BUILD SIMUL

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-019-0589-2

Automated BIM-based process for wind engineering design collaboration

Mohammad Delavar1 , Girma T. Bitsuamlak1 , John K. Dickinson1 (), Leandro Malveira F. Costa2

Research Article
1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Western University Canada, London, Ontario, Canada
2. Department of Civil Engineering, Polytechnic School, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Abstract Keywords
Building information modeling (BIM) can be considered a collaborative design process that allows building information modeling (BIM),
all project stakeholders in different disciplines to contribute during the design phase of a BIM design collaboration,
construction project. However, interoperability issues between wind, structural engineering tools, BIM level of development,
and BIM design authoring software platforms have acted as a barrier to such collaborative design planar concept and floating LOD,
processes. This research pursued an evaluation-based approach to propose and develop a BIM engineering integration,
pre-engineered buildings (PEB),
workflow for resolving the interoperability issues as well as automating significant parts of the
computational wind engineering (CWE),
collaborative design process. In this paper, the development of an automated modelling system
computational fluid dynamic (CFD)
to facilitate integrated structural design and wind engineering analysis using BIM is presented.
The research was focused on pre-engineered building (PEB) as a case study. This research
Article History
introduces some novel BIM concepts to facilitate the implementation of automation in the model
Received: 29 October 2018
development processes. These concepts facilitate engineering analysis integration and overcome
Revised: 30 September 2019
challenges associated with creating and working with different level of development (LOD) Accepted: 23 October 2019
models. The proposed system uses a central element level database and outputs a 3D model of
the building and the computational domain for use by the computational fluid dynamics software. © Tsinghua University Press and
A BIM-based application program interface (API) and stand-alone software was developed to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany,
evaluate the proposed concepts and process and their feasibility. The results suggest a successful part of Springer Nature 2019
integration that could significantly improve the building design quality and further facilitate wind,
or other, engineering design collaborations. It is also observed that the resulting process could be
applied (extended) to the general architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry.

1 Introduction that the ability to impact cost and functional capabilities of

a construction project decreases as the project progresses

This paper describes a framework for, and implementation
of the integration of wind engineering into the design and
analysis process of pre-engineered buildings (PEB) based on
building information modelling (BIM) standards, technologies
and methodologies. The goal of this work is to improve the
efficiency and outcomes of the PEB design process by using
established BIM interoperability mechanisms to allow for
more customizable designs and integrate more analysis into
the process.
The MacCleamy Curve (Fig. 1) (AIA 2007) illustrates
the motivation behind increasing adoption of BIM and
information technologies to improve the industry processes
used to delivered capital projects. In short, the figure shows
Indoor/Outdoor Airflow
from design to operation phases. This reduction in design
and Air Quality
flexibility occurs while the cost of making design changes
increases as other established design decisions and details
have to be rechecked, modified or undone (Bolin 2015). The
industry response to this realization was to leverage advancing
interoperability technology and standards (embodied in
BIM) to start transforming the capital project process from
Curve 3 to Curve 4 (Fig. 1) (Construction Users Roundtable
2004). Significant improvements in time to deliver, match to
client needs and quality of outcomes in many public and
private capital projects have been observed as BIM technology
has matured and grown in breadth of application (AIA 2007).
In one example, better access and use of domain-specific

E-mail: jdickin5@uwo.ca
2 Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
Fig. 1 MacLeamy curve on effort/effect vs. construction phases
analyses tools and performance simulations significantly
improved the accessibility and accuracy of energy con-
sumption predictions and allowed facility design to target
reduced lifecycle energy consumption goals (CIC Pennsylvania
State University 2010).
Today, many residential, commercial and industrial
construction projects are designed using mainstream design
and analysis software (i.e. software available from Autodesk,
Nemetschek, Bentley…) using BIM supported functionality
(Dodge Data & Analytics 2016). The capabilities of these
tools have progressed from assisted line drafting requiring
manual interpretation to developing data rich interoperable
models assembled from digital libraries of custom and
market procurable components. Effectively, BIM standards
now allow for the reliable reuse of design information in
many different tools used by industry and non-industry
stakeholders facilitating broad participation in all stages of
projects, but especially during design development.
In contrast, PEB, also known as “Metal Buildings”
(consisting of three plate girder and cold form elements),
are usually created using proprietary fabrication and assembly
systems and are designed with associated proprietary design
and analysis systems. Notably, these custom PEB design
and configuration systems typically support rapid (semi-)
automated design development, cost estimation and basic
structural analysis. However, they have limited capability for
project customization, incorporating existing or alternate
supplier construction or including external analysis results
like wind loads, energy consumption or noise. This means
that PEB projects requiring customization generally need to
rely on manual design development, including creating design
and analytical models separately from scratch.
The authors have sought to address these challenges by
developing and implementing an integrated BIM-enabled
design workflow for the PEB industry. The developed
framework builds upon the existing capabilities of BIM
representations and workflows to support design customization,
multiple source construction, and related design analysis,
costing, and work sequencing activities during the PEB design
development process (CIC Pennsylvania State University
2010; Dung and Tarar 2012; Eadie et al. 2013).
Importantly, as PEB construction is often used for erecting
enclosures, a chief design consideration and cost contributor
is ensuring sufficient structural performance under various
environmental loads, particularly wind loads. Unfortunately,
across the broader construction sector, including those
domains that have adopted BIM, wind engineering remains
a specialty area with currently very limited examples of
integrated analysis functionality included in design tools
(Fukuda et al. 2015) and stand-alone analysis remains the
normal practice. Typically, analysis involves tedious manual
modelling to create or revise application specific representations
of design scenarios before any load cases can be assessed.
This imposes a significant barrier to repeated parametric
analysis and any manual modelling short-cuts or errors can
limit the fidelity of results.
The integration of wind load analysis is further com-
plicated by the need to transfer any identified loads to the
appropriate structural elements since PEB structures typically
have sheathing mounted on tertiary elements which are in
turn supported by secondary, and primary construction
elements. In early project design phases, limited, if any design
information, will be available for most secondary or smaller
elements and this is a natural consequence of the progressive
development of projects and applies to all aspects of a design.
In fact, this is well-recognized as an aspect of BIM based
design processes and is formalized in processes to deliver
models with information progressing from lower to higher
levels of development ( http://bimforum.org/lod).
Consequently, to effectively integrate wind load analysis
into the BIM-based design process of PEB structures the
authors also developed and incorporated into their framework
implementation:
1) An algorithm to automatically generate missing secondary
or tertiary elements (allowing rapid transition between
low and higher levels of design development), and
2) A process to automatically generate appropriate CFD
models from BIM representations of PEB designs that
uses reference planes to support mapping wind loads back
onto the model.
For testing and validation, the complete BIM-based
integrated PEB design framework was implemented using
the Autodesk Revit API and the standalone CFD analysis
package Wind Engineering Data Analysis (WEDA) (Delavar
2017). The result software implementation allows designed to
develop customized PEB structures, supported by integrated
wind load analysis, including wind load visualization in the
Revit design environment. Furthermore, as the final design
is available as a standard BIM model, all the typical mainstream
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
tools for generating bills of materials, estimating costing,
establishing work packages, etc. are available to support
execution of the construction project.
2 BIM integration with engineering analysis/design
For the construction sector in general, both technical and
non-technical challenges still exist in deploying BIM in
engineering design processes. Non-technical challenges are
encountered due to the paradigm shift in the design process
and tools for engineers (and engineering firms) currently
utilizing traditional CAD or non-BIM design systems. Also,
engineering firms are understandably hesitant to transfer
to high LOD models due to risks regarding the intellectual
property of their designs (reserved for fabrication) and new
liabilities arising from potential inaccuracies or inappropriate
uses of exchanged models (Delavar 2017).
The primary technology challenge comes from the
contrasting levels of maturity of design applications in the
construction sector, and their differing abilities to share
data with other platforms (Eastman et al. 2011). Despite
ongoing efforts by international BIM organizations such as
buildingSMART (BuildingSMART Organization 2016) for
standardizing BIM processes and input/output formats, the
interoperability between many analysis systems used by
engineers is still impeded by these issues. These challenges
are exacerbated for less common engineering disciplines, such
as PEB design or wind-engineering (Delavar et al. 2016;
Eadie et al. 2013).
Figure 2 illustrates how designs are progressively developed
to higher LODs in a traditional non-automated digital design
process in comparison to a proposed (semi-)automated digital
design process. Note that traditional, dominantly manual,
Fig. 2 Challenges in existing BIM (preferred automated BIM system vs. traditional non-automated BIM system) (Delavar 2017, Chapter 4)
3
methods of model development tend to be time-consuming
and labor intensive, especially when multiple engineering
analyses (even when using BIM integration) are expected
as a regular part of the development. Complicating this is
the fact that overly detailed models, with higher LODs, are
required for some types of analysis, like cost, and often simpler
or derivative analytical models are required for many types
of engineering analysis. This creates a need for managing
contrasting LOD of models to support different engineering
design tasks.
This paper proposes a framework based on BIM
interoperability and a workflow that incorporates automation
in design development to provide solutions for these existing
barriers. A pre-engineered building (PEB) project is used as
a case study to illustrate the approach to integrate structural
design and wind engineering analysis. It is worth noting that
the PEB sector is mostly driven by structural engineering
considerations which directly relate to performance and
cost outcomes of projects. Never-the-less, the results of this
work can be applied beyond the case study domain to the
general AEC industry where integrating analysis or manual
design development causes process bottlenecks.
2.1 Resolution for LOD challenges
As illustrated in Fig. 2, the general objective of automating
the process in this research was to reduce the time required
for a design model to be developed to a required LOD for
the model element positions and associated information.
The results of the earlier research done by Delavar et al.
(Delavar 2017, Chapter 4) had determined that LOD300, as
described in AIA’s G202 document and NYC’s guideline
specifications (AIA 2013; Bloomberg et al. 2012), was identified
4 Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
as an ideal LOD due to its balance of utility/value of the
models and the resources invested in developing them. As
such, LOD300 would thus be an appropriate initial target
output for any automated design process. The input for the
development process could be any lower LOD.
The “Floating LOD” concept was proposed (Delavar
2017) to deal with cases where different LOD requirements
arise for different model uses. In short, this “Floating LOD”
concept proposes allowing the automated design processes
to be reversible allowing the generation of high or low
LOD models as required. This approach was realized using
parametric BIM object families that linked high-level PEB
systems (defined as system families by Autodesk (Autodesk
2016a)) to their sub-component compositions when such
detail is required. Further discussion of this “Floating LOD”
concept is outside of the scope of this paper.
2.1.1 “Planar Concept”
Another concept developed earlier that needs a brief intro-
duction here is the “Planar Concept” (Delavar 2017, Chapter 5).
Many design elements have non-physical/analytical analogs
(usually simplified) that are used in engineering analyses
that should be grouped or categorized with their physical
design equivalents. Unfortunately, the positioning of the
design elements and their non-physical analogs cannot be
defined easily using the same frames of reference.
In general, the position of 3D design elements in design
environments is described by referencing predefined
geometrical snap points. Analytical models typically represent
physical elements by line segments, planes or points (e.g. in
Fig. 3 New BIM element classifications suggested in Planar Concept for automating the BIM processes. Illustration of an example
conceptual BIM model (Delavar 2017, Chapter 5)
structural analysis models) and thus lack 3D geometry and
the equivalent snap points. If this is not properly accounted
for, any analysis models derived from these groupings
of elements are unlikely to represent the design scenario
effectively. This could undermine any efforts at integrating
analysis into the automated PEB design development
processes.
The “Planar Concept” relies on introducing three different
classifications of building elements based on their application
as shown in Fig. 3. Planar offsets linked to their classification
define their relative location a reference plane and thus to
the primary structural element. This approach allows for the
transfer of any structural or thermal load to the building
systems through facade elements (an engineering design
concept). Similar reference planes already occur in BIM-based
design development as placement helpers for positioning
elements in a 3D environment using a 2D perspective.
Figure 4 illustrates how all the building elements in an
example model can be assigned to a unique reference plane
using this approach.
Using the element classifications and reference planes,
algorithms can calculate the location of each analytical
element (Fig. 5) relative to its design element and merge any
duplicated analytical elements to keep the analytical models
consistent for subsequent analysis. This ability to link PEB
design and analytical models allows for an integrated
(architectural and structural) automated model development
process. Figure 6 shows how the defined logical relationship
(element classification) can be used to eliminate errors and
discrepancies in the structural model.
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation 5

Fig. 4 Illustration of the assigned elements to a unique reference plane (P1) in an example conceptual BIM design

Fig. 5 Software calculations for analytical model element placement. Illustration of integrated (architectural and structural) modeling
developed by Planar Concept: (P1) reference plane, (a) tertiary elements related to P1 plane (linear analytical elements), (b) tertiary
elements related to P1 plane (area analytical elements), (c) primary elements related to P1 plane (linear analytical elements), (d) secondary
elements related to P1 plane (linear analytical elements), (e) however analytical models are merged together on the “P1 reference plane”
but the actual 3D model stays in its actual place

engineering (McGraw-Hill Construction 2012). The engineer-

3 BIM and wind engineering
Wind engineering is a specialization that draws upon
meteorology, fluid dynamics, solid mechanics, geographic
information systems and some specialist engineering dis-
ciplines including architecture, aerodynamics, structural
dynamics, and environmental science. The tools used include
atmospheric models, atmospheric boundary layer wind
tunnels, large open jet facilities and computational fluid
dynamics based numerical models (Aly et al. 2011a, b). For
selected shapes of buildings and cases, building codes and
standards prescribe analytical or tabular methods (Irwin et
al. 2013; Structural Engineering Institute 2012).
Over the past decade, some efforts have been made
to integrate BIM, structural, mechanical and electrical
ing software packages offered by major BIM software such as
Autodesk (Autodesk 2016b, c, d), is evidence of such efforts.
In contrast, wind engineering integration is lacking properly
defined engineering collaboration processes, related technology
development and required integrated BIM-based software.
This missing integration is particularly important as the
responses, or target design parameters are dependent on
the shape of the study building, openings, cladding layers,
etc. that are inherently captured in the design. The wind
loads and appropriate load factors that allow the design of
ordinary buildings are often prescribed by the analytical
methods given in building codes (Irwin et al. 2013; Structural
Engineering Institute 2012). For complex situations or
cases not prescribed in building codes and standards, wind
tunnel-based investigations or complex fluid-structure
6 Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
Fig. 6 Errors and discrepancies in the analytical model due to
standard BIM entity placement using frames of reference (primary
and secondary structural elements): (a) analytical model elements
such as beams, columns and nodes are placed at the hypothetical
center of elements mass/volumes, (b) inconsistencies between
secondary and primary elements in the structural relationship
interaction simulations can be conducted. A project-by-
project wind load evaluation using boundary layer wind tunnel
Fig. 7 Detail process-map/workflow defining the 3D models/data exchange strategies and the application of the “central database” in
BIM and wind engineering integration (for both wind tunnel and CFD based approaches)
testing is an industry-wide accepted procedure. Alternatively,
the application of computational fluid dynamics (CFD),
particularly in wind assessment and building science is fairly
new but is quickly becoming mature (Bitsuamlak and Simiu
2010) and has wider design implications. For example, the
use of computational approaches now makes it feasible to
seek optimal designs for the building shapes resisting the
wind load (Elshaer et al. 2016) and generate more accurate
building thermal performance assessments (Khasay et al.
2017). Integrating this with broadly used BIM-based design
environments will allow for the further practical application
of optimization. However, in the case of wind engineering,
one main obstacle is the lack of software integration between
design and appropriate CFD simulation tools. This lack
exists in both the industry toolset and present academic
literature.
3.1 Integration of BIM and wind engineering
The wind engineering process, either using experimental or
high-performance computing, can be focused on either on
the energy efficiency of buildings or on the resilience of the
design to resist hurricane or other extreme wind events.
Developing the necessary processes and interoperability
basis for integration of BIM with wind engineering and
simulation will benefit both application areas. Figure 7
illustrates the proposed process map and data exchange
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
strategy for BIM integration with wind engineering. The
illustrated process is discussed separately based on the
simulation approaches (i.e. experimental or computational)
in the following sections.
3.1.1 BIM design integration with wind tunnel aerodynamic
data analysis
Both wind simulation approaches, wind tunnel, and CFD
deal with the significant amount of input and output data
transfer, but wind tunnel approaches require more human
intervention as it is based on applying a physical testing
procedure. Wind pressure measurement points (taps) and
associated aerodynamic data can be linked to the design
model through a shared database as illustrated in Fig. 7.
Ideally, this transferred data could be made directly available
in the BIM design authoring tool. However, monitoring and
management of the data could be a significant challenge
given a large amount of data to be transferred. For example,
for the simplest single solar panel test, the size of the pressure
time history data for only 40 probes over a 30 second
period in 0.0025-second fraction could be as big as 12000 ×
40. Statistical parameters such as mean, max, min, standard
deviation, peak, spectra, etc. on the raw data will also need
to be displayed visually to the designer. To provide the
engineer with access to this data during design, a stand-alone
software supporting BIM design authoring was coded and
developed.
The Wind Engineering Data Analysis tool (WEDA) allows
visualization and analysis on the main shared “Central
Database” of the transferred CFD data to support the BIM
design activities. This stand-alone software was developed
using Microsoft Visual Studio and was connected to a shared
Fig. 8 The evaluation of standalone BIM portal software using the wind tunnel results from a test on solar panels (Aly and Bitsuamlak
2013). WEDA software interfaces for defining the data reporting point for BIM software and wind tunnel results
7
central Microsoft Access database. User input panels were
designed for specification of wind model and data transfer
in the tool. To provide modeling capabilities, the tool uses
the Autodesk Revit (BIM design authoring tool) Software
Development Kit (SDK) API and its built-in functions for
manipulating the models and creating automated processes.
This tool can operate either as a stand-alone software that
can access data without having a BIM tool or be accessed as
part of the BIM design authoring environment.
WEDA tool functionality was assessed using an example
wind tunnel test on a solar panel conducted by Aly and
Bitsuamlak (2013). As mentioned above, the key point in
successful data exchange process is keeping the same
referencing point (probes—pressure tabs location) between
the BIM design authoring tool and output results; Fig. 8
illustrates the definition of these points using the software
interface. The main stand-alone software interface is shown
in Fig. 9.
After evaluating the obtained data from wind tunnel
simulation and processing, the raw and processed data are
saved in the main central database. WEDA can import and
load the data from the central database and present them
superimposed on the design model for visualization proposes.
Wind pressure and loading information obtained by wind
tunnel testing also can be transferred to BIM structural
integrated model using defined data monitoring points
(probes). The process for data-exchange is illustrated in Fig. 10.
It is worth mentioning that currently the 3D geometry
of the design is used for 3D printing of prototype scaled
models for wind tunnel testing. Therefore the activity of
creating the wind tunnel model is also included in the
integration process map presented in Fig. 7.
8 Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
Fig. 9 WEDA interface for data exchange visualization and analysis. Examples show pressure coefficient of upper side (Cp) for solar panel
with 40 degree angle at t=0
3.1.2 BIM integration with computational wind engineering
The improved ease and capabilities of computational wind
engineering (CWE) based on computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) is making a numerical evaluation of wind effects on
the built environment a potentially attractive proposition.
This is particularly true considering the positive trends in
hardware and software technology, as well as in numerical
modeling (Dagnew and Bitsuamlak 2013). Significant progress
has been made in the application of CWE to the evaluation
of wind loads on buildings.
Working groups have been established to investigate the
practical applicability of CWE and develop recommendations
for its use for in wind resistant design of buildings and for
assessing pedestrian level wind, within the framework of
both the Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) and European
Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) (Bitsuamlak
and Simiu 2010).
The main task in integrating CFD and BIM is facilitating
the transfer of various aerodynamic states (i.e. 3D building
models with or without material properties). Depending on
the target numerical simulation, communication between
BIM, as a 3D model representation, and CWE, as a fluid/
structure or heat transfer simulation, may entail only
exchanging 3D models with or without material properties.
The work here shows it is possible to automate this transfer
making one of the most time-consuming aspect of any
numerical simulation more efficient. As an example case,
the same “Solar Panel” scenario tested by Aly and Bitsuamlak
(2013), was simulated using CWE processes. The goal was to
demonstrate the process that was developed could handle
both wind tunnel and CFD simulation approaches. The same
process for defining probes in the CFD simulation software
(CD-ADAPCO StarCCM+ Version 11.0 (Siemens 2016)) was
used to establish matching probe locations (and accordingly
to obtain results out of the simulation analysis) in the design
through the central database.
Also, to test how a proposed enhancement for automated
scenario modeling could perform, a separate interface in the
stand-alone software was developed. This interface allows
the user to input a limited set of basic design parameters for
a parametric family of elements from which the 3D design
models are automatically generated in smart design authoring
tools like Autodesk Revit. The interface is shown in Fig. 11.
Once the BIM design model is created, it is shared with
the CFD simulation software using common “STL” model
generation functionality found in many design tools including
Autodesk Revit.
As shown in Fig. 12, during the conversion process, the
API finds all the 3D geometrical design components (solids)
included in the model and polygonises them to create the STL
models. An STL (“StereoLithography”) file is a triangular
facetted or tessellated representation of a 3D surface geometry
bounding a volume of space, the solid. Each facet is described
by a perpendicular direction and three points representing
the vertices (corners) of the triangle (3D System 1988).
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation 9

Fig. 10 The process of loading/importing evaluated and processed wind data from central database to BIM design authoring software
using the developed API. Example shows pressure coefficient of upper side (Cp) for solar panel with 40 degree angle at t=0 (t is the
time-history steps which the wind tunnel results were recorded upon)

The STL files can be imported and loaded into CFD
simulation software where they are further segmented to
defining “Boundary Conditions” and wind resisting faces
(CD-adapco 2011). All the pressure monitoring points (probes)
are defined automatically using the database for CFD
simulation software (using a Java macro) and the results of
the simulation are reported in a spreadsheet “.csv” format
which is converted to MS Access “.accdb” tables to be used
for further analysis in stand-alone software or for exchange
with BIM API for further applications. Figure 7 provides a
process map showing the different workflows and processes.
Figure 13 illustrates the different software platforms involved
and the interfaces that were used to deliver an integrated BIM
design and CWE simulation of the solar panel case study.
Using a parametric 3D BIM model and facilitated data
transfer approach using the Central Database, the solar
panel case study was modeled in different model-prototype
scale (in this case to be compared with the wind tunnel results)
and automatically processed through CWE software. The
examination of the solar panel case was successful regarding
the evolution and evaluation of the developed workflow and
model exchange strategies, but the BIM process itself was
lacking proper automation for generalized building model
development uses.
Although the process of creating 3D (STL) models from
BIM models and subsequent data-exchange were automated,
the automation process could be undermined when parametric
3D models are not available. In real case scenarios (such as
PEB buildings as the main case study industry of this research)
creating a parametric model of the entire building is not
10
Fig. 11 Developed software interface for creating automation in 3D model development for CWE simulation using BIM environment
on the solar panel case study
Fig. 12 CAD/BIM 3D model to 3D STL conversion process
feasible. Also, having any parametric 3D model beside the
actual design of a building would be redundant and time-
consuming in development. Since the core of the design
process is the BIM model (and it is constantly exposed to
changes), any automated design or analysis activities requiring
alternate model representations requires that model to be
generated from the main/actual model of the project. For
CWE applications where the structural resilience of a building
is to be assessed, the authors used the Planar Concept
introduced earlier (Delavar 2017 - Chapter 5) to help generate
the necessary analytical model.
3.1.3 From Planar Concept to CWE 3D model
Table 1 lists three main challenges that need to be addressed
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
in order to create a fully automated and integrated BIM and
CWE system.
To solve problems (a), (b) and (c), the Planar Concept
for 3D wind model creation is utilized. In Fig. 5 the logic of
keeping consistency in the structural/analytical model by
locating all the analytical representatives in planar location
(reference plane) was explained. Therefore, the location
of representative analytical models of design components
(which are classified in three categories) in 3D space can
be independent of the actual location of those 3D design
components. Hence, challenges (a) and (b) would be solved
if the wind 3D geometry could somehow be modeled exactly
using the normal of the referenced planes. Therefore, any
defined probe location could be on the same plane with the
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation 11

Fig. 13 The automated cycle of model 3D model creation for CFD simulator software using BIM design authoring tool and through the
stand-alone BIM portal software

Table 1 Issues in developing an integrated BIM and CWE system

Challenge Description
To find an approach for creating a 3D CFD compliant model of the building and the wind computational domain automatically
a
from a BIM model.
To define an intelligent process that locates the probes on the 3D geometry surfaces/facades while keeping them (tangentially)
b
orientated to the surface.
To define a data representation and process that allows this information to be transferred between the BIM application and the
c
CFD application. In particular, to be able to transfer any determined wind loads back to the design for structural analysis.

structural/analytical representative elements, and load transfer
matters could be automatically done. Alternatively, challenge
(a) could be easily solved using an algorithm to create 3D
surfaces (polygons/meshing segments) from the coordinates
of the corners of a shape that is created by mirroring 2D
footprints of all of the 3D components belonging to the
reference plane. This shape is created by mirroring the corners
of the model element components belonging to the reference
plane, as the reference planes themselves have no border.
3.1.4 Higher LOD model for wind simulations
Two significant issues may arise when using the Planar
Concept approach. First, the developed 3D model for CFD
simulation might have some discrepancies with the actual
design model regarding the size and volume due to sim-
plifications made while creating the 3D models. Second, as
illustrated in Fig. 14, the created 3D model of the building
has a very regular and smooth surface, and the actual building
facade profile is not projected on it. As surface details are one
of the most important parameters affecting wind performance,
the missing 3D facade features of the building are required
for a more accurate definition of the wind boundary condition
for the CFD simulation (Bitsuamlak and Simiu 2010). This
lack can be addressed through a simple modification Planar
Concept application by building two different data sets for
probe location, a BIM set, and a CFD set.
Similar to the approach for the solar panel CWE case,
a 3D STL model for CFD analysis is created for all the
exterior building 3D components including 3D facade
geometry features, addressing challenge (a). To address
challenges (b) and (c), CFD probe positions are placed on
the exterior/outer face of the CFD geometry model and a
12 Delavar et al. / Building Simulation

2D matrix conversion is used to establish a mapping of probe
locations back to reference planes for each design element.
A similar mapping exists from the reference plane to the
analogous BIM set of probe locations linking the representative
CFD and analytical structural models. Thus the CFD
geometry model is more faithful to the actual profile of the
project while results from CFD analysis can be linked other
engineering analysis through the BIM model. The relationship
between these two linked but different BIM and CFD probe
data sets is illustrated in Fig. 15.

Fig. 14 Illustration of the Planar Concept being used to provide a geometrical reference concept for the automated creation of the 3D wind
model from the main design model while keeping it linked with the structural/analytical model (in a conceptual BIM design model)

Fig. 15 Illustration of the modification and 2D conversion required to resolve the integration problem
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
4 Evaluation through PEB example project
4.1 Example PEB project and BIM API software
A BIM-based software application was developed, using the
Revit® software API, to evaluate the proposed framework,
automated BIM design development processes and the
functionality of the Planar and Floating LOD concepts
(Delavar 2017 - Chapter 4). Emphasis was given to the
application of the Planar Concept for creating a fully automated
BIM design system integrating CWE. Once developed the
application was used to model an example PEB project as part
of the evaluation of the concepts and framework described
herein. The example project was a real industrial PEB building
that had been previously designed using traditional PEB
design systems and processes. The initial design of this 21 m ×
16 m × 11.53 m (Eave Height) Gas Compression Station
was done in the absence of any BIM design model for PEB
structures, the building enclosure, or collaborative design
environment (see Fig. 16). The entire process of model
development for the example project was done using the
proposed automated process as described earlier in references
(Delavar 2017, Chapters 3, 4 and 5).
5 Wind CFD simulation and integration with BIM
5.1 k-ε turbulent CFD simulation (CWE)
Although a complete discussion on CFD simulation
approaches are out of the scope of this paper, some of the
assumptions and defined criteria for this simulation are
included here. In order to develop the CFD simulation, flow
Fig. 16 Evaluation Process and example project for automation process verification (Delavar 2017, Chapter 3)
13
characteristics, boundary conditions, and geometry/meshing
criteria standard procedures suggested by Dagnew et al. (2009)
and Bitsuamlak (2016) were followed. Some of the CFD
simulation assumptions and characteristics used for this
example PEB project are presented in Table 2.
5.2 Validating automated CWE 3D model creation—
Challenge (a)
The first step was to validate the effectiveness of the
developed approach for creating a CFD geometry and
computational domain model from the BIM design. The
realized implementation of the developed process and API
interface through integration process for this step is shown
in Fig. 17. The STL mesh was created using the surfacing
approach described earlier from the BIM design model and
pre-defined CFD computational domain (CD) information
was taken from information entered earlier by the user and
stored in a data table in a central database in the BIM
authoring tool. Testing confirmed the software’s ability to
automatically identify and discretize design geometry into
a form usable by CFD simulator software.
5.3 Validating automated probe locating and data
exchange—Challenges (b) and (c)
For the example design case the global positions of 1206
computationally defined probes (tangentially oriented to
the surface) for CFD analysis were automatically generated
and saved in the central BIM authoring software database
along with mappings to design element reference planes.
14 Delavar et al. / Building Simulation

Table 2 The example PEB project CFD simulation characteristic

Turbulent simulation assumptions and characteristics
 Reference mass density of the air, ρ = 1.29 kg/m3
 Reference static pressure of the air, P = 101.3 kPa
 Laminar (molecular) kinematic viscosity of air,  = 1.5×10−5 m2/s
 Initial velocity in the computational domain = 0 m/s
 Inflow velocity (a) uniform velocity profile, U = 10 m/s, and (b) atmospheric boundary layer
 (ABL) flow with mean velocity in m/s, U(z) = 1.9ln(20z+1)
 Turbulence intensity, I(z) = 1/ln(20z+1)
 Turbulence length scale in m, L(z) = 12.5z0.6 where z is the height above the ground surface in m
 Building surface as smooth wall and the ground surface (with roughness length, Z0= 0.05 m) as a rough wall with roughness parameters: Von Karman
constant, κ = 0.4 and roughness height, r = 1.75 m

Fig. 17 Automated 3D model development for CFD simulation from a BIM design model

Important design factors playing a role as parameters in this
algorithm are the location of secondary structural elements,
facade features of the buildings and any computed CFD
tributary areas. These factors and consequent relationships
can be seen in the interface snapshots captured in Fig. 18.
Transformed coordinates are introduced automatically to
the CFD simulator using JavaScript code (StarCCM+ API
or Macro functions). Using the process described in Fig. 7,
after analysis, the result of CFD simulation are returned in
“.CSV” format which is then imported into the central design
database as “Values” per coordinates. Figure 19 illustrates
the described data exchange processes from CFD simulator
back to the BIM design authoring tool for visualization and
further structural analysis and design. A visual comparison
using an identical color mapped presentation ranges (color
bar ranges were unified) was then used validate the results
against previous manually generated results (Fig. 19) along
with data result spot checks. (As the automatically generated
and manually CFD models were effectively very similar the
computational results could be reasonably expected to be
consistent.) To support further design work pressure point
results (2D planar contour maps) were projected on the
main building successfully using Autodesk Revit’s Analysis
Visualization Function (AVF).
In the end, visual confirmation confirmed the developed
algorithm was able to apply the wind load to the same
plane as the structural and analytical models delivering the
desired integration between BIM-based design and CWE
analysis for the example project. For the example project,
the overall process workflow, structural/analytical model and
automatically calculated and applied loading on the building
structure are shown in Fig. 20.
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation 15

Fig. 18 Shared central database for probe coordination—bottom left: probe locations automatically generated in CFD software utilizing
central database and API; top left: output result of CFD simulation ready to be reported back to central database at probe coordinates;
top right: BIM API interface demonstrating the automatically generated probes locations based on the analytical model on each selected
surface/2D plane; bottom right: automatically generated probes on the facade of the project BIM model by BIM API in a 3D view

Fig. 19 The process of wind simulation data exchange between CFD simulation software and BIM design authoring tool using referenced
probes
16
Fig. 20 Automated wind load calculation using referenced probes and Planar Concept
6 Future applications and recommendations
Fully automated model creation and data exchange between
BIM-based design and CFD achieved here provides two new
capabilities to wind engineering researchers. The first is
dynamic boundary allocation and the second is integrated
multi-scale and multi-physics simulation. An example of the
first capability is the ability to handle vertical and horizontal
building openings (such as open windows, air intakes, and
elevator shaft openings) modelling them as air domain (i.e.
non-solid) in the 3D CFD model. Therefore, the automation
can create different 3D CFD models for different airflow
scenarios for the building when studying the features of the
air movement inside the building. In the second case, multiple
facade profiles can be easily configured for CFD study based
on parametric design variants. This supports examining
different facade failure scenarios and climate performance
(the wind, thermal, moisture, etc.) of the building accordingly.
Failure studies include the possibility of setting elements of
the 3D facade model to be treated as part of the air domain
in the exported STL model for CFD simulation to mimic
component failure.
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
7 Conclusion
A comprehensive discussion on the application automated
design development supported by BIM for integrating
engineering analysis into design processes is presented in
this paper. In particular, a framework and algorithms was
described, implemented and tested for incorporating wind
engineering (both wind-tunnel and CFD based approaches)
in the structural design of a PEB project with the side benefit
of achieving a BIM model suitable for collaboration with
other construction disciplines. A detailed process map was
developed defining data exchange strategies and the application
of a “central database” to integrate the design engineering
activities.
To enable effective integration between the BIM and CFD
models two key modeling attributes need to be defined and
maintained. Firstly, a unified coordinate referencing system
needs to be created in the database for capturing probe
positions and reporting probe values. The coordinate system
developed for this purpose was also designed to accommodate
the natural differences between BIM and output CFD models
through the use of the Planar Concept. Secondly, a strategy
Delavar et al. / Building Simulation
and approach had to be established for creating and
transferring 3D models between the BIM design authoring
tool and CFD simulator software. The performance of the
developed concepts and processes were evaluated through
implementation using the API and interface of a BIM-based
design software and applied to the design of an example PEB
building project. The results show the developed mechanisms
supported the desired data exchange processes and were
successful in providing an integrated BIM-design and CFD
analysis environment. The flexibility and ease of the system
could significantly reduce the cost of design and analysis
tasks by reducing geometric modeling times during wind
evaluation activities and by extending the number of
engineering disciplines that can collaborate on designs using
BIM design technology.
AcknowledgementS
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Stephen
Hudak of Varco Pruden Building (VP) and the rest of VP’s
crew, upon whose substantial support this research was
developed.
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