Software Platform for the Integration of Design Code Checks into Building Information Modelling

摘要

Due to the great freedom in contemporary structural design, conventional design techniques cannotrnbe applied to all spatial compositions and new materials. Widely available CAE software often triesrnto automate more common check methods found in (inter)national norms, but does not providernuniversal solutions. The complexity of modern structures, while economical and aestheticallyrnappealing, requires that the engineer often write his/her own checks or perform manual calculations.rnDesign Forms (SDF) is a new software technology that enables the easy, on-the-fly writing ofrncustomised engineering algorithms and design checks by means of simplified programming. Thernapplication uses a C#-based, object-oriented scripting language, and is furnished with an intuitivernUI, a full set of mathematical and logical operators, possibilities to include text and graphicalrndescriptions, tables, charts and extensive reports. Built-in toolboxes with engineering formulae andrnlibraries help the user-developer create standalone solutions that can be reused, shared, soldrncommercially, and linked to CAE software where advanced GUI and 3D visualisation possibilitiesrnmay be used while pre- and post-processing. This paper presents the SDF tool and illustrates its usernby means of practical examples of structural design and detailing.