Evaluating Sustainability of Prefabrication Methods in Comparison with Traditional Methods

Extreme events, with natural or manmade causes, such as floods, pandemics and wars, have recently brought the need to provide shelter and field hospitals in a very fast and affordable way. Prefabrication can play an relevant role in this context, by offering several advantages compared to on-site construction. The precast structural wall system is a paradigmatic example of how precast structural members can contribute to speed up construction and reduce costs. A new research project was defined to develop with the aim of delivering a new product, a precast structural concrete wall system, where the design of the wall itself and connections are key, keeping in mind not only the above requirements, but also the new demands created by the recent challenges of the construction sector. To reach this goal, first is necessary to survey the existing commercial solutions and developed by researchers and analyse the main scientific and technical documents about precast structural wall systems. Herein, a comprehensive review is presented, aiming at identifying the most relevant aspects regarding precast structural concrete walls and connections. The main advances made in the past and that are being developed in the present are also highlighted. The growing concerns of the prefabrication sector about durability and sustainability were identified as mandatory for new generation of products. To produce prefabricated solutions with less environmental impact is required, beyond the optimization related with cement consumption, connections that are easier to use, to maintain and that allow disassembly, for future deconstruction and reuse. So, innovative improvements are proposed, namely, dry connections and concrete composite walls to be addressed in future work, with the goal of correcting some of the drawbacks found in existing solutions.

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“…This literature review is focused mainly on the study of concrete walls with structural function. (Moradibistouni et al, 2018).…”

Section: Technology and Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on precast structural concrete walls and connections

Martins

Carmo

Costa

et al. 2023

Advances in Structural Engineering

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“…Compared with the traditional construction method, prefabrication has significant environmental benefits throughout a project's lifecycle, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions [43], reduction of on-site construction waste [18] and reduction of material usage [27]. These reductions can enhance public health and can combat climate change, which is the fundamental goal suggested by the International Energy Agency (IEA) [63,64]. The in-factory manufacturing environment creates a lower rate of defects and re-work, and reduces waste generated during material handling, movement and storage on the construction site and material recycling processes [52].…”

Section: Benefits Of Prefabricationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current State of Using Prefabricated Construction in Australia

et al. 2022

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The Australian prefabricated construction market has been developing rapidly in recent years. New prefabrication-related technologies, materials, systems and services are also emerging in the current Australian market. Although some studies have been undertaken to explore the benefits and challenges of implementing prefabrication in Australia over the past 15 years, they do not reflect the recent changes in the industry. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap and identify the major changes in the current Australian prefabricated construction industry from industrial perceptions. Through literature reviews and industry interviews, factors reflecting major changes in the current Australian prefabricated construction, including prefabrication industry development, emerging benefits and challenges, were identified and discussed in this study. The challenges identified from interviews were classified into eight aspects related to feasibility, design, manufacturing, transportation, on-site construction, standardisation, skills and knowledge, finance and market. Furthermore, 21 recommendations and related key responsible parties were identified to tackle these challenges. The findings will provide useful references for various stakeholders to have a better understanding of the current prefabrication industry development in the Australian context and re-think how to adapt to future changes for the uptake of prefabricated construction in Australia.

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“…[15,23,40,42,46] Aesthetic options Visual appearance of internal and external of the building. [1,2,15,16,22,41,45] Labor availability The amount of available labor to need. [1,15,39] Sustainability 2019, 11, 5658 6 of 15…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Performance of Buildings through Modular Prefabrication in the Construction Phase: A Comparative Study

et al. 2019

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Prefabrication has been considered an effective alternative to conventional building. It has gained an increasing amount of attention over the last few decades as a way to advance sustainable construction. This study focused on the construction stage to compare sustainable performances of prefabrication with conventional building. Sixteen indicators were extracted from a literature review and specialist interviews to conduct a sustainability evaluation. A survey was delivered to developers, designers, superintendents, manufacturers, and contractors of a Chinese case project. A total of 51 valid responses were collected. Projection pursuit (PP), based on the real-coded accelerating genetic algorithm (RAGA), was employed to evaluate the sustainability of prefabrication. The results showed that there was a consensus among the participants that prefabrication has more obvious sustainable performances in the construction phase compared with conventional building. However, cognitive differences among the participants regarding the sustainability of prefabrication were also pronounced. The findings presented in this paper may assist the government to propose feasible policies and measures to promote the development of prefabrication in China.

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Evaluating Sustainability of Prefabrication Methods in Comparison with Traditional Methods

Cited by 11 publications

References 9 publications

A review on precast structural concrete walls and connections

A review on precast structural concrete walls and connections

Current State of Using Prefabricated Construction in Australia

Sustainable Performance of Buildings through Modular Prefabrication in the Construction Phase: A Comparative Study

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