2026-09-21T14:48:54Zhttps://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/2989192019-11-16T07:46:28Zcom_1810_213729com_1810_256065col_1810_219485

Thin-shell Concrete Floors for Sustainable Buildings 10.17863/CAM.45976 Hawkins, William John 0000000349187665 Orr, John 0000000326876353 Shepherd, Paul 0000000170784232 Ibell, Tim 0000000252664832 Rapid urbanisation and population growth is driving unprecedented levels of building construction. Over the next 40 years, approximately 230 billion square meters of new floor area will be constructed globally, a doubling of existing building stock. Already, the production of concrete and steel accounts for a third of worldwide industrial CO2 emissions, representing a major opportunity, and responsibility, for structural engineers to contribute towards a low-carbon future through efficient design. A significant majority of the structural material in a typical building exists within the floors, making these a prime target for material reductions. This dissertation shows that thin shell concrete floors are a viable alternative to typical slabs and beams in multi-storey buildings. Switching the dominant structural behaviour from bending to membrane action increases efficiency, enabling significant embodied carbon reductions. A system is proposed featuring pre-cast textile reinforced concrete shells of uniform thickness and shallow depth, supported at columns, with a network of prestressed steel tension ties. A lightweight foamed concrete fill is cast above the shells to provide a level top surface and transfer floor loads to the shell. The structural behaviour of this system is explored through a series of computational and experimental investigations, leading to refinement of the design, exploration of construction methods and the development of a complete design methodology incorporating novel theoretical work. The shells feature optimised singly-curved groin vault geometry. This provides efficient structural performance whilst simultaneously minimising construction complexity. Thus, a practical and scalable solution is proposed, which is shown to offer considerable embodied carbon savings over typical concrete and steel floor structures. This work provides a robust platform for future refinement and large-scale implementation of thin-shell concrete floors for sustainable buildings. University of Cambridge 2020-03-21 Thesis Doctoral Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) en EPSRC Centre for Decarbonisation of the Built Environment (dCarb), University of Bath Building Research Establishment Trust (BRE) Trust Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/298919 https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/0dc77d79-9d1f-43ed-9890-fa6e242b4cc5/download f94efe4137700c484004b8148d35afe5 https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/b10b2732-6f04-4dcb-b428-5a408c274fa5/download 87eda9de84448d1f82354d60eee3eb5f https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Concrete shells Structural optimisation Building structures Floors Embodied carbon Construction Sustainability textile reinforced concrete