TY - CHAP A1 - Xie, Haiyan A1 - Issa, Raja A1 - O'Brien, William T1 - Structure of a Formal User Model for Construction Information Retrieval N2 - Information science researchers and developers have spent many years addressing the problem of retrieving the exact information needed and using it for analysis purposes. In informationseeking dialogues, the user, i.e. construction project manager or supplier, often asks questions about specific aspects of the tasks they want to perform. But most of the time it is difficult for the software systems to unambiguously understand their overall intentions. The existence of information tunnels (Tannenbaum 2002) aggravates this phenomenon. This study includes a detailed case study of the material management process in the construction industry. Based on this case study, the structure of a formal user model for information retrieval in construction management is proposed. This prototype user model will be incorporated into the system design for construction information management and retrieval. This information retrieval system is a user-centered product based on the development of a user configurable visitor mechanism for managing and retrieving project information without worrying too much about the underlying data structure of the database system. An executable UML model combined with OODB is used to reduce the ambiguity in the user's intentions and to achieve user satisfaction. KW - Bauwerk KW - Datenmanagement KW - Benutzeroberfläche Y1 - 2004 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20111215-1296 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Flood, Ian A1 - Issa, Raja A1 - Abu-Shdid, Caesar T1 - Developments in Hyper Real-Time Simulation of Transient Heat-Flow in Buildings N2 - This paper reports on the latest results in the development of a new approach for simulating the thermal behavior of buildings that overcomes the limitations of conventional heat-transfer simulation methods such as FDM and FEM. The proposed technique uses a coarse-grain approach to model development whereby each element represents a complete building component such as a wall, internal space, or floor. The thermal behavior of each coarse-grain element is captured using empirical modeling techniques such as artificial neural networks (ANNs). The main advantages of the approach compared to conventional simulation methods are: (a) simplified model construction for the end-user; (b) simplified model reconfiguration; (c) significantly faster simulation runs (orders of magnitude faster for two and three-dimensional models); and (d) potentially more accurate results. The paper demonstrates the viability of the approach through a number of experiments with a model of a composite wall. The approach is shown to be able to sustain highly accurate longterm simulation runs, if the coarse-grain modeling elements are implemented as ANNs. In contrast, an implementation of the coarse-grain elements using a linear model is shown to function inaccurately and erratically. The paper concludes with an identification of on-going work and future areas for development of the technique. KW - Hochschulbildung KW - Entscheidungsunterstützung KW - Echtzeitverarbeitung KW - Konvektion Y1 - 2004 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20111215-1961 ER - TY - CHAP A1 - O'Brien, William A1 - Danso-Amoako, Mark A1 - Issa, Raja T1 - A Case Study of IFC and CIS/2 Support for Steel Supply Chain Processes N2 - The evolution of data exchange and integration standards within the Architectural, Engineering and Construction industry is gradually making the long-held vision of computer-integratedconstruction a reality. The Industry Foundations Classes and CIMSteel Integration Standards are two such standards that have seen remarkable successes over the past few years. Despite successes, these standards support the exchange of product data more than they do process data, especially those processes that are loosely coupled with product models. This paper reports on on-going research to evaluate the adequacy of the IFC and CIS/2 standards to support process modeling in the steel supply chain. Some initial recommendations are made regarding enhancements to the data standards to better support processes. KW - Bauwerk KW - Datenmanagement KW - Datenaustausch Y1 - 2004 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20111215-1195 ER -