Bridge / Infrastructure / Non Building Structure Workflow

aditio123

hi,
i'm trying to modelling a girder bridge using bonsai and looking for the complete tutorial / workflow example that i can implement.
been looking in this page https://wiki.osarch.org/index.php?title=AECO_Workflow_Examples but it seems there's no sample for bridges / infra / non building structure there.

is there anyone who have been completely modelling those kind of model in bonsai? maybe you can share with us the efficient way doing it :), especially regarding the technical drawing things.

steverugi

@aditio123

hi,
i'm trying to modelling a girder bridge using bonsai and looking for the complete tutorial / workflow example that i can implement.

is there anyone who have been completely modelling those kind of model in bonsai?

I am, for quantity purposes, converting 2D dwg into .ifc 4x3.2 models

maybe you can share with us the efficient way doing it :)

Yet to be vetted by IFC experts but maybe for the identification of element classes/predefined type you can start with this:

a snapshot of one of the models:

Mind you, the spatial decomposition in the image was arranged according to some documents available online that do not fully adhere to IFC 4x3 standard, I need to update it, hopefully this weekend, the modeling itself could be an idea to screen-record some workflow

especially regarding the technical drawing things.

I already have the drawings, I use Bonsai primarily for quantities, sorry I can't help you on this.

FraJoMen

Hello everyone,
I've been exploring OpenBIM for infrastructure and recently came across Bonsai. From what I understand, it is a powerful tool, but I was wondering:

• Can Bonsai be effectively used for infrastructure projects (e.g., roads, pipelines, bridges, tunnels)?
• Are there any examples or workflows where Bonsai has been applied in this context?
  I have a good background in Python programming and would love to start contributing or extending its functionality. What are the best first steps to dive into the source code and development?
  Looking forward to insights from the community. Thanks in advance!
  Best regards,
  Francisco

aditio123

hi @steverugi thanks for showing your works. mine same too, converted it from DWG. and now i just start quantifying

here's my ifc hierarchy

i dont know how IfcAlignment works and how to generate "corridor" along the IfcAlignment, anyone can explain the workflow?

@FraJoMen said:
Hello everyone,
I've been exploring OpenBIM for infrastructure and recently came across Bonsai. From what I understand, it is a powerful tool, but I was wondering:

• Can Bonsai be effectively used for infrastructure projects (e.g., roads, pipelines, bridges, tunnels)?
• Are there any examples or workflows where Bonsai has been applied in this context?
  I have a good background in Python programming and would love to start contributing or extending its functionality. What are the best first steps to dive into the source code and development?
  Looking forward to insights from the community. Thanks in advance!
  Best regards,
  Francisco

i think essential things in infrastructure modelling is alignment. once you understand concept how to generate model using alignment, everything can solve later. so far my workflow only do like 3d blender modelling, the different is I can layering things based on heirarchy and producing the sections faster

beside that, maybe one of my biggest concern is regarding technical drawing product. generally you can make plan, section, and detail for each part. but when it comes to long profile, earthworks, elevation table, i think it still a long path and we still need at least to use CAD. im not expert but as far as i know most of civil engineering before using landXML as open-standard format (correct me if im wrong). ifc has IfcGeographicElement but i dont know how far the functionality for civilworks. maybe with your python skill you can develop new add-ons that can do that :D

just my 2 cent

aditio123

hi @steverugi thankyou for showing your works. mine's same. converted from DWG and now im start quantifying.
here's my model

here's the hierarchy, i try to follow yours but maybe not exactly same


i still dont understand how to utilize IfcAlignment to generate "corridor" along the alignment. can you, or is there anyone can explain how to do that?

@FraJoMen said:
Hello everyone,
I've been exploring OpenBIM for infrastructure and recently came across Bonsai. From what I understand, it is a powerful tool, but I was wondering:

• Can Bonsai be effectively used for infrastructure projects (e.g., roads, pipelines, bridges, tunnels)?
• Are there any examples or workflows where Bonsai has been applied in this context?
  I have a good background in Python programming and would love to start contributing or extending its functionality. What are the best first steps to dive into the source code and development?
  Looking forward to insights from the community. Thanks in advance!
  Best regards,
  Francisco

i think the essensial things for civil modelling is alignment, once you understand the concept you can solved other problem later. since the civil drawing presentation slightly (or maybe significantly) different from architectural drawing, all we can do is make plan, section, and detail for each part. but for long profile, elevation table, chainage (stationing), earthworks, i think it still a long path and maybe we still need at least to use CAD. and as long as i know civil engineering "BIM" using LandXML as the open-standard format. Ifc Has IfcGeographicElement but i dont know how far the implementation in civil works. maybe with your skill you can develop something to accomodate that :)

just my 2 cent. please correct me if im wrong.

steverugi

@aditio123

here's my model

nice one!

here's the hierarchy, i try to follow yours but maybe not exactly same

yours is the way to go, IfcBridge > IfcBridgePart > IfcSpace
I also make use of IfcElementAssembly and its predefined types

i still dont understand how to utilize IfcAlignment to generate "corridor" along the alignment. can you, or is there anyone can explain how to do that?

IfcAlignment is not yet implementedin Bonsai, hopefully soon

aditio123

at first im used IfcElementAssembly for Abutment too, but there are some error in Quantity calculation so i change it to IfcWall.
same for cross_bracing, i think for the mean time i will use IfcMember and IfcPlate since for Calculation i used to dismantle everything. is it okay?

steverugi

@aditio123

at first im used IfcElementAssembly for Abutment too, but there are some error in Quantity calculation so i change it to IfcWall.
same for cross_bracing, i think for the mean time i will use IfcMember and IfcPlate since for Calculation i used to dismantle everything. is it okay?

the way I use IfcElementAssembly is to 'group' elements (including IfcWall, IfcFooting, etc) nd assign a predefined type to the "empty" aggregating them, I do not have issues with quantities, same applies to IfcMember but need to check again if latest release have something, will let you know

Rick_Brice

@aditio123 We have been trying to standardize the breakdown of bridges in the US. Here is a link to what we have come up with.
https://github.com/jwouellette/TPF-5_372-Unit_Test_Suite/blob/main/US%20Bridge%20-%20IFC%20Hierarchy%20Mapping%20Diagrams.pdf
I recently started a discussion about model element breakdown for precast concrete girder bridges.
https://github.com/jwouellette/TPF-5_372-Unit_Test_Suite/discussions/17

As far as alignment is concerned, there isn't a UI to do this yet. I've been working on it, but there are some major learning obstacles for Blender/Bonsai.
In the IfcOpenShell alignment API, there is an IfcAlignmentHelper object. It can create a simple horizontal alignment using the PI method.
Here is an example i'm working on. THe alignment is hard-coded just to demonstrate the idea.

There is also a more complete example at https://github.com/civilx64/dev-ifcopenshell-4x3-infra/tree/main/examples/FHWA_Bridge_Geometry_Manual

aditio123

great! @Rick_Brice hopefully you can overcome the obstacles

@Rick_Brice said:
As far as alignment is concerned, there isn't a UI to do this yet. I've been working on it, but there are some major learning obstacles for Blender/Bonsai.
In the IfcOpenShell alignment API, there is an IfcAlignmentHelper object. It can create a simple horizontal alignment using the PI method.
Here is an example i'm working on. THe alignment is hard-coded just to demonstrate the idea.

have you check the FreeCAD Add-ons for Road engineering? https://github.com/HakanSeven12/Road maybe you can get insight there

steverugi

Hi @Rick_Brice

I recently started a discussion about model element breakdown for precast concrete girder bridges.
https://github.com/jwouellette/TPF-5_372-Unit_Test_Suite/discussions/17

very interesting stuff, thank you for sharing

As far as alignment is concerned, there isn't a UI to do this yet. I've been working on it, but there are some major learning obstacles for Blender/Bonsai.
In the IfcOpenShell alignment API, there is an IfcAlignmentHelper object. It can create a simple horizontal alignment using the PI method.
Here is an example i'm working on. THe alignment is hard-coded just to demonstrate the idea.

it would be nice to join forces on this, having the chance to implement IfcAlignment in Bonsai is not just for roads or rails design but also for modeling objects at a spefici distance/interval with reference to the alignment's chainage/station, I think.

I feel that Bonsai has become a usable tool (yet to be refined here and there) for BIM analysis, architects and QS but on other fronts (like integration 4D&5D, MEP, structural analysis) is sort of half-baked, leaving (understandably) infraworks further behind.
More reason to join forces to support its development where we can. At least it's my hope.

cheers

Rick_Brice

@steverugi

it would be nice to join forces on this

Indeed it would be nice. Right now I am lacking the knowledge to do anything meaningful in Bonsai, but I'm working on it. I've read a book on precision modeling in Blender and a second book on writing Python extensions for Blender. I am now able to do some hacking with baby-steps of success.

We are trying to get a Google Summer of Code project to jump start the effort. https://github.com/opencax/GSoC/issues/98