Technical Solutions for Reusable Structures

The building sector is actively researching and reviewing technical solutions for deconstruction, driven by the increasing importance of sustainability requirements, as outlined in the EU Commission's 'Green Deal,' which aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Two key research areas in efficient structural design strategies are developed in the SCS Group. These are the structural performance of steel-based hybrid structures, which combine mechanical properties and architectural appearance of different materials, and the techniques and mechanical properties of demountable connections between structural components that enable deconstruction and reuse. This evaluation is performed through experimental and numerical research in different scales (material, connector, and structural). Key research projects are presented below.

Structural Performance of Demountable Hybrid Floor Systems Under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading

TU Delft investigators: Dr. Florentia Kavoura, Prof. Milan Veljkovic, Yufei Zhang, MSc (PhD Candidate)

Relevant publication: Kavoura F., Zhang Y., Veljkovic M., (2023), "Structural Performance of Demountable Hybrid Floor Systems Under Monotonic and Cyclic Loading", Eurosteel Conference 2023, Amsterdam, doi.org/10.1002/cepa.2755

We perform comparative studies between the traditional floor system with welded stud connections and demountable floor system with demountable connectors. In the following example, numerical results using embedded coupler demountable connectors on steel beams with concrete floor systems showed that the serviceability loading capacity of the demountable floor system is 8% lower, and the difference in ultimate resistance is further enlarged. Reusing a demountable floor system, analysed in the case study, had little effect on the ultimate resistance, but it is difficult to exclude local plastic deformation after the first life cycles.

Figure: Numerical models of floor systems with composite slabs connected with welded shear studs or demountable connectors on a steel beam (image taken from aforementioned paper).