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A Discrete Event Simulation-Based Framework for Feasibility Assessment of Rainwater Consumption in Buildings

Namaki, Parsa | 2023

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 55816 (09)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Civil Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Alvanchi, Amin
  7. Abstract:
  8. During the last decades, the exponential population growth as well as the adverse impacts of climate change have brought about serious challenges in supplying freshwater demands. In this regard, buildings account for a considerable portion of freshwater withdrawal. Accordingly, urgent measures should be taken to tackle this crisis. Rainwater harvesting (RWH), Greywater recycling (GWR), and Hybrid rainwater greywater (HRG) systems are considered efficient substitute resources that are able to reduce the consumption of water supplied by centralized networks in buildings. Nonetheless, there is a vital need for the financial and technical assessment of these systems. Additionally, multiple uncertainty factors affect the performance of these systems. Therefore, this research aims to address a novel framework based on discrete event simulation (DES), and building information modeling (BIM) in order to conduct the feasibility assessment of these systems with minimal time and cost as well as taking these uncertainty factors into account. Subsequently, this framework is implemented in a typical residential building located north of Tehran as a case study. Regarding the results of this study, RWH, GWR, and HRG are able to provide 7%, 75%, and 81% of non-potable unrestricted demands respectively. However, for non-potable restricted demands, which are irrigation, and common parts of the building (parking spot, landscape, …), RWH supplies up to 34% of the demand, while GWR and HRG completely meet the demand. Nevertheless, the financial assessment of these systems indicates that regarding the water and wastewater tariffs in Tehran, these systems not only are not profitable but also do not meet the payback period during their 30 years lifecycle. However, provided that the tariffs raise by excluding subsidies, the net present value of GWR system, used for unrestricted demands, will increase up to 145%. Moreover, HRG system’s NPV will roughly increase by 75%. In addition to these results, it is concluded that regarding the financial indices of these systems, GWR system is the most viable choice for unrestricted demands in this region (NPV -1922$), and RWH system is the preferred option for unrestricted consumption (NPV -1343$). Due to this study, providing incentives for constructors and consumers will culminate in increasing the use of these systems
  9. Keywords:
  10. Water Conservation ; Tehran City ; Discrete Event Simulation ; Building Information Modeling ; Sustainable Construction ; Rainwater Harvesting System ; Greywater Recycling System

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