Structural analysis of a buidling using Robot Structural Analysis

Q1. What are HVAC systems? Why are they essential in the modeling of buildings

Ans:

HVAC Systems

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is a technology of indoor environmental comfort. The goal of HVAC systems is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. It is an important part of residential structures, medium-to-large industrial, office buildings and hospitals where safe and healthy building conditions are air regulated with respected to temperature and humidity using fresh air from outdoors.

HVAC Systems are Essential in the Modeling of Buildings

• HVAC systems are used for controlling the overall climate of the building.
• It enhance the productivity in offices as they feel comfortable when thier minds and body tends to function better, leading them to deliver better job results.
• It improves the air quality in the building, making it appropriate for human breathing and comfort.
• It reduces the humidity, so that, residents can enjoy a better atmosphere.
• It is useful in buildings with less ventilations.
• This system also helps in acheiving energy efficiency.

Q2. From week 7 assignment, based on the building designed use the same Revit file to design a HVAC system for each floor to cover the topics included in the class.
a. Typical HVAC unit includes Distribution center
b. Collector
c. Ducts
d. Blower
Based on the layout choose appropriate ducts and elevation using property browser and assign the components to appropriate groups to complete modeling of the HVAC unit

AIM

To design a HVAC system on the building designed from week 7 assignment

INTRODUCTION

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is a technology of indoor environmental comfort. The goal of HVAC systems is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. It is an important part of residential structures, medium-to-large industrial, office buildings and hospitals where safe and healthy building conditions are air regulated with respected to temperature and humidity using fresh air from outdoors.

PROCEDURE

The step by step procedure is given below:

STEP 1

• Open Revit software and click 'New'
• Select 'Mechanical Template' as the template file on 'New Project' and click 'OK'

• Click 'Link Revit' in the 'Insert' tab
• Select 'Project Architectural' from week 7 assignment and click 'Open'

• Click 'Select Link' in the 'Copy/Monitor' under 'Collaborate' tab
  • Select the link
    • Click 'Copy' under the 'Copy/Monitor'
    • Enable 'Multiple' option and select all the necessary items in the link
    • Click 'Finish' option near the 'Multiple'
    • Click 'Finish' under the 'Copy/Monitor'

STEP 2

• Click 'Air Terminal' in the 'Systems' tab
  • Place the air terminal inside the plan

• Click 'Mechanical Equipment' in the 'Systems' tab
  • Load 'Air Handling Unit', 'Collector' and 'Blower' from the mechanical family
  • Place the air handling unit inside the plan

• Select all the air teminals, air handling unit, collector and blower and click 'Duct' under the 'Modify' tab

• Click 'OK' in the 'Create Duct System'

• Select a connector and click 'OK'

• Click 'Generate Layout' under the 'Modify' tab

• Select the type of solution and click 'Finish Layout' under the 'Generate Layout' tab

• Select all the air teminals, air handling unit, ducts and click 'Copy to clipboard'
  • Click 'Aligned to Selected Levels' in the 'Paste' option under 'Modify' tab
    • Select 'First Floor', 'Second Floor', 'Third Floor', 'Fourth Floor' and click 'OK'

RESULT

A HVAC system is designed on the building from week 7 assignment

Q3. Use the add-ins tab to load plug-ins for robot structural analysis to your Revit software

AIM

To load plug-ins for robot structural analysis to Revit software

INTRODUCTION

Robot Structural Analysis ProfessIonal is structural load analysis software that verifies code compliance and uses BIM-integrated workflows to exchange data with Revit. It can help you to create more resilient, constructible designs that are accurate, coordinated, and connected to BIM.

PROCEDURE

• Open Revit software
• Open any revit file
• Click 'Autodesk App Store' on the top

• Search 'Structural Analysis Toolkit 2020' and click on the 'Structural Analysis Toolkit 2020' shown below

• Click 'Download'

• After downloading, install the Structural Analysis Toolkit 2020

RESULT

The plug-ins for robot structural analysis is added in the Revit software

Q4. Why do we need to assess buildings/analyze while modeling elements? Does design affect modeling in anyways?

Ans:

Structural analysis is essential in modeling elements as it helps in calculating and determining the effects of loads and internal forces on a structural building or any object. It is particularly important for structural engineers to ensure that the complete understands the load parts and impacts the loads have on their engineering designs. It also allows engineers or designers to ensure that a piece of equipment or structure is safe for use, under the estimated loads, it is expect to withstand. So, structural analysis can be either be performed during the design, testing or construction and when, generally account for the material used, geometry of the structure and applied loads. Structural analysis is usually looks at an individual structural elements and forces they undergo. Then structural engineer will look at structural analysis results for all the structural components like beams, slabs, cables and walls. So, all of these elements have forces and applied them such as wind load, live load, dead load and all the loads, which will be based on the building. So, it is important for the engineer to review, how each of these elements behave under these loads. This is the core focus of the structure analysis.

Yes, The structural design affects the modeling. It will help to design better models, cover the issues with an existing model and allows to incoporate the alternatives.

Q5. From the structural model developed in week 6 and 7, export the complete analytical model to robot structural analysis.
a. List your assumptions on what boundary conditions will be realistic for the analysis approach
b. Use the design standards to decide what loads must be applied to floorings based on the type of structure decided
c. List the load combinations and include them in the analysis model
d. Analyze the building and report the following results
i. Maximum Moment in each floor for all Load Combinations
ii. Maximum Displacement in each floor for all Load combinations
iii. Lateral Displacement in building for all Lateral Load combinations
e. After analysis, do you think you have a better approach or idea in modeling structural members?

AIM

To export the complete analytical model developed in week 7 to robot structural analysis and analyse the building

INTRODUCTION

Robot Structural Analysis ProfessIonal is structural load analysis software that verifies code compliance and uses BIM-integrated workflows to exchange data with Revit. It can help you to create more resilient, constructible designs that are accurate, coordinated, and connected to BIM.

PROCEDURE

The step by step procedure is given below:

STEP 1:

• Open Revit software and existing week 7 assignment 'Project Structural'
• Click 'Loads' under the 'Analyze' tab
  • Select 'Area Load' and draw the layout of area load

• Select the area load and click 'Copy to clipboard'
  • Click 'Aligned to Selected Levels' in the 'Paste' option under 'Modify' tab
    • Select 'First Floor', 'Second Floor', 'Third Floor', 'Fourth Floor', 'Roof' and click 'OK'

STEP 2:

• Click 'Load cases' under the 'Analyze' tab

• Provide different load comination in 'Structural Settings' and click 'OK'

STEP 3:

• Click 'Boundary Conditions' under the 'Analyze' tab
  • Give point loads to every points

STEP 4:

• Click 'Robot Structural Analysis Link' in the 'Robot Structural Analysis' under the 'Analyze' tab

• Choose 'Send model', 'Direct integration' and click 'OK'

• Open the 'Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis Professional'

• Select all, apply loads
• Click 'Load Definition' under the 'Loads' and click apply
• Click 'Manual Combinations' under the 'Loads' and click apply

• Click 'Calculations' under the 'Analysis'

• Click 'Diagrams for Bars' under the 'Results'

• Select 'MX', 'MY', 'MZ' and click 'Apply'
  • Final result showed in RESULTS

• Select 'FX', 'FY', 'FZ' and click 'Apply'
  • Final result showed in RESULTS

RESULTS

The complete analytical model developed in week 7 is exported to robot structural analysis and analysed the building. The results are shown below

a. Assumptions on what boundary conditions will be realistic for the analysis approach

i) A place where either the external force or the displacement are known at the begining of analysis is boundary condition.
ii) To solve any structural analysis problem, every location on the boundary of a structure must have known force the known force must have some magnitude or it can be zero. Boundary conditions are expressed in terms of applicable degrees of freedom (DOF).

b. Use the design standards to decide what loads must be applied to floorings based on the type of structure decided\

i) Loads that must be supplied to floorings are-

• Dead load
• Live load
• Floor Finish

ii) Floor loads are applied as in the form of Uniformly distribiuted loads (UDL)

c. Load combinations as per IS 456

i) 1.5 DL+1.5 LL
ii) 1DL+-1.5LL
iii) 1DL+-1.5LL +1 WL

d. Analyze the building and report the following results

e. After analysis, do you think you have a better approach or idea in modeling structural members?

No

Q6. What is energy analysis and why do we need to consider it while modeling in Revit? How does the factor of sustainability improve the quality of your design?

Ans:

Energy analysis is the traditional method of assessing the way the energy is used in an operation involving the both physical and chemical processing of materials and the energy analysiscan give major 4 principles, they are;

• Calculating Heat loss and gain to the building spaces and the heating and cooling loads imposed upon the building systems.
• Calculation of the energy addition and extraction to meet the possibility of varying temperatures set points and humiditic criteria
• Determining the fuel requirements of primary equipments in the attempt to supply the energy demand of HVAC system
• Evaluating the costs of equipment, fuels, electricity, labour and retrofit components against the alternative of investing money in other way

Energy simulation can help in analyzing the moment of energy in and out and through the rooms and volumes in building models. This information can help designers make better informed cost effective desicions that improve the performance and reduces the environmental impact of building.

Sustainable design is intended to completely eliminate negative environmnetal impacts throughout the design process. This concepts can be applied across all fields of designs such as designing buildings. A sustainable design regardless of application will seek to appropriate environmentally prefferable outcomes such as;

• Lower energy and water consumption throughout the entire lifecycle
• Minimize the impacts on climate change by reducing green house gas emission or miticating them through the carbon neutralising activities
• Limit resource consumption through waste free manufacturing
• Quality and durabililty over the price
• Use of non toxic materials