Virtual Engineering Design

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Virtual Engineering Design

• Walid Tizani
• Senior Lecturer
• School of Civil Engineering,
• The University of Nottingham
• Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
• Walid.Tizani_at_nottingham.ac.uk

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Engineering Design

• Primarily concerned with the specification of the
  product, while
• fulfilling the brief,
• Ensuring safety during construction and in use.
• In the overall scheme, engineering design
  interfaces will all aspects of delivery
• Effects of engineering design Quality and Cost
• Decisions taken affects all downstream processes
  from construction to demolition with direct and
  indirect consequences on quality and cost
  (re-work, conflict, unworkable solutions, etc.)
• Supporting the Engineering Design Stage is a
  important key to an improved overall life-cycle
  process

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Vision for Engineering Design

• One Stage Design using virtual prototyping
  supported with collaborative and concurrent
  enabling technologies
• Underlined by
• A best-practice design process allowing for
  sequential and concurrent activities
• Standardised data representation of products
  specified by all parties involved in the process
  (Architect, Engineering and Manufacturing/Construc
  tion)

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Architect View Need to represent architect/client
intents Mainly in plan Specification of floor
zones
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Building Services View Need to represent other
spacial contraints
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Structural View General arrangement based on
architects constraints Plan of column grid, etc.
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Structural Engineering flooring system, bracing,
loading, analysis, member sizing
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Analysis can be conducted using actual connection
behaviour based on specified properties and not
merely assumed behaviour (as-built)
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Virtual Engineering Design HOW

• Develop integrated and collaborative design
  software and practices in order to improve
  processes and quality of decisions
• Common work domain for all parties involved in
  the specification process (Architect, Engineering
  and Manufacturing/Construction)
• Improving the design process will however require
  facilitating the interaction/collaboration
  between inter-disciplinary parties
• Need a means for all parties to be able to
  express their intentions and decisions in a
  compatible manner
• Product models are seen as part of the solution -
  modelling designed product in a compatible
  manners however they are still incomplete and
  esoteric

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Virtual Prototyping - Building Design

• The use of the term Virtual Building to mean
  the representation of the building that is based
  on the description of the end-product that
  exhibits behaviour simulating that of the
  as-built
• The mapping of a suitable process-model to
  facilitate effective integration and concurrency
  (compatibility between several of the design
  constraints imposed by various discipline)
• Ability to describe all cross-disciplinary
  information relating to the design process in a
  single comprehensive product-model
• The specification to be product-based as
  opposed to idealised representations in order to
  maintain compatibility with other disciplines

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VBPM Process Model
Product Model
Virtual Building Product Model
(File Format)
(Subsumes CIS)
Steel
Structural
Manufact'
Floor Design
Service
Architect
Process Model
Structure
Analysis
Process
Process
Process
Process
Process
Process
(Application)
Model
Model
Model
Model
Model
Model

• Product models are object-oriented in structure
• Processes are mapped onto the defined objects
• For example, Loading generation is based on
  architectural (area usage), structural
  (structural floor system and supporting beams)
  and services zone
• Analysis Model carries out the structural
  analysis process
• Design members, e.g. beams and columns carries
  out capacity checks
• etc.

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The Virtual Building Product Model (VBPM)
Composition
VBPM
CIS/2
IFC
Floor Design
Steel
Structural
Structure
Non-
Analysis
Design
Structural
Architectural
Building
Design
Data
Elements
Costing
Management
Services
Design
IFC CIS neither cover the required domain To
cover the critical elements (on design decisions
and cost) of the end-product VBPM supports
holistic design process
Cladding
Design
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Implementation Strategy
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Implementation Strategy

• Problem is massive and complex.
• Need to specialise in the first instance e.g.
  Project types housing, sheds, multi-storey,
  etc.)
• Test the technology (feasibility, workability,
  benefits)
• Widen the scope and test the scalability of the
  technology
• Other issues
• How to convince industry for the need to change
• Will the industry change its practices to use the
  resulting technology

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Engineering Design linking with life-cycle issues

• Need to synchronise with life-cycle issues.
• Adopting similar implementation strategy for both
• Synchronise the development of models (process
  and product)
• Therefore a need to have a higher level strategy
  to cover all required domain eliminate
  duplication and ensure compatibility

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Summary

• Prototyping of Virtual Building
• VB based on the description of the end-product
  and exhibits behaviour simulating that of the
  as-built product
• Major components
• Cross discipline product model (VBPM) that
  includes all elements judged to be critical for
  decision making at the conceptual design stage
• VBPM structured so as to facilitate a concurrent
  and integrated design process (Architect-Fabricati
  on)
• Process also output suitable visualisation using
  VR techniques
• Overall aim Provision of Decision Support to
  improve the overall design process through
  integration and concurrency

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• End