Open BIM exchange on Blockchain 3.0 virtual disk: A traceable semantic differential transaction approach
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Open BIM exchange on Blockchain 3.0 virtual disk: A traceable semantic differential transaction approach

31/10/2025 Frontiers Journals
This study is led by Prof. Xue Fan (iLab, Faculty of Architecture, University of Hong Kong). The team proposed a novel blockchain-enabled Open BIM data exchange paradigm to facilitate efficient collaboration.
The research team found that traditional file-based Open BIM data exchange approach encounters challenges of redundancy, traceability, and security. Inspired by the incremental development nature of BIM and Blockchain technology, capture the incremental changes of BIM as transactions and exchange through a blockchain network can be a solution. First, a novel tSDT approach is presented. The tSDT utilizes a semantic traceability function, which systematize changed semantic identifiers to generate two mapping dictionaries, to resolve the dilemma between data redundancy and traceability. Then, the trimmed BIM semantic changes are captured through tSDT to exchanged in a Hyperledger Fabric blockchain network. openBIMdisk, a web-based application with featured intuitive user-interfaces, implements tSDT and Blockchain.
The proposed tSDT approach and blockchain-enabled data exchange paradigm was applied to a real modular integrated construction project. Experimental results indicated that tSDT achieved minimal BIM redundancy for storing and restoring all BIM changes, using sheer 0.007% of disk space on average. openBIMdisk facilitated BIM version management and object-level semantic traceability with a response time of 5.3 ms.
See the article: Open BIM exchange on Blockchain 3.0 virtual disk: A traceable semantic differential transaction approach https://doi.org/10.1007/s42524-024-4006-x
DOI: 10.1007/s42524-024-4006-x
https://journal.hep.com.cn/fem/EN/10.1007/s42524-024-4006-x
Attached files
  • Title - Two steps of the semantic traceability operation of the proposed tSDT approachCaption - The semantic traceability feature is designed to track the changes of IFC-GUIDs during the tSDT processing. The semantic traceability consists of two separate steps. The first step creates a one-to-one mapping dictionary (D(1)) between IFC-GUIDs and IFCJSON-UUIDs, while it also converts the IFC file into an IFCJSON format. Then, during the streamlining of the semantic hierarchy of IFCJSON objects, the semantic traceability operation records the one-to-multiple mapping (D(2)) between IFCJSON-UUIDs and tSDT-UIDs. This mapping relationship between original IFC objects and semantic hierarchy objects enables semantic traceability. Furthermore, the one-to-multiple mapping dictionary between IFCJSON-UUIDs and tSDT-UIDs allows for the elimination of redundant semantics.
  • Title - Procedures of the bi-directional computation of semantic hierarchy of the proposed tSDT approachCaption - The bi-directional coputation supported by tSDT supports BIM semantics differences computation and restoration. To compute the semantics differences, the intersected part of two versions of BIM is captured and trimmed from the whole model. Then the changed part of two versions of BIM are compared through tree-like difference computation. For restoration, the captured time-series semantic differences are summing up.
  • Title - Conceptual framework of this paper (newly proposed concept and processes highlighted in red).Caption - The framework consists of three layers from top to bottom: (1) the application layer, (2) the tSDT approach, and (3) the Blockchain 3.0 framework. The uppermost application layer, which hosts a web-based DApp named openBIMdisk, connects to the distributed BIM exchange.
  • Title - Screenshots of the implemented openBIMdisk virtual diskCaption - (a) Home page with project brief; (b) tSDT-powered BIM changes page; (c) Semantic BIM change query results and (d) Information of blockchain storage
  • Title - Partial experiment results of the performance test & scale-up test
31/10/2025 Frontiers Journals
Regions: Asia, China, Hong Kong
Keywords: Applied science, Engineering

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