Applications of AI for Bridge Engineering

Content:

• Brief Introduction
• Sample Publications
• Pointers to Information on Bridge Engineering
• Pointers to Information on AI Applications to Bridge Engineering
• Pointers to Intelligence and Structures

• Pointers to bridge contests/competitions/etc.

A Brief Introduction:

• Decision to commission.
• Design.
• Construction.
• Operation.
• Maintenance.
• Replacement.

Figure 1: Tasks in bridge engineering and their contextual influences

This information is rarely made explicit or used. Recent efforts to create bridge management systems (BMS) focus of the capture of diverse information about bridges as it is collected in these tasks and use it in future projects. Nevertheless, the mechanisms that are supposed to use this information are too limited to expose the diverse knowledge embedded in this information. Different AI techniques such as machine learning can assist in creating these backward connections between the tasks as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Information flow between bridge engineering tasks

Read more about it in (Reich, Y., Fenves, S. J., and Subrahmanian, E., 1994).

In a recent paper I reviewed the state-of-the-art of applying AI techniques to these tasks and discussed the areas in which AI can be most helpful to bridge engineering.

If you have pointers to work on AI applications to bridge engineering, I'll be most grateful if you can email them to me for incorporation in the above document and here on this page.

A Sample Publications Include:

• Reich. Y. (1993), A Model of Aesthetic Judgment in Design, Artificial Intelligence in Engineering, 8(2):141-153.
  This paper presents a model of how aesthetic judgment in design may be performed. It illustrates the ideas by using examples of bridge shaped synthesized by Bridger.
  (Postscript file, 810K)

• Reich, Y. and Fenves, S. J. (July, 1995), A system that Learns to Design Cable-Stayed Bridges, Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, 121(7):1090-1100.
  This paper presents the most complete description of Bridger. (Note however that due to ASCE's limit on the number of words per paper [10,000] there are still details that were omitted.)
  (Postscript file, 408K; Zipped PDF file, 855K)
  Click for more information on Bridger.

• Reich, Y., Fenves, S. J., and Subrahmanian, E. (1994), Flexible Extraction of Practical Knowledge from Bridge Databases, In Proceedings of the First Congress on Computing in Civil Engineering (Washington, DC), pp. 1014-1021.
  (Postscript file, 185K)

• Reich, Y. (1996), Artificial Intelligence and Bridge Engineering, Microcomputers in Civil Engineering, Vol 11, No 6, (in press).
  This paper reviews the state-of-the-art of applying AI techniques to various bridge engineering tasks discussed above and addresses the areas in which AI can be most helpful to bridge engineering.
  (Postscript file, 225K)
  

Pointers to Information on Bridge Engineering:

• Bridge Engineering Home Page
• Bridge Information Page
• Better Roads: 1994 Bridge Inventory showing how bad is the situation of bridges in the US. The status in other countries is the same as reported by various OECD documents.
• Status of bridge engineering research
• Life-Cycle Engineering Information Systems (Lehigh, ATLSS) includes many projects on bridge engineering.
• TRB TRIS research abstracts: bridges
• Bridge Inspection and Bridge Management
• Underwater Bridge Integrity
• Covered Bridges by Truss Types
• Natural Bridges National Monument - the way to really build bridges that last without maintenance.... Another pointer.
• Why don't you send me some pointers

Pointers to Information on AI Applications to Bridge Engineering:

• BFX System for resolving bridge fabrication errors (case-based version and rule-based version).
• Preliminary design of highway bridges
• Advanced Ground-Penetrating, Imaging Radar for Bridge Inspection
• Life-Cycle Engineering Information Systems (Lehigh, ATLSS) includes several projects employing AI techniques (e.g., BFI).
• TRB TRIS research abstracts: expert systems and bridges
• Why don't you send me some pointers

Pointers to information relating Intelligence and Structures:

• CAN/ACM Intelligent Structures
• Rotorcraft Smart Structures Group
• Intelligent buildings
• SPIE publications:
  • Smart Structures and Materials 1993
  • Smart Structures and Materials 1994
  • Smart Structures and Materials 1994 (another from 1994)
  • Smart Structures and Materials 1995: Industrial and Commercial
  • Smart Structures and Materials 1995: Smart Systems for Bridges, Structures, and Highways
• Smart Materials and Structure Journal
• Smart Damage Sensing in Composite Structures
• Why don't you send me some pointers

What do search engines (i.e., Lycos) say about bridges etc.:

(Note: you'll get many pointers to the game of bridge by searching ...)
• Bridge and Engineering
• Bridge and Design
• Bridge and Intelligence