The sustainable potential of concrete floor system optimization
The construction sector has to significantly decrease its environmental impact to meet the Paris agreement and do so under the premise of increasing productivity and affordability.
Concrete is the main contributor to this environmental impact and concrete floors account for a significant part of this demand. Therefore, even marginal improvements in the design of concrete floors could have a significant impact on the emissions of the construction sector.
The current project compares how flooring systems can be designed and produced to minimize the environmental impact. To answer this question, traditional flooring systems will be analyzed using different structural analysis methods and compared to the sustainable impact of high-tech optimized structures. Given that the manufacturability of such fully optimized structures is complex, the research will evaluate intermediate solutions that can be manufactured by Digital Fabrication with Concrete (DFC) methods, such as 3D concrete printing (3DCP). Optionally, the manufacturing process could be validated using the 3D concrete printing facility and the produced object could be experimentally tested in the Structures Laboratory.
Themes
This project will include one or multiple of the following themes, to be defined in consultation with the student and finalized in your graduation plan:
- Digital design tools
- Sustainable structural concrete design
- Digital fabrication with concrete
- Experimental validation
- Numerical analysis
Supervision
Supervision takes place on a bi-weekly basis in an MSc graduation studio setting (2-3 students), combining topics focused on Digital Fabrication (with Concrete).