An Integrated BIM Model to Evaluate the Embodied Energy, Carbon Emissions &amp; Environmental Costs of Construction Materials Used in the Design of Buildings
Creators: name: Odeh, Ahmad
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2020
Subjects: Embodied Energy &amp; Carbon
Sustainability
Building Information Modelling
LCA

description: Currently, many researchers are looking at efficient ways to reduce energy and carbon emissions of construction materials used in buildings over their life due to its significant environmental impact. Along with operational energy, embodied energies and its associated carbon are substantial contributors in the overall sustainability assessment. The calculation of materials’ embodied energy and carbon emissions during the construction stage is a major assessment factor that needs to be considered to measure the environmental impact of materials used in the construction of buildings, which would provide designers with the ability to lower the environmental impact of buildings at the early design stage. Overall, it is rather complicated to compute embodied energy and carbon emissions due to the various factors involved. The tools and methodologies, listed in the literature, are rather imperfect as they tend to overgeneralize. The equipment used, fuel needed, and electricity required for each type of construction material varies from one location to another and thus embodied energy used, and carbon produced will differ for each construction project. Moreover, the method used in manufacturing, transporting and putting in place these materials will have significant influence on their environmental impact. This anomaly has made it difficult to calculate or even benchmark the usage of such factors. This thesis proposes an integrated model aimed at calculating embodied energies, embodied carbon and associated costs generated by construction materials based on such variability. This thesis presents a systematic approach that uses an efficient method of calculation to provide new insight for the selection of construction materials and equipment required to place them for buildings. Such assessment will aid in reducing the environmental impact of construction. The proposed model will be developed in a BIM environment. The quantification of materials’ energy is determined over the three main stages of their lifecycle: manufacturing, transporting, and placing. The proposed model will use multiple databases to calculate the energy used by manufacturing, transporting, and placing construction materials. By identifying the machinery required, an accurate calculation is achieved through geospatial data analysis. The proposed model can automatically calculate the distances between the material suppliers and construction sites to increase the accuracy of its outcome. Based on such variables, the proposed model provides designers with a list of equipment as to minimize the embodied energy and carbon produced by materials used in constructing buildings. Additionally, the proposed model has the ability to calculate the environmental cost impact of using specific building materials. Overall, this thesis aims to help researchers and the construction industry in reducing the environmental impact of construction activities through the selection of materials and the determination of machines required to achieve that goal.