LCA application in the optimum design of high rise steel structures

Abstract

The Life Cycle Assessment tool is used in the construction industry to assess the environmental impact and the resources that are used throughout the life span of a construction project, which consists of the raw material acquisition, production, design phase, construction phase, operation phase and the demolition and dismantling phase. The global community is taking immediate action to reduce the CO2 and green house gases (GHG) that are being produced due to global warming. The Kyoto protocol agreement has set binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community to reduce their GHG emissions by an average of 5%, back to 1990 levels, within the years of 2008–2012.The global community is making many efforts to reduce CO2 and green house gases (GHG). The building construction industry is responsible for approximately 40% of the carbon dioxide emissions. There are currently more than four super tall, more than 100 story, high rise building construction projects in metropolitan Seoul, and this ranks Korea in the top four countries worldwide for the number of high rise buildings. Reducing the amount of structural steel in these high rise buildings by using an optimum structural design would reduce CO2 and green house gas (GHG) emissions. This aim of this study was to analyze the lateral load resisting structural systems in a high rise steel building in order to select the optimum structural system under the equivalent allowable lateral drift. The environmental impact was assessed using the LCA tool, and the results are discussed along with possible recommendations that may improve the current LCA tools.