INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION FOR DEVELOPING THE BRIDGE PRODUCT MODEL "IFC-BRIDGE"

Abstract

ABSTRACT IAI French Speaking Chapter developed a bridge product model called IFC-BRIDGE based on IFC of IAI and OA-EXPRESS of SETRA in 2002. Around the same, a Japanese research group at Muroran Institute of Technology developed a prestressed concrete bridge product model by expanding IFC in collaboration with Japan Prestressed Concrete Contractors Association. Both of the product models were verified by converting data among CAD systems, design and analysis programs. Both French and Japanese groups did not know their efforts in developing bridge product models each other, although their approaches were quite similar. To make the product models internationally accepted in the future, both groups agreed that mutual collaboration would be necessary and both of the models should be carefully reviewed and merged into one and that the integrated product model should be verified internationally. Recently both French and Japanese groups have proposed a new modified IFC-BRIDGE by merging their product models. In this paper, first, the previous French IFC-BRIDGE and the Japanese bridge product model are described. Then, how those two models were merged into one is presented. In the merging process, various modeling aspects, advantages and disadvantages of each approach were discussed. And finally, a new IFC-BRIDGE product model is described and future work is discussed.