Interoperability level for bridge structural analysis from the IFC data interpretation

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Importing IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) data from bridge structural models into structural analysis software is common in the BIM (Building Information Modeling) workflow. However, some software tools still do not import IFC data in the extended version that covers bridge models. In addition, there is a lack of a holistic framework for determining indicators that effectively represent the interoperability level for bridge structural analysis. To prevent data loss in bridge models, this work proposes a tool for interpreting IFC data related to the semantics of bridge elements, geometry, and material properties. A new methodology was developed to quantitatively evaluate an interoperability level for bridges structural analysis, considering the relevance of the imported information by defining numerical weight values. Then, a new framework was proposed for determining each data flow’s Interoperability Level for Bridge Structural Analysis (ILBSA). The interoperability level results showed that commercial bridge structural analysis software requires significant advances in interpreting IFC data.