Life Cycle Carbon Assessment of Reinforced Concrete (RC) Buildings using Optimised Structural Design Alternatives: A Case Study of 2-Storey Residential Building

Abstract

A life cycle carbon assessment of reinforced concrete buildings involves evaluating the carbon emissions related with the entire life cycle of the building. The assessment aims to create model of two-storey residential buildings with optimized structural design alternatives using Esteem software. It also seeks to compute the embodied energy (EE) and embodied carbon (EC) emissions for the building and reduce them by using optimized structural solutions in a real building scenario. Esteem software is used to create a life cycle carbon assessment of reinforced concrete buildings. The assessment aims to create a 2-D model of two-storey residential buildings with optimized structural design alternatives, calculating embodied energy (EE) and embodied carbon (EC) emissions. Esteem Software's material take-off features were used to calculate EC emissions and EE of building parts. Two models were developed by using concrete grade 35, aluminium for formwork, steel, and clay for the roof, and the other using steel, concrete grade 30, plywood, and metal for the roof. The bill of quantity generated by Esteem software and manual estimation of clay and metal roofs were used in the study. The results showed that building 1 had more EE and EC emissions, while building 2 had less. Building 2 had 73% less total EE and produced 64% less EC than building 1, suggesting that replacing grade concrete, formwork, and roof type can reduce EE and EC emissions.