Method For Designing A Tying Bar Enclosing A Plurality Of Concrete-Reinforcing Bars

A method of manufacturing an assembly of at least two concrete-reinforcing bars and at least a tying bar having a bar radius (RA), the tying bar being configured to enclose said concrete-reinforcing bars with a predefined bending radius (BRi), the method comprising the steps of:

• Positioning said concrete-reinforcing bars according to a given layout;
• Designing said tying bar by:
• a) Providing three-dimensional models of the concrete-reinforcing bars to be enclosed by the tying bar with a predefined bending radius (BRi) according to a predefined sequence, said tying bar having a bar radius (RA);
• b) Computing a set of traces (TRi) of each of the concrete-reinforcing bars in a transverse sketch plane (P) of the 3D scene, each trace (TRi) having a trace center (Ii);
• c) Computing a set of connection lines (Li), each connection line (Li) binding the trace centers (Ii) according to the predefined sequence;
• d) Computing a set of circular arcs (Ci), each circular arc (Ci) surrounding at least partially a respective trace (TRi) in the sketch plane (P), and computing a set of segments (Ei), each segment (Ei) being approximately parallel to a respective connection lines (Li) and connecting consecutive circular arcs (Ci) according to the predefined sequence, said segments (Ei) and said circular arcs (Ci) forming a center curve of the tying bar in the sketch plane (P);
• and
• e) Designing the tying bar based on the center curve and the bar radius (RA) of the tying bar;
• and
• Physically manufacturing said assembly, including enclosing said concrete-reinforcing bars with said tying bar.

A computer program product, comprising:

• a non-transitory computer-readable data-storage medium (MEM1-MEM4), storing computer-executable instructions that cause a computer system to design a tying bar enclosing a plurality of concrete-reinforcing bars in a 3D scene of a computer-aided design system,
• the computer-executable instructions causing the computer system to design the tying bar by:
• a) Providing three-dimensional models of the concrete-reinforcing bars to be enclosed by the tying bar with a predefined bending radius (BRi) according to a predefined sequence, said tying bar having a bar radius (RA);
• b) Computing a set of traces (TRi) of each of the concrete-reinforcing bars in a transverse sketch plane (P) of the 3D scene, each trace (TRi) having a trace center (Ii);
• c) Computing a set of connection lines (Li), each connection line (Li) binding the trace centers (Ii) according to the predefined sequence;
• d) Computing a set of circular arcs (Ci), each circular arc (Ci) surrounding at least partially a respective trace (TRi) in the sketch plane (P), and computing a set of segments (Ei), each segment (Ei) being approximately parallel to a respective connection lines (Li) and connecting consecutive circular arcs (Ci) according to the predefined sequence, said segments (Ei) and said circular arcs (Ci) forming a center curve of the tying bar in the sketch plane (P);
• and
• e) Designing the tying bar based on the center curve and the bar radius (RA) of the tying bar.

A non-transitory computer-readable data-storage medium (MEM1-MEM4) comprising:

• a memory area containing computer-executable instructions (EXP) that cause a computer system to design a tying bar enclosing a plurality of concrete-reinforcing bars in a 3D scene of a computer-aided design system, said designing being by:
• a) Providing three-dimensional models of the concrete-reinforcing bars to be enclosed by the tying bar with a predefined bending radius (BRi) according to a predefined sequence, said tying bar having a bar radius (RA);
• b) Computing a set of traces (TRi) of each of the concrete-reinforcing bars in a transverse sketch plane (P) of the 3D scene, each trace (TRi) having a trace center (Ii);
• c) Computing a set of connection lines (Li), each connection line (Li) binding the trace centers (Ii) according to the predefined sequence;
• d) Computing a set of circular arcs (Ci), each circular arc (Ci) surrounding at least partially a respective trace (TRi) in the sketch plane (P), and computing a set of segments (Ei), each segment (Ei) being approximately parallel to a respective connection lines (Li) and connecting consecutive circular arcs (Ci) according to the predefined sequence, said segments (Ei) and said circular arcs (Ci) forming a center curve of the tying bar in the sketch plane (P);
• and
• e) Designing the tying bar based on the center curve and the bar radius (RA) of the tying bar.

A computer system comprising:

• a processor (CP) coupled to a memory (MEM1-MEM4) and a graphical user interface (KB, PD, DC, DY),
• the memory storing computer-executable instructions (EXP) that design a tying bar enclosing a plurality of concrete-reinforcing bars in a 3D scene of a computer-aided design system by:
• a) Providing three-dimensional models of the concrete-reinforcing bars to be enclosed by the tying bar with a predefined bending radius (BRi) according to a predefined sequence, said tying bar having a bar radius (RA);
• b) Computing a set of traces (TRi) of each of the concrete-reinforcing bars in a transverse sketch plane (P) of the 3D scene, each trace (TRi) having a trace center (Ii);
• c) Computing a set of connection lines (Li), each connection line (Li) binding the trace centers (Ii) according to the predefined sequence;
• d) Computing a set of circular arcs (Ci), each circular arc (Ci) surrounding at least partially a respective trace (TRi) in the sketch plane (P), and computing a set of segments (Ei), each segment (Ei) being approximately parallel to a respective connection lines (Li) and connecting consecutive circular arcs (Ci) according to the predefined sequence, said segments (Ei) and said circular arcs (Ci) forming a center curve of the tying bar in the sketch plane (P);
• and
• e) Designing the tying bar based on the center curve and the bar radius (RA) of the tying bar.