NEW RULES OF THUMB FROM COMPUTER-AIDED STRUCTURAL DESIGN: ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE FOR EXPERT SYSTEMS

Rules of thumb are of great importance in providing a first approximation in structural design. This paper explores the derivation of new rules of thumb from Pareto optimization and presents examples for the design of one-way concrete floor slabs in office buildings. The encoding of such rules using knowledge engineering concepts is discussed as a mechanism for the acquisition of knowledge for expert systems.