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An object design framework for structural engineering

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Abstract

Object-oriented principles have introduced several useful concepts for developing complex software systems. As a result, several methodologies have been suggested for the overall design of software systems based on these concepts. Methodologies and frameworks for designing objects that are to be part of the software systems are currently lacking. This paper proposes anobject design framework andmethodology, which utilizes the object-oriented concepts, for planning, organizing and designing structural engineering design objects. Design objects in an integrated structural engineering system are complex and often related to each other in various different ways. The paper also identifies several important relationships among structural engineering design objects. These relationships serve as communication channels through wich design objects send messages to and receive responses from each other. Several examples, drawn from reinforced concrete structures, will be presented to demonstrate the object design methodology and to illustrate how the framework is effective in reducing the complexity of design objects in an integrated structural engineering system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, University of Khartoum, P.O. Box 321, Khartoum, Sudan

    Jamal A. Abdalla (Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering)

  2. University of California, 94720, Berkeley, California, USA

    Graham H. Powell (Professor of Civil Engineering)

Authors
  1. Jamal A. Abdalla
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  2. Graham H. Powell
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Abdalla, J.A., Powell, G.H. An object design framework for structural engineering. Engineering with Computers 11, 213–226 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01208815

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