Application of entity-based approach for unified representation of design alternatives for structural design

To support the design process fully from preliminary to detailed design stages in a natural way, a computer-integrated design system is needed. In early design stages more than one design alternatives are considered as possible solutions. The representation of design alternatives must be uniform and unbiased to be equally treated. In this study, an entity-based approach has been adopted to develop product and process models for representing design alternatives, which is more desirable for top–down design process because it allows high-level abstraction in representing design information and design activities. The entity-based approach has several benefits: (1) a unified representation of design alternatives; (2) a consistent development of product and process models based on the entity-based concepts; and (3) an easy integration of the product and process models. The work toward product and process models for structural design presented in this paper is a useful step toward integrated computer-aided design systems.