Green buildings and flyash concrete -the commerce city, colorado project

M. Reiner, K. L. Rens, A. Ramaswami

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Current "green building" guidelines establish a goal for locally sourced or manufactured materials, particularly for using recycled materials. This is a qualitative environmental goal, relating to the energy associated with the transportation of the product and not the energy of production, termed embodied energy. A quantitative environmental goal would require a life cycle analysis (LCA) to measure the embodied energy that would account for production, the insulating properties, and the ability to be again recycled over the effective life-time of the building. A quantitative environmental life cycle analysis of the primary construction materials in building construction would provide a definitive green building assessment. The Sustainable Youth Zone center (SYZ) project located in Commerce City, Colorado is a planned Zero Net Energy building for after school educational programs. Building material selection is evaluated based on current quantitative and qualitative green criteria including; Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability (BEES), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). However, in an attempt to determine if the building will actually be green, a life-cycle analysis and cost (LCA/LCC) analysis was completed on concrete as the primary construction material considered. Fly ash is a by-product of coal burning power plants and can be substituted for a large portion of the Portland cement. High volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete was selected for analysis as fly ash is a recycled material, therefore reducing the impacts resulting from extraction and processing of new virgin materials. A "mini-mix" (MM) testing program was also conducted to evaluate HVFA mixes for additional full-scale testing.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationAchieving Sustainability in Construction - Proceedings of the International Conference
PublisherThomas Telford Services Ltd
Pages111-118
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)0727734040, 9780727734044
DOIs
StatePublished - 2005
Externally publishedYes
Event2005 International Congress - Global Construction: Ultimate Concrete Opportunities - Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom
Duration: Jul 5 2005Jul 7 2005

Publication series

NameProceedings of the International Conference on Achieving Sustainability in Construction

Conference

Conference2005 International Congress - Global Construction: Ultimate Concrete Opportunities
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityDundee, Scotland
Period7/5/057/7/05

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Engineering

Keywords

  • BEES
  • Fly-ash
  • HVFA
  • LCA
  • LCC
  • LEED
  • Mini-mix

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