Towards Voxel-Based Algorithms for Building Performance Simulation

This paper explores the design, coupling, and application of algorithms relying on grid-based or voxel-based representations of buildings. Such algorithms may encourage the adoption of building performance simulation in design practice by avoiding the time-consuming and somewhat arbitrary process of manually partitioning a building's interior into polyhedral spaces. They also support detailed visualizations that may open up new possibilities for design tools. This paper presents two grid-based methods: a hierarchical path-finding algorithm to support detailed simulations of individual occupants, and a very simple heat transfer algorithm to motivate future alternatives to zone models. The coupling of the pathfinding and heat transfer algorithms demonstrates the need for a simulation framework supporting different time advancement patterns. The coupled model is applied to simulate a building with individual occupants that move be-tween rooms and open windows in response to temperature changes.

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Voxel-Based Algorithms for Building Performance Simulation is a research project from Autodesk Research.

Rhys Goldstein, Simon Breslav & Azam Khan. (2014).
Towards Voxel-Based Algorithms for Building Performance Simulation
eSim 2014 Conference Proceedings:
IBPSA-Canada eSim Conference.
14 pages.

Autodesk Research