B4- Kuzniarowicz Group E

For our final project, my group will be analyzing the applications of 3-D printing technologies in the construction field today in order to write a research paper for the final project. Over recent years, the technologies of 3-D printing have been a new and booming topic in the engineering and research fields. There have not only been advancements in availability and affordability of 3-D printing for the general public, but also the applications in which it can be used. There are a number of different 3-D Printing technologies that are currently being tested and applied to construction projects, such as the United Arab Emirates Innovation Committee’s plan to 3-D print an entire office building. In addition to fully 3-D printed construction projects, the technology is also being utilized in the creation of innovative and sustainable building materials such as concrete, plastic-based, wood-based, and alloy-based bulk materials.  Although the technology is still up and coming, breakthroughs in 3-D printing are continuously occurring. One of these breakthroughs includes the utilization of 3-D printers to create structures for a manned Mars space mission.

The breakthrough technology of 3-D printing has already made, and will continue to make, significant economic and social impacts in the world today. In the field of construction, the use of 3-D printing technologies could significantly decrease the cost associated with materials as well as simplify the overall construction process to make it more efficient.

A general outline for our final project on 3-D building technologies is as follows:

v  Abstract

Ø   An overall summary of the research, discoveries, and conclusions made about 3-D printing

v  Introduction

Ø  History of 3-D Printing

Ø  Background information about 3-D printing in Construction

Ø  Examples of 3-D printing applications

v  Topic 1: 3-D Printing and Building Materials

Ø  Fully 3-D Printed Materials

§  Concrete

Ø  Using Additives in 3-D Printing

§  Wood-based Bulk Materials

§  Plastic-based materials

§  Alloys

§  Other (moon rocks)

v  Topic 2: 3-D printing in Construction

Ø  Printing Methods

Ø  Structural Components

v  Topic 3: Entirely 3-D Printed Structures

Ø  WinSun China Builds 1^st 3-D Printed Villa and Apartment Building

Ø  UAEIC 3-D Printing Office Building

v  Future of 3-D Printing

Ø  Additional Construction Applications

Ø  Growth of Scale of Printing

v  Conclusions

v  References

1)    Win Sun 3-D Printed Villa/Apartment Building

http://www.3ders.org/articles/20150118-winsun-builds-world-first-3d-printed-villa-and-tallest-3d-printed-building-in-china.html

2) UAEIC 3-D Printed Office Building:

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1698870470?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=10559

3&4) Printing with Regolith (or other moon rocks)

http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20140002630.pdf

http://www.esa.int/Highlights/Lunar_3D_printing

5) 3-D Printing and Rapid Casting (Concrete and Alloys)

http://search.proquest.com/docview/214028287?pq-origsite=summon

6) 4-D Printing of the Future (Future)

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1650538777?pq-origsite=summon

7) 3-D Printing and its applications (Introduction)

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1432214803?pq-origsite=summon

8) Comparing Environmental impacts of 3-D Printing vs. Traditional Machining

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1648113434?pq-origsite=summon

Comments:

Cathlene Farnelli – 3-D Printed Concrete Properties

Cathlene,

You have stated a number of very good considerations on the topic of 3-D printing of concrete but there are many more thanks that you should consider. I would look into some of the fully 3-D printed buildings that are already in existence (WinSun China, and the UAE Innovation committee’s plan to fully print a building) and consider how they use concrete in their design. I would also look into using concrete material as an additive in 3-D printing. My group is also considering 3-D printing applications so I feel that we could help each other out with sources and information. I have attached sources in my post so feel free to take a look.

Kate Flint – Daylighting Technologies in Intelligent Buildings

Kate,

Like you, I also really enjoyed AE 340 (I hope you had Hartnichek) and I feel that this is a very important topic in building design today. I am currently in the AEI senior design competition and daylighting is one of the major considerations we must account for in the design for our 17-story office building. Daylighting is important in every building from hospitals to schools. This topic is very challenging because you do not only have to consider the building automation aspect of the design but also the economic impact of a satisfactory daylighting design. I would do significant research on how daylighting technologies can reduce of and increase the efficiency of a building. The idea for your topic is very general and there is a lot of information that could be included in your final report depending on which route you take. Good Luck!

B3, Group D, advantages of BIM, Redus

Building information Modeling, or BIM, has many positive effects. The article last week pointed out that it reduces the need to repeat work, increases the ease of collaboration, points out conflicts, and can aid evaluating designs through energy, cost, and circulation simulation add-ons.

In class, Huw showed us a lot of newer (and developing) BIM technology. Currently, the only information transmen have access needs to be on “construction documents” – 2D plan sheets. In the future Bentley’s modeling system will let the user see the proposed 3D model of the space in front of them. It will also show them the section drawing of a wall they are working on. This can greatly improve a tradesmen’s understanding of what he is working on, improving accuracy and allowing him to observe how his system interacts with others and make suggestions. While contractors have been eager to adopt BIM technology, this will probably encourage them even more. The tradesman could also verify the equipment he installed, which would be very useful to building operators as well. Maintenance personnel could simple pull out a surface device and see exactly where their part of interest is located. Huw also pointed out that Yelp can point out where local restaurants are and display reviews, pricing, hours, and distance to each restaurant. This could be coupled with a model to show where the different junction boxes are and which lines go into them. This information could help the electrician to troubleshoot and fix the problem much faster.

McGraw Hill Construction wrote an interesting report in 2014 examining the value of BIM for owners. They found that 85% of owners in the UK felt that few problems occurred during construction because of BIM (The UK has higher BIM usage than the US). This is most likely because of the collaboration that BIM enables and fault-finding software that most systems include. 72% also believe BIM improves control of construction costs, which is somethings most owners appreciate. These reductions are probably due to fewer design errors as well as allowing contractors to effectively plan and schedule the project. Importantly 98% of owners said BIM visualizations allowed a better understanding of the design. This is significant because owners are who pay the engineers and architects. It does not matter who has the best design, it matters who can communicate that the owner will like their design. BIM makes making 3D, schematic, and other visualizations easy, these visualizations give owners a better understanding of the design. Owners also appreciate BIM because it makes post-construction operation significantly easier. 78% perceive value in utilizing BIM for facilities management.

McGraw Hill Construction. SmartMarket Report. “The Business Value of BIM for Owners,” 2014. McGraw Hill Financial. Online.

Comment to Flint, Surveying
Comment to Beynon, Data-Rich Models

B1: Group A- Janet Tran

            Artificial intelligence has a wide range of applications; however, the common motive among all is to create a system that “do[es] well things that humans do poorly or don’t like to do.” There are various near term factors that dictate how quickly artificial intelligence will permeate a particular field/industry. Mainly, with any type of new technology, capital is required. As professor Mitchell mentioned, the architecture and construction industry is lagging behind aviation. This fact is partly due to little cash flowing into the research and development of new methods for construction. Additionally, the long-term future of AI will evaluated based on how economically valuable it is and its ease of use.

            My opinion is that the use of artificial intelligence and robots in the construction industry can greatly reduce building costs. The obvious reason is that, human labor can either be reduce or eliminated completely. However, the social and economic implications are not without concern. Construction is a very costly business largely due to the risks that are involved. Human casualties have always been a topic of concern, especially as building designs continue to push the limits. The top four fatal causes (2012) were 36% falls, 10% being struck by objects, 9% electrocution, and 2% being caught between objects. In the future robots could be implemented in ways that reduce human risk and improve safety. Workers compensation costs can be reduced, if robots replace unsafe human labor.

            We already see AI in the form of computing between networks in contemporary architecture. As energy becomes a more pressing crisis, I believe the continued development of building automation system (BAS) will accelerate. Building automation systems are implements to allow the building to operate in response to its environment. No longer do the various building systems operate in a steady state. These logic based control systems allow the building to become transient. For example window-shading devices propagate depending on occupant needs. Energy consumption can be minimized while also meeting cooling and heating demands. I think the future of AI in relation to solving society’s energy issues lies in logic based computer software. The way in which a building operates most efficiently is dependent on a series of cost-benefit decisions. Since the architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, etc. systems are all integrated. Therefore, improving the performance of one may sequentially compromises others. The future of high performance buildings will exploit artificial intelligence, computer software, and sensors to allow the building to operate autonomously. I see the future of buildings as a transient living structure able to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of various sequences of operations in real time for an improved net efficiency. The basis of computer software is to facilitate the building operation, which involves loops of various if-then statements; finally to arrive at a position of most optimal performance. The reason computer software is because, though humans have the logic, it is necessary that these large volume decisions be made very quickly. The issues that BAS systems seek to deal with are dependent on owner needs. ASHRAE has outlined various topics as shown below.

BAS computer software and control systems can address these issues. Studies suggest that computer software and human service used in conjunction can potentially solve the world's problems. The idea is that humans are better than machines at specific tasks that are apart of the large picture solution. With computer intelligence micro-tasks can be assigned to a large source of humans power among a large network and then reframed and stitched back together to arrive at an answer or solution. Though this may not solve climate change, disease, or geopolitical conflicts, the concept of sourcing human computation can create a new unprecedented flexible collaborative environment.  Additionally, of course with the growing need of computing power and data storage, this will result in the growth of data centers. 

[1] Article: Evolution, Sociobiology, and the Future of Artificial Intelligence 
Author: Waltz, David

[2] http://ehstoday.com/construction/fatal-four-safety-construction-industry-infographic

[3] http://ashraeny.org/wp-content/uploads/February-2015-Building-Automation-Systems.pdf

[4] http://www.kurzweilai.net/can-human-machine-superintelligence-solve-the-worlds-most-dire-problems

Student Comments

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