Keywords

1 Introduction

With the continuous development of technology in various industries and the advancement of advanced production processes in China, the level of technological innovation in the field of construction industry has also been improving. Air-supported membrane structures, as a new environmentally friendly architectural product, have been widely applied in various scenarios, particularly in urban sports stadiums located in city centers [1]. They provide a new architectural model for low-carbon and smart city construction. As a type of non-linear form, air membrane architecture exhibits streamlined characteristics on its membrane surface, serving as one of the architectural expressions of curved surfaces. The application of BIM technology in architectural design plays a significant role in the scheme and construction drawing design of non-linear architectural forms. It offers new solutions and construction techniques for unconventional architectural design, driving the transition from traditional two-dimensional design to three-dimensional design [2]. By utilizing the concept of parametric design, BIM technology provides intelligent construction solutions for air-supported membrane structure, significantly improving design and construction quality and efficiency. This paper focuses on urban air-supported membrane structure sports arenas as the research object, combining BIM technology to explore the ideas and application conditions for intelligent construction, providing insights into expanding the application scope of air-supported membrane structures in various scenarios and enhancing the level of intelligent design and construction.

2 Literature Review

2.1 Research on Air-Supported Membrane Structures

An air-supported membrane structure in architecture refers to a building form that utilizes flexible membrane materials to create a certain shape, structural stability, and usable interior space under the influence of internal air pressure [3]. The structural principle involves continuously supplying air into the relatively enclosed interior space of the structure through an inflation system [4]. By adjusting the airflow, a dynamic equilibrium is achieved between the air entering and exiting the membrane, while maintaining a certain internal and external pressure differential (generally around 500 Pa). This pressure differential ensures that the interior space of the membrane meets the requirements, maintains the stability of the overall form, and withstands various static and dynamic loads during the building’s usage. The specific structural principle is illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.
figure 1

Diagram of air-supported membrane structure

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Air-supported membrane structures maintain their shape through pressure differentials, which gives them significant advantages in terms of interior space layout and span. They are particularly suitable for efficient traffic arrangements within the building. Additionally, unlike traditional load-bearing structures, the membrane material generates uplift forces on the building foundation. This feature can reduce the cost of foundation and ground treatment in areas with poor soil conditions or weak bearing capacity. Furthermore, in larger air membrane structures, components such as steel cables are often combined with the upper membrane. These components are prefabricated, promoting energy and material savings. They also allow parallel construction with other civil engineering components, minimizing construction time. In terms of sustainability and material reuse, air-supported membrane structures exhibit low-carbon, green, and environmentally friendly characteristics.

In summary, this structural form offers advantages such as low cost, short construction periods, reusability, and easy installation and maintenance. It is inherently advantageous for large-scale storage buildings in coal mines. However, it is important to note that this structure requires continuous pressure differential support, meaning that air needs to be constantly supplied to maintain internal pressure, resulting in increased operational costs. Additionally, the current lifespan of membrane materials (generally around 20–25 years) does not match the lifespan of the underlying civil structures. Therefore, there is a need to replace the membrane material once it exceeds its service life, which can impact the building’s maintenance. Nevertheless, considering the entire life cycle of a building, air-supported membrane structures still offer unique advantages compared to traditional structural forms, particularly for large-span and large-area requirements. Their lightweight, easy installation, and low-cost characteristics make them an ideal solution for constructing and renovating lightweight sports arenas in densely populated urban areas.

2.2 Research on BIM Intelligent Construction

Intelligent construction is a new concept, which from the extension of smart city and intelligent building, which is to extend the “wisdom” and “intelligence” to the construction process of engineering projects, resulting in the concept of intelligent construction [5]. It is generally believed that intelligent construction is to realize the intelligent management of the construction process, improve the intelligent level of management in the construction process, and reduce the influence of human factors on the construction in order to achieve better construction goals through the full utilization of intelligent technologies and related products in the construction process. Intelligent construction includes at least three aspects of the elements: First, the intelligent construction process is the process of realizing the intelligent construction of engineering projects, through the introduction of new equipment and technology to reduce the dependence on human. It can achieve visual, accurate process management and control. Second, intelligent construction is the technical realization process of making full use of building information model(BIM), information technology and related intelligent products. Third, the form or result of wisdom construction in the application process is visual and data transmission [6, 7].

3 Methods and Data

3.1 BIM Intelligent Construction Methodology

With the continuous development of BIM technology in the field of construction engineering, a comprehensive application system has been established, spanning the entire construction process. Based on the models provided by BIM, various software platforms encompassing architectural design, structural design, facility management, construction, cost management, and more have been developed [8].

In Revit, all elements can be parameterized, meaning that the relationships between all elements in the model can be coordinated and managed using Revit’s provided features for change management [9]. The relationships between elements can be automatically created by Revit or manually created by designers during the project development phase. Revit shares some design concepts with traditional CAD but also has some differences. Unlike traditional CAD methods that rely on sketches to create models, Revit directly incorporates real-life elements such as beams, columns, and slabs into the 3D model, making the design process more straightforward and efficient. Once the 3D model is created, various drawings, 2D views, 3D views, and engineering material schedules can be generated from it. In Revit, all drawings, 2D views, 3D views, and engineering material schedules are different representations of the same entity, the model. Information related to the engineering project is automatically collected in detail and drawing views and is synchronized across all representations of the project.

3.2 BIM Intelligent Construction Modeling

The form of pneumatic membrane structures is usually curved and highly irregular. Therefore, manual modeling methods are difficult, and due to the complex nature of node details and the diverse connection methods between different main materials, data synchronization between disciplines is often challenging during the drawing change process [10]. Using structural models to simulate the construction process only allows observation at the unit level, making it difficult to observe the detailed construction of components and nodes. However, a three-dimensional solid model based on Revit can detect the detailed construction of components and nodes, as well as the cross-overlap between components and nodes, while also containing information on internal forces within the structure. Therefore, it is a more realistic method for simulating the construction process. Traditional modeling typically only considers the three-dimensional model and cannot generate information that supports tensioning construction processes. Integrating the time dimension into BIM enables better coordination between design and construction disciplines and provides a more accurate simulation of the construction process.

4 Case Study

4.1 Project Overview

The project is located at a university in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, China. The pneumatic membrane structure sports arena is situated within the university campus. The designed building area is approximately 5000 square meters. The surrounding area already has teaching facilities and living spaces, which have been in operation for several years. Due to constraints related to the foundation and relevant policies, the traditional architectural engineering approach was not suitable for this project. Therefore, the pneumatic membrane structure method was chosen for construction. The sports arena features a double-layer membrane structure. The outer membrane is made of PVF-coated material with a light transmission rate of 8–10% and decorative colored stripes made of PVDF-coated membrane material. The inner membrane is also made of PVDF-coated material with a light transmission rate of 40%. The bottom five meters of the inner membrane utilize blue PVDF membrane material (as shown in Fig. 2). The project utilizes high-strength architectural membrane material with a surface coating that provides excellent weather resistance, corrosion resistance, and self-cleaning functionality, ensuring a clean and aesthetic appearance throughout its service life.The project incorporates five major systems: an embedded JRT mesh cable system, a snow melting system, an air cushion insulation system, a PM2.5 air filtration system, and a fire protection system:

Fig. 2.
figure 2

(Photo source: Zhongcheng Space (Shenzhen) Intelligent Technology Co., LTD)

Interior and exterior views of a University Gymnasium Project

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This study utilizes Revit software for modeling and analysis, primarily focusing on the civil engineering discipline and the pneumatic membrane material aspect. Based on the site and interior layout requirements of the gymnasium, the Revit software is employed to establish the Building Information Model (BIM), as shown in Fig. 3:

Fig. 3.
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BIM Model of project

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4.2 Project BIM Intelligent Construction Analysis

  1. (1)

    BIM Collaborative Design: BIM provides a model-based foundation for collaborative design and construction. The BIM working framework for the entire construction project, which includes various stakeholders such as the owner, design team, and construction team. The full-process BIM collaborative design framework of this project is shown in Fig. 4:

    Fig. 4.
    figure 4

    Multi-stakeholder collaborative based on BIM established in this Project

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  2. (2)

    Construction Drawing Design: With the involvement of various primary materials in the pneumatic membrane structure, a high-precision BIM model allows for direct extraction of 2D drawings and automatic quantity calculations, thereby enhancing the efficiency of quantity takeoff. Simultaneously, during the forward design of the pneumatic membrane structure using BIM methods, the drawings and quantities as design deliverables can be directly linked to the BIM model, allowing for automatic adjustment of corresponding data when changes occur.

  3. (3)

    Collision Check: The design of this sports stadium mainly includes architectural sub-items, pneumatic membrane structure, and MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) systems. Since the membrane structure is created in the BIM model using design drawings as input information to accurately represent the design outcomes, emphasis is placed on conducting drawing verification for complex spatial areas such as the foundation and the connection between the foundation and the pneumatic membrane. This aims to promptly identify and rectify errors and clashes in the drawings, achieving the optimization of construction drawings.

  4. (4)

    Construction simulation and technical disclosure. In the actual implementation of the project, the three-dimensional coordinates of the positioning points are automatically extracted from the design model. The components or installation status are measured using a total station to verify the three-dimensional dimensions (as shown in Fig. 5). The actual three-dimensional coordinate deviations are recorded to provide a basis for pre-adjustment. The data is then imported into the BIM system to ensure that the controlled dimensions are within the error range. Key construction areas such as the connection between the membrane and the foundation, and the fixation of steel cables are fitted, achieving visualized technical disclosure.

    Fig. 5.
    figure 5

    Construction simulation based on BIM technology

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  5. (5)

    Intelligent production and intelligent operation and maintenance based on BIM. Based on BIM technology, all model data from design to construction to operation and maintenance are integrated to carry out intelligent monitoring of the operation and maintenance of the project. In combination with the intelligent control system developed by ourselves( as shown in Fig. 6), BIM model is imported for visual monitoring and various data analysis, so as to provide an important guarantee for the safe operation of the project.

    Fig. 6.
    figure 6

    (Photo source: Zhongcheng Space (Shenzhen) Intelligent Technology Co., LTD)

    Intelligent production and intelligent operation and maintenance of project

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5 Conclusion

The following conclusions were drawn from the research and analysis of BIM in intelligent construction of pneumatic membrane structure sports arenas:

  1. (1)

    Using BIM software, engineers can establish the project’s BIM model during the design phase and perform parameterized design by creating families through secondary development in software such as Revit.

  2. (2)

    The collaborative mode of BIM provides a communication platform for multiple participants, and integrates economic and technical indicators into the building model through parameters. This allows for the visualization of indicator data when adjusting and modifying the 3D model, and provides data support for intelligent construction.

  3. (3)

    BIM technology provides engineers with collision detection data. And the construction simulation provides a visualization of intelligent construction for the operation.

With the continuous development of membrane materials and improvement in structural design, the application scenarios of pneumatic membrane structures will continue to expand, placing higher demands on construction quality and efficiency. BIM technology provides a sustainable data base for the high-quality development of air-supported membrane structure design and intelligent construction.