Assisted routing of facade-integrated ductwork

Purpose of the work

Part of the AEGIR-project is to aim for a digital sustainable framework that boosts the take-up of deep retrofitting, achieving nearly zero energy buildings. For this, Fraunhofer ISE is working on a Python-based program to automatically find optimal routes for facade-integrated ventilation ductwork.

Method of approach

This study outlines a methodology that identifies routing algorithms, defines an objective function related to routing decisions, and refines the routing domain through manual ductwork routing. Constraints are then used to implement a routing and genetic algorithm for optimization.

Content of the contribution

This publication presents first an overview of the AEGIR projects demonstration buildings and the manually designed routing options for them. Based on these manual designs, a summary of the key characteristics of the start- and endpoint domains as well as for the path search domain and the respective constraints for these domains will follow. An examination of several routing algorithms is provided, including Dijkstra, Maze, Moore Neighbourhood, Scape routing, A*, MA*, and IDA*, with a particular emphasis on the A* algorithm due to its suitability in pathfinding for this use case.The objective of optimizing paths encompasses three primary dimensions: energy efficiency, lifecycle costs, and investment costs. However, the report prioritizes the minimization of pressure losses to enhance energy efficiency, recognizing its significant influence on overall operational performance. To achieve this, the study optimizes as well code efficiency by implementing a genetic algorithm for the start- and end-point domains to cover the most significant faction of the search domain.Our developed methodology integrates both the A* and the genetic algorithm to assist the facade-integrated ductwork design process with automatically generated and optimized routing. By leveraging these algorithms, the study aims to provide a robust framework for efficient ductwork design, addressing the complexities of building environments while maintaining a focus on energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Results and assessment of their significance

The developed framework effectively reproduces our design experiences for facade-integrated ductwork in the demonstration building, allowing for the replication of manual routing designs and significantly reducing design time for optimized ductwork routes.

Conclusions

n conclusion, the framework developed enhances the reproduction of our facade-integrated ductwork design experiences and reduces design time. Future enhancements include incorporating constraints for diverse topologies and implementing import/export functionality for *.ifc-models.

For further information please contact Sven Auerswald at: sven.auerswald@ise.fraunhofer.de