“Generalized and Interactive Engineering”

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Abstract

Major projects with time-sensitive schedules continue to push the structural engineering field into a new development stage of its engineering methodology.  How, exactly, is engineering done today?  Engineering, the way we do engineering today, has been the challenging task for many projects dealing with critical review and design of complex structures with time-sensitive schedules.

Therefore, it seems that there are no alternatives other than to perform sound engineering with conservatively, simplified models.  Right!?  Well, not exactly.  If the following points can be achieved, the ultimate solution is at hand:

• Mathematical model simplification of a complicated structure to the extent that there is no loss of accuracy,
• Building the model efficiently through a structural application,
• Analyzation of the model with quality assured results and review process, and
• Allowing for a comprehensive review and design generation of all current design codes.

In reality, there is not one single integrated solution that contains all the aforementioned capabilities.  Thus, like business, engineering tools must be able to network in order to succeed in creating the ideal solution.

Programs that can network in a generalized and standardized fashion allow multiple applications to interact.  This interaction provides the flexibility to create varying engineering methodologies that work effectively for varying project demands.  GT STRUDL is one of the few programs that can provide such solutions through its integrated, general-purpose structural-information-processing system.

The following presentation will focus on the engineering methodology used to perform the time-sensitive, critical review of a Hospital Facility through the use of GT STRUDL.  The Hospital Facility consisted of a 4-story concrete structure (plus penthouse) with 12 bays in one direction and 4 bays in the other, and an entrance lobby that opened from the ground to the roof system where the skylight is supported.  The lateral seismic force and base shear calculations for the design of an intermediate moment resisting frame (IRMF) and a shear wall lateral system necessitated multiple analyses.  These analyses included providing input for code design response spectra shape to obtain a base shear from dynamic analysis and then scaling according to an elastic lateral force per code requirements through Rayleigh’s frequency calculation.
 

• General input conversion
• Finite element, free-vibration, and response-spectrum dynamic analyses options
• Comprehensive concrete/steel design
• Networking with in-house applications for foundation and connection design