Axiomatic approach to structural design

As civil engineering enters the 21st century, the demands on the profession will move toward complex, interdisciplinary tasks such as infrastructure rehabilitation, environmental cleanup, and the delivery of high-technology facilities (e.g., hospitals, R&D laboratories, and advanced manufacturing plants). The current structural design paradigm is a top-down process that includes a nonhomogeneous approach to decision-making. There is an apparent lack of basic principles to formalize and evaluate conceptual design decisions while preliminary and detailed design decisions reflect increasing formalization and reliance on computational methods. This nonhomogeneous approach to decision-making limits how well the practicing engineer can meet the impending design challenges; particularly since conceptual design decisions determine a significant portion of a project's total cost. Axiomatic design is presented as a systematic framework for structural design because it aids the designer in satisfying multiple design objectives in a homogeneous manner throughout the design process. It is also an effective framework for formalizing and evaluating conceptual design decisions. The design of a structural frame for an innovative mechanical parking system is presented as an illustrative case study. This paper represents an initial effort to apply the principles of axiomatic design to the domain of civil engineering structures.