface. From that curve all necessary parameters for different strengths of concrete and different strain rates can be derived by affine transformations. For the flow rule in the compression zone a non associated inelastic potential is used, in the tension zone a Rankine potential. Conditional on the time-dependent formulation, the symmetry of the system equations is maintained in spite of the usage of non-associated potentials for the derivation of the inelastic strains. In case of quasi statical computations a simple viscoplastic law is used that is rested on an approach to Perzyna. The principle of equality of dissipation power in the uni-axial and the three-axial state of stress is used. It is modified by a factor that depends on the actual stress ratio and in comparison with the Kupfer experiments it implicates strains that are more realistic. The implementation of the concrete model is conducted in a mixed hybrid finite element. Examples in the structural level are introduced for verification of the concrete model.
Due to economical, technical or political reasons all over the world about 100 nuclear power plants have been disconnected until today. All these power stations are still waiting for their complete dismantling which, considering one reactor, causes cost of up to one Bil. Euros and lasts up to 15 years. In our contribution we present a resource-constrained project scheduling approach minimizing the total discounted cost of dismantling a nuclear power plant. A project of dismantling a nuclear power plant can be subdivided into a number of disassembling activities. The execution of these activities requires time and scarce resources like manpower, special equipment or storage facilities for the contaminated material arising from the dismantling. Moreover, we have to regard several minimum and maximum time lags (temporal constraints) between the start times of the different activities. Finally, each disassembling activity can be processed in two alternative execution modes, which lead to different disbursements and determine the resource requirements of the considered activity. The optimization problem is to determine a start time and an execution mode for each activity, such that the discounted cost of the project is minimum, and neither the temporal constraints are violated nor the activities' resource requirements exceed the availability of any scarce resource at any point in time. In our contribution we introduce an appropriate multi-mode project scheduling model with minimum and maximum time lags as well as renewable and cumulative resources for the described optimization problem. Furthermore, we show that the considered optimization problem is NP-hard in the strong sense. For small problem instances, optimal solutions can be gained from a relaxation based enumeration approach which is incorporated into a branch and bound algorithm. In order to be able to solve large problem instances, we also propose a truncated version of the devised branch and bound algorithm.
We consider efficient numerical methods for the solution of partial differential equations with stochastic coefficients or right hand side. The discretization is performed by the stochastic finite element method (SFEM). Separation of spatial and stochastic variables in the random input data is achieved via a Karhunen-Loève expansion or Wiener's polynomial chaos expansion. We discuss solution strategies for the Galerkin system that take advantage of the special structure of the system matrix. For stochastic coefficients linear in a set of independent random variables we employ Krylov subspace recycling techniques after having decoupled the large SFEM stiffness matrix.
The contribution presents a model that is able to simulate construction duration and cost for a building project. This model predicts set of expected project costs and duration schedule depending on input parameters such as production speed, scope of work, time schedule, bonding conditions and maximum and minimum deviations from scope of work and production speed. The simulation model is able to calculate, on the basis of input level of probability, the adequate construction cost and time duration of a project. The reciprocal view attends to finding out the adequate level of probability for construction cost and activity durations. Among interpretive outputs of the application software belongs the compilation of a presumed dynamic progress chart. This progress chart represents the expected scenario of development of a building project with the mapping of potential time dislocations for particular activities. The calculation of a presumed dynamic progress chart is based on an algorithm, which calculates mean values as a partial result of the simulated building project. Construction cost and time models are, in many ways, useful tools in project management. Clients are able to make proper decisions about the time and cost schedules of their investments. Consequently, building contractors are able to schedule predicted project cost and duration before any decision is finalized.
We propose a new approach to the numerical solution of quasi-static elastic-plastic problems based on the Moreau-Yosida theorem. After the time discretization, the problem is expressed as an energy minimization problem for unknown displacement and plastic strain fields. The dependency of the minimization functional on the displacement is smooth whereas the dependency on the plastic strain is non-smooth. Besides, there exists an explicit formula, how to calculate the plastic strain from a given displacement field. This allows us to reformulate the original problem as a minimization problem in the displacement only. Using the Moreau-Yosida theorem from the convex analysis, the minimization functional in the displacements turns out to be Frechet-differentiable, although the hidden dependency on the plastic strain is non-differentiable. The seconds derivative exists everywhere apart from the elastic-plastic interface dividing elastic and plastic zones of the continuum. This motivates to implement a Newton-like method, which converges super-linearly as can be observed in our numerical experiments.
Adopting the European laws concerning environmental protection will require sustained efforts of the authorities and communities from Romania; implementing modern solutions will become a fast and effective option for the improvement of the functioning systems, in order to prevent disasters. As a part of the urban infrastructure, the drainage networks of pluvial and residual waters are included in the plan of promoting the systems which protect the environmental quality, with the purpose of integrated and adaptive management. The paper presents a distributed control system for sewer network of Iasi town. Unsatisfactory technical state of the actual sewer system is exposed, focusing on objectives related to implementation of the control system. The proposed distributed control system of Iasi drainage network is based on the implementation of the hierarchic control theory for diagnose, sewer planning and management. There are proposed two control levels: coordinating and local execution. Configuration of the distributed control system, including data acquisition and conversion equipment, interface characteristics, local data bus, data communication network, station configuration are widely described. The project wish to be an useful instrument for the local authorities in the preventing and reducing the impact of future natural disasters over the urban areas by means of modern technologies.
The execution of project activities generally requires the use of (renewable) resources like machines, equipment or manpower. The resource allocation problem consists in assigning time intervals to the execution of the project activities while taking into account temporal constraints between activities emanating from technological or organizational requirements and costs incurred by the resource allocation. If the total procurement cost of the different renewable resources has to be minimized we speak of a resource investment problem. If the cost depends on the smoothness of the resource utilization over time the underlying problem is called a resource levelling problem. In this paper we consider a new tree-based enumeration method for solving resource investment and resource levelling problems exploiting some fundamental properties of spanning trees. The enumeration scheme is embedded in a branch-and-bound procedure using a workload-based lower bound and a depth first search. Preliminary computational results show that the proposed procedure is promising for instances with up to 30 activities.
In this study we introduce a concept of discrete Laplacian on the plane lattice and consider its iteration dynamical system. At first we discuss some basic properties on the dynamical system to be proved. Next making their computer simulations, we show that we can realize the following phenomena quite well:(1) The crystal of waters (2) The designs of carpets, embroideries (3) The time change of the numbers of families of extinct animals, and (4) The echo systems of life things. Hence we may expect that we can understand the evolutions and self organizations by use of the dynamical systems. Here we want to make a stress on the following fact: Although several well known chaotic dynamical systems can describe chaotic phenomena, they have difficulties in the descriptions of the evolutions and self organizations.
Reasonably accurate cost estimation of the structural system is quite desirable at the early stages of the design process of a construction project. However, the numerous interactions among the many cost-variables make the prediction difficult. Artificial neural networks (ANN) and case-based reasoning (CBR) are reported to overcome this difficulty. This paper presents a comparison of CBR and ANN augmented by genetic algorithms (GA) conducted by using spreadsheet simulations. GA was used to determine the optimum weights for the ANN and CBR models. The cost data of twenty-nine actual cases of residential building projects were used as an example application. Two different sets of cases were randomly selected from the data set for training and testing purposes. Prediction rates of 84% in the GA/CBR study and 89% in the GA/ANN study were obtained. The advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches are discussed in the light of the experiments and the findings. It appears that GA/ANN is a more suitable model for this example of cost estimation where the prediction of numerical values is required and only a limited number of cases exist. The integration of GA into CBR and ANN in a spreadsheet format is likely to improve the prediction rates.
The ride of the tram along the line, defined by a time-table, consists of the travel time between the subsequent sections and the time spent by tram on the stops. In the paper, statistical data collected in the city of Krakow is presented and evaluated. In polish conditions, for trams the time spent on stops makes up the remarkable amount of 30 % of the total time of tram line operation. Moreover, this time is characterized by large variability. The time spent by tram on a stop consists of alighting and boarding time and time lost by tram on stop after alighting and boarding time ending, but before departure. Alighting and boarding time itself usually depends on the random number of alighting and boarding passengers and also on the number of passengers which are inside the vehicle. However, the time spent by tram on stop after alighting and boarding time ending is an effect of certain random events, mainly because of impossibility of departure from stop, caused by lack of priorities for public transport vehicles. The main focus of the talk lies on the description and the modelling of these effects. This paper is involved with CIVITAS-CARAVEL project: "Clean and better transport in cites". The project has received research funding from the Community's Sixth Framework Programme. The paper reflects only the author's views and the Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Mit diesen Ausführungen wird ein Beitrag zum weiteren Erhalt der historischen Bausubstanz in Mecklenburg aus der Sicht der Tragwerksanalyse geleistet. Dabei bestätigt es sich immer mehr, dass mit dem Modell der Geometrie, der Belastung und des Materials gleichberechtigte Modelle für eine wirklichkeitsnahe Einschätzung des Tragverhaltens eines Tragwerks vorliegen müssen. Es zeigt sich, dass dabei die besten Berechnungsprogramme nur die Ergebnisse liefern können, die mit den Eingabedaten zu erzielen sind. So hat sich der Forschungsschwerpunkt im Lehrgebiet Tragwerkslehre des FB Architektur an der Hochschule Wismar in den letzten Jahren auf die realistische Abbildung der Wechselwirkung zwischen der Bauaufnahme und der geometrischen Modellierung konzentriert. In diesem Bereich zeigen sich als Schwerpunkte die Wechselwirkung zwischen Schäden und Tragwerksanalyse und die Wechselwirkung zwischen der aufgenommenen Geometrie und dem geometrischen Modell für die Tragwerksanalyse. Die Fülle der aufgenommenen Daten sind dabei in der Regel mehr hinderlich als ein Segen für die Tragwerksanalyse. Hier wurde gezeigt, welche und wie viele geometrische Daten für das geometrische Modell für die Tragwerksanalyse sinnvoll sind. Da die eigene Datenaufnahme relativ viel Zeit beansprucht, wurde eine "geistige" Bauaufnahme durchgeführt. Dazu wird der historische Planungsprozess in den einzelnen Formfindungsschritten nachvollzogen und in die virtuelle Realität überführt. Mit dieser Methode ergeben sich unterschiedliche Bauzustände und es lassen sich auch mögliche Bauphasen abbilden. Die Tragwerksanalyse dieser virtuellen Realität zeigt dann mögliche Schwächen der Tragwerke und/oder die Notwendigkeit konstruktiver Veränderungen. Ein Vergleich der Ergebnisse der Tragwerksanalyse mit der Realität anhand des vorliegenden Datenbestands liefert die Grundlage für den aktuellen Handlungsbedarf. Da der Bauzustand eines Bauwerkes unter einer zeitlichen Veränderung steht, werden Methoden überprüft, die es ermöglichen, einen einmal vorgelegten Datenbestand aufzubereiten und weiter zu verwalten.
Designing a structure follows a pattern of creating a structural design concept, executing a finite element analysis and developing a design model. A project was undertaken to create computer support for executing these tasks within a collaborative environment. This study focuses on developing a software architecture that integrates the various structural design aspects into a seamless functional collaboratory that satisfies engineering practice requirements. The collaboratory is to support both homogeneous collaboration i.e. between users operating on the same model and heterogeneous collaboration i.e. between users operating on different model types. Collaboration can take place synchronously or asynchronously, and the information exchange is done either at the granularity of objects or at the granularity of models. The objective is to determine from practicing engineers which configurations they regard as best and what features are essential for working in a collaborative environment. Based on the suggestions of these engineers a specification of a collaboration configuration that satisfies engineering practice requirements will be developed.
Der Begriff der Zuverlässigkeit spielt eine zentrale Rolle bei der Bewertung von Verkehrsnetzen. Aus der Sicht der Nutzer des öffentlichen Personennahverkehrs (ÖPNV) ist eines der wichtigsten Kriterien zur Beurteilung der Qualität des Liniennetzes, ob es möglich ist, mit einer großen Sicherheit das Reiseziel in einer vorgegebenen Zeit zu erreichen. Im Vortrag soll dieser Zuverlässigkeitsbegriff mathematisch gefasst werden. Dabei wird zunächst auf den üblichen Begriff der Zuverlässigkeit eines Netzes im Sinne paarweiser Zusammenhangswahrscheinlichkeiten eingegangen. Dieser Begriff wird erweitert durch die Betrachtung der Zuverlässigkeit unter Einbeziehung einer maximal zulässigen Reisezeit. In vergangenen Arbeiten hat sich die Ring-Radius-Struktur als bewährtes Modell für die theoretische Beschreibung von Verkehrsnetzen erwiesen. Diese Überlegungen sollen nun durch Einbeziehung realer Verkehrsnetzstrukturen erweitert werden. Als konkretes Beispiel dient das Straßenbahnnetz von Krakau. Hier soll insbesondere untersucht werden, welche Auswirkungen ein geplanter Ausbau des Netzes auf die Zuverlässigkeit haben wird. This paper is involved with CIVITAS-CARAVEL project: "Clean and better transport in cites". The project has received research funding from the Community's Sixth Framework Programme. The paper reflects only the author's views and the Community is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Objects for civil engineering applications can be identified with their reference in memory, their alpha-numeric name or their geometric location. Particularly in graphic user interfaces, it is common to identify objects geometrically by selection with the mouse. As the number of geometric objects in a graphic user interface grows, it becomes increasingly more important to treat the basic operations add, search and remove for geometric objects with great efficiency. Guttmann has proposed the Region-Tree (R-tree) for geometric identification in an environment which uses pages on disc as data structure. Minimal bounding rectangles are used to structure the data in such a way that neighborhood relations can be described effectively. The literature shows that the parameters which influence the efficiency of the R-trees have been studied extensively, but without conclusive results. The goal of the research which is reported in this paper is to determine reliably the parameters which significantly influence the efficiency of R-trees for geometric identification in technical drawings. In order to make this investigation conclusive, it must be performed with the best available software technology. Therefore an object-oriented software for the method is developed. This implementation is tested with technical drawings containing many thousands of geometric objects. These drawings are created automatically by a stochastic generator which is incorporated into a test bed consisting of an editor and a visualisor. This test bed is used to obtain statistics for the main factors which affect the efficiency of R-trees. The investigation shows that the following main factors which affect the efficiency can be identified reliably : number of geometric objects on the drawing the minimum und maximum number of children of a node of the tree the maximum width and height of the minimal bounding rectangles of the geometric objects relative to the size of the drawing.
Solid behavior as well as liquid behavior characterizes the flow of granular material in silos. The presented model is based on an appropriate interaction of a displacement field and a velocity field. The constitutive equations and the applied algorithm are developed from the exact solution for a standard case. The standard case evolves from a very tall vertical plane strain silo containing material that flows at a constant speed. No horizontal displacements and velocities take place. No changes regarding the field values arise in the vertical direction and in time. Tension is not allowed at any point. Coulomb friction represents the effects of the vertical walls. The interaction between the flowing material and the walls is covered by a forced boundary condition resulting in an additional matrix for the solid component as well as for the liquid component. The resulting integral equations are designed to be solved directly. Three coefficients describe the properties of the granular material. They govern elastic solid behavior in combination with viscous liquid behavior.
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.
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.
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.
The contribution focuses on the development of a basic computational scheme that provides a suitable calculation environment for the coupling of analytical near-field solutions with numerical standard procedures in the far-field of the singularity. The proposed calculation scheme uses classical methods of complex function theory, which can be generalized to 3-dimensional problems by using the framework of hypercomplex analysis. The adapted approach is mainly based on the factorization of the Laplace operator EMBED Equation.3 by the Cauchy-Riemann operator EMBED Equation.3 , where exact solutions of the respective differential equation are constructed by using an orthonormal basis of holomorphic and anti-holomorphic functions.
The extended finite element method (XFEM) offers an elegant tool to model material discontinuities and cracks within a regular mesh, so that the element edges do not necessarily coincide with the discontinuities. This allows the modeling of propagating cracks without the requirement to adapt the mesh incrementally. Using a regular mesh offers the advantage, that simple refinement strategies based on the quadtree data structure can be used to refine the mesh in regions, that require a high mesh density. An additional benefit of the XFEM is, that the transmission of cohesive forces through a crack can be modeled in a straightforward way without introducing additional interface elements. Finally different criteria for the determination of the crack propagation angle are investigated and applied to numerical tests of cracked concrete specimens, which are compared with experimental results.
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.
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.
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.
The design of safety-critical structures, exposed to cyclic excitations demands for non-degrading or limited-degrading behavior during extreme events. Among others, the structural behavior is mainly determined by the amount of plastic cycles, completed during the excitation. Existing simplified methods often ignore this dependency, or assume/request sufficient cyclic capacity. The paper introduces a new performance based design method that considers explicitly a predefined number of re-plastifications. Hereby approaches from the shakedown theory and signal processing methods are utilized. The paper introduces the theoretical background, explains the steps of the design procedure and demonstrates the applicability with help of an example. This project was supported by German Science Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG)
The present paper is part of a comprehensive approach of grid-based modelling. This approach includes geometrical modelling by pixel or voxel models, advanced multiphase B-spline finite elements of variable order and fast iterative solver methods based on the multigrid method. So far, we have only presented these grid-based methods in connection with linear elastic analysis of heterogeneous materials. Damage simulation demands further considerations. The direct stress solution of standard bilinear finite elements is severly defective, especially along material interfaces. Besides achieving objective constitutive modelling, various nonlocal formulations are applied to improve the stress solution. Such a corrective data processing can either refer to input data in terms of Young's modulus or to the attained finite element stress solution, as well as to a combination of both. A damage-controlled sequentially linear analysis is applied in connection with an isotropic damage law. Essentially by a high resolution of the heterogeneous solid, local isotropic damage on the material subscale allows to simulate complex damage topologies such as cracks. Therefore anisotropic degradation of a material sample can be simulated. Based on an effectively secantial global stiffness the analysis is numerically stable. The iteration step size is controlled for an adequate simulation of the damage path. This requires many steps, but in the iterative solution process each new step starts with the solution of the prior step. Therefore this method is quite effective. The present paper provides an introduction of the proposed concept for a stable simulation of damage in heterogeneous solids.
Advanced finite elements are proposed for the mechanical analysis of heterogeneous materials. The approximation quality of these finite elements can be controlled by a variable order of B-spline shape functions. An element-based formulation is developed such that the finite element problem can iteratively be solved without storing a global stiffness matrix. This memory saving allows for an essential increase of problem size. The heterogeneous material is modelled by projection onto a uniform, orthogonal grid of elements. Conventional, strictly grid-based finite element models show severe oscillating defects in the stress solutions at material interfaces. This problem is cured by the extension to multiphase finite elements. This concept enables to define a heterogeneous material distribution within the finite element. This is possible by a variable number of integration points to each of which individual material properties can be assigned. Based on an interpolation of material properties at nodes and further smooth interpolation within the finite elements, a continuous material function is established. With both, continuous B-spline shape function and continuous material function, also the stress solution will be continuous in the domain. The inaccuracy implied by the continuous material field is by far less defective than the prior oscillating behaviour of stresses. One- and two-dimensional numerical examples are presented.
In this paper an adaptive heterogeneous multiscale model, which couples two substructures with different length scales into one numerical model is introduced for the simulation of damage in concrete. In the presented approach the initiation, propagation and coalescence of microcracks is simulated using a mesoscale model, which explicitly represents the heterogeneous material structure of concrete. The mesoscale model is restricted to the damaged parts of the structure, whereas the undamaged regions are simulated on the macroscale. As a result an adaptive enlargement of the mesoscale model during the simulation is necessary. In the first part of the paper the generation of the heterogeneous mesoscopic structure of concrete, the finite element discretization of the mesoscale model, the applied isotropic damage model and the cohesive zone model are briefly introduced. Furthermore the mesoscale simulation of a uniaxial tension test of a concrete prism is presented and own obtained numerical results are compared to experimental results. The second part is focused on the adaptive heterogeneous multiscale approach. Indicators for the model adaptation and for the coupling between the different numerical models will be introduced. The transfer from the macroscale to the mesoscale and the adaptive enlargement of the mesoscale substructure will be presented in detail. A nonlinear simulation of a realistic structure using an adaptive heterogeneous multiscale model is presented at the end of the paper to show the applicability of the proposed approach to large-scale structures.
A fast solver method called the multigrid preconditioned conjugate gradient method is proposed for the mechanical analysis of heterogeneous materials on the mesoscale. Even small samples of a heterogeneous material such as concrete show a complex geometry of different phases. These materials can be modelled by projection onto a uniform, orthogonal grid of elements. As one major problem the possible resolution of the concrete specimen is generally restricted due to (a) computation times and even more critical (b) memory demand. Iterative solvers can be based on a local element-based formulation while orthogonal grids consist of geometrical identical elements. The element-based formulation is short and transparent, and therefore efficient in implementation. A variation of the material properties in elements or integration points is possible. The multigrid method is a fast iterative solver method, where ideally the computational effort only increases linear with problem size. This is an optimal property which is almost reached in the implementation presented here. In fact no other method is known which scales better than linear. Therefore the multigrid method gains in importance the larger the problem becomes. But for heterogeneous models with very large ratios of Young's moduli the multigrid method considerably slows down by a constant factor. Such large ratios occur in certain heterogeneous solids, as well as in the damage analysis of solids. As solution to this problem the multigrid preconditioned conjugate gradient method is proposed. A benchmark highlights the multigrid preconditioned conjugate gradient method as the method of choice for very large ratio's of Young's modulus. A proposed modified multigrid cycle shows good results, in the application as stand-alone solver or as preconditioner.
Summer overheating in buildings is a common problem, especially in office buildings with large glazed facades, high internal loads and low thermal mass. Phase change materials (PCM) that undergo a phase transition in the temperature range of thermal comfort can add thermal mass without increasing the structural load of the building. The investigated PCM were micro-encapsulated and mixed into gypsum plaster. The experiments showed a reduction of indoor-temperature of up to 4 K when using a 3 cm layer of PCM-plaster with micro-encapsulated paraffin. The measurement results could validate a numerical model that is based on a temperature dependent function for heat capacity. Thermal building simulation showed that a 3 cm layer of PCM-plaster can help to fulfil German regulations concerning heat protection of buildings in summer for most office rooms.
In this paper we study the structure of the solutions to higher dimensional Dirac type equations generalizing the known λ-hyperholomorphic functions, where λ is a complex parameter. The structure of the solutions to the system of partial differential equations (D- λ) f=0 show a close connection with Bessel functions of first kind with complex argument. The more general system of partial differential equations that is considered in this paper combines Dirac and Euler operators and emphasizes the role of the Bessel functions. However, contrary to the simplest case, one gets now Bessel functions of any arbitrary complex order.
The modeling of crack propagation in plain and reinforced concrete structures is still a field for many researchers. If a macroscopic description of the cohesive cracking process of concrete is applied, generally the Fictitious Crack Model is utilized, where a force transmission over micro cracks is assumed. In the most applications of this concept the cohesive model represents the relation between the normal crack opening and the normal stress, which is mostly defined as an exponential softening function, independently from the shear stresses in tangential direction. The cohesive forces are then calculated only from the normal stresses. By Carol et al. 1997 an improved model was developed using a coupled relation between the normal and shear damage based on an elasto-plastic constitutive formulation. This model is based on a hyperbolic yield surface depending on the normal and the shear stresses and on the tensile and shear strength. This model also represents the effect of shear traction induced crack opening. Due to the elasto-plastic formulation, where the inelastic crack opening is represented by plastic strains, this model is limited for applications with monotonic loading. In order to enable the application for cases with un- and reloading the existing model is extended in this study using a combined plastic-damage formulation, which enables the modeling of crack opening and crack closure. Furthermore the corresponding algorithmic implementation using a return mapping approach is presented and the model is verified by means of several numerical examples. Finally an investigation concerning the identification of the model parameters by means of neural networks is presented. In this analysis an inverse approximation of the model parameters is performed by using a given set of points of the load displacement curves as input values and the model parameters as output terms. It will be shown, that the elasto-plastic model parameters could be identified well with this approach, but require a huge number of simulations.
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.
In classical complex function theory the geometric mapping property of conformality is closely linked with complex differentiability. In contrast to the planar case, in higher dimensions the set of conformal mappings is only the set of Möbius transformations. Unfortunately, the theory of generalized holomorphic functions (by historical reasons they are called monogenic functions) developed on the basis of Clifford algebras does not cover the set of Möbius transformations in higher dimensions, since Möbius transformations are not monogenic. But on the other side, monogenic functions are hypercomplex differentiable functions and the question arises if from this point of view they can still play a special role for other types of 3D-mappings, for instance, for quasi-conformal ones. On the occasion of the 16th IKM 3D-mapping methods based on the application of Bergman's reproducing kernel approach (BKM) have been discussed. Almost all authors working before that with BKM in the Clifford setting were only concerned with the general algebraic and functional analytic background which allows the explicit determination of the kernel in special situations. The main goal of the abovementioned contribution was the numerical experiment by using a Maple software specially developed for that purpose. Since BKM is only one of a great variety of concrete numerical methods developed for mapping problems, our goal is to present a complete different from BKM approach to 3D-mappings. In fact, it is an extension of ideas of L. V. Kantorovich to the 3-dimensional case by using reduced quaternions and some suitable series of powers of a small parameter. Whereas until now in the Clifford case of BKM the recovering of the mapping function itself and its relation to the monogenic kernel function is still an open problem, this approach avoids such difficulties and leads to an approximation by monogenic polynomials depending on that small parameter.
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 this paper we consider three different methods for generating monogenic functions. The first one is related to Fueter's well known approach to the generation of monogenic quaternion-valued functions by means of holomorphic functions, the second one is based on the solution of hypercomplex differential equations and finally the third one is a direct series approach, based on the use of special homogeneous polynomials. We illustrate the theory by generating three different exponential functions and discuss some of their properties. Formula que se usa em preprints e artigos da nossa UI&D (acho demasiado completo): Partially supported by the R\&D unit \emph{Matem\'atica a Aplica\c\~es} (UIMA) of the University of Aveiro, through the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), co-financed by the European Community fund FEDER.
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.
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.
Am Beispiel eines 3-feldrigen Durchlaufträgers wird die Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit von wechselnd belasteten Stahlbetonbalken bezüglich des Grenzzustandes der Adaption (Einspielen, shakedown) untersucht. Die Adaptionsanalyse erfolgt unter Berücksichtigung der beanspruchungschabhängigen Degradation der Biegesteifigkeit infolge Rissbildung. Die damit verbundene mechanische Problemstellung kann auf die Adaptionsanalyse linear elastisch - ideal plastischer Balkentragwerke mit unbekannter aber begrenzter Biegesteifigkeit zurückgeführt werden. Die Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit wird unter Berücksichtigung stochastischer Tragwerks- und Belastungsgrößen berechnet. Tragwerkseigenschaften und ständige Lasten gelten als zeitunabhängige Zufallsgrößen. Zeitlich veränderliche Lasten werden als nutzungsdauerbezogene Extremwerte POISSONscher Rechteck-Pulsprozesse unter Berücksichtigung zeitlicher Überlagerungseffekte modelliert, so dass die Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit ebenfalls eine nutzungsdauerbezogene Größe ist. Die mechanischen Problemstellungen werden numerisch mit der mathematischen Optimierung gelöst. Die Versagenswahrscheinlichkeit wird auf statistischem Weg mit der Monte-Carlo-Methode geschätzt.
ON THE NAVIER-STOKES EQUATION WITH FREE CONVECTION IN STRIP DOMAINS AND 3D TRIANGULAR CHANNELS
(2006)
The Navier-Stokes equations and related ones can be treated very elegantly with the quaternionic operator calculus developed in a series of works by K. Guerlebeck, W. Sproeossig and others. This study will be extended in this paper. In order to apply the quaternionic operator calculus to solve these types of boundary value problems fully explicitly, one basically needs 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. With special variants of quaternionic holomorphic multiperiodic functions we obtain explicit formulas for three dimensional parallel plate channels, rectangular block domains and regular triangular channels. The explicit knowledge of the integral kernels makes it then possible to evaluate the operator equations in order to determine the solutions of the boundary value problem explicitly.
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 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.
... 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.
TOOL TO CHECK TOPOLOGY AND GEOMETRY FOR SPATIAL STRUCTURES ON BASIS OF THE EXTENDED MAXWELL'S RULE
(2006)
One of the simplest principle in the design of light-weight structures is to avoid bending. This can be achieved by dissolving girders into members acting purely in axial tension or compression. The employment of cables for the tensioned members leads to even lighter structures which are called cable-strut structures. They constitute a subclass of spatial structures. To give fast information about the general feasibility of an architectural concept employing cable-strut structures is a challenging task due to their sophisticated mechanical behavior. In this regard it is essential to control if the structure is stable and if pre-stress can be applied. This paper presents a tool using the spreadsheet software Microsoft (MS) Excel which can give such information. Therefore it is not necessary to purchase special software and the according time consuming training is much lower. The tool was developed on basis of the extended Maxwell's rule, which besides topology also considers the geometry of the structure. For this the rank of the node equilibrium matrix is crucial. Significance and determination of the rank and the implementation of the corresponding algorithms in MS Excel are described in the following. The presented tool is able to support the structural designer in an early stage of the project in finding a feasible architectural concept for cable-strut structures. As examples for the application of the software tool two special cable-strut structures, so called tensegrity structures, were examined for their mechanical behavior.
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.