Integration of BIM and ontologies for pumped storage hydropower design change management in EPC projects

Design changes are an inevitable multidisciplinary issue in the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) projects for pumped storage hydropower systems. However, semantic heterogeneity poses significant challenges making Building Information Modeling (BIM) workflows for design change management time-consuming and error-prone. To address this issue, this paper proposes an ontology integration approach that unifies decentralized knowledge of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and the BIM Collaboration Format (BCF). A Semantic Design Change Management System (SDCMS) is developed for EPC contractors and validated through a case study. The results indicate that the proposed approach achieves significant improvements in system efficiency and data standardization. This paper highlights the potential for knowledge reuse to automate BIM workflows and provides practical insights into renewable energy construction management in the context of energy transition and carbon neutrality.