Reference no: EM132363227

Project

Introduction:

The first project in Civil Engineering Practice requires students to work in pairs to develop a range of skills and knowledge related to structural engineering and Building Information Modelling (BIM). The project will be submitted in two parts. The first part involves each student demonstrating that they are able to open and manipulate a Revit BIM model of a building and that they have understood the differences between BIM and 2D CAD. The second part involves calculations of loads and the resultant member actions on some key members in the building being modelled, demonstrating the ability to use structural analysis software and to compare this with hand calculations for these resultant actions. You will find all of the necessary details explained below.

Peer review using SPARK is compulsory in this assignment.

Assessment aims:

This assessment is designed to help you achieve the following course learning objectives:

• CO3. Understand and apply the concepts of limit states design, load determination and load paths in building structures
• CO6. Understand the capabilities of Building Information Modelling and its role in facilitating collaboration between architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals
• CO7. Continue to develop teamwork, reflection and presentation skills required for professional practice as a Civil Engineer

Assessment brief:

You need to complete this project in pairs. Students must work with a partner from the same tutorial class.

Module 2 of the Civil Engineering Practice course explores the current transition in the engineering profession from Computer Aided Design (CAD) towards Building Information Modelling (BIM). In order to do this, we will use the drawings and model developed for a real building called Surf Central that was recently built in West Beach, South Australia. This assessment task will also use the learning you will gain in Module 3 regarding design actions and limit states and ask you to apply this to calculate the design actions on the same building. To carry out this assignment we will introduce you to some industry standard software packages for both BIM and structural analysis.

The Building

The BIM model that you will use is that of Surf Central, the new headquarters for Surf Life Saving Australia operations in South Australia. Surf Central is located near the corner of Military Road and Barcoo Road, West Beach, at the entrance to the Adelaide Shores Recreation Precinct and Adelaide Sailing Club. The following link provides some background information on the Surf Central construction, expected use and includes a map of its location, which will be useful when determining the wind loads on the building.

Part 1: BIM and CAD

1 Each student to demonstrate in class that they can manipulate the Revit model

2 Discussion of CAD vs BIM
Part 2: Structural Analysis

3 Calculate the loads on the main elements of the building

4 Model and analyse your frame in SpaceGass and compare this with your manual calculations

5 Overall report presentation

Part 1: BIM and CAD:

Examine the CAD drawings for the Surf Central building

Your first task in this assignment is to view a series of 2-dimensional CAD drawings of the Surf Central structure. These are uploaded on the course webpage and have been provided to you as hard copies in the tutorial session. One set of drawings is the Architectural drawings for the project and the other set are the drawings done by the structural engineering consultants that provide the engineering details of the structural frame of the building. Try to visualise what the structure looks like by using these drawings.

Download the Revit software

The next task is to download the software Revit, so that you can open and use a 3-dimensional BIM model of the Surf Central building, in order to gain an appreciation for the current technological progressions and trends within the structural engineering/construction industry. The model includes architectural details, structural engineering details and mechanical services details (heating, air conditioning, plumbing, etc).

You will then be required to demonstrate your ability to view the BIM model from different angles and in different forms and perform simple manipulations of the structure using Autodesk Revit through a series of screenshots.

Note: All of the information you need to learn how to open the Revit model and to use Revit to manipulate the model for these tasks is provided in the ‘Revit Training' resources on the webpage.

Demonstrate that you can use the Revit software by manipulating the Surf Central BIM Model

Week 3: In the tutorial class in Week 3 each member of your group must demonstrate separately that you can undertake the following tasks:
• Rotate the building model
• Alter the visible layers to show just the structural members
• Isolate a single gridline of members (grid F, H or K)
• Select a member along this grid and show its properties

If you do not demonstrate this during the tutorial class then you will not receive the 5 marks allocated to these tasks in Part 1 of this project.

For the assessment submission you must include screenshots documenting that you can manipulate the BIM model. Full details are in the assessment sheet at the end of the handout. You need to demonstrate that you have successfully rotated the 3D BIM model and explored the other model views that BIM is able to produce (elevation, plan view and so on). Following this, you must prove that you have successfully altered the visible layers by providing a screenshot of the model with only the structural members visible and then isolate a gridline (choose grid F, H or K), selecting critical members along this frame to document their properties for later use.

Discuss 2D CAD vs BIM

Think critically about the two model forms (2D CAD vs 3D BIM) that you have used and seen for the Surf Central building and comment on the evident advantages and disadvantages of each.

You should go further than mentioning that you can view the model in many different forms. Think about the effects your identified advantages and disadvantages may have on the construction industry and your role as a Civil/Structural Engineer.

Your discussion should be 200-300 words.

Part 2: Load calculations and structural analysis

Summary of Part 2

You will now use the learning from Modules 2 and 3 to calculate the loads on the main structural elements of the building grid you have selected. You will then model the building structure on that grid within a structural analysis software modelling package called SpaceGass, apply the loads to the model and analyse the structure. Finally you will compare the computer results with your hand calculated results.

Autodesk Revit can be expanded with the functionality to perform structural analysis using a component called Revit Structure, or the whole Revit model can be exported to another structural analysis package. However, due to file size and student versions, we will not be doing this. Instead, you will be required to model the structural frame along a single gridline, including determining and applying loads to that frame using a structural analysis software package that is widely used in industry named SpaceGass. This part of the assignment will ensure that you become familiar with the relevant structural design codes, calculating loads and solidify knowledge of structural analysis techniques that you learned in earlier courses like Engineering Mechanics and Mechanics of Materials.

Load calculations

For the structure on the grid line you have chosen (F, H or K), referring to the video lectures and PowerPoint resources from Modules 2 and 3 and your structural codes, first undertake manual (hand) calculations of the following:

• Determine the load width and calculate the dead loads (G) on Beams B2 and R1. The properties of the structural elements that load these beams can be obtained from the Revit model. In order to do this you should particularly review the structural calculations, permanent and imposed action lectures and PowerPoints on the course homepage, and the tutorial exercises undertaken during Module 3. Use AS/NZS 1170.1 to find any necessary densities and pressures for your calculations. You should list the load components that contribute to the dead loads and set out your calculations in a similar manner to the sample provided on the course webpage. Your loads should be in kN/m.

• Calculate the live loads (Q) on Beams B2 and R1. Again use AS/NZS 1170.1 to determine the appropriate floor and roof loads based on the building use indicated in the Revit model and CAD drawings. Your loads should be in kN/m.

• Calculate the wind loads (W) on the building, focussing on the frame on the grid you have chosen. In order to do this you should particularly review the wind action lectures and PowerPoints, the worked example in the Additional Lecture notes and the tutorial exercises undertaken in Week 5. The calculations will require the following steps:

o Determine the design wind speed for the location of the SURF CENTRAL building. To simplify the calculations for this project we will undertake calculations for the wind from the north direction and south direction and take the wall along Grid 1 as the windward wall and Leeward wall, respectively. You can use Google Maps or similar to determine the terrain category and the shielding multipliers. You should assume that the topographic factor is 1.

o Determine the internal and external pressure coefficients for the wind blowing from the north and SOUTH. Show these on diagrams within your calculations. Explain any assumptions you make to determine these and show all of your calculations.

o Determine the external and internal wind pressures on the members of the frame on the grid you have chosen. Assume that Ka, Kl, Kp and Kc all equal 1. Convert these pressures to loads in kN/m along the beams and columns.
You must ensure that you show all of your calculations to determine your load inputs, not just your final results.

Structural Analysis

Download SpaceGass and learn how to use it

Follow the instructions on the course webpage to download the student version of SpaceGass and undertake the tutorials to become familiar with using it.

Model your selected frame in SpaceGass, apply your loads and undertake the analysis

Once you have completed the design load calculations you must then model the frame along the gridline you have selected in SpaceGass, using the beam and column properties that you determined from the Revit model and the section libraries that are provided within SpaceGass. We can assume that all beam joints will have pinned ends and columns may be fixed at their base. You will need to provide a screenshot of the frame to prove that you have modelled this.

Input three separate load cases:

• Dead load only, G
• Live load only, Q
• Wind load only, W

Once you have input the frame and applied the loads then undertake the structural analysis to determine the bending moments, shear forces and deflections under each of these load cases. You must then provide a copy of the bending moment (BM) diagram, shear force (SF) diagram and deflection diagram of the beams B2 and R1 as determined by SpaceGass. Ensure that your diagrams include the values of the maximums on each diagram.

You should then determine the maximum values of BM, SF and Deflection on beams B2 and R1 under each of the applicable combination load cases according to AS 1170.0.

Undertake hand calculations and compare the results

The final stage of the assignment is to complete hand calculations of the maximum bending moments, shear forces and deflections on the beams B2 and R1. Calculate these assuming the beams are simply supported. You will need to use the knowledge you gained in the earlier unit Mechanics of Materials to do this. You must then include a brief discussion about the comparison between your hand

calculated results and the computer program output. This discussion should also include a summary of the load paths in the building for vertical and horizontal loads.

In order to demonstrate that you have modelled the structure correctly you must provide the following items within your report:

• A screen shot of the frame and each of the applied load cases (G, Q and W)
• The input file that includes structure geometry, node and member restraints/end conditions, load inputs in kN/m.
• A screen shot of the BM, SF and Deflection diagrams of the frame for each load case that indicates the maximum values.

You must submit a short report containing all of the discussion sections, hand calculations and screenshots (or computer printouts) that you collected during your work in Autodesk Revit and Spacegass that prove you have completed each of the assignment sections. You do not have to type all of your calculations, you can do them in handwritten form and scan them into your document, or submit these hand written in the hard copy document.

The overall document you submit should be professionally presented and clear and easy to read. In professional practice, any of your calculations will need to be checked by a third party for approval, so it is important that they are well presented.