Charles Miller Senior Thesis

WestEnd25
1229-31 25th St. NW

Washington D.C.


Charles Miller		Construction Management



















Note: While great efforts have been taken to provide accurate and complete information on the pages of CPEP, please be aware that the information contained herewith is considered a work-in-progress for this thesis project. Modifications and changes related to the original building designs and construction methodologies for this senior thesis project are solely the interpretation of Charles Miller. Changes and discrepancies in no way imply that the original design contained errors or was flawed. Differing assumptions, code references, requirements, and methodologies have been incorporated into this thesis project; therefore, investigation results may vary from the original design. The header renderings were created by Shalom Baranes Associates and have graciously been supplied with permission to use for Charles Miller's Senior Thesis.

_Thesis Proposal:

Proposal Re-Post

Proposal

The common thread that ties all the research analysis together is productivity. Productivity will be studied using methods taught and practiced in CE 533 - Construction Productivity Analysis for the brick exterior facade. The desire to increase productivity is the basis for two other research topics, concrete placement and trade flow. The trade flow analysis seeks to incorporate advancing computer programs and apply them in an useful manner for site personal. This thesis proposal identifies the analyses that will be conducted on several issues regarding WestEnd25. The topics of the analyses are trade flow, exterior facade, concrete placement and LEED. The exterior facade analysis also includes breadth analyses regarding the structural, thermal and acoustical effects of an alternate facade system.

Breadths will be completed as part of the Brick v Precast Analysis. This analysis will look at several construction management related issues of utilizing an architectural precast brick façade instead of the traditional brick façade. With this new façade there are several breadth topics that can be researched. These topics include architectural differences, structural load differences, thermal conductance differences and acoustic difference. Architectural differences will not be looked at as a breadth.

Added Loads:
The use of precast panels will apply a different dead load to the structure of WestEnd25. This load will be calculated and determined whether the existing conditions can support the load. If extra support will need to be added the benefits of the precast panels are greatly reduced. It is anticipated that the existing structure will be able to support the loads of an architectural precast brick panel façade since the existing façade was also precast.
In order to complete this analysis the loads from the precast panels, gathered from manufacture, will be applied to the building. Calculation will be completed to ensure the structure will be able to carry the loads of the precast panels. The loads will be carried and checked to the foundation. No structural software will be used for this analysis.

Thermal Characteristics:
A change in the thermal characteristics of the wall may have a positive or negative effect on the residents. If the thermal resistance's of the walls are reduced then the residence will have to pay more to condition their apartments. Therefore, changes will be computed to determine if there is load condition that is beyond the compactly of the mechanical system.
In order to complete this analysis the thermal characteristics of the wall will be gathered from a manufacturer. It will then be used to determine if the precast system will create a load condition beyond the capabilities of the existing mechanical system.