LCA-Based Investigation of Environmental Impacts for Novel Double-Beam Floor System Subjected to High Gravity Loads

Insub Choi,Junhee Kim,Dongwon Kim

doi:10.3390/su12219193

Abstract

In populated downtown areas, a floor system with secured environmental performance is needed to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) and global warming problems related to buildings. This study aims to assess environmental impacts on a novel double-beam floor system subjected to high gravity loads. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to investigate the environmental impacts on the reduction in construction materials by calculating global warming potential (GWP) in the structural design phase. For different structural systems, the environmental performance was compared based on the GWP, and the contributions of structural elements to the GWP in each structural system were analyzed. The rotational constraints induced by the beam-end concrete panel can significantly reduce the GWP of the double-beam floor system by up to 13.8% compared to the conventional beam-girder system. Thus, the double-beam floor system reinforced with the concrete panel can be a candidate for eco-friendly structural systems in underground structures requiring high gravity loads. This result provides valuable findings that the structural effect on the rotational constraint of the concrete panel was quantitatively evaluated by converting it into an environmental impact.

Highlights

In modern society, environmental problems such as global warming, caused by population growth and urbanization, have emerged as important issues
The quantity of greenhouse gases (GHGs) generated by the material quantity of buildings can be determined in the structural design phase since approximately 71% of the embodied CO2 emission of a building is generated from structural elements such as columns, beams, and slabs that make up the structural system [6]
This study aims to analyze the environmental impacts of a steel double‐beam floor system applied to underground structures in the structural design phase

Summary

Introduction

Environmental problems such as global warming, caused by population growth and urbanization, have emerged as important issues. The International Energy Agency (IEA) [1] reported that as of 2018, the building sector accounted for 39% of the CO2 emissions and that CO2 emissions from buildings will increase by 2050 due to a rise in the number of new buildings constructed to respond to a growing population To cope with such problems, goal setting and design are an essential step towards reducing the CO2 emissions of buildings [2,3,4]. As a top-down method is used to reduce the construction period and costs [10,11], a steel composite beam system is typically applied to the structural system in underground structures [12] Previous studies on these steel composite beam systems have verified the structural performance of the connection or unit system through experiments [13,14,15,16,17]. Kinderis et al [18] showed the efficiency of steel composite beam systems in terms of cost; previous studies on steel composite beam systems lack the analysis of the environmental impact assessment

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