Towards a Conscious and Far-Sighted Construction Market Through the Use of Sustainability Indexes
Davide di Summa, Esteban Camacho, Liberato Ferrara, & Nele De Belie
Abstract: The ever-changing needs of the end user in the construction industry, together with the increasing awareness about the great influence of the sector on the worldwide sustainability, require some tools to be employed by the stakeholders to drive the market towards conscious and appropriate choices. An example in this regard are advanced cement-based materials that, either by partially replacing cement with supplementary cementitious materials and virgin aggregates with recycled ones or by increasing durability, are generating interest in the market thanks to their potentially better environmental performance. Therefore, besides the sustainability analyses such as the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) ones, some recent literature already tackled the problem proposing a more immediate evaluation approach represented by a series of indexes which are focused on the ecological and structural (generally, the compressive strength) performance of the material. To this end, from a comprehensive perspective, in this work two indexes are proposed able to include a wider range of environmental performances besides the costs and the durability characteristics. One is aimed to determine the suitability of using certain cementitious materials, encompassing the aforesaid parameters for the cubic meter scale. A second one is aimed to define the best mix design to be used to build certain structures (or components). For such purpose, the case of precast panels made with Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is here addressed, to assess the consistency of such indexes, upgrading from the material scale to the product scale.
Reference of this article:di Summa, D., Camacho, E., Ferrara, L., De Belie, N. (2023). Towards a Conscious and Far-Sighted Construction Market Through the Use of Sustainability Indexes. In: Ilki, A., Çavunt, D., Çavunt, Y.S. (eds) Building for the Future: Durable, Sustainable, Resilient. fib Symposium 2023. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 349. Springer, Cham.
Affiliations:
Davide di Summa, and Nele De Belie: Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials, Magnel-Vandepitte Laboratory, Ghent University, Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus A, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, 9052, Ghent, Belgium
Davide Di Summa,and L. Ferrara: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milan, Italy
Esteban Camacho: RDC Research and Development Concretes, Calle Conde Altea 52, pta 3, 46005, València, Spain
The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32519-9_86
LCA assessment related to the evolution of the earthquake performance of a strategic structure
D. di Summa, A. Marcucci, M. Nicolò, F. Martignoni, A. Carrassi, L. Ferrara, & N. De Belie
Abstract: Several buildings and infrastructures, located in urban areas, are identified as strategic in the case of an earthquake event. This is the case of a water treatment plant which is currently built in Genoa, Italy, and which has been assessed for the scope of this research. Since the structure has been designed following the seismic design prescriptions, this work aims to provide a preliminary assessment of how the degradation mechanisms do affect its earthquake response. To this purpose, both chloride attack and carbonation are taken into account as main degradation mechanisms. Moreover, due to the importance of the water treatment plant, to develop a realistic Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis, the earthquake resistance of the structure and its evolution over time as a function of the aforesaid degrad- ation mechanisms, have been accounted as Serviceability Limit State to estimate the frequency of the maintenance activities needed in a timeframe of 100 years.
Reference of this article:Biondini, F., & Frangopol, D.M. (Eds.). (2023). Life-Cycle of Structures and Infrastructure Systems: PROCEEDINGS OF THE EIGHTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON LIFE-CYCLE CIVIL ENGINEERING (IALCCE 2023), 2-6 JULY, 2023, POLITECNICO DI MILANO, MILAN, ITALY (1st ed.). CRC Press. eBook ISBN 9781003323020 pages 1169–1176
Affiliations:
Davide di Summa, and Nele De Belie: Ghent University, Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials MagnelVandepitte Laboratory, Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus A, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
Davide Di Summa, A. Marcucci, M. Nicolò, F. Martignoni, A. Carrassi and L. Ferrara: Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003323020-143
How to better exploit the use of LCA analysis for Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) through a constitutive law which integrates chloride and sulfate attack
D.di Summa, F. Soave, M. Davolio, S.M.J. Al-Obaidi, L. Ferrara & N. De Belie
Abstract: Structural applications of advanced cementitious materials such as Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) have been already assessed in harsh exposure conditions with presence of chlorides or sulfates. Nevertheless, the limited availability of design standards has not favoured so far a widespread use of these materials. Moreover, previous studies employed a constitutive model only partially representative of the real behavior of such materials when exposed to aggressive conditions. Therefore, this work, employing a “scenario dependent” constitutive law, estimates the serviceability limit state in correspondence of which it is needed to carry out the maintenance activities and investigates, through the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology, the ecological and economic profile of a UHPC water basin structure subjected to chloride and sulfate attack. The CML impact assessment method has been employed for the specific purpose to compare such structure to one made with ordinary reinforced concrete (ORC) using as system boundary the A1-B7 stages indicated in EN 15804.
Reference of this article:Biondini, F., & Frangopol, D.M. (Eds.). (2023). Life-Cycle of Structures and Infrastructure Systems: PROCEEDINGS OF THE EIGHTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON LIFE-CYCLE CIVIL ENGINEERING (IALCCE 2023), 2-6 JULY, 2023, POLITECNICO DI MILANO, MILAN, ITALY (1st ed.). CRC Press. pages 3094–3101
Affiliations:
Davide di Summa, and Nele De Belie: Ghent University, Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials MagnelVandepitte Laboratory, Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus A, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
Davide Di Summa, F. Soave, M. Davolio, S.M.J. Al-Obaidi and Liberato Ferrara: Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003323020-377
The sustainability profile of a biomimetic 3D printed vascular network to restore the structural integrity of concrete
Davide di Summa, Yasmina Shields, Vanessa Cappellesso, Liberato Ferrara & Nele De Belie
Abstract: Among the various possibilities to tackle the issue of concrete damage within its structural service life, the biomimetic approach has favoured the development of innovative solutions such as the use of 3D printed vascular networks suitably incorporated into concrete structural elements to inject and convey the most suitable healing agent upon crack occurrence. These systems, able to cope with damage of different intensities, may lead to improvements of the structure’s durability, through the closure of cracks, and a consequent reduction of the frequency of major maintenance activities. The present work investigates the environmental sustainability of the aforesaid self-healing technology through a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis. The attention has been also focused on the 3D printing process of the network due to the key role that it could play, in terms of environmental burdens, when upscaled to real-life size applications. The case study of a beam healed by means of polyurethane injected through the network and exposed to a chloride environment is reported to better predict the potential improvements in terms of overall durability and consequent sustainability within the pre-defined service life.
Reference of this article:The sustainability profile of a biomimetic 3D printed vascular network to restore the structural integrity of concrete Davide di Summa, Yasmina Shields, Vanessa Cappellesso, Liberato Ferrara and Nele De Belie MATEC Web Conf., 378 (2023) 06002
Affiliations:
Davide di Summa, Yasmina Shields, Vanessa Cappellesso and Nele De Belie: Ghent University, Department of Structural Engineering and Building Materials MagnelVandepitte Laboratory, Tech Lane Ghent Science Park, Campus A, Technologiepark Zwijnaarde 60, B-9052 Ghent, Belgium
Davide Di Summa, Matteo Parpanesi and Liberato Ferrara: Politecnico di Milano, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy
The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202337806002
A holistic life cycle design approach to enhance the sustainability of concrete structures
Davide di Summa, Matteo Parpanesi, Liberato Ferrara & Nele De Belie
Abstract: The development of innovative cementitious materials such as Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) requires tailored approaches to assess both the environmental and economic impact of structural applications employing them. For this purpose, in this paper, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) methodologies are integrated into a Durability Assessment-Based Design (DAD) workflow which combines structural design algorithms for UHPC with the assessment of the durability performance, with the aim of predicting the evolution of the structural performance all along the service life (SL) in the intended scenarios. As a case study a water tank made of UHPC has been herein selected and compared to a reference made of ordinary reinforced concrete (ORC). While the ORC solution was designed with cantilever cast in situ walls, two different design concepts were assessed for the UHPC basin: one with cast in situ walls and one with precast slabs supported by ORC columns. Moreover, two different mix designs (mainly differing on the alternative presence of silica fume or slag) have been investigated for the UHPC basin and a SL equal to 50 years has been taken into account for each structure. The optimized design, together with the reduced frequency of the maintenance activities for the UHPC structure, allowed by the UHPC superior material and structural durability, resulted into consistent reductions of environmental impacts, up to 76% as for Human Toxicity and Fresh Water Aquatic Ecotoxicity in comparison to the ORC solution. In addition to this, an assessment of the overall construction and maintenance costs that occur during the lifetime of the structures showed a cost reduction higher than 40% for both UHPC solutions, mainly due to a reduction of up to 6% during the construction phase and 91% for the maintenance activities. This also highlights the importance of the correct metrics in evaluating the sustainability of UHPC structural applications, which has to move forward from the units volume or mass of material and its individual constituents to functional units, representative of the benefits of using advanced cement based materials in structurally and environmentally challenging service scenarios.
Reference of this article:di Summa D, Parpanesi M, Ferrara L, De Belie N. A holistic life cycle design approach to enhance the sustainability of concrete structures. Structural Concrete. 2023; 24(6): 7684–7704.
Affiliations:
Davide di Summa, and Nele De Belie: Department of Structural Engineeringand Building Materials, Ghent University,Ghent, Belgium
Davide Di Summa, Matteo Parpanesi and Liberato Ferrara: Department of Civil and EnvironmentalEngineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan,Italy
The full article can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1002/suco.202300645