AN IFC-BASED PRODUCT MODEL FOR RC OR PC SLAB BRIDGES

The authors developed a product model for reinforced concrete (RC) or prestressed concrete (PC) slab bridges on the basis of the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) in order to enable interoperability of various application systems throughout the lifecycle of structures. Based on the analysis of the characteristics of RC or PC slab bridges, new classes for slabs, prestressing strands, sheaths, voids, rebars, and anchoring devices were defined. A feature of the model is that it clearly represents the relationship that the concrete slab contains elements such as rebars, prestressing strands, and voids by representing the concrete slab as a spatial structure element by B-rep. The ifcXML was selected to implement the developed product model after comparing with other XMLs. The authors implemented the schema of the product model and an instance of a prestressed concrete hollow slab bridge using ifcXML. To check the validity and practicality of the model, the product model was integrated with three application systems, by developing converter programs. The application test case shows improved efficiency and validity of the system.