Steel Structure Engineering Graphics Database And Modeling Applied Research

Existing softwares for steel structure design generally share a shortage of weak capability to handle graphical data, which, however, is in more and more need. A research on graphical database and its applications on modeling has been carried to respond to this need, aiming to integrate graphics and data in a tighter manner. This research roots on a wide range of international and domestic standards, including CIS/2and IFC, to reach different requirements on different stages of a real-world project, such as analyzing, designing, manufacturing, etc.The steel structure graphical database of this research contains data and diagrams for all aspects of a steel structure design process. It facilitates searching and referencing, smoothes the learning curve, and saves manpower&other resources, resulting a significantly improved efficiency. More specifically, the database covers almost all of the available standard shaped steel sections, indexing their class expressions, sectional dimensions, qualities, sectional properties, detailed images, etc. Users of the database can access these data easily and intuitively. In addition, the database provides a versatile mechanism for self-created libraries. The database can serve as a comprehensive tool for design, analysis, imaging, and drawing of steel structures.The research goes beyond a handy tool to address several problems presented in steel structure design, listed as following,(1) Summarizing achievements of existing softwares for steel structure design, to define a leading edge concept and architecture for the graphical database.(2) Building up a convenient graphical section library, covering standard sections of GB, AISC, parametric bridge sections, etc. while providing a customizable mechanism.(3) Utilizing Visual LISP, which has been proved to be efficient in the field of engineering drawing, to build up the relationship between graphics and background data, while following industrial standards and ensuring its openness.(4) Integrating various aspects of steel structure engineering, and assembling into a self-consistent system on the platform of AutoCAD, addressing both2D and3D modeling applications.