A Lego‐like steel‐framed system for standardization and serial production

Abstract

A Lego‐like steel‐framed structural system has been developed within the frame of an RFCS project, REDUCE, to facilitate 1) deconstruction of composite structures, 2) circularity at structure and element levels, and 3) serial production in construction by promoting a greater standardization of structural elements. The system utilizes innovative demountable shear connections for composite flooring solutions with precast concrete elements, and adjustable steel connections for use in both beam‐to‐beam and beam‐to‐column connections. The first use case of the structural system has been realized in the Petite Maison project which is a demonstration project for circularity and contributes to the event ESCH2022. Each construction element is linked to a digital database and remains available for future reuse, as a result of the plug‐and‐play, demountable and robust features of the developed system. This paper presents the proposed demountable system, the results from experiments and finite element analyses on the behaviour of shear connections, composite beams, and steel connections, and indicates the analysing methods for structural engineers to open a pathway for full implementation of the structures built into digital tools, fabrication, and construction.

Systematic Mapping of Circular Economy in Structural Engineering

“…Figure5highlights a notable concentration of Structural Concepts, with 37 articles predominantly within Technical Papers and DfD strategies. This pattern is consistent with the previously discussed trend of technical solutions for structural systems designed for future reuse (DfD), with Yang J et al contributing significantly to this area[28,37,45,66,67]. Notably, Structural Concepts are also prevalent in Case studies and Design Development in combination with DfD.It is as well as the only Contribution for the less represented Circular Design strategies: Upcycling, DfD and Reuse, and Deconstruction.…”

“…Case studies account for 16% of the publications, which is substantial but a smaller proportion. Projects such as the circular building Petite Maison by Odenbreit et al [28] showcase the significant resources required in such case studies, particularly when compared with Reviews, which rely on existing research and are typically less resource-intensive. Further, as Framework is defined in this study, the Research Type covers circular design strategies outside the development of structural engineering practices themselves.…”

“…CT: [103], SC: [15,86,[104][105][106] CT: [29,33] CE: [21][22][23][24]69,72,77,81,82], SC: [19] SC: [17,25,28,[36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] Case Studies Design Development Framework Review Technical Paper CT = Computational Tool, CD = Computational Design, SC = Structural Concept, CE = Circular Economy Investigation.…”

A paradigm shift in designing circular steel buildings: Some key principles and pioneering projects

“…Following the learnings of the REDUCE project [7], a pilot project, 'la Petite Maison' (Fig. 1), has been designed and built next to the University of Luxembourg in Belval, Luxembourg [11]. This demonstration project represents the first use of the structural system studied in [7].…”

Design for disassembling, reuse, and the circular economy: a demonstration building, “Petite Maison”

“…For complex joints where members meet in multiple directions, special care is taken to ensure that theses members are bolted to columns in predefined bolts holes. More information about the structural system used in the "Petite Maison" can be found in the related reference [11]. 3.1…”