Prototyp - PRED
CIB - Dresden, LAP - Stuttgart. A prototype system
forming an interactive, integrated and intelligent tool for
assistance in the preliminary design of the bearing structure
of reinforced concrete industrial buildings has been
implemented as an independent submodule of the COMBI
project.
The system has an object-oriented design and uses artificial
intelligence technology to derive suggestions for appropriate
design steps and system solutions in a given design
context.
The functionality provided by PRED includes hierarchical design
support, 2D visualisation, integration of analysis tools for
verification, a STEP interface to the product modelling
integration framework, cost estimation and automatic
re-configuration in the case of changes.
The conceptual and preliminary design of a building structure
are design stages in which both intentions and contributions of
the architect and the structural engineer intersect. Thus one
important aspect of preliminary structural design is to regard
the structural model as a part of the whole building model.
Approaching structural design simply from the side of design
analysis will remarkably depart from the idea of design as an
integrated process between the different, sometimes diverging
factors controlling the building design.
The quality and correctness of the first assumptions and kernel
ideas in the early design stages govern the extent of
modifications that are necessary for the exact structural
analysis at the final design stage and are therefore essential
for the effectivity and quality of the design as a whole.
The prototype design system PRED developed in the COMBI project
serves as an assistant to the designer (architect as well as
structural engineer). It helps to derive early conclusions on
the structural system of a building and the dimensions of its
main members and allows evaluation of the solution against
present constraints, rules and criteria. The designer is
actively supported in developing the structural bearing system
always having a high degree of interaction. On the basis of the
modelled knowledge, the design assistant system will try to
interpret the path of design decisions and make suggestions for
further steps and solutions.
The represented engineering knowledge in PRED includes
structural rules, predimensioning rules, knowledge about
critical ranges of dimensioning, minimum dimensions of
structural elements and rules for combination of structural
elements to a consistent bearing structure. The design system
is intentionally not developed as an expert system. It rather
combines methods of artificial intelligence with CAD-technology
to form an interactive intelligent tool. The goal is on the one
hand side to overcome the often insufficient transparency and
difficult operation of pure expert systems and on the other
hand side to enhance CAD with knowledge-based components.
The implemented prototype demonstrates the use of advanced
CAE-technology to support high-level interaction between the
designer and computer based modelling and reasoning in the
field of preliminary structural design.