Climate limit state (CLS) for building structures: A possible companion of ULS, SLS and durability limit states

Research output: Contribution to book/Conference proceedings/Anthology/ReportConference contributionContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

The production of building materials and here especially of concrete and its constituent cement is afflicted with substantial CO2 emissions, currently amounting to more than 8% of the world’s total anthropogenic CO2 footprint. Following the world’s climate goals agreed upon in the UNs climate conferences, a pronounced reduction in emissions from cement and concrete production is mandatory. Substantial progress in developing emissions-reduced concretes have been reported in the literature. However, these solutions are only hesitantly being used in practical applications. This on the one hand has to do with the unknown risks going along with new concrete mixtures such as a reduced robustness. On the other hand – and more importantly – incentives and requirements to use new solutions are lacking. This is especially true when looking into the design process of concrete structures, where ecological requirements currently only play a minor role or are completely neglected. To counteract this negligence, within this paper a new limit state termed ‘Climate Limit State (CLS)’ is proposed, in order to amend the currently established limit state considerations Ultimate Limit State (ULS), Serviceability Limit State (SLS) and Durability Limit State. The CLS considers the CO2-emissions resulting from the production of a defined concrete member and references them to the potential service life of the structure. The limit state is introduced by comparing this result to a reference state and additionally introducing mankind’s CO2-budget to limit the global warming. With the proposed CLS, risk for the structure as well as the users resulting from climate change can be considered.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings for the 6th fib International Congress, 2022- Concrete Innovation for Sustainability
EditorsStine Stokkeland, Henny Cathrine Braarud
Place of PublicationLausanne
Publisherfib. The International Federation for Structural Concrete
Pages143-152
Number of pages10
ISBN (electronic)9782940643158
Publication statusPublished - 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

Publication series

Seriesfib PhD Symposium 2022
Number59
ISSN2617-4820

Conference

Title6th fib International Congress
SubtitleConcrete Innovation for Sustainability
Abbreviated titlefib 2022
Conference number6
Duration12 - 16 June 2022
Degree of recognitionInternational event
LocationClarion Hotel The Hub
CityOslo
CountryNorway

External IDs

Scopus 85143899046
ORCID /0000-0003-3139-6178/work/142253141
ORCID /0000-0002-1596-7164/work/142255643

Keywords

Keywords

  • Climate Limit State, CO2 Budget, Concrete, sustainability, CO Budget, Sustainability