Passive thermal performance of thin-shell concrete dome structures and comparable code-compliant wooden-frame structures

Abstract

A recent focus on sustainable infrastructure has cast the use of concrete for construction of infrastructure in a negative light because of the relatively high amounts of carbon dioxide produced during the production of cement. In this work, the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of a concrete dome structure (with and without soil covering) are compared to those of a typical code-compliant wooden-frame structure with respect to both production-related emissions and energy consumption over the life of the structure. This comparison was addressed through a combination of computational thermal modeling, validation of model results based on temperature measurements of a to-scale concrete dome structure, and a life-cycle analysis of GHG emissions during the product stage and the operational energy component of the use stage of the structures. While the concrete dome structure contains more embodied carbon than a typical wooden-frame structure of comparable footprint, the analysis performed in this research indicates that total GHG emissions over the life of the structure are significantly lower for the concrete dome structure.