Contribution to sustainable seismic design of reinforced concrete members through embodied <scp>CO<sub>2</sub></scp> emissions optimization

Mergos, Panagiotis E.

doi:10.1002/suco.201700064

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…If the optimization variables are discrete, the number of feasible solutions is finite. In such a case, it is possible to avoid the use of numerical optimization methods and to find the optimal solution by searching the whole feasible set (exhaustive search) [19,20]. This set must not be too large, and the time required to calculate one solution must be reasonably short.…”

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confidence: 99%

Optimization of RC Structures in Terms of Cost and Environmental Impact—Case Study

et al. 2020

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Reinforced concrete (RC) structures represent one of the most widespread building systems around the world. This paper deals with the optimization of load-bearing RC structures in terms of cost and environmental impact. The results of the optimization are the dimensions and reinforcement of structural elements for which the total construction costs and environmental impacts are the lowest. Six variants of RC building structures were designed and analyzed in a case study. The construction cost was evaluated on the basis of the national pricing system. The life cycle assessment (LCA) characterization model according to the ReCiPe methodology version 1.08 was used to assess environmental impacts. The main motivation of this article was to show the possibilities of the multi-criteria optimization of a load-bearing structure, not only from a structural point of view but also from economic and environmental points of view. The presented conclusions correspond to this specific construction of the RC structure used in the case study and may not be generalized. Nevertheless, they point to certain trends and patterns that can also be used in the design of other reinforced concrete structures. The method used in this case study could be applied to the analysis of other structures using specific datasets for cost and environmental impact evaluation.

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Optimization of RC Structures in Terms of Cost and Environmental Impact—Case Study

et al. 2020

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“…As shown in [23], CO2 emissions of RC members are drastically reduced as design seismic forces decrease. On the other hand, the use of additional transverse reinforcement, to achieve higher ductility capacity for DCM and DCH, does not increase significantly CO2 footprint due to the small contribution of transverse reinforcement to the total CO2 emissions [23]. As a result, embodied CO2 can be significantly lesser for higher ductility classes.…”

Section: Seismic Design Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is explained by the fact that seismic forces for DCH and DCM are significantly reduced with respect to DCL by the application of the behavior factor q that accounts for ductility capacity of structures [24]. As shown in [23], CO2 emissions of RC members are drastically reduced as design seismic forces decrease. On the other hand, the use of additional transverse reinforcement, to achieve higher ductility capacity for DCM and DCH, does not increase significantly CO2 footprint due to the small contribution of transverse reinforcement to the total CO2 emissions [23].…”

Section: Seismic Design Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The author [23] examined seismic designs of single RC beam and column members for minimum embodied CO2 emissions according to Eurocode 8 [24] for all ductility classes (Low, Medium and High). It is found that seismic designs for minimum CO2 footprint drive to less CO2 emissions but are more expensive than designs for minimum cost.…”

Section: Moussavi Nadoushani and Akbarnezhadmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Seismic design of reinforced concrete frames for minimum embodied CO 2 emissions

Mergos

2018

Energy and Buildings

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Optimum structural design of reinforced concrete (RC) frames has been the focus of extensive research. Typically, previous studies set economic cost as the main design objective despite the fact that RC structures are major contributors of CO2 emissions. The limited number of studies examining optimum design of RC frames for minimum CO2 emissions do not address seismic design considerations. However, in many countries around the world, including most of the top-10 countries in CO2 emissions from cement production, RC structures must be designed against earthquake threat. To bridge this gap, the present study develops optimum seismic designs of RC frames for minimum cradle to gate embodied CO2 emissions and compares them with optimum designs based on construction cost. The aim is to identify efficient design practices that minimize the environmental impact of earthquake-resistant RC frames and examine the trade-offs between their cost and CO2 footprint. To serve this goal, an RC frame is optimally designed according to all ductility classes of Eurocode 8 and for various design peak ground accelerations (PGAs), concrete classes and materials embodied CO2 footprint scenarios. It is found that the minimum feasible CO2 emissions of RC frames strongly depend on the adopted ductility class in regions of high seismicity, where low ductility seismic design can generate up to 60% more CO2 emissions than designs for medium and high ductility. The differences reduce, however, as the level of seismicity decreases. Furthermore, CO2 emissions increase significantly with the design PGA. On the other hand, they are less sensitive to the applied concrete class. It is also concluded that, for medium to high values of the ratio of the unit environmental impact of reinforcing steel to the respective impact of concrete, the minimum CO2 seismic designs are very closely related to the minimum cost designs. However, for low values of the same ratio, the minimum cost design solutions can generate up to 13% more emissions than the minimum CO2 designs.

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“…In a newer study, Yepes et al (2012) extended their previous work on the optimum design of RC retaining walls to address not only minimum economic cost but also minimum embodied CO2 emissions. It is recalled that concrete construction is one of the major contributors to global CO2 emissions (Mergos 2018a(Mergos , 2018b. Pei and Xia (2012) investigated the optimum design of retaining walls using different heuristic optimization algorithms such as GA, PSO and SA.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimum design of reinforced concrete retaining walls with the flower pollination algorithm

Mergos

Mantoglou

2019

Struct Multidisc Optim

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Contribution to sustainable seismic design of reinforced concrete members through embodied CO₂ emissions optimization

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

Optimization of RC Structures in Terms of Cost and Environmental Impact—Case Study

Optimization of RC Structures in Terms of Cost and Environmental Impact—Case Study

Seismic design of reinforced concrete frames for minimum embodied CO 2 emissions

Optimum design of reinforced concrete retaining walls with the flower pollination algorithm

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Contribution to sustainable seismic design of reinforced concrete members through embodied CO2 emissions optimization

Cited by 20 publications

References 16 publications

Optimization of RC Structures in Terms of Cost and Environmental Impact—Case Study

Optimization of RC Structures in Terms of Cost and Environmental Impact—Case Study

Seismic design of reinforced concrete frames for minimum embodied CO 2 emissions

Optimum design of reinforced concrete retaining walls with the flower pollination algorithm

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Contribution to sustainable seismic design of reinforced concrete members through embodied CO₂ emissions optimization