Nosa Evbuomwan - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Nosa Evbuomwan

… Processing in civil structural engineering design, 1996

The current state of activities in the design and manufacturing industry is marked by the various... more The current state of activities in the design and manufacturing industry is marked by the various CAD/CAM/CAE systems which exist as islands of automation, and are used by engineers and designers in a non-integrated and ill-structured way. Thus the design problem is examined from separate and different perspectives, rather than as a whole. The goal of this research, is to develop a comprehensive, integrated and generic design system, that will ensure the realisation of concurrent engineering in practice. To this end, Design Function Deployment (DFD) has been developed. DFD enables the capture of customers' requirements, the establishment of design specifications and constraints in a solution neutral form, the generation of conceptual designs (architectures), the development of detailed designs layouts), the selection of materials and associated manufacturing processes and the development of suitable production plans. The generated design solutions are optimised against a composite set of multi-criteria (attributes) in a concurrent manner for key factors such as performance, robustness and cost as well as other life cycle issues (manufacture, assembly, serviceability, reliability, environment, etc) in order to choose the most satisfying design. DFD provides a recipe of design methods to support the designer or design team at any stage of the design process. The optimisation process involves the use of these supporting design tools (methods) encapsulated within it. DFD also provides an integrated product modelling environment which integrates both textual and geometric design information, and enables the capture of other design information related to design intent, rationale and history. The research that led to the evolution and development of DFD involved (a) a detailed investigation and research on Quality Function Deployment, QFD, a technique well suited for capturing and translating customer requirements into design specifications, (b) an extensive review of design philosophies, models, methods and systems and (c) an extensive investigation into concurrent engineering. The findings of this research has led to the development of the structure of the DFD system, which incorporates (1) a prescriptive design model, (2) a suite of design methods and (3) supporting knowledge/rulebases and databases, which are used for the generation of the design solution space and the optimal selection of the most satisfying design for subsequent implementation.

This paper reports on some of the results of ongoing research in the development of a reinforced ... more This paper reports on some of the results of ongoing research in the development of a reinforced repair mortar to be used in enhancing the strength of downgraded reinforced concrete beams. Following the encouraging progress made in the formulation and evaluation of the plain repair mortar, preliminary tests were carried out involving the application of the reinforced repair material to the soffit of model reinforced concrete beams of 1 m length. The results of six beams are presented from a particular series of tests. The application of the polymer-modified ferrocement to the beams was found to lead to increased ultimate flexural strength and ductility, without any occurrence of bond failures.

The application of computing technologies to civil/structural engineering has grown phenomenally ... more The application of computing technologies to civil/structural engineering has grown phenomenally over the past few decades. It is safe to say therefore, that the time has now come for the advancements made to date in such technologies, to be applied to the overall spectrum of the design process within AEC companies. This paper hence sets the scene for a futuristic outlook into an integrated software framework to support the lifecycle activities involved in AEC construction projects. The paper discusses inter-alia, a model for such an integrated environment as well as the requirements to be addressed in the implementation of the software architecture It then concludes with a description of the proposed software architecture within the paradigm of Concurrent Lifecycle Design and Construction.

The development of integrated frameworks and software architectures, represent a major area of fo... more The development of integrated frameworks and software architectures, represent a major area of focus for further research and applications of concurrent engineering. This paper, in the light of this, addresses the issues paramount to the development of a software architecture for a concurrent engineering design system. This is discussed within the context of Design Function Deployment (DFD), a concurrent engineering design system, which incorporates (i) a prescriptive design model, (ii) a suite of design methods and (iii) supporting knowledgebases and databases, that are used for the concurrent generation of the design solution space and the optimal selection of the most satisfying design. The paper also discusses software requirements for the proposed concurrent engineering design system. It concludes with a comprehensive discussion of the software framework and architecture for the DFD system, as well as establishing fundamental functional specifications for the modules to be constituted within the resulting software architecture.

This paper reviews the current approaches adopted in the repair and maintenance of reinforced con... more This paper reviews the current approaches adopted in the repair and maintenance of reinforced concrete structures in the UK and explores the scope for an intelligent approach based on the use of a knowledge-based system. The concern raised by the increasing and significant amount of capital being spent on the repair and maintenance of reinforced concrete structures makes the consideration of more effective methods of addressing the problems which result from the deterioration of concrete vital. The problems are exacerbated by the myriad of specialist repair products, techniques and practitioners available -these make it difficult for both clients (building owners) and engineers acting on their behalf to adopt the most appropriate combination of repair products and techniques. Knowledge-based system techniques offer considerable potential for improving the diagnosis and subsequent repair of reinforced concrete structures by providing intelligent and objective advice. The benefits of this approach are highlighted in the paper.

… Processing in civil structural engineering design, 1996

The current state of activities in the design and manufacturing industry is marked by the various... more The current state of activities in the design and manufacturing industry is marked by the various CAD/CAM/CAE systems which exist as islands of automation, and are used by engineers and designers in a non-integrated and ill-structured way. Thus the design problem is examined from separate and different perspectives, rather than as a whole. The goal of this research, is to develop a comprehensive, integrated and generic design system, that will ensure the realisation of concurrent engineering in practice. To this end, Design Function Deployment (DFD) has been developed. DFD enables the capture of customers' requirements, the establishment of design specifications and constraints in a solution neutral form, the generation of conceptual designs (architectures), the development of detailed designs layouts), the selection of materials and associated manufacturing processes and the development of suitable production plans. The generated design solutions are optimised against a composite set of multi-criteria (attributes) in a concurrent manner for key factors such as performance, robustness and cost as well as other life cycle issues (manufacture, assembly, serviceability, reliability, environment, etc) in order to choose the most satisfying design. DFD provides a recipe of design methods to support the designer or design team at any stage of the design process. The optimisation process involves the use of these supporting design tools (methods) encapsulated within it. DFD also provides an integrated product modelling environment which integrates both textual and geometric design information, and enables the capture of other design information related to design intent, rationale and history. The research that led to the evolution and development of DFD involved (a) a detailed investigation and research on Quality Function Deployment, QFD, a technique well suited for capturing and translating customer requirements into design specifications, (b) an extensive review of design philosophies, models, methods and systems and (c) an extensive investigation into concurrent engineering. The findings of this research has led to the development of the structure of the DFD system, which incorporates (1) a prescriptive design model, (2) a suite of design methods and (3) supporting knowledge/rulebases and databases, which are used for the generation of the design solution space and the optimal selection of the most satisfying design for subsequent implementation.

This paper reports on some of the results of ongoing research in the development of a reinforced ... more This paper reports on some of the results of ongoing research in the development of a reinforced repair mortar to be used in enhancing the strength of downgraded reinforced concrete beams. Following the encouraging progress made in the formulation and evaluation of the plain repair mortar, preliminary tests were carried out involving the application of the reinforced repair material to the soffit of model reinforced concrete beams of 1 m length. The results of six beams are presented from a particular series of tests. The application of the polymer-modified ferrocement to the beams was found to lead to increased ultimate flexural strength and ductility, without any occurrence of bond failures.

The application of computing technologies to civil/structural engineering has grown phenomenally ... more The application of computing technologies to civil/structural engineering has grown phenomenally over the past few decades. It is safe to say therefore, that the time has now come for the advancements made to date in such technologies, to be applied to the overall spectrum of the design process within AEC companies. This paper hence sets the scene for a futuristic outlook into an integrated software framework to support the lifecycle activities involved in AEC construction projects. The paper discusses inter-alia, a model for such an integrated environment as well as the requirements to be addressed in the implementation of the software architecture It then concludes with a description of the proposed software architecture within the paradigm of Concurrent Lifecycle Design and Construction.

The development of integrated frameworks and software architectures, represent a major area of fo... more The development of integrated frameworks and software architectures, represent a major area of focus for further research and applications of concurrent engineering. This paper, in the light of this, addresses the issues paramount to the development of a software architecture for a concurrent engineering design system. This is discussed within the context of Design Function Deployment (DFD), a concurrent engineering design system, which incorporates (i) a prescriptive design model, (ii) a suite of design methods and (iii) supporting knowledgebases and databases, that are used for the concurrent generation of the design solution space and the optimal selection of the most satisfying design. The paper also discusses software requirements for the proposed concurrent engineering design system. It concludes with a comprehensive discussion of the software framework and architecture for the DFD system, as well as establishing fundamental functional specifications for the modules to be constituted within the resulting software architecture.

This paper reviews the current approaches adopted in the repair and maintenance of reinforced con... more This paper reviews the current approaches adopted in the repair and maintenance of reinforced concrete structures in the UK and explores the scope for an intelligent approach based on the use of a knowledge-based system. The concern raised by the increasing and significant amount of capital being spent on the repair and maintenance of reinforced concrete structures makes the consideration of more effective methods of addressing the problems which result from the deterioration of concrete vital. The problems are exacerbated by the myriad of specialist repair products, techniques and practitioners available -these make it difficult for both clients (building owners) and engineers acting on their behalf to adopt the most appropriate combination of repair products and techniques. Knowledge-based system techniques offer considerable potential for improving the diagnosis and subsequent repair of reinforced concrete structures by providing intelligent and objective advice. The benefits of this approach are highlighted in the paper.