BS&T Lab

The BS&T Lab supports research activities related to the development of innovative building technologies and intelligent buildings, capable of adapting and responding to user needs in terms of comfort and safety, taking into account economic and environmental aspects throughout the life cycle.

It is organised into 4 macro-areas of activity:

Building materials and components testing (at Hut No. 5, Monte Dago Campus, Faculty of Engineering);
Human-building interaction analysis (at DICEA, Building Architectural Engineering Division, Engineering Faculty);
Full-scale experimental buildings for long-term on-site measurements;
Computer center equipped with fixed workstations, notebooks with high computational power and 7-node clusters.

Activities

Building materials and components testing

In the laboratory, activities are carried out to develop new building technologies and to evaluate the performance of building materials and components at different levels: e.g. thermo-hygrometric performance in stationary or dynamic conditions, durability and development of degradation processes in controlled conditions of accelerated aging (thermal stress, UV, salt spray, biological growth, etc…), color analysis, air permeability analysis of rooms and ventilated envelope components.

The activity of the laboratory has led to the development of several technologies, e.g.: active “moisture buffering” systems, dynamic filtering insulators, adaptive ventilated walls, self-repairing waterproofing membranes, innovative reinforcement and conservation technologies applied to the Cultural Heritage, “invisible” frame windows, structural glass beams. Several designed solutions have been patented.

Human-building interaction analysis

The human-building interaction analysis Laboratory deals with experiments for the evaluation of parameters related to the built environment and to the human behavior, carried out in physical and virtual settings. The areas of application concern the optimization of safety, comfort, well-being, work efficiency, use and management in the built environment.

Full-scale experimental buildings

The experimental activities on test buildings are carried out with the aim of evaluating the performance of different building components (e.g. walls, roofs) in real environmental conditions. The evaluated performances mainly concern thermal, hygroscopic and energy quantities.

Computer center

The computer center is used for high-efficiency simulation activities and the application of Artificial Intelligence in areas such as: assessment of environmental and economic performance in the life cycle of buildings, parametric calculation of the dynamic energy performance of buildings, urban microclimate assessment.

Equipment

Building materials and components testing

Instrumentation for laboratory analysis of building materials (spectrophotometer, analytical balances, thermobalances, conductivity and PH-meters, dryers)
Instrumentation for in situ diagnostic investigations (ultrasonic instruments for structural deterioration diagnostics, diagnostic investigations on the water content using the “microwave reflection method”)
Performance monitoring system of building components, consisting of remotely controllable wireless dataloggers and probes for measuring surface temperature (PT100 resistance thermometers) and thermal flows (flowmeters), applicable both indoors and outdoors
Climatic chamber for tests under controlled environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity, UV radiation)
Chambers for cyclic tests of accelerated aging (salt fog) and growth of microorganisms (algae, cyanobacteria), for evaluation of degradation processes
Thermal imaging camera
Test box for air permeability of roof tiles

Human-building interaction analysis

Micro-climate measurement station (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, radiant temperature, CO2 levels, illuminance).
Monitoring system of internal environmental conditions (temperature and relative humidity of the air, presence, illuminance, CO2), consisting of wireless acquisition units that can be controlled remotely.
Wired and wireless weather measurement stations (DAVIS pro vantage), with sensors for continuous and remote monitoring of global solar radiation, wind direction and speed, air temperature and relative humidity, rain.
User tracking systems, in terms of movement and actions, through individual devices such as badges and smartphones (systems based on Beacons), video cameras and interaction sensors (presence, opening windows/doors/blackout systems, use of electrical utilities), both wired or wireless, usable during tests in real environments and mock-ups.
Sensors for monitoring perceptual conditions, based on wearable, non-wearable eye-tracking devices or integrated in immersive virtual reality viewers (Tobii wearable glasses; Tobii Pro Nano; HTC Corporation VIVE PRO Eye headset with eyetracker), and related software tools (iMotion, Tobii Pro Lab).
Sensors and acquisition units for monitoring the conditions and physiological parameters of individuals (biometric parameters and EEG).
Workstations and softwares supporting an immersive environment CAVE (with TechViz system), individual wearable devices for Virtual Reality (HTC Corporation VIVE PRO Eye headset with eyetracker), and Augmented and Mixed reality (Vuzix glasses)

Full-scale experimental buildings

Building in Agugliano (Ancona)
Building in Ancona

Computer center

Fixed workstations and notebooks with high computational power, and 7-node clusters for the application of predictive simulation systems, artificial intelligence, image monitoring server functions, VR applications and serious gaming.
Proprietary simulation softwares for the analysis of exodus processes, mitigation strategies and emergency planning both in buildings and urban areas.
Research licenses for the use of commercial software in collaboration with simulation companies for the analysis of users’ movement in the built environment (MassMotion by Oasys LTD), both in buildings and urban areas.
Proprietary software for urban climate simulations based on UWG open-source software integrated with Monte-Carlo stochastic simulation methods.