Title: Sustainability and the ACI Building Code: Plans for the 2025 Edition of ACI 318

Author(s): Andrew Taylor

Publication: Web Session

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Date: 3/28/2022

Abstract:
The 2025 edition of the ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete will contain a new Appendix that will provide guidelines for improving the sustainable design of reinforced concrete structures. This appendix is being written by a new ACI 318 Subcommittee N on sustainability. The membership of Subcommittee N includes structural engineers, concrete producers, and experts on the environmental impacts of the entire life cycle of structural concrete, including production, construction, and recycling. Globally, producers of engineered structural materials, such as concrete, have sought ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, without adversely affecting the engineering design properties, quality, consistency, and economy of the materials. Most efforts have focused on the production processes for the materials themselves: the objective has been to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases created during creation of the bulk material. There has been progress on this front, and materials producers continue to search for ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. What impacts, however, can be made on reducing the environmental impacts of concrete structures through innovations in the structural design process? This presentation explores areas of the ACI 318 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete that could be examined for opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly.