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- Computerunterstütztes Verfahren (286) (remove)
The idea about a simulation program to support urban planning is explained: Four different, clearly defined developing paths can be calculated for the rebuilding of a shrinking town. Aided by self-organization principles, a complex system can be created. The dynamics based on the action patterns of single actors, whose behaviour is cyclically depends on the generated structure. Global influences, which control the development, can be divided at a spatial, socioeconomic, and organizational-juridical level. The simulation model should offer conclusions on new planning strategies, especially in the context of the creation process of rebuilding measures. An example of a transportation system is shown by means of prototypes for the visualisation of the dynamic development process.
Für eine gesicherte Planung im Bestand, sind eine Fülle verschiedenster Informationen zu berücksichtigen, welche oft erst während des Planungs- oder Bauprozesses gewonnen werden. Voraussetzung hierfür bildet immer eine Bestandserfassung. Zwar existieren Computerprogramme zur Unterstützung der Bestandserfassung, allerdings handelt es sich hierbei ausschließlich um Insellösungen. Der Export der aufgenommenen Daten in ein Planungssystem bedingt Informationsverluste. Trotz der potentiellen Möglichkeit aktueller CAAD/BIM Systeme zur Verwaltung von Bestandsdaten, sind diese vorrangig für die Neubauplanung konzipiert. Die durchgängige Bearbeitung von Sanierungsprojekten von der Erfassung des Bestandes über die Entwurfs- und Genehmigungsplanung bis zur Ausführungsplanung innerhalb eines CAAD/BIM Systems wird derzeit nicht adäquat unterstützt. An der Professur Informatik in der Architektur (InfAR) der Fakultät Architektur der Bauhaus-Universität Weimar entstanden im Rahmen des DFG Sonderforschungsbereich 524 "Werkzeuge und Konstruktionen für die Revitalisierung von Bauwerken" in den letzten Jahren Konzepte und Prototypen zur fachlich orientierten Unterstützung der Planung im Bestand. Der Fokus lag dabei in der Erfassung aller planungsrelevanter Bestandsdaten und der Abbildung dieser in einem dynamischen Bauwerksmodell. Aufbauend auf diesen Forschungsarbeiten befasst sich der Artikel mit der kontextbezogenen Weiterverwendung und gezielten Bereitstellung von Bestandsdaten im Prozess des Planens im Bestand und der Integration von Konzepten der planungsrelevanten Bestandserfassung in marktübliche CAAD/BIM Systeme.
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 analysis of the response of complex structural systems requires the description of the material constitutive relations by means of an appropriate material model. The level of abstraction of such model may strongly affect the quality of the prognosis of the whole structure. In context to this fact, it is necessary to describe the material in a convenient sense as exact but as simple as possible. All material phenomena of crystalline materials e.g. steel, affecting the behavior of the structure, rely on physical effects which are interacting over spatial scales from subatomic to macroscopic range. Nevertheless, if the material is microscopically heterogenic, it might be appropriate to use phenomenological models for the purpose of civil engineering. Although constantly applied, these models are insufficient for steel materials with microscopic characteristics such as texture, typically occurring in hot rolled steel members or heat affected zones of welded joints. Hence, texture is manifested in crystalline materials as a regular crystallographic structure and crystallite orientation, influencing macroscopic material properties. The analysis of structural response of material with texture (e.g. rolled steel or heat affected zone of a welded joint) obliges the extension of the phenomenological material description of macroscopic scale by means of microscopic information. This paper introduces an enrichment approach for material models based on a hierarchical multiscale methodology. This has been done by describing the grain texture on a mesoscopic scale and coupling it with macroscopic constitutive relations by means of homogenization. Due to a variety of available homogenization methods, the question of an assessment of coupling quality arises. The applicability of the method and the effect of the coupling method on the reliability of the response are presented on an example.
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.
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.
Practical examples show that the improvement in cost flow and total amount of money spend in construction and further use may be cut significantly. The calculation is based on spreadsheets calculation, very easy to develop on most PC´s now a days. Construction works, are a field where the evaluation of Cash Flow can be and should be applied. Decisions about cash flow in construction are decisions with long-term impact and long-term memory. Mistakes from the distant past have a massive impact on situations in the present and into the far economic future of economic activities. Two approaches exist. The Just-in-Time (JIT) approach and life cycle costs (LCC) approach. The calculation example shows the dynamic results for the production speed in opposition to stable flow of production in duration of activities. More sophisticated rescheduling in optimal solution might bring in return extra profit. In the technologies and organizational processes for industrial buildings, railways and road reconstruction, public utilities and housing developments there are assembly procedures that are very appropriate for the given purpose, complicated research-, development-, innovation-projects are all very good aspects of these kinds of applications. The investors of large investments and all public invested money may be spent more efficiently if an optimisation speed-strategy can be calculated.
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.
Cost and Schedule Controlling in Relation to Liquidity Management during Construction Projects
(2004)
The present paper describes a software application which can be used for relating the scheduled events of a construction project with the respective financial parameters, leading to an overall improvement in general controlling and liquidity management. For this purpose, existing construction schedules are taken and details of the assignment are recorded. Thus it becomes possible to assess a future payment status should changes in the designated schedule occur.
Buildings can be divided into various types and described by a huge number of parameters. Within the life cycle of a building, especially during the design and construction phases, a lot of engineers with different points of view, proprietary applications and data formats are involved. The collaboration of all participating engineers is characterised by a high amount of communication. Due to these aspects, a homogeneous building model for all engineers is not feasible. The status quo of civil engineering is the segmentation of the complete model into partial models. Currently, the interdependencies of these partial models are not in the focus of available engineering solutions. This paper addresses the problem of coupling partial models in civil engineering. According to the state-of-the-art, applications and partial models are formulated by the object-oriented method. Although this method solves basic communication problems like subclass coupling directly it was found that many relevant coupling problems remain to be solved. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse and classify the relevant coupling types in building modelling. Coupling in computer science refers to the relationship between modules and their mutual interaction and can be divided into different coupling types. The coupling types differ on the degree by which the coupled modules rely upon each other. This is exemplified by a general reference example from civil engineering. A uniform formulation of coupling patterns is described analogously to design patterns, which are a common methodology in software engineering. Design patterns are templates for describing a general reusable solution to a commonly occurring problem. A template is independent of the programming language and the operating system. These coupling patterns are selected according to the specific problems of building modelling. A specific meta-model for coupling problems in civil engineering is introduced. In our meta-model the coupling patterns are a semantic description of a specific coupling design.
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.
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.
DECENTRALIZED APPROACHES TO ADAPTIVE TRAFFIC CONTROL AND AN EXTENDED LEVEL OF SERVICE CONCEPT
(2006)
Traffic systems are highly complex multi-component systems suffering from instabilities and non-linear dynamics, including chaos. This is caused by the non-linearity of interactions, delays, and fluctuations, which can trigger phenomena such as stop-and-go waves, noise-induced breakdowns, or slower-is-faster effects. The recently upcoming information and communication technologies (ICT) promise new solutions leading from the classical, centralized control to decentralized approaches in the sense of collective (swarm) intelligence and ad hoc networks. An interesting application field is adaptive, self-organized traffic control in urban road networks. We present control principles that allow one to reach a self-organized synchronization of traffic lights. Furthermore, vehicles will become automatic traffic state detection, data management, and communication centers when forming ad hoc networks through inter-vehicle communication (IVC). We discuss the mechanisms and the efficiency of message propagation on freeways by short-range communication. Our main focus is on future adaptive cruise control systems (ACC), which will not only increase the comfort and safety of car passengers, but also enhance the stability of traffic flows and the capacity of the road (“traffic assistance”). We present an automated driving strategy that adapts the operation mode of an ACC system to the autonomously detected, local traffic situation. The impact on the traffic dynamics is investigated by means of a multi-lane microscopic traffic simulation. The simulation scenarios illustrate the efficiency of the proposed driving strategy. Already an ACC equipment level of 10% improves the traffic flow quality and reduces the travel times for the drivers drastically due to delaying or preventing a breakdown of the traffic flow. For the evaluation of the resulting traffic quality, we have recently developed an extended level of service concept (ELOS). We demonstrate our concept on the basis of travel times as the most important variable for a user-oriented quality of service.
Sensor faults can affect the dependability and the accuracy of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. Recent studies demonstrate that artificial neural networks can be used to detect sensor faults. In this paper, decentralized artificial neural networks (ANNs) are applied for autonomous sensor fault detection. On each sensor node of a wireless SHM system, an ANN is implemented to measure and to process structural response data. Structural response data is predicted by each sensor node based on correlations between adjacent sensor nodes and on redundancies inherent in the SHM system. Evaluating the deviations (or residuals) between measured and predicted data, sensor faults are autonomously detected by the wireless sensor nodes in a fully decentralized manner. A prototype SHM system implemented in this study, which is capable of decentralized autonomous sensor fault detection, is validated in laboratory experiments through simulated sensor faults. Several topologies and modes of operation of the embedded ANNs are investigated with respect to the dependability and the accuracy of the fault detection approach. In conclusion, the prototype SHM system is able to accurately detect sensor faults, demonstrating that neural networks, processing decentralized structural response data, facilitate autonomous fault detection, thus increasing the dependability and the accuracy of structural health monitoring systems.
Bridge vibration due to traffic loading has been subject of extensive research in the last decades. Such studies are concerned with deriving solutions for the bridge-vehicle interaction (BVI) and analyzing the dynamic responses considering randomness of the coupled model’s (BVI) input parameters and randomness of road unevenness. This study goes further to examine the effects of such randomness of input parameters and processes on the variance of dynamic responses in quantitative measures. The input parameters examined in the sensitivity analysis are, stiffness and damping of vehicle’s suspension system, axle spacing, and stiffness and damping of bridge. This study also examines the effects of the initial excitation of a vehicle on the influences of the considered input parameters. Variance based sensitivity analysis is often applied to deterministic models. However, the models for the dynamic problem is a stochastic one due to the simulations of the random processes. Thus, a setting using a joint meta-model; one for the mean response and other for the dispersion of the response is developed. The joint model is developed within the framework of Generalized Linear Models (GLM). An enhancement of the GLM procedure is suggested and tested; this enhancement incorporates Moving Least Squares (MLS) approximation algorithms in the fitting of the mean component of the joint model. The sensitivity analysis is then performed on the joint-model developed for the dynamic responses caused by BVI.
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.
DISCRETE CRACK MODEL OF BORCZ FOR CALCULATING THE DEFLECTIONS OF BENDING REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAM
(2012)
In the design of the reinforced concrete beams loaded by the bending moment, it is assumed that the structure can be used at a level of load, that there are local discontinuities - cracks. Designing the element demands checking two limit states of construction, load capacity and usability. Limit states usability include also the deflection of the element. Deflections in the reinforced concrete beams with cracks are based on actual rigidity of the element. After cracking there is a local change in rigidity of the beam. The rigidity is variable in the element’s length and due to the heterogeneous structure of concrete, it is not possible to clearly describe those changes. Most standards of testing methods tend to simplify the calculations and take the average value of the beam’s rigidity on its entire length. The rigidity depends on the level of the maximal load of the beam. Experimental researches verify the value by inserting the coefficients into the formulas used in the theory of elasticity. The researches describe the changes in rigidity in the beam’s length more precisely. The authors take into consideration the change of rigidity, depending on the level of maximum load (continuum models), or localize the changes in rigidity in the area of the cracks (discrete models). This paper presents one of the discrete models. It is distinguished by the fact that the left side of the differential equation, that depends on the rigidity, is constant, and all effects associated with the scratches are taken as the external load and placed on the right side of the equation. This allows to generalize the description. The paper presents a particular integral of the differential equation, which allow analyzing the displacement and vibration for different rigidity of the silo’s walls, the flow rate and type of the flowing material.
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.
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.
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.
Available construction time-cost trade-off analysis models can be used to generate trade-offs between these two important objectives, however, their application is limited in large-scale construction projects due to their impractical computational requirements. This paper presents the development of a scalable and multi-objective genetic algorithm that provides the capability of simultaneously optimizing construction time and cost large-scale construction projects. The genetic algorithm was implemented in a distributed computing environment that utilizes a recent standard for parallel and distributed programming called the message passing interface (MPI). The performance of the model is evaluated using a set of measures of performance and the results demonstrate the capability of the present model in significantly reducing the computational time required to optimize large-scale construction projects.
Recently there has been a surge of interest in PDEs involving fractional derivatives in different fields of engineering. In this extended abstract we present some of the results developedin [3]. We compute the fundamental solution for the three-parameter fractional Laplace operator Δ by transforming the eigenfunction equation into an integral equation and applying the method of separation of variables. The obtained solutions are expressed in terms of Mittag-Leffer functions. For more details we refer the interested reader to [3] where it is also presented an operational approach based on the two Laplace transform.
In nonlinear simulations the loading is, in general, applied in an incremental way. Path-following algorithms are used to trace the equilibrium path during the failure process. Standard displacement controlled solution strategies fail if snap-back phenomena occur. In this contribution, a path-following algorithm based on the dissipation of the inelastic energy is presented which allows for the simulation of snap-backs. Since the constraint is defined in terms of the internal energy, the algorithm is not restricted to continuum damage models. Furthermore, no a priori knowledge about the final damage distribution is required. The performance of the proposed algorithm is illustrated using nonlinear mesoscale simulations.
The use of process models in the analysis, optimization and simulation of processes has proven to be extremely beneficial in the instances where they could be applied appropriately. However, the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industries present unique challenges that complicate the modeling of their processes. A simple Engineering process model, based on the specification of Tasks, Datasets, Persons and Tools, and certain relations between them, have been developed, and its advantages over conventional techniques have been illustrated. Graph theory is used as the mathematical foundation mapping Tasks, Datasets, Persons and Tools to vertices and the relations between them to edges forming a directed graph. The acceptance of process modeling in AEC industries not only depends on the results it can provide, but the ease at which these results can be attained. Specifying a complex AEC process model is a dynamic exercise that is characterized by many modifications over the process model's lifespan. This article looks at reducing specification complexity, reducing the probability for erroneous input and allowing consistent model modification. Furthermore, the problem of resource leveling is discussed. Engineering projects are often executed with limited resources and determining the impact of such restrictions on the sequence of Tasks is important. Resource Leveling concerns itself with these restrictions caused by limited resources. This article looks at using Task shifting strategies to find a near-optimal sequence of Tasks that guarantees consistent Dataset evolution while resolving resource restrictions.
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 aim of this study is to show an application of model robustness measures for soilstructure interaction (henceforth written as SSI) models. Model robustness defines a measure for the ability of a model to provide useful model answers for input parameters which typically have a wide range in geotechnical engineering. The calculation of SSI is a major problem in geotechnical engineering. Several different models exist for the estimation of SSI. These can be separated into analytical, semi-analytical and numerical methods. This paper focuses on the numerical models of SSI specific macro-element type models and more advanced finite element method models using contact description as continuum or interface elements. A brief description of the models used is given in the paper. Following this description, the applied SSI problem is introduced. The observed event is a static loaded shallow foundation with an inclined load. The different partial models to consider the SSI effects are assessed using different robustness measures during numerical application. The paper shows the investigation of the capability to use these measures for the assessment of the model quality of SSI partial models. A variance based robustness and a mathematical robustness approaches are applied. These different robustness measures are used in a framework which allows also the investigation of computational time consuming models. Finally the result shows that the concept of using robustness approaches combined with other model–quality indicators (e.g. model sensitivity or model reliability) can lead to unique model–quality assessment for SSI models.
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 photogrammetry and computer vision the trifocal tensor is used to describe the geometric relation between projections of points in three views. In this paper we analyze the stability and accuracy of the metric trifocal tensor for calibrated cameras. Since a minimal parameterization of the metric trifocal tensor is challenging, the additional constraints of the interior orientation are applied to the well-known projective 6-point and 7-point algorithms for three images. The experimental results show that the linear 7-point algorithm fails for some noise-free degenerated cases, whereas the minimal 6-point algorithm seems to be competitive even with realistic noise.
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.
The present article proposes an alternative way to compute the torsional stiffness based on three-dimensional continuum mechanics instead of applying a specific theory of torsion. A thin, representative beam slice is discretized by solid finite elements. Adequate boundary conditions and coupling conditions are integrated into the numerical model to obtain a proper answer on the torsion behaviour, thus on shear center, shear stress and torsional stiffness. This finite element approach only includes general assumptions of beam torsion which are independent of cross-section geometry. These assumptions essentially are: no in-plane deformation, constant torsion and free warping. Thus it is possible to achieve numerical solutions of high accuracy for arbitrary cross-sections. Due to the direct link to three-dimensional continuum mechanics, it is possible to extend the range of torsion analysis to sections which are composed of different materials or even to heterogeneous beams on a high scale of resolution. A brief study follows to validate the implementation and results are compared to analytical solutions.
We establish the basis of a discrete function theory starting with a Fischer decomposition for difference Dirac operators. Discrete versions of homogeneous polynomials, Euler and Gamma operators are obtained. As a consequence we obtain a Fischer decomposition for the discrete Laplacian. For the sake of simplicity we consider in the first part only Dirac operators which contain only forward or backward finite differences. Of course, these Dirac operators do not factorize the classic discrete Laplacian. Therefore, we will consider a different definition of a difference Dirac operator in the quaternionic case which do factorizes the discrete Laplacian.
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.
In this paper we present some rudiments of a generalized Wiman-Valiron theory in the context of polymonogenic functions. In particular, we analyze the relations between different notions of growth orders and the Taylor coefficients. Our main intention is to look for generalizations of the Lindel¨of-Pringsheim theorem. In contrast to the classical holomorphic and the monogenic setting we only obtain inequality relations in the polymonogenic setting. This is due to the fact that the Almansi-Fischer decomposition of a polymonogenic function consists of different monogenic component functions where each of them can have a totally different kind of asymptotic growth behavior.
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.
As a result of the pilot-project “Grundwasser-Online” the supervision and the active controlling of large monitoring- and catchment-areas are realised by a co-operative integration of all related institutions, a synchronisation-process to combine all distributed data into one central server database, and a high-level eGovernment-Service to provide evaluated information over the internet. Based on this software system the local authorities are able to supervise the groundwater-levels and to find adequate decisions, which finally result in official permissions for the usage of groundwater-reservoirs by the water supply companies.
We give a sufficient and a necessary condition for an analytic function "f" on the unit disk "D" with Hadamard gap to belong to a class of weighted logarithmic Bloch space as well as to the corresponding little weighted logarithmic Bloch space under some conditions posed on the defined weight function. Also, we study the relations between the class of weighted logarithmic Bloch functions and some other classes of analytic functions by the help of analytic functions in the Hadamard gap class.
The one-dimensional continuous wavelet transform is a successful tool for signal and image analysis, with applications in physics and engineering. Clifford analysis offers an appropriate framework for taking wavelets to higher dimension. In the usual orthogonal case Clifford analysis focusses on monogenic functions, i.e. null solutions of the rotation invariant vector valued Dirac operator ∂, defined in terms of an orthogonal basis for the quadratic space Rm underlying the construction of the Clifford algebra R0,m. An intrinsic feature of this function theory is that it encompasses all dimensions at once, as opposed to a tensorial approach with products of one-dimensional phenomena. This has allowed for a very specific construction of higher dimensional wavelets and the development of the corresponding theory, based on generalizations of classical orthogonal polynomials on the real line, such as the radial Clifford-Hermite polynomials introduced by Sommen. In this paper, we pass to the Hermitian Clifford setting, i.e. we let the same set of generators produce the complex Clifford algebra C2n (with even dimension), which we equip with a Hermitian conjugation and a Hermitian inner product. Hermitian Clifford analysis then focusses on the null solutions of two mutually conjugate Hermitian Dirac operators which are invariant under the action of the unitary group. In this setting we construct new Clifford-Hermite polynomials, starting in a natural way from a Rodrigues formula which now involves both Dirac operators mentioned. Due to the specific features of the Hermitian setting, four different types of polynomials are obtained, two types of even degree and two types of odd degree. These polynomials are used to introduce a new continuous wavelet transform, after thorough investigation of all necessary properties of the involved polynomials, the mother wavelet and the associated family of wavelet kernels.
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.
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.
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.
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.
HYPERMONOGENIC POLYNOMIALS
(2006)
It is well know that the power function is not monogenic. There are basically two ways to include the power function into the set of solutions: The hypermonogenic functions or holomorphic Cliffordian functions. L. Pernas has found out the dimension of the space of homogenous holomorphic Cliffordian polynomials of degree m, but his approach did not include a basis. It is known that the hypermonogenic functions are included in the space of holomorphic Cliffordian functions. As our main result we show that we can construct a basis for the right module of homogeneous holomorphic Cliffordian polynomials of degree m using hypermonogenic polynomials and their derivatives. To that end we first recall the function spaces of monogenic, hypermonogenic and holomorphic Cliffordian functions and give the results needed in the proof of our main theorem. We list some basic polynomials and their properties for the various function spaces. In particular, we consider recursive formulas, rules of differentiation and properties of linear independency for the polynomials.
IFC-BASED MONITORING INFORMATION MODELING FOR DATA MANAGEMENT IN STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING
(2015)
This conceptual paper discusses opportunities and challenges towards the digital representation of structural health monitoring systems using the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) standard. State-of-the-art sensor nodes, collecting structural and environmental data from civil infrastructure systems, are capable of processing and analyzing the data sets directly on-board the nodes. Structural health monitoring (SHM) based on sensor nodes that possess so called “on-chip intelligence” is, in this study, referred to as “intelligent SHM”, and the infrastructure system being equipped with an intelligent SHM system is referred to as “intelligent infrastructure”. Although intelligent SHM will continue to grow, it is not possible, on a well-defined formalism, to digitally represent information about sensors, about the overall SHM system, and about the monitoring strategies being implemented (“monitoring-related information”). Based on a review of available SHM regulations and guidelines as well as existing sensor models and sensor modeling languages, this conceptual paper investigates how to digitally represent monitoring-related information in a semantic model. With the Industry Foundation Classes, there exists an open standard for the digital representation of building information; however, it is not possible to represent monitoring-related information using the IFC object model. This paper proposes a conceptual approach for extending the current IFC object model in order to include monitoring-related information. Taking civil infrastructure systems as an illustrative example, it becomes possible to adequately represent, process, and exchange monitoring-related information throughout the whole life cycle of civil infrastructure systems, which is referred to as monitoring information modeling (MIM). However, since this paper is conceptual, additional research efforts are required to further investigate, implement, and validate the proposed concepts and methods.
Reducing energy consumption is one of the major challenges for present day and will continue for future generations. The emerging EU directives relating to energy (EU EPBD and the EU Directive on Emissions Trading) now place demands on building owners to rate the energy performance of their buildings for efficient energy management. Moreover European Legislation (Directive 2006/32/EC) requires Facility Managers to reduce building energy consumption and operational costs. Currently sophisticated building services systems are available integrating off-the-shelf building management components. However this ad-hoc combination presents many difficulties to building owners in the management and upgrade of these systems. This paper addresses the need for integration concepts, holistic monitoring and analysis methodologies, life-cycle oriented decision support and sophisticated control strategies through the seamless integration of people, ICT-devices and computational resources via introducing the newly developed integrated system architecture. The first concept was applied to a residential building and the results were elaborated to improve current building conditions.
The present research analyses the error on prediction obtained under different data availability scenarios to determine which measurements contribute to an improvement of model prognosis and which not. A fully coupled 2D hydromechanical model of a water retaining dam is taken as an example. Here, the mean effective stress in the porous skeleton is reduced due to an increase in pore water pressure under drawdown conditions. Relevant model parameters are ranked by scaled sensitivities, Particle Swarm Optimization is applied to determine the optimal parameter values and model validation is performed to determine the magnitude of error forecast. We compare the predictions of the optimized models with results from a forward run of the reference model to obtain actual prediction errors.
The analyses presented here were performed to 31 data sets of 100 observations of varying data types. Calibrating with multiple information types instead of only one sort, brings better calibration results and improvement in model prognosis. However, when using several types of information the number of observations have to be increased to be able to cover a representative part of the model domain; otherwise a compromise between data availability and domain
coverage prove best. Which type of information for calibration contributes to the best prognoses, could not be determined in advance. For the error in model prognosis does not depends on the error in calibration, but on the parameter error, which unfortunately can not be determined in reality since we do not know its real value. Excellent calibration fits with parameters’ values near the limits of reasonable physical values, provided the highest prognosis errors. While models which included excess pore pressure values for calibration provided the best prognosis, independent of the calibration fit.
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.
Euclidean Clifford analysis is a higher dimensional function theory offering a refinement of classical harmonic analysis. The theory is centered around the concept of monogenic functions, i.e. null solutions of a first order vector valued rotation invariant differential operator called the Dirac operator, which factorizes the Laplacian. More recently, Hermitean Clifford analysis has emerged as a new and successful branch of Clifford analysis, offering yet a refinement of the Euclidean case; it focusses on the simultaneous null solutions, called Hermitean (or h-) monogenic functions, of two Hermitean Dirac operators which are invariant under the action of the unitary group. In Euclidean Clifford analysis, the Clifford-Cauchy integral formula has proven to be a corner stone of the function theory, as is the case for the traditional Cauchy formula for holomorphic functions in the complex plane. Previously, a Hermitean Clifford-Cauchy integral formula has been established by means of a matrix approach. This formula reduces to the traditional Martinelli-Bochner formula for holomorphic functions of several complex variables when taking functions with values in an appropriate part of complex spinor space. This means that the theory of Hermitean monogenic functions should encompass also other results of several variable complex analysis as special cases. At present we will elaborate further on the obtained results and refine them, considering fundamental solutions, Borel-Pompeiu representations and the Teoderescu inversion, each of them being developed at different levels, including the global level, handling vector variables, vector differential operators and the Clifford geometric product as well as the blade level were variables and differential operators act by means of the dot and wedge products. A rich world of results reveals itself, indeed including well-known formulae from the theory of several complex variables.
Integrated Engineering Workflow focused on the Structural Engineering in the Industrial Environment
(2004)
The engineering and construction industry has been slow to exploit the full potential of information technology. The industry is highly fragmented, price sensitive, risk-adverse, and profit margins are small. Each project is unique with a small amount of technological innovation opportunities to capitalise on from one project to the next. Technological innovations that have been taking place are just simulating the old traditional paper workflow. Engineering information in digital form is being conveyed using traditional paper representations, which have to be interpreted by humans before the information can be used in other applications, thereby creating ‘islands of information’. It can be seen that poorly implemented IT strategies are duplicating paperwork, rather than reducing or eliminating it (Crowley et al., 2000). This paper will introduce the Integrated Engineering Workflow (IEW) concept to re-organise a structural discipline working on multi-disciplinary projects so as to maximise the advantages offered by new information technology.
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.
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.