CIM Development: IV. Splitting Elements - Horizontal / Vertical Follow

Elements should be modeled in such a way that they enable smooth control to assign Phasing/Sequencing in ALICE or in other words, the 3D model should have a Level of Development pertaining to the scheduling requirement.

Splitting Elements in BIM

• If an element is modeled in a single sketch whose extent is larger than that required for sequencing, then it should be split accordingly. ‘Parts’ feature in Revit or Dynamo automation (if available) can help in dividing the elements easily.

• All elements should be constrained to their nearest Levels, and at the very least Base Constraint must have a Level associated with it. If model elements are coming from a non-Revit platform, then ALICE parameter strategy should be adopted to ensure the filtering of elements per floor.

• Elements that run across multiple levels should be split at every Primary Level in the model. Any Intermediate Level created for hosting Stairs or any Datum Level created for reference/filtering schedule should be ignored for splitting elements.

• To enable elements split per Level or per Sequence into Model Groups, explode the Groups in Revit first. If the final model hosts links and nested links from other models, use the Binding tool to bind the links and groups before exporting the model to ALICE.

Review the following video to learn how to split elements:

VERTICAL ELEMENTS

Splitting

Make sure vertical elements (e.g., columns, walls, etc.) are split according to the planned construction method. For example, if you are building columns level by level, split them accordingly so that you have a column element at each level. Unless it’s dictated by the construction method, avoid modeling a single element spanning multiple levels, even when there isn’t a horizontal element in between (Img 1).

Attachment

ALICE utilizes a built-in Mesh Analyzer to automatically calculate the supported by constraints between elements, based on the mesh shape of each element. Therefore, in order to minimize miscalculations and maximize successful capturing of the Supported By automatically, try and avoid having intersecting geometry in the model wherever possible.

An easy way to achieve that is to attach vertical elements with horizontal ones - (Img 2).

(Img 2: Attach columns to slab on top)

Same concept applies between vertical elements. For example, in the case of a patio where columns might span multiple levels, make sure they (are split and) attach to each other - (Img 3).

HORIZONTAL ELEMENTS

Splitting

Split horizontal elements (e.g., slabs, foundations, etc.) according to the zoning/pouring sequence indicated by the respective construction drawings of your project.

For example, if you intend to build the slab in 3 pours per level, then there should be 3 slab elements per level, to account for each pour (Img 4).

(Image 4: Slab split per pouring zones)

Attachment

Again, like with vertical elements, to avoid supported by miscalculations it’s a good practice to attach horizontal elements with one another.

For example, it would be useful for a steel frame to be attached to the slab on top of it, as it will probably precede the slab installation – (Img 5).

(Image 5 - Steel frame (blue) attached to the bottom of slab on top)