KBES for design of steel structural elements

Details of a knowledge-based expert system for the design of steel structural elements (EXSEL) is presented. EXSEL forms a part of an overall system under development for the engineering of steel structures. The characteristics of the design problem are discussed first. The method EXSEL uses to address the characteristics of design problem are presented subsequently. The code requirements, expert knowledge, basic strength of materials knowledge, and the handbook information used in the steel structural element design are represented appropriately using production rules, C functions, and a relational data base. An inference mechanism—with a backward-chaining algorithm, knowledge-based backtracking, and external C function access—is used to implement the system. A few sample solutions using EXSEL are also presented. © ASCE.