Digital workflow to support the reuse of precast concrete and estimate the climate benefit
2024 (English)In: International Conference on Challenges for the Next Generation Built Environment, 09/05/2024 - 10/05/2024, Bologna, Italy, Bologna: IOP Publishing , 2024, Vol. 1402, p. 1-10, article id 012026Conference paper, Published paper (Refereed)
Abstract [en]
Concrete production contributes to around 8-9% of global CO2 emissions. Reusing building components in a circular economy can contribute to closing material loops and lowering CO2 emissions. When reusing concrete elements, it is necessary to have effective methods for evaluating their reuse potential. In this study, a novel digital workflow is developed to support the reuse of precast concrete elements by evaluating their lifespan based on carbonation depth. The workflow relies on automated retrieval of material quantities and information from a digital model. This model is then coupled with environmental data on construction products and calculation methods for CO2 uptake in concrete by carbonation. The remaining service life of concrete elements was calculated for a case study. For reference, CO2 uptake during the first service life was estimated at 4973 kg CO2 or 4% of the embodied carbon. Hence, the potential benefits of reuse outweigh those of carbonation. The presented approach supports the decision-making process when evaluating the reuse potential for concrete elements. The digital workflow can help designers make quick decisions concerning the lifespan and carbon footprint of concrete. The digital tool can be extended in future work with more parameters to evaluate additional sustainability indicators.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Bologna: IOP Publishing , 2024. Vol. 1402, p. 1-10, article id 012026
Keywords [en]
concrete, carbonation, CO2 uptake, reuse, LCA, BIM, computational methods, climate change, precast, buildings, Sweden, service life, lifespan, embodied carbon, GHG, greenhouse gas emissions, life cycle, circular economy, circular construction
National Category
Engineering and Technology Civil Engineering Architectural Engineering Building Technologies Construction Management Construction Management Architecture
Research subject
Architecture; Architecture, Architectural Technology; Civil and Architectural Engineering, Building Technology; Civil and Architectural Engineering; Civil and Architectural Engineering, Building Materials; Civil and Architectural Engineering, Concrete Structures
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-354863DOI: 10.1088/1755-1315/1402/1/012026Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85207486941OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-354863DiVA, id: diva2:1905869
Conference
International Conference on Challenges for the Next Generation Built Environment (NEXTBUILT 2024), May 9-10, 2024, Bologna, Italy
Projects
ReCreate project
Funder
EU, Horizon 2020, 958200
Note
QC 20241017
2024-10-152024-10-152025-02-14Bibliographically approved