B4, Group C- Mridul Chulet

Description of project: The average stay in a refugee camp is more than 17 years that is a whole generation living in very undignifying conditions. Therefore, as the world, and technology develop, solutions must be sought. Hamad and I are going to examine the issue from both a humanitarian perspective and most importantly from an engineer's perspective.  Highlighting the problem and its effect on the world. Furthermore, we want to introduce a solution for the housing of refugees. We plan on using the 3D printing technology to build a permanent city for them and which can later be implemented for use in underdeveloped countries for better housing.  

Why chosen: My interest in this topic was fueled by Hamad. He shared an article with me which talked about the refugees from Syria who are currently housed in the Al Zaatari camp. As civil engineers we thought what in the best interest can we help with refugee crisis. Furthermore, I thought providing permanent houses which last longer and are hygienic than the current camps would be a good start to help the refugees.

Relation to IB: 3-D printing is the process of manufacturing three dimensional solid objects from a digital file which is achieved using additive process. With the increase in popularity of 3-D printing, it is nowadays been adopted by big companies because of benefits such as cheap manufacturing, quick production, less wastage and better quality. Using a 3-D printer is really easy and affordable nowadays. For instance, 3-D printing is so easy that you can print anything you want. Whether its shoes, mobile case, toys, utensils etc. You just have to look up for the design on the internet, save it digitally and print. The main reason we choose 3-D printing for building the houses was because it possible to build houses using a 3-D printer. In the article we read, china was built to 10 houses using 3-D printers in less than 24 hours. Therefore, with the advancement in technology on a daily basis, we will soon be able to build high-rise building and what not just by digitally saving the data and printing it using the 3-D printer.  

Challenges: The main challenges we think we will face will be the legal challenges. It would be easy to implement the 3-D printing technology in the area where the refugees currently reside. Also it would be really difficult to obtain information to carry out case studies for our research so we can make intelligent suggestions for the camp. Furthermore, implementing the 3-D printing technology to build house would be a very big challenge because we wouldn’t know how long or durable these houses would be.

References:

1.       http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/08/3d-printed-houses_n_5773408.html

2.   http://www.nature.com/scientificamerican/journal/v308/n5/full/scientificamerican0513-44.html

3.     http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e486566.html

Comments,

Hatim,

Great project. I didn’t know concrete mixing would be of great importance until I read your post. I totally agree with you that concrete mix for high rise can be crumb some sometimes and may delay the construction process. Using 3-D printing technology would decrease the construction time and would be cheap. I and Hamad are using the similar technology for building houses using 3-D technology for the refugees and which can be implemented for underdeveloped countries too.

Laura Hill,

I really liked reading your post. I and Hamad are using the similar technology for building houses using 3-D technology for the refugees and which can be implemented for underdeveloped countries too. I am really interested in reading your paper and how 3-D printing can be help for different building materials such as wood fragments, concrete, alloys and plastic. Furthermore, I also believe AI will play an important role in the 3-D printing technology in the coming future.

B4 - Gary Reiff - Group A

The topic for the final project is how office buildings will change in terms of the intelligence used during the design and construction of office buildings over the next 10-15 years, as this is of great interest to me since chances are I will be working in an office building over the next 10-15 years.  Also, the paper will discuss how the revolution of intelligent buildings will change the work place and the construction industry.  Below is the breakdown of how the paper is going to be formatted and written.

The introduction of the paper will define exactly what an office building is.  Next, the recent history of office buildings will be discussed.  This will include the construction history of the office buildings, the design history of office buildings, and the functionality history of office buildings in general.  From there, intelligent features will be defined.  Lastly, the 3 state of the art office buildings that will be discussed throughout the paper will be stated.

The first office building to be discussed is the Comcast Center in Philadelphia.  Research will be done on both the construction process and the design process that went into creating the Comcast Center.  Next, the specific intelligent features originally and currently incorporated into the Comcast Center will be investigated.  Then, the paper will describe how more recent intelligent features could be incorporated into the Comcast Center, and how these more recent intelligent features could affect the workplace at the Comcast Center.  Lastly, the paper might give some insight on how the new Comcast Center is being constructed, and how its intelligent features differ from the Comcast Center built in the last 10 years.  However, this could be challenging depending on how available the information is on the Comcast Center currently under construction.

The second office building to be discussed is the One World Trade Center in New York City.  Research will be done on both the construction process and the design process that went into creating the One World Trade Center.  Next, the specific intelligent features originally and currently incorporated into the One World Trade Center will be investigated.  Then, the paper will describe how more recent intelligent features could be incorporated into the One World Trade Center, and how these more recent intelligent features could affect the workplace at the One World Trade Center.  Lastly, the paper might give some insight on how the One World Trade Center is being constructed, and how its intelligent features differ from the original World Trade Center.  However, this may be more difficult since I’m not sure how much information is available on the original World Trade Center.

The third office building to be discussed is the Cira Center in Philadelphia.  Research will be done on both the construction process and the design process that went into creating the Cira Center.  Next, the specific intelligent features originally and currently incorporated into the Cira Center will be investigated.  Lastly, the paper will describe how more recent intelligent features could be incorporated into the Cira Center, and how these more recent intelligent features could affect the workplace at the Cira Center.

Finally, the conclusion will discuss future technologies on the rise that have not been discussed already, as well as how all of the intelligent features discussed could impact the design and construction industries of office buildings.  Lastly, a prediction will be made regarding intelligent features and how they will be incorporated into office buildings over the next 10-15 years.

References
1.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cira_Centre
2.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comcast_Center_(Philadelphia)
3.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_World_Trade_Center

Comments

1.) Sam Boyce's Comment

2.) Yuanjin Li's Comment

B4 - Group E - Swartz

My group’s project is the use of 3D printing in the construction industry. We will explore the current and future uses of 3D printing technology including the materials, methods, and real life examples. So far, we have specified the main materials being 3D printed in the construction industry as concrete, metal, plastic, wood, and other materials such as regolith, a material that is abundant throughout the earth, moon, Mars, and some asteroids [1]. The main methods of 3D printing will also be explored such as the machines used and the feasibility of those methods.

We will also discuss real life examples of 3D printed structures and investigate their benefits and limitations. A real life example that will be explored is China’s 3D printing of the world’s first villa and the world’s tallest printed apartment building. The villa was printed in less than 3 hours and used a combination of 3D printing and modularity to print and assemble the building [2]. Another example that will be explored is a 3D printed office building in Dubai. The building will include a completely printed interior layout, including printed furniture. Contrary to the villa example in china, the proposed office building will be printed on site with a 20 foot tall 3D printer. The materials that will be printed include special reinforced concrete, fiber reinforced plastic, and glass fiber reinforced gypsum. Similarly to the villa, the office building will be completed in a fraction of normal construction time, a matter of a few weeks [3].

My group will also explore the future of the 3D printing industry in construction, and the possibilities it presents. A possibility that involves the use of regolith is the printing of structures on the moon, planets, and asteroids in space. These structures may one day require no physical man power to construct and will be completed in a fraction of the current time.

A basic outline of our project can be seen below:

3D Printing in Buildings

·       Abstract

·       Introduction

·       History of 3D Printing

·       Background of 3D Printing in Construction

·       Examples of 3D Printing Applications

·       Materials

·       Concrete
·       Metal

·       Wood

·       Plastic

·       Alloys

·       Other (Moon Rocks)

·       3D Printing in Construction

·       Printing Methods

·       Structural Components

·       Entire Structure Examples

·       WinSun China builds world’s first 3D printed villa and tallest 3D printed apartment building

·       UAEIC 3D Printing Office Building

·       Future of 3D Printing

·       Additional Construction Applications

·       Growth of 3D Printing

·       Conclusions

·       References

References:

[1] http://www.esa.int/Highlights/Lunar_3D_printing

[2] http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/07/20/3d-printed-modular-villa-assembled-in-three-hours/

[3] http://3dprint.com/77550/dubai-3d-printed-office/

Comments:

Alexis Aikins-

This sounds like an interesting topic. We have all always learned that sunlight imposes a large thermal load on buildings, but the effect of sunlight on occupant productivity is something that also needs to be considered. It is also good that you will be incorporating what you learn during this research on your senior design project. That only makes this topic that much more important because it demonstrates the real life application of your research. I also agree with what you said about the control of daylighting being an adaptive technology. The weather is unpredictable, and can only be controlled in buildings through the use of sensors and other intelligent building components. Good post.

Mohammed Alqallaf-

This sounds like an awesome project, and one that really needs to be done. It is good that you are able to incorporate your senior design project into this project, because it will only increase the overall quality of your design. You project also demonstrates the need for modeling existing buildings with BIM software, because of renovations such as the alumni labs. I also liked your point about having hand on BIM experience will help you to better understand the building integration process, and I believe that that knowledge is important for everyone in the construction industry to understand. Good Post.

B4: Group C - Alexis

My group is studying daylighting technologies in intelligent building for the final project. Daylighting is one feature of design that has a large impact on occupant productivity, energy efficiency, and aesthetics. We plan to study lighting sensors, smart glass windows, and passive daylighting techniques as three types of daylight harvesting strategies. Our project will also look into the energy usage of these three topics to compare their efficiency and common applications. My group was interested in researching the future advancements of daylighting, especially sensors and controls. I think this topic will be helpful for my senior design project as well. My team is working on designs to retrofit a historic warehouse to become a middle school. We want to incorporate the large existing windows of the warehouse into the overall lighting design in order to enhance the classroom environment and student productivity.

This research paper will be challenging in that the technology is only as beneficial as the occupants allow. Manual overrides that are not reset could potentially reverse the annual electricity savings. It will also be challenging to narrow our research since it is a broad topic and widely adopted in new construction.

This topic is tied to intelligent building because it is one aspect of adaptive technology. Lighting sensors read ambient light levels and will adjust the intensity of interior fixtures in response to the outdoor conditions. This control sequence depends on location, building orientation, and type of space. The photosensors adjust the electric lighting in the space based on the intensity of available daylight through building fenestration. The most advanced types of systems are connected to dimming switches, which will regulate the amount of electric powered lighting throughout the day. These systems are generally more difficult to install and more costly because of the additional sensors and integration with the building automation system.

All three daylight harvesting systems that we chose could be used together. Dimming systems will work the best in spaces with skylights, clerestory windows, light tubes, or glass curtain walls. Since these sensors and calibration have a high initial cost, they are most common in open commercial spaces like lobbies, open office spaces, schools, and malls. Passive lighting is nothing new to the building design industry, but adaptive technologies have found ways to take advantage of the variations in lighting levels throughout the day. Photosensors are now a common characteristic in new construction projects for occupant productivity and increased energy savings compared to the baseline model.

Reference:
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/daylighting/rp_simplifiedconcepts.asp

Comments:

Cathlene,
Very interesting topic - even though there is still a lot of research and testing to be done, this type of 3D printing could transform building design and construction. I am a bit skeptical that we will see this applied in the near future because of the two issues of buildability and flowability like you mentioned. It is a really interesting concept but there are still huge developments to be made before we see this applied at such a large scale as a building envelope. I think architectural firms will be the
most eager to adopt this technology for modeling complex forms and curved facades. This type of advancement will also call for a new skill set in the structural engineering field, since designers will need advanced software to model stresses around the built-in openings for duct mains, conduit, and piping.

Maq,
Sounds like a great project - it will be extremely helpful to have a 3D model that your group can develop throughout the term for section views and refer to for schedules. You may be able to link the AutoCAD plans to your Revit model through the Manage Links tab. That might help you match the existing floor plans which you can place on the demolition phase, and all new mechanical and structural systems can be on a separate new construction phase. Even though the central model and local files are not available here, having a 3D model will help your team visualize any coordination issues.

B4: Group D – Kate Flint

For the term project our group chose to research Daylighting Technologies in Intelligent Buildings. Each group member will choose a different technology and research case studies in which that technology was implemented in a building. Each person will also explain the details of how each technology works and compare it to the other two. We will also explain the possibility for future advancements within daylighting technologies. We would also like to explore how energy use compares from the new technologies to older lighting technologies. Our project will also include how training and maintenance affect the energy efficiency of a building. Personally, I will be researching lighting sensors and how they interact with the Building Automation System (BAS).  

Specifically I will look at examples of daylight harvesting strategies. One of the technologies considered is an ambient light sensor to optimize lighting levels throughout the day. These sensors can be linked to the BAS system and monitored to collect user data over the life of the building. We may also look into how the orientation of a building impacts the daylighting, and how important it is to avoid direct sunrays. As mentioned for the BAS system, sensors in a building can be very helpful in monitoring occupant movement and comfort

I chose this topic because I took AE 340 Architectural Illumination & Electrical Systems last term and found it very interesting. Several of the topics covered in that class relate to intelligent buildings and artificial intelligence being integrated into building design. The class covered some current buildings with highly advanced lighting systems. One homeowner had a lighting/security system he controlled from an iPhone app that gave him full control and versatility of his home lighting. The system was also able to cut his energy bill by setting timers on lights and using motion sensors.

The main challenge I foresee for this project would be in deciding what to include in the final report. The outline we submitted this week narrows down the “Daylighting Technologies” category, but as we research we will need to decide how in depth we want to go with each technology. All of the technologies we are considering are well developed and available to the public for residential and commercial building use.

Mohammed,

I think you have a great project idea, and it looks like you have your work cut out for you. It sounds like you have created a very comprehensive plan from analyzing the structure to creating a new HVAC system. It is also a great idea to utilize the Revit schedules for the estimating process, which can be very tedious. Last year I attended a similar senior design project presentation, one this they did was conduct surveys of the professors with offices in the AEL building. This may be helpful during for the architectural layout process to learn more about the workflow and what the CAEE professors would recommend.

B4- Rebecca Lynch (Group A)

The topic that I chose with my partner Sean Coffey is the use of the internet of things in increasing the sustainability of buildings. There is an increasing push in society towards the development of sustainable practices and products that reduce our impact on the environment. Besides from the politicians and spokespeople encouraging this move towards a more sustainable society, the main driving force is the money savings associated with the reduction of energy usage of the building as a large incentive for both companies and individuals. Through research and case studies, we plan to show that the implementation of the internet of things into buildings can increase the sustainability of any building, even those that are LEED certified.

An important aspect in the use and maintenance of intelligent buildings is the implementation of the internet of things. The use of smart devices to monitor and control a building increases the ease of maintaining the building as well as provides optimal comfort with less and less human interference. The ability of products to communicate with each other enables the control and monitoring of an entire building with just one app. With these new capabilities, the sustainability of our buildings can be drastically improved by increasing the ease and awareness of the user in the reduction of energy usage.

Products such as the Nest Thermostat have already been developed and are currently used as an easy way of energy conservation. The system acts as a hub for the control of smart devices through a single app that not only allows the user to change the settings from anywhere, but also learns the user’s preferences and behaviors to predict future changes. This reduces the use of energy through various methods, though the most prevalent is through reducing the energy usage when no one is home. Additional products can be integrated into this system to further reduce energy impacts, such as the connection of the washer and drier to the Nest, which gathers information from the power company to determine when the peak time is, and only run the washer in non-peak times.

As with any new emerging technology, there are many limitations and potential risks of the internet of things. The major limitation at the moment is the integration of existing products to work as one. Currently, the use of hubs attempts to solve this problem by connecting all of the smart devices to a single controller. However, the hubs have their own limitations in their capabilities of connecting to only specific products. The main risk that the public is most concerned about is the impact these systems will have on personal security and privacy. Not only is there the risk of hackers taking control of a smart device to cause harm to the user, but there is a fear of the misuse of the data collected by the companies themselves. For this reason, companies will need to gain consumers’ trust in the protection and use of their data.

Sources:

Amadeo, Ron. "Google Tracker 2015: Everything We Know Google Is Working on for the New Year." ARS Technica. N.p., 29 Dec. 2014. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/12/google-tracker-2015-everything-google-is-working-on-for-the-new-year/#h1>.

Cheng, Roger. "​What Lurks beneath the Internet of Things Hype? Nagging Security Fears." CNET. N.p., 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.cnet.com/news/what-lies-beneath-the-internet-of-things-hype-an-undercurrent-of-security-fears/>.

Colon, Alex. "The Best Smart Home Automation Hubs of 2015." PCMAG. N.p., 27 May 2015. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2468647,00.asp>.

Cringely, Robert X. "Prediction #7: Internet of Things Becomes a Security Nightmare." I Cringely. N.p., 12 Jan. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.cringely.com/2016/01/13/prediction-7-internet-of-things-is-a-security-nightmare/>.

Comments:
Laura Worley
Cristian Almendariz

B4, group D, Redus

As I have progressed through my education I have always enjoyed picking up the background information related to whatever I was learning. Linear Algebra was OK, but Moshe Kam’s history lessons about Isaac Newton’s feuds with Robert Hooke were so much more important to my education. In all seriousness, “background” information will be critical to my job as an engineer. I could just enter numbers into RAM and record the outputs, theoretically the building will stand. Using RAM (or other design software) without understanding the principles behind it is a dangerous proposition though: garbage-in, garbage-out as they say. This quest for information is one of the reasons I took this class, I want to understand the framework behind what we see as “Intelligent Buildings”. How does Revit work? How do BMS utilize databases to store and process information? What are those fancy sensors really doing?

For the final project Bryan and I wanted to delve into building sensors. Sensors are used for many different things in buildings: measuring beam deflections, weld quality, temperature and humidity, occupancy, and many, many others. We decided it would be difficult to learn how every single sensor worked, so we decided to focus on indoor air quality, specifically air particles. The EPA states that particulate matter can include acids, organic chemicals, metal, dust, pollen, and mold [1]. Particles occur inside for a variety of reasons (infiltrating from outside, solid mass stoves, cooking, tobacco smoke, laundry, and industrial processes, among others). These pollutants can have a variety of effects on occupants, few of them positive (reduced lung function, heart attacks [1], cataracts, TB, asthma, adverse pregnancy outcomes [4], even brain shrinkage [3]). Zhang and Smith found that “Tobacco smoke accounted for about 4% of the global burden of disease in 2000.” 

A lovely brown haze over Philadelphia [2]

Most Building Managers try minimizing the concentration of particles in their buildings and they use sensors to measure the effectiveness of their strategies. For this project Bryan and I will be examining how these sensors work, how they convert real particles with mass and volume to digital signals. We will research the different methods that are used to physically “find” and measure the air particles. This will allow us to determine the functionality (usefulness and limits) of such processes. We will also study how this information is converted into a readable digital signal by modeling one (via MATLAB or Excel). There will be a number of challenges that we will need to overcome. Chiefly, we are not very familiar with the physics behind the different particle detection methods. We also do not have a lot of experience with signal processing. In addition, many of the specific processes used are propriety protocols that are closely guarded by the companies that developed them. This will make research challenging. The project should be very interesting however, and I am already enjoying learning about particle sensors.

[1] Office of Air and Radiation. “Particle Pollution and Your Health”. EPA. Accessed 29 January 2016, Available

[2] iStock. Philly.com. 24 April 2015, “Smog May Be Harming Your Brain.” Philadelphia Media Network LLC. Accessed 29 January 2016, Available

[3] Reinberg, Steven of HealthDay News. Philly.com. 24 April 2015, “Smog May Be Harming Your Brain.” Philadelphia Media Network LLC. Accessed 29 January 2016, Available  

[4] Zhang, Junfeng (Jim), Kirk R. Smith. British Medical Bulletin. 2003, Vol. 68, Issue 1, “Indoor Air Pollution: a Global Health Concern,” p.209-235. Oxford University Press. Accessed 29 January 2016, Available

Comment: Frasca, Drones

Comment: Flint, Daylight

B4: Group B - Alex Palma

For my term project, I am working with Danielle Beynon and Dianna Vogel to create a Revit model of the Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois. By making a Revit model incorporating all primary building systems, including architectural, structural, and mechanical, we can expand our knowledge in both Revit and BIM. All members of the group are of a structural concentration, and prior to this, we have only had significant experience with creating architectural models in Revit.

A short piece about the project topic itself; the Farnsworth House was designed by Mies van der Rohe. It was constructed in Plano, Illinois in 1951, as a weekend retreat for Edith Farnsworth, and has since changed ownership to the National Trust for Historic Preservation¹. The structure is a simplistic design using steel framing elevated off the ground through extended columns, along with large glass panels for a lightweight façade and appearance. Van der Rohe attempted to make the structure appear as one large, uninterrupted piece, and as such, he attempts to keep consist structural member sizing throughout, even if over-designing. 

We have had the opportunity in class to read and discuss the concept of “Intelligent” building design, and as such, we chose a project that gives us the opportunity to use software based around this. Instead of simply drafting plans, elevations, and relevant documents in a drafting software such as AutoCAD, we can use Revit to model systems throughout the building and how they operate in conjunction with one another. For this project, my goal is to learn more about how to model mechanical systems in Revit and how Revit recognizes clashes and conflicts between separate systems, as well as resolution techniques for common clashes.

Outside of implementing the various systems into our model, our design will have to accommodate multiple components not stocked in the Revit libraries. Connections between members, such as the beam, column, or corner connections, all include components which are unique to the design and will need to be created for this instance. To do this, we will have to develop our knowledge of families in Revit, which we have learned in the past assignment, and use it to accurately model these components.

References:

1) http://farnsworthhouse.org/ 

Comments

Cathlene,

3D printed structural material is still coming along, so hopefully you'll be able to find enough research about it! I'd be interested in seeing, as you mentioned, the anisotropy of concrete formed in layers, and how significant the effect would be. I'm sure it would have to do with the type of concrete and more importantly the time between pouring layers, and there's probably research already done on this topic since it's integral to the structural performance.

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b4-3d-printed-concrete-properties.html?showComment=1454339948174#c2097122995757274726

Bryan,

Nice topic! A lot different than most of the other topics from the class. Using Matlab is likely a good choice for a project like this; I'd be interested in seeing how you model a sensor (or rather, sensor-like behavior) in Matlab. Depending on the parameters you establish, it might also be difficult to create a numerical or programmed "value" for these properties, so I really look forward to your end product.

http://ae-510-ay15-16.blogspot.com/2016/01/b4-group-b-cummings.html?showComment=1454340425523#c5263001556707361011