Documents published in Scipedia

• State-of-Art of Construction 4.0: An Academia Vs Industry Comparative Study

  W. Ahmad, S. Azhar

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  The manufacturing industry is experiencing the 4th Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. It encapsulates cyber-physical systems (i.e., combining sensing, computation, control and networking into physical objects and infrastructure) integrated towards digitalization and automation of the manufacturing sector. The construction industry has also benefited from these technologies, which go by Construction 4.0. Despite the construction industry often being blamed for its reluctance to implement emerging technologies and non-traditional management methods, recent research attempted to integrate Industry 4.0 emerging technologies to keep up with the manufacturing sector. This shows that academia and industry need each other’s hand-in-hand support in order to implement these technological advances. This study investigates the status of Construction 4.0 technologies adoption in academia and industry in the United States of America (USA) and measures the level of collaboration. Relevant data is collected via web-based questionnaire surveys that are distributed to academia and industry professionals within the USA to inquire about the status of construction 4.0 technologies and their adoption rate. The collected data are analyzed and important findings are reported in this paper. The results show that around 61% of the professionals from academia and 33% from industry are fully or somehow familiar with the term – ‘Construction 4.0’. There has been significant adoption of BIM, laser scanners, and drones in each sector. The rest of the technologies show potential in upcoming years, and academia and industry have methods in place of updating the workforce on new technologies. However, a lack of collaboration has been observed as 50% of the respondents reported no ongoing or past research projects between academia and industry in this domain. It is hoped that the findings of this research will help both academia and industry to join forces to modernize the construction industry.

  Abstract
  The manufacturing industry is experiencing the 4th Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0. It encapsulates cyber-physical systems (i.e., combining sensing, computation, [...]

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• Reality Capture (RC) Technology for Drywall Installation: A Scan-toPrefab Approach

  S. Alathamneh, J. Liu, S. Azhar, R. Burt

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  Drywall, also known as gypsum board, sheetrock, or plasterboard, is a widely used building sheathing material in the US and Canada to create interior walls and ceilings. Typically, the design and construction documents of a project exclude detailed information about the layout of drywall sheets on interior surfaces. Such information is left to the drywall installation crews to determine solely based on their experience. This inconsistent approach often results in substantial rework and waste of material in the field. The construction industry has seen a significant increase in the adoption of Reality Capture (RC) technology in recent years, with the goal of improving the quality and productivity of various construction activities. This research aims to investigate the implementation of RC technology, explicitly Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Structure from Motion (SfM, also referred to as photogrammetry), in drywall installation. The research team has developed a framework that utilizes RC tools to capture the as-built information of the framing members of interior walls and penetrations of the MEP systems and uses these RC data to develop prefabricating shop drawings in a Building Information Modeling (BIM) platform for drywall cutting and installation. This framework has been tested and studied on active construction project sites. The preliminary findings indicate that this framework has the potential to lead to a more precise and efficient drywall installation process. This paper also proposes a process model for the execution of the proposed framework for improving drywall installation.

  Abstract
  Drywall, also known as gypsum board, sheetrock, or plasterboard, is a widely used building sheathing material in the US and Canada to create interior walls and ceilings. Typically, [...]

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• Lateral Behavior of Modular Steel Buildings with Diaphragm Connections

  X. He, Y. Wei

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  Modular steel buildings are increasingly popular due to their high level of industrialization. Corner-supported modular steel buildings are typically connected by inter-module connections at the corners of each module without continuous diaphragm slab. Therefore, rigid diaphragm assumption could not be adopted when designing modular steel buildings as in-plane deformation of the slab level is significant. To address this issue, the present study introduces diaphragm connections along the edges of modules at the floor slab levels. Then the lateral behavior of modular steel buildings with and without diaphragm connections is evaluated, as well as when a rigid diaphragm is assumed in the structures. The effect of diaphragm connection on lateral behavior of modular steel building under different parameters is discussed, including modular aspect ratio, number of modules in one storey, bracing system, and number of storeys. It is concluded that using diaphragm connections could improve the lateral behavior of modular steel buildings and simplify the design process.

  Abstract
  Modular steel buildings are increasingly popular due to their high level of industrialization. Corner-supported modular steel buildings are typically connected by inter-module [...]

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• Investigation of the Initial Quality of Robotic Tile Installation Based on Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian Approach

  K. Wu, Y. Zhang, X. Kong, S. Zhang

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  In this study, the initial quality of robotic tile installation under various construction parameters and material properties of adhesive were investigated based on the fluid–structure coupling construction models for the first time. First, the models of adhesive application and tile leveling were developed based on the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian approach. Then, on the basis of these models, various patterns of adhesive application, types of tile leveling loads, numbers of adhesive strips and yield stresses of adhesive were simulated and their influence laws on the initial quality of robotic tile installation were analyzed. Finally, the influence mechanisms of these parameters on the installation quality were revealed in terms of the spacing between adhesive strips, tile rebounding, contact areas and defect distribution. Results showed that the adhesive with horizontal application possessed smaller plastic deformation, kept stable shape of strips and distributed at equal spacing, compared with the one with vertical application. In contrast to a single compression load, its couplings with vibration loads were beneficial to the reduction of tile rebounding. Among the coupling loads, the coupling of shear vibration with compression considerably increased the tile–adhesive contact area until no interfacial defect appeared. The increase of the number of adhesive strips exerts few effects on the installation quality, including slight increases of contact areas as well as diminished interfacial defects. In the case of relatively low and high yield stresses of adhesive, the shear vibration effects were respectively large and small which decrease the installation quality.

  Abstract
  In this study, the initial quality of robotic tile installation under various construction parameters and material properties of adhesive were investigated based on the fluid–structure [...]

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• Intelligent Construction via Digital Twin Approach

  M. Lauria, M. Azzalin

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  The paper presents the results of an ongoing research activity dealing with Digital Twin (DT) approaches for Intelligent Construction, optimizing Operation and Maintenance of buildings and urban areas. DT is an essential technological node of Industry 5.0, which leads to the growth of a Collaborative Industry based on the cooperation between machines and human beings to give added value to processes that meet the needs of users. DT realizes the synchronization between two realities: physical objects in real space, virtual objects in virtual space, remaining connected through the mutual exchange of data throughout the entire life cycle of the object. The construction sector is also adopting the new DT perspective to enforce innovative, responsible, and sustainable governance of the life cycle of buildings improving their durability and reducing environmental impacts. Due to IoT, AI, and virtualization, DT approaches permit prediction of future performance in-use, prevent anomalies, downtime, and inefficiencies, to experiment improvements or changes without having to test them on the construction itself or on special mock-ups. The research assumes the aforesaid considerations and states as its principal operational and experimental assets as-built virtual models in OpenBIM connected with Geographic Information Systems and an IoT infrastructure. They realize intelligent constructions integrated with an analytical data communication network for control and performance simulations. Through the study cases analyzed, the paper also introduces arguments for a critical literature review on current statements and future challenges of the DT approach for Intelligent Construction.

  Abstract
  The paper presents the results of an ongoing research activity dealing with Digital Twin (DT) approaches for Intelligent Construction, optimizing Operation and Maintenance [...]

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• Influence of Temperature Increase on the Degradation Evolution of Rendered Façades

  J. Barrelas, A. Silva, J. de Brito, A. Tadeu

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  Climate change could alter the natural degradation pattern of buildings and their components. Façade claddings are directly exposed to the action of environmental agents, thus being particularly vulnerable to climate change impacts. Determining the expected degradation of the façades’ external layer, according to climate parameters’ projections, could be useful in the context of maintenance planning and adaptation to climate change. The present study intends to deepen the knowledge about the influence of temperature on the degradation evolution of rendered façades, considering the analysis of possible correlations between variables, based on observed and recorded climate data. It covers the degradation evolution of a sample of 26 rendered façades located in Lisbon, Portugal, based on the mean triennial degradation rate (∆Sw,mt) for periods of three years between 1990 and 2020. The severity of degradation index (Sw) of each façade, assessed through visual inspections in two moments in time, is used to model the individual degradation of the respective case study, necessary to calculate the sample’s ∆Sw,mt of to each triennium. The correlation between the dependent variable ∆Sw,mt and the independent variable ‘maximum temperature’ is significant, with a Pearson correlation coefficient of approximately -0.89. The negative trend shows that the degradation of the sample tends to decelerate with the increase of maximum temperature. Therefore, the temperature warming projected for the end of the century could contribute to lessen the rate of rendered façades’ degradation in the future, in Portugal or in analogous areas of the Mediterranean. The present study is part of a methodology that is being developed to quantify the impact of changes in climate parameters on the future degradation of rendered façades. Further research is necessary regarding the degradation projections, based on the climate change signal for maximum temperatures.

  Abstract
  Climate change could alter the natural degradation pattern of buildings and their components. Façade claddings are directly exposed to the action of environmental agents, [...]

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• Impact of High-resolution Regional Climate Conditions on the Moisture Performance of Wood-frame Building Envelopes

  C. Aggarwal, L. Wang, M. Junginger, M. Defo, A. Gaur, H. Ge, M. Lacasse

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  Climate data is one of the most important inputs for hygrothermal simulations and significantly influences the simulation results that are used for moisture performance assessment of building envelopes. Conventionally, climate data from representative weather stations are used for hygrothermal simulations to assess the moisture performance of the buildings. Recently, the Construction Research Centre of the National Research Council Canada generated historical and future climate data for 564 locations across Canada. In this paper, the climate data of four urban locations within Vancouver (a humid and warm coastal city in Canada) were selected for hygrothermal simulations. These include an open area at the airport, a city center, an area surrounded by plants, and an area surrounded by a water body. The 31-year-long simulations were performed for a typical woodframe wall assembly complying with moisture protection designs as provided in the National Building Code Canada (NBCC 2020) but rain penetration was assumed considering the deficiency of exterior cladding. The differences in its hygrothermal response across the four locations were analyzed. It was found that some climate parameters are significantly different among the selected locations, although the values for moisture indices given in the NBCC 2020 for these locations are all similar. The results show that high values of WDR are the dominant factor that drives the moisture performance but there is no indication that the design of the assembly could be different among the tested locations.

  Abstract
  Climate data is one of the most important inputs for hygrothermal simulations and significantly influences the simulation results that are used for moisture performance assessment [...]

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• Hygrothermal Performance of External Wall Systems Under Current Climatic Conditions and Future Climate Projections of Turkey

  C. Baş, A. Türkeri, M. Lacasse

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  External wall failures caused by rainwater ingress are very common in Turkey. External wall systems that fail to meet the expected watertightness performance may cause premature deterioration of building components, create health hazards for users, and lead to a financial burden for building owners and in respect to the premature deterioration of public buildings, this also has repercussions on the national economy. In addition to the current climatic conditions, thermal and moisture loads that effect the buildings are expected to increase in the future due to climate change. In regards to climate change mitigation strategies, as have been emphasized for the building sector in Turkey, the national government is promoting the use of thermal insulation. However, given that the thermal performance of the most commonly used thermal insulation materials in Turkey are affected by moisture, it is important to evaluate the hygrothermal performance of external wall systems to help ensure the effectiveness and longevity of any proposed measures to mitigate the effects of climate change on building performance. In this paper, the state of the art is presented in respect to investigations of the hygrothermal performance of external wall systems. The research is analyzed based on climatic conditions to which the wall is exposed, the type of external wall assembly investigated, and the method of investigation described in the studies reviewed. The results indicate that the hygrothermal performance of external walls has been extensively investigated; however, there is relatively little research focusing on the hygrothermal performance of external walls subjected to the current climatic conditions of Turkey. In those studies that focused on evaluating the hygrothermal performance of external wall systems under future climate projections, these have been conducted for the cold climate regions of Canada, USA, Norway, and Finland. The hygrothermal performance of external walls under future climate projections for any region of Turkey has not yet been explored.

  Abstract
  External wall failures caused by rainwater ingress are very common in Turkey. External wall systems that fail to meet the expected watertightness performance may cause premature [...]

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• Evaluation of Defects Incidence and Severity on Building Façade: A Case Study

  H. Yasemin Cakir, S. Emanet, Z. Melis Oguz

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  20th century buildings are referred to as modern heritage and suggested to be conserved them because they reflect the particular characteristics of the period. To conserve and sustain modern buildings against agents of degradation, such as the inherent quality characteristics, environmental agents, and operational conditions, an important consideration is the observation, from inspection, and documentation of building defects as may reflect the current condition state of the building. In the scope of the study, façade defects of one of the modern period buildings located in the Fatih district of Istanbul/Turkey – the Istanbul Esnaf Hospital was inspected and analyzed. This building was constructed between 1955-1963 with T-shaped plan which consists of eight façades, for which defects, located on six of the building’s façades, were evaluated. The aim of the study is the evaluation of defects in relation to: the orientation of the façade; the location defects on the façade; the façade material, that consisted of a rendered and painted façade, incorporating a mosaic of ceramics, and; the perceived causes of defects. The study consists of three stages (i) data collection, (ii) analysis of defects, and (iii) comparative evaluation of defects. In the first stage, environmental, architectural, and material data are presented. After which, defects on the building façade were detected through a field inspection and were systematically classified. In the final stage, the findings from comparative evaluations of defects and their relation to the orientation of the façade, location on the façade, material, and causes are given. The analysis shows that the incidence of defects is primarily related to design decisions, i.e., the architectural features of the building. Dirt/stain and cracking are two of the most observed defects. Stain/dirt defects are mostly observed under windowsills and recessed areas due to architectural features typical of this modern period. Whereas it was observed that cracks were generally locate around openings and balconies. Material loss and detachment were generally related to impact from vehicles and were concentrated on two of the façades having high usage. On the other hand, biological growth, and efflorescence were principally caused by outdoor environmental conditions.

  Abstract
  20th century buildings are referred to as modern heritage and suggested to be conserved them because they reflect the particular characteristics of the period. To conserve [...]

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• A Comparison of Nature-based Solutions and Related Policies for UrbanEnvironment in China and Canada

  Z. Xiao, H. Ge, M. Lacasse

  DBMC 2023.

  
  

  Abstract

  Nature-based solutions (NBS) are considered and implemented in many places around the world as a means to mitigate the impact of climate change on the urban environment. NBS can provide useful approaches to mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce energy consumption of buildings, sequestrate carbon from the atmosphere, as well as improve comfort to pedestrians in the urban environment. However, the implementation of NBS usually requires extra resources, i.e., valuable land within the urban fabric, additional funds for the design and construction of buildings that incorporate NBS, and additional operational costs for maintaining relevant systems, which may conflict with individual building owner’s interests, but nonetheless, be beneficial for the public at large. Under these circumstances, relevant policies should be established to set minimum performance requirements and incentives be introduced to encourage the implementation of relevant practices. China and Canada have set a target of achieving carbon neutral, by 2060 and 2050, respectively. Implementing such policies is critical for realizing the contributions of NBS in the building sector and helping achieve carbon neutrality in urban areas. For the study described in this paper, polices related to the implementation of NBS as issued by selected cities in China and Canada are reviewed. Scopes and limitations of policies from these two countries are summarized and compared. Suggestions and requirements provided in the policies are discussed in conjunction with the findings and conclusions from scientific articles related to the NBS.

  Abstract
  Nature-based solutions (NBS) are considered and implemented in many places around the world as a means to mitigate the impact of climate change on the urban environment. NBS [...]

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