A novel BIM opensource platform to support design and maintenance of maritime structures

This research work aims to extend the application of the Building Information Modeling methodology (hereinafter referred to as BIM) to the design and management of maritime structures. To date, BIM has been usually and widely adopted for the design, construction, and maintenance management of buildings and civil infrastructures, such as bridges and roads. Accordingly, the associated information layers and classification systems (e.g., Industry Foundation Classes, IFC) are well established and are suitable mainly for these types of structures. Indeed, the same classes cannot be directly applied to maritime structures, such as vertical or rubble-mound breakwaters. Existing classes are not able to describe specific properties such as the inherent geometric complexity of maritime structures, nor do they allow for the representation of the interaction between maritime structures and meteocean forcing (e.g., stability number, overtopping safety, etc.). Therefore, this work aims to provide the technical and scientific community with a new tool, hereinafter referred to as ”BIM for maritime structures” (BIMMs), which is based on a specific geometrical engine and a companion BIM information system developed for maritime structures. The proposed tool defines the information that must be assigned to each component of maritime structures. Its applicability is demonstrated through two real case studies, highlighting its feasibility and reliability in supporting both the design and maintenance of maritime structures.