Abstract
Free-form design may enhance the architectural value of buildings in terms of aesthetic and symbolic effects. However, it is difficult to reuse the mold of free-form concrete segments, so they are manufactured for single use. Manufacturing these molds is a time-consuming process that requires a lot of manpower. To solve these problems, there have been numerous studies on the use of phase change materials (PCMs) to make the molds. PCM molds represent a new technique of producing free-form panels using a computerized numeric control (CNC) machine that employs low-cost material to produce free-form concrete panels. However, PCM molds require a substantial amount of time and energy during fabrication because repeated heating and cooling cycles are required during panel production, and this process increases the CO2 emissions. Thus, the purposes of this study were to develop composite molds using aluminum powder to improve PCM mold performance and to conduct experiments to quantify the reduction of energy use and CO2 emissions. As a result of cooling experiments, it was found that the aluminum powder mold had an energy reduction effect of 14.3% against the PCM mold that had been produced only with paraffin wax, and CO2 reduction effect of more than 50% against the conventional mold.
Highlights
Free-form design is being increasingly adopted in monumental buildings to improve aesthetic and symbolic effects
To compare the energy consumption of conventional methods where numerous temporary wooden boards were used with the use of phase change materials (PCMs) and aluminum powder molds, we evaluated CO2 emissions from the manufacture of the materials to the completion of the molds
We developed an aluminum powder mold to improve energy consumption and reduce the time required for heating and cooling PCM molds
Summary
Free-form design is being increasingly adopted in monumental buildings to improve aesthetic and symbolic effects. The molds used for the production of free-form panels are 3–10 times more expensive than conventional molds [1]. Molds for the production of free-form concrete segments (FCS) are only used one time. There have been no studies on the development of practical production technologies for free-form concrete segments to realize the environmentally-friendly construction of free-form buildings [3]. Developed phase change material (PCM) molds can be semi-permanently reused, and it is easy and quick to produce free-form concrete segments (FCSs) with this new technique [7]. The purposes of this study were to develop aluminum powder molds to improve PCM mold performance and to verify the reduction in energy consumption and CO2 emissions achieved using these molds. (1) Consideration of previous studies (2) Development of aluminum powder molds (3) Analysis of the characteristics of aluminum powder molds (4) Analysis of energy consumption (5) Analysis of CO2 emissions
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