sustainable construction – El blog de Víctor Yepes

Evaluación del desarrollo sostenible de la industria de la construcción

Nos acaban de publicar en la revista Sustainable Cities and Society (1/68, CONSTRUCTION & BUILDING TECHNOLOGY, primer decil del JCR) un artículo relacionado con la evaluación del desarrollo sostenible de la industria de la construcción regional y nacional.

El trabajo se enmarca dentro del proyecto de investigación HYDELIFE que dirijo como investigador principal en la Universitat Politècnica de València. Se corresponde con la colaboración internacional que mantiene nuestro grupo de investigación con la Hunan University of Science and Engineering, de China. El primer autor, Prof. Zhou, sigue perteneciendo a nuestro grupo de investigación, pues desarrolló con nosotros su tesis doctoral.

Los datos de la investigación muestran que la industria de la construcción en China alcanzará su pico más alto de emisiones, según la evaluación del ciclo de vida en 2030 y tendrá emisiones nocivas entre 2061 y 2098. La evaluación del impacto social indica que se alcanzará su punto máximo en 2048.

Las contribuciones más relevantes de esta investigación son las siguientes:

El artículo innova modelos teóricos, como la «ponderación de la sensibilidad de la respuesta estructural», a través de una investigación interdisciplinaria, que aborda las limitaciones de la precisión de la iteración multifactorial, multidiscreta, con múltiples restricciones y con un bajo acoplamiento.
La investigación proporciona un sistema integral de teoría de la investigación y estándares de referencia para el cálculo científico y la evaluación precisa del desarrollo sostenible de la industria de la construcción en varios países del mundo.
El documento presenta un modelo, el «peso de sensibilidad a la respuesta estructural (SRSW)», que determina de forma precisa e intuitiva los resultados de la evaluación del desarrollo sostenible de la industria de la construcción regional y nacional.
La investigación incluye estudios de casos para demostrar la solidez del modelo, y muestra el pico de emisiones y las emisiones nocivas más altas de la industria de la construcción en China según la evaluación del ciclo de vida más alto.
La investigación contribuye al campo de la investigación sobre sostenibilidad en la industria de la construcción, ya que proporciona información y datos para que los responsables políticos y los profesionales tomen decisiones informadas con respecto al entorno ecológico.

ABSTRACT:

Sustainability research in the construction industry is of great strategic significance to the ecological environment of countries worldwide. This paper innovates theoretical models such as “structural response sensitivity weight” through interdisciplinary research on advanced mathematics, engineering science, computer science, environmental management and economic sociology. The model solves the limitations of multi-factor, multi-discrete, multi-constraint and low coupling iteration accuracy. The article shows the robustness of the model through case studies. The research data shows that the construction industry in China will reach its highest life cycle assessment emission peak of 2.73 GT in 2030 and will have harmful emissions of -2.78 GT between 2061 and 2098. The social impact assessment will peak at 4.26 GT in 2048 and harmful emissions of −3.75 GT per year from 2061 to 2098. This research provides a comprehensive research theory system and reference standards for scientific calculation and accurate assessment of the sustainable development of the construction industry in various countries around the world.

KEYWORDS:

Gross domestic product; Life cycle cost; Life cycle assessment; Social impact assessment; Topology optimization.

REFERENCE:

ZHOU, Z.; ZHOU, J.; ZHANG, B.; ALCALÁ, J.; YEPES, V. (2024). The centennial sustainable assessment of regional construction industry under the multidisciplinary coupling model. Sustainable Cities and Society, 101:105201. DOI:10.1016/j.scs.2024.105201

La editorial ELSEVIER permite el acceso directo y gratuito a este artículo hasta el 8 de marzo de 2024. El enlace para la descarga es: https://authors.elsevier.com/c/1iRse7sfVZE2dg

Optimización multiobjetivo de pasarelas atendiendo a criterios de sostenibilidad y confort del usuario

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en el International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, revista indexada en el JCR. Se trata de la optimización multiobjetivo de pasarelas atendiendo al coste, las emisiones de CO₂ y la aceleración vertical causada por el paso humano. El trabajo se enmarca dentro del proyecto de investigación HYDELIFE que dirijo como investigador principal en la Universitat Politècnica de València. Se trata de una colaboración con la universidad Passo Fundo, de Brasil.

La tendencia hacia estructuras más sostenibles se está convirtiendo en una demanda creciente, y los ingenieros pueden aplicar técnicas de optimización para mejorar el proceso de diseño y dimensionamiento. Esto permitirá encontrar soluciones que reduzcan los costos y los impactos ambientales y sociales. En el caso de las pasarelas peatonales, es esencial garantizar el bienestar de los usuarios, además de cumplir con los estándares de seguridad, especialmente en lo que se refiere a las vibraciones humanas. Con este objetivo en mente, se llevó a cabo una optimización multiobjetivo de un puente peatonal de acero y hormigón. Se buscó minimizar el costo, las emisiones de dióxido de carbono y la aceleración vertical causada por la actividad humana. Se aplicó la técnica de Búsqueda de Armonía Multiobjetivo (MOHS) para obtener soluciones no dominadas y crear un Frente de Pareto. Se analizaron dos escenarios con diferentes emisiones unitarias obtenidas de una evaluación de su ciclo de vida en la literatura. Los resultados demuestran que, aumentando el costo de la estructura en un 15%, la aceleración vertical disminuye de 2,5 a 1,0 m/s². Para ambos escenarios, la relación óptima entre la altura del alma y la luz total se encuentra entre Le/20 y Le/16. La altura del alma, la resistencia del hormigón y el espesor de la losa son las variables de diseño que tienen el mayor impacto en la aceleración vertical. Las soluciones Pareto-óptimas mostraron una sensibilidad considerable a los parámetros variados en cada escenario, resultando en un cambio en el consumo de hormigón y en las dimensiones de la viga de acero soldado. Esto destaca la importancia de realizar un análisis de sensibilidad en los problemas de optimización.

Abstract:

The demand for more sustainable structures has been shown as a growing tendency. Engineers can use optimization techniques to aid in designing and sizing, achieving solutions that minimize cost and environmental and social impacts. In pedestrian bridges, which are subjected to human-induced vibrations, it is also important to ensure the users’ comfort, besides the security verifications. In this context, this paper aims to perform a multi-objective optimization of a steel-concrete composite pedestrian bridge, minimizing cost, carbon dioxide emissions, and vertical acceleration caused by human walking. For this, the Multi-Objective Harmony Search (MOHS) was applied to obtain non-dominated solutions and compose a Pareto Front. Two scenarios were considered with different unit emissions obtained from a life cycle assessment in the literature. Results show that by increasing 15% the structure cost, the vertical acceleration is reduced from 2.5 to 1.0 m/s². For both scenarios, the optimal ratio for the web height and total span (L_e) lies between L_e/20 and L_e/16. The web height, concrete strength, and slab thickness were the design variables with more influence on the vertical acceleration value. The Pareto-optimal solutions were considerably sensitive to the parameters varied in each scenario, changing concrete consumption and dimensions of the welded steel I-beam, evidencing the importance of carrying out a sensitivity analysis in optimization problems.

Keywords:

Multi-objective optimization; pedestrian bridge; sustainability; harmony search; carbon emissions

Reference:

TRES JUNIOR, F.L.; YEPES, V.; MEDEIROS, G.F.; KRIPKA, M. (2023). Multi-objective Optimization Applied to the Design of Sustainable Pedestrian Bridges. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(4), 3190. DOI:10.3390/ijerph20043190

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Open Access Book: Trends in Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure

Tengo el placer de compartir con todos vosotros, totalmente en abierto, un libro que he editado junto con Ignacio J. Navarro. La labor de editar libros científicos es una oportunidad de poder seleccionar aquellos autores y temas que destacan en un ámbito determinado. En este caso, sobre las tendencias en las infraestructuras y la construcción sostenible.

Además, resulta gratificante ver que el libro se encuentra editado en abierto, por lo que cualquiera de vosotros os lo podéis descargar sin ningún tipo de problema en esta entrada del blog. También os lo podéis descargar, o incluso pedirlo en papel, en la página web de la editorial MPDI: https://www.mdpi.com/books/pdfview/book/3854

Referencia:

YEPES, V.; NAVARRO, I.J. (Eds.) (2021). Trends in Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure. MPDI, 272 pp., Basel, Switzerland. ISBN: 978-3-0365-0914-3

Preface to ”Trends in Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure”

The Sustainable Development Goals agreed by the United Nations in 2015 advocate for a profound paradigm shift in the way that infrastructures are designed. Actual practices usually fall short in assessing issues beyond the economic ones. Aspects such as the environmental impacts resulting from the life cycle of our structures, as well as the positive and negative effects that their construction and maintenance can have on society, are new criteria that need to be effectively included in our designs by 2030. To face such a challenging task, actual practices need to be reinvented, approaching the design of infrastructures from a holistic perspective that simultaneously integrates each of the three dimensions of sustainability, namely economy, environment and society. This book comprises 11 chapters that explore the actual sustainability-related trends in the construction sector. The chapters collect the papers included in the Special Issue “Trends in Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure” of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. We would like to thank both the MDPI publishing and editorial staff for their excellent work, as well as the authors who have collaborated in its preparation. The papers included in this book cover a broad range of topics directly related to the sustainable design of infrastructures, addressing maintenance design criteria towards sustainability, life-cycle-oriented building and infrastructure design, design optimization based on sustainable criteria, inclusion of the social dimension in the design of infrastructures and the application of decision-making processes that effectively integrate the three dimensions of sustainability, resilience and the use of sustainable materials.

About the Editors

Víctor Yepes is a full professor of Construction Engineering; he holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering. He serves at the Department of Construction Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain. He has been the Academic Director of the M.S. studies in concrete materials and structures since 2007 and a Member of the Concrete Science and Technology Institute (ICITECH). He is currently involved in several projects related to the optimization and life-cycle assessment of concrete structures, as well as optimization models for infrastructure asset management. He currently teaches courses in construction methods, innovation, and quality management. He has authored more than 250 journals and conference papers, including more than 100 published in journals quoted in JCR. He acted as an expert for project proposal evaluation for the Spanish Ministry of Technology and Science, and he is a main researcher in many projects. He currently serves as an Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Construction Engineering and Management and a member of the editorial board of 12 other international journals (Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, Structural Engineering and Mechanics, Mathematics, Sustainability, Revista de la Construcci´on, Advances in Civil Engineering, Advances in Concrete Construction, among others).

Ignacio Navarro Martíınez holds a Ph.D. degree in civil engineering. He works at the Department of Construction Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain. He has published 11 articles and 9 conference papers in JCR journal. He combines his research activity with his professional career as a structural designer. During his professional experience, he has been dedicated to the calculation of steel and concrete structures related to renewable energies, especially in the field of wind energy, both onshore and offshore, as well as to the calculation of road and port structures. He has specialized in the numerical calculation of steel and concrete structures in onshore and offshore environments.

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Open Access Book: Sustainable Construction II

Tengo el placer de compartir con todos vosotros, totalmente en abierto, un libro que he editado junto con el profesor, José V. Martí. La labor de editar libros científicos es una oportunidad de poder seleccionar aquellos autores y temas que destacan en un ámbito determinado. En este caso, la construcción sostenible.

Referencia:

YEPES, V.; MARTÍ, J.V. (Eds.) (2021). Sustainable Construction II. MPDI, 112 pp., Basel, Switzerland. ISBN: 978-3-0365-0484-1

Preface to ”Sustainable Construction”

Construction is one of the main sectors that generates greenhouse gases. This industry consumes large amounts of raw materials, such as stone, timber, water, etc. Additionally, infrastructure should provide service over many years without safety problems. Therefore, their correct design, construction, maintenance, and dismantling are essential to reducing economic, environmental, and societal consequences. That is why promoting sustainable construction has recently become extremely important. To help address and resolve these types of questions, this book is comprised of five chapters that explore new ways of reducing the environmental impacts caused by the construction sector, as well to promote social progress and economic growth. The chapters collect papers included in the “Sustainable Construction II” Special Issue of the Sustainability journal. We would like to thank both the MDPI publishing and editorial staff for their excellent work, as well as the 18 authors who collaborated in its preparation. The papers cover a wide spectrum of issues related to the use of sustainable materials in construction, the optimization of designs based on sustainable indicators, the life-cycle assessment, the decision-making processes that integrate economic, social, and environmental aspects, and the promotion of durable materials that reduce future maintenance.

About the Editors

Víctor Yepes is a full professor of Construction Engineering; he holds a Ph.D. in civil engineering. He serves at the Department of Construction Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain. He has been the Academic Director of the M.S. studies in concrete materials and structures since 2007 and a Member of the Concrete Science and Technology Institute (ICITECH). He is currently involved in several projects related to the optimization and life-cycle assessment of concrete structures, as well as optimization models for infrastructure asset management. He currently teaches courses in construction methods, innovation, and quality management. He has authored more than 250 journals and conference papers, including more than 100 published in journals quoted in JCR. He acted as an expert for project proposal evaluation for the Spanish Ministry of Technology and Science, and he is a main researcher in many projects. He currently serves as an Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Construction Engineering and Management and a member of the editorial board of 12 other international journals (Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, Structural Engineering and Mechanics, Mathematics, Sustainability, Revista de la Construcción, Advances in Civil Engineering, Advances in Concrete Construction, among others).

José V. Martí is an Associate Professor in the Department of Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering Projects at the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain. Initially, he worked for private companies in the construction sector, business consulting, and financial entities, and later as a freelance professional. He has taught since 1995 and, in many cases, served as the head of subjects in the Master of Civil Engineering, Geodetic Engineering and Topography, and in the degrees in Civil Engineering and PublicWorks. He has educated students on all matters related to the subject of construction procedures, quality, organization of works, and civil engineering machinery. He has participated in nine didactic books, 23 notebooks, 31 articles in teaching congresses, and a teaching innovation project. For his own research activity, he has a book as an author, a book chapter, and a participant in 29 articles in JCR journals. His lines of research are mainly focused on the optimization of structures through the application of metaheuristic techniques, and on the life-cycles and sustainability of structures.

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Open Access Book: Sustainable Construction

Tengo el placer de compartir con todos vosotros, totalmente en abierto, un libro que he editado junto con la profesora, Tatiana García Segura. La labor de editar libros científicos es una oportunidad de poder seleccionar aquellos autores y temas que destacan en un ámbito determinado. En este caso, la construcción sostenible.

Referencia:

YEPES, V.; GARCÍA-SEGURA, T. (Eds.) (2021). Sustainable Construction. MPDI, 228 pp., Basel, Switzerland. ISBN: 978-3-0365-0482-7

Preface to ”Sustainable Construction”

Construction is one of the main sectors that generates greenhouse gases. This industry consumes large amounts of raw materials, such as stone, timber, water, etc. Additionally, infrastructure should provide service over many years without safety problems. Therefore, their correct design, construction, maintenance, and dismantling are essential to reducing economic, environmental, and societal consequences. That is why promoting sustainable construction has recently become extremely important. To help address and resolve these types of questions, this book is comprised of twelve chapters that explore new ways of reducing the environmental impacts caused by the construction sector, as well to promote social progress and economic growth. The chapters collect papers included in the “Sustainable Construction” Special Issue of the Sustainability journal. We would like to thank both the MDPI publishing and editorial staff for their excellent work, as well as the 43 authors who collaborated in its preparation. The papers cover a wide spectrum of issues related to the use of sustainable materials in construction, the optimization of designs based on sustainable indicators, the life-cycle assessment, the decision-making processes that integrate economic, social, and environmental aspects, and the promotion of durable materials that reduce future maintenance.

About the Editors

Tatiana García-Segura is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Construction Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain. She obtained her International Doctorate with outstanding ”cum laude” in 2016. She received the IALCCE (International Association for Life-Cycle Civil Engineering) international award for his scientific contributions and two awards for her Master’s Final Paper on sustainable construction (AEIPRO award and first prize of the Cemex-Sustainability Chair). She has published 24 articles in JCR journals, 30 articles in scientific congresses, has participated in several research projects (one as a PI), and one innovation project.

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Optimización energética de muros de contrafuertes

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista científica Applied Sciences (indexada en el JCR, Q2) un artículo que trata sobre el uso de distintas técnicas heurísticas para optimizar una pasarela de sección mixta hormigón-acero. El trabajo se enmarca dentro del proyecto de investigación DIMALIFE que dirijo como investigador principal en la Universitat Politècnica de València.

La importancia de la construcción en el consumo de recursos naturales está llevando a los profesionales del diseño estructural a crear diseños de estructuras más eficientes que reduzcan tanto las emisiones como la energía consumida. En este trabajo se presenta un proceso automatizado para obtener diseños óptimos energéticos de muros de contrafuertes. Se consideraron dos funciones objetivo para comparar la diferencia entre una optimización de costes y una optimización de energía incorporada. Para alcanzar el mejor diseño para cada criterio de optimización, se ajustaron los parámetros del algoritmo. Este estudio utilizó un algoritmo híbrido de optimización simulada para obtener los valores de la geometría, las resistencias del hormigón y las cantidades de hormigón y materiales. La relación entre todas las variables geométricas y la altura del muro se obtuvo ajustando las funciones lineales y parabólicas. Se encontró que la optimización de los costes y de la energía están vinculados. Una reducción de costes de 1 euro lleva asociada una reducción del consumo energético de 4,54 kWh. Para conseguir un diseño de baja energía, se recomienda reducir la distancia entre los contrafuertes con respecto a la optimización económica. Esta disminución permite reducir los refuerzos necesarios para resistir la flexión del alzado. La diferencia entre los resultados de las variables geométricas de la cimentación para los dos objetivos de optimización apenas revela variaciones entre ellos. Este trabajo proporciona a los técnicos algunas reglas prácticas de diseño óptimo. Además, compara los diseños obtenidos mediante estos dos objetivos de optimización con las recomendaciones de diseño tradicionales.

El artículo se ha publicado en abierto, y se puede descargar en el siguiente enlace: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1800

ABSTRACT:

The importance of construction in the consumption of natural resources is leading structural design professionals to create more efficient structure designs that reduce emissions as well as the energy consumed. This paper presents an automated process to obtain low embodied energy buttressed earth-retaining wall optimum designs. Two objective functions were considered to compare the difference between a cost optimization and an embodied energy optimization. To reach the best design for every optimization criterion, a tuning of the algorithm parameters was carried out. This study used a hybrid simulated optimization algorithm to obtain the values of the geometry, the concrete resistances, and the amounts of concrete and materials to obtain an optimum buttressed earth-retaining wall low embodied energy design. The relation between all the geometric variables and the wall height was obtained by adjusting the linear and parabolic functions. A relationship was found between the two optimization criteria, and it can be concluded that cost and energy optimization are linked. This allows us to state that a cost reduction of €1 has an associated energy consumption reduction of 4.54 kWh. To achieve a low embodied energy design, it is recommended to reduce the distance between buttresses with respect to economic optimization. This decrease allows a reduction in the reinforcing steel needed to resist stem bending. The difference between the results of the geometric variables of the foundation for the two-optimization objectives reveals hardly any variation between them. This work gives technicians some rules to get optimum cost and embodied energy design. Furthermore, it compares designs obtained through these two optimization objectives with traditional design recommendations.

Keywords:

Heuristic optimization; energy savings; sustainable construction; buttressed earth-retaining walls

Reference:

MARTÍNEZ-MUÑOZ, D.; MARTÍ, J.V.; GARCÍA, J.; YEPES, V. (2021). Embodied energy optimization of buttressed earth-retaining walls with hybrid simulated annealing. Applied Sciences, 11(4):1800. DOI:10.3390/app11041800

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Análisis de ciclo de vida del puente atirantado sobre el río Hun He en Liaoning, China

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (revista indexada en el JCR, en el primer cuartil) sobre el ciclo de vida del puente atirantado sobre el río Hun He, en Liaoning, China.

El trabajo se enmarca dentro del proyecto de investigación DIMALIFE que dirijo como investigador principal en la Universitat Politècnica de València.

En este trabajo se estudió impacto ambiental de un puente atirantado de tres torres mediante el software openLCA, y se analizaron más de 23.680 grupos de datos utilizando la cadena de Markov y otros métodos de investigación. La conclusión muestra que el control de la contaminación de los vehículos que pasan y la mejora de la durabilidad de los materiales de construcción son la clave para reducir la contribución del carbono.

ABSTRACT

Due to the rapid growth of the construction industry’s global environmental impact, especially the environmental impact contribution of bridge structures, it is necessary to study the detailed environmental impact of bridges at each stage of the full life cycle, which can provide optimal data support for sustainable development analysis. In this work, the environmental impact case of a three-tower cable-stayed bridge was analyzed through openLCA software, and more than 23,680 groups of data were analyzed using Markov chain and other research methods. It was concluded that the cable-stayed bridge contributed the most to the global warming potential value, which was mainly concentrated in the operation and maintenance phases. The conclusion shows that controlling the exhaust pollution of passing vehicles and improving the durability of building materials were the key to reducing carbon contribution and are also important directions for future research.

KEYWORDS

Greenhouse gas; environmental impact; cable-stayed bridge; life-cycle assessment; sustainable construction

REFERENCE:

ZHOU, Z.; ALCALÁ, J.; YEPES, V. (2020). Bridge Carbon Emissions and Driving Factors Based on a Life-Cycle Assessment Case Study: Cable-Stayed Bridge over Hun He River in Liaoning, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(16):5953. DOI:10.3390/ijerph17165953

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Optimización de la energía necesaria para construir puentes losa postesados

Acaban de publicarnos en la revista Technologies un artículo que aplica el algoritmo de recocido simulado a la optimización del coste y de la energía empleada en un puente losa postesado con tablero aligerado. Se resuelve un problema complejo de optimización de 33 variables de diseño. Como resultados interesantes cabe señalar que, en ocasiones, las soluciones de menor coste no son necesariamente las que menos energía consumen. El artículo se ha publicado en abierto y se puede descargar en la web. Aquí tenéis la referencia y el artículo completo.

Referencia:

ALCALÁ, J.; GONZÁLEZ-VIDOSA, YEPES, V.; MARTÍ, J.V. (2018). Embodied energy optimization of prestressed concrete slab bridge decks. Technologies, 6(2):43. doi:10.3390/technologies6020043 (link)

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Análisis del ciclo de vida: comparación entre dos puentes postesados óptimos de sección en cajón

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista del JCR (Q2) Sustainability que compara dos puentes postesados óptimos de sección en cajón atendiendo a su ciclo de vida. Creemos que la metodología empleada puede ser de interés para casos de estructuras de hormigón similares a las presentadas. El artículo forma parte del proyecto de investigación BRIDLIFE “Puentes pretensados de alta eficiencia social y medioambiental bajo presupuestos restrictivos“.

Os paso a continuación el resumen y el artículo propiamente dicho, pues está publicado en abierto.

Abstract:

The goal of sustainability involves a consensus among economic, environmental and social factors. Due to climate change, environmental concerns have increased in society. The construction sector is among the most active high environmental impact sectors. This paper proposes new features to consider a more detailed life-cycle assessment (LCA) of reinforced or pre-stressed concrete structures. Besides, this study carries out a comparison between two optimal post-tensioned concrete box-girder road bridges with different maintenance scenarios. ReCiPe method is used to carry out the life-cycle assessment. The midpoint approach shows a complete environmental profile with 18 impact categories. In practice, all the impact categories make their highest contribution in the manufacturing and use and maintenance stages. Afterwards, these two stages are analyzed to identify the process which makes the greatest contribution. In addition, the contribution of CO₂fixation is taken into account, reducing the environmental impact in the use and maintenance and end of life stages. The endpoint approach shows more interpretable results, enabling an easier comparison between different stages and solutions. The results show the importance of considering the whole life-cycle, since a better design reduces the global environmental impact despite a higher environmental impact in the manufacturing stage.

Keywords:

sustainability; environmental impact; life-cycle assessment; construction LCA; bridge LCA; ReCiPe;sustainable construction

Reference:

PENADÉS-PLÀ, V.; MARTÍ, J.V.; GARCÍA-SEGURA, T.; YEPES, V. (2017). Life-cycle assessment: A comparison between two optimal post-tensioned concrete box-girder road bridges. Sustainability, 9(10):1864. doi:10.3390/su9101864 (link)

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¿Cómo se pueden proyectar puentes de bajo consumo energético?

ph_vigas-artesa — Puente de vigas artesa prefabricadas. Fuente: Pacadar

¿Cómo se pueden diseñar puentes pretensados prefabricados en vigas artesa haciendo que el consumo energético para su fabricación y puesta en obra sea el mínimo posible?

Highlights

An automated procedure for optimizing the design of structures is presented.
There is a parabolic relation between the span length and the minimum energy.
The energy reduction has an average cost impact of 3.23€ per square meter of deck.
Since both criteria are dependent, 1€ reduction is equivalent to 4 kW h saving.

Abstract

An automated procedure for optimizing the design of precast-prestressed concrete U-beam road bridges is presented. The economic cost and the embodied energy are selected as the objective functions based on production materials, transport and placement. Heuristic optimization is used to search for the best geometry, the concrete type, the prestressing steel, and the reinforcement for the slab and the beam. The results for both objectives provide improved opportunities to learn about low-energy designs. The most influential variables for the energy efficiency goal are analyzed. The relationship between the span length and the embodied energy is described by a good parabolic fit for both optimization criteria. The findings indicate that the objectives do not exhibit conflicting behavior, and also that optimum energy designs are close to the optimum cost designs. The analysis also revealed that a reduction by 1 Euro can save up to 4 kWh. It is recommended to reduce the reinforcement in the slab as well as increase the volume of concrete in both slab and beams in order to achieve higher energy efficiency. It is also worth noting that web inclination angle should be increased when the depth increases for longer span lengths to maintain the optimum slab span lengths in the transverse direction.

Keywords

Heuristic optimization;
energy savings;
sustainable construction;
precast-prestressed concrete structures

Referencia:

MARTÍ, J.V.; GARCÍA-SEGURA, T.; YEPES, V. (2016). Structural design of precast-prestressed concrete U-beam road bridges based on embodied energy.Journal of Cleaner Production, 120:231-240. DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.024 (link)

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