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Estimating structural timber material quantities using historical design codes and probabilistic modelling for circular economy

Abstract

Circular strategies, such as the reuse and recycling of materials, enabled by urban mining, mitigate the environmental impact of construction. However, detailed information on structural components in existing buildings – especially those designed without Building Information Modelling (BIM) support - is limited. Historical structural design codes provide a basis for inferring structural material quantities by outlining the safety and serviceability requirements that were adhered to when the buildings were originally designed. To account for designer’s choice of structural design variables, we incorporate probabilities and repeated expected value calculations in the historical design process. This approach allows us to develop a rationale for probabilistically estimating expected structural material quantities and expected beam sections in timber roofs using historical design codes. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed method by comparing with site measurements resulting in a percentage error less than seven percent; suggesting that the proposed method is a valid alternative to site measurements.
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Category

Academic chapter

Language

English

Author(s)

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Community / Architecture, Materials and Structures
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Year

2025

Publisher

CRC Press

Book

Structures and Architecture - REstructure REmaterialize REthink REuse

ISBN

9781003658641

Page(s)

841 - 848

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository