Volumetric prefabricated building construction is growing in most developed countries; for example, in Sweden the market share of prefabricated building systems in the housing industry was more than 80%. However, in Australia only approximately 3–4% of new building constructions are prefabricated buildings in a year. A major hindrance to the growth of prefab construction in Australia is that systems are developed under commercial and confidential conditions. There are limited publicly-available research and case studies for certifiers, regulators, engineers and academia to provide independent information on the performance, advantages and disadvantages of prefabricated building systems. Independent designers and structural engineers are relying on the strength of the structural and non-structural element, as well as the connections of the prefabricated building systems. This strength is estimated from the “commercial-in-confidence” test of individual components by manufactures, and it might result in undesired outcomes in design. This paper provides an overview of available literature on structural performance, benefits, constraints and challenges of prefabricated building systems. This paper also highlights the research needed on the prefabricated building systems such as full-scale tests, numerical modelling, hybrid simulations, case studies and social and economic assessments. Being supported by sound academic research will increase the market demand for prefabricated building systems in Australia as well as in other countries.

Recently, there has been a growing interest in utilizing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for wind resistant design of tall buildings. A key factor that influences the accuracy and computational expense of CFD simulations is the size of the computational domain. In this paper, the effect of the computational domain on CFD predictions of wind loads on tall buildings is investigated with a series of sensitivity studies. Four distinct sources of domain error are identified which include wind-blocking effects caused by short upstream length, flow recirculation due to insufficient downstream length, global venturi effects due to large blockage ratios, and local venturi effects caused by insufficient clearance between the building and top and lateral domain boundaries. Domains based on computational wind engineering guidelines are found to be overly conservative when applied to tall buildings, resulting in uneconomic grids with a large cell count. A framework for optimizing the computational domain is proposed which is based on monitoring sensitivity of key output metrics to variations in domain dimensions. The findings of this paper help inform modellers of potential issues when optimizing the computational domain size for tall building simulations.

Prefabricated modular structures are increasingly becoming popular as a strategy that can be used to achieve cost-effective and speedy construction. However, there is an absence of detailed engineering research and case studies dealing with the structural performance of this technology. Although such prefabricated modules are already used for some buildings, they cannot be categorized as exclusively modular structures because a core structure is used in most of them to carry the lateral loads. This paper gives a brief overview of prefabricated modular structures and an introductory preview into an innovative structural system that can be adopted to deliver a purely modular construction. The introduced structural system was assessed through a case study of a multistory apartment building that was constructed using prefabricated modules. The static and dynamic behavior of the structure was analyzed using finite-element analysis techniques with the aid of a three-dimensional (3D) computer model. Tors...

Modern Methods of Construction with Offsite Manufacturing is an advancement from prefabricated technologies that existed for decades in the construction industry, and is a platform to integrate various disciplines into providing a more holistic solution. Due to the rapid speed of construction, reduced requirement of labour and minimised work on site, offsite manufacturing and prefabricated building systems are becoming more popular, and perhaps a necessity for the future of the global construction industry. The approach to the design and construction of prefab building systems demands a thorough understanding of their unique characteristics.

Behaviour of Multi-Storey Prefabricated Modular Buildings under seismic loads Multi-Storey Prefabricated Modular Buildings;nonlinear time history analysis;ductility of columns; Prefabricated Modular Buildings are increasingly becoming popular in the construction industry as a method to achieve financially economical buildings in a very short construction time. This increasing demand for modular construction has expanded into multi-storey applications where the effect of lateral loads such as seismic loads becomes critical. However, there is a lack of detailed scientific research that has explored the behaviour of modular buildings and their connection systems against seismic loads. This paper will therefore present the nonlinear time history analysis of a multi-storey modular building against several ground motion records. The critical elements that need special attention in designing a modular building in similar seismic conditions is discussed with a deeper explanation of the behaviour of the overall system.

With many natural disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, bushfires and tsunamis destroying human habitats around the world, post-disaster housing reconstruction has become a critical topic. The current practice of post-disaster reconstruction consists of various approaches that carry affected homeowners from temporary shelters to permanent housing. While temporary shelters may be provided within a matter of days as immediate disaster relief, permanent housing can take years to complete. However, time is critical, as affected communities will need to restore their livelihoods as soon as possible. Prefabricated modular construction has the potential to drastically improve the time taken to provide permanent housing. Due to this time-efficiency, which is an inherent characteristic of modular construction, it can be a desirable strategy for post-disaster housing reconstruction. This paper discusses how prefabricated modular structures can provide a more time-efficient solution by analysing several present-day examples taken from published post-disaster housing reconstruction processes that have been carried out in different parts of the world. It also evaluates how other features of modular construction, such as ease of decommissioning and reusability, can add value to post-disaster reconstruction processes and organisations that contribute to the planning, design and construction stages of the reconstruction process. The suitability of modular construction will also be discussed in the context of the guidelines and best practice guides for post-disaster housing reconstruction published by international organisations. Through this analysis and discussion, it is concluded that prefabricated modular structures are a highly desirable time-efficient solution to post-disaster housing reconstruction.