How It Works

EvaDAT is free to use. However, you must be registered and logged in to have unrestricted access to the evaluation example database.

Examples 1–5 are taken from the guideline ‘VDI 6201 Software-Aided Structural Analysis’ and examples 6–28 from the Zukunft Bau research project ‘Design and development of a standardised example database for software-aided structural analysis based on VDI 6201 for the use of structural analysis software in BIM-based process chains’. They may therefore differ slightly from the specifications on this platform.

Sample Example

In the appendix below, you will find a sample example to give you a rough idea of the structure of the evaluation examples. Existing, fully worked-out examples are listed under ‘Find examples’ (Database menu item).

Further help

• In the other tabs on this page, we have provided a basic explanation of the steps ‘Add examples’, ‘Edit examples’ and ‘Rate examples’. This gives you a general overview of the individual steps, and you will find additional general explanations under ‘Using examples’ and ‘Terms’.

• In particular, on the “Add example” and “Edit example” pages, you’ll find pop-ups with help texts that explain the individual sections in detail, sometimes with illustrations. You can open these by clicking on the question mark in the relevant section.

• We have answered frequently asked questions in the FAQ section.

• Please get in touch via our contact page at any time if you have any further questions, if certain features are missing, or if you are unable to edit your content as you would like.

Overview of all examples

You can find all published examples on the ‘Find examples’ page (under the ‘Database’ menu item). Use the filter function there with keywords based on the VDI 6201 classification to find an example suitable for your purpose.

Colour of the examples

You can identify the status of an example by its colour:

Titles of the examples

The title indicates which class the example belongs to:

• e.g. 0001-A-Example Title 1: Analytical verification example

• e.g. 0002-B-Example Title 2: Numerical verification example

• e.g. 0003-C-Example title 3: Experimental validation example

• e.g. 0004-D-Example title 4: Standards-based verification example

• e.g. 0005-E-Example title 5: Systemic validation example

You can also see whether the example is a working group example, i.e. one created by a working group (committee, association, society, etc.):

• e.g. 0001-A-VDI 6201-Example title 1: created by the working group ‘VDI 6201 Software-Aided Structural Analysis’ (Abbreviation: VDI 6201)

Reference Solution

The ‘Reference Solution’ section contains either the analytical solution (Class A), the experimental result (Class C), the standard-based result (Class D) or a compilation of the results produced by the contributors (Classes B and E, and, where applicable, Class D for solution methods going beyond the standard).

Results

In the ‘Results’ section, you will find the individual results produced by the contributors to the example, along with the software programmes used in each case. Each example (with the exception of guideline examples 1 to 5) is usually assigned three contributors, each using a separate software program. For examples from working groups, this number may be higher.

Further results (additional results)

Further results from other software programmes may be found below the participants’ results. However, these have not undergone the qualification process and must be assessed by you yourself!

Comments

If you have any relevant comments (both positive and negative) on an example, you can post them under ‘Comments’. Comments remain visible at all times. Should well-founded doubts arise regarding the accuracy of a qualified example, which cannot be refuted by the contributors, the contributors will be asked to revise the example.

General information

• Please ensure that the example does not already exist.

• Examples may be written in German, in English, or in both German and English.

Set the problem statement and become the creator of a new example

• Click on the ‘Add example’ menu item. To do this, you must be registered and logged in.

• Enter a concise short title. You can enter the title directly in multiple languages or have it translated automatically from the source language.

• Classify the example in accordance with VDI 6201. Only the class is mandatory; all other fields are optional.

• Specify the company or institution you work for. Ideally, you will have already entered this in your profile and will simply need to select it.

All details (title, classification, organisation, etc.) can also be amended whilst editing.

• If you belong to a working group:

  • You should specify a working group if the example is being submitted as part of a working group (committee, association, club, etc.). This option is only available if you are a member of a working group listed in the database. You can then also select more than three contributors.

• Click ‘Create’.

The example will then be created as a draft, which is visible only to you.

• Describe the problem in words and illustrate it with images.

• You can register as a contributor and post a result, but you do not have to.

  • If you register as a contributor, you will find instructions on how to edit the example in the ‘Edit examples’ tab.

• Once you have drawn up a clear description of the problem, you can publish the example. It is up to you whether you upload a reference solution and a result before publication.

Once the example is published, we will assign it a number and it will be listed in the database. It will then be open to others to register for a contributor slot.

You can find all your examples under ‘My Uploads’ (Database menu item). Before publication, your drafts are also accessible via this section.

Become an editor and submit results

• Register as an editor by clicking the ‘Register as an editor’ button next to the relevant example.

  • If you do not see the button, it is not possible to register as an editor for that example – for instance, because you are already an editor for the example, there are no editor slots left, or it is an example from a working group to which you do not belong.

• When registering as an editor, select the software programme you are using – it must be different from those used by the other editors.

• You can also specify whether your result is to be made visible to all logged-in users of the database whilst you are still working on it.

  • This setting only affects logged-in users of the database who are not involved in your example. The other participants in the example (the creator, other editors) will always see your result. Guests (users who are not logged in) will never see your result. Once qualification has been successfully completed, all results will be made visible to logged-in users of the database.

• Then click on ‘Register as an editor’.

There are usually three editor slots available per example. If an example is being worked on by a working group, the creator can increase this number.

Working on an evaluation example

• Once you are registered as an editor of an example, you can edit the individual sections. You can access the edit page by clicking on the pencil icon on the right-hand side of the table on the pages ‘Find examples’, ‘My uploads’ or ‘My favourites’.

• Compare your results with those of the other editors.

• Discuss any discrepancies that arise within the editorial group using the comment function.

• Revise individual sections of the example if necessary.

• If there is no pre-determined reference solution (Classes B, D, E): Work together as a group to develop a reference solution that summarises the results of all contributors.

• Jointly draft an assessment of the example. The outcomes of your discussion should be incorporated into the assessment.

• Each section (with the exception of the title) is assigned to exactly one source language. Set the language to the one in which you have completed the section.

  • Translation will only take place once the example has been validated. You can find more information on this under the ‘Validate example’ tab.

Qualifying an evaluation example

• Have the sections ‘Classification’, ‘Problem description’, ‘Reference solution’, ‘Results of all contributors’, ‘Assessment’ and ‘References’ been completed to your satisfaction? If so, classify the example as ‘qualified’.

• You can see whether your example meets all the requirements to be finally qualified by looking at the two large coloured areas in the ‘Qualification’ section.

  • The left-hand section is highlighted in green if all prerequisites have been met. Only then is final qualification possible. You can view the details under ‘Show details’.

  • The right-hand section is usually highlighted in green or blue. Green indicates that all optional recommendations have been implemented, whilst blue indicates that there are individual points that could still be optimised. The example can be qualified in both cases.

• Only when the ‘qualified’ status has been agreed upon by the creator and all editors, and all requirements have been met, will you see the ‘Set qualified status for this example’ button. The same applies to the statuses ‘deferred’ and ‘rejected’.

• Once you have clicked the ‘Set qualified status for this example’ button, the example is finally qualified. It will then have a new status and your work will be made available to all registered users of the site.

• Once the qualification process is complete, the example can no longer be edited. If you wish to provide further results – for example, from other software products – you can do so using the ‘Add further results’ option at the end of the results section.

• Comments made during the editing process are saved but are no longer visible.

Translation of examples

• For each section of an example (problem description, reference solution, result 1, result 2, …), you can set an original language whilst editing. The default here is the language you use as your UI language (menu top right or under Account settings).

• One special feature is the title, which can be entered directly in multiple languages. The reason for this is that we generate the example’s URL from the title, and ideally this should be available as early as possible.

• As soon as an example is approved, we trigger a full, automatic translation of the example via DeepL. You do not need to do anything else. If the translation is successful, users can then view the example in the original language and in the translated form.

• Users can then confirm the machine translations. If any confirmations are still pending, a ‘Confirm translations’ button will be displayed on the example page. If you click this, you can select the sections requiring confirmation and log in to confirm them. Both language versions will then be displayed side by side, allowing you to check them and refine the machine translation if necessary.

• A translation can also be confirmed externally by another user; in other words, as the creator or editor of an example, you are not responsible for ensuring that your content is translated or that the translation of your content is confirmed.

• If you have signed up to confirm a machine translation, you will see it under ‘My Translations’ and can continue with any outstanding ones.

Evaluation examples are used to assess software. This includes both verification examples and validation examples:

Validation (definition according to VDI 6201)

Evidence that software is suitable for the user's specific task. Note: The results are to be assessed with regard to conformity with the recognized rules of engineering practice and/or experiments.^*

Verification (definition according to VDI 6201)

Evidence that software delivers the correct result for the implemented mechanical model, i.e. that it has been programmed correctly. Note: This also includes comparison with analytical values.^*

According to VDI 6201, evaluation examples are divided into 5 classes:

Analytical verification examples

The reference solution is available in analytical form. Consequently, the results can be verified with arbitrary accuracy. Since an analytical solution can generally only be obtained with corresponding simplifications, these must be presented in detail.^*

Numerical verification examples

The reference solution is available in verified approximate calculations. Consequently, the results can only be verified with limited accuracy. A substantial part of the verification example is to prove that the solution is correct within the framework of the theory used. The quality of the results must generally be demonstrated by a convergence study or limiting-value analysis.^*

Experimental validation examples

The reference solution is available from carefully conducted experiments. Consequently, the results can only be verified within the limits of measurement tolerances and systematic experimental errors. Here it can only be shown to what extent the measured reality can be represented. The complete specification of the measurement parameters is of particular importance here.^*

Standards-based verification examples

The reference solution is available as a standardized result corresponding to the recognized state of the art. Verification shows the extent to which the selected software is capable of meeting the objectives defined in a standardized requirement. Additional validation can also demonstrate why results that deviate from the standard represent a more accurate solution as a consequence of a more precise theory.^*

Systemic validation examples

A reliable reference solution is not available. These evaluation examples cover the entire process of a practical task; action combinations, construction stages, and compliance with regulations can be addressed here.^*

*) Reproduced with permission of Verein Deutscher Ingenieure e. V.