Capturing Engineering Knowledge : Concepts of Automation in Bridge Design

Abstract: In this thesis, the aim was to create an automation platform for bridge design using knowledge-based engineering (KBE) concepts. More specifically, the focus was put on the ultimate limit state design of reinforced concrete bridge columns. Compared to other engineering industries like manufacturing, the construction in- dustry only has a limited degree of automation, even though technically feasible automation already exist. This thesis proposes an automation framework, which has been developed using the object-oriented programming (OOP) paradigm in python. The platform employs a general piece of geometric logic on which a section analysis module is based that can analyse the normal force and two bending moments around mutually orthogonal axes in a reinforced concrete section of a column. The geometric logic is constructed out of six OOP classes, that are able to define a reinforced concrete section, and out of a set of three more OOP classes, that define the material parameters. The section analysis tool is based on the computation of limit surfaces for reinforced concrete sections. From these limit surfaces, interaction diagrams have been derived by taking plane sections of the limit surface. The verification of the automation application has been done by comparing in- teraction diagrams from the literature with interaction diagrams produced by the automation application. The comparison showed that both results coincided, taking into account some simplifications. Additionally, the automation framework is thought to be suitable for fulfilling a data management role in the design process, which is worthwhile to further investigate upon. The automation application can be further improved by augmenting the existing analysis modules with modules for other reinforced concrete elements or other construction materials.