Automated finite element modeling method for steel bridges integrating 3D point clouds and intelligent drawing recognition technology

IF 11.5 1区工程技术 Q1 CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

Automation in Construction Pub Date : 2025-08-14 DOI:10.1016/j.autcon.2025.106466

Yixuan Chen , Chenhao Gao , Qijing Chen , Jian Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Laser scanning is widely recognized for capturing bridge geometry, yet automation of information extraction and finite element model (FEM) generation remains limited by manual intervention. Therefore, an automated FEM framework for bridges is proposed by integrating point cloud with intelligent recognition techniques. This paper presents three key contributions: (1) A high-precision external dimension extraction algorithm is developed based on bridge-specific features and secondary segmentation, combining projection density, adaptive thresholding, and region-growing RANSAC; (2) An internal drawing extraction framework is established using deep learning-based search, optical character recognition (OCR), and large language models for automated retrieval of structural information; (3) A FEM generation process is implemented by aligning internal and external data through component naming conventions, using a three-step algorithm involving segmentation, element creation, boundary and load assignment. Validations on arch bridge model and pedestrian bridge are conducted. This paper provides an initial exploration toward automated digital modeling in bridge engineering.

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结合三维点云和智能绘图识别技术的钢桥有限元自动化建模方法

激光扫描在获取桥梁几何图形方面得到了广泛的认可，但信息提取和有限元模型生成的自动化仍然受到人工干预的限制。因此，将点云和智能识别技术相结合，提出了一种自动化的桥梁有限元框架。本文提出了三个主要贡献：(1)结合投影密度、自适应阈值分割和区域增长RANSAC，提出了一种基于桥特征和二次分割的高精度外维提取算法；(2)利用基于深度学习的搜索、光学字符识别（OCR）和大型语言模型建立内部绘图提取框架，实现结构信息的自动检索；(3)采用分段、单元创建、边界和载荷分配三步算法，通过构件命名约定对齐内部和外部数据，实现了有限元生成过程。对拱桥模型和人行天桥进行了验证。本文对自动化数字建模在桥梁工程中的应用进行了初步探索。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Automation in Construction 工程技术-工程：土木

CiteScore

19.20

自引率

16.50%

发文量

563

审稿时长

8.5 months

期刊介绍： Automation in Construction is an international journal that focuses on publishing original research papers related to the use of Information Technologies in various aspects of the construction industry. The journal covers topics such as design, engineering, construction technologies, and the maintenance and management of constructed facilities. The scope of Automation in Construction is extensive and covers all stages of the construction life cycle. This includes initial planning and design, construction of the facility, operation and maintenance, as well as the eventual dismantling and recycling of buildings and engineering structures.