Closing the Gap between Bridge Analysis and Detailing

摘要

The overall process for bridge construction comprises such different tasks as general layout and tenderrnspecification, preliminary design, detailed design, proof checks and finally actual construction works.rnThese tasks are typically performed by different parties, where the subsequently involved engineers baserntheir work on the published documents (specifications, drawings) of the previous party.rnDetailed design is an important step in this process, however, it resolves into two different topics:rna) Analysis and proof checks ensuring stability and serviceability of the structure duringrnconstruction and over its lifetime, andrnb) Reinforcement detailing and production of respective construction drawings.rnMany software products have been developed in the past decades to support these tasks. However,rnalthough these tasks are linked together we have mostly two separate software tools, an analysisrnpackage and a CAD package for reinforcement detailing and drawing production. This means that thernengineer has to assess the analysis results, defining the detailing requirements based on these results,rnand re-entering a lot of data in the CAD system to create the required drawings.rnAn initiative to close this gap has recently been started as a joint venture between Tennessee DOT andrnBentley Systems. It aims especially at precast girder bridges and intends to allow for a straightforwardrnprogress from analysis to detailing and drawing production with using the same database. The paperrnexplains the basics the software solution, describes the dataflow and outlines the applied procedure.