To evaluate the overall performance of the newly developed Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) in flexure, including deflections, stiffness and ultimate capacity, an experimental program has recently been launched. The program includes transverse bending tests of a total of 18 full-sized SIPs with various configurations using a vacuum chamber. Pressure and deflections are measured during the tests and are used to determine the flexural responses of the panels. For the comprehensive test matrix, the experimental results will be analysed systematically.

On-site conditions may not precisely reflect the as-designed building information models (BIMs). Inconsistencies between design and execution can lead to cumulative risks in the construction and operation stages. This project aims to improve the reliability of schedule and quantity discrepancy detection between as-designed and as-built models by exploiting the implicit information in as-designed 4D BIM (3D + schedule) using graph representation learning. The output of this module will be a semantic-aware element-wise classification of BIM objects based on their as-built status.

Precast concrete is used in many types of structures including those serving commercial, multi-unit residential, and industrial uses. Hollow core prestressed slabs (or planks) are one type of precast concrete that is used primarily for flooring systems. These planks have advantages of being able to span long distances while being relatively thin and light when compared with cast in place concrete solutions while being economically advantageous to manufactures and builders due to their ease of production.

Reinforced concrete (RC) is widely used due to its ease of construction, accessibility of raw materials, and excellent integrity. However, severe breakdown of RC structures due to mechanical and environmental loads may result in the need for strengthening to increase functionality and extend the service life of such structures. The use of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites with external bonding (EB) through epoxy adhesive is a fast, effective, and reliable solution to increase flexural or shear strength.

Canada’s early-designed public buildings (i.e., schools and hospitals) are at significant risk of seismic damage and collapse. The installation of seismic protective devices, such as friction devices designed and manufactured by Quaketek Inc, offers a viable strategy to mitigate the seismic risk of building structures. However, the practical use of friction devices has commonly relied on prescriptive approaches that engage a small number of earthquake ground motions, which fall short of tackling several critical challenges.

Modern machine learning methods are data-intensive processes, requiring massive amounts of training data to achieve a high level of performance. As such, these techniques are challenging to deploy on tasks where datasets are especially difficult or expensive to obtain or where edge cases and other rare events are most relevant and worth learning. In such occasions, data augmentation techniques offer enormous benefits to alleviate the issue of limited training data.

This project is a partnership between Concordia University and Aedo AI, to upgrade an existing construction project data repository into an intelligent platform for analyzing project performance and providing advanced analytics based on (i) correlations between projects' different facets (including actors involved, the facility being built, and workflow processes being executed); and (ii) interactions among different phases of the project (such as planning, construction, commissioning and operation).

The construction industry is moving towards automation using 3D concrete printing (3DCP) technology. The 3DCP technology has many advantages including a positive impact on our environment. Current 3D printing material uses a large amount of Portland cement (PC) and natural resources (sand and crushed stones). These printing materials are environmentally harmful because the production of PC is responsible for about 8% of total CO2 emissions. Use of natural resources also creates CO2 emissions and depletion of our natural resources.

Connections for existing precast buildings built in the 1960s to 1970s in Alberta were not detailed for earthquake loads. These connections exclusively rely on the friction between the floor (double tees) and the corbel in resisting lateral movement. The original design considered possible lateral movement due to thermal effects and shrinkage but did not consider the relative movement due to earthquake loads. Under earthquake excitation, the beams may lose support by falling off the corbel or by causing the corbel to fail under increased eccentricity.

A major challenge involved in assessing the reliability of degrading structures relates to the extraordinary computational cost required to conduct the reliability simulation considering the spatial variability of the structural degradation process (such as damage due to mechanical and environmental effects). The objective of this research is to develop a user-friendly computer application using an innovative mathematical procedure to conduct structural reliability simulation for complex structural configurations subjected to severe deterioration efficiently.