Carbon Footprint between Steel-Reinforced Concrete and UHPC Beams
Publication: Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 149, Issue 3
Abstract
Due to its superior mechanical and durability performance, ultrahigh performance concrete (UHPC) has gained increasing applications worldwide. While studies have suggested different strategies to design reinforced UHPC beams, their resulting structural behavior is not yet well understood, and their carbon footprint has not been given considerable attention. Based on nonlinear finite element simulations and cradle-to-gate life-cycle analyses, this study compares the performance of two steel-reinforced concrete beams to steel-reinforced UHPC (R/UHPC) beams with the same flexural load capacity but different design strategies. Results show that an R/UHPC beam of the same cross-section but lower reinforcing ratio of a conventional concrete beam could show 166% higher carbon emission and 64% less deformation capacity than a control steel-reinforced concrete beam. On the other hand, a well-designed R/UHPC beam can (1) maintain the carbon footprint; (2) reduce the section size and steel bar usage by 50% and 30%–53%, respectively; and (3) show equivalent or higher service-level stiffness and ultimate deformation capacity.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, including the nonlinear finite element model files in DIANA.
Acknowledgments
This research was partially funded by the Republic of Singapore’s National Research Foundation through a grant to the Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS) for the Singapore-Berkeley Building Efficiency and Sustainability in the Tropics (SinBerBEST) Program.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Structural Engineering
Volume 149 • Issue 3 • March 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 24, 2022
Accepted: Nov 14, 2022
Published online: Jan 9, 2023
Published in print: Mar 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jun 9, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Beams
- Business management
- Concrete
- Concrete beams
- Engineering fundamentals
- Engineering materials (by type)
- Finite element method
- High-performance concrete
- Materials engineering
- Methodology (by type)
- Nonlinear finite element analysis
- Numerical methods
- Practice and Profession
- Reinforced concrete
- Steel beams
- Structural behavior
- Structural engineering
- Structural members
- Structural systems
- Sustainable development
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Cited by
- Yi Shao, Claudia P. Ostertag, LEGO-Inspired and Digitally-Fabricated steel reinforcement cage for Ultra-High performance concrete (UHPC) beams, Engineering Structures, 10.1016/j.engstruct.2023.115617, 279, (115617), (2023).