Structural Engineering Software Research Articles

Civil Engineering students’ response to visualisation learning experience with building information model

The paper presents a study of Civil Engineering students’ responses to a questionnaire on their visualisation learning experience with Building Information Modelling (BIM). Fourth-year undergraduate students of the Civil Engineering Course at Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, were participants of the survey. BIM was introduced and incorporated into two subjects (called Units hereafter), namely Construction Technology (CT), and Integrated Design and Construction (IDC). Training was provided to students on the use of the modelling tool, structural engineering software, construction scheduling and simulation software, and how to transfer files in a BIM environment. In the CT Unit, the use of BIM tools was demonstrated through worked examples and students were given assessment tasks to create a model, perform structural analysis and design, and produce construction scheduling and simulation. In the IDC Unit, the assessment task contained a larger scope requiring a more collaborative approach and roles changing to simulate the complete process of the design, tender and construction phases of a project; however, the use of BIM tools was optional. Details of the work tasks given in the Units and the learning outcomes will be presented. The results from the questionnaire survey show that students were very enthusiastic and agreed that learning BIM technology would benefit them, with many respondents indicating they preferred to start learning from as early as in their first year. This outcome enforces the much-needed paradigm shift in teaching and learning from being traditional to more technology-based learning.

Structural Design and Construction of Complex-Shaped Tall Buildings

Today's diverse architectural design trends have produced tall buildings of various forms, such as twisted, tilted, and free forms, as can be seen in the Infinity Tower in Dubai, Veer Towers in Las Vegas and Phare Tower project in Paris. This paper studies various structural system design options for these complex-shaped tall buildings and their performances. For each complex form category, tall buildings are designed with different contemporary structural systems, such as diagrids, braced tubes and outrigger systems. The structural efficiency of each system, in conjunction with building forms, heights and height-to-width aspect ratios, is studied. Parametric structural models are generated to investigate the impacts of variation of important geometric configurations of complex-shaped tall buildings. The models are then exported to structural engineering software for analyses and design. Based on the study results, comparative structural efficiency of different structural systems for tall buildings of each complex form category is estimated.

COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCY BETWEEN STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS FOR COMPLEX-SHAPED TALL BUILDINGS

This paper presents various structural system design options for complex-shaped tall buildings—such as twisted, tilted, and freeform tall buildings—and evaluates their comparative structural efficiency. For each complex form category, tall buildings are designed with different contemporary tall building structural systems, e.g., diagrids, braced tubes, and outrigger systems. Comparative structural efficiency between these systems in conjunction with building forms and height is studied. The heights of the studied buildings range from 60 to 100 stories, and the corresponding height-to-width aspect ratios range from 6.5 to 10.8. Parametric structural models are generated with Rhino/Grasshopper to investigate the impacts of various important geometric configurations of complex-shaped tall buildings, such as the rate of twist, angle of tilt, and degree of fluctuation of free form. The parametric models are exported to structural engineering software SAP2000 for analyses and design. Based on the study results, comparative structural efficiency between different structural systems of each complex form category is presented.

Diagrid Structures for Complex-Shaped Tall Buildings

Diagrid structures are widely used for today’s tall buildings due to their distinguished architectural aesthetics in any existing urban context and structural efficiency in carrying lateral loads. With prevalent emergence of complex-shaped buildings throughout the world, this paper investigates structural efficiency of diagrid structures employed for complex-shaped tall buildings, such as twisted, tilted and freeform towers. For each complex form category, tall buildings are designed with diagrid systems, and their structural efficiency is studied in conjunction with building forms. In order to investigate the impacts of various important geometric configurations of complex-shaped tall buildings, parametric models are generated using appropriate computer programs, and the models are exported to structural engineering software for design and analyses. Based on the study results, structural efficiency of diagrids for tall buildings of each complex form category is estimated.

Diagrid Structures for Complex-Shaped Tall Buildings

Diagrid structures are widely used for today’s tall buildings due to their distinguished architectural aesthetics in any existing urban context and structural efficiency in carrying lateral loads. With prevalent emergence of complex-shaped buildings throughout the world, this paper investigates structural efficiency of diagrid structures employed for complex-shaped tall buildings, such as twisted, tilted and freeform towers. For each complex form category, tall buildings are designed with diagrid systems, and their structural efficiency is studied in conjunction with building forms. In order to investigate the impacts of various important geometric configurations of complex-shaped tall buildings, parametric models are generated using appropriate computer programs, and the models are exported to structural engineering software for design and analyses. Based on the study results, structural efficiency of diagrids for tall buildings of each complex form category is estimated.

Braced Tube Structures for Complex-Shaped Tall Buildings

Braced tubes, which carry lateral loads by axial actions of the perimeter columns and bracings, are very efficient structural systems for tall buildings. This paper investigates structural efficiency of braced tube structures employed for complex-shaped tall buildings, such as twisted, tilted and tapered towers. For each complex form category, tall buildings are designed with braced tube systems, and their structural efficiency is studied in conjunction with building forms. In order to investigate the impacts of various important geometric configurations of complex-shaped tall buildings, parametric models are generated using appropriate computer programs, and the models are exported to structural engineering software for design and analyses. Based on the study results, structural efficiency of braced tubes for each complex form category is estimated.

Automated extraction and classification of thunderstorm and non-thunderstorm wind data for extreme-value analysis

Design wind loads are partly based on extreme value analyses of historical wind data, and limitations on the quantity and spatial resolution of wind data pose a significant challenge in such analyses. A promising source of recent wind speed and direction data is the automated surface observing system (ASOS), a network of about 1000 standardized US weather stations. To facilitate the use of ASOS data for structural engineering purposes, procedures and software are presented for (a) extraction of peak gust wind data and thunderstorm observations from archived ASOS reports, (b) classification of wind data as thunderstorm or non-thunderstorm to enable separate analyses, and (c) construction of data sets separated by specified minimum time intervals to ensure statistical independence. The procedures are illustrated using approximately 20-year datasets from three ASOS stations near New York City. It is shown that for these stations thunderstorm wind speeds dominate the extreme wind climate at long return periods. Also presented are estimates based on commingled data sets (i.e., sets containing, indiscriminately, both non-thunderstorm and thunderstorm wind speeds), which until now have been used almost exclusively for extreme wind speed estimates in the US. Analyses at additional stations will be needed to check whether these results are typical for locations with both thunderstorm and non-thunderstorm winds.

Framework for a general section designer software component

The Component-Based Software Development (CBSD) has established itself as a sound paradigm in the software engineering discipline and has gained wide spread acceptance in the industry. The CBSD relies on the availability of standard software components for encapsulation of specific functionality. This paper presents the framework for the development of a software component for the design of general member cross-sections. The proposed component can be used in component-based structural engineering software or as a stand-alone program developed around the component. This paper describes the use-case scenarios for the component, its design patterns, object models, class hierarchy, the integrated and unified handling of cross-section behavior and implementation issue. It is expected that a component developed using the proposed patterns and model can be used in analysis, design and detailing packages to handle reinforced concrete, partially prestressed concrete, steel-concrete composite and steel sections. The component can provide the entire response parameters of the cross section including determination of geometric properties, elastic stresses, flexural capacity, moment-curvature, and ductility ratios. The component can also be used as the main computational engine for stand-alone section design software. The component can be further extended to handle the retrofitting and strengthening of cross-sections, shear and torsional response, determination of fire-damage parameters, etc.

Object-Oriented Paradigm in Programming for Computer-Aided Analysis of Structures

The concept of object-oriented programming (OOP) has redefined the design and development of large-scale codes worldwide and is now the order of the day in the software industry. Although OOP offers enormous potential in the scientific software business, this innovative programming technique has yet to find a niche in the development of structural engineering software. The present paper is an attempt to highlight the superior programming capability offered by the OOP approach in computer-aided analysis and design of civil engineering structures. The paper presents a brief theoretical background on the important basic and advanced concepts of OOP within the context of structural engineering. The paper explains the relevant fundamentals of object-oriented modeling and design in structural engineering for the orientation of civil engineering professionals who are new to the concept of OOP. The paper provides simple examples of object-oriented programs for elementary structural analysis to illustrate implementation of the OOP paradigm for computational structural analysis. User-code fragments with accompanying commentary are included to provide more detailed directions to structural engineers who wish to adopt the OOP paradigm. The paper also includes a brief review of the evolution that the computational programming paradigm has undergone over the past few decades to cope with the increasing complexity of software. A comparison of currently prevalent programming paradigms is presented to illustrate the relative advantages of OOP for large-scale software applications in structural engineering.

Editorial: Assessing the Accuracy of Computing in Structural (Seismic) Engineering

This editorial concerns the attention that engineers often give to precision. It presents examples of several material property uncertainties that have and will continue to cause failures, drawing examples from the Northridge earthquake to show that failures often do not occur where expected because of anisotropic materials and imperfect construction, especially at joints. With improved computing power, engineers can become overly confident in the capability of structural engineering software. Many contemporary seismic design frame analysis programs contain too many assumptions not substantiated by sufficient testing. It is concluded that greater precision is not necessarily greater accuracy.

A Model for Teaching Structures: Finite Element Analysis in Architectural Education

A six-year experiment using an unconventional teaching approach and advanced structural engineering software to teach structures to architecture students has been conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, and has resulted in the formulation of a comprehensive model for teaching structures. This model may help solve the general problem of effectively teaching and integrating structures within an architecture curriculum. This article discusses conventional teaching approaches and their shortcomings, outlines the new model by presenting twelve foundational tenets, briefly describes finite element analysis, and argues for the appropriateness of using finite element analysis as a tool for learning. The article then examines the detailed implementation of the model in a single course, and it concludes by describing a prototype curriculum that has grown from the teaching model and its underlying philosophies.

A computer adaptive language for the development of structural analysis programs

A group of FORTRAN 77 subroutines is presented which are designed to augment the standard fortran language and to produce a new higher-order, machine-independent language for the development of structural engineering software. The group of subroutines which comprise the Computer Adaptive Language for the development of Structural Analysis Programs, CAL/SAP, is designed to operate effectively on micro, supermini and mainframe computers. The CAL/SAP system has been used as the basis for the development of the SAP-80 series of programs and for CAL-80, a series of interactive programs for Computer Assisted Learning of structural analysis and design. The subroutines which define the CAL/SAP development system are divided into the following three categories: • • First, a series of free-field input routines allows input data to be specified in a consistent manner, in arbitrary order, with optional name identification and in arithmetic statement form. • • Second, a set of incore data management subroutines allows dynamic storage allocation to be accomplished with integer, real and ASCII data with a minimum of programming effort. These subroutines eliminate paging problems on modern super minicomputers with virtual operating systems. • • Third, an out-of-core data management system allows different programs to access the same data. Simple operations allow data transfer between the in and out-of-core systems. The out-of-core data base provides for sequential, direct access and bulk data files. Communication between different data bases allows techniques such as multilevel substructure analysis to be implemented with a minimum of programming. The use of the CAL/SAP development system allows computer programs to be rapidly developed and maintained. Also, it can be used to upgrade existing software in order to obtain modularity and to operate efficiently on the new generation of computer systems. The purpose of this paper is to present the CAL/SAP development system and to illustrate that computer independent programs in structural engineering and computational mechanics can be developed which operate on both large and small computers.