Page 178 - DCAP305_PRINCIPLES_OF_SOFTWARE_ENGINEERING

Principles of Software Engineering

Notes

UFAD Building Case Studies and Project Database

Project Objective

Develop a body of information to document completed buildings having underfloor air
distribution (UFAD) systems. Build a comprehensive database of UFAD buildings, a series
of descriptive project profiles, and in-depth field studies.
Significance to Industry
Underfloor air distribution has proven to be an effective method of delivering conditioned
air to localized diffusers in the occupied zone of the building. As more UFAD buildings
are completed and occupied, there is a great opportunity to learn from the experiences of
these projects in terms of occupant satisfaction, building operations, and whole-building
performance.
This project serves as a resource for all parties interested in developing a better understanding
of successful designs as well as the barriers to implementation of UFAD systems. It will
provide objective information about systems design, operation, and performance as well as
how designers have addressed practical issues and overcome limitations in the availability
of design tools and product offerings. This information will be useful for building owners,
developers, designers, contractors, and manufacturers.
Research Approach
In this project we have developed three levels of progressively more detailed information
about existing UFAD projects: (1) Candidate study projects are reviewed and added to our
database along with their basic parameters; (2) Project profiles are developed via site visits
and interviews with project designers, owners, and facility managers; and (3) In-depth field
studies are conducted on selected projects. The project profiles document and characterize
underfloor system design issues and solutions, describe the operation of the system, evaluate
the overall performance, and list noteworthy attributes discovered during the studies. The
field studies focus in more detail on design and operation, and evaluate performance from
on-site measurements, analysis of occupant satisfaction surveys, and analysis of energy usage.
Progress on this research includes the identification of over 250 UFAD projects in the U.S.
and Canada, and documentation of their key characteristics. We have also conducted an on-
line questionnaire to investigate trends and performance of a number of these buildings. Six
project profiles have been completed and posted to CBE’s under floor technology website,
two field studies have been completed, and several Summary Reports and Internal Reports
have been produced and distributed to CBE industry partners.

Questions
1. Write the UFAD building significance to industry.
2. Discuss the project objective of the UFAD building.

Self Assessment Questions

6. Which of the following is a tool in design phase?
( a) Abstraction (b) Refinement
( c) Information hiding (d) All of these.

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