Development of structural design tools for practical CAD applications

R. A. Sabouni, A. R. Sabouni, K. M. El-Sawy

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Structural design procedures for similar structural elements may differ depending on input parameters. Therefore, standardizing these procedures helps structural designers concentrate on more innovative tasks such as optimizing the choice of the overall structural system. Most of the commercially available programs include design options according to a variety of design codes. Nevertheless, structural engineers may often find themselves in need to carryout some stand-alone design tasks for several reasons, including: pre-dimensioning and preliminary design, accommodating local design requirements, and resolving conflicts with other design disciplines. This paper proposes a hybrid programming approach that combines the AutoCAD built-in VBA with spreadsheets as an environment to develop integrated computer aided design and drafting tools. To illustrate the proposed approach, a case study of the combined reinforced concrete footings is selected. It is shown that the proposed approach is versatile, efficient, hides the scrupulous structural design steps, and produces simple integration with design drawings for real life practical structural design applications.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings - 33rd CSCE Annual Conference 2005
Subtitle of host publicationGeneral Conference and International History Symposium
PagesGC-127-1-GC-127-10
Publication statusPublished - 2005
Event33rd CSCE Annual Conference 2005 - Toronto, ON, Canada
Duration: Jun 2 2005Jun 4 2005

Publication series

NameProceedings, Annual Conference - Canadian Society for Civil Engineering
Volume2005

Other

Other33rd CSCE Annual Conference 2005
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityToronto, ON
Period6/2/056/4/05

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Engineering(all)

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