BIM standards for automated BEM structural analysis and design of RC plates

This paper introduces a new system that utilizes the advantages of boundary element analysis in structural engineering applications. A standardized building information model (BIM) for automated structural analysis and design of reinforced concrete plates based on the boundary element method (BEM) is proposed. Based on the model view definition approach, BIM standards are presented for the preprocessing and postprocessing of BEM analysis. Furthermore, standards are proposed for automated structural design of structural slab and beam elements based on the BEM analysis results. For each of the BIM components, standards are provided for the object structure, data flow, and graphical user interface (GUI). The extensibility of the software and applicability for a wide range of research and practical applications are considered in all the proposed standards. The system created can act as the basis for structural analysis and design of building floor and foundation problems. Object-oriented programming is used to implement the standards in a prototype. The prototype was verified by application to the solution of practical structural engineering problems. The performance of the proposed system is evaluated in terms of the modeling and the processing time required to analyze typical structural engineering applications using the prototype.