Open Collections

Xie, Fan

University of British Columbia

The design and evaluation of irregular and complex structural system, such as pagodas, totem poles, and curved structures, are often analyzed using finite element (FE) models. However, obtaining the exact geometry of the structures is usually time-consuming and challenging. To accelerate the process, engineers typically develop simple equivalent FE models to perform structural analyses. Such equivalent FE models may not fully account for the irregularities and intricacies of the structures, leading to inaccurate evaluation results. In this thesis, a novel scan-to-model framework has been developed to rapidly construct high-fidelity FE models for irregular structures. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework, two irregular structures: 1) a 11-meter-long traffic pole and 2) a 30-meter-tall timber structure were assessed. The results show: a) the proposed scan-to-model procedure efficiently and accurately measures the dimensions of components with up to 96.5% accuracy; b) the FE models, constructed using this framework, are more accurate, compared to the simplified equivalent FE models; c) the lateral stiffnesses of the 30-meter-tall irregular sculpture can vary significantly (up to 42.6%) between different directions, which cannot be captured using the equivalent FE model. These implementations and the associated studies collectively showcase the versatility and feasibility of the proposed framework. Hence, the proposed framework can provide significant enhancements to the design and evaluation of irregular and complex structural systems.

Text; Still Image

2024-04-22

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/87914

Civil Engineering

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/