Super High-Rise Complex Building is Transforming Traditional Construction Method

In the Meishan Chunxi Plaza Project, the BIM5D platform was introduced innovatively for the first time, effectively overcoming the construction challenges of the super high-rise complex building with multiple complex structures and significantly improving the construction technology and management level of the project. The project won the first-class comprehensive application achievement award of the 4th China Construction Project BIM Competition and saved over CNY 2.22 million (approximately 341,538 USD) with the BIM technology.

The Meishan Chunxi Plaza Project locates in Meishan City, Sichuan Province, which Chengdu No.4 Construction Engineering Company constructed. It is a super high-rise complex building integrating residential and commercial podiums. The project’s gross floor area is 234,552.28m², including a three-story circular basement and three super high-rise towers. The maximum height of the main structures of the towers is 123.75m.

i. Challenges

-Circular Complex Structure: The project has a three-story basement designed as a circular structure with a radius of 92m. The basement shear wall is a high arc structure, with many arc structures for frame and secondary beams. There are complex construction nodes at the junctions among the frame columns, arc shear walls, and arc beams, and the construction and reinforcement of formwork are rigid.

-Hoisting of Steel Structures of the Super High-Rise Roof: As a super high-rise building, the project is designed with the main structure with an elevation of 123.750m. The special-shaped steel structure roof truss with a height of 150.0m is very high, with a complex appearance, resulting in significant difficulties in fabricated construction.

-Complex Structure & Many M&E Systems: Pipelines are mainly distributed in areas such as a basement, equipment rooms, shafts, and functional rooms in a dense manner, and the pipelines of the M&E discipline are crossed inevitably. In the early stage of construction, it is necessary to systematically analyze of the layout of pipelines of various disciplines to ensure the construction progress and quality effectively.

-Strict Quality Requirements & Tight Schedule: The traditional construction process cannot meet the efficiency and quality requirements at the current stage; therefore, it is necessary to make breakthroughs and innovations regarding standard technologies.

-Management Challenges: The project is a large-scale super high-rise complex building with great difficulties in management and great attention from the local government. It is challenging to meet the requirements of lean management by using traditional operation methods, and thus it is necessary to innovate the management methods.

ii. Solutions

a. BIM technology to Enable the Construction of the Complex Structure

a) Applying BIM to Complex Nodes: The whole basement is a circular structure with a radius of 92m. There are complex construction nodes among the frame columns, arc shear walls, and arc beams at the junctions. And the construction and reinforcement of formwork are rugged.

By establishing a three-dimensional model for the arc beams, the team can intuitively demonstrate spatial position relationships and irregular shape information of the beams. The team can adopt BIM technology to control positioning and setting-out under the 3D spatial coordinate system to achieve accurate positioning and assemble the circular beam formworks, optimize the selection and application effect of the formworks, and plan the materials to be mobilized reasonably.

b) Optimizing the Architectural Design to Shorten the Construction Period & Save Costs: The project team had found more than 158 errors (excluding M&E works, steel structure, and curtain wall) of the project in drawings before construction and solved all the problems encountered before construction through coordination, to avoid reworking effectively and improve the work efficiency reasonably.

c) Layout of the Construction Site: The team used Glodon BIM construction site layout software to establish an accurate BIM model, carry out temporary facility planning of the simulated site, 3D dynamic observation, and free-roaming. Moreover, they conducted a comprehensive simulation of construction activities, disassembly, and other operations.

d) Optimizing the Special Construction Scheme by Erecting the 3D Formwork Supports: To ensure the safety and reliability of formwork support erection, the team arranged the conventional formwork supports and the three-dimensional high formwork supports in advance, determined the laying position of the safety net, the layered pouring height of concrete, the place and spacing of the diagonal bridging and the reinforcement method of beam-column joints. It also adjusted the ultra-long part of the free jacking end, found and solved problems in time to achieve the visualized disclosure, and optimized the particular scheme.

e) Applying BIM to the Steel Roof Truss: In the BIM process, the team found collision points of multiple steel member nodes in time, checked the unreasonable aspects in the design and construction drawings. They also modified and adjusted the member size or elevation after being confirmed by the Design Institute.

The maximum elevation of the steel structure roof truss is up to 150.0m, resulting in significant difficulties in high-altitude hoisting and high construction risk. For the fabricated construction, the project team used BIM to make detailed construction simulation animation in the early stage of hoisting, analyzed the focal points of strcture, conducted a more intuitive 3D technical disclosure to operators, and optimized the construction process continuously.

f) Applying BIM to the M&E Construction: The following functions were used to solve problems such as a straightforward collision of complex pipelines and difficulty  ensuring the clearance of equipment pipelines after installation.

-M&E drawings Optimization: The project team found problems in design drawings in advance in the modeling process and developed the joint review records of BIM drawings.

-Underground Pipelines Optimization: The team made adjustments and optimizations one by one following the collision report from the 3D M&E model, the generated collision inspection report, and the professional opinions and suggestions of all parties to shorten the project construction period.

-Layout of Pipelines in the Equipment Room: The team established a parameterized model for the equipment foundation according to the determined equipment model and the foundation data provided by the Design Institute or equipment manufacturer before the optimized layout, prepared the detailed design scheme, and completed the model verification.

-Precise Height Analysis: The team used clear distance measurement function in the software measurement tool to measure the precise height of installed pipes, air ducts, trays, structural beams, etc., to judge and verify the rationality of the model after optimization by importing the optimized model of the equipment room into Fuzor.

-4D Simulation of Construction: The team applied 4D simulation to present the changes between the construction schedule and the model intuitively, and conduct real-time visualized roaming and experience for the 3D fire pump room before actual construction.

b. Innovative Actions

a) Innovative Action I: The team developed BIM-based member alignment inspection software for drawings. Such software can automatically check the member dislocation after the models of architecture, structure, and M&E disciplines are assembled, break the limitations of the BIM technology in member collision inspection, and improve the application of the BIM technology in the joint review of drawings.

b) Innovative Action II: The team developed "intelligent pipe turnover tool software V2.0 based on the MEP system under Revit". By clicking two different points of the same MEP pipeline, selecting two MEP pipelines that collided with each other, and entering corresponding parameters, the team can avoid crossing pipelines automatically and quickly. This innovative action can attain accurate, intelligent, and efficient pipeline turnover and improve modeling and model optimization efficiency.

c) Innovative Action III: The team developed BIM-based deformation monitoring technology for the fastener-type support of the high formwork to achieve the automatic layout of deformation monitoring points of the support model for the high formwork. This technology integrates functions such as the automatic identification of over-limit beams and slabs, automatic layout of formwork support monitoring points, and monitoring and active alarm of the formwork support.

The team also arranged deformation monitoring points of the support model for the high formwork automatically through BIM and positioning monitoring. When the construction deformation is reflected intuitively on the compute, the system will warn for the over-limit value according to the monitoring values fed back in real-time on-site. Therefore, the team can predict the safety of the high formwork support and its surrounding environment based on the monitoring data.

c. BIM5D Platform to Improve the Management Capacity

The team introduced the BIM5D to build a holistic management platform that connects to multiple environments and devices, including PC/Mobile/Web/Cloud Environment, etc.

a) Progress management: The team used Zebra Schedule Software to assist dynamic control of the project through the critical route + forward line and created the PDCA(Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycle to make the project progress controllable. The team also used field data collected by the mobile APP to report the production progress through the web terminal, improve the efficiency and quality of the regular production meeting, and achieve the digital presentation of the regular production meeting;

The BIM5D platform enables tracking management of the field progress, breakdown of the overall schedule into weekly schedules, the input of the weekly schedule, and the assignment of tasks to specific personnel;

The platform can indicate field labor, material, and mechanical equipment status and generate weekly schedule completion reports. The project team members can easily assess these documents through mobile devices or web pages.

b) Quality & Safety Management: The team carried out quality and safety inspections to record the on-site quality problems through mobile devices. Moreover, the team collected field images to generate a systematic construction album to assist in the subsequent acceptance of concealed works, provision of claims evidence, and comparison of actual progress; generated the construction logs automatically to provide data source support for the construction logs and improve the compilation efficiency of them.

iii. Summary of Benefits

a. Construction Technology on Complex High-Rise Structures: The team utilized BIM to overcome difficulties on-site and displayed the construction process in an intuitive, multi-angle and refined manner. Therefore, it overcame the difficulties in the construction process of special-shaped structures, changed the traditional construction model, and improved the construction technology level of the project.

b. BIM Innovations: Given the limitations of the joint drawing review system of the BIM technology, the team expanded intelligent pipe turnover of the M&E model and deformation monitoring of the fastener-type support of the high formwork, the functions of the BIM technology, simulated the company's independent innovation ability effectively. And further applied and developed the BIM technology in the entire project construction process.

The BIM technology is used to achieve lean construction, improve engineering technology and ensure complex special-shaped structures’ construction quality. Meanwhile, the team performed information-based management and control for the entire construction process to enhance the company's ability to apply BIM technology.

c. Improve Construction Site Management Level: The application of the BIM5D management platform has changed the traditional construction management model of the project, improved the efficiency of quality, safety, and progress management on the construction site effectively, and promoted the transformation of the construction management mode towards an efficient and scientific direction based on new demands.

d. Economic Benefits: With the comprehensive application of the BIM technology in the project, the project has saved about CNY 2.227 million given the construction drawing optimization, detailed design of M&E pipelines and steel structures, formwork support scheme optimization, BIM5D-based quality, progress and safety management, as well as comparison of the BIM innovation technology and the traditional technology.

The team used the BIM model to arrange the formworks first to identify the optimal arrangement, reduce the consumption of formworks, increase the turnover times of formworks, which cuts down the waste of materials and costs to a large degree;

The team built a high formwork support model and optimized the special scheme to avoid reworking due to problems found after the erection of the support and cut down the project cost.

e. Social Benefits: The application of BIM enables the team to avoid reworking effectively, reduce labor intensity, ensure construction quality, save natural resources and energy, protect the environment and realize eco-friendly construction.

f. Research Achievements: The project won the first-class comprehensive application achievement award of the 4th China Construction Project BIM Competition; the secondary BIM development technology applied or developed in the project won 3 computer software copyrights One national invention patent, reached the advanced international level.