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Albert de la Fuente
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1
Sustainability model for precast concrete buildings. Case study
Commercial building in Reggio Calabria (Italy)
Journal article
(2025)
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Irene Josa, Andrea Monserrat-López, Simona Bianchi, Jonathan Ciurlanti, Simone D'Amore, Stefano Pampanin, Albert de la Fuente
The construction industry, a major economic driver, is also a significant environmental polluter. Prefabrication emerges as a sustainable alternative due to its reduced resource consumption, waste generation, and energy use. This study proposes a MIVES-based model to assess the sustainability of precast concrete buildings compared to traditional concrete, considering environmental, economic, and social factors. A five-story commercial building in Reggio Calabria, Italy, was used as a case study. Two construction methods were compared: traditional cast-in-place reinforced concrete and a low-damage precast concrete alternative. Criteria and indicators were defined for each sustainability pillar, weighting them based on importance. Value functions converted indicator values into comparable scores. By combining these scores, a final sustainability index was calculated for each building. Precast concrete showed potential benefits in construction time, reduced emissions, and less construction disturbance. A sensitivity analysis confirmed the results. While this study highlights the potential advantages of precast construction over traditional methods, it is crucial to acknowledge the context-specific nature of the findings. The model's applicability is limited by factors such as building materials, structural conditions, and regional regulations. However, its adaptable framework can be tailored to evaluate diverse construction methods in different settings. By carefully adjusting parameters and functions, the model can offer valuable insights into the relative sustainability of various construction approaches.
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The construction industry, a major economic driver, is also a significant environmental polluter. Prefabrication emerges as a sustainable alternative due to its reduced resource consumption, waste generation, and energy use. This study proposes a MIVES-based model to assess the sustainability of precast concrete buildings compared to traditional concrete, considering environmental, economic, and social factors. A five-story commercial building in Reggio Calabria, Italy, was used as a case study. Two construction methods were compared: traditional cast-in-place reinforced concrete and a low-damage precast concrete alternative. Criteria and indicators were defined for each sustainability pillar, weighting them based on importance. Value functions converted indicator values into comparable scores. By combining these scores, a final sustainability index was calculated for each building. Precast concrete showed potential benefits in construction time, reduced emissions, and less construction disturbance. A sensitivity analysis confirmed the results. While this study highlights the potential advantages of precast construction over traditional methods, it is crucial to acknowledge the context-specific nature of the findings. The model's applicability is limited by factors such as building materials, structural conditions, and regional regulations. However, its adaptable framework can be tailored to evaluate diverse construction methods in different settings. By carefully adjusting parameters and functions, the model can offer valuable insights into the relative sustainability of various construction approaches.
Conference paper
(2025)
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Guanzhi Liu, Maria Koetsier, Nikola Tošić, Wim Ekkelenkamp, Marija Nedeljković, Mladena Luković, Albert de la Fuente
This study aims to investigate the effect of incorporating different quantities of steel fibres recovered during concrete recycling on the mechanical properties of new steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC). Mixes contained 20 kg/m³ and 25 kg/m³ of steel fibres, with recovered steel fibres at replacement levels of 0%, 10%, 30%, and 100%. The recovered fibres were tested and categorized to determine the effect of recycling on fibre properties. The compressive strength, elastic modulus, stress–strain behaviour in compression, residual flexural strength of SFRC and inductive test were tested. The results demonstrate that incorporating a small proportion of recycled fibre alongside virgin fibre is a feasible approach, with a 10% recycled fibre replacement yielding superior performance compared to using 100% virgin fibre alone.
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This study aims to investigate the effect of incorporating different quantities of steel fibres recovered during concrete recycling on the mechanical properties of new steel fibre reinforced concrete (SFRC). Mixes contained 20 kg/m³ and 25 kg/m³ of steel fibres, with recovered steel fibres at replacement levels of 0%, 10%, 30%, and 100%. The recovered fibres were tested and categorized to determine the effect of recycling on fibre properties. The compressive strength, elastic modulus, stress–strain behaviour in compression, residual flexural strength of SFRC and inductive test were tested. The results demonstrate that incorporating a small proportion of recycled fibre alongside virgin fibre is a feasible approach, with a 10% recycled fibre replacement yielding superior performance compared to using 100% virgin fibre alone.