Course Reflections

I can certainly say that AE 510 exceeded my expectations. When I signed up for the course I thought that we would just talk about the main concepts of intelligent buildings and BIM, but there were many more subjects covered in these 10 weeks. The interesting part was that these subjects were new to me or hadn’t worked with before. For example, the database assignments were very interesting because, not only I learnt how to develop one, but also the different applications databases can be used in - I had never thought that I would use databases to help conduct my work. I really enjoyed the fact that this course is interactive and that we each learn from each other. I learnt a lot from the guest speakers that visited throughout the term. Their presentations were enjoyable and interesting.

However, I think that 10 weeks is not enough to cover all the concepts mentioned in AE 510; sometimes I felt rushed due to the amount of material presented in this short time. I wish we had concentrated more on fewer concepts that are more relevant in my opinion, for instance BIM softwares. If I had one or two more weeks dedicated on BIM, I would probably try and develop a more complete drawing, or I would attempt to integrate families. Additionally, as Maria mentioned in her blog, it would be extremely helpful to have all the assignment descriptions and requirements in one folder/location instead of multiple ones; it got complicated sometimes for no reason.

Overall, I believe that this course was very beneficial.

Temperature Sensors

    A temperature sensors are devices that measure temperature of a medium. As Mike S. mentions in his blog, there are many types of temperature sensors used from simple home purposes to extremely accurate and precise scientific uses. Thermocouples, resistive temperature detectors, infrared thermometers, bimetallic devices, liquid expansion thermometers, and state-of-change devices are the some of the basic types of temperature sensors used for simple or more complex purposes.

    As Mitchell Butler and John Scanlon mention in their blogs, the most basic liquid expansion thermometers, especially mercury thermometers, are the most common temperature sensors that is very easy to use and accessible to everyone. The main elements of the liquid expansion thermometers are the mercury-in-glass sensor which expands and contracts when there is a temperature change and the means of converting this change into a temperature reading. Although accurate, mercury-in-glass thermometers are delicate and mercury is a hazardous material.

    Resistive temperature detectors (RTDs) are the most common sensors used in laboratory and industrial purposes. RTDs use resistors to record resistance values as the temperature changes. They are very accurate and have a wide temperature range which is why they are used for heavy duty purposes. They are preferred over a thermocouple or a thermistor sensor because of their high accuracy and stability for many years.

    Infrared thermometers are non-contact temperature measurement devices that detect the energy emitted by the medium and convert the energy factor into a temperature reading. Infrared thermometers are very useful for temperature measurements of moving objects, or when non-contact measurements are required due to hazardous material; more conventional thermometers do not seem useful in situations like that.

    As mentioned above, temperature sensors are used for multiple purposes. One use of distributed-temperature sensors is to measure the temperature profile of oil reservoirs, which has been done for many years now. The information provided by temperature sensors are very important for the process control of the oil tanks; they provide visual data to optimize the well performance as well as detect flow and viscosity behind the reservoir casing. Nowadays, there are many temperature sensors used in HVAC systems of  buildings in order to efficiently maintain comfortable indoor conditions.


Sources:
http://www.omega.com/prodinfo/temperaturemeasurement.html

http://www.omega.com/Temperature/pdf/RTD_Gen_Specs_Ref.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared_thermometer

http://www.accessscience.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/content.aspx?searchStr=Temperature+sensors&id=YB980600

SQL and Relational DBMS

A Database Management System (DBMS) is a set of logically related programs that enables storing, modifying, and extracting information from one location efficiently. The users can access the stored data by using programming interface to modify or retrieve the information, which can be presented in a variety of formats. Some examples of databases are airline reservation systems, banking systems, computerized parts inventory systems. As Jeanine mentioned in her blog, there are two major types of databases, relational and object-oriented databases.

The relational DBMS was proposed for the first time in 1970s by Edgar Codd. It stores all the data as logically structured relations or two-dimensional tables, where each table corresponds to an entity and each row corresponds to an instance of the entity. The different table of records can be connected by common key parameters and exchange information. Construction companies use relational database management systems for cost estimation and cost control; System Analysis and Design (SAD) is used to develop an integrated model which enables the transfer of the cost estimation data to the cost control processes.

System Query Language (SQL) is a self-contained data language that most databases organized according to the relational structure use; it solely exist to support the data language. It is a tool for managing, organizing and retrieving stored information from a database. For instance, when the user needs to retrieve data from a database, they use SQL to request it. Then, the DBMS processes the SQL request, retrieves the data and returns it back to the user. In the 21st century NoSQL was created, for non-relational databases, where tables do not require to be in fixed table schemas or the data stored doesn’t have to be normalized.

Figure 1 shows some components of the SQL and how it links everything together. 

Figure 1. Components of a typical DBMS

SQL is a powerful and useful tool that links people, computer programs and systems to the data stored in a relational database; thus it is very important to have a well written standardized language that allows everyone to access and manipulate databases. However, as Tom said, SQL is no a complete language - a lot of times it is embedded in another language. It has multiple functions that are necessary for understanding and using databases and over the years SQL has expanded to support the new technology, hardware, operating systems and languages. 

Sources:

Salman Azhar, Syed M. Ahmed and Amaury A. Caballero. “Development of an Integrated Cost Estimation and Cost Control System for Construction Projects,” http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/build02/PDF/b02054.pdf

Ramon A. Mata-Toled. "Database management system." in AccessScience, ©McGraw-Hill Education, LLC. 2012. http://www.accessscience.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu

James R. Groff and Paul N. Weinberg. “Introduction to SQL.” 2004. http://www.devarticles.com/c/a/SQL/Introduction-to-SQL/2/

Term Project - Robotics in Construction

As Maria Gonzalez mentioned in her blog, we chose to write a paper about Robotics in Construction. Robotics is a highly developed technology and it is starting to be a big part of the construction industry due to the increased efficiency and productivity. Robots often perform tasks that are repetitive, dangerous, or distasteful which could potentially create safety hazards for humans. Additionally, from the business point of view, robots can work anytime without long breaks.

The paper will focus on the present and the future of the industrial robots. There are already robots involved in the construction industry; the wall and brick assembly robots, the tele-operated concrete distribution robots, and automated building construction systems. As mentioned above, there are many tasks that could potentially result in dangerous situations; robots can perform arc welding of metal components of building frames, insulation and application of adhesives or sealants to building materials such as windows.The use of robotics in the construction industry can result in an unlimited number of applications and capabilities. We all have heard about the 30-story hotel built in 15 days in China.

The paper will also discuss the social impacts of employing robots in the construction industry. There is a lot of discussion around this topic and whether robots will replace the human workforce or not. According to Sam Stathis, an electrical contractor, inventor and CEO of Theometrics, there will be plenty of jobs for everyone. However, there are other people that think robots will take over.

I believe that Robotics and Intelligent Buildings are closely related to one another. As John Scanlon mentions in his blog, we have to find solutions in order to increase the efficiency of the buildings. Although he is talking about existing buildings, it is very true for new construction as well and robotics can rapidly increase the efficiency of the buildings.


Sources:
Healey, John. November 2012. Coming Soon: Robots that Help Build Buildings. <http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/13/news/la-ol-theometrics-robots-not-my-enemy-20121113>

Interoperability and Future

Reading the second version of the BIM Handbook (2011), it is obvious that there have been multiple attempts to improve the interoperability of the different BIM applications. There have been attempts to implement the IFC exchange model in various parts in order to integrate all phases in the construction industry, which will then improve the productivity and efficiency. As Ben-David mentioned in his post, BIM software is used to design and construct buildings before any decisions, regarding the materials or sites, have been made. It is very important that the BIM software can be used by all the design and construction teams involved. According to the article “Interoperability and BIM. Development and Use of Building Information Model,” current technologies that manage the construction process are not adequate enough to address all the issues that are developed throughout the process; there is a 10% loss due to wasted materials and 30% of the construction process is rework. As a result, there is a loss of $15.8 billion per year due to lack of interoperability in the software used in the design and construction operations. This fact was also discussed in class last week.

The key difference between the 2008 and 2011 versions of the BIM handbook is the expansion on the other BIM-related standard efforts; IFC and XML schema are not the only exchange data models that are used. As Eric Kuszewski mentioned during his presentation last week, IFC is a great schema for software exchanges, but not always greatly executed. The 2011 version highlights the use of COBie, or Construction Operations Building information exchange, which deal with operations and maintenance and relationships between the construction team and the owner. The development of new sets of outlined-structured classification tables have replaced the building-related classification systems and are used in BIM tools and methods.

                There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to achieve interoperability among all the BIM software programs without any challenges. Until this point, a lot of these changes have to be performed manually and it results in lower productivity and efficiency in the construction industry. BIM software programs are extremely popular worldwide and will take over the construction industry to efficiently complete buildings, as Wang Chunyi suggests in his blog post.

Sources:

Zhyzhneuski, A. (2011). Interoperability and BIM. Development and Use of Building Information Model. http://www.academia.edu/2053381/Interoperability_and_BIM._Development_and_Use_of_Building_Information_Model

Sabol, L. (2007). Technology, Change and the Building Industry. http://dcstrategies.net/files/2_sabol_technology_change.pdf

BIM Handbook (2011). Chapter 3 Interoperability.

BIM and Interoperability

The BIM Handbook chapter on Interoperability very clearly states the importance of data interchange between applications to eliminate the need to replicate data that has been already generated. According to the BIM Handbook, there are two main building product data models; the Industrial Foundation Classes (IFC) for building planning, design and construction, and CIMsteel Integration Standard Version 2 (CIS/2), for structural steel and fabrication. These are public level exchange formats which carry object and material properties and relations between different applications. XML, an extension of HTML, is another method to exchange data between applications and is very popular for data interchange between web applications. I came across to the figure below which graphically represents what was stated in chapter 3 in the BIM Handbook.

Figure 1. Interoperability between analysis and design applications [2]

It is clear that interoperability is very important to BIM applications among the different teams that are involved in the design and construction stages. The methods of data exchange are successful up to a certain point; there are still issues that have not been resolved and errors or mistranslations still occur when data is interchanged. In the article Crossing Platform, experts discuss problems and goals of BIM and Interoperability. According to Daniel Monaghan, Scia engineer manager with Nemetschek North America in Columbia, MD, “Interoperability is all about efficiency - faster creation, error reduction, cost control, predictability and better coordinations - all on account of the ability to reuse data from one stakeholder to the other.” I found Mitchell Butler's comment about how the different teams involved in the design and construction of the stair tower had different drawings from different programs very interesting. There must be a lot of communication between the teams in order to produce the results that everyone will be happy with.

One very important problem is version compatibility issues; when exchanging information between different application it is pretty difficult to keep up with all the updates. Everyone should use the same versions otherwise there might be miscommunications and faulty mechanisms will result. Continuous education is very important as well; updated versions may include new capabilities that designers need to learn in order to avoid any miscommunications. David Morrison mentions in his blog post that there are $10.6 billions lost in delays and expenses when drawings are turned from one program to another.

The use of BIM applications is constantly increasing in the professional world, and interoperability between all the different applications improve the building planning, design and construction, even though there are some limitations.  

Sources:
[1] http://www.newmill.com/pdfs/BIM-crossing-platforms.pdf
[2] http://www.structuremag.org/article.aspx?articleID=995

Sensors Capabilities

The development of intelligent building sensor capabilities over the next ten years will no doubt focus on energy management. Due to the rising cost of energy and the negative environmental impact of excess energy usage, sensors which monitor and control energy consumption will be paramount in designing an ideal intelligent building. Sensors have already been incorporated in intelligent buildings in order to create optimal environments that are desirable by the users; the magnificent thing is that some intelligent buildings adapt themselves to desirable conditions without the humans controlling them. My senior seminar focus is about dynamic building envelopes that use real time conditions to adapt the indoor environmental conditions to optimal settings through light and temperature sensors.

Here is a video of the Kiefer Technic Showroom; the south facade of the building progressively changes according to outdoor conditions in order to optimize the indoor lighting and thermal conditions of the building. 

People have accomplished tremendous things already and it is obvious that 5 to 10 years from now the building industry will greatly rely on sensors, especially as they become smaller and cheaper. The building industry will use sensors in every way possible in order to reduce energy consumption and save money. I believe that robotics and sensors will take over basic tasks that humans do not prefer to do.

Adaptive Building Initiative (ADI) is a company dedicated to designing buildings that optimize their settings in real time by the outside environmental changes, because their philosophy is that adaptation will “result in improved energy efficiency and environmental performance but, equally importantly, in enhanced comfort” (Hoberman, 2011). Their adaptive facades and building envelopes use combinations of programming and real time data from light, wind, and water sensors in order to ensure comfortable indoor conditions and ultimately lower energy costs. These building systems are very similar to the Nest thermostat that Tom and David mentioned in their blogs; the Nest thermostat has numerous sensors in order to optimize indoor conditions while saving energy.

A lot of people think that a building the Kiefer Technic Showroom or ADI buildings cost a lot of money. However, as Nathan mentioned in his blog, the Ultra Green Building is only 6% more expensive than the average comparable building and it will pay for itself with the first 10 years. The building industry will be more efficient with the help of sensors.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAn4ldWjw2w
http://www.adaptivebuildings.com/index.html
http://www.designbuild-network.com/features/featureclimate-control-intelligent-faades/

Elda Cifligu Week 1 Intro

Hi everyone,

My name is Elda Cifligu. I am a senior in Architectural and Civil Engineering and my concentration is Structural Engineering. I came to the United States about 4 years ago from Greece to start at Drexel. 

I signed up for AE 510 because I wanted to learn more about BIM; I was introduced to this concept in AE 390 and I thought it would be a great experience to learn more. I do not have any other experience with BIM other that. I am expecting that this course will encourage me to research a lot about Intelligent Buildings.

My explanation of Intelligent Buildings is the integration of building systems that will improve the efficiency of the buildings and will reduce energy consumption levels.

Architectural Engineering & BS/MS Students

Here is the list of Architectural Engineering students in the course.  This post is also used to create a "label" for each student so it's easy to label your posts later. – Updated 1/14/2013

Group	Last Name	First Name	Major
B	Barry	Nathan	Architectural Engineering
B	Ben-David	Tom	Architectural Engineering
B	Butler	Mitchell	Architectural Engineering
B	Cifligu	Elda	Architectural Engineering
B	Morrison	David	Architectural Engineering
B	Sawin	Michael	Architectural Engineering
B	Scanlon	John	Civil Engineering
C	Bregande	David	Architectural Engineering
C	Hindes	Brian	Architectural Engineering
C	Houde	Kayleigh	Architectural Engineering
C	James	Daniel	Architectural Engineering
C	Lancellotti	Jeanine	Architectural Engineering
C	Martines	Natasha	Architectural Engineering
D	Gonzalez	Maria	Architectural Engineering
D	Ng	Junwah	Architectural Engineering
D	Patel	Jalpesh	Architectural Engineering
D	Pauliushchyk	Margarita	Architectural Engineering
D	Tedesco	Matthew	Architectural Engineering