Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Published Papers

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 26375

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Soo-Yeon Seo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Architectural Engineering, Korea National University of Transportation, Chungju, 27469, Korea
Interests: reinforced concrete; hybrid structure; precast concrete structure; seismic design and evaluation of buildings; structural remodeling of buildings; FRP reinforcement of concrete structure; structural monitoring of buildings; sustainable retrofit of building structure

Prof. Chang-Sik Choi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Architectural Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, Korea
Interests: design and behavior of reinforced concrete structures; composite and hybrid structures; steel anchorage to concrete; structural remodeling of buildings; sustainable rehabilitation of buildings

Prof. Hyun-do Yun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Architectural Engineering, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 34134, Korea
Interests: reinforced concrete; hybrid structure; seismic design and evaluation of buildings; structural remodeling of buildings; high-performance concrete structures; structural monitoring of buildings; sustainable retrofit of building structures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following its construction, a new building ages as the number of years of its use increase. This aging phenomenon depends on how the building is maintained against the surrounding environment. Typically, a building’s life can be defined in two ways. The first can be regarded as the case where the structural function is lost, and the second is the case when the function in use is exhausted. The former is a case where serious damage to a building is caused by a disaster such as an earthquake, a fire, or a typhoon, or artificial damage is caused that results in the building being no longer usable. In the latter case, the degree of structural damage to the building is not serious, but the building is dismantled due to redevelopment or reconstruction. Since modern times, redevelopment and reconstruction have been carried out in various forms in various countries, and many concrete buildings have been constructed. Recently, however, studies have been conducted to maximize the service life by increasing the structural capacity of the building to prevent the waste of resources and to consider environmental aspects such as CO₂ reduction. In order to increase the lifespan of such a building, it is very important to basically improve the structural performance or increase the durability of materials that constitute the building. In addition, when the life of the building increases, the usage of the building often changes and, accordingly, partial structural changes are to be made through remodeling. In this aspect, research is needed to improve the structural sustainability of buildings. The purpose of this Special Issue is to present a collection of technologies, such as remodeling and reinforcement technologies, used to increase the structural life of existing buildings and to contribute to increasing the structural sustainability of buildings. The contents of this Special Issue are as follows:

Sustainable design of building structure for remodeling
Structural analysis and performance evaluation of building structure with improved sustainability
Sustainable retrofit of building structure
Improvement of seismic capacity of building
Sustainable prestress/precast concrete structure
High-performance concrete for sustainable building construction
Structural monitoring for sustainable building

Original papers related to the above topics and also dealing generally with methodologies, numerical and experimental investigations, and case studies addressing the structural stainability of buildings are welcome.

Thank you for your contributions.

Prof. Soo-Yeon Seo
Prof. Chang-Sik Choi
Prof. Hyun-do Yun
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (10 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

20 pages, 4119 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Constructability Analyses of Vertical Extension Methods for Existing Underground Spaces

by Soo-Yeon Seo, Byunghee Lee and Jongsung Won

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3647; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073647 - 25 Mar 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1926

Abstract

Remodeling underground structures requires careful construction planning, including consideration of costs and scheduling. Therefore, this study aims to analyze and compare the effects of four methods for vertically extending the underground spaces of an existing building under scheduling and cost constraints. The study considers the following extension methods: (1) bottom-up method, (2) normal top-down method after demolition, (3) normal top-down method in parallel with demolition, and (4) top-down method using double beams in parallel with demolition. Twelve illustrative examples are presented to investigate the constructability of these methods in terms of construction scheduling and costs. The construction durations and costs of each example is calculated and compared. We also analyze the structural stability of the examples using MIDAS Gen 2017. We conclude that the top-down method using double beams is the most efficient method in terms of costs and scheduling. The results and analysis process can help practitioners to select appropriate methods to expand underground spaces without demolishing entire existing buildings and efficiently manage costs and schedules. In future studies, these extension methods should be applied to real-world projects in various countries to validate and verify their actual effects on construction costs and scheduling. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 98525 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Structural Performance and Reinforcement Improvement of Structural Walls Using Strain-Hardening Cementitious Composites

by Hyeong-Ki Kim, Chang-Geun Cho, Sun-Ju Lee, Young Hak Lee and Taehoon Kim

Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3607; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073607 - 24 Mar 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1774

Abstract

Reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls are effective in improving lateral stiffness and load-carrying capacity under earthquake and wind loads. According to the level of seismic design, however, the spacing of reinforcing steel bars should be very narrow and complicated, with tight spacing of tied bars, as is the case with seismically special RC shear wall design. The purpose of this study was to investigate the applicability of strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCCs) in structural walls in order to improve structural performance as well as the complications with reinforcement details. The SHCC was mixed, and mechanical tests showed that the SHCC exhibited high ductile tensile strains above 2.0%, while sustaining the tensile stress after cracks and developing multiple microcracks, avoiding crack localizations. Six specimens of RC and reinforced SHCC structural walls were designed and manufactured with varying reinforcement details, and experiments on wall specimens were carried out under transverse wall-loading tests. These experiments demonstrated that the use of SHCC in structural walls, despite minimum use of reinforcement ratios, showed improved responses to minimize damage and failure caused by localized cracks under bending and shear to compared with the use of normal reinforcement ratios in RC walls. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 5009 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seismic Performance of Existing RC Structural Walls Retrofitted in Flexure by Wall End Plate

by Su-Yong Kim, Uijin Cho, Joo-Hong Chung, Baek-Il Bae and Chang-Sik Choi

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 509; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13020509 - 7 Jan 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2477

Abstract

A study was conducted for the flexural retrofit of an old apartment house composed of a reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall structure. For the shear wall, a vertical retrofit was performed to both ends of the wall targeting the slender wall to improve the flexural performance. The retrofit materials were steel plate, epoxy, and non-shrink grout, and they were connected to the existing shear wall using post-installed chemical anchors. The concrete at the wall ends was broken and retrofitted as much as necessary to maintain the shear wall’s length. The points to be noted are the fracture of the welded part of the flexural retrofit and the chemical anchor’s pulling. After the real scale specimen was fabricated by simulating the existing shear wall, the retrofit effect was experimentally verified by breaking the wall ends, retrofitting the ends, and applying repeated cyclic lateral loads. A total of three specimens were fabricated and retrofitted using steel plates and steel tubes. Since this experiment evaluated the flexural performance, the experiment was performed with a cantilever setting. The flexural retrofit effect using steel was analyzed through the load–displacement relationship, stiffness degradation, and energy dissipation, and through this, the bond of the retrofit and the behavior of the wall were verified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 8353 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hysteretic Behavior of Reinforced Concrete Coupling Beams According to Volume Fraction of Steel Fiber

by Joo-Hong Chung, Dong-Hee Son, Su-Yong Kim, Baek-Il Bae and Chang-Sik Choi

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 182; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010182 - 27 Dec 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2592

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the structural performance of steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) coupling beams. Reversed cyclic loading tests were performed with full-scale specimens. The main variable for the tests was the volume fraction ratio of the steel fibers. The results showed that the maximum strength was increased by about 11% with 1% of steel fibers incorporated, and about 24% when the ratio of mixed fibers was doubled to 2%. Because numerous microcracks occurred, decreased crack width due to the bridge effect was observed with the steel fiber reinforcement. Increased diagonal tension crack angles and energy dissipation also appeared as the volume fraction of steel fibers increased. The contribution of shear to the total deformation was decreased while the contribution of rocking was increased as steel fibers were added. Considering the results of these experiments, it can be concluded that steel fiber reinforcement affects the deformation of coupling beams in various ways, and should be considered when estimating the effective stiffness of such beams when SFRC is introduced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 5379 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Shear Behavior of a Reinforced Concrete Frame Retrofitted with a Hinged Steel Damping System

by Hyun-Do Yun, Sun-Woong Kim, Wan-Shin Park and Sun-Woo Kim

Sustainability 2020, 12(24), 10360; https://doi.org/10.3390/su122410360 - 11 Dec 2020

Viewed by 1524

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to experimentally evaluate the effect of a hinged steel damping system on the shear behavior of a nonductile reinforced concrete frame with an opening. For the experimental test, a total of three full-scale reinforced concrete frame specimens were planned, based on the “no retrofitting” (NR) specimens with non-seismic details. The main research questions were whether the hinged steel damping system is reinforced and whether torsion springs are installed in the hinged steel damping system. From the results of the experiment, the hinged steel damping system (DR specimen) was found to be effective in seismic retrofitting, while isolating the opening of the reinforced concrete (RC) frame, and the torsion spring installed at the hinged connection (DSR specimen) was evaluated to be effective in controlling the amount of deformation of the upper and lower dampers. The strength, stiffness, and energy dissipation capacity of the DSR specimen were slightly improved compared to the DR specimen, and it was confirmed that stress redistribution was induced by the rotational stiffness of the torsion spring installed in the hinge connection between the upper and lower frames. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 2993 KiB

Open AccessArticle

LCA-Based Investigation of Environmental Impacts for Novel Double-Beam Floor System Subjected to High Gravity Loads

by Insub Choi, JunHee Kim and DongWon Kim

Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 9193; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12219193 - 5 Nov 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2217

Abstract

In populated downtown areas, a floor system with secured environmental performance is needed to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) and global warming problems related to buildings. This study aims to assess environmental impacts on a novel double-beam floor system subjected to high gravity loads. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted to investigate the environmental impacts on the reduction in construction materials by calculating global warming potential (GWP) in the structural design phase. For different structural systems, the environmental performance was compared based on the GWP, and the contributions of structural elements to the GWP in each structural system were analyzed. The rotational constraints induced by the beam-end concrete panel can significantly reduce the GWP of the double-beam floor system by up to 13.8% compared to the conventional beam-girder system. Thus, the double-beam floor system reinforced with the concrete panel can be a candidate for eco-friendly structural systems in underground structures requiring high gravity loads. This result provides valuable findings that the structural effect on the rotational constraint of the concrete panel was quantitatively evaluated by converting it into an environmental impact. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 7314 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Installation Technique of Fiber Optic Sensor into FRP Used as NSM Structural Strengthening System

by Soo-Yeon Seo, Jeong-Hun Park, Hyun-Do Yun and Kang-Su Kim

Sustainability 2020, 12(20), 8501; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208501 - 15 Oct 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2273

Abstract

Recently, it has become necessary to develop a monitoring technology that combines an FBG (fiber Bragg grating) sensor as a means for continuously monitoring whether the reinforcing effect of an FRP (fiber-reinforced polymer) is maintained on FRP-reinforced structural members. However, most existing research focuses on the insertion of FBG sensors into bar-shaped FRPs, and there is a lack of studies that analyze the details for an FRP strip combined with FBG sensors. In this regard, this paper seeks to develop a reinforcement for an NSM (near-surface-mounted) retrofit in which an optical fiber with an FBG sensor is combined with FRP strips. For this, a series of experiments were performed to find the adhesive strength of optical fiber-epoxy-FRP interfaces, the tensile strength of the FBG sensor part of optical fiber with a reflection lattice, and the sensing performance depending on the adhesion length between the optical fiber and the FRP strips. As a result of the study, the adhesion length not less than 20 mm in one direction from the center, with a total adhesion length of 40 mm, needs to be secured when the optical fiber with an FBG is attached and fixed between the two FRP strips with epoxy. In addition, it is expected that the proposed model can be used to properly predict the strain transfer of an FRP strip with a fiber optic sensor and can also be utilized when determining optimum dimensions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 5848 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hysteretic Response of Tilt-Up Concrete Precast Walls with Embedded Steel Plate Connections

by Hyun-Do Yun, Hye-Ran Kim and Won-Chang Choi

Sustainability 2020, 12(19), 7907; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12197907 - 24 Sep 2020

Viewed by 5876

Abstract

Many connection systems are available that can transfer tension and shear loads from a precast concrete wall panel to a floor slab. However, due to the insufficient anchor depth in relatively thin precast concrete panels, it is difficult to attain adequate ductility and stiffness to ensure structural integrity. Based on the authors’ previous research results, the supplementary reinforcement of embedded steel plates in precast concrete wall panels can enhance stiffness while maintaining allowable displacement and ductility. In this study, three full-size tilt-up precast concrete panels with embedded steel plates were fabricated. Lateral cyclic loads were applied to full support structures consisting of a precast concrete wall panel and a foundation. The test results were compared with the results predicted using existing code equations found in the American Concrete Institute 318-14 and the Prestressed Concrete Institute Handbooks. The test results confirm that the supplementary reinforcement of thin precast concrete wall panels can provide (i) the required strength based on current code equations, (ii) sufficient ductility, and (iii) the energy dissipation capacity to resist cyclic loading. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 7800 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Seismic Fragility Assessment of Columns in a Piloti-Type Building Retrofitted with Additional Shear Walls

by Hoang Dang-Vu, Jiuk Shin and Kihak Lee

Sustainability 2020, 12(16), 6530; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12166530 - 12 Aug 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2643

Abstract

This study evaluated the influence of additional shear walls, constructed on the first floor, as strengthening methods for a piloti-type building subjected to earthquake loadings. Piloti-type buildings are commonly designed as urban structures in many cities of South Korea. The existence of just columns on the first floor of the building is a feature that is advantageous from an architectural viewpoint, and yet has potential structural disadvantages. Such columns usually exhibit shear–axial failure, due to inherent vertical and horizontal irregularities and insufficient seismic reinforcements. Among several retrofitting methods, including additional braces, carbon fiber reinforced polymers, dampers, and so forth, this research considered reinforced concrete shear walls to improve the seismic responses of piloti buildings. A parametric analysis of the location of the retrofitted shear walls in a typical piloti building was implemented using the Zeus-NL program. Nonlinear time history analysis and incremental dynamic analysis were performed to comparatively evaluate the structure’s seismic responses and fragility curves before and after retrofit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 3229 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Heating Temperature Prediction of Concrete Structure Damaged by Fire Using a Bayesian Approach

by Hae-Chang Cho, Sun-Jin Han, Inwook Heo, Hyun Kang, Won-Hee Kang and Kang Su Kim

Sustainability 2020, 12(10), 4225; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12104225 - 21 May 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2247

Abstract

A fire that occurs in a reinforced concrete (RC) structure accompanies a heating temperature, and this negatively affects the concrete material properties, such as the compressive strength, the bond between cement paste and aggregate, and the cracking and spalling of concrete. To appropriately measure the reduced structural performance and durability of fire-damaged RC structures, it is important to accurately estimate the heating temperature of the structure. However, studies in the literature on RC structures damaged by fire have focused mostly on structural member tests at elevated temperatures to ensure the fire resistance or fire protection material development; studies on estimating the heating temperature are very limited except for the very few existing models. Therefore, in this study, a heating temperature estimation model for a reinforced concrete (RC) structure damaged by fire was developed using a statistical Bayesian parameter estimation approach. For the model development, a total of 77 concrete test specimens were utilized; based on them, a statistically highly accurate model has been developed. The usage of the proposed method in the framework of the 500 °C isotherm method in Eurocode 2 has been illustrated through an RC column resistance estimation application. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Remodeling Technologies to Improve Building’s Structural Sustainability

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Published Papers (10 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI