Demountable and reusable construction system for steel-concrete composite structures

peer reviewedIn the face of climate change and the depletion of finite resources, sustainability is becoming increasingly important recently. This is especially true in the construction industry that is responsible for the 11% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Besides the technological improvements, the emissions can be further reduced by the application of the principles of the circular economy. This concept is based on the efficient allocation of resources. Three terms are frequently used when talking about this concept: reduce, reuse and recycle. Reducing is cut-ting back on the amount of waste we produce, reusing is finding a new way to use our products so that they do not be-come waste, and recycling is using the materials of our products to produce new materials. The traditional life-cycle of a building usually follows a linear model from the extraction of the raw materials through material production, component manufacturing, construction and building use, until when finally the building is demolished and most of the materials become debris and go into landfill. This is in direct opposition with the concept of circular economy. With proper considerations at the design stage, it is possible to deconstruct whole buildings and re-erect them elsewhere. In the frame of the RFCS Research Project “REDUCE” of the European Commission, a demountable and reusable construction system for steel-concrete composite structures has been recently developed. The system is based on a modular “kit-of-parts” system that uses prefabricated and standardised elements that are easy to manufacture and to assemble with the help of standardised connections. The elements were designed in a systematic way such that, a wide variety of different configurations are possible. In this system, the geometry of all elements respects the planning grid that is based on a basic module size. The research included the development and structural testing of novel demountable and adjustable structural solutions including beam-to-slab, beam-to-beam and beam-to-column connections. During the development of the structural solutions the following aspects were considered: structural performance, safety, installation and tolerances, demountability, corrosion resistance, aesthetics, economy, adaptability, standardisation and environmental impact. The laboratory testing was supplemented by nonlinear numerical studies using the finite element software ABAQUS. Based on the results and the experiences obtained throughout the research project, a design proposal was prepared. One objective of the project was to find structural solutions that are easily applicable and compatible with the current standard de-sign rules. The proposed beam-to-beam and beam-to-column joint is in the scope of EN1993-1-8. The new shear connections behave differently than the traditionally applied welded studs. The cor-responding standard would not allow the equidistant placement of the connectors nor the application of the partial shear theory. This would make the use of demountable shear connections complicated and uneconomical. In order to overcome this issue, a simple algorithm was developed that transforms the elastic-brittle shear connection behaviour into an equivalent ductile rigid-plastic behaviour so that the Eurocode 4 design rules for the determination of the moment resistance of composite beams with partial shear connection remain applicable. The design proposal also contains recommendations to maximize the reuse potential of the building components. This paper presents a general overview of the developed construction system and the corresponding laboratory tests and numerical studies as well as recommendations for the design and application of de-mountable and reusable composite structures.REDUC