Testing as-Built Quality of Free-Form Panels: Lessons Learned from a Case Study and Mock-up Panel Tests

Abstract

Constructing free-form buildings is very complex due to the difficulty in fabricating the curved façade. To install the façade, the complex geometric shapes of the façade need to be divided into panels. The panels developed are classified into three categories in terms of their curvatures, i.e., planar, single-curved, double-curved panels. The quality of the curved façade is determined by the geometric difference between as-built and as-designed panel shapes. Among the three types of curved panels, the double-curved panel is very difficult to form, showing greater quality discrepancy than the other two panel types. Ensuring the as-built quality of the curved façade is for contractors. The main objective of this study is to enhance small/mid-size contractors’ capacity of managing the as-built quality of the double-curved panel. To meet the study objectives, a case study of a small free-form building and empirical mock-up tests of curved panels were performed and beneficial lessons for the contractors were identified through the tests. Among diverse materials, aluminum and glass-fiber-reinforced concrete (GFRC) were utilized for the mock-up tests. Three-dimensional laser scanning technology was employed to foster the as-built data of the case study project and the mocked-up double-curved panels. The data superimposition method was used to measure the deviation between the as-designed and the as-built data of the case study.

Lessons Learned from Experimental Drone Application to Develop a UAV-to-BIM Curriculum for Construction Engineers

“…A drone performs analogous function to the LS in the construction quality monitoring through Scan-to-BIM process [13,14]. Both technologies digitally scan or capture the as-built physical objects into the computer world as a digital 3D representation and the data scanned is transferred to BIM milieu to create either accurate as-built models or to inform the design with the real world surroundings.…”

“…Drones perform analogous function to 3D laser scanners. Both drones and 3D scanners have become a critical mean necessary to complete Scan to BIM cycle [13,14]. The 3D scanning technology digitally captures the as-built size and shape of physical objects into the computer world as a digital 3-dimensional representation by use of a line of laser light [35].…”

“…The RE process, hence, allows for figuring out how a portion of a product was designed so that they can reconstruct it. Ock [14] presents the RE process distinctively through a case study as shown in Table 1. The figure in Table 1-(a) shows the scanned facility having 2,900m 3 with two-story and 418 m 2 gross floor area.…”

Lessons Learned from Experimental Drone Application to Develop a UAV-to-BIM Curriculum for Sustainable Construction

“…A drone performs analogous function to the LS in the construction quality monitoring through Scan-to-BIM process [13,14]. Both technologies digitally scan or capture the as-built physical objects into the computer world as a digital 3D representation and the data scanned is transferred to BIM environment to generate accurate as-built models.…”

Research Progress on Curved Plates in China: Applications in Architecture

“…Meanwhile, also thanks to the development of three-dimensional (3D) design algorithms [30], structural calculation theory [31], and preparation and construction technology [32,33] in recent years, complex surfaces that only existed in the imagination in the past have begun to be gradually applied in modern architecture. The structural form of the curved surface allows full philosophical concepts to be expressed more freely.…”