Rebar Comparison

Used primarily to upgrade the v8i version models to OpenBridge Modeler 2024 and helps assessment of those possible minor differences in geometry and location of rebar. The tool can also be used to compare rebars in successive Update versions of ProStructures.

Accessed from:
  • Ribbon: Concrete > Utilities > Rebar Utilities > Rebar Comparison

With respect to past v8i versions of OpenBridge Modeler , the 2024 updates have improved not only in features and performance, but also the realignment to the bar location in various tools, mainly to cover distances. This made the solution more intuitive and straightforward. Therefore when upgrading v8i files to 2024, this will possibly shift the main bar location slightly, and stirrups/ties might seen changed their dimensions.

Setting Description
Menu bar Allows manipulating the rebar element list and preview required objects in the view:
  • Highlight Active - allows highlighting the upgraded rebar object in the active model.
  • Highlight Reference - allows highlighting the upgraded rebar object in the reference (original v8i) model.
  • Isolate Selected - allows isolating rebar selected from the list in the model.
  • Fit Selected - allows fitting the view on the rebar selected from the list.
  • Export to CSV - allows exporting the rebar difference list to a csv file.
  • Reason Code Information - Opens the link to the Bentley Communities page containing explanations of the possible differences between upgraded and original models.
Comparison List Displays in tabular form the list of bars having differences as outcome of the comparison. The columns for Concrete ID, Name, Rebar ID, Barmark, Size and Length are displayed for V8i, CONNECT Edition and 2024 versions. The status bar also lists the count of total bars found in the model. The right-click > Hide Identical Values will hide the cells in the list table that have identical values and simply display "-". You can unhide then by toggling the right click option.
The Possible Reason column displays the Case# and description of the case that might have caused the difference, e.g. 
Case1: Bean Stirrup Geometry.
The Reviewed column is where you can set the status, after the bar is reviewed and fixed, as required. The available options in right-click are:
  • Set Reviewed Flag - used to tick mark the item that is reviewed and optionally worked on. You can apply this command to one or multiple rows.
  • Clear Reviewed Flag - used to clear the tick mark for the item that might need revisiting for review. You can apply this command to one or multiple rows.
  • Hide Reviewed Items - used to hide the review items so that the bars that need alright, will be hidden in the view. You can apply this command in any row. Once Hide, the status stays hidden for all marked items, until you toggle the Hide back to view. The status bar count will also show the number of hidden items in parenthesis.

When the tool is executed it will show a list of bars that are different compared to the original v8i model. From there users can highlight specific bars, investigate the difference, review possible difference reason, adjust it in 2024 model and update its status. The status of last review and arrangement of the list in the dialog recognized when you revisit the session.

Key-in: Rebar Comparison Createattachment
Used to create the RebarComparison dgn file and attach the same as the reference file in the model. It will not compare the dgn files but will allow users to check for differences in the model manually.
Key-in: Rebar Comparison Removeattachment
Used to remove the referenced RebarComparison dgn which is added by using key-in 'rebar comparison create attachment'. This key-in only removes the corresponding RebarComparison dgn file out of all referenced files if there are any attached already.
Key-in: Rebar Comparison Showdiff
Used to create the RebarComparison file, attach it as a reference, will do the comparison of rebars in reference file and master file and will list out the differences in rebar, if any, with possible reason.

Cases of differences

The community page accessed via (Reason Code Information) on the toolbar lists all known cases where upgraded models might be different from the original files. Each case contains a brief explanation together with sample images from v8i, CONNECT Edition and 2024 product versions, as well as example tool settings. Where possible, the solution to make models identical was also described.