Applying a Set-based Parametric Design Method to Structural Design of Bridges

Set-based design has been widely applied in manufacturing and product development, as it allows to consider a large number of alternatives during the design process. The design process in civil engineering projects may benefit from this alternative design approach, however its applicability in this field remains unexplored. The purpose of this study is to investigate the potential of applying a set-based parametric design method to the structural design of bridges. The method developed here combines set-based design, parametric design, finite element analysis and multi-criteria decision analysis. The developed method is applied to two existing bridges considering two sustainability criteria in the evaluation of the alternatives: material cost and carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent emissions. Preliminary results indicate that the method leads to bridges that are more efficient with regard to the selected sustainability criteria.