SISTRUT Software e Tecnologia
INFORMATION
SISTRUT Software and Technology is a company acting as consultant and software development for
Structural Engineering. The info enclosed on this HomePage are reserved for structural engineers
users of SISTRUT system and to all professionals which act on an area of Projects Engineering.
The following texts are designated for interested people who have interest to know a little
bit more of Engineering Projects, the function of the Structural Engineer and principal, the
importance of a good project elaboration, before building of any edification.
Day by day, the works executed by Projects Engineering are contributing to your confort and progress.
Some topics regarding to these subjects will be presented, which recommend to all of interested
people that doesn't belong to an area of Structural Engineering.
We will have on this document, texts that can help you on a future construction, acquisition or repair
of a building, give attendance to build a building, etc.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING
At first, it could be interesting try to define Engineering. On a simple way, we can say that Engineering
is a joint of sciences and experiences that, attached to the commom sense, associate to the economic agents
can enable the engineer to execute his objective on the best way as possible.
Civil Engineering is something inside of engineering which acts in the civil works as construction of houses
and buildings, roads, bridges, rain passageway and drainage, water supplier, energy generator, etc. Everyone
of us is able to build a house, some of us could build a bridge but, only an engineer has the technical
knowledge gathered to the commom sense acquired by his experience to build this house or that bridge on the
best way is possible and, we have to understand it as a rationalization of available resources without attack to
the environment, never forgetting the economic viability.
At this point we start to detect that, to execute several constructive degrees, we'll need a lot of studies
that analyse the possible options and solutions, then we can select the most appropriate solution. These are
exactly the functions executed by Projects Engineering.
On a several specialities that we'll find in the Projects Engineering, the Structural Engineering is the
responsible for the elaboration of a structural project of new works, analysis of works which can present
problems, cheking of a resistant capacity to amplify or new utilizations for a civil work could be submitted, etc.
Then, what is the structure of a civil work? Well, the construction elements are responsible to assure the
work stability and permanence during the useful life which it was projected. In case of a house or a building,
the whole of structural elements which put in action these functions are the slabs, beams,columns, foudations.
In case of bridges and viaducts, we can mention the same structural elements. The tunnels have another kind of
structural elements that guarantee their performance. Could be an airplane, a ship, a football stadium, a
transmission tower of energy, a water gallery, finally, in all of civil works that everyday live with us, there's the
participation of the Projects Engineering, with a purpose to assure the good structural performance and
behavior when this work is subordinated to the usual solicitations of utilization that was projected.
THE OTHERS AREAS OF THE PROJECT ENGINEERING
Several others specialities will be find in the Projects Engineering. We can mention the Electrical Projects,
Hydraulic Projects, Aerodynamic, Hydrics, Transports and many others.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STRUCTURAL PROJECT
The project as a whole is very important. It doesn't matter if you have a good structural project and another
one of a bad quality. To assure the quality and the survival of a civil work you need harmony between the adopted
solutions, it means a coherence and compatibility between the several projects which were elaborated. Then, the
administration of interferences between projects of a civil work is so important as each one of the projects
separately. We can't say that the Structural Project is more important than the others but, the responsability
which the Structural Project Engineer assumes when he elaborates a project it's bounteously bigger than the
assumed responsability in others specialities at last, we are talking about human lives.
When a building presents problems on its structure and finally it falls down, it can be a slab of a residence,
or a contention work on a hill, it can be a bridge on a road, the consequences are catastrophic and normaly
without the possibility of a mend on its solution. Can we say that few cases are when it happens? NO,
unfortunately there are many cases but they are not propagated.
CONSEQUENCES OF A STRUCTURAL PROJECT DONE ON A WRONG WAY
The structural project elaboration is done through many phasis, then to describe what could be a project done on
a wrong way, we have to analyse one by one.
Structure Conception it's an engineer creation when he defines which and where are the structural elements that
will assure the structural functioning of the edification.
By the way the engineer will be helped by mathematical and design tools (computer programs to Structural Engineering),
which will analyse the created model to represent the reality of the edification after its construction.
A structure that could conduct on a different way from the projected one due a wrong conception, model analysis fault,
etc, could cause a lot of troubles during the utilization. The exaggerated deformations making cracks on the walls,
stucked doors, when we don't have more serious cases when the building put in risk their users, being useful to leave it.
The time that the engineer has to dedicate to the project creation is an important step. It's necessary for the professional
to analyse and analyse over and over his solution to assure not only the best structural result of the building, but also
the economic solution. Although, sometimes we can have a structural project that after his execution it'll not present
problems but, the exaggeration of the structural conception and dimension of its elements, will result on a hibher cost.
It would be nice to emphasize that for each cent paid for a welldone project, we can have hundreads of saving cents, on this building.
HOW TO CONTRACT A QUALIFIED PROJECT
We have no intention to define 'quality' but, in resume we'll say in this case, quality is satisfaction of who will contract the project, on its
elaboration, the relationship between the projects, on its presentation to adopt solutions, the accompany and inspection when they're contracted
during the work and, principal during the whole useful life of the building.
To contract a good project means to select a project office or a self professional which has an appropriate curriculum to the kind of building that
will be projected. We have to consider during the selection that his works belong to his cultural and technological inheritance. To select the best
solution you have to allow freedom to the professional to study many solutions. The project remuneration has an immediate restore because if he's well
remunerated, he can execute less projects at the same time, and consequently, he can dedicate more time on better solutions to be adopted.
THE SISTRUT PERFORMANCE ON THIS PROCESS
SISTRUT works with software development (computer programs) for Structural Engineering. It's our work to develop several tools which will be useful by the
Structural Engineer everyday on his work, making easy some of the topics that we mentioned before during the project elaboration. It's very important remember
that with the help of computer programs just a part of the task will be executed. The creation of the structural solution, the analysis of interferences
and a good sense of the presented solutions are tasks which are impossible to be automatic because every building is an only one and it's necessary to be
analysed separetely.
The computer programs for Structural Engineering will be useful to the engineer to the algebraic solutions for numerical analyse of models created to
represent the structure reality after the building, in the management of the project information and his consistency, developing a constructive drawing,
elaborating a list of materials that will be consume and elaborating technical reports.
THE OBJECTIVE OF THESE DOCUMENTS
The main objective of this Home Page is to be able through Internet, support, information, professional project contact to research professionals in universities and instituts, divulging the
technical codes which will help the Project Engineer, inform the laws and the professional ethic conduct.
SISTRUT® Software e Tecnologia
All rights reserved to Marcelo de Paula Picarelli
main eMail mailing@sistrut.com.br
jul/2000