Suitability of Foamed Concrete for the Composite Floor System in Mid-to-High-Rise Modular Buildings: Design, Structural, and Sustainability Perspectives

Alvin Rahardjo; Satheeskumar Navaratnam; Guomin Zhang; Quddus Tushar; Kate Nguyen

doi:10.3390/su16041624

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Suitability of Foamed Concrete for the Composite Floor System in Mid-to-High-Rise Modular Buildings: Design, Structural, and Sustainability Perspectives

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Suitability of Foamed Concrete for the Composite Floor System in Mid-to-High-Rise Modular Buildings: Design, Structural, and Sustainability Perspectives

Alvin Rahardjo, Satheeskumar Navaratnam, Guomin Zhang, Quddus Tushar and Kate Nguyen

Sustainability, Vol.16(4), 1624

16/02/2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041624

Appears in Recent Faculty of Science and Engineering Publications

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Abstract

foamed concrete

life cycle assessment

steel-concrete composite floor

sustainable construction material

timber-concrete composite floor

This study investigates the application of lightweight foamed concrete (FC) in modular building floor systems to address challenges in lifting and transportation within modular construction. Initially, a literature review identifies FC's characteristics and optimum mix design, considering its sustainability and strength. The comprehensive review highlights that FC can be a lightweight alternative to replace traditional concrete in floor structures. Further, this study conducted the life cycle assessment and indicates that FC with coarse fly ash substitution is the optimum mix, which releases less greenhouse gas emission (i.e., 740.89 kg CO2-eq/1 m3) than other mixes. Subsequently, the study conducted design verification and parametric study of composite floor systems (i.e., cold-formed steel-FC, timber-FC, and steel deck-FC). The results show similar flexural and shear performance compared to normal-weight concrete despite its lower density (1600 kg/m3) compared to normal-weight concrete (2400 kg/m3). Further, the reduction of modulus of elasticity (43% of normal-weight concrete's value) in FC increases deflection by 22-46% and 11-15% for steel-FC and timber-FC floor systems, respectively. Overall, the outcome shows that FC can be an efficient alternative for mid-to-high-rise modular building floor construction. Its lightweight nature can reduce the module's weight, making modular construction more cost-effective.

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Title: Suitability of Foamed Concrete for the Composite Floor System in Mid-to-High-Rise Modular Buildings: Design, Structural, and Sustainability Perspectives
Creators: Alvin Rahardjo - RMIT University
Satheeskumar Navaratnam - RMIT University
Guomin Zhang - RMIT University
Quddus Tushar - RMIT University
Kate Nguyen - RMIT University
Publication Details: Sustainability, Vol.16(4), 1624
Publisher: Mdpi
Number of pages: 28
Identifiers: 991013186713102368
Copyright: © 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article

Suitability of Foamed Concrete for the Composite Floor System in Mid-to-High-Rise Modular Buildings: Design, Structural, and Sustainability Perspectives

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