Building designers aim to create buildings with high quality internal environments which are energy and cost efficient in their use. Failure to attain these objectives simultaneously can lead to reduced building occupant productivities. An important aspect of the building services system which can have a major effect on the provision of occupant comfort within a building is the adopted control strategy. The research project investigated the use of fuzzy control strategies as a means of achieving good standards of comfort provision for occupants while maintaining or improving energy and cost efficiencies for the operation of the building HVAC services. This represented a multi-variant controls objective which was capable of being fulfilled by a fuzzy controller. A one zone building computer model was developed using Matlab and Simulink software as a platform for the development of fuzzy control strategies. The model incorporated building services Heating Ventilating and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system models. A Proportional + Integral + Derivative (PID) control strategy was used as a benchmark control methodology against which to compare the developed fuzzy control strategies. Three types of fuzzy controller were developed during the course of the research project. These were a Proportional Derivative Fuzzy Controller (PDFC), a Fuzzy Ventilation Controller, and the Fuzzy High Level Controller. The PDFC used the inputs of error and rate of change of error from a specified zone environmental condition set point in much the same way as a PID controller would to control the HVAC plant. Simulation results indicated that the PDFC control strategy was capable of achieving performance levels equal to the conventional PID control strategy. The Fuzzy Ventilation Controller was used to control the rate of fresh outside air entering the building zone through the mechanical ventilation system in order to make use of the 'free' cooling and dehumidification available by purging the indoor air when possible. Simulation results showed improvements in the indoor environmental quality provided, and the energy efficiency and cost efficiency of running the HVAC plant. Finally, the Fuzzy High Level Controller used a fuzzy supervisor to control the actions of the fuzzy ventilation controllers. Simulation results showed that the fuzzy supervisor was able to improve the comfort conditions provided and the energy and cost efficiencies of the operation of the HVAC plant when compared to the use of the fuzzy ventilation control strategies alone.

This research focuses on a Knowledge Building pedagogical approach and investigates ways to boost students’ competencies in knowledge creation processes, specifically their ability to contribute productively to high-level explanation-seeking discourse. This study uses a design-based methodology to explore how pedagogical and technological innovations can enhance students’ ways of contributing to knowledge building discourse, and examines whether expanding students’ contribution repertoire helps them to advance community knowledge in general. Gains associated with a Knowledge Building approach for secondary and post-secondary students are widely documented. This research adds to this body of literature by showing how a Knowledge Building approach can be productively engaged at the early primary level. This work also contributes to studies exploring automated feedback and assessment tools that can help boost student capacities for building new knowledge. The research was conducted in three main phases. The first phase mapped the ways that students from Grades 1-6 (n = 102) contribute to their naturally occurring Knowledge Building discourse in order to provide baseline data for subsequent design experiments. The following two phases corresponded to two design iterations that involved work in Grade 2 science and that tested different types of formative feedback. Design Cycle 1 (n = 42) focused on testing supports to boost low-frequency contribution types. Design Cycle II (n = 43) aimed to reproduce and improve results from the first iteration. In both design cycles, pedagogical supports included whole-class metadiscourse sessions, while technological supports consisted of contribution and content-oriented feedback tools that offered students a meta-perspective on their own discourse, including Word Clouds (Cycle 1), Concept Clouds (Cycle 1-2), visualizations produced by the Metadiscourse Tool (Cycle 1-2), and verbal scaffolds (Cycle 1-2). Analyses of data revealed that these supports helped students to significantly increase their engagement with targeted contribution types, diversify their general contribution repertoire, and advance collective knowledge beyond that attained by their peers in prior years. This research provides empirical evidence that Knowledge Building inquiry can be effectively engaged at the primary level, and offers usable artifacts tested and shown to be conducive for helping young students raise the level of their Knowledge Building discourse.

La création d'une maquette numérique d'un bâtiment existant nécessite le relevé du bâtiment. Le scanner laser terrestre est largement utilisé pour atteindre cet objectif. Il permet d'obtenir la géométrie des objets sous forme de nuages de points. Il fournit une grande quantité de données précises de manière très rapide et avec un niveau élevé de détails. Malheureusement, le passage du nuage de points à la maquette numérique reste actuellement largement manuel en raison du volume important de données et des processus qui sont difficiles à automatiser. Cette démarche est chronophage et source d'erreurs. Un défi majeur aujourd'hui est donc d'automatiser le processus menant à la reconstruction 3D de bâtiments existants à partir de nuages de points. L'objectif de cette thèse est de développer une chaîne de traitements permettant d'extraire automatiquement le maximum d'informations du nuage de points d'un bâtiment en vue d'intégrer le résultat dans un logiciel de BIM. / The creation of an as-built BIM requires the acquisition of the as-is conditions of existing buildings. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is widely used to achieve this goal. Indeed, laser scanners permit to collect information about object geometry in form of point clouds. They provide a large amount of accurate data in a very fast way and with a high level of details. Unfortunately, the scan-to-BIM process remains currently largely a manual process because of the huge amount of data and because of processes, which are difficult to automate. It is time consuming and error-prone. A key challenge today is thus to automate the process leading to 3D reconstruction of existing buildings from point clouds. The aim of this thesis is to develop a processing chain to extract the maximum amount of information from a building point cloud in order to integrate the result in a BIM software.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-04T18:50:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 thesis-FINAL-Drach.pdf: 12855630 bytes, checksum: ed8588770ebd55e99fede6e949f04cbe (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-08-29 / In this thesis, computational modelling and numerical simulations are developed for construction architecture, to make possible project configuration evaluations and testing of possible improvements, both in the pre-occupancy and in the post-occupancy phases, aiming at comfort of building environments. These improvements are introduced here by simple changes to original designs targeting the functional quality increasing of the buildings with low financial and environmental costs. Attention is paid, in this work, to the following comfort variables: air circulation (velocity field), temperature and pollutant concentration, considering radiation, convection and building envelope materials. A coupled mathematical model is presented for velocity, temperature and concentration variables through the conservation equations for mass, momentum, energy and species, and variable boundary conditions can be used. Numerical solutions for the mathematical model are obtained by a stabilyzed mixed finite element method that allows to deal with the diffulties in constructing approximation spaces for problems with internal constraint and non-linearities of the convective type. It is also proposed in this thesis a global circulation index capable of identifying, from the simulation results, the windd intensity by level ranges and by rooms. Changes are proposed to original internal environmentes through openings locations, wall shapes and outdoor volumes placements. Some wind-catcher models, typical from north Africa, are studied, and it is suggested here the potentiality of theis usage in the hot and dry regions of Brazil. The usefulness of this alternative system is also proposed and tested here for some buildings located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. / Nesta tese, modelagem computacional e simulação numérica são desenvolvidas para arquitetura, com o objetivo de permitir avaliação de configurações de projetos e testes de possíveis melhorias, tanto na fase pré-ocupacional, como na pós-ocupacional, visando conforto em ambientes construídos. Essas melhorias são aqui introduzidas a partir de alterações de simples execução sobre os projetos originais, objetivando o incremento da qualidade funcional das construções, a baixos custos financeiros e ambientais. Este trabalho, assim, atenta para as variáveis de conforto de circulação do ar (campo de velocidades), temperatura e concentração de poluentes levando em conta radiação, convecção e materiais da envoltória. É apresentado um modelo matemático acoplado para as variáveis velocidade, temperatura e concentração através das equações de conservação de massa, de momento, de energia e de espécies; e estão previstas condições de contorno variáveis. As soluções numéricas para o modelo matemático são aqui obtidas via um método estabilizado de elementos finitos mistos, que permite lidar com as dificuldades de construção de espaços de aproximação para problemas que envolvem restrições internas e não linearidades do tipo convectivo. Propõe-se também nesta tese um índice de circulação global capaz de, a partir dos resultados das simulações, identificar a intensidade de vento, por faixas e por ambientes. São propostas alterações em projetos originais de ambientes internos através de localização de aberturas, formato de paredes e posicionamento de volumes exteriores. São estudados alguns casos de captadores de vento típicos do norte da África e indica-se, aqui, sua potencialidade para regiões quentes e secas do Brasil. Sua utilização é também proposta e testada para algumas residências da cidade do Rio de Janeiro.

In this thesis, computational modelling and numerical simulations are developed for construction architecture, to make possible project configuration evaluations and testing of possible improvements, both in the pre-occupancy and in the post-occupancy phases, aiming at comfort of building environments. These improvements are introduced here by simple changes to original designs targeting the functional quality increasing of the buildings with low financial and environmental costs. Attention is paid, in this work, to the following comfort variables: air circulation (velocity field), temperature and pollutant concentration, considering radiation, convection and building envelope materials. A coupled mathematical model is presented for velocity, temperature and concentration variables through the conservation equations for mass, momentum, energy and species, and variable boundary conditions can be used. Numerical solutions for the mathematical model are obtained by a stabilyzed mixed finite element method that allows to deal with the diffulties in constructing approximation spaces for problems with internal constraint and non-linearities of the convective type. It is also proposed in this thesis a global circulation index capable of identifying, from the simulation results, the windd intensity by level ranges and by rooms. Changes are proposed to original internal environmentes through openings locations, wall shapes and outdoor volumes placements. Some wind-catcher models, typical from north Africa, are studied, and it is suggested here the potentiality of theis usage in the hot and dry regions of Brazil. The usefulness of this alternative system is also proposed and tested here for some buildings located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. / Nesta tese, modelagem computacional e simulação numérica são desenvolvidas para arquitetura, com o objetivo de permitir avaliação de configurações de projetos e testes de possíveis melhorias, tanto na fase pré-ocupacional, como na pós-ocupacional, visando conforto em ambientes construídos. Essas melhorias são aqui introduzidas a partir de alterações de simples execução sobre os projetos originais, objetivando o incremento da qualidade funcional das construções, a baixos custos financeiros e ambientais. Este trabalho, assim, atenta para as variáveis de conforto de circulação do ar (campo de velocidades), temperatura e concentração de poluentes levando em conta radiação, convecção e materiais da envoltória. É apresentado um modelo matemático acoplado para as variáveis velocidade, temperatura e concentração através das equações de conservação de massa, de momento, de energia e de espécies; e estão previstas condições de contorno variáveis. As soluções numéricas para o modelo matemático são aqui obtidas via um método estabilizado de elementos finitos mistos, que permite lidar com as dificuldades de construção de espaços de aproximação para problemas que envolvem restrições internas e não linearidades do tipo convectivo. Propõe-se também nesta tese um índice de circulação global capaz de, a partir dos resultados das simulações, identificar a intensidade de vento, por faixas e por ambientes. São propostas alterações em projetos originais de ambientes internos através de localização de aberturas, formato de paredes e posicionamento de volumes exteriores. São estudados alguns casos de captadores de vento típicos do norte da África e indica-se, aqui, sua potencialidade para regiões quentes e secas do Brasil. Sua utilização é também proposta e testada para algumas residências da cidade do Rio de Janeiro.