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DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN ENHANCED PREPROCESSOR FOR CREATING 3D FINITE ELEMENT MODELS OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES AND A POST PROCESSOR FOR EFFICIENT RESULT GENERATION

PADUR, DIVYACHAPAN SRIDHARAN

Abstract Details

2004, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering : Electrical Engineering.
3D Finite Element Modeling (FEM) is very useful in condition assessment of highway bridges and can help ratify actual field data obtained through truck tests or modal tests. Since manually generating or revising a typical model is time-consuming, the 3D FE models are generated using a preprocessor written in Visual Basic to make the entire process of modeling more efficient. The lack of interactive preprocessors to create tedious FE Models of bridges has limited the use of FEM. The preprocessor has a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which lets users input meaningful data from bridge plans and generates the 3D FE model. The model is then fed as input to SAP (Structural Analysis Program) for analysis, generation of modes and extracting forces in critical members, which can then be used to obtain influence lines. What used to take weeks and days to write manually has been automated using this preprocessor to be done in a couple of hours. The huge text files generated as output by SAP cannot be parsed manually within a reasonable time frame and hence an efficient Postprocessor software written in Visual Basic has also been developed to expedite the process of model calibration. The Postprocessor works with the UCII Bridge Modeler and the SAP output files to present required output data in easily useable format. In all, the total time involved in creating, processing and tuning a 3D FE model of a bridge has been drastically reduced. The reduction in time allows engineers to develop more efficient sensor suites and run through simulations using this software. It also helps in arriving at calibrated models of bridges in a short period of time and such well calibrated models can be used as a good tool to simulate various conditions on the bridge which do not exist practically or are too costly to implement right away, like studying the effect of retrofits to a bridge. An automatic tuning process, based on existing bridge rating algorithms has been created such that even FE model outputs can be used to rate bridges. Quality checks have been implemented at all steps of the process to ensure error free results. Reduction in human involvement at every stage helps reduce oversights and accuracy.
Dr. Arthur Helmicki (Advisor)
143 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • PADUR, D. S. (2004). DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN ENHANCED PREPROCESSOR FOR CREATING 3D FINITE ELEMENT MODELS OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES AND A POST PROCESSOR FOR EFFICIENT RESULT GENERATION [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1078472870

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • PADUR, DIVYACHAPAN. DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN ENHANCED PREPROCESSOR FOR CREATING 3D FINITE ELEMENT MODELS OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES AND A POST PROCESSOR FOR EFFICIENT RESULT GENERATION. 2004. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1078472870.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • PADUR, DIVYACHAPAN. "DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF AN ENHANCED PREPROCESSOR FOR CREATING 3D FINITE ELEMENT MODELS OF HIGHWAY BRIDGES AND A POST PROCESSOR FOR EFFICIENT RESULT GENERATION." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1078472870

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)