UMALI, HERNANI M.

ARC – 3103
BU2
OCT. 14, 2020

MECHANICAL SYSTEM
Any building service using machines. They include plumbing, elevators, escalators, and
heating and air-conditioning systems. The introduction of mechanization in buildings in the early
20th century brought about major adjustments; the new equipment demanded floor space, and
the design team began to include electrical and HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air-
conditioning) engineers. Heating and cooling changed dramatically. Modern buildings, with their
large heat gains, turned central heating into little more than a supplement. Heat removal is a
much more serious burden, especially in warm weather. The roofs of high-rises are occupied by
cooling towers and mechanical penthouses; entire floors are often dedicated to the containment
of blowers, compressors, water chillers, boilers, pumps, and generators.

A machine (or mechanical device) is a mechanical structure that uses power to apply
forces and control movement to perform an intended action. Machines can be driven by
animals and people, by natural forces such as wind and water, and by chemical,
thermal, or electrical power, and include a system of mechanisms that shape the
actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement. They
can also include computers and sensors that monitor performance and plan movement,
often called mechanical systems.
Renaissance natural philosophers identified six simple machines which were the
elementary devices that put a load into motion, and calculated the ratio of output force
to input force, known today as mechanical advantage.
Modern machines are complex systems that consist of structural elements, mechanisms
and control components and include interfaces for convenient use. Examples include a
wide range of vehicles, such as automobiles, boats and airplanes, appliances in the
home and office, including computers, building air handling and water handling systems,
as well as farm machinery, machine tools and factory automation systems and robots.

Building Mechanical Systems

Architectural Mechanical Engineers specialize in the design of heating, ventilating, air-
conditioning, refrigeration (HVAC-R) plumbing, fire protection, and noise reduction for
buildings. They are also intimately concerned with the optimal integration of such
systems with the architectural, structural and electrical design. Architectural Mechanical
Engineers use modern analytical and numerical techniques to predict thermal
behavior and to
assess operational characteristics of mechanical systems to optimize (minimize) total
energy consumption-based space use requirements. The analysis and design are
grounded in fundamental principles of thermal and fluid sciences, which form an
essential component of the engineer's education.
Architectural Engineering faculty in the mechanical option at UW conduct research in
the areas of HVAC-R, geothermal heat exchangers, thermal energy storage,
evaporative cooling, building thermodynamics, thermal systems modeling and
simulation, and energy analysis and management. The laboratories include facilities to
test thermal energy storage and response characteristics of the ground via geothermal
heat exchangers and a HVAC testing and system demonstration facility that is
developed around an all-air HVAC unit with variable frequency fan drives, in-duct heat
exchangers, variable air volume components and a heat recovery.
The mechanical option prepares the Architectural Mechanical Engineer to design,
analyze, detail and specify the components of a building mechanical system. The
curriculum is founded upon a strong engineering science background of
thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer along with courses in analysis and
design of air and hydronic systems, which ultimately develop competency in HVAC-R
design. The Architectural Mechanical Engineer also understands, appreciates and
enhances concepts that Architects, and Structural and Electrical Architectural Engineers
use to make a building aesthetically pleasing and functional.

MECHANICAL SYSTEM INSTALLATIONS EXAMPLES:

HVAC Unit
Short for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. The system is used to provide
heating and cooling services to buildings. HVAC systems have become the required
industry standard for construction of new buildings. Before the creation of this system,
the three elements were usually split between three or more devices.
 Fire Sprinkler System
A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection method, consisting of a water
supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping
system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected. Although historically only used in
factories and large commercial buildings, systems for homes and small buildings are now
available at a cost-effective price. Fire sprinkler systems are extensively used worldwide,
with over 40 million sprinkler heads fitted each year. In buildings completely protected by
fire sprinkler systems, over 96% of fires were controlled by fire sprinklers alone.

Air Conditioning Unit

An air conditioner is a system or a machine that treats air in a defined, usually

enclosed area via a refrigeration cycle in which warm air is removed and replaced with
cooler air.
In construction, a complete system of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is referred
to as HVAC. Whether in homes, offices or vehicles, its purpose is to provide comfort by
altering the properties of the air, usually by cooling the air inside. The main function of air
conditioner is to change adverse temperature.
Elevator
An elevator (North American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a type of
vertical Cable Transportation machine that moves people or freight between floors, levels,
or decks of a building, vessel, or other structure. Elevators are typically powered by
electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems such as a hoist,
although some pump hydraulic fluid to raise a cylindrical piston like a jack.

Escalator
An escalator is a moving staircase which carries people between floors of a
building. It consists of a motor-driven chain of individually linked steps on a track which
cycle on a pair of tracks which keep them horizontal.
Escalators are often used around the world in places where lifts would be
impractical, or they can be used in conjunction with them. Principal areas of usage
include department stores, shopping malls, airports, transit systems (railway/railroad
stations), convention centers, hotels, arenas, stadiums and public buildings.
Escalators have the capacity to move large numbers of people. They can be placed
in the same physical space as a staircase. They have no waiting interval (except during
very heavy traffic). They can be used to guide people toward main exits or special
exhibits. They may be weatherproofed for outdoor use. A nonfunctional escalator can
function as a normal staircase, whereas many other methods of transport become useless
when they break down or lose power.
REFERENCES:
https://www.britannica.com/technology/mechanical-system
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machine
https://www.uwyo.edu/civil/research/mechanical/
https://www.thoughtco.com/fire-sprinkler-systems-4072210
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/sep/05/new-york-fear-elevators
https://www.technicalsafetybc.ca/blog/10-escalator-facts-you-probably-didnt-know
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/HVAC.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_sprinkler_system
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_conditioner#:~:text=An%20air%20conditioner
%20is%20a,is%20referred%20to%20as%20HVAC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elevator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalator