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Sustainable Development in Prefabrication

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 8600

Special Issue Editors

School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia
Interests: fire engineering; steel–concrete composite technology; sustainable building materials; finite element modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Interests: sustainable material; modular structures; fire engineering; connection behaviour; railway and bridge structures
School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
Interests: construction compliance; construction work health and safety management; BIM

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable development through the use of prefabrication plays a key role in achieving sustainability in the construction industry. Recently, the Sustainable Development Goals were introduced by the United Nations to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. To address this, prefabricated construction in buildings and infrastructures can play a vital role, as prefabrication methods offer several benefits, such as lower environmental impact; reduction in construction waste, material waste, and energy use; superior quality control; a safer working environment; faster construction; and cost-effectiveness when compared to the traditional methods. The research on sustainable materials and structures for prefabricated construction has increased rapidly in recent years to fulfill the growing demands in the twenty-first century. This Special Issue welcomes the latest scientific and technologically innovative research on sustainable developments for prefabricated building and infrastructure design and construction, which will be used as a reference for future advancements in this field. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following. Original research articles and reviews are welcome.

  • Sustainable materials for prefabrication.
  • Prefabricated structures.
  • Prefabricated construction methods.
  • Connection systems for prefabricated components.
  • Cost-effective efficient connections for prefabrication.
  • Energy-efficient prefabrication.
  • Fire and prefabrication.
  • BIM in prefabricated design and construction.
  • Numerical analysis of prefabricated systems.

Dr. Md Kamrul Hassan
Dr. Olivia Mirza
Dr. Payam Zekavat
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.

Keywords

  • prefab design
  • prefabricated structures
  • prefabricated construction methods
  • connection systems
  • sustainable materials
  • lightweight materials
  • energy efficiency
  • cost-effectiveness
  • BIM (Building Information Modelling)

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 28971 KiB  
Article
Evaluation and Design of Parameterized Dynamic Daylighting for Large-Space Buildings
by Hao Hu, Hui Zhang, Li Wang and Zikang Ke
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10773; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410773 - 09 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1248
Abstract
This study aimed to promote the use of natural lighting in building designs to create a good lighting environment and to save energy. Dynamic daylight evaluation and analysis have become hot research topics due to the influence of outdoor light climate changes that [...] Read more.
This study aimed to promote the use of natural lighting in building designs to create a good lighting environment and to save energy. Dynamic daylight evaluation and analysis have become hot research topics due to the influence of outdoor light climate changes that occur throughout the season and over a period of time. However, there are certain gaps in the application of dynamic daylight evaluation for large-space buildings. In China, static daylight evaluation is mainly used to assess the actual daylighting performance of buildings. The Hangzhou E-sports Center in China was selected as the study object in this research, and dynamic daylight simulations were conducted using Rhino + Grasshopper and Ladybug + Honeybee for different representative days in each season and in each measurement zone. Spatial daylight autonomy (sDA) and useful daylight illuminance (UDI) were used as the dynamic daylight evaluation indicators, and a parameterized dynamic daylight evaluation method was proposed for evaluating the design scheme. By comparing the initial and optimized design schemes, the results showed the following: (1) the optimized scheme increased the ratio of area and time within the UDI 100–2000 lux range, and areas with an sDA >300 lux accounted for over 55% of the primary use areas, indicating a significant improvement in the daylighting quality of the large space; (2) the daylighting quality of the large space building showed seasonal changes, with the best daylighting quality occurring during the summer solstice and the worst occurring on the winter solstice, while the daylighting quality was similar during the spring and autumn equinoxes; (3) the dynamic evaluation metrics facilitated the identification of daylighting issues in large-scale buildings more effectively; (4) the parameterized method proposed in this study can solve the cumbersome process of daylight simulation and is more conducive to the adjustment and optimization of design schemes by designers. The parameterized dynamic daylight evaluation method proposed in this study provides references and ideas for the design and research of daylighting in other large-space buildings. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development in Prefabrication)
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31 pages, 3115 KiB  
Article
Analysis of Factors Affecting Prefabricated Building Quality Based on ISM-BN
by Jun Zhang, Mengtong Wang, Lilin Zhao and Min Chen
Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9682; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129682 - 16 Jun 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1407
Abstract
In recent years, the rise of the domestic industry has boosted the use and popularity of prefabricated buildings. Prefabricated buildings differ significantly from traditional design, construction, and production models. However, due to the short development period of prefabricated buildings in China, the quality [...] Read more.
In recent years, the rise of the domestic industry has boosted the use and popularity of prefabricated buildings. Prefabricated buildings differ significantly from traditional design, construction, and production models. However, due to the short development period of prefabricated buildings in China, the quality management of these new structures is still not mature, resulting in frequent project delays and failure. To improve quality management, this paper aims to establish an evaluation model of factors affecting prefabricated building quality. The 4M1E framework was used to categorize and generalize related quality factors. Then, GeNIe software was used to establish a visual Bayesian network quality factor evaluation model. The factors that need to be managed and given attention to in the prefabricated construction project were discovered using reverse reasoning, sensitivity, and critical factor analysis. The results indicated that among the multiple stages of prefabricated buildings, the construction stage has the greatest impact on the quality of buildings. C2(Insufficient sense of responsibility of construction personnel) is the most significant factor that needs to be controlled. In addition, this paper combined the ISM-BN model with actual engineering projects to identify key factors affecting the project’s quality, demonstrating the model’s applicability. The evaluation model of quality factors in prefabricated buildings was established. It can identify the underlying causes of quality issues in prefabricated buildings and control engineering quality at the source, acting as an effective guide for practitioners and enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development in Prefabrication)
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27 pages, 10658 KiB  
Article
Behaviour and Design of Innovative Connections of Prefabricated CFST Columns under Tension
by Md Kamrul Hassan, Swapan Saha and Payam Rahnamayiezekavat
Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2846; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032846 - 03 Feb 2023
Viewed by 1770
Abstract
This paper investigates the tensile behaviour of prefabricated concrete-filled steel tube (PCFST) columns with bolted connections. Innovative bolted column-column (BCC) connections are developed using standard structural bolts to simplify the construction process for the connection of two PCFST columns, especially for the corner, [...] Read more.
This paper investigates the tensile behaviour of prefabricated concrete-filled steel tube (PCFST) columns with bolted connections. Innovative bolted column-column (BCC) connections are developed using standard structural bolts to simplify the construction process for the connection of two PCFST columns, especially for the corner, edge, and interior columns. The behaviour of BCC connections in PCFST columns under tension has been investigated, adopting the finite element (FE) modelling approach. Parametric studies are carried out to understand the influence of bolt arrangements (TB = 4, 6, 7, 8), base plate thickness (tbp = 8, 10, 14, and 18 mm), bolt diameters (db = 16, 18, 20, 24 mm), vertical stiffeners (ths = 4, 6, 8, 10 mm), horizontal stiffeners (ths = 10, 12, 13, 15 mm), and yield strength of steel tube (fy,t = 380, 450, and 550 MPa) on the behaviour of PCFST columns with developed BCC connections. The results show that the PCFST columns with the developed BCC connections can attain sufficient tensile strength and satisfy the tensile strength requirements recommended in AS5100 and the robustness requirements in AS1170. The outcome of this paper will be useful to practising structural engineers to design prefabricated CFST columns with BCC connections under tension. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development in Prefabrication)
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20 pages, 7617 KiB  
Article
Behaviour and Design of Bolt-Coupler Connections under Compression in Prefabricated CFST Columns
by Md Kamrul Hassan, Bulbul Ahmed, Anmol Ram and Swapan Saha
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12166; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912166 - 26 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1852
Abstract
The paper presents the investigated results of bolt-coupler connections under compression experimentally. Bolt-coupler connections have been developed recently for prefabricated column-to-column (PCC) connections to simplify the construction process of prefabricated concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns and to transfer the upper column load to [...] Read more.
The paper presents the investigated results of bolt-coupler connections under compression experimentally. Bolt-coupler connections have been developed recently for prefabricated column-to-column (PCC) connections to simplify the construction process of prefabricated concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns and to transfer the upper column load to the bottom column through bolt-coupler connections. However, the behaviour of bolt-coupler connections under compression has not been investigated in the past although there are some experimental and numerical studies conducted on bolt-coupler connections under tension. To address these research gaps, the behaviour of bolt-coupler connections under compression has been investigated. The main parameters considered in this study are bolt diameters (M16, M20, M24), bolt grades (8.8, 10.9 grade), gap inside the coupler between two bolts of bolt-coupler connection (0, 10, 20 mm), and coupler grade (5.6, 8.8 grade). It is observed that the ultimate capacity of bolt-coupler connections is reduced significantly with an increase in the bolt gap inside the coupler of the bolt-coupler connection. Based on the test data, a design equation is developed to determine the design capacity of bolt-coupler connections under compression, which will be very useful in designing the PCC connections of sustainable prefabricated CFST columns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Development in Prefabrication)
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