ISSN: 2734-9438
Website: www.jomc.vn
BIM-based automated water supply design for high-rise buildings in compliance with Vietnamese codes
Abstract
Designing modern water supply systems is a complex process involving precise flow rate determination, pipe sizing, and head loss analysis. Currently, these tasks remain largely manual; existing tools lack full automation, leading to higher costs and technical errors. This study develops an integrated BIM-based solution that fully automates hydraulic calculations and simultaneously updates the building information model, thereby increasing design efficiency and enhancing documentation quality. By leveraging Dynamo-based automation to overcome the limitations of Revit’s native 'Pipe Sizing' and enforce compliance with Vietnamese standards (specifically TCVN 4513:1988), the tool significantly streamlines the hydraulic design process. Beyond basic sizing, it automatically identifies the most hydraulically adverse pipe run to accurately determine critical system pressure. This comprehensive workflow reduces manual iteration and ensures calculation accuracy and model consistency throughout the project lifecycle.
References
- Baik, A., "Three decades of innovation: A critical bibliometric analysis of bim, hbim, digital twins, and iot in the aec industry (1993-2024)," vol. 15, no. 10, 1587, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15101587
- Manzoor, B., Othman, I., Kang, J. M., and Geem, Z. W., "Influence of Building Information Modeling (BIM) Implementation in High-Rise Buildings towards Sustainability," vol. 11, no. 16, 7626, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167626
- Kaur, R., Mwambegele, B. J., Abraham, A. G., Basheer, S. A., and Garia, S., "A comprehensive review on building information modelling (BIM), its implementations and applications," Discover Civil Engineering, vol. 2, no. 1, 177, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44290-025-00342-5
- Li, X., Wang, C., and Alashwal, A., "Case study on bim and value engineering integration for construction cost control," vol. 2021, no. 1, 8849303, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8849303
- Ngoc, N., "Advantages, difficulties and challenges of applying bim in the design and construction of water supply and drainage system for high buildings in vietnam," presented at the BIM IN CONSTRUCTION & ARCHITECTURE, 2019. https://doi.org/10.23968/BIMAC.2019.002
- Ngoc, N. M., Phong, B. H., Phuong, L. T. B., and Vu, M., "Application of building information model (BIM) in the construction and using in water supply system," Tạp Chí Khoa Học Đại Học Tân Trào, vol. 9, no. 3, 24-31, 2023. https://doi.org/10.51453/2354-1431/2023/956
- Wang, Y., Lin, P., Zhang, L., Yu, H., and Lee Kong Robert, T., "Resilience-oriented design for complex MEP systems in BIM," Advanced Engineering Informatics, vol. 55, 101902, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2023.101902
- Eastman, C. M., BIM handbook: A guide to building information modeling for owners, managers, designers, engineers and contractors. John Wiley & Sons, 2011.
- ICC. International Codes: International plumbing code, 2024.
- TCVN. TCVN 4513, Internal water supply – Design standard, 1988.
- Semjén, Á. Á. and Szép, J., "Integrating generative and parametric design with BIM: A literature review of challenges and research gaps in construction design," Applications in Engineering Science, vol. 23, 100253, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apples.2025.100253
- Collao, J., Lozano, F., Lozano-Galant, J., and Turmo, J., "BIM visual programming tools applications in infrastructure projects: A state-of-the-art review," Applied Sciences, vol. 11, 8343, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11188343
- He, Z., Wang, Y.-H., and Zhang, J. J. a. p. a., "Generative AIBIM: An automatic and intelligent structural design pipeline integrating BIM and generative AI," 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2024.102654
- Deng, R., Li, X., and Tian, Y., "A review: The application of path optimization algorithms in building mechanical, electrical, and plumbing pipe design," vol. 15, no. 12, 2093, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15122093
- Wang, Y., Zhang, L., Yu, H., and Tiong, R. L. K., "Detecting logical relationships in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems with BIM using graph matching," Advanced Engineering Informatics, vol. 54, 101770, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aei.2022.101770
- Pan, Z., Yu, Y., Xiao, F., and Zhang, J., "Recovering building information model from 2D drawings for mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems of ageing buildings," Automation in Construction, vol. 152, 104914, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2023.104914
- Zhao, Q., Shi, H., Zhou, L., and Lv, G., "Automated bim generation for mep systems from cad data using multi-drawing graph integration," Automation in Construction, vol. 180, 106542, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2025.106542
- De Paola, F., Speranza, G., Ascione, G., and Marrone, N., "DyEHS: An Integrated Dynamo–EPANET–Harmony Search Framework for the Optimal Design of Water Distribution Networks," vol. 15, no. 10, 1694, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings15101694
- BXD. Quy chuẩn hệ thống cấp thoát nước trong nhà và công trình, 2000.

