Generation of optimal pipe paths for system air conditioners in a BIM environment

Abstract

As the construction of curved surface buildings has been recently increased, the system air conditioner’s equipment is to be placed in the positions with more variety. Pipes are required to be connected in proper angles according to an air conditioner’s equipment layout. In previous studies, the piping automation for buildings was in general carried out in the right angle form. Therefore, if various angles are needed, designers must manually work on it. This study presents a method to automate pipe connection in various angles in the Building Information Modeling(BIM) environment by using location and direction of each equipment’s pipe port. This automation simultaneously considers three different types of pipe: liquid pipe, low pressure gas pipe, and high pressure gas pipe within each equipment of a system air conditioner. Concerning the low pressure gas pipe and high pressure gas pipe, automatic design is conducted based on the liquid pipe path. Regarding the liquid pipe, it can be connected in the shortest distance based on the system air conditioner’s piping design standard. The energy efficiency of the pipes installed is verified, compared to the existing design with the right angles, through the comparisons of the system air conditioner’s energy consumption