An aide for instruction on integrated engineering design and support

Effective management of engineering information is critically needed for the design of future complex engineering systems. Yet engineers are not trained in engineering data base management concepts. To help address this issue, a prototype integrated design system has been developed for the Air Force to aide research and instruction on key integration concepts, including (1) the use of a shared data base to eliminate redundancies and inconsistencies; (2) the use of a relational data base management system to store, locate, and retrieve data from the shared data base; (3) the development of interfacing programs to act as interpreters between the application programs and the common data base; and (4) the role of executive software to manage the integrated system. Key software used includes a computer-aided design system, a structural analysis program, various graphics packages, and a relational data base management system. To assess system flexibility, additional programs were added to the system. The design of the data base proved to be an important step in this implementation. Several methodologies useful in the design of the data base were investigated and subsequently used to organize the data base for the integrated design system. Results discussed include system development, and applications, as well as the effectiveness of the integrated system's configuration.     

The use of computers in preliminary structural design of buildings

This paper presents a case study of the use of computers for the preliminary structural design of a multi-story office building.First, preliminary structural design is discussed in relation to the entire building design process. Then, specifie computer applications are discussed for the following design activities: system selection, definition of structural elements, modeling of structural systems for analysis, and design of individual elements. Instead of isolated computer programs, this approach to computer usage emphasizes a system capable of creating and maintaining a structural data base for the life of a project.     

Urban structures for lower-cost housing projects

The use of computers in the analysis and design of individual structures is known and widely used in practice. There are many operational computer programs such as ICES-STRUDL, ELAS, NASTRAN, WANG, and others which are readily available at the computation centers around the world. These programs are able to perform the analysis, either by direct stiffness method or by finite element technique of various structures and some of these programs will carry the study into complete design. The profession of structural engineering is fortunate to have an access to such a wealthy software library.The theme of this paper is not to deal with any individual computer program applicable to a particular structural unit, but to integrate the analysis and design computer programs with the total analysis and design of a housing project in an urban area. This concept defines an INTEGRATED SYSTEMS APPROACH to total analysis and design. The value of this approach stems from the fact that a structural engineer can not develop an efficient design for a structure in an urban project unless he is fully aware of all pertinent factors which are related to his structural unit. The Integrated Systems Approach will secure an optimum design for the project.Since one of the major concerns of our civilization is the provision of decent lower-cost housing for every citizen, structural engineers need to participate in this great endeavor by extending the application of their technical knowledge to its solution. Due to the size and complexity of the problem, the use of the computers is imperative. The Integrated Systems Approach is defined by a set of individual computer programs linked together. The structural analysis and design programs incorporated in this system use the data generated by the other general project study programs. It is obvious that the structural programs form the major part of the programming system. The Integrated Systems Approach to analysis and design stresses the point that the structural engineer should not consider only the factors for an optimum solution from the points of view of strength, durability and materials used. He has to be aware of other very pertinent socio-economic factors to develop a design to be happily accepted by the public.     

Selected microcomputer applications for hospital management engineers

Hospital management engineering projects require a series of time consuming steps: data collection, data reduction and analysis, report preparation, and presentation. Hospital managers need information on a timely basis to help them provide quality patient care at optimum costs through an effective decision support system. Microcomputers can help management engineers and managers in these areas. Spreadsheet, data base, and standard computer language programs are three categories of microcomputer software reviewed in this paper with case studies to illustrate the application, the conditions for their selection, and potential benefits. In addition, specific points to assist with succesfful use of the computer are listed.     

Structured data in structural analysis software

This paper discusses the use of computer data structures in finite-element structural analysis programs. A number of data structure types that have been shown to be useful in such programs are introduced and described. A simple finite-element model is used to demonstrate how the given set of data structure types naturally lend themselves to developing software for the model. Different methods of implementing data structures in the context of a program are discussed.     

A general-purpose natural language interface to an operating system

One of the most difficult tasks facing new computer users is the management of data and programs through an operating system (OS) interface. Both command languages and graphical interfaces can impede a user unfamiliar with the terminology and organizational techniques of modern file management systems. Various attempts have been made in recent years to develop systems that will enable users to interact with the computer in natural language. By simplifying the form of user input to an OS, such interfaces allow the user to concentrate on file management tasks rather than on the means of expressing OS-specific instructions. The Informational Network for a Natural Talking (INFANT) System was originally developed as a conversational system for communication at the level of a small child. It has since been adapted for use as a general-purpose English language interface for standard OS file management operations. The INFANT System reduces an input sentence to a hierarchy of standardized propositional forms, which are mapped through a propositional knowledge base and a compositional semantics process into a high-level representation of meaning. Its effectiveness as a working natural language interface has been verified in a pair of experiments performed in a college computer lab. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

SEQ-ED: an interactive computer program for editing, analysis and storage of long DNA sequences

The rapidly growing body of sequenced DNA demands efficient computer programs for its analysis and storage. The program described in this paper, SEQ-ED, has been designed to handle a large number of DNA sequences up to 200 kilobases [kb] long stored in a sequence library. In order to minimize the required storage space, the sequences are stored in a compressed format using three binary digits per base. In the development of this program, special care has been given to make it easy to use for molecular biologists without any previous computer experience.     

Automated choice of procedures in computerized structural analysis

An efficient and general computer program for structural analysis allows the user to choose between a number of different procedures. New methods for computerized structural analysis are still being improved at a rapid pace. Consequently only a very few structural analysts can be expected to be well acquainted with all aspects of the technology, and will often find it difficult to use the sophisticated programs that presently are available. If dynamic loading or possible stability failure must be considered, the computer programs are becoming increasingly difficult to use. The trends in future computer programming for structural analysis must include efforts to facilitate the user's burden without significant loss of efficiency. This paper contains a discussion of the difficulties involved in modeling and in the choice of solution procedures. Special emphasis is placed on the possibility of designing computer programs so that sound selection of procedures can be made automatically if the user declines to state a preference.     

Conditions affecting chargeback effectiveness

A continuing problem of electronic data processing is allocating computer services so that management personnel use them more effectively. A frequent approach is a chargeback system whereby users are charged for data processing services. Data obtained from questionnaire responses indicate significant relationships between organization characteristics, data processing variables and management practices supporting chargeback systems. The focus of the analysis is intended to determine, empirically, the mix of management practices which lead to user awareness of computer applications and their costs and ultimately, improve data processing resource allocations in complex organizations.     

An integer programming formulation of computer data base design problems

Traditionally, computer data base design has been handled intuitively without the assistance of quantitative techniques. A systematic approach to data base design consists of these phases: (1) a mathematical problem statement; (2) problem reduction; (3) mathematical solution. This paper addresses the first phase (associated work on the other phases is briefly discussed) and demonstrates that certain data base design problems can be formulated as nonlinear, zero-one programs. The decision variables state which logical data base elements (entities and attributes) are represented in each subdivision (subfile) of the physical data base. Computational experience using cluster analysis for problem reduction and branch and bound for mathematical solution is reported. It is shown that a planned subdivision of the physical data base can yield noticeable operating cost improvements over conventional data base designs.     

Developments of CAD in civil engineering reviewed

Substantial progress has been made during the past decade in making the computer an effective analytical tool for the design engineer. However more recent development has concentrated on various features of a design offices final product. These areas comprise production of construction drawings, interactive graphics, colour graphics, pre-and post-processing of input and output data, linking analysis programs to modular design programs to provide a rapid transfer of design to the latest code requirement, use of microcomputers and personal computers. There is also significant software development for site management, cost analysis, general administration and documentation related to construction. This takes advantage of the availability of cheaper hardware which can communicate with other computers elsewhere in a network. User interaction facilities are being built into programs which allow the engineer to concentrate on design decisions. This paper reviews the developments during the last two-three years in CAD in Civil Engineering.     

Three-dimensional structural analysis using Interactive Graphics

Three-dimensional finite element structural analysis computer programs can only be used effectively when the input can be accurately generated and checked, and the output correctly examined. With the use of the Sandia Interactive Graphics System, SIGS, which consists of a cathode ray tube, a mini-computer, a CDC 6600 computer and an interactive graphics computer software system, both input and output can be effectively and efficiently processed.Examining three-dimensional objects is made practical by rotation of the object in real time with hardware and with hidden line removal. A computer program has been written with which the analyst can interactively supply and correct data to generate a three-dimensional mesh.Output processing is accomplished by describing planes which cut the three-dimensional object; then contour plots of outputted variables and deformed mesh plots are produced.     

Fesap—design program for static and dynamic structural analysis

The Structural Analysis Program, SAP, has been widely accepted and modified to perform a wide variety of structural analyses at many universities, government and industrial organizations. This paper will document the development of SAP into a user-oriented program for linear dynamic and static analysis of large complex structures which is referred to as FESAP (Finite Element Structural Analysis Program). The paper will also describe companion computer programs which constitute a total design system for thermo-structural analysis. The total system includes mesh generation programs, a heat transfer program, the structural analysis program, batch and interactive graphic computer programs, and post-processors for the results of the heat transfer and structural analysis programs.     

A community of individuals: Cooperation and individualization in computer science education

A model of education based on cooperation among responsible individuals is presented. Earlier models are discussed which involve traditional competitive-based courses as well as the more recent individualized mode. The latter has been used by the author for several years, utilizing both a personalized system of instruction (PSI) and computer-based education (CBE). Now, however, cooperation has been introduced as an explicit and integral part of education. This was done in the belief that most serious problems of our day are amenable to a cooperative problem-solving process. The techniques utilized in an introductory computer science course include: study partners for PSI units, computerized personal data base design by a small group, mutual design and use of interactive programs, use of cooperative exercises (computer and otherwise) and parties. The future of these efforts remains unknown, but there is a strong belief that cooperation is a preferable model to competition in the world to come.     

The computer and production-logistics. management

During the past two decades there has been a natural and continuing application of computers to problems in the functional area of Production and Logistics Management. These are important management problems, ranging from the design of operating systems to the development of control systems, which require the use of Computers for analysis. Therefore it is important that students in Production and Logistics Management courses become involved with the computer. The approaches to this problem run from a passing mention of the computer to an in-depth computer experience. We have experimented with several approaches, varying from the use of preprogrammed models to requiring student-developed programs. We have devised some compromise devices, including computer augmented cases and games, that help to focus the student's attention on the functional problem analysis and not on the computer technique alone. This paper presents examples of these devices and our experience in using them.     

p—a timesharing operating system for laboratory automation

An operating system supporting laboratory automation and interactive use of a computer has been designed and implemented for the multiprogrammed RC4000 computer. The emphasis in the design has been to give the user interactive access to as many system resources as possible, and to facilitate writing of process control programs in a high-level language, i.e. ALGOL. The operating system is used to run control and data collection programs for a variety of experiments in physical chemistry. Laboratory automation programs can be started and removed dynamically, and may even be restarted automatically after a system failure. The operating system is a 1500 line ALGOL program. The first version was designed, implemented and debugged in about 4 person-months. The operating system has been running day and night for approximately 5 years without errors despite heavy use.     

Trends in Data Organization and Access Methods

There has been a trend in applications programming over the past fifteen years from highly structured programs and loosely structured data toward loosely structured programs and highly structured data. Transaction oriented systems and other data directed programs make greater demands on the memory hierarchy of a computer system and have given rise to the need for storage media which are to some degree structurable under program control. Overhead in operating systems and large on-line application programs is described as a symptom of "static" and "dynamic" mismatch problems in the storage hierarchy. Some new memory organization techniques beginning to appear on computers may allow greater efficiency in data directed systems since they allow the programmer to store the structure and the content of his data separately.     

Omo river project data-management system: an appraisal

The large amount of data accumulated during a regional reconnaissance geological and geochemical survey in southwestern Ethiopia was stored and processed by computer. An open-ended, combined fixed- and free-format data-recording system was devised for field use and for subsequent addition of laboratory data. The data were typed on to magnetic tape and loaded through editing programs on to a System 2000 data base which, after correction, contained about 10 million characters. Maximum user control for access purposes was obtained by collection of the data into keyed repeating groups indexed to field station numbers. Processing included use of immediate access by teletype for presentation, limited statistical treatment, amendment of user-specified data, batch processing for organized report writing, and for creation of numerical data files for subsequent plotting and statistics.The unified data-collection system served to even out disparities between the backgrounds and interests of different observers. The main advantage of using System 2000 has been the ease and rapidity of retrieving soft data related to the significant results of hard data processing, particularly where applied to relationships between different fields of geological information. For compilation, rapid retrieval of organized data, notably for specified areas, has saved much time and labor. The major shortcoming has been the time required for initial data preparation prior to loading and for identification and change of incorrect data accepted for loading by editing programs. This drawback was due mainly to the fact that the data-recording procedure was devised before design and testing of the data base. This system should be adaptable for similar projects provided that the data-recording format is modified.