Periodic Reporting for period 1 - LIGHTEN (Ultralight membrane structures towards a sustainable environment)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2020-11-01 do 2022-10-31
The building construction industry is the largest anthropogenic source of pollution, with massive energy consumption and substantial CO2 emissions. Lightweight membrane structures allow the simultaneous implementation of several sustainable strategies by using recyclable low-carbon structural membranes. Their efficient structural load-bearing mechanisms result in significant weight savings in buildings and a drastic reduction of the environmental impact associated with material production, transportation, use and disposal. Structural fabrics and foils have been gaining popularity among designers and architects since the last decade because of their desirable features such as high stiffness, strength, ductility, durability and functional properties. Whilst these structural membranes open new crucial perspectives for the clean energy transition and have been recently employed worldwide, their full potential is still limited by the lack of construction codes, advanced optimisation tools and comprehensive knowledge of their viscous-thermo-mechanical response. Therefore, the LIGHTEN project aims to educate and train a new generation of highly qualified PhD students to become experts in advanced and innovative design methods for a sustainable built environment through ultralightweight membrane structures.
Building constructions and operations show the highest environmental footprint in terms of global energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the latter greater than transportation and industrial activities. The carbon footprint of constructions is increasing, with almost one-third of buildings-related CO2 emissions due to the use of materials. The demand for buildings, floor area and construction materials is growing and expected to double by 2060. Under these circumstances, innovative building technologies employing low-carbon materials are of paramount importance in embodied carbon reduction to lower construction-related CO2 emissions through (i) resource-efficient lightweight building designs, (ii) waste reduction via reuse and recycling, (iii) lifetime extension, and (iv) minimal transportation. Hence, the main challenge in the building sector is seeking and implementing novel construction technologies. A feasible solution towards achieving a sustainable built environment is offered by membrane, or tensile, structures. Recyclable lightweight membranes offer a thinner and greener alternative to glass and other transparent cladding materials, resulting in significant weight savings. They are advantageous in scenarios where the design has to accommodate large unsupported spans with minimal weight. By building better with less material, environmental benefits in the form of reduced energy usage and carbon emissions during production, transportation and installation could be accrued, while simultaneously providing a cost-effective structural engineering solution.
LIGHTEN aims to foster innovative structural membranes in ultralightweight buildings by developing engineering models capable of predicting and optimising their response and performance. The research objectives, which will be achieved through a combination of analytical, numerical and experimental methods, are: (i) characterisation and modelling of the nonlinear thermo-visco-elasto-plastic response of structural membranes, (ii) analyses of failure and instabilities of structural thin films and (iii) design and machine-learning optimisation of lightweight and sustainable membrane structural elements exposed to extreme conditions.
The outcomes of the project will offer new insights into the development of design approaches and building standards for sustainable membrane structures. The objectives will be achieved by equipping the research students with a balanced combination of original research abilities, transferable skills, technical and industry-oriented knowledge, which will maximise their employability in a European market that requires enhanced technological competencies to face the current challenges for sustainable built environment.
Building constructions and operations show the highest environmental footprint in terms of global energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the latter greater than transportation and industrial activities. The carbon footprint of constructions is increasing, with almost one-third of buildings-related CO2 emissions due to the use of materials. The demand for buildings, floor area and construction materials is growing and expected to double by 2060. Under these circumstances, innovative building technologies employing low-carbon materials are of paramount importance in embodied carbon reduction to lower construction-related CO2 emissions through (i) resource-efficient lightweight building designs, (ii) waste reduction via reuse and recycling, (iii) lifetime extension, and (iv) minimal transportation. Hence, the main challenge in the building sector is seeking and implementing novel construction technologies. A feasible solution towards achieving a sustainable built environment is offered by membrane, or tensile, structures. Recyclable lightweight membranes offer a thinner and greener alternative to glass and other transparent cladding materials, resulting in significant weight savings. They are advantageous in scenarios where the design has to accommodate large unsupported spans with minimal weight. By building better with less material, environmental benefits in the form of reduced energy usage and carbon emissions during production, transportation and installation could be accrued, while simultaneously providing a cost-effective structural engineering solution.
LIGHTEN aims to foster innovative structural membranes in ultralightweight buildings by developing engineering models capable of predicting and optimising their response and performance. The research objectives, which will be achieved through a combination of analytical, numerical and experimental methods, are: (i) characterisation and modelling of the nonlinear thermo-visco-elasto-plastic response of structural membranes, (ii) analyses of failure and instabilities of structural thin films and (iii) design and machine-learning optimisation of lightweight and sustainable membrane structural elements exposed to extreme conditions.
The outcomes of the project will offer new insights into the development of design approaches and building standards for sustainable membrane structures. The objectives will be achieved by equipping the research students with a balanced combination of original research abilities, transferable skills, technical and industry-oriented knowledge, which will maximise their employability in a European market that requires enhanced technological competencies to face the current challenges for sustainable built environment.
The project management, Work Package (WP) 8, has seen the signature of the consortium agreement (deliverable D8.1) the appointment of the supervisory board of the network (D8.2) the establishment of the data management plan (D8.3) and achievement of the project check (D8.4 MS5). The recruitment of five Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) was planned and completed (D1.1 MS1) in WP1. Each ESR was enrolled in a PhD programme (MS22), and a personalised career development plan (PCDP) was signed (D6.1 MS2).
The research activities part of WPs 2,3,4 and 5 have been initiated by the ESRs, who defined the experimental testing protocols (D2.1) that enabled to perform the thermo-visco-elasto-plastic characterisation of structural membranes (D2.2 MS6), establish novel procedures for the assessment of their yield strength (D3.2) analytically develop and numerically implement preliminary constitutive models (D2.3). Furthermore, a comprehensive literature review on membrane failure and instabilities was submitted (D3.1) which served to set up analyses on wrinkling and flutter instabilities. Lastly, the numerical research approaches have been initiated by developing hybrid machine-learning models for membrane materials and machine-learning-driven topology optimisation. Network-wide scientific and complimentary training activities were organised in WP6. They included the first two LIGHTEN training schools, one workshop and a series of events for soft skills. These complemented the training that each ESRs has received from their academic and industrial supervisors. The consortium established a Communication, Outreach, Dissemination and Exploitation (C.O.D.E.) plan in WP7. The LIGHTEN website was set up (D7,1, MS4) alongside LIGHTEN social media channels. The ESRs participated in outreach events, while the results of the projects have been disseminated to the scientific community through open-access publications in journals and books, and participation at international conferences. Exploitation activities have been initiated through different actions to involve external academic and industrial stakeholders.
The research activities part of WPs 2,3,4 and 5 have been initiated by the ESRs, who defined the experimental testing protocols (D2.1) that enabled to perform the thermo-visco-elasto-plastic characterisation of structural membranes (D2.2 MS6), establish novel procedures for the assessment of their yield strength (D3.2) analytically develop and numerically implement preliminary constitutive models (D2.3). Furthermore, a comprehensive literature review on membrane failure and instabilities was submitted (D3.1) which served to set up analyses on wrinkling and flutter instabilities. Lastly, the numerical research approaches have been initiated by developing hybrid machine-learning models for membrane materials and machine-learning-driven topology optimisation. Network-wide scientific and complimentary training activities were organised in WP6. They included the first two LIGHTEN training schools, one workshop and a series of events for soft skills. These complemented the training that each ESRs has received from their academic and industrial supervisors. The consortium established a Communication, Outreach, Dissemination and Exploitation (C.O.D.E.) plan in WP7. The LIGHTEN website was set up (D7,1, MS4) alongside LIGHTEN social media channels. The ESRs participated in outreach events, while the results of the projects have been disseminated to the scientific community through open-access publications in journals and books, and participation at international conferences. Exploitation activities have been initiated through different actions to involve external academic and industrial stakeholders.
LIGHTEN is the first doctoral programme to offer specialised and advanced skills in the field of lightweight membrane materials and structures. The research activities have already contributed to advancing the state of the art, including (i) a comprehensive experimental campaign to characterise the response of membrane materials in thermomechanical ranges never investigated before, with novel experimental procedures, (ii) the development of new rigorous thermo-visco-elastoplastic constitutive models for membrane materials, along with their numerical implementation, (iii) the discovery of restabilisation after wrinkling instabilities, and (iv) the establishment of a data-driven framework for the design and optimisation of lightweight materials and structures. By the end of the project, it is expected to develop further the research carried out to achieve the objectives, and disseminate and communicate them. Hence, lightweight membrane materials and building design will be oriented towards sustainability, which will have a positive socio-economic impact with a new generation of decarbonised buildings that implement sustainable strategies through ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’ and foster the United Nation’s sustainable development goals 11 and 12.