Comparative Life Cycle Analysis of Timber, Steel and Reinforced Concrete Portal Frames: A Theoretical Study on a Norwegian Industrial Building

Abstract

The construction industry is a big contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which has a negative environmental impact. Several studies have highlighted the possibility of using timber to reduce the environmental impact of construction. Most of these studies have focused on residential buildings, but little attention has been devoted to industrial buildings. In this paper, an attempt is made to compare the environmental impact of using timber, steel, and reinforced concrete in industrial buildings using life cycle assessment. The system boundary was set to cradle-to-gate with transportation to construction site due to the limitation of data, and only the quantities of the main structural system are considered. Portal frames with variable spans were designed using the three materials to meet similar load carrying capacity. Reinforced concrete was used in the foundation of all frames. The results of the comparative study show that timber has, by a good margin, better environmental impact than reinforced concrete and steel, due to the carbon stored in the wood. The results also show that reinforced concrete and steel alternatives have similar environmental impacts. The findings of this study agree with the findings of other studies on residential buildings.