Optimum design of frame structures from a stock of reclaimed elements
© 2020 SXL and baubüro in situ
New journal publication in Frontiers in Built Environment
New journal publication "Optimum design of frame structures from a stock of reclaimed elements" in the open access journal Frontiers in Built Environment – Special Topic: Structural Design Optimization
Unifying structural and circular design, the paper presents structural optimization methods to design frame structures from a given stock of reclaimed elements. By combining previous work on truss structures with frame optimization, this paper extends the application domain of stock-constrained structural optimization and component reuse significantly.
The case studies discussed in this work show that even though frame structures made from reused elements have a slightly higher mass and a lower element capacity utilization, they embody up to 35% less greenhouse gas with respect to structures made from new elements.
To carry out the case studies, a realistic stock of elements was inventoried from shop drawings of deconstructed buildings in Switzerland. We would like to thank Marc Angst of baubüro in situ who has provided these data.
The paper is the outcome of a research stay of Jan Brütting (SXL) at the Structural Optimization Group led by Prof. Mattias Schevenels at KU Leuven (Belgium). This stay was supported through EPFL’s EDCE PhD Mobility Award 2018.
Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2020.00057