Relationships between building structural parameters and embodied carbon Part 1: Early-stage design decisions

The purpose of the placement was to assess the relationship between embodied carbon and the various structural requirements of a building design brief. The placement analysed both theoretical and real buildings to produce guidance that clarifies these relationships. The main focus of this placement was to find relationship between structural depth ver. spans, live loads and initial carbon intensity for different structural solutions (floor solutions). This report can be used as a design guidance to communicate relationships and inform future decisions as well as by designers to make informed design decisions and communicate the implications of the brief to clients

Influence on Type of Cement on the SCC Formwork Pressure during and after Casting

Formworks for SCC are usually designed under the assumption of full hydrostatic pressure. Nevertheless, current research is attempting to explain the mechanism of this phenomenon as observed pressure usually is at the lower lever than expected. This causes formworks for SCC are usually overdesigned. It was noticed the rheological properties of fresh concrete might be a key to predict the SCC formwork pressure. Therefore, knowing the influence of fresh concrete properties on formwork pressure will enable to design formworks more efficiently. This paper presents the influence of type of cement on formwork pressure caused by SCC. Mixes were design under the assumption of equal dispersion ratio. Three types of cement were investigated: portland, blast furnace and composite cement with a different w/c ratio (0.30, 0.40) and in presence of carboxyl ethers superplasticizer. Formwork pressure was determined on the element imitating a column with dimensions of 0.20x0.20m and a height of 1.20 m with casting speed of 7 m/h. Results show the formwork pressure was registered at the lower than hydrostatic level. Rheological properties had an influence on formwork pressure. It was noticed the different cement types had an influence on rheological properties. Lateral pressure reduction over time was observed with the intensity depending on the cement.This paper was elaborated with the financial support of the Project No. 842/B/T02/2011/40 "The influence of time and technological factors on rheological properties of self-compacting concrete in terms of the pressure on the formwork" financed by the from the National Science Centre in Cracow, Poland, project “Innovative cementitious materials and concretes made with high – calcium fly ashes” co-financed by the EU from the European Regional Development Fund and the project "DoktoRIS - Scholarship program for innovative Silesia" co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund. Research has been done in collaboration with HARSCO Infrastructure Poland HUNNEBECK Poland). This work was developed while Michał Drewniok was at Silesian University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Poland

Designing the composition of concrete mixtures based on properties of mortar

The paper presents proposed methods for designing the composition of mortars, which can be useful when designing concrete. To design a mortar, with properties which will correspond to the concrete, it is necessary to de ne the appropriate correction of the mortar composition. Research is the next step in proposing a method to determine the composition of the mortar, which in a possitive way will describe the properties of concrete, in particular self-compacting concrete.The research was nanced by the project No. 0842/B/T02/2011/40 from the National Science Centre and the project “DoktoRIS – Scholarship program for innovative Silesia” co- nanced by the European Union under the European Social Fund

THE ‘P’ WORD – Plastic in the UK: practical and pervasive … but problematic

Plastics are ubiquitous in modern society, owing to their usefulness, durability and how cheap and easy they are to produce. This makes plastics both a blessing and a curse. We manufacture a myriad of plastic materials, used in countless consumer products, which are highly valued by society. Everything from milk bottles to window frames, from sunglasses to face masks, contains plastic. Plastics are pervasive due to their practicality and profitability. And yet, plastics have a problem. The making, use and disposal of plastics creates challenging pollution issues. Significant CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions are released across the life-cycle of plastic products and poor disposal means plastic makes its way into our waterways and oceans, creating serious environmental impacts. Fixing this problem is not simple. Even finding good data, on the production, use, disposal and recycling of plastics is challenging. This report tackles this data problem by mapping plastic flows through UK society, collating data from disparate sources on the production, use, disposal and recovery of plastics. With the resulting map of UK plastic flows, we can understand the latest trends in plastics use and identify opportunities for reducing the impacts of plastics in the future. We found that the way we have been disposing of plastics plays a critical role in two serious environmental impacts: greenhouse gas emissions and plastic ocean pollution. These problems arise because plastics are not circular in the UK. Less than 3% of plastics consumed are made of UK recycled plastics, and the vast majority of waste ends up being incinerated, landfilled or exported. Without any action this problem will get worse, as we will generate more plastic waste in coming decades from all the products made of plastic that we have been accumulating. Recycling more plastics in the UK could reduce incineration emissions, avoid mismanagement of exported waste and replace the need for the production of new plastics. However, current UK recycling capacity is only 12% of waste collected, and this is hampering the benefits recycling could provide. There are several other actions we should take, such as reducing excessive use of plastic packaging, and reducing the range of polymers used in various products to improve recycling yields. These should be combined with improved practices in the petrochemical industry, and enhanced reuse and recycling of plastics to achieve a meaningful reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.Research in this report is funded by UKRI as part of CirPlas: The Cambridge Creative Circular Plastics Centre

The Lightest Beam Method - a methodology to find ultimate steel savings and reduce embodied carbon in steel framed buildings.

Building carbon intensity is related to material choice, but more importantly, material volume. The building structural frame itself is responsible for 20-30% of whole-life carbon over 50 years. This figure will double once we build net-zero operational carbon buildings. Carbon savings in the use of materials are therefore the key to reducing the environmental impact of buildings. Recent studies have shown that up to 40% of material in building structural frames could be successfully removed without a ffecting design code compliance. This unnecessary overdesign of buildings is in part due to a lack of structural optimisation, and acceptance by designers of conservative serviceability assumptions that represent the “low hanging fruit” of reducing embodied carbon in buildings. This paper examines steel frames buildings to determine the carbon savings that can be achieved for cross-section optimisation, as this is the most accessible form of optimisation, without changing the floor system and beam layout. For this purpose the Lightest Beam Method (LBM) was developed that studied non-composite universal beams (UB) members in buildings. Choosing the lightest section with the Eurocodes we can achieve 26.5% of steel savings by mass, with a half of beams governed by serviceability limit states (SLS). If deflection is calculated using variable loads, the proportion of beams governed by the SLS drops to 31.1% giving additional 2.2% mass savings. The highest steel savings of 34.5% can be achieved for lower natural frequency assumptions (3 Hz) and using the average rather than the characteristic steel yield strength. In this case the proportion of beams by mass governed by SLS drops to 19.7%. Based on available case studies it was found that 1/3 of steel in the frames could have been saved which represents 36% of initial embodied carbon or 5% of whole-life carbon for the building over 60 years.This paper is part of the project “Minimising Energy in Construction (MEICON)” funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under grant EP/P033679/2

Can Material Passports lower financial barriers for structural steel re-use?

The building and construction sector is responsible for more than half of global steel consumption. Recycling is common practice. Yet, this is an energy intensive process, even when using the best currently available technology. A strategy that avoids energy use for remelting and significantly reduces negative environmental impacts is re-use. Steel element re-use is technically feasible and economically attractive in certain cases. However, re-use rates in the UK remain low. Cost and timing are identified to be among the main barriers for re-use across the structural steel value chain. Re-used steel is estimated to be about 8-10% more expensive than new steel, taking into account all required reconditioning processes. This study investigates how data/information services like BAMB Material Passports can facilitate structural steel re-use in the UK by lowering financial barriers. It shows that relevant data has the potential of reducing costs in sourcing, testing, reconditioning and fabrication, ranging from 150-1000 £/t, depending on the re-use path followed (remanufacture or direct re-use of elements/structures). Key stakeholder groups are stockists and fabricators, which will be both the suppliers and customers of the data. It should be noted that data alone is not sufficient to overcome all barriers. Next to shortening or vertical integration of the supply chain, value redistribution across the chain can align incentives of different stakeholders. Regulations and perceptions (on quality) also play a key role. Finally, reversible design/design for dismantling can be a game changer in the transition towards more structural steel re-use, since it can significantly reduce deconstruction costs

Zum Selbstverständnis der Tänzerin in der Tanzgeschichte

Zusammenfassung Der Tanz ist zu jeder Zeit ein Spiegelbild der jeweiligen Gesellschaft. Ebenso spiegelt die Rolle der Frau im Tanz zu jeder Zeit ihre Rolle innerhalb der Gesellschaft wider. In der Geschichte des Tanzes ist die Tänzerin immer weiter in den Vordergrund und schließlich in den Mittelpunkt gerückt und auch heute noch ist der Tanz eine Domäne der Frau. Die historischen und psychologischen Ursachen dafür zu finden, warum trotz aller Schwierigkeiten und Entbehrungen, die der Tänzerberuf mit sich bringt, gerade Frauen ihr Leben dem Tanz verschreiben, ist ein Anliegen dieser Arbeit. Zum anderen soll das Wissen darum genutzt werden, um zu verstehen, warum auch heute noch verstärkt Frauen im Beruf der Bühnentänzerin zu finden sind und inwieweit ihnen der Tanz helfen kann, die historisch bedingten Probleme einer Subjektwerdung zu kompensieren. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit werden dazu die Biographien berühmter Tänzerinnen in den unterschiedlichen Epochen der Tanzgeschichte betrachtet. Es geht dabei darum, zu untersuchen, wie sich die Tänzerinnen als Person und ihre Rolle als Tänzerin verstanden haben. Dabei zeigt sich, dass die Lebensführung der Tänzerinnen, egal welche Art zu tanzen sie favorisiert haben, erstaunliche Parallelen aufweisen. Die Ausschließlichkeit mit der die Frauen sich dem Tanz widmeten, bot für die Tänzerinnen in tragisch-faszinierender Weise zugleich die Möglichkeit der Selbstverwirklichung und der Flucht. Die Konfliktbewältigung durch Rückzug auf den eigenen Körper aber verhinderte eine wirkliche Selbstentfaltung und psychosoziale Entwicklung. Im Mittelpunkt des zweiten Teils stehen die Problematik der Subjektwerdung von Frauen und die Chancen, die der Tanz im Subjektwerdungsprozess bietet. Der Tanz als Körperkunst stellt in diesem Zusammenhang für Frauen eine aussichtsreiche Quelle dar, um ihnen Möglichkeiten einer Selbstbegegnung sowie neue Entfaltungsräume zu eröffnen. Gerade aber im Bühnentanz wird der Tanz für viele Frauen zu einem Zufluchtsort, um eigentlichen Konflikten und sozialen Auseinandersetzungen auszuweichen. So bleibt der professionelle Tanz sowohl bedingt durch seine Strukturen als auch durch den Umgang der Tänzerinnen mit ihm in seiner therapeutischen Wirkung weitgehend eingeschränkt und macht eine Entfaltung der eigenen Persönlichkeit beinahe unmöglich. Jenseits des professionellen Tanzbetriebes bietet der Tanz in der kreativen schöpferischen Auseinandersetzung Möglichkeiten sich und andere tiefer kennen zu lernen und sich neue Formen des Selbstseins zu erschließen. Durch die bewusste oder unbewusste Nutzung seiner therapeutischen Potentiale können die Frauen im Tanz in Kontakt zum eigenen Innenleben treten und sich mit sich selbst auseinandersetzen. Abstract Dance has always been a mirror of society. Likewise, the woman’s role in dance has always reflected her role in society. In the history of dance the female dancer has finally been in the focus of interest and even today dance is the woman’s domain. This work deals with historical and psychological reasons why especially women feel this extraordinary passion for dance despite all these difficulties and sacrifices. Furthermore this work focusses on the question why especially women work as professional dancers and shows to what extent dance can help them to compensate the historical problems of finding their own identity. The first part of the dissertation presents the lives of famous female dancers in different epochs of dance. It examines how the female dancers see themselves as human beings as well as their role as dancers. In doing so, it becomes obvious that there are parallels between their ways of life. The exclusiveness with which women dedicated their lives to dance gave them the chance of self-realization as well as escape from reality. Nevertheless, a real development of their identity was not possible. The second part of the work focusses on the chances as well as on the problems of this development. As dance is deeply linked with the woman’s body it offers them opportunities to develop themselves. But especially in professional dancing women experience dance as a possibility of escaping from individual problems and social conflicts. Because of its structure and the women’s dealing with it, the professional dance is limited in its therapeutic effect an makes it difficult for female dancers to find their own identity. Apart from professional dancing, dance in its creative shape gives women the chance of getting to know themselves and others. Because of the conscious or unconscious use of its therapeutic possibilities female dancers can experience their own body and mind

Modelling the embodied carbon cost of UK domestic building construction: Today to 2050

The construction of new domestic properties contributes 2% of UK territorial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The UK government aims to increase construction of new homes in England by almost a third, to 300,000 per year by the mid-2020s, whilst simultaneously reducing emissions in line with its net zero 2050 commitment. In this paper, for the first time, the upfront embodied carbon cost of constructing domestic properties in the UK by 2050 is quantified. A bottom-up analysis modelling seven domestic building typologies was used, with the material use for each based on current UK practice. Possible interventions to reduce the embodied carbon cost are then analysed. The results show that maintaining today's levels of construction will use the remaining 2050 carbon budget apportioned to house building (160 MtCO 2e) by 2036, and cause a substantial increase in domestic floor area per capita. However, construction could reduce and cease entirely by 2035 without reducing today's living floor area per capita (37.5 m 2), resulting in a substantially reduced cumulative embodied carbon of 88 MtCO 2e by 2050. Increasing living floor area per capita to the EU average of 40.5 m 2, can be achieved within the carbon budget and with zero emissions by 2050. In contrast, increasing house building to government targets will result in double the cumulative emissions than the budget allows. A number of carbon reduction interventions were then investigated. It was found that of to 75% embodied carbon savings can be achieved by simultaneously changing the typology share, increasing material efficiency, increasing conversion from non-residential buildings and increasing the use of timber for structural purposes.</p

A marginal abatement cost curve for material efficiency accounting for uncertainty

Comparing costs of measures to mitigate greenhouse gas is challenging as there are many competing notions of costs, and uncertainties associated with cost estimates. In addition, there are many different types of mitigation measures, from supply-side investment solutions to demand-side efficiency improvements, which may interact, risking double-counting of abatement potentials. This paper presents a novel, transparent methodology for building a marginal abatement cost curve that allows abatement costs and potentials to be compared. This curve improves over existing methods as it allows for abatement measures to be pursued in parallel, takes into account the interplay between abatement measures and captures data on cost uncertainty. The method is applied to build the first bottom-up marginal abatement cost curve for greater material efficiency steel use in the UK. This curve is demonstrated via four material efficiency measures which do not require large changes in final uses of products: reusing steel beams in construction, specifying optimal lightweight beams in construction, choosing smaller cars and specifying high strength steel car bodies. The results show that these strategies could reduce UK steel demand and associated global emissions by approximately 12%. 17% of this potential would be viable at the Department for Business, Energy \& Industrial Strategy (BEIS) 2030 carbon price for policy appraisal (79£/tCO2) taking into account emissions savings associated with steel demand only. Once use-phase emissions savings are taken into account this share increases to 60%. These results can be traced directly back to underlying assumptions regarding costs and emissions allocations