Logical object structure and system implementation for BIM database in civil infrastructures

ABSTRACT

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has attracted much attention as a vital information method in civil engineering. BIM data research has become increasingly important with the continuous understanding of BIM. The database designed especially for storing BIM data (IFC data) is called a BIM database. To realize centralized storage and sharing of complex building information, how to design and develop a BIM database will be a hot topic. However, the BIM database designed using an existing logical model (such as a relational model) is unsuitable for storing and managing a large amount of BIM data. To this end, we propose a database logical model for BIM database development called ‘logical object structure’. Based on the database design methodology, the logical schema of the BIM database is discussed, and five relation forms are established to describe the feature of engineering information. According to the relation forms, the logical object structure is presented, and the corresponding system implementation process is discussed. Finally, four workloads are set to test the logical object structure. The results show that the logical object structure can well support interactive behaviors of BIM data and provide good performance for the BIM database.

KEYWORDS:

• Database design
• BIM
• data structure
• civil engineering
• complex network

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52130807), Program of Chang Jiang Scholars of Ministry of Education, Science Xplore Prize Award. These supporting agencies are gratefully acknowledged.

Data availability

Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 52130807]; Science Xplore Prize Award; Program of Chang Jiang Scholars of Ministry of Education.