Journal of Building Engineering

Journal: Journal of Building Engineering

Publisher

Elsevier

ISSN

2352-7102

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Publications 1 - 10 of 16

Stakeholder influence on global warming potential of reinforced concrete structure
Belizario-Silva, Fernanda; Rodionova, Alina; Costa Reis, Daniel; et al. (2021)
Journal of Building Engineering
Reducing the embodied carbon of reinforced concrete structures is crucial to mitigate climate change. Several stakeholders in the construction value chain can contribute to this effort. Therefore, this work quantifies the influence of various decisions made by different stakeholders on the global warming potential (GWP) of a reinforced concrete structure. These decisions include the structural design, material embodied impact, transportation distances, and construction practices. Herein, each decision is modelled as an uncertainty source and its contribution to the total uncertainty of the structure's GWP is assessed. Two scenarios are considered: business-as-usual, which only considers conventional concrete mix design, and an innovation scenario, which also considers the option of high-filler low-water concrete. In the business-as-usual scenario, the structure's GWP varies from 165 t CO2e to 336 t CO2e, and the most influential decision is the structural design, which accounts for 56% of the total uncertainty, followed by decisions associated with materials production and supplier selection. Meanwhile, in the innovation scenario, the structure's GWP varies from 126 t CO2e to 336 t CO2e, wherein the choice between conventional and the innovative concrete mix design is the most influential decision, contributing 60% of the total uncertainty. Overall, the relative importance of stakeholders can be identified to prioritise improvement measures, including implementing innovative technologies.
Augmenting materials passports to support disassembly planning based on building information modelling standards
Sanchez, Benjamin; Honic-Eser, Meliha; Leite, Fernanda; et al. (2024)
Journal of Building Engineering
Selective disassembly planning and materials passports are precursor technologies to support the retrieval of reusable building components efficiently. Selective disassembly relies on information about the recovery capacity of the components, while materials passports can be used to keep track of the disassembly information along the component's life cycles. However, the required information for selective disassembly is not represented in materials passports. Therefore, we developed a research approach to augment materials passports by integrating the information related to the components recovery capacity using a BIM-based Semantic Enrichment Engine for Disassembly Planning (SEEDP). First, we investigated the required information for selective disassembly and we proposed a characterization schema for disassembly models. Then, we developed the semantic enriching engine, SEEDP, as a comprehensive solution to automate three crucial steps: data pre-processing, production of materials passports for components, and assessment of disassembly models. Finally, we implemented the approach for two case studies as a functional demonstration.
Energy efficiency in modular emergency shelters: Impact of envelope finishings and shadowing
Sarmento, Raquel; Posani, Magda; Fernandes, Pedro; et al. (2024)
Journal of Building Engineering
In emergencies, ensuring rapid access to temporary housing for displaced individuals is a cornerstone of effective disaster response. Managing the issue time-effectively is crucial for addressing the immediate physical needs of the population and fostering a sense of stability. Unfortunately, given the vast scale of emergency camps, the number of shelters to be installed is often very high, requiring rapid transport and assembly for the success of settlement procedures. Furthermore, emergencies frequently occur in environments with extreme outdoor climates, heightening the challenge of maintaining indoor comfort within shelters. The present study considers a modular shelter based on composite sandwich panels made of glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) filled with a polyurethane (PUR) foam thermal insulation core. Experimental tests and numerical analyses are used to quantify the thermal conductivity of the panels and the heat losses through the panels' connections, respectively. Dynamic energy simulations are implemented accounting for the aforementioned data and used to quantify the energy required to ensure users' thermal comfort via active heating and cooling systems. Further, the model is applied to evaluate the influence of envelope finishes and shading devices in reducing the shelter's energy demands in three extreme climates. Results indicate that the combination of shading and reflective finishes can lead to significant energy demand reductions, decreasing the need for thermal insulation and, therefore, reducing the overall weight of the shelter. Finally, it is observed that in climates where cooling demands are dominant, passive strategies can achieve energy savings that thermal insulation alone cannot attain.
Novel NoMix toilet concept for efficient separation of urine and feces and its design optimization using computational fluid mechanics
Gundlach, Joel; Bryla, Michael; Larsen, Tove A.; et al. (2021)
Journal of Building Engineering
Separation of urine from feces in NoMix toilets bears a large potential for mitigating problems associated with the efficient reuse of excreta. A challenge lies in the design of these toilets that should maximize the amount of collected urine while at the same time minimizing its mixing with flush water that partly spills into the urine collector. We present a novel design idea that takes advantage of the so-called tea pot effect, which describes the attachment of liquids to a curved wall due to surface tension. This effect is used to efficiently guide the urine along a curved entrance into the collector. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the two phase (water/urine - air) system are carried out on different toilet geometries where we vary the inflow to the urine collector. In particular, we investigate two different radial curvatures and two V-profile grooves whose combinations result in four toilet geometries that are tested. We demonstrate that the urine collection can be dramatically improved by tailoring curvature radius and V-profile grooves, while keeping the amount of flush water in the urine collector at a minimum. A reduction to less than 2.5% of flush water entering the urine collector could be achieved by implementing a curvature radius of 15 mm and a V-profile groove width of 60 mm. The improved geometry's performance makes it an appealing candidate for broad application both in western and developing countries and we anticipate that this technology might replace traditional toilet designs in the future.
NEST HiLo: Investigating lightweight construction and adaptive energy systems
Block, Philippe; Schlueter, Arno; Veenendaal, Diederik; et al. (2017)
Journal of Building Engineering
Small-scale experiments on the operational performance of a lightweight thermally active building system
Lydon, Gearóid; Schlueter, Arno (2023)
Journal of Building Engineering
Thermally active building systems (TABS), which are integrated with the structure of a building, provide a robust approach for utilising renewable energy. However, reinforced concrete, where TABS are typically placed, is responsible for a significant proportion of initial embodied energy and related greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, combining lightweight structural elements and thermal systems reduces initial embodied energy usage while retaining the active material's thermal storage and heat transport benefits. The present experimental work explores the operational performance of a prototype of a lightweight TABS at ceiling level. A small-scale climate chamber was constructed and equipped to evaluate the prototype in the key operating modes. The study investigated the relationship between the supply temperature of the lightweight TABS and the climate chamber's internal air temperature for active heating, active cooling and natural ventilation modes. The experiments compared the reaction time in active heating mode for a range of supply temperatures. In addition, we examined the dynamic characteristics of the thermal mass of the lightweight TABS in passive natural ventilation mode and passive cooling mode in the presence of an internal thermal load. The results provide insights into the dynamic performance in operation. In heating mode, we identified the time lag between the radiant surface achieving a steady state and the conditioned air reaching its target temperature. This feature emphasises the significance of refining control strategies when designing comfortable environments with low-temperature heating systems at ceiling level. Further, we highlighted the importance of balancing decisions on minimising embodied energy with the suitability of the selected material to leverage renewable energy sources. The experimental data can be used for validating high-resolution numerical models, which support the development of multifunctional elements with renewable energy sources for building heating and cooling.
Interactive truss design using Particle Swarm Optimization and NURBS curves
Felkner, Juliana; Chatzi, Eleni; Kotnik, Toni (2015)
Journal of Building Engineering
Systematic workflow for digital design and on-site 3D printing of large concrete structures: A case study of a full-size two-story building
Zuo, Zibo; Zhang, Yamei; Li, Jin; et al. (2025)
Journal of Building Engineering
Numerous trial projects for 3D printed large concrete structures have been built around the world. However, the systematic coverage of the entire design and printing process is very limited. This paper presents a systematic workflow for the digital design and on-site 3D printing of large concrete structures, using a full-size 3D printed two-story building as a case study. To ensure the safety of 3D printed concrete structures, the proposed workflow fully considers the differences between printed and cast-in-place structures, and the design and construction are guided by the most unfavorable factors by introducing some discount factors. Specifically, the workflow covers 6 stages, i.e., computational conversion and design of structures, establishment of optimal construction methods, presetting of printing parameters, virtual printing and test evaluation, preparation and commissioning prior to printing, and on-site printing and monitoring. Using the workflow, the building with a height of 6 m was successfully designed and printed with a small print deviation, and the maximum deviation of the height was controlled to 10 mm. The proposed workflow has the potential to become a common standard for 3D printing of large concrete buildings or structures, and can facilitate the widespread application of 3D printing.
Comparative life cycle assessment of a reinforced concrete residential building with equivalent cross laminated timber alternatives in China
Duan, Zhuocheng; Huang, Qiong; Sun, Qiming; et al. (2022)
Journal of Building Engineering
With the development of mass timber, cross laminated timber (CLT) has gradually become a sustainable alternative to conventional building materials to alleviate the increasing energy consumption and carbon emissions by the building sector. This study aims to explore the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (LCGHGE) and life cycle primary energy (LCPE) of three high-rise residential buildings in the cold region of China through a life cycle assessment approach. The three buildings are conventional reinforced concrete (RC), CLT and hybrid CLT buildings. The results show that CLT and hybrid CLT buildings produce 15.00% and 10.77% lower LCGHGE, respectively, compared to the RC building within a 50-year service life. A clear difference in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and primary energy (PE) in the product and construction stages is visible, with 46.52% and 37.24% of embodied GHG emissions reduced in CLT and hybrid CLT buildings, respectively, compared to the RC building. In the operational stage, RC building has lower PE and GHG emissions to CLT alternatives. The thermal mass effect has led to a 2.25% and 2.12% PE increase for space heating and cooling in CLT and hybrid CLT buildings, respectively, compared to the RC building. For the End-of-Life (EoL) stage, CLT demonstrates great recycling potential and biomass residues. The sensitivity analysis shows that the design of the low U-value of the building envelope and high-efficiency energy systems has a significant relationship with energy reduction during the operational phase of the three buildings, magnifying the impacts of the initial and EoL stages.
Customizing designs with minimum resources: An accessible and sustainable fabrication process for bespoke, compressed earth blocks using additively manufactured molds
Zhang, Yu; Tatarintseva, Liz; Clewlow, Tom; et al. (2025)
Journal of Building Engineering
With advances in computational design and digital fabrication, mass customization of building geometries and components can improve structural integrity, sustainability, usability and architectural aesthetics. However, bespoke and sustainable structures often require proprietary materials and specialized machinery, which may be expensive, increase environmental impact and may not be available in low-resource settings or remote areas. This research presents an adaptive fabrication process that enables a conventional Compressed Earth Block (CEB) press to produce bespoke, customized blocks. Customized, 3D-printed molds, which are compatible with most conventional CEB presses without modification, are used to fabricate unique geometry CEBs, for example, blocks containing intricate features that enable interlocking. The novel CEB process is validated using a case study that fabricates five different interlocking CEB geometries from which a corbelled dome structure is assembled using 512 of these blocks without the need for mortar or formwork. The demonstrated new CEB process enables the construction of the corbelled dome structure using only earth material and one construction process. Compared with other customized fabrication processes, namely Additive Manufacturing, the demonstrated process can produce fine features in the CEBs, has a higher production throughput and is shown to not alter the mechanical properties of CEBs compared to a conventional CEB process. This research contributes to making the fabrication and construction of customized and sustainable CEB structures accessible, affordable and adaptable to all.

Publications 1 - 10 of 16

Journal: Journal of Building Engineering

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