On systematic approaches for interpreted information transfer of inspection data from bridge models to structural analysis

In conjunction with the improved methods of monitoring damage and degradation processes, the interest in reliability assessment of reinforced concrete bridges is increasing in recent years. Automated imagebased inspections of the structural surface provide valuable data to extract quantitative information about deteriorations, such as crack patterns. However, the knowledge gain results from processing this information in a structural context, i.e. relating the damage artifacts to building components. This way, transformation to structural analysis is enabled. This approach sets two further requirements: availability of structural bridge information and a standardized storage for interoperability with subsequent analysis tools. Since the involved large datasets are only efficiently processed in an automated manner, the implementation of the complete workflow from damage and building data to structural analysis is targeted in this work. First, domain concepts are derived from the back-end tasks: structural analysis, damage modeling, and life-cycle assessment. The common interoperability format, the Industry Foundation Class (IFC), and processes in these domains are further assessed. The need for usercontrolled interpretation steps is identified and the developed prototype thus allows interaction at subsequent model stages. The latter has the advantage that interpretation steps can be individually separated into either a structural analysis or a damage information model or a combination of both. This approach to damage information processing from the perspective of structural analysis is then validated in different case studies

Life cycle energy efficiency in building structures: A review of current developments and future outlooks based on BIM capabilities

The continuous developments of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry supported by the advancements in material resourcing and construction processes could offer engineers the essential decision-making procedures to leverage the raising demands for sustainable structural designs. This article brings together the theory of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the capabilities of BIM to survey the current developments in the energy efficiency of structural systems. In addition, the article explores the engineering dimensions of common decision-making procedures within BIM systems including optimisation methods, buildability and safety constraints and code compliance limitations. The research presents critical expositions in both engineering and sustainable energy domains. The article then argues that future innovations in the sustainable decision-making of buildings’ structures would require BIM-integrated workflows in order to facilitate the conflicting nature of both energy efficient and engineering performance indexes. Finally, the study puts forward a series of research guidelines for a consolidated decision paradigm that utilises the capabilities of BIM within the engineering and sustainable energy domains in a synergistic manner

A Multiplatform BIM-Integrated Construction Waste Quantification Model during Design Phase: the case of the Structural System in a Spanish Building

Construction waste (CW) is a prime contributor to the stream of total waste worldwide. One of the biggest challenges of the construction industry is to minimise CW and to develop practices of a more sustainable nature for its management and recycling in order to promote its transition towards a more effective circular economy. The implementation of these practices contributes towards mitigating the scarcity of natural resources and the environmental impact of CW. Thus, a preceding and essential step is the estimation of CW during building design, which will allow the adoption of measures for its early reduction and optimisation. For this purpose, Building Information Modelling (BIM) has become a useful methodology to predict waste during the early stages of design. There remains, however, a lack of instrumental development. Therefore, this study proposes a BIM-based method to estimate CW during building design by integrating a consolidated construction waste quantification model in three different BIM platforms. For its validation, the method is applied to the structural system of a Spanish residential building. The results provide evidence that the proposed method is vendor-neutral and enables the automatic identification and quantification of the waste generated by each building element during the design stage in multiple BIM platforms

An ontology-based approach supporting holistic structural design with the consideration of safety, environmental impact and cost

Early stage decision-making for structural design critically influences the overall cost and environmental performance of buildings and infrastructure. However, the current approach often fails to consider the multi-perspectives of structural design, such as safety, environmental issues and cost in a comprehensive way. This paper presents a holistic approach based on knowledge processing (ontology) to facilitate a smarter decision-making process for early design stage by informing designers of the environmental impact and cost along with safety considerations. The approach can give a reasoning based quantitative understanding of how the design alternatives using different concrete materials can affect the ultimate overall performance. Embodied CO2 and cost are both considered along with safety criteria as indicative multi-perspectives to demonstrate the novelty of the approach. A case study of a concrete structural frame is used to explain how the proposed method can be used by structural designers when taking multi performance criteria into account. The major contribution of the paper lies on the creation of a holistic knowledge base which links through different knowledge across sectors to enable the structural engineer to come up with much more comprehensive decisions instead of individual single objective targeted delivery

4D comparative analysis of construction approaches towards industrialization: traditional versus total prefabrication

Dissertação de mestrado em Modelação de Informação na Construção de Edifícios BIM A+O objetivo desta investigação é encorajar uma maior produtividade na indústria AEC, representando e promovendo uma análise comparativa de abordagens de construção muito diferentes: construção tradicional versus pré-fabricação total rumo à industrialização. A construção de um edifício cujo projeto foi realizado em BIM, totalmente orientado para a industrialização, apresenta-se como uma oportunidade para realizar uma análise 4D abrangente que compara soluções tradicionais e industrializadas (abordagens de construção no local e fora do local). A investigação concentra-se na análise deste caco de estudo prático, baseado em BIM e está centrada na avaliação dos impactos no planeamento das várias fases de construção, e na exposição dos impactos detalhados da solução industrializada quando comparada com uma solução tradicional. A construção do edifício em estudo começou em 2022. A sustentabilidade e a circularidade estão implícitas. O estudo de caso sugerido é um hotel em Guimarães que ultimamente tem recebido a atenção dos meios de comunicação devido à sua inovadora metodologia de pré-fabricação. Os módulos pré-fabricados são utilizados para a construção do edifício. Esta abordagem será avaliada e comparada com as alternativas tradicionais existentes. Considerando isto, foi desenvolvido um quadro teórico propondo um quadro baseado numa análise comparativa BIM 4D para ambas as abordagens de construção: construção tradicional e pré-fabricação total. Quantificando as vantagens da utilização da pré-fabricação em relação à construção convencional, utilizando a grande extensão da tecnologia de modelação de informação de construção (BIM), e os benefícios potenciais da utilização de um motor de programação inteligente para a análise comparativa 4D.The purpose of this research is to encourage higher productivity in the AEC industry by promoting a comparative analysis between very different construction approaches: traditional construction versus total prefabrication towards industrialization. The construction of a building whose project was carried out in BIM, totally oriented towards industrialization, presents itself as an opportunity for a comprehensive 4D analysis that compares traditional and industrialized solutions (onsite and offsite construction approaches) in terms of time and needed resources. The research concentrates on proposing a BIM-based framework to quantify the 4D analysis of this practical case study. It is focused on assessing the impacts on the planning of the execution stage, both off-site and on-site, and on exposing the detailed impacts of the industrialized solution when compared to a traditional one. The effective construction of the building in the study began in 2022. Sustainability and circularity are implied. The suggested case study is a hotel in Guimarães that has lately received media attention due to its innovative pre-fabrication methodology. Prefabricated modules are used to construct the building. This approach will be evaluated and compared to existing traditional alternatives. Considering this, a theoretical framework was developed by proposing a framework based on a 4D BIM comparative analysis for both approaches of construction: traditional construction and total prefabrication. Quantifying the advantages of using prefabrication over conventional construction, By using the large extent of building information modelling (BIM) technology, and the potential benefits of using an intelligent schedule engine for the 4D comparative analysis.Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree Programme – ERASMUS

Energy-efficient Optimization of Life-cycle Costs Based on BIM

This article deals with a methodology for the economic development of energy-efficient buildings from an early planning or development phase based on building information modelling (BIM). In this context, both geometrically and energetically relevant parameters of a building are derived from a digital building model, already in the early phase of a project. The subsequent definition of building components for the building envelope and the performance of an energy demand calculation provides the basis for the selection of reference buildings suitable for the respective application. This enables the determination of practical costs, which include both annuity costs and total costs arising in the life cycle of the building for the cost groups of the building structures and the technical building equipment. By taking a holistic view of all costs and focusing specifically on energy efficiency, the methodology presented in this article can be used to identify both ecological and economic advantages for planning in the early stages of a project. By incorporating energy efficiency and economic efficiency, a sustainable and successful project can be achieved

Digital twin applications in 3D concrete printing

The benefits of 3D concrete printing (3DCP) include reducing construction time and costs, providing design freedom, and being environmentally friendly. This technology is expected to be effective in addressing the global house shortage. This review highlights the main 3DCP applications and four critical challenges. It is proposed to combine 3D concrete printing with Digital Twin (DT) technology to meet the challenges the 3DCP faces and improve quality and sustainability. This paper provides a critical review of research into the application of DT technology in 3DCP, categorize the applications and directions proposed according to different lifecycles, and explore the possibility of incorporating them into existing 3DCP systems. A comprehensive roadmap was proposed to detail how DT can be used at different lifecycle stages to optimize and address the four main challenges of 3DCP, providing directions and ideas for further research

A Systematic Literature Review of the Adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) on Life Cycle Cost (LCC)

The need for embedding sustainability in construction development contributed to the introduction of Building information Modelling (BIM) to be adopted into the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) process. Through BIM, project information used during design can be shared to estimate the project’s end of life costs. LCC enables to assess the overall cost of an asset (building) through its life cycle via functionalities including the original investment costs, maintenance expenses, operating expenses, and the remaining value of the asset at the end of its life. The objective of this paper is to discuss the merging of BIM into LCC through four prevalent aspects; methodology, design software used, benefits, and challenges. A total of 20 studies were reviewed upon filtering process using PRISMA method. These studies discussed at least one of the aspects mentioned and contributed to the information regarding BIM and LCC. This paper thus aims to expanding studies on BIM adoption on LCC through the collected information sourced from peer-reviewed publications

TOWARDS DIGITAL TWIN DRIVEN CULTURAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT: A HBIM-BASED WORKFLOW FOR ENERGY IMPROVEMENT OF MODERN BUILDINGS

Europe has numerous historic buildings that need to become more energy-efficient, which need permanent maintenance and refurbishment to fulfill sustainability and use requirements. Asset owners and asset managers need to adopt new strategies to protect listed buildings while optimizing costs and benefits during their life cycle. In this sense, the digital transition proves to be a moment to seize for opening new scenarios. The Digital Twin paradigm promises to be valuable for enabling the sustainable knowledge, conservation, restoration, and management of built assets and solving the dilemma about protecting the architectural identity of these buildings while adapting them to the functional and performance requirements dictated by the regulatory framework. This study proposes a workflow that integrates Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) and Building Performance Simulation (BPS) tools for data-driving the energy improvement of Italian listed modern buildings built between the 1920s and 1960s. After acquiring information about the building, the HBIM model and the Building Energy Model (BEM) are realized based on the International Foundation Classes (IFC) standard. Energy intervention measures are defined, construction costs are computed, and benefits during the intervention life cycle are predicted in thermal demand. Finally, an expeditious multi-criteria analysis allows for comparing different intervention combinations and indicating the optimal solution for the energy improvement of the building concerning energy, economic, and financial issues. These outcomes represent the first step towards realizing a dynamic, accessible, and sharable Digital Twin

Quantification of Construction Waste in Early Design Stages Using Bim-Based Tool

Construction and demolition waste represents a growing environmental, social, and economic problem, and has become a priority for European and worldwide policies. The early quantification of construction waste is essential for the minimisation of its production and the improvement of waste management. This requires the development of design-based tools that enable a better understanding of the expected waste produced during the construction phase. Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodologies have gained recognition in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) sector, largely due to their capacity for data simulation, storage, and management during the building design phase. This study presents a software application, called WE-BIM Add-in, to quantify construction waste (CW) while designing the BIM model in Revit. A validated CW quantification model which enables waste types and quantities per building element to be predicted in detail according to the European List of Waste (LoW) is integrated into the Revit workflow. Design alternatives could be effortlessly simulated in real time to assist practitioners in decision-making during the early design stages. Two alternative structural systems of a Spanish residential building were compared: a reinforced concrete structure, Option 1 (O1), and a steel structure, Option 2 (O2). The results were obtained automatically: O2, in addition to reducing 56% of O1′s waste, would have increased the waste recycling rate by 49%; and displayed in Revit, thereby remaining consistent with those of other studies that compare prefabricated systems with in situ systems. This work provides a basis for future research into the automated estimation of construction waste in BIM which could become a useful tool in waste-prevention policies