Periodic Reporting for period 1 - NOTICE-EUB (NOvel TImber CompositEs for Energy and seismic Upgrading of Buildings)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2021-03-01 do 2023-02-28
The European Green Deal has set ambitious energy and climate goals, and the building sector is a key player in achieving them. Buildings are the biggest energy consumers in Europe, accounting for approximately 40% of EU energy usage and 36% of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, almost half of the structures in seismic regions of the EU are at risk due to their substandard seismic resistance, which poses a severe threat to the economy and life safety.
To reach the safe and clean building sector goals by 2050, the European Commission has launched the Renovation Wave initiative. This initiative aims to at least double the annual energy renovation rate by 2030 and promote deep renovation. Moreover, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive emphasizes that EU countries should address seismic risks when planning long-term building renovation strategies, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the interest in integrated retrofit solutions from authorities and stakeholders is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades.
The NOTICE-EUB project proposed a unique, cost-effective approach to retrofitting buildings. The method combines seismic and energy efficiency improvements using engineered timber and advanced eco-friendly insulation. This innovative concept takes advantage of the superior structural performance of cross-laminated timber technology, which is becoming increasingly popular among researchers due to its sustainability credentials. Cross-laminated timber is a remarkable material that weighs only one-fifth of concrete. This property has significant implications for construction, lowering energy consumption in the production process, enabling quick and easy transportation and installation, leading to lower labour costs, and enhancing seismic safety by reducing the weight to be handled in an earthquake by 80% compared to concrete. Moreover, timber is a renewable resource, making it an eco-friendly option for building retrofit schemes.
The combination of cross-laminated timber systems and insulation materials provides excellent resistance to earthquake forces and superior thermal performance that reduces a building's energy needs. The hybrid protection system harmonizes the two components for their respective functions, resulting in a retrofit scheme that improves seismic safety and energy efficiency while minimizing downtime and labour costs.
NOTICE-EUB developed and validated an innovative retrofit solution for reinforced concrete buildings through experimental and analytical/numerical research activities. The project has four specific objectives:
• design a new system for the simultaneous energy and seismic upgrade of buildings, using eco-friendly insulation materials and cross-laminated panels,
• test the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid retrofit scheme experimentally,
• assess the benefit-cost ratio of the integrated retrofit approach through life-cycle assessment,
• provide preliminary design guidelines and recommendations for future research and standardization needs.
The highly innovative project NOTICE-EUB had an ambitious work plan involving a significant amount of laboratory work to validate the proposed hybrid retrofit solution experimentally. The successful outcomes of the experiments have provided a wealth of valuable research data that will be used to derive retrofit design guidelines and conduct a life-cycle assessment of the proposed integrated retrofit approach. This experimental and numerical data will be made publicly available soon as supplemental material to research articles in international scientific journals and conference proceedings in the form of open access. It is exciting to anticipate the future impact of this research, as it has the potential to revolutionize the field of building renovation.
To reach the safe and clean building sector goals by 2050, the European Commission has launched the Renovation Wave initiative. This initiative aims to at least double the annual energy renovation rate by 2030 and promote deep renovation. Moreover, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive emphasizes that EU countries should address seismic risks when planning long-term building renovation strategies, in addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Consequently, the interest in integrated retrofit solutions from authorities and stakeholders is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades.
The NOTICE-EUB project proposed a unique, cost-effective approach to retrofitting buildings. The method combines seismic and energy efficiency improvements using engineered timber and advanced eco-friendly insulation. This innovative concept takes advantage of the superior structural performance of cross-laminated timber technology, which is becoming increasingly popular among researchers due to its sustainability credentials. Cross-laminated timber is a remarkable material that weighs only one-fifth of concrete. This property has significant implications for construction, lowering energy consumption in the production process, enabling quick and easy transportation and installation, leading to lower labour costs, and enhancing seismic safety by reducing the weight to be handled in an earthquake by 80% compared to concrete. Moreover, timber is a renewable resource, making it an eco-friendly option for building retrofit schemes.
The combination of cross-laminated timber systems and insulation materials provides excellent resistance to earthquake forces and superior thermal performance that reduces a building's energy needs. The hybrid protection system harmonizes the two components for their respective functions, resulting in a retrofit scheme that improves seismic safety and energy efficiency while minimizing downtime and labour costs.
NOTICE-EUB developed and validated an innovative retrofit solution for reinforced concrete buildings through experimental and analytical/numerical research activities. The project has four specific objectives:
• design a new system for the simultaneous energy and seismic upgrade of buildings, using eco-friendly insulation materials and cross-laminated panels,
• test the effectiveness of the proposed hybrid retrofit scheme experimentally,
• assess the benefit-cost ratio of the integrated retrofit approach through life-cycle assessment,
• provide preliminary design guidelines and recommendations for future research and standardization needs.
The highly innovative project NOTICE-EUB had an ambitious work plan involving a significant amount of laboratory work to validate the proposed hybrid retrofit solution experimentally. The successful outcomes of the experiments have provided a wealth of valuable research data that will be used to derive retrofit design guidelines and conduct a life-cycle assessment of the proposed integrated retrofit approach. This experimental and numerical data will be made publicly available soon as supplemental material to research articles in international scientific journals and conference proceedings in the form of open access. It is exciting to anticipate the future impact of this research, as it has the potential to revolutionize the field of building renovation.
The NOTICE-EUB project was focused on designing and experimentally validating a new seismic retrofit system for RC buildings that can be integrated with energy upgrades. The data obtained from the experiments were used to develop and validate detailed numerical models that simulate the structural and energy performance of the system. Researchers currently use these models to conduct a comprehensive life-cycle assessment of the proposed integrated retrofit approach and derive design guidelines.
A large part of the experimental activities included a series of hybrid earthquake simulations and air infiltration tests on a full-scale 3D RC-framed structure at the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment. The experiments were carried out on two building configurations. The first comprised a non-retrofitted masonry-infilled frame utilised as a reference specimen (i.e. control specimen), allowing for later comparisons with the retrofitted building configuration. The latter structure was strengthened with cross-laminated timber panels as infills and externally connected retrofitting elements.
The experiments yielded promising results, showing that the proposed timber-based retrofit solution delivers a low-damage structural system that significantly increases the displacement capacity of the strengthened building compared to its non-retrofitted counterpart. In addition, blower door tests were carried out right after every earthquake simulation to estimate the evolution of the building's air infiltration and exchange rates. These tests demonstrated that the examined retrofit scheme considerably improves the airtightness of buildings.
Smaller-scale tests complemented the experiments to evaluate the details of the proposed structural intervention scheme and improve the predictive accuracy of the numerical models in simulating the coupled behaviour of old reinforced concrete elements, masonry infills, and retrofitting materials. The numerical analysis results appear promising, showing that the numerical models can accurately simulate the effects of the retrofit interventions.
A large part of the experimental activities included a series of hybrid earthquake simulations and air infiltration tests on a full-scale 3D RC-framed structure at the European Laboratory for Structural Assessment. The experiments were carried out on two building configurations. The first comprised a non-retrofitted masonry-infilled frame utilised as a reference specimen (i.e. control specimen), allowing for later comparisons with the retrofitted building configuration. The latter structure was strengthened with cross-laminated timber panels as infills and externally connected retrofitting elements.
The experiments yielded promising results, showing that the proposed timber-based retrofit solution delivers a low-damage structural system that significantly increases the displacement capacity of the strengthened building compared to its non-retrofitted counterpart. In addition, blower door tests were carried out right after every earthquake simulation to estimate the evolution of the building's air infiltration and exchange rates. These tests demonstrated that the examined retrofit scheme considerably improves the airtightness of buildings.
Smaller-scale tests complemented the experiments to evaluate the details of the proposed structural intervention scheme and improve the predictive accuracy of the numerical models in simulating the coupled behaviour of old reinforced concrete elements, masonry infills, and retrofitting materials. The numerical analysis results appear promising, showing that the numerical models can accurately simulate the effects of the retrofit interventions.
NOTICE-EUB has proposed a groundbreaking approach to building retrofits that surpasses the current state-of-the-art. This innovative approach involves a hybrid seismic-plus-energy retrofit solution that has never been explored. The retrofit system combines engineered timber, such as cross-laminated timber panels, and advanced eco-friendly insulation materials on new and existing RC buildings.
The project involved unprecedented full-scale experiments on buildings and components, generating abundant valuable data. This data supports the development of advanced numerical seismic and energy models and retrofit design guidelines that are much needed in the industry. Overall, this novel approach to retrofitting has opened up new possibilities in the field and is expected to impact the industry significantly.
The project findings various groups, including the public, broader scientific society, construction industry, professional associations, CEN technical committees, policymakers, European technology platforms, and the European fora on eco-innovation. In the coming months, NOTICE-EUB aims to contribute through scientific and technical open-access publications to policies, standards, and tools for the seismic and energy retrofitting of EU buildings in support of the Renovation Wave of Buildings initiative of the European Green Deal.
The project involved unprecedented full-scale experiments on buildings and components, generating abundant valuable data. This data supports the development of advanced numerical seismic and energy models and retrofit design guidelines that are much needed in the industry. Overall, this novel approach to retrofitting has opened up new possibilities in the field and is expected to impact the industry significantly.
The project findings various groups, including the public, broader scientific society, construction industry, professional associations, CEN technical committees, policymakers, European technology platforms, and the European fora on eco-innovation. In the coming months, NOTICE-EUB aims to contribute through scientific and technical open-access publications to policies, standards, and tools for the seismic and energy retrofitting of EU buildings in support of the Renovation Wave of Buildings initiative of the European Green Deal.