Sof tware f or the Building Indus try - 2016/17
StruSoftMagazine september 2016 • www.StruSoft.com
Dear reader,
2016/17 will be StruSoft AB’s fifteenth year of operation – and in this edition of the StruSoft Magazine we aim to illustrate the extent of the operations which the company has been involved in. We start with some questions to Paul Rehn, President of the company during all of these years.
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StruSoft AB is in its fifteenth year as a company. In the Nordic region there aren’t many similar niche companies – how come there is only StruSoft left? – StruSoft has the sort of staff who truly want to do something special and we have the clients to guide us in developing effective robust software that is genuinely innovative.
EDITOR Anders Peterson StruSoft AB strusoftmagazine@strusoft.com
A quick glance in the rear view mirror – what do you see as the particular milestones in the years since the beginning of Noughties? – We seldom look back, always try to evaluate and fix from the present onwards. What makes the difference is our staff and the customers that we have managed to attract along the way. I am convinced that it is having the right staff and our many excellent customers that sail with us on the StruSoft voyage.
PUBLISHER Paul Rehn paul.rehn@strusoft.com CONTRIBUTORS Alexis Delatolas, Love Janson, Christoffer Jonsson, Anders Peterson, Olof Peterson och Sam Shiltagh
If you turn around – what does the future look like for the company? – With the recent recruitment of new and promising staff together with a new liability division in the company we are going to experience an exciting future. Widening the scope of the software we offer and with increased commitments in the form of services, will enhance the company’s capabilities and sharpen what we offer our clients even further.
LAYOUT Dennis Theorin, ipraktiken
To always have the relevant capabilities must be challenging – how does StruSoft insure itself against that? – An interesting and challenging workload is the most important thing for most of our employees. To solve difficult programming or technical problems and to produce useful tools is actually a big challenge. To sell a decent computer program when one knows that the colleague has put his or her whole soul into getting a satisfied customer is also extremely stimulating. So it is only a matter of creating this sort of environment to get the right people in.
- 2016/17 Building Indus try Sof tware for the
StruSof tMagazine september 2016 • www.StruSof
t.com
Cover: Blue Architecture Photo artist: Pia Hansson in cooperation with StruSoft in the project Interaction Visual Art - Technology www.piahansson.se
Strusoft is an active partner in several joint venture projects some financed by the EU and SBUF (the Swedish construction industry’s organisation for research and development) – how do you see this developing? – I think it is very important that, in parallel with our normal work, we add a little extra spice with some development projects. It provides the scope to expand the capabilities and to think outside the box. At the same time it is important that each “Program” should stand on its own merits, this is to say that market forces will determine whether a program is viable or not.
Happy Reading!
Paul Rehn President
StruSoft AB
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FEM-Design goes deeper in the soil! The new version of FEM-Design takes further steps in development both in theory and in practical application. The previous edition of StruSoftMagazine (September 2015) described FEM-Design’s then relatively new geotechnical module 3D Soil (called just 3D Soil hereafter). This new module can simulate among other things the interaction between a building and the underlying soil using 3-dimensional finite element modelling. By departing from the traditional Winkler spring simulation to describe the soil characteristics and using 3-dimensional solid elements, the user gets a more accurate picture of, for example, the settlements induced. FEM-Design, which is a standard tool for structural engineers in the design phase of the construction process, becomes therefore a tool that can be used by geotechnical engineers as well. Based on Geo-BIM (Building Information Model/ Modelling) several users can use the same model. As the construction of new buildings all too often occurs in urban environments, it also offers the opportunity to use the same tool to simulate the behaviour of surrounding buildings. In a project together with Skanska, which amongst other things was financed by SBUF (the Swedish construction industry’s organisation for research and development), StruSoft has continued to develop 3D Soil and particularly the structure-soil interaction analysis. Within the team both national and international specialists worked together (on both the theory and practical aspects of structures and geotechnics). The development had two main tracks: modelling of the ground and supplementing the user interface. The first version of the geotechnical module could handle shallow foundations such as raft foundations where soil characteristics were modelled with 3-dimensional solid elements. The material characteristics were based on a linear elastic model (constant relationship between the soil stiffness and its stress level). This simple model did not take into account the effective plastic deformations that can occur when the soil approaches its failure point. The calculations were also limited to stresses and strains in the vertical plane by using “fictitious” solid elements - fictitious in the sense that they are derived from 2-di-
mensional finite plate elements which are extruded to 3-dimensional solid elements something that works well when analysing rafts and other shallow foundations which mainly interact with the ground vertically. To analyze and design piles, basement foundations, slabs, as well as other deep foundations and retaining walls with horizontal interaction with the soil, 3D Soil in FEM-Design 15 has been developed with 3-dimensional finite elements which consider the soil characteristics and behaviour in all directions. In modelling the soil’s material properties (which are a part of the finite element’s characteristics) a linear elastic model was used as mentioned above (based on Hookes’ Law and defined by the Soil Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio from which one can derive the compression modulus). In the new version of 3D Soil a non-linear material model particularly suited to the clay soils in Sweden is implemented. The model takes into account different strength characteristics (compression modulus) for different stress states (effective stresses). Also an elastic ideal-plastic model (described by the elastic parameters and by the angle of friction and the cohesion) with Mohr-Coulomb’s failure criteria can now be used. The new models (geometrical and ma-
Finite element model used for a non-linear calculation (approximately 60000 elements)
Results from the calculation above - displacements when failure occurs [mm].
terial) mean that basement foundations can be analysed. This is because the new version takes into account the horizontal soil pressure acting on the structure and also because it takes into account how the soil stress and strain behaviour is influenced by changes in the earth pressure from excavating the ground. The program can also be used for analysing a foundation where poor soil is excavated away and replaced by lighter material such as insulation. Extensive work has also been carried out with the user interface. Modelling tools for the foundation elements, input for modelling the earth and foundations as well as handling soil with different layers of subsoil were introduced so as to be able to model the new foundation types and to enable the creation of non-linear ground models. In future versions of FEM-Design the aim is to widen the scope to include more foundation types, for example, piles using non-linear modelling which can then be used with many different soil types.
Input to define material models.
Interaction between a bridge construction and the soil.
Distribution of vertical stresses in the analysis of a basement foundation.
By Anders Peterson & Sam Shiltagh StruSof t 3
Decision Support Tool for District Renovation StruSoft is developing software tools which will change whole housing areas in the future. The aim of the EU project Ecodistr-ICT is to find innovative results based tools for renovating housing areas taking into account the needs of residents, politicians and businesses. “The software to be developed should be able to simulate the changes in different types of variables in a particular housing development. It can be about anything from energy use to the environment or even how long it takes to get to the bus stop” claims Andreas Rudenå from StruSoft, who is in charge of the Ecodistr-ICT platform. “Initially one inputs all the data from an area of housing “as is” – how it looks now. Then the program calculates indicators that produce a result - does this correspond to reality? This allows one to set the wider aims “to be” where different interested parties can decide their own targets”, he says. Because architects, politicians and residents can have completely different views on how the area should develop, everyone should be able to contribute their own vision. The analysis in the program connects to open map data and in this way a visual picture is generated for the different variables in the development, in either 2D or 3D. “Graphical solutions make Ecodistr-ICT a tool for communication. To illustrate on the current layout, how one sees the future and to generate a dialogue with interested parties” says Johnny Kronvall, Professor Emeritus in Building Technology and senior advisor at StruSoft.
“As-is” – the current situation identified early in the process.
BIM Energy Map – StruSoft’s own module for energy simulation which is connected to the platform.
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The unique thing with Ecodistr-ICT is that one can link in lots of different modules and analyse just the variables one is interested in. Then one can test different changes and calculate the consequences – while the program seamlessly fetches the data from the linked modules. “Change one thing and it generates a lot of data and several modules can use this data. The thought is that one can, for example, go into the design module and add, say, a park, then using other modules to see what effect the park has had”, says Andreas Rudenå. The software should be able to show the costs and the profits in specific circumstances including environmental and social concerns. “There is a massive need for effective tools to assist decision making. This is because it is complicated to make changes to the housing area with so many aspects that are difficult to grasp all at once. Hopefully Ecodistr-ICT can find a niche as a system that can be used in such circumstances”, says Andreas Rudenå. The EU project Ecodistr-ICT started in the winter of 2013 and finishes in December 2016. Those involved are research organizations such as the Belgian VITO, the Dutch TNO and Swedish SP and also the architectural practice White. The software has been evaluated in a number of European cities, for instance in an urban development project in Södertälje and an area of mixed housing and industry in Warsaw. “In Warsaw they have a big problem with traffic congestion. Various private organisations have built randomly without an overall plan. This has to be incorporated into the analysis”, says Andreas Rudenå. The software’s most important focus point is on energy efficiency. At the
Johnny Kronvall (t.l.) and Andreas Rudenå.
same time as StruSoft determines the modules for the whole platform, it adapts these modules to the boundary conditions- often with StruSoft’s own energy calculation platform. The energy module is the most developed module. StruSoft currently has a new software tool, BIM Energy, which is cloud based, extremely quick and has intensive graphics compared with the old VIP-Energy. “A software program like Ecodistr-ICT can become StruSoft’s window to the outside world”, says Johnny Kronvall. Ecodistr-ICT is a three year project. The question is what is going to happen then? “Most EU projects end with a huge sigh of relief. That is the honest truth. But, seen from Brussels, exploiting the results is an important part. “We think what we have produced is so important that there has to be a future”, says Johnny Kronvall. The alternative is that the project partners with an interest in exploiting the results start some sort of company or consortium. This is under discussion at the moment. Everyone is extremely interested in principle but the structure requires much discussion. T h e Fact s Ecodistr-ICT is developing an innovative results based software tool for renovating whole housing areas integrating the needs of the different interested parties such as residents, politicians and businesses. Even if energy efficiency is an overriding focus, it can easily include other models with important variables. Amongst the other partners in the project are technical research organisations such as the Belgian VITO and the Dutch TNO. StruSoft also works with SPSweden’s technical research institute and the Swedish architectural practice White. By Olof Peterson
LCA – analysis in IMPACT - a development concept European environmental standards for building construction (EN15978) and the respective standard for building products (EN15804) both emphasize the life cycle perspective. Environmental certification bodies like LEED and BREEAM require a life cycle analysis for the highest marks. Despite these circumstances few life cycle analyses are being performed today. There are a number of reasons that might be behind this. Now StruSoft investigates this question with a new conceptual module in IMPACT. Integra t io n o f e n v ir o n m e n t a l data in IM PA C T Today the construction industry uses a great deal of prefabricated concrete elements, for instance beams and wall panels. The housing sector has an increasing need for information about the industry’s environmental impact, not least in relation to certification by various bodies (LEED, BREEAM, etc.). In Sweden the focus has historically been to build with energy efficiency in mind and at the same time phasing out or reducing dangerous chemicals. This work is now often combined with the reduction of the environmental impact in the production and construction stages. IMPACT has a unique function which links the designer to a specific factory producing prefabricated elements. In the program the user can determine the concrete elements´ delivery order to the building site which in turn leads to the factory being able to optimise its manufacturing processes. Today, Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) often stem from generic life cycle data for concrete, steel and transportation. Environmental considerations with specific data are uncommon in the construction industry. With the development of IMPACT’s modu-
An EPD is structured with modules that summarizes the impact on the environment throughout the life cycle. (Source: SS-EN 15804:2012+A1:2013)
lar concept one will be able to demonstrate the difference between the use of generic data and using specific data for the particular material and factory process. Declared product or functional unit? One of many systems on the market for environmental requirements is the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). The manufacturer makes an LCA study in relation to his product and has this study examined and verified by a third party. There are also program holders who do the administrative work of carrying out the examination and handling the results. There are two main uses for EPD: to determine whether it is a declared product or a functional unit. When a declared product is used one looks at the whole concrete element with all its constituent materials and resource usage. A functional unit requires functional demand classification, for ex-
ample, a floor with a certain strength and a particular design life. This makes it possible to compare floors from different factories with different materials to do a life cycle analysis and find the best alternative. IMPACT h elp s u s er s t o au t omate In IMPACT the aim is to relate the concrete element to both a declared product and a functional unit. IMPACT possesses a unique information database with links to the designer and the factory – digitally and constantly updated. Environmental experts will be able to get a whole new view of the design decisions with the environmental module when needing to analyse the building. The material choices that have been made can be discussed and new alternatives put forward. The design engineer’s choice of materials and components is linked with the factory’s specific material selection. In this way the engineer can work as normal and IMPACT will look after the rest. Consequently the documentation will be in the BIM model where all the parties in the project can see the environmental effect of their selection. Another advantage is that IMPACT already contains a cost module, which means that in the future one could even get the relationship between the environmental impact and the associated costs. This project is carried out in partnership with Abetong and is part financed by SBUF (Swedish Construction Industry’s development Fund).
By Christoffer Jonsson
The module shows the environmental effect in different colours so the user can see how the different concrete elements affect the building’s total environmental rating.
StruSof t 5
Automation frees up resources on a project with stunning architecture Currently underway in Stockholm is one of the tallest buildings that forms part of the Norra Tornen Project. It has an eye-popping architectural design and consists of four thousand concrete elements with complicated geometry. To meet these challenges SCF Betongelement together with Sweco used IMPACT to automate the work process. In central Stockholm a tall building – a tower - is being constructed which will be distinguished by its singular appearance. In fact, there are two tall buildings to be built, with the second one still at the design stage. They are being built by the property company Oscar Properties in Vasastad under the name of Norra Tornen. The one currently being built consists of 178 apartments. The key aim of the project was to come up with a creative architectural design which was the absolute top priority for the designers. The tower façade has a very original appearance. It consists of concrete elements infused with Danish marine aggregate and narrow recesses or channels. The small aggregate is brushed the day before to produce the finish on the façade that the architect wanted. It also involved the sandwich panels which are precisely joined on an aesthetical-
Model in IMPACT.
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ly finished surface with millimetre tight tolerances. – Because each element is completely unique each one had to be templated. It would have been be very complicated to design each one separately, explains Stefan Lindholm. He is responsible for IT at SCF Betongelement who together with Sweco have the commission to design and produce the elements. IMPACT was used in the production chain from design and clash control for the cast-in, to printing of the shop drawings and the manufacture itself. Automated settings for reinforcement Digitalization increases quality and the project’s requirements for a complete 3D model of the concrete element including all its cast-in materials. Stefan explains that their CAD system had previously not been able to do this and they had to write instructions on the drawings as to where, for example, the reinforcement was to be placed. But now all the information needed is in the same digital model. – We can see if there are any conflicts and if so adjust the design. Around 4,000 concrete elements were designed in the design department with their specific characteristics. Because of the complicated geometry we tried to automate the process as much as possible. – It is a huge challenge to design such complicated elements. StruSoft together with SCF Betongelement has developed a module to automate the placement of reinforcement cages. A reinforcement cage contains a number of steel bars which IMPACT is able to incorporate into the design and arrange them so that they do not protrude the edges or other surfaces. Once
the cage is correctly positioned without any conflicts the program automatically dimensions it. Then dimensions and offsets from the corners are set without the engineer having to do it beforehand. If an adjustment of the cage is needed the measurements are automatically adjusted. – We produce reinforcement details with exact dimensions which we can give to the reinforcement department. This saves a lot of time, says Stefan. To reuse the same information by copying the dimensions would not be possible. This is because each element out of the four thousand is unique. If fewer elements were to be used it would lead to over-design which would be expensive. Sh op d rawin g s g en erat ed by t h e p r og ram Once the elements have been designed and are clear for manufacture the information is sent to the manufacturing department. The shop drawings are generated automatically from the program. – The strength of IMPACT is that we can produce shop drawings for production which are clearly readable. Not only the measurements are shown for the element, but there are also other characteristics, for example, different kinds of insulation. We also get very exact detailing from the 3D model. All the design data is used again for the information needed to produce each element. That ensures quality when transferring from the design department to the manufacture. – We also use the program’s modules for transportation and production planning. In the model of the tower each element has a colour to indicate where it is in the production chain. – It all happens smoothly and automatically in the program, says Stefan. Each element cast in production can also be traced when it is sent to storage. Automation is the highest priority in this project. It is one of the requirements for an effective process, whereby the automation means that time and energy can be spent instead on working with the complicated geometries of the tower.
By Love Janson
FEM-Design and Steel Joints untie the knot In the new version of FEM-Design there is now a direct link to the design of different steel joint solutions in accordance with the Eurocode. The classic tool for steel design, the Swedish Institute of Steel Construction (SBI) Detailing Handbook has been incorporated into an integrated module in FEM-Design 15. Designing joints and splices is in accordance with Eurocode 3. After the structural analysis the user can specify the nature of the joint or joints. There are currently fifty different types to use. After carrying out a validation, the required utilization for each joint, amongst other things, is shown. If required one can manually modify the type of the respective steel joint. Steel Joints is an integrated part of FEM-Design Steel design but it can also be used as a standalone program and one can then define the loading and steel profile. That’s different to the analysis in FEM-Design where the results from different load cases are used.
Calculation results from FEM-Design – menu for steel joint design.
User chooses the type of steel joint solution for each intersection.
The utilization shown for each steel joint solution.
Manual modification of steel joint solution.
By Anders Peterson
BIMcontact – with focus on user communication
The program launches an updated version with a new user interface and new functions. sources of information, a simple tool that can be used by all the parties in one and the same project is needed. BIMcontact offers, besides a secure way of handling various documents, also the possibility of showing the 3D model of the actual project directly in the web browser. Besides the standardized IFC file format, many other formats can also be handled and viewed online. As a document management solution, BIMcontact creates a logical folder and file structure in which everything is stored. This can be meeting protocols, time planning, organization plans, documentation about quality and environmental requirements, drawings, models and more. That is to say all documentation which is produced for use before, during and after the actual BIMcontact – left: document management and right: a 3D IFC model of Malmö Live. Good communication between actors in a building project is necessary for an effective and quality driven process. There is research, which shows that lack of communication can lead to extensive extra costs – potentially worth several millions. In the building process nowadays all documentation is digital – from idea to facilities management. In order to coordinate all the digital information, and there can be several thousand
project. One can work with an undistracted and continuous information flow. The project administrator gives authority to the relevant actors on a folder, as well as file level. Version handling, which is built-in, makes it possible to follow historically both the document and user level. Even if most of the information is cloud based, BIMcontact allows access to all files locally on your own computer with bi-directional synchronization in the background between those files which are stored locally and those in the cloud. If one is not connected to the internet then accessing and working with the local files is still possible. The relatively new format BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) can be used to further improve the collaboration between the actors by making comments without altering the model. Small digital post-it notes which can be stuck to particular items in the model and which then can be shared between collaborators.
By Anders Peterson StruSof t 7
Early FEM analysis on a project aids architectural office “To nip in the bud” is an old saying. For Bruno Sundström it was important to get it right from the start – the earlier the better. He is a designer and project leader at the architectural firm Monarken, which has offices in Luleå and Piteå. – We often get commissions to do a proposal for a building. After that we proceed to the calculation and design stages. When we start the proposal, we usually do a test analysis of the building structure to obtain the basic parameters. The test analysis consists of obtaining the dimensions of columns and walls, thicknesses of slabs and the span required. The analysis is done by Bruno and his colleagues using FEM-Design. – The better the result from the test analysis the quicker the following stages of the project go. When we get further on we avoid redoing the calculations and save time. In the architectural office, it is not only
the building’s shape that is important during the project development. It is also obtaining the dimensions and defining the loads. Foremost of these the weight and the imposed loads depend on the building’s construction. Bruno points out that he isn’t doing an in-depth FEM analysis. That’s not the idea with a test analysis – it’s only to obtain those initial results that are needed to report to the client. At Monarken they design a lot of different building types - everything from villas and domestic houses to apartments, public buildings and larger industrial structures all over the country. When the construction is more extensive and contains some very
large elements it influences the calculation time in FEM-Design. – This doesn’t take us particularly long, a few minutes only. The results from the FEM analysis give useful information on both how the loads act and the project’s cost effectiveness. In the analysis it is common to change the dimensions and material is added or subtracted in order to produce the optimum load-bearing structure. Of course, when more material is added the cost increases, explains Bruno. But this knowledge with the help of the program gives the client an understanding of the cost of the project and not just the technical data such as dimensions and thicknesses. This is naturally desirable in today’s changeable building industry.
By Love Janson
Designing an apartment for the clouds In Örnsköldsvik a particularly spectacular building is being built. A house in the clouds - in this case about thirty metres above ground. It will be a landmark that will be seen from far away. In the old fire station’s fire hose tower, a building is being constructed in the form of a tower with three floors, lift and staircase. It is the initiative of a private person who aims to create a distinctively out-of-the-ordinary home. – The tower section is in concrete and the floors are built in steel, explains Anny Hägglöf of the construction consultant Tecnicon. Anny is the designer and has done calculations and obtained the dimen-
sions needed to satisfy all the necessary requirements and tolerances. – We took into account all the different loads, such as wind loads, own weight, snow loads and the tower’s natural frequency in case the structure sways. Anny first modelled all the geometry with FEM-Design. Then she added the loads and let the program determine the thicknesses and other data from the results. This was repeated until the structu-
re had the correct dimensions. Since the three floors cantilevered outwards it was very important to check the deflection in the steel construction. Anny usually designs the building in the program and then proceeds with the analysis. Then she also makes a rough estimation of the foundation dimensions. But not in this case - because of the tower’s very particular design, she chose another method: – Using the program gave us a range of different solutions for the dimensions. I then modelled the structure based on the suggestions I had chosen. It is a special structure with large trusses which makes it more difficult to estimate the dimensions. So it was easier to let the program suggest the dimensions instead of Anny spending time to do her own estimations. That is one way to streamline the development of a sustainable construction. She could then devote more time for the analysis in order to determine the optimal dimensions for the beams and load bearing elements so that the building can be truly up there in the sky among the clouds!
By Love Janson
StruSoftMagazine Sof tware f or the Building Indus try - 2016/17