Optimization of structural embodied energy and carbon in reinforced concrete structure

Abstract

In line with awareness campaign to love our environment, efforts in this research is to reduce energy produce for material and greenhouse gases emission to the environment. Nowadays, concrete and steel were used as a common product in a building. Main purpose in this research is to optimize structural embodied energy and carbon in the structure. Every material has its own intensity of embodied energy and carbon, to quantify the energy and carbon; it must be extracted from raw material data. In this research, the original embodied energy and carbon in the structure has to be quantified at the first place and then optimization will takes place. The optimization done by using three substitutions of materials which are hollow core, recycled steel, and 15% fly ashes concrete. The comparison for each material has been made and it shows that by substitution of concrete and steel with these three materials, optimization result has been achieved. It slightly different for 15% fly ashes concrete because it only reduce small amount of concrete and steel compare to the hollow core and recycled steel, so the result optimization for this 15% fly ashes concrete a little bit low. From this studies also shown that building produced high embodied energy and carbon in the upper floor.