| 1. |
- Mathern, Alexandre, 1986
(författare)
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Addressing the complexity of sustainability-driven structural design: Computational design, optimization, and decision making
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Being one of the sectors with the largest environmental burden and high socio-economic impacts sets high requirements on the construction industry. At the same time, this provides the sector with great opportunities to contribute to the globally pursued sustainability transition. To cope with the increasing need for infrastructure and, at the same time, limit their sustainability impacts, changes and innovation in the construction sector are required. The greatest possibility to limit the sustainability impact of construction works is at the early design phase of construction projects, as many of the choices influencing sustainability are made at that point. Traditionally, an early choice of a preferred design is often made based on limited knowledge and past experience, considering only a handful of options. This preferred design is then taken on to the successive stages in the stepwise design process, leading to suboptimization. Alternatively, many different design choices could be considered and evaluated in a more holistic approach in order to find the most sustainable design for a particular application. However, finding design solutions that offer the best sustainability performance and fulfil all structural, performance and buildability requirements, require methods that allow considering different design options, analysing them, and assessing their sustainability. The aim of this thesis is to explore and develop methods enabling structural engineers to take sustainability objectives into account in the design of structures. Throughout this thesis, a number of methods have been explored to take sustainability aspects into account in the structural design process. As a first step, highly parameterized computer codes for sustainability-driven design have been developed. These codes interoperate with FE analysis software to automatically model and analyse design concepts over the whole design space and verify compliance with structural design standards. The codes were complemented with a harmonized method for life cycle sustainability performance assessment, in line with the state-of-the-art standards. Here, sustainability criteria were defined covering environmental, social, economic, buildability and structural performance for multi-criteria assessment of design concepts. To identify the most sustainable designs within the set, multi-objective optimization algorithms were used. Algorithms that address the high expense of constraint function evaluations of structural design problems were developed and integrated in the parameterized computer codes for sustainability-driven design. To ensure the applicability and validity of these methods, case studies based on real-world projects and common structural engineering problems were used in this thesis. Case studies for bridges and wind turbine foundations as well as a benchmark case of a reinforced concrete beam were investigated. The case studies highlight the potential of the methods explored to support the design of more sustainable structures, as well as the applicability of the methods in structural engineering practice. It is concluded that it is possible and beneficial to combine computational design, life cycle sustainability assessment, and multi-objective design optimization as a basis for decision making in the design phase of civil engineering projects. A wide adoption of such a sustainability-driven design optimization approach in structural engineering practice can directly improve the sustainability of the construction sector.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Armesto Barros, Jesús, et al.
(författare)
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Recent and future trends of onshore wind turbine foundations
- 2022
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the IABSE Symposium Prague 2022: Challenges for Existing and Oncoming Structures. - 9783857481819
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The decarbonization of the economy and the growing need for electricity are two trends that call for greener energy sources. Wind is a growing renewable energy source, which is expected to become the first source of power in the European Union in the next decade. In particular, onshore wind energy is expected to double by then. Fundamental structural components of wind turbines are their foundations, which are large structures associated with important material consumption and many construction challenges. The dimensions of these foundations are continuously increasing as turbines with taller towers and larger rotor diameters are being built. Designing cost- and material-efficient foundations is crucial to reduce the economic and environmental impact of wind energy. An important factor to successfully address these evolving requirements in the planning and design process is to build on the experience from previous projects. The aim of this work is to investigate the evolution of onshore wind turbines and its consequences on the design and climate impact of gravity foundations by analysing data from Swedish wind farms set in operation between 2013 and 2022. The evolution of turbine size, and foundation dimensions, reinforcement layout, material types and quantities, and embodied carbon are analysed in this paper.
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| 4. |
- Nielsen, Stig Anton, 1981
(författare)
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Propositional architecture and the paradox of prediction
- 2015
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Ingår i: Archidoct Vol. 4. - 2309-0103. ; 4, s. 72-85
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- What if we could predict trends, rising phenomena and future necessity in our build environment? If we could trace behaviors and forecast the needs for the future? If we had a tool for proposing architecture, that was able to point out potentialities and suggest additions, subtractions and modifications.If Architects had a tool to predict future demands, modification of the build environment could meet the changing behaviors and emerging phenomena in society. Research on existing building stock is reviewed in a context where prediction on complex indeterminate environments is possible. And an entirely new type of architectural tool is proposed, an algorithm for prediction.The algorithm, capable of making prediction in unstructured environments, is presented, and basis and idea of the algorithm is described in detail. The discussion focus on possible applications for this new tool, and the paradox of prediction is debated. Finally, improvements to the computational system are proposed.
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| 5. |
- Säwén, Toivo, 1993
(författare)
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Early Stage Architectural Design Practice Perspectives on Life Cycle Building Performance Assessment
- 2023
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Architectural practitioners can avoid negative social and environmental impacts of new construction by making decisions supported by impact quantification during design processes. However, most software tools developed for such quantification see little use in practice, especially in early design stages when decisions have the greatest influence. To identify ways for software developers to overcome this situation, a thorough literature meta-review of previously performed tool reviews was combined with interviews applying a practice lens. The first key finding is that a possible explanation for the low tool uptake in practice could be a missing practice perspective in previous tool development efforts. In a literature meta-review of publications on life cycle building performance tools identifying previously applied perspectives, most previous tool reviews were found to support tool development and selection, while disregarding how tools can be integrated in existing practices and design processes. As a proposed solution, a framework for defining software requirements using a practice perspective was developed. The second key finding is that a practice perspective could be applied during software development by implementing qualitative methodologies. Nine architectural practitioners in Sweden, Norway and France were interviewed using the interview to the double, a projective technique in which the interviewee is asked to describe their next workday in detail so that their tasks can be assumed by an imagined body double. The design activities described by the respondents were sequenced into user narratives which could serve as starting points for participatory software development processes within the architectural practice. The outcomes - a proposed framework for practice-centric software requirements, and a proposed methodology for collecting these requirements using a practice lens - indicate a research direction toward software development efforts which aligns with design process, architectural practice, and tool user needs. In the next stage of the research this direction will be pursued through application of the developed methodologies in participatory development case studies in early-stage architectural design practice.
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| 6. |
- Jalilzadehazhari, Elaheh, 1985-, et al.
(författare)
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Achieving a trade‐off construction solution using BIM, an optimization algorithm, and a multi‐criteria decision‐making method
- 2019
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Ingår i: Buildings. - Basel, Switzerland : MDPI. - 2075-5309. ; 9:4, s. 1-14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Energy Performance of Building Directive obligated all European countries to reduce the energy requirements of buildings while simultaneously improving indoor environment quality. Any such improvements not only enhance the health of the occupants and their productivity, but also provide further economic benefits at the national level. Accomplishing this task requires a method that allows building professionals to resolve conflicts between visual and thermal comfort, energy demands, and life‐cycle costs. To overcome these conflicts, this study exploits the incorporation of building information modelling (BIM), the design of experiments as an optimization algorithm, and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) into a multi‐criteria decision‐ making method. Any such incorporation can (i) create constructive communication between building professionals, such as architects, engineers, and energy experts; (ii) allow the analysis of the performance of multiple construction solutions with respect to visual and thermal comfort, energy demand, and life‐cycle costs; and (iii) help to select a trade‐off solution, thereby making a suitable decision. Three types of energy‐efficient windows, and five types of ground floors, roofs, and external wall constructions were considered as optimization variables. The incorporation of several methods allowed the analysis of the performance of 375 construction solutions based on a combination of optimization variables, and helped to select a trade‐off solution. The results showed the strength of incorporation for analyzing big‐data through the intelligent use of BIM and a simulation in the field of the built environment, energy, and costs. However, when applying AHP, the results are strongly contingent on pairwise comparisons
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| 7. |
- Mathern, Alexandre, 1986, et al.
(författare)
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Sustainability-driven structural design using artificial intelligence
- 2019
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Ingår i: 20th Congress of IABSE, New York City 2019: The Evolving Metropolis - Report. ; , s. 1058-1065
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The construction industry is responsible for a large share of the global environmental impact. The need for addressing sustainability and increased competition calls for the development of innovative design methods that include sustainability in a transparent way. The aim of this work is to propose a framework to use machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) for structural design optimization based on sustainability and buildability criteria. AI opens up new possibilities to optimize and assess structures early in the planning and design stages. In that way, it is possible to decrease the negative and enhance the positive environmental, economic and social impacts and create a more time‐ and cost‐effective design process. The work is meant to serve as a first step toward the development of AI‐based methods in the construction industry, which can bring digitalization in the construction industry to a new level and create new services and business models.
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| 8. |
- Thomas, Jean-Baptiste, et al.
(författare)
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A comparative environmental life cycle assessment of hatchery, cultivation, and preservation of the kelp Saccharina latissima
- 2021
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Ingår i: Ices Journal of Marine Science. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1054-3139 .- 1095-9289. ; 78:1, s. 451-467
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Seaweed cultivation and processing industries could contribute to sustainable blue growth and the European bioeconomy. This article contributes a case study evaluation of environmental sustainability of preserved brown seaweed Saccharina latissima by means of environmental life cycle assessment of a pilot facility in Sweden. The study accounts for nutrient bioremediation and carbon capture and includes two alternative hatchery processes, a 2-ha longline cultivation, and four alternative preservation methods (hang-drying outdoors, heated air-cabinet drying, ensiling, and freezing). The study found that as a result of carbon capture and nitrogen and phosphorus uptake (bioremediation) by seaweed, more CO2 and PO4 equivalents are (temporarily) absorbed than emitted by the supply chain. The extent of emissions is most affected by preservation methods undertaken. Impact profiles of the supply chain show that the greatest impact shares result from freezing and air-cabinet drying, both the two most energy-intensive processes, followed by the cultivation infrastructure, highlighting strategic optimization opportunities. Hatchery processes, harvesting, and the low-energy ensilage and hang-drying outdoors were found to have relatively small impact shares. These findings presage the environmentally friendliness of seaweed-based products by documenting their potential to mitigate eutrophication and climate change, even when taking a life cycle perspective.
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| 9. |
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Method and models used in the project Pathways to Sustainable European Energy Systems
- 2011
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- This book describes the research that has been carried out during the first period (2006-2010) of the Alliance for Global Sustainability (AGS) project "Pathways to Sustainable European Energy Systems". this interdisciplinary project involves more that 40 researchers and addresses various aspects of the challenges faced in transforming the European energy system. Presented in this book are the energy-related methods and models that originate from different scientific disciplines and traditions and that were applied in the Pathways project. Some of the analytical tools are well-known, well-documented, and widely used in academic research. Others have been developed (or refined) during the Pathways project and are therefore unique. The chapters of this book cover around 30 different methods and models used in the Pathways project and presents an overview of the processes through which the research was conducted and the methods and models were co-ordinated.
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| 10. |
- Bjorn, A., et al.
(författare)
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Review of life-cycle based methods for absolute environmental sustainability assessment and their applications
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Research Letters. - : IOP Publishing Ltd. - 1748-9326 .- 1748-9318. ; 15:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In many regions and at the planetary scale, human pressures on the environment exceed levels that natural systems can sustain. These pressures are caused by networks of human activities, which often extend across countries and continents due to global trade. This has led to an increasing requirement for methods that enable absolute environmental sustainability assessment (AESA) of anthropogenic systems and which have a basis in life cycle assessment (LCA). Such methods enable the comparison of environmental impacts of products, companies, nations, etc, with an assigned share of environmental carrying capacity for various impact categories. This study is the first systematic review of LCA-based AESA methods and their applications. After developing a framework for LCA-based AESA methods, we identified 45 relevant studies through an initial survey, database searches and citation analysis. We characterized these studies according to their intended application, impact categories, basis of carrying capacity estimates, spatial differentiation of environmental model and principles for assigning carrying capacity. We then characterized all method applications and synthesized their results. Based on this assessment, we present recommendations to practitioners on the selection and use of existing LCA-based AESA methods, as well as ways to perform assessments and communicate results to decision-makers. Furthermore, we identify future research priorities intended to extend coverage of all components of the proposed method framework, improve modeling and increase the applicability of methods. © 2020 The Author(s).
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