Week 10: Course Reflection

This has honestly been one of the first classes in a while that I enjoyed while attending Drexel University. During the application process to colleges, a sense of creativity and ingenuity is valued in perspective engineering students and is commended during their high school years. However, for a large amount of engineering students’ college career we learn more about standards, codes, regulations, and previously rectified design methods. I feel as though the inspiration of our creative senses and imagination has been bound for so long being told “this is how it should be done.” It was refreshing to finally come across a course that asks its students to take perspective of the advancing world around us and then ask us “how would you do it?” This course reawakened my sense of creativity and has made me more aware of the advances in technology and useful tools that will help me along my career as a professional after Drexel. Also, I learned the value in being a life-long-learning engineer; once you become set in your ways and refuse to adapt to the ever-changing world around you, you slowly become obsolete and invaluable. Having an introduction to Revit and Microsoft Access was very beneficial and I see myself exploring further into these tools to become a more efficient and valuable engineer. I enjoyed learning how far BIM has come and look forward to seeing how far engineers, architects, and contractors will expand its use to further optimize the building process.

Week 7: Movement Sensors

When analyzing movement sensors, they can be broken down into two main types of movement sensors: active motion detectors and passive motion detectors. Active movement sensors utilize sensors that emit a type of signal that is then reflected back and detected. Passive movement sensors do not actually emit a signal like active sensors, but instead detect the signals being emitted by the objects in their field of view and have a predetermined baseline reading for the surrounding area.

Active movement sensors are mainly used in places where a rapid response from a change in detection is needed (ultrasonic or microwave). For example, a motion sensor for a car garage uses an active ultrasonic radar-like sensor that emits sound waves. When the sound waves are emitted, the sensor detects the pattern or the time it takes for those waves to bounce off of its surroundings and return back to the sensor. When an object is approaching the garage door or entering the space under the garage door while it is closing, the sound waves are emitted and bounce off of the object crossing the path of the sensor causing the return time to be faster. This is then computed by the sensing system and tells the garage door mechanism to open so as to allow a car to enter or to prevent the door from closing on something or someone.

Passive movement sensors detect a change in their surroundings by reading the energy of their surroundings. These types of sensors come in various forms, some of the most common being infrared or photo sensors. These sensors detect and measure the energy that is being produced by the objects in their line of sight and are commonly used in home security systems or businesses to warn them of someone entering the facilities. Bodies that generate heat, be they humans or animals, also generate infrared energy (for humans usually ranging between 9 and 10 micrometers). With this range in mind, infrared sensors are programmed to detect emissions within the range of 8 and 12 micrometers with the use of a photo detector. This sensor measures the light being transmitted to it, converts it into an electrical current that is sent to the sensor’s processing core. “The alarm is triggered when the photo detector detects large or fast variations in the distribution of the emitted infrared energy.” (1). This form of detection allows for the movement sensor to ignore slight variations in heat that occur over the length of the day, such as the slow change in temperature of objects in the sensor’s field of view as their temperatures cool down over night.

These sensors are very inexpensive and can offer a very secured environment when combined to cover all entry points of the desired area.

I found it interesting in my classmate Matthew Tedesco's post (http://ae-510-ay12-13.blogspot.com/2013/02/flow-measurement-of-fluids-including.html) how he explained the various applications a specific type of sensor may have. Movement sensors aren't limited to only sensing movement, but as Matthew described, optic sensors (which are a type of movement sensor) can also be used to measure mechanical flow, fluid velocity and flow.


Sources:

(1) http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4596955_motion-sensor-work.html
(2) http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/burglar-alarm2.htm
(3) http://home.howstuffworks.com/home-improvement/household-safety/security/question238.htm

Week 6: Uses of Databases in Construction Firms

Databases are very useful in keeping an organized record of information and there is a vast range of types of information that can be stored in these databases. Construction firms many times look to keep record of their construction equipment, designs, construction members within designs, previous projects, clients’ contact information, materials and/or their costs and manufacturers, elevations of a construction site, rainfall data of a subject area, and lots of other valuable information they may look to store away for later use. A lot of times a database is put together for information that is no longer of urgent use but that may be of value to access at a later date in time.

In addition to simply accessing the raw data that is stored into a database, certain programs are able to use these databases to analyze the data and output referenced analyses. Programs such as ArcGIS are able to use databases in order to spatially analyze the data and create maps that show the stored information in ways that can be useful for the needs of the user. For instance, a construction firm could use a database that has the addresses or coordinate locations of material manufacturing plants to find the closest plant to their construction site and even find the quickest, shortest route from the plant to the site. Another example could be analyzing a database that has the cost information for specific types of a common construction material over time. With a database of this information, one could find the trend or growth rate of the cost for these materials and come up with an estimate for the price of the material in the future when a project will actually enter the construction phase.

I found it interesting in Issa’s post (http://ae-510-ay12-13.blogspot.com/2013/02/databases-in-construction-firms.html) to see that databases have been in use since the 1970’s and I too have seen first-hand at some of my co-op’s the transition from paper to electronic copies of files. The progress that has been made over the years is vast and much room is left for advancement in the use of these databases and how we can implement them to our advantage in construction.


Source:
http://pmbook.ce.cmu.edu/14_Organization_and_Use_of_Project_Information.html

Week 5: Term Project - BIM through the Life Cycle

My term project is based on exploring the benefits of using Building Information Modeling throughout the entire life cycle of a building project. This will include all traditional phases of a project, including the Bidding phase, Design phase, and Construction phase. However, much more can be done with BIM to assure the building continues to run at an optimal efficiency and maintains its effectiveness at servicing its users.

Through some of the research and blog posts that have been done up to date, we can see some of the benefits that will be elaborated on within my project for the use of BIM during the design phase. Some of these include the collaboration between contractors and the ability to have interdisciplinary building information. Also, while there may be various “hands in the pot” during the design of a building project, the use of BIM will allow for clash detection and in turn save lots of time and money. Along with the same idea in mind of saving time and money, using BIM in the design phase can help with construction planning and estimating along with the prefabrication and procurement of construction materials. The more that can be established prior to reaching the construction site, the more time and money can be saved. During the construction phase of a project, one can use BIM for onsite verification and guidance along the way. Also BIM can be used to keep track of any additions or modifications a contractor may make during construction in order to have a log of any and all changes to previous designs.

What many people may not usually associate design programs and Building Information Modeling with is the life of a building after it is already constructed. This is where I believe the majority of my term project will focus so as to look into new ways and ideas in using BIM to give a building a better future, last longer, and keep up to date with the fast-changing world around it. BIM can be used to plan schedules for and track maintenance, optimize operability, and help maintain a building’s serviceability to its users.

I believe there is a long future ahead for BIM and that many more advantages (and challenges) will arise as our technologically advancing world continues to strive for efficiency.

Evan Rosario - Intro

My name is Evan Rosario; I am a 5^th year senior at Drexel University majoring in Civil Engineering. I was born and raised here in Philadelphia, where I plan on staying for work after graduation most likely with one of my previous Co-Op employers. My BIM experience comes from my two most recent Co-op experiences with HNTB Corp. and Jacobs Engineering Group. There I dealt with drawing revisions and some minor CAD modeling within AutoCAD and also MicroStation.

Through this course I expect to gain a better understanding of how our further advancing technologies can be integrated in the intelligent design of buildings.

My definition of an intelligent building is a structure designed to monitor and enhance its efficiency in energy and utilities use as well as a building designed to cater to its user’s needs in the most efficient manner.

Mike Sawin Introduction

My name is Mike Sawin; I am a junior at Drexel doing the BS/MS program. I have a decent amount of experience using Revit; however I have only used it for basic design so I’m sure there are many things to still learn. In this class I expect to learn not just BIM but how the whole process of making a building intelligently works. My definition of intelligent building design is a design that uses integrated building design techniques. This approach leads to a building that feels much more whole instead of a building that feels like a shell designed by an architect, with a structure designed by an engineering, and HVAC trying to squeeze in between the beam where it can.

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Students

Here is the list of Civil Engineering undergraduate 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.

Group	Last Name	First Name	Major
E	Alvarado Bastidas	Maria	Civil Engineering
E	Haddad	Issa	Civil Engineering
E	Krall	Ryan	Civil Engineering
E	Lin	Dong	Civil Engineering
E	Rosario	Evan	Civil Engineering

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

Graduate Students

Here is the list of Graduate 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.

 

Group	Last Name	First Name	Major
A	Carpenter	Gabrielle	Civil Engineering
A	Gulbenkian	Gayaneh	Civil Engineering
A	Li	Xiang	Civil Engineering
A	Meraz	Cleonie	Civil Engineering
A	Wang	Chunyi	Environmental Engineering