Generative design for more economical and environmentally sustainable reinforced concrete structures. (10th February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Alsakka, Fatima; Haddad, Angela; Ezzedine, Farah; Salami, Ghadeer; Dabaghi, Mayssa; Hamzeh, Farook
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 387(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02-10
• Subjects: Generative design -- Artificial intelligence -- Sustainability -- Optimized structural designs; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135829
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: With billion tons of carbon dioxide emitted by the construction and manufacturing sector every year, there is an urgent need for reducing construction materials consumption as the construction industry continues to grow. Current practices for designing structural elements, which are based on traditional design methods, result in building box-shaped elements and consuming more materials than what is structurally necessary. Excess materials can be removed without compromising the structural soundness of the elements while also providing added architectural value. This paper presents an approach based on generative design concepts, genetic algorithms, and the Lagrangian Multiplier Method to design concrete beams that use near-exact amounts of material only where they are needed. In this study, beam designs are optimized to reduce concrete and steel use in reinforced concrete beams. The effectiveness of the approach was demonstrated through its deployment to design a cantilever beam and a simply supported beam. The results of both applications were very promising as the reductions in material costs reached 63% and the related reductions in CO2 emissions reached 57% per beam. This lays strong foundations for expanding the effort to scale this approach into entire buildings. The optimized structures can be constructed using 3D concrete printing technology, which eliminates the barriers imposed by traditional form-based construction. The results of this study contribute to means for making construction more economical and environmentally sustainable. Highlights: Traditional design methods of structural concrete elements result in material waste. Cement production significantly contributes to the earth's greenhouse emissions. Applying generative design concepts to concrete structures reduces material waste. Resulting cost reductions could reach 63% per simply supported or cantilever beam. The corresponding CO2 emission reductions could reach 57% per beam.