Prefabricated Construction Method Research Articles

Towards a net-zero carbon economy: A sustainability performance assessment of innovative prefabricated construction methods for affordable housing in Southern Africa

Recently, efforts to mainstream sustainability principles into affordable housing projects through the adoption of modern methods of construction, like innovative prefabricated construction methods (IPCMs), have been observed. However, limited studies have evaluated the sustainability performance of IPCMs deployed to affordable housing projects in Southern Africa, where the delivery of sustainable affordable housing remains a regional imperative. This study bridges this gap by assessing the sustainability performance and index scores of six IPCM variants implemented on affordable housing projects. The study adopted a two-phased quasi-experimental research design. In the first phase, the technical specification, lifecycle energy and cost and actual performance of these variants under varying conditions pertaining to sustainability were assessed and compared. The Sustainable, Innovative, Affordable Housing (SIAH) framework was adjusted to enhance its utility for computing sustainability index scores using expert opinions. Afterwards, the experts computed the sustainability index score for each case using the adjusted SIAH framework. Subsequently, the Edge App and SimaPro were used to simulate the sustainability performance of these variants under varying conditions. The study's results indicate higher overall sustainability performance of IPCMs compared to conventional methods. Moreover, the research results proved that the monolithic IPCMs were more suitable for net-zero carbon buildings. The study highlights the SIAH framework's usefulness as an assessment tool for determining the sustainability performance of affordable housing projects and for successfully selecting optimum IPCMs to implement towards eliciting such performance. It is expected that this study's results will contribute towards advancing the SIAH agenda in Southern Africa.

Abaqus Simulation of the Fire's Impact on Reinforced Concrete Bubble Deck Slabs

The use of Bubble Deck in modern prefabricated construction methods has recently become widespread in industrial projects worldwide. In the middle of a typical slab, Bubble Deck places hollow plastic balls that do not improve structural performance but significantly reduce structural weight. This study analyzes the behavior of self-uniting bidirectional concrete slabs with plastic spherical voids under high temperatures and for different periods. Six simply supported bidirectional plates, five of which contained bubbles and one solid, were numerically tested using the finite element method and the commercial ABAQUS software to investigate the behavior of bidirectional plates fired at various temperatures and for various amounts of time. Each slab has the following measurements: (1500*1500*150) mm. These slabs were fired at different temperatures (600 and 800) °C and for different periods (one and two hours). The slabs were classified into four groups depending on the kind of slab (solid or bubble), the degree of burning (600 and 800) °C, and the duration of the burning (one and two hours). The loading strength of concrete was found to be up to 65% less than the maximum capacity of a slab that was bubbled and fired at high temperatures. The length of the firing time also had a significant effect on reducing the strength of the concrete. The longer the firing period, the lower the load resistance of the concrete. The ball would melt and scorch in an intense, protracted fire without noticeable effects. The ability of the steel to maintain adequate strength during a fire, when it will be burned and lose significant strength as the temperature rises, determines the slab’s ability to withstand fire. Bubble deck slabs produce between 17% and 39% stronger thermal resistance than an equivalent solid slab of the same depth, even though they are not intended to provide thermal insulation due to the encapsulation of the air bubbles within the center of the concrete slab.

Dynamic Characteristic and Parameter Analysis of a Modular Building with Suspended Floors

Over the past few years, modular buildings have become an important form of environmentally friendly architecture. Prefabricated construction methods have gained a lot of attention because they produce less construction waste and require less labor and water. However, the seismic performance of modular buildings needs to be improved. This paper proposes a prefabricated steel module with a suspended floor, which is based on a multi-tuned mass damped floor system. This paper also derives the form of a motion equation which is unified with the construction process of modular buildings, which can describe the change law of the mass, stiffness, and damping matrix of the structure in the processes of connecting the main structure with the suspended floor slab and of joining different floors. Since the performances of tuned mass damping devices are closely related to the dynamic characteristics of the structure, this paper uses ABAQUS for numerical analysis and mathematical induction (MI) to propose and verify a simplified method for calculating the lateral stiffness of the entire story from a single module’s lateral stiffness. Based on the principle of reducing the stiffness difference in the structure along different directions, a standard scheme of the horizontal extension of the module building is also specified. The results show that the simplified calculation method is reasonable and that the lateral stiffness of the structure increases linearly with the number of modules. Finally, the recommended values for the tuned frequency ratio and tuned damping ratio are given by investigating the dynamic response of the structure under Gaussian white noise excitation. The results show that the recommended tuning frequency ratio and damping ratio ranges in modular buildings are close to those for FIS buildings.

Behavioral Strategies between Government and Real Estate Developers on Prefabricated Buildings Based on Triangular Fuzzy Matrix Game

The subsidies provided by the local government to real estate developers are an important and common practice to promote the development of prefabricated buildings worldwide. However, there is a lack of current research on how government subsidies affect the decision-making of real estate developers with respect to adopting prefabricated construction methods. This study developed a fuzzy game model integrating classical game theory with the triangular fuzzy number approach between the local government and a real estate developer, with different behavioral strategies regarding whether or not to develop prefabricated buildings. It analyzed the Nash equilibriums under the circumstances of pure and mixed strategies and probed the influencing factors of the game equilibrium results via numerical simulation. The research conclusions are as follows: (1) the government should encourage real estate developers to actively participate in prefabricated building by using financial subsidies, fund rewards, process supervision and economic penalties comprehensively; (2) the pure strategy (no manufacturing process supervision, active development) between the government and real estate developers is feasible when the benefit of “active development” for real estate developers is larger than that of “passive development”; (3) positive incentives, such as offering financial subsidies, reducing the cost of prefabricated building development and improving the popularity of prefabricated construction in the building market, should be taken to motivate real estate developers; and (4) negative incentives, such as increasing economic punishment and enhancing manufacturing process supervision, can also facilitate real estate developers to actively participate in the development of prefabricated buildings. Incentives are more effective when the economic penalties are greater than the incremental costs of developing prefabricated buildings. Some policy implications are given to guide prefabricated building market development. Finally, the main problems that need further study in the future are highlighted.

Examining the Adoption of Prefabricated Construction Methods for Building Housing in Egypt

Examining the Adoption of Prefabricated Construction Methods for Building Housing in Egypt

The use of prefabrication in building

Prefabricated construction in the construction industry is a growing technology implemented globally. However, some countries do not implement this new technology. This study sought to identify the barriers hindering the adoption of prefabricated construction in the South African construction industry. The research focused on South Africa, specifically East London in Eastern Cape Province. The study was conducted using a qualitative approach. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews of six prefabrication building firms. The data collected was then analysed and coded using thematic content analysis. The study’s findings indicate the barriers to the acceptance of prefabricated construction as aesthetic appeal, product stigmas and beliefs, financial commitment, product flexibility, public and construction industry knowledge, and effect on construction industry professionals. Thus the lack of understanding of the prefabricated construction method is the primary barrier to adopting this construction method in South Africa. All these factors underpin the lack of prefabricated construction and building methods in the South African construction industry, especially in East London. The study suggests that with the barriers against adopting prefabricated construction, further investigation is recommended to mitigate these barriers.

Innovation of Prefabrication Construction Methods for Cost and Time Efficiency in The High Rise Building Project of Perum Perumnas

Prefabrication has been widely used in construction projects. Prefabrication improves construction speed, architectural quality, material efficiency, and worker safety while limiting construction's environmental impact than conventional construction practices built on site. This research explains the advantages of prefabricated construction methods and offers an alternative method for innovation for the High Rise Building Project of Perum Perumnas. The prefabrication method is an alternative solution based on the SWOT analysis, and software for modeling and structural design is STAAD.Pro V8.I by Bentley System, inc. The research results have shown that prefabrication methods in the High Rise Building Project of Perum Perumnas can save 7% (deviation = 868.47 million) more than the current construction method (conventional). In terms of time, the prefabrication method is faster than traditional methods, with a time difference of 371 days. The estimated time required to complete upper structure work using conventional methods is 557 days. In comparison, the time needed to complete upper structure work with prefabricated methods is only 186 days, assuming the working time is eight hours per day. And the risk analysis is generally mentioned. Therefore, based on the calculation results, it can be concluded that the prefabrication method can increase the number and quality of development production in the High Rise Building Project of Perum Perumnas.

Environmental life cycle evaluation of prefabricated residential construction in China

Due to rapid urbanization, the construction industry in China consumes a significant quantity of material and is responsible for considerable greenhouse gas emissions. Prefabricated construction methods are promoted by the Chinese government because of their potential environmental and economic benefits towards enhancing the productivity and quality of built structures and on-site construction-related pollution. This research investigates the environmental tradeoffs offered by prefabrication methods compared to traditional cast in-situ methods using life cycle assessment (LCA), focusing on primary non-renewable energy, global warming, terrestrial acidification, human carcinogenic toxicity, fine particulate matter formation and eutrophication using a cradle-to-final construction system boundary. Primary data collected from two residential projects under construction in 2019–2020 and built by prefabrication and traditional construction methods in China were compared. This study investigates parameter uncertainty on regional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to electricity production. The results reveal that except for marine eutrophication, prefabrication methods offer more environmental advantages compared to traditional methods for all impact categories. The uncertainty analysis showed that the GHG emission factor for electricity production is not significant within the system boundary. Future research should investigate uncertainty among other parameters related to the building materials in the context of Chinese production. The findings of the study can provide a basis for policy makers in promoting sustainable construction in the context of China.

A Study on the Incentive Policy of China’s Prefabricated Residential Buildings Based on Evolutionary Game Theory

With prefabricated construction method deemed as an effective way to improve the environmental performance and sustainable development of the building industry, it is inevitably adopted in the scaled residence in the process of residential industrialization. However, the development of prefabricated residential buildings is still immature under the current market economy system, because the stakeholders involved in the process are not yet able to form a good cooperation mechanism and they are more inclined to keep their own interests. As a result, the market share of prefabricated residential buildings is relatively low. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct research on the stakeholders involved. By analyzing their costs and benefits, the reasons that really impede the population of prefabricated residential buildings can be found. In this paper, incremental cost allocation coefficient is introduced, the incremental cost difference under different assembly rates is considered, and the allocation ratio of the incremental cost input of the prefabricated building is analyzed based on game theory. The evolutionary game theory for government and real estate companies is established under the condition of bounded rationality with consumer participation. Then the effectiveness of the game theory is verified using empirical analysis, so as to provide reference for the authorities to promote the large-scale development of prefabricated residential buildings.

The challenges confronting the growth of sustainable prefabricated building construction in Australia: Construction industry views

The construction industry has played a huge role in sustaining the economy of Australia during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. However, construction activities tend to be limited due to the restrictions on travel, transport, and workforce availability which in turn affects the lack of materials and workforce for construction. On the other hand, the prefabricated construction method is known to provide a sustainable solution to reduce the labour and material demand. However, prefabricated construction methods are less preferred over traditional construction in Australia. This is due to the lack of knowledge on the benefits, limitation, design and construction of the prefabricated construction. Therefore, in this study, the authors have conducted a survey to identify the construction industry views on the prefabricated construction in terms of sustainability, technical, cultural, economic, practical and other aspects. A total of 310 construction professionals responded, and the data were analysed using both qualitative (thematic) and quantitative (Severity index) analyses. Results revealed that reduced construction time, high levels of quality control, and reduced on-site noise and disruption were the major benefits when using prefabricated construction compared to traditional construction. The restrictions and limitations of transport; reduced on-site design flexibility; and shortage of specialised workforce hindered the growth of prefabricated construction. These survey results also highlighted that production and manufacturing of prefabricated construction are not affected significantly by the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, significant amount of traditional, residential and commercial construction projects were replaced by prefabricated construction during Covid-19 pandemic, suggesting a future growth in prefabricated construction in Australia.

Production scheduling of off-site prefabricated construction components considering sequence dependent due dates.

The growing environmental concerns, excessive utilization of natural resources, and high energy consumption have put a severe pressure on the construction industry to adopt new methods in response to these challenges. As a remedy, prefabricated construction methods are broadly utilized to enhance the productivity of the construction activities. However, challenges associated with on-time production of precast components have not adequately been addressed. Thus, this study proposes a new insight to the theory of scheduling dealing with sequence-dependent due dates, in which total weighted earliness and tardiness are minimized. To tackle uncertainties and complexities associated with the stochastic nature of production problems, three integrated simulation-optimization algorithms, which employ simulation methods inside a metaheuristic framework, are proposed. Three metaheuristic algorithms, including genetic algorithm (GA), differential evolution (DE), and imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA), are employed to minimize objective function. A series of computational tests are conducted to investigate the performance of these approaches. Results indicate that integrated DE-simulation approach can provide better results in comparison with other approaches.

Environmental impact assessment of Materialization Stage of prefabricated buildings based on LCA and WTP

In recent years, prefabricated buildings have developed rapidly because of their high efficiency and time saving, but the large consumption of resources has also led to many environmental problems. In order to explore the impact of prefabricated buildings on the environment, the environmental impact assessment of the prefabricated buildings based on Life Cycle Assessment Theory (LCA) and Willingness to Pay Theory (WTP) was carried out. First of all, this article combines field research and literature research, using BIM modeling methods to obtain the engineering quantity of prefabricated and cast-in-place buildings. Secondly, analyzing the whole process of the two construction modes based on the life cycle theory, calculate and obtain the consumption list. Next, the ReCiPe method is used to evaluate the environmental impact of prefabricated buildings, and five types of midpoint environmental impact assessment results are obtained: greenhouse gas emissions, fine particulate matter generation, acid gas emissions, energy and mineral resource consumption, etc. Finally, based on the theory of WTP, all kinds of environmental effects are unified for comparative analysis. The results show that the environmental load of the prefabricated construction method is greater than that of the cast-in-place method. It is necessary to further improve the standardization in the production technology and management methods to obtain more advantageous environmental performance.

RETRACTED: Prefabricated construction process and unloading monitoring of space steel grid cassettle structure multi-storey large-span gymnasium

The gymnasium of Fule International School in Mianyang, Sichuan are multi-storey large-span buildings with a maximum span of 36 m and use a new system-steel grid cassettle structure. In this paper, the structure form, prefabricated construction method and support unloading process of the gymnasium are introduced in detail. To ensure smooth construction unloading, the deflection deformation of the large span floor and the field splicing node are monitored. Results show that the prefabricated construction method of the Mianyang Fule International School Gymnasium and the steel column-scaffold combination support system are affordable. After unloading, the floor has the traits of plates and relatively greater rigid reserve. Thus, it is applicable for large-span and high-load floor structure. The stress in the splicing node in the inflection point (L/2, L is the size of the grid) is relatively small, the bolt and the shearing-resistance plate have no slump, and the field splicing node is safe and reliable. The findings provide a certain reference value for the research and innovation in the process of assembly construction of multi-storey and large-span building.

Knowledge, Adoption, Prospects and Challenges of Prefabricated Construction Method in Nigeria – An Empirical Study of North Central Geo-Political Zone

Despite the numerous benefits of prefabricated construction method, there is unfortunately limited knowledge and adoption of this method in Nigeria’s construction industry. This study, therefore, seeks to assess the construction industry’s stakeholders’ level of knowledge and extent of adoption of prefabricated construction method in project delivery. It also evaluates the prospects and challenges of prefabricated construction considering the government’s huge annual investment in the nation’s construction industry sector. The methodology used in this study was descriptive survey involving a structured questionnaire administered to major construction industry stakeholders including the government, consultants, contractors, building material merchants, and construction financiers with practices in Nigeria’s north central geo-political zone. The study showed a low level of knowledge (MMS: 2.32) and low level of adoption (MMS: 2.13) of prefabricated construction method in Nigeria in general. It also revealed ‘Better Supervision’ (MS: 4.02) and ‘High Initial Costs’ (MS:3.62) as the highest prospects and challenges of prefabricated construction method among other identified factors. The study concluded that the low level of adoption arising from the low level of knowledge of prefab system in the nation’s construction industry was responsible for the myriad of delays in meeting project timelines, hence the prevalence of construction time–cost overruns. The current study recommends a review of the academic curriculum of built environment and professional development programmes to expand and deepen the prefab system training content. It also recommends wide adoption of prefab system considering their prospects of ensuring quality as a result of better supervision and suggests outsourcing on critical areas of organisations’ logistic weaknesses to minimize the problem of higher initial costs.

CHALLENGES OF USING PREFABRICATION TECHNOLOGY IN OROMIA REGIONAL STATE

The prefabricated construction method is the most practical and effective construction in the industry today in the world. It is widely considered a sustainable approach to the construction industry. However, in Ethiopia, particularly in Oromia it is not further growing where the construction method is a conventional method. The main aim of this research was to investigate the challenges of using prefabrication technology in Oromia Regional State. The results of this data show that the challenges of using prefabrication technology in Oromia Regional State mainly depends on factors such as Lack of suitable transportation, Lack of a synergetic information platform, Lack of practice and experience. Generally, the research concluded that lack of suitable transportation, lack of synergetic information platform, lack of practice and experience, and unintegrated industry chain were the major factor challenges of using prefabrication technology

Novel construction and demolition waste (CDW) treatment and uses to maximize reuse and recycling

ABSTRACT The EU Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC states that all member states should take all necessary measures in order to achieve at least 70% re-use, recycling or other recovery of non-hazardous Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) by 2020. In response, the Horizon 2020 RE4 project consortium (REuse and REcycling of CDW materials and structures in energy efficient pREfabricated elements for building REfurbishment and construction) consisting of 12 research and industrial partners across Europe, plus a research partner from Taiwan, was set up. For its success, the approach of the Project was manifold, developing sorting technologies to first improve the quality of CDW-derived aggregate. Simultaneously, CDW streams were assessed for quality and novel applications developed for aggregate, timber and plastic waste in a variety of products including structural and non-structural elements. With all products considered, innovative building concepts have been designed in a bid to improve future reuse and recycling of the products by promoting prefabricated construction methods and modular design to ease future recycling and increase value of the construction industry. The developed technologies and products have been put to the test in different test sites in building a two-storey house containing at least 65% of CDW.

Study of Prefabricated Construction Methods for Mass Tread Housing Construction. Case Study: Dian Sukolilo Regency Housing, Surabaya

This paper discusses the prefabricated construction method by taking a case study of Dian Sukolilo Regency housing construction, Surabaya. Prefabricated construction methods are able to provide faster construction times and better quality. Stages of research will be carried out by processing real data with a simulation calculation approach to obtain the calculation of the budget plan and estimated time of construction using the prefabrication method. The main variables that influence this prefabricated construction method are four namely cost, time, quality and number of units. The increasing number of units will reduce the cost of construction of the construction unit using the prefabrication method. The results of each research calculation will guide the interview to find out the response of the housing developer to the prefabricated construction method whose results will be the conclusion of the study.

A study on environmental impact assessment of prefabricated building construction

In the process of urbanization in China, the environmental pollution in the construction industry has aroused people’s concern. This paper discusses the relevant issues in the environmental impact assessment of the construction projects of characteristic small towns from the perspective of the impact of new buildings on the environment. This paper mainly analyzes the impact of the prefabricated construction method on the environment before and during the construction of the characteristic small town buildings from the three aspects of atmospheric environment, acoustic environment and solid waste. Through the analysis of practical cases, this paper discusses the environmental impact degree of the prefabricated building method in construction, so as to benefit decision makers.

ACCELERATING LOW-COST HOUSING CONSTRUCTION IN INDONESIA: LESSON LEARNED FROM KAMPONG NAGA

Construction methods used in housing development in Indonesia cannot follow the raise in housing needs. Thus, Indonesia is facing a housing backlog up to millions of houses. Prefabricated construction method is one of the solutions that can accelerate housing development. This method has actually been used by some of traditional villages in Indonesia such as Kampong Naga, in West Java. Learning from its local wisdom, this research analyses the traditional prefabricated construction of Kampong Naga as an input for the development of housing development in Indonesia. Qualitative method is used through an observation to the house construction method in Kampong Naga. The result shows that traditional houses in Kampong Naga has a high level of prefabrication, and sustainable in material selection as well as in construction techniques. It is also found that there is an effort from the villagers to expand their prefabricated method to the community outside their village. Regarding to the research results, the local indigenous prefabricated system of Kampong Naga could be considered as a solution for the low cost housing development in Indonesia.

Research on the Application of Light Steel Structure of ASA (The Coal Ash Spume Concrete) Series Plate in Architectural Design

Researching and Analyzing types and features of ASA plates , the advantages of modular production methods, prefabricated construction methods and energy saving of ASA plates with light steel energy efficient building systems can be initially drawn ASA series plates could be applied well in the civil design, public buildings and industrial buildings.