Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
MODELING LANGUAGE
FOR BUILDINGS AND BUILDING PRODUCTS,
NODEIT
Part of the :
Carried out by :
OBOM researchgroup,
Chair of Integration of Constructions,
Faculty of Architecture ,
Delft University of Technology.
Prof. Ir. J . Brouwer.
Ir. J. Kapteijns.
Ing . J . Bleeker.
Author:
ISBN: 90-5269-243-2
2
ABSTRACT.
3
4
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction. 7
1. The OBOM Protocol. 9
11 . Introduction to the protocol. 9
1.2. Four levels of detail. 9
1.3. Geometrie information. 10
1.4. Specification of performance. 11
1.4.1. Traversing of specifications. 12
1.4.2. Specifications of products. 13
1.5. Context in a design. 13
4. Conclusions. 23
5
6
INTRODUCTION.
7
materialises a design. The building to be design ed
is set up as a collection ol boxes . These box es are
abstraction ol chambers, walls, windows , doors and
sheets ol a material. The trick is to start with a set
ol 'ROOM'-objects and work the way down the
detailed level. On the 'LAYER' level all objects
represent sheets or proliles. Objects on the
'LAYER', 'SECTOR' and also on the 'GROUP' leve l
can be replaced by building products . It wil! be
obvious that replacement ol a GROUP-object
requires a much higher level a prelabricatio n ol the
product and is much more difficult to calculate than
replacement of a LAYER-object.
8
1. THE OBOM PROTOCOL.
9
Rl for the designer to man ipulate .
il R1G4=O il
I I I Once the dimensions are correct , the rooms are
I I I
I I I successively translated into multiple GROUP 's. A
I I I
I I I group represents a wallor a part of a wall. The
I I I
I I I position and dimensions of the groups corresponds
:-4-1 R1Gl R1G2 : ~ with the faces of the parent-room . Each of the six
I I I
I I I faces of the box representing the room may be
I I I
I I I turned into a wall or floor. Only the width of the wall
I I I
or floor must be inserted by the designer. The
I R1G3 I I
LJ r---- -'-i- -- - - t - j position of the new groups can be aligned to
L _ _ _ _ _L ___ __ ~
W-:d ~
I I I I
hole in a wall (picture 6) .
The open and closed sectors can be divided into
~ ____ J ~ ~ sheets . These sheets are called LAYER's . The layer
I I
I I
I I is the most detailed descriptor of the protocol. A
layer can represent a sheet of bricks, concrete ,
Picture 6: Group to Sector
convers;on wood etc . They can also be thought of as radiators ,
cabinets etc. (picture 7) .
10
System (CCS). The dimensions consist of an x, y
and z value . The values form a boundary box or
envelope . Wh en visualising the abstract building
this box is drawn in AutoCAD . It will be clear that a
selected product must fit in this box in order to be a
valid replacement of this object.
11
different types of specifications are the result of the
Building Node 1 research , as there were ,
Specifications of :
1). 'BEARING' performance (e.g . the maximum
pressure of a material).
12
modulus) may be used for the parameters in the
formula. the second constraint is that formulas may
not significantly change if the geometry or
specifications of the parent-object are changed. The
way in which the specifications travel from level to
level is fairly complicated and the formulas used
must be executed with every action. This requires
further research .
13
specilying an object's context. The position
(horizontal, vertical or diagonal) is read Irom the
object's geometrie model inlormation . For the
purpose ol connecting product's , a model ol the
edge is stored in the product database . This
abstract edge is used to check il produets lit
amongst their neighbour products. For more
inlormation on this subject, reler to relerenee 2
(picture 10).
14
2. SELECT/ON ENG/NE TECHNOLOGY (SET).
~
the dimension-range of the product and occupy a
step value.
For certain products (e.g . concrete , paint , plaster) ,
r*'-------
the exact occurrence is determined during the
application in the building . The OBOM protocol calls
these products 'material ' (M-type) products . The
dimensions of these kinds of products are free in all
three directions and are only limited by the laws of
physics. Wh en applying a M-type product , chances
of a positive 'dimension match ' are high .
Some products are manufactured while one or two
directions in the dimensions can still be changed on
site . These products are called 'versatiie ' (V-type )
Picture 12: Dimensions Compared products . The directions in dimension which cannot
be changed , are usually offered in a range of
values . The th ird type of product is the 'component'
(O-type) product. These products are fixed in all
three dimensions but can be manufactured in a
range of different dimensions .
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2 .2.1. Traversing Objects in Dimension Compare .
Some objects have one or more objects on a
lower leve l attached to them (e .g. a wall with two
windows). This is an example ol a 'parent-child'-
relation. When looking lor a product to take the
parent's place , the product-database is searched lor
a product having two child-objects which lit the
description. The dimensions and position ol each ol
the windows are compared in the same way as
described earlier. The same rule applies when the
child-object becomes a pare nt-object in its turn and
has one or more child-objects atlached to them . The
tree ol objects is traversed Irom the top object and
each object is compared to its product. It will be
clear that this method demands a great deal ol
calculation time and may even result in a
computation explode .
16
2.4. Knowledge Based Selection and Context
Compare.
This part ol the project is currently under
development. For a detailed report on the proposals
on this subject , reler to relerence 2 .
17
3. MODELLING BUILDING AND PRODUCTS.
18
Objects on the sector-level are used to define
different zones within a group-object. These sectors
have a specific use in the floors and walls (picture
3). The sectors can be open, in which case they act
as a zone for interaction with either the outside
(window, door) or another room-object (door,
passage) . Open sectors can span an entire floor or
wall. Sectors can also be closed, to define a zone
with a different behaviour from the rest of the wall.
For instance , a piece of high-pressure material
between two floor high holes may represent a
column. For the definition of the sector-object an
insertion-point (x,z) and two dimensions (width,
height) are required. Further a type of performance
can be given (act like a: door, window, air, etc.).
19
3.3. Modelling Products using the PROTOCOL.
3.3. 1. Introduction .
One of the intentions of the Suilding Node
research project, is to offer manufactures of
building products a tooi for modelling their products
in a general format. This format may be used by
several future CAAD systems . Remember that the
OSOM protocol is not a 3D file-format like ' STEP ' or
'IGES '. It is a tooi for selecting the right product for
the right place .
20
specifications. These performance-specifications
are, for example the insulation value, fire resistant
performance, transparency etc. The specifications
for the object-classes currently implemented in
'NodelT' are listed in appendix B.
21
3.3.3. Tree Trave rsal.
The leve ls of the abstract descri ption of th e
OBOM Protocol are us ed in the search for build ing
products. The user may apply a room- level bui ldin g
product in the design without ever havi ng seen the
exact physical appearance of the produc t (i .e. the
thickness of the wall s, position of the door). The se
may not matte r at the stage of the design process
the designer is going through .
This is usually not the case with prefabricated
facades. The position of the windows has mayor
importance here . Th e user will mode l a group-object
in the abstract building to have sector-objects . If a
product is to match to an abstract model of thi s part
of the facade , it has to have windows which ca n
take the same position as the windows in the
abstract model.
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4. CONCLUSIONS.
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APPENDIX A: NODEIT HELP TOPICS.
Release date:
25
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CONTENTS.
I ntroduction .
Form 1: Add an Object to Building .
Form 2: Convert a Room into multiple Group s.
Form 3: Convert a Group into multiple Sectors .
Form 4 : Convert a Sector into multiple Layers.
Form 5: Match an abstract object and a product.
Form 6: Export Building .
Common buttons on the forms.
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INTRODUCTION.
• • • • • • • • •
•••••••••
•••••••••
OBOM
Open Bouwen Ontwikkelings Model
Figure 1.
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FORM 1: ADD AN OBJECT TO BUILDING.
This is the form to start with. Use this form to define a new room in the abstract
building . If an object is added to the building with th is form , it will be defined on
the 'ROOM ' level (future versions of NodelT will also support manually definition
of groups, sectors and layers). First the user has to pick an object to which the
new ROOM-object will be attached. The position and dimensions of the new
room are requested through six textboxes . The requested values are the
insertion point (X- , Y- and Z-value) and the dimensions (X- , Y- and Z-values) .
The pictures on the right side of the form show a preview of what the new room
will look like. Before clicking the CONVERT button , the specifications of the
room can be given. Behind the SPECS .. button is a form for the editing of
several specifications . The user can state strength , temperature , light etc. here .
After finishing the specifications, click the OK button. This data will also be
saved in the database. Clicking the CONVERT button will now calculate the data
of the new room and write this to the database on disk.
Figure2& 3.
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FORM 2: CONVERT A ROOM INTO MULTIPLE GROUPS.
This form converts a given ROOM-object into four walls and two floors on the
GROUP-Ievel. In a ROOM-object the walls have only two dimensions, this
because they are represented by faces which have no thickness. The thickness
that is added to these faces is cal led the 'MATERlAL BAND' of each group and
is requested through six textboxes. The material band for each wall and floor
can be put in separately. The two other dimensions (Iength and height) are
copied from the ROOM-object. If the material band of a wall is zero, no
corresponding GROUP-object is made. Plane-codes yz1, YZ2, XZ1 and XZ2 are
used for the four walls, xy1 and xy2 are the roof and the floor. The user has the
possibility to align the walls and floors to the outside, center or inside of the
edges of the ROOM-object, much like the align functions in a word processor.
When all parameters are given, the CONVERT button can be pressed. The form
will add the new G ROU P-objects to the database . The results can be seen by
exporting the building to AutoCAD or VRML.
Figure 4.
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FORM 3: CONVERT A GROUP INTO MUL TlPLE SECTORS.
With this form the user can create holes (Sectors) in the walls and floors
(Groups) made with the previous form. To select the group to work with, first
select the ROOM-object the group is attached to . Next select one of the
GROUP-objects attached to the selected room. In this GROUP-object the new
doors and windows will be defined . After selecting the group-object, the frant of
the object is projected in the preview picture on the right-hand side of the form .
The user is now able to place openings in the GROUP-object with the contrals
on the form . The position and dimensions of a new open-SECTOR-object can be
edited through the textboxes . The number of new objects is controlled through
the 'ADD SECTOR' and 'DELETE SECTOR' buttons. For each new object a
profile can be given. A profile specifies how the object will act in the real world .
When all windows, doors, etc. are in place, pressing the CONVERT bulton will
calculate the new objects on the SECTOR level and add these to the database .
The selected group-object is translated to an sector-object with identical position
and dimens ions . The new open sector-object represent area's with different and
specific specification (in this solid object).
Figure 5.
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FORM 4: CONVERT A SECTOR INTO MULTIPLE LAYERS.
This form defining LAYER-objects in the SECTOR. The user selects a SECTOR-
object to work with . This is done by selecting a ROOM-object, a GROUP -object
and finaily a SECTOR-object. The top view of the chosen SECTOR-object is
projected in the preview picture.
The user can then define up to six LAYER-objects . For each object a dimension
can be specified. The profile specifies how the object will act in the real world . A
special specification is the empty space . This is used to represent cavities
between layers. The preview picture shows the new objects as hatched boxes .
The form supports relative and absolute conversion . The relative division scales
the sum of the objects widths to the maximum of the SECTOR-object's width (=
100%) . Working with relative conversion, the sum of widths of the LAYER-
objects cannot be greater than the width of the converted sector. The absolute
conversion doesn 't scale the width-values , the LAYER-objects are as wide as
the value of the textbox in millimeters with a maximum width of three times the
SECTOR-object's width .
Figure 6.
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FORM 5: MATCH AN ABSTRACT OBJECT AND A PRODUCT.
This form offers the user the possibility to take an object on any level (ROOM,
GROUP etc.) and search the product-database to see if a products exists that
can take the object's place . After an object is chosen, the form lists the products
that could give a positive match with that object. The user selects one of the
products and presses the MATCH button. This will bring out a message
informing the user how much the object and product match. The user must
decide whether or not to apply the product in the design. The match is
performed on the different parts of the information. First the dimensions of the
object and product are compared. The context of object and product will then be
matched. This part is not implemented yet. Finally the specifications are
processed. These specification con sist of five parts. There are bearing, dividing,
connecting, finishing and supplying specifications . A match percentage is given
for each of the sub-specifications.
If a product is applied to an object, the visualization of the building will not show
the 'box' of the object but (if possible) an CAD-drawing of the product. In the
trial version of NODEIT the author has made a product-database of a few
(fictional) products. This can be used to try out the offer-demand principle.
Figure 7 & 8.
Sandwich Paneel 2
Sandwich-spouw Element
Trimat-sandwichwand
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FORM 6: EXPORT BUILDING.
This form visualizes the abstract build ing in AutoCAD 12, AutoCAD 13 or in a
Virtual Reality World . The user can export the object on each level separately
or all together. The objects are drawn as empty boxes, the objects with
products applied are show as detailed 3D-blocks (only in AutoCAD . The
exported drawing can also be used to select objects from the visualization . If
the designer wants to use the PICK FROM CAD button instead of the
comboboxes (wh ich the author recommends) , exporting the building frequently
will help seeing where each object is. Needed for visualizing are the target and
the levels.
35
COMMON BUTTONS ON THE FORMS.
This button brings AutoCAD to the front, and asks the user to select an object to
work with in the form . The program will then send the name of the selected
object to the form where the ëpick from CADf-button was pressed. This button
replaces selection by means of the awkward Room :, Group: and Sector:
Comboboxes used to select an object. To be able to use this button, the user
must first export the building to AutoCAD.
This button should bring up the list of specifications belonging to the object in
question . This only works with rooms for now. While much research is still
needed for this part of the project, the function is disabled for the rest of this
beta version .
BUTTON: I.c.LOSE .
This button closes the active form without converting or changing any
information .
BUTTON: ICONYERT.
This button converts the selected object with use of the parameters on
the form to one or multiple objects on the level bel ow.
36
APPENDIX B:
USED PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATION
ATTRIBUTES.
37
38
"!Y0M
unction Performance Unit
.Bearing
Bear yes/no
Stabil yes/no
Stift yes/no
Weight kN
~.DividinQ
FireResistant minutes
LiqhtLevel Lux
NoiseLevel dB
Temperatu re °Celsius
3.Connectinq
ConnectsTo R/G/S/L
4.Finishinq
Color code
5.Suoolvinq
ContainsPioesAt R/n
GROUP
Function Performance Unit
1.Bearing
Bear yes/no
Stabil yes/no
Stift yes/no
MaxPressure N / mm2
SpecificG ravity kN / m3
Weight kN
2.Dividing
FireResistant minutes
Win Percentage %
Noise I nsulation dB
UvalueAverage m2' K / W
f3.Connecting
ConnectsTo R/G/S/L
ConnectBehaviour DomlRes
f:l.Finishing
Color code
Texture fine-course
~.Supplyinq
ContainsPipesAt G/n
39
SECTOR
runctlOn Performance Unit
1.Beanng
I;jear yeslno
:stabil yes/no
Stiff yes/no
MaxPressure NI mm2
SpecificGravity kN I m3
Weight kN
2.Dividing
Fi reResistant minutes
LightThrough %
Noiselnsulation dB
Uvalue m2' KI W
DampDiffusionCoeff. m2/s
3.Connecting
ConnectsTo R/G/S/L
ConnectBehaviour Dom/Res
4.Finishing
Color code
Texture fine-course
5.Supplying
ContainsPipesAt Sin
40
LAYER
Function Performance Unit
1.Bearing
Bear yes/no
Stabil yes/no
Stiff yes/no
MaxPressure N / mm 2
SpecificGravity kN / m3
Weight kN
Youngs ' modulus N / mm2
~. Dividing
Fi reResistant minutes
FireAble class
LightThru %
Noise I nsulation dB
HeatExpansion % / K
Uvalue m2' K / W
SpecificHeat J / (kg' Kl
HeatConductionCoef. J / (m's'Kl
Waterintake volume %
DamoDiffus ionCoef. m2 / s
~. Connecting
ConnectsTo R/G/ S/L
ConnectBehavi our DomlRes
4 .Finishina
Color cod e
Texture fine -c ourse
Reflection %
Absorotion %
ScratchResistance Hv
5.Suoolvina
ContainsPioesAt Lln
41
REFERENCES.
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