Development of a software application for timber design

Abstract

Timber is a material with significant potential which, however, is underutilised in professional practice. One reason for this is a relative lack of software that would help practitioners handle the complexity of new design codes such as Eurocode 5. This paper documents the development of a structural timber design software package that evolved from research software developed at the National Technical University of Athens. The jump from research to practice introduces significant challenges in both structural and software engineering. There is a requirement for a multidisciplinary approach throughout the project team as structural engineers need to be able to write code that is efficient and easy to maintain. Identifying the exact problem to solve is particularly important as a balance must be struck between optimisation, usability and programming complexity. Finally, the testing process, including the identification of appropriate source data, plays a key role. Despite the challenges, however, the development of specialised software for niche markets remains a viable option for the evolution of research projects as the infrastructure requirements are relatively low and the continuing integration of information and communication technology in civil and structural engineering will generate new opportunities for researchers.