Structural design optimization for sustainable development

• Main Author: Than Htike Aung
• Other Authors: Teoh Bak Koon
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Civil engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153707
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the leading greenhouse gases causing global warming. Statistics show that buildings and construction are responsible for approximately 40% of these carbon emissions. The two main components of carbon emissions are Operational Carbon (OC) and Embodied Carbon (EC). Growth in the renewable energy sector mitigates OC’s effect, increasing the significance of EC as a result. This paper highlights the importance of meaningful comparison between the two structural materials, reinforced concrete and steel, to determine which material has less EC in its overall structural system. If kgCO2 per unit volume or kgCO2 per unit weight were used to compare, reinforced concrete would indeed be the material with significantly smaller EC. However, the structural performance of 1kg or 1m3 of reinforced concrete versus 1kg or 1m3 of steel is entirely different. Therefore, a parameter called Utilization Ratio (UR) was used in this study to fairly compare the EC without letting material properties influence the results. UR is the extent to which a member is utilized, so a UR of 1 would indicate that a member is fully utilized. Finally, it is concluded that designing the structural framing analyzed in this study with steel beams would give the lowest amount of EC and whether or not to use steel or reinforced concrete for column is dependent on the height of the buildings. Future works were also recommended to study other parts of a building, such as slabs and walls.