A Comparative Assessment of Advanced Construction Systems Incorporating Green Concrete
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 148, Issue 9
Abstract
Recent increases in sustainability requirements demand expeditious delivery of construction projects coupled with cost-effective and sustainable systems. In recent years, green lightweight plastic aggregate concrete (LWPAC) has been developed as a sustainable material for construction, highlighting financial, time, and quality attributes rather than material properties. However, most studies in this area are directed toward material properties or lifecycle costs in traditional use. Using lifecycle cost analysis, this research comprehensively examines incorporating LWPAC in different building systems to identify the optimal construction system in terms of cost, time, and quality (LCCA). The analyzed building systems extend to include traditional construction method (TM), insulated concrete forms (ICF), tunnel forms (TF), and insulated precast systems (IPS) using green LWPAC. To this end, we conducted a building case study with multiple scenarios related to the selected construction systems. For each scenario, assessments were conducted on the following aspects: (1) structural design of building elements; (2) construction cost and time assessment; (3) LCCA and sensitivity; and (4) quality. Results revealed that LWPAC using TM saves around 10% and 19% in concrete volume and steel quantities, respectively, compared with conventional concrete. The cost estimation results showed that TM using LWPAC is 2.6% higher than conventional concrete, although the LCC was almost the same value, amounting to . Simultaneously, IPSs maintain the highest savings, at 22%, compared with TM using conventional concrete, with an LCC equal to . Regarding completion time, there were decreases by 34%, 44%, and 52% for the ICF, TF, and the IPSs, respectively, compared with TM using conventional concrete. IPSs’ quality management systems showed the highest mean value of 51.8, followed by ICF, TF, and TM, of 49.9, 49.7, and 48.4, respectively. The findings of this research shed light on the benefits of using LWPAC as an alternative to conventional concrete in different structural systems, which plays a significant role in the overall sustainability of concrete structures.
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Data Availability Statement
All data generated or analyzed during the study are included in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors extend their appreciation to the Research Supporting Project No. (RSP-2021/264), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for funding this work.
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Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 148 • Issue 9 • September 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Dec 4, 2021
Accepted: Apr 12, 2022
Published online: Jun 27, 2022
Published in print: Sep 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Nov 27, 2022
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