Sustainable Design of Raft Foundations: Analyzing Embodied Carbon and Cost Impacts
Received: 21 October 2024 | Revised: 20 November 2024 | Accepted: 3 December 2024 | Online: 2 February 2025
Corresponding author: Riza Suwondo
Abstract
The construction industry is a significant contributor to global carbon emissions, necessitating the adoption of sustainable design practices. This study investigates the embodied carbon and cost implications of raft foundations, focusing on the effects of different concrete grades, K300, K400, and K500, and slab thicknesses. A comprehensive methodology, guided by BS EN 15978, was employed to assess the carbon emissions across the product, construction, and end-of-life stages. Additionally, a cost analysis was conducted, reflecting typical construction expenses relevant to the Indonesian context. The findings revealed that increasing the concrete grade consistently leads to higher embodied carbon and costs, with K300 demonstrating the lowest values across all thicknesses. Moreover, thicker slabs exacerbate both the environmental and financial impacts, highlighting the trade-offs inherent in material selection and design choices. The study concludes that a strategic balance between structural requirements, cost efficiency, and environmental sustainability can be achieved by utilizing lower-grade concrete, where high strength is not essential. These insights contribute to the discourse on sustainable construction practices, advocating for informed decision-making in raft foundation design to minimize the carbon footprint while maintaining economic viability.
Keywords:
raft foundation, embodied carbon, built environment, sustainability, UN SDG 13: Climate actionDownloads
References
L. E. Erickson and G. Brase, Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Improving Air Quality: Two Interrelated Global Challenges, Boca Raton, Florida, United States: Taylor & Francis, 2020.
2021 Global Status Report For Buildings and Construction: Towards a Zero‐Emission, Efficient and Resilient Buildings and Construction Sector, Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Environment Programme, 2021.
M. N. Sharabian, S. Ahmad, and M. Karakouzian, "Climate Change and Eutrophication: A Short Review," Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 3668–3672, Dec. 2018.
M. Mengel, A. Nauels, J. Rogelj, and C.-F. Schleussner, "Committed sea-level rise under the Paris Agreement and the legacy of delayed mitigation action," Nature Communications, vol. 9, no. 1, Feb. 2018, Art. no. 601.
T. Ourbak and A. K. Magnan, "The Paris Agreement and climate change negotiations: Small Islands, big players," Regional Environmental Change, vol. 18, no. 8, pp. 2201–2207, Dec. 2018.
D. Bodansky, "The Paris Climate Change Agreement: A New Hope?," American Journal of International Law, vol. 110, no. 2, pp. 288–319, Apr. 2016.
H. L. van Soest et al., "Early action on Paris Agreement allows for more time to change energy systems," Climatic Change, vol. 144, no. 2, pp. 165–179, Sep. 2017.
2022 Global Status Report For Buildings and Construction: Towards a Zero‐Emission, Efficient and Resilient Buildings and Construction Sector, Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Environment Programme, 2022.
J. García-López, M. Hernández-Valencia, J. Roa-Fernández, E. J. Mascort-Albea, and R. Herrera-Limones, "Balancing construction and operational carbon emissions: Evaluating neighbourhood renovation strategies," Journal of Building Engineering, vol. 94, Oct. 2024, Art. no. 109993.
J. N. Hacker, T. P. De Saulles, A. J. Minson, and M. J. Holmes, "Embodied and operational carbon dioxide emissions from housing: A case study on the effects of thermal mass and climate change," Energy and Buildings, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 375–384, Jan. 2008.
O. Al-Omari, A. Alkhdor, M. A. Al-Rawashdeh, M. R. Al-Ruwaishedi, and S. B. Al-Rawashdeh, "Evaluating carbon footprint in the life cycle design of residential concrete structures in Jordan," Civil Engineering Journal, vol. 9, no. 07, 2023.
J. N. Hacker, T. P. De Saulles, A. J. Minson, and M. J. Holmes, "Embodied and operational carbon dioxide emissions from housing: A case study on the effects of thermal mass and climate change," Energy and Buildings, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 375–384, Jan. 2008.
R. Suwondo, M. Keintjem, M. Suangga, and L. Cunningham, "Sustainable design of two-way slab-on-beam systems: a study on embodied carbon and cost," Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, pp. 1–9, Jul. 2024.
A. Jayasinghe, J. Orr, T. Ibell, and W. P. Boshoff, "Minimising embodied carbon in reinforced concrete flat slabs through parametric design," Journal of Building Engineering, vol. 50, Jun. 2022, Art. no. 104136.
J. Ferreiro-Cabello, E. Fraile-Garcia, E. Martinez de Pison Ascacibar, and F. J. Martinez de Pison Ascacibar, "Minimizing greenhouse gas emissions and costs for structures with flat slabs," Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 137, pp. 922–930, Nov. 2016.
S. Na and I. Paik, "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Costs with the Alternative Structural System for Slab: A Comparative Analysis of South Korea Cases," Sustainability, vol. 11, no. 19, Jan. 2019, Art. no. 5238.
R. Hingorani and J. Köhler, "Towards optimised decisions for resource and carbon-efficient structural design," Civil Engineering and Environmental Systems, vol. 40, no. 1–2, pp. 1–31, Apr. 2023.
R. Bechmann and S. Weidner, "Reducing the Carbon Emissions of High-Rise Structures from the Very Beginning.," CTBUH Journal, no. 4, 2021.
F. Lyu, H. Shao, and W. Zhang, "Comparative analysis about carbon emission of precast pile and cast-in-situ pile," Energy Reports, vol. 8, pp. 514–525, Sep. 2022.
K. Abushama, W. Hawkins, L. Pelecanos, and T. Ibell, "Minimising the embodied carbon of reinforced concrete piles using a multi-level modelling tool with a case study," Structures, vol. 58, Dec. 2023, Art. no. 105476.
K. Feickert and C. T. Mueller, "Thin shell foundations: Quantification of embodied carbon reduction through materially efficient geometry," Architecture, Structures and Construction, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 15–36, Mar. 2024.
O. Hamza, A. Abogdera, and S. Zoras, "Emissions-based options appraisal for modular building foundations: a case study," Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability, vol. 177, no. 3, pp. 162–173, Jun. 2024.
Persyaratan beton struktural untuk bangunan gedung dan penjelasan, SNI 2847, Badan Standarisasi Nasional Indonesia, 2019.
Tata cara perencanaan ketahanan gempa untuk struktur bangunan gedung dan non gedun, SNI 1726, Badan Standarisasi Nasional Indonesia, 2019.
Baja Tulangan Beton, SNI 2052, Badan Standarisasi Nasional Indonesia, 2017.
Sustainability of construction works. Assessment of environmental performance of buildings. Calculation method, BS EN 15978, 2011.
"Embodied Carbon Footprint Database," Circular Ecology.
O. P. Gibbons, J. J. Orr, C. Archer-Jones, W. Arnold, and D. Green, How to calculate embodied carbon, 2nd ed. London, United Kindom:. The Institution of Structural Engineers, 2022.
Ministry of Public Works and Housing, "Analisa Harga Satuan Pekerjaan Bidang Umum," 2023.
Downloads
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Riza Suwondo, Natalia Vincensia, Juliastuti Juliastuti, Habibie Razak
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) after its publication in ETASR with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
