Decision support for conceptual bridge design

A knowledge based, decision support tool for the conceptual design of bridges is described. The system incorporates a restructured version of a knowledge base (KB) for conceptual bridge design. The restructuring results in a KB which can be readily altered and extended by system users who are not expert knowledge engineers. This is achieved by using a novel form of KB in which the knowledge is fragmented into separate concepts associated with design solutions. The system also includes a new style of user interface which provides a critiquing style of interaction with the KB only interacting with the user when it detects a possible error or a more suitable design solution. The new system has been developed using object oriented programming techniques which result in a structured and robust style of KB. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier Science Limited.