Easy Cost Estimation Tool for Structural System of Building
A brief overview of what your tools does (to help users decide whether to download it and give it a try). Think of a “ReadMe” file for software.
The tool is a valuable resource for structural engineers, construction managers, and project owners aiming to manage and optimize the budget and performance of structural systems. This tool is designed to assist in making informed decisions about the trade-offs between different structural components and their associated costs, even in the absence of detailed designs.
Inputs
- Bay sizes of the structure in X and Y direction
- Number of beams in each bay
- Direction of the beam system
- Story height
- Element size for columns and beams
- Footprint of building used for estimation
- Number of stories in the building
- Cost of structural materials per unit weight for different strength
Firstly, the tool will create a according structure based on inputs of building dimensions which include building height, width and length. Then, the function will produce lines and according structural elements based on the input variables. Next, the function will calculate the element weight by directly read all weight of elements and sum together . Finally, it will calculate the final cost of the structural system based on element weight and element strength.
Final Cost = element weight * cost of structural material of specified strength per unit weight.
To calculate the material cost based on each structural element’s material, I read the structural type from the each structural element in Revit and match the element type with the input cost for different strength of material by using a python script. Different from the approach I proposed in part 1, I directly read the input for the cost of materials for different strength. By doing that, I condense two factors into one which simplifying the calculation process.
Output:
- Total weight of the structural system
- Total cost of the structural system
- Typical girder length in two direction
- Typical beam length
The total weight of the structural system is a helpful design factor for structural engineers to calculate the according seismic force in the project location. This output can help engineer have a preliminary understanding on how heavy the structural system is.
The total cost of the structural system can help both engineers and construction managers to manage the cost of the structural system according to the budget limit specified by the project owner.
The typical length for girders and beam is also an important factor for the design of structural system. A structural element with too long spans may lead to larger deflection compared to the limit on the code. In opposite, small spans of structural element represent inefficient of the structural system that the strength of all structural elements are not be mostly utilized.
In conclusion, all these added output can be good factors for both engineers and construction managers to keep track of during the process of optimizing the structural systems within the given rectangular shape of the building.
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