In order to achieve the climate policy goals, local public transport is very significant. The design and planning of infrastructure such as a Tram Track infrastructure determines not only its effectiveness but also its cost and sustainability over its entire life cycle. In addition, the infrastructure consists of a large number of different subsystems that must be taken into account and planned. Combining the different systems allows a comprehensive view and consideration of the relationships and constraints between the systems. In this work, an independent tram track is considered, which consists of network elements and network relations. The systems of a Steel Bridge and a Footbridge are added as network elements. A bridge consists of many different components. Of particular importance is the abutment wall (Retaining Wall System), which provides stability and transfers the loads to the ground. The structural system of the Tram Track is extended by a Traffic Dam.

Integration Context

To connect the five systems into an integrated context for which a combined ontology and parametric model can be developed, firstly their context has to be clarified to evaluate their relations and connection points. A Tram Track is typical for inner-city infrastructure, where it contributes to the sustainability of a city as a public transport option. Foot Bridges allow bicycles and pedestrians to safely cross traffic points or canals and rivers, thus attribute to the urban connectivity of cities. Another usage of Foot Bridges can be as a passage for pipelines or as an ecopassage for animals and plants. The latter is more common in outer-city areas. Traffic Dams serve as the substructure of roads and railways in landscapes with depressions in the topology to provide a constantly even path for vehicles or trains. Bridges are built to guide traffic over large terrain depressions or waters. Steel Bridges usually become economic for large spans which is why they are less common in inner-city contexts.

There are different interfaces between those five systems that are to be combined to one context. By clicking on the front figure above, different common infrastructure combinations connecting some of those systems are presented. The first figure shows an inner-city bridge for tram traffic that might also have an additional path for pedestrians. In figure 2 there is a foot bridge for cyclists and pedestrians that crosses rails which are probably for long-distance traffic. In the following picture a traffic dam with rail tracks is combined with a bridge to guide trains over a depression in the terrain. Figure 4 even shows four of the systems combined: Rail Tracks that are guides from a Traffic Dam over a Bridge with a Retaining Wall that supports the dam and functions as an abutment for the bridge. The last picture shows that a small Dam and a small Retaining Wall can also be needed in inner cities as abutments for a Foot Bridge. Even though some of the systems are more suitable for inner-city areas while others are commonly built in outer-city areas, there are clear interfaces between the different systems.

Click for the next picture!

Combination of a Tram Track with a Foot Bridge (Source)

Based on these preliminary considerations and with regard to the parametric model to be created, the integration context was defined as follows: The civil engineered system is a Tram Track routing passing along a Traffic Dam, which can be crossed by a Footbridge, and is led from the Dam over a Steel Bridge that has a Retaining Wall as an abutment. This context could arise in suburban areas where tram lines run or end, but the terrain is uneven so that a dam is needed to level the ground under the tram tracks. The Steel Bridge can lead the tram over canals or rivers or over large terrain depressions where a dam would no longer be economical. The Steel Bridge requires a Retaining Wall as an abutment if the ground needs to be supported, as on a steep slope. The Foot Bridge allows pedestrians or cyclists to cross the Tram Dam which may be necessary in places where the tram routing disrupts important foot and cyclist paths or near tram stations. Another use of the Footbridge could be for pipelines or animals if the routing of the tram passes through areas in concern.

In general, the combination of a long-span Steel Bridge and a Traffic Dam would be more common for outer-city routes where fast or long-distance trains would run. Since the track system of trams and other kinds of trains are very similar the context could easily be changed to railway routes. However, this is only a possible extension of the chosen integration context and is not considered in this elaboration.

Ontology Combination

This website presents the combination process of the individual ontologies. In addition, overviews of the individual ontologies and the overall ontology are shown. Advantages and disadvantages as well as possible extensions are also discussed.

Integration of parametric models

The parametric models of the individual systems modeled with Dynamo are also merged into one integration model. The input variables to specify geometric and semantic properties allows for a variety of design options, with x different ones presented. Dependencies of the models on each other are also identified.