Modular and Offsite Construction (MOC) Summit Proceedings
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Experimental Research on Joint Mechanical Behavior of Container Structures
Get PDFIn recent years, building industry in China is experiencing upgrade and industrialization becomes popular. Container building has many advantages including low cost, high efficiency and clean construction. Therefore it is the most promising kind of industrialized building. The joint of boxes in container buildings is one of the main bottlenecks in restricting box-type architecture in multi-story and tall buildings. To solve this problem in box-type buildings, this paper present a new joint of boxes applied to a specific structural system named as column-bearing box-type modular system. The tensile capacity, shear capacity and corresponding failure modes of vertical two-box joint are obtained through experimental study. Meanwhile the flexural bending capacity and flexural stiffness of the vertical two-box joint are studied
The Impact of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for Contractor Costing in Offsite Construction Projects in the UK
Get PDFIt is clear that challenging economic times inspire innovative abilities and solutions in the construction industry. In particular many of these innovations focus on cost implications, saving project time, reducing or eliminating waste, increasing productivity or redefining value. There is increasing pressure in the UK construction industry for new construction innovations, technology and processes with ability to lever a significant impact relative to disrupting the existing status quo; creating solutions that promote construction efficiencies deploying means to exploiting offsite construction approaches. The increased concern and challenge globally is that as knowledge and experience grows, the offsite manufacturers and suppliers are expected to demonstrate absolute innovative solutions that will heighten the proportion of project value being delivered through the use of offsite solutions on the bases that it makes sound project and business sense. Unparalleled huge cost saving benefits to clients and end users which is more than just creating a model is yet to be realized
Estimation Formulas for Embedded-length of Connection Embedded-type Foundation Unit Modular System
Get PDFModular unit structure system has been used increasingly for mid-rise buildings where repetitive units are required. By assembling the pre-made modular unit structures, a building can be easily constructed. The assembled building must behave as one single structure to effectively transfer the forces and moments developed by gravity and lateral loads. For this, individual modular unit structure has to be properly connected to each other. Therefore, evaluation of the connection behavior of modular unit structure system is crucial. This study proposed the embedded steel column-to foundation connection for modular unit structure system and evaluated the behavior of the proposed connection. A series of experiments was performed to investigate the effect of embedment depth of the column, the shape of the end plate, and the shear studs in the embedded region of the column on the connection behavior. Finally, a design equation for the proposed connection was suggested
A Case Study on Micro Social Network Structure of Building Industrialization: Based on Structural Hole Theory
Get PDFThe industrial chain of building industrialization (BI) has been forming in China during the latest three decades development, which gradually presents a trend of networking. However, the enterprises’ implementations of building industrialization are far from satisfactory. Both practitioners and managers hold the same confusions: Who is controlling effective information resources by occupying critical path in BI network? Who decides the flow direction of materials resources in the network? To solve these doubts, this paper makes an analysis of building industrialization micro social network based on the structural hole theory. A typical industrialized construction project in Shenzhen (China) was selected for the empirical study. Firstly, a questionnaire survey is conducted to collect authentic data and Ucinet is used to delve structural holes by four indicators named effective size, efficiency, constraint and hierarchy. Secondly, the roles and function of stakeholders would be re-explained by the theory of brokerage roles. The outcomes of social network analysis indicate that developer is the information hinge of this BI project due to its largest value of effective size as well as lowest constraint. From the perspective of resource control, contractor and component supplier also occupy critical structural holes and play important roles in building industrialization network. But to some extent, the network of BI in China is not optimized. Thus, enterprises should try to adopt some reasonable accretive measures according to the market condition and self-position
Evaluation of the Impact of Dynamic Work Stations Versus Static Work Stations in Wood Framing Prefabrication using Hybrid Simulation
Get PDFOffsite manufacturing has introduced significant improvements in terms of both time and cost savings to the construction industry. The fabrication of modular units and construction components in factories has permitted the reshaping of the traditional stick-built process. By reallocating the majority of onsite activities to offsite facilities, onsite preparation tasks can be performed concurrently to the offsite production. The success of offsite manufacturing relies on the efficiency of the factory’s production line. Continuous workflow improves factory efficiencies by reducing or eliminating fluctuations and bottlenecks among work stations. Imbalance in the production line is a result of work station capacity errors and other conditions unique to the construction industry. Unlike other industries, construction projects are often customized and have lower repetition quantities. The variations in the modular units or components being produced poses a challenge in balancing traditional work stations along the production line due to continuous changes in complexity level, which in turn affects productivity. This research proposes the use of dynamic work stations along with traditional ones, using multi-skilled workers relocating among specific work stations in response to product complexity levels. Two approaches are evaluated in order to balance the production line: (1) increase number of workers in static work stations; and (2) use dynamic work stations. A production comparison is performed using a hybrid simulation model, combining discrete-event and continuous simulation. The plotted results identify the optimum number of workers in the two stations, static versus dynamic, to meet demand. The model is validated and is found to achieve a reduction of 18.68% and 32.00% in the total production time for two different scenarios without increasing the original number of workers
Key Considerations before Integrating Modular Construction: Adaptation to the Traditional French Construction Processes
Get PDFIndustries around the world are improving continuously. They are converted into more efficient, dynamic and productive forms and construction is no exception to this principle. Indeed, this sector had started to get organized during the last decades. Modular design was introduced as an industrialization mean. However, few companies benefit from this concept in order to offer competitive prices and sustainable buildings. This paper, based on two case studies, presents key considerations for a successful implementation of modular design into an existing traditional construction business. Investigations were conducted to analyze the potential synergy and complementarity between modularization and the traditional French construction. The results show that modularization is viewed as a major change in the core business. As a consequence, modularization should be accompanied with a change management process. The results also revealed that modular construction goes hand in hand with a strong focus on technical frameworks. However, during the first implementation phase, spotlights should be slightly more directed into organizational planning and managerial postures
Experimental Studies on Seismic Performance of Precast Steel Reinforced Concrete Frame and Connections
Get PDFA new type of precast steel reinforced concrete (PSRC) frame, which were composed of composite steel reinforced concrete (CSRC) beam, PSRC column and cast-in-situ (CIS) joint, were proposed in this paper. The assemble technique used in the ordinary steel structures were adopted in PSRC frames to improve the construction efficiency. The seismic performance of PSRC frame structures was investigated based on the test results of connections and frame. Firstly, full-scale internal connection specimens, including a CIS connection specimen RCJ-1 and a PSRC connection specimen PCJ-1, were tested under low reversed cyclic loading. Results revealed that both the specimens RCJ-1 and PCJ-1 exhibited similar performance in terms of loading capacity, stiffness degradation and energy dissipation. The ductility of specimen PCJ-1 was about 3.81, which was a little lower than the specimen RCJ-1. Then, a 1/3-scale PSRC frame structure specimen, namely PCF-1, was tested under low reversed cyclic loading. Results showed that the PSRC frame specimen PCF-1 was failed in mixed failure mechanism, which provide good energy dissipation capacity. The ductility coefficient of PCF-1 was about 3.45 indicating that the PCF-1 behaved in ductility manner. The results of this investigation could enrich the data available documenting the behavior of PSRC frame, and contribute to enlarge the application of PSRC frame structures in seismic zone
Experimental and Numerical Study of Seismic Performance of Precast Prestressed Concrete Frame Internal Connection
Get PDFThe seismic performance of the internal connection of precast prestressed concrete frame was studied systematically, based on the experiment of full-scale model under low cyclic reversed loading. This study was mainly focused on failure pattern, load-carrying capacity, skeleton curves, and hysteresis curves. Furthermore, a nonlinear finite element analysis using Abaqus was carried out to study the characteristics of the internal connection of precast prestressed concrete frame. Results revealed that the damage was concentrated mainly on beam end owing to flexural action, while steel bars in the columns and stirrups in the core region remained elastic until failure occurred. The calculated value of the load-carrying capacity of the internal connection was similar to the experimental one. Present study can be referenced for the application of precast prestressed concrete frame in high seismic zones
An Innovated Integrated Prefabricated Quarter System for the Migrant On-site Construction Workers of China
Get PDFMigrant construction workers from rural communities are the main workforce in the Chinese construction industry and urban development. While far from hometown, most migrant construction workers live in temporary quarters, with poor conditions, on or near the construction site. Although there are standards set by the government to guarantee the basic health and safety conditions of such housing, migrant construction workers in China suffer some of the worst living conditions, even compared to migrant workers in other industries. Health and safety accidents occur often enough in workers’ quarters to provoke young laborers from rural areas to seek employment in the service industry, where better living conditions are available. As a result, serious labor shortages in the construction industry have emerged in China over recent years. There is a significant requirement for the industry to improve the condition of living quarters, by applying both technical and management methods. So far, very few articles have addressed the methods for improving the accommodations for rural migrant construction workers in urban China. This paper aims to develop an innovated integrated prefabricated (prefab) quarter system for the on-site construction workers in China. The paper first discusses the current status of the traditional construction workers’ quarters to disclose the most urgent problems in need of resolution. Barriers that block the innovation of improved workers’ quarters are listed. Then an innovated integrated prefab quarter system is introduced. The feasibility and applicability of the proposed system are discussed. The strengths of the system with regard to the management of health, safety, and environment are analyzed and compared to the traditional system. An actual pilot project is studied as the validation of the prefab quarter system
The Regional Industrial Symbiosis Model for Industrialized Construction Ecosystem
Get PDFIndustrialized construction, which utilizes principles associated with factory production, can considerably improve productivity, quality, and service life of building while reduce cost, energy consumption and environmental impact. China government has committed sustainable development and promoted industrialized construction through legislative acts. The number of industrialized public houses in China has rapidly grown to over 3 million per year. However, the ecosystem of industrialized construction of China is still in the infant stage: hesitating stakeholders, sporadic manufacturing, and incomplete industry chain. The aim of this paper is thus to achieve an in-depth understanding of the whole ecosystem of industrialized construction in China. There are four research objectives of this paper: (1) to analyze the symbiotic mechanisms of it based on industrial ecology theory; (2) to build the Regional Industrial Symbiosis (RIS) model of industrialized construction ecosystem based on synergetics theory; (3) to explore the evolutionary trajectories based on the RIS model by simulating the evolutionary trajectory of symbiotic units and analyzing the stable symbiotic point. This paper presented the symbiotic mechanism and four relationships between the populations of industrialized construction ecosystem. It could contribute to the prediction of the evolutionary trajectory of industrialized construction and achieve the policy formulation and implementation