PixelFrame: A reconfigurable, precast, post-tensioned concrete structural system for a circular building economy

• Published in: Journal of physics. Conference series 2023-11, Vol.2600 (19), p.192007
• Main Authors: Donovan, I, Schnitzler, J, Lee, KJ, Wongsittikan, P, Liu, Y, Mueller, CT
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Clustering; Concrete; Demand analysis; Physics; Post-tensioned concrete; Post-tensioning; Precast concrete; Reinforced concrete; Statistical analysis; Structural members
• ISSN: 1742-6588; 1742-6596
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/2600/19/192007

The demand to build for a growing urban population conflicts with the need to reduce the AEC (Architecture, Engineering and Construction) sector’s contributions to global CO 2 emissions. Structural systems are a key factor in this challenge, as they contribute substantially to a building’s mass and are typically overdesigned. In this paper, we present PixelFrame, a new precast concrete structural system that is algorithmically designed to use less carbon upfront and be reused across multiple lifecycles. We achieve a high reuse potential for structural elements through building load demand analysis, a segmental externally post-tensioned design, and an integrated optimal assignment strategy. In addition to improving reuse potential, a segmental optimization strategy also yields higher efficiency in comparison to traditional prismatic concrete structural elements. The detailing of concrete mixes is informed by a statistical analysis of anticipated building load demands and a custom clustering asymmetric distance function and clustering algorithm. Compared to previous work in this area, our contribution is original in its bidirectional algorithmic approach; both the target building structure and the circular material inventory are computationally generated to achieve versatility while minimizing emissions.