Influence of steel-to-concrete ratio on sustainable column design in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of the steel-to-concrete ratio in building columns on environmental factors, embodied energy, and cost estimations in a hotel construction scenario in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. This study focuses on the production (A1–A3) and construction (A4–A5) stages, omits the use and disposal phases, and extensively examines the material components and their environmental implications. It evaluates the environmental impact of diverse column types. Revit 2022 (Autodesk®) is used to model scenarios with steel-to-concrete ratios of 1.2 %, 1.5 %, and 1.8 %. The most cost-effective steel-to-concrete ratio is 1.2 %, which reduces the embodied carbon and energy by 32 % and 35 %, respectively. A steel-to-concrete ratio of 1.8 % increases the embodied carbon and energy by 13 % and 14 %, respectively, compared with the base case. This indicates the significant contributions of concrete and steel to the embodied carbon and energy during the production stages. This study emphasizes the diminishing cost effectiveness of increasing the steel ratio beyond 1.2 % and highlights the importance of balancing steel usage and cost efficiency in column construction.

Keywords

• Steel-to-concrete ratio
• Embodied energy
• Life cycle assessment
• Embodied carbon