TG. SAG1.2 - Sustainable Concrete Structures

The TG.SAG1.2 is complementary to TG.SAG1.1. It will address best practices, design methodologies and the decision-making process for non-conventional solutions for sustainable concrete structures, aligned with scope and objective of technical work. The detailed timeline of work will deviate for the various WPs.

Further development of design practices for sustainable concrete structures is an essential step towards making a meaningful contribution to the global effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve this goal, the TG.SAG1.2 Sustainable Concrete Structures will focus on the following objectives:

• Identifying the best practices and optimal structural solutions in terms of environmental impact, fit for various market conditions and geographical areas: The TG.SAG1.2 focus on exploring a range of material, structural, and technological innovations to enhance the sustainability of concrete structures. These innovations will encompass various aspects, including nonconventional materials, structural designs, construction technologies, maintenance and interventions approaches, and circular use (e.g. reuse of reclaimed elements). While ongoing fib activities have addressed some of these areas, the TG.SAG1.2 will specifically target those aspects that have not yet been addressed within fib activities.
• Enabling performance-based design of sustainable structures in a life cycle perspective: The TG.SAG1.2 will work towards the consistent implementation of the safety philosophy for structural design across a wide range of innovative solutions (in particular for solutions that are currently outside the scope of Model Code 2020). This implementation will involve careful reconsideration of reliability requirements and uncertainties treatment in verification of structural performance. The TG.SAG1.2 will also formulate principles for an equivalent performance approach to structural design with innovative (material) solutions and establish basis for operational provisions for performance evaluation supported by material and structural testing of innovative solutions.
• Identifying the best tools to guide the decision-making process towards optimal structural solutions in terms of environmental impact, while meeting the desired structural and functional and economic performances requirements: The TG.SAG1.2 will elaborate the objectives and methodologies for a multi-criteria decision-making process aimed at achieving sustainable structural solutions through sustainability-oriented optimization of design. It will also propose effective strategies and procedures to ensure that decisionmaking at various design stages supports the successful accomplishment of these objectives.

The TG.SAG1.2 will reach these objectives by working in 6 Working Parties.

Convener
Agnieszka Bigaj

Co-Convener
Eline Vereecken

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• WPSAG1.2.1
• WPSAG1.2.2
• WPSAG1.2.3
• WPSAG1.2.4
• WPSAG1.2.5
• WPSAG1.2.6

WPSAG1.2.1 - Best Practices in Sustainability for Structural

 

Further development of design practices for sustainable concrete structures is an essential step towards making a meaningful contribution to the global effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve this goal, the Working Party SAG1.2.1 will focus on the following objective:

Identifying the best practices and optimal structural solutions in terms of environmental impact, fit for various market conditions and geographical areas: The WP.SAG1.2.1 focuses on exploring a range of material, structural, and technological innovations to enhance the sustainability of concrete structures. These innovations will encompass various aspects, including non-conventional materials, structural designs, construction technologies, maintenance and intervention approaches, and circular use (e.g., the reuse of reclaimed elements). While ongoing fib activities have addressed some of these areas, the WP.SAG1.2.1 will specifically target those aspects that have not yet been addressed within fib activities.

Convener
Eline Vereecken

Co-Convener
Agnieszka Bigaj

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First name	Last name	Country	Affiliation
Fernández-Ordóñez	David	Switzerland	fib
Vereecken	Eline	Belgium	Hasselt University
Bigaj-van Vliet	Agnieszka	Netherlands	TNO - Buildings, Infrastructures and Maritime

WPSAG1.2.2 - Multi-criteria decision-making for sustainable concrete structures

 

Further development of design practices for sustainable concrete structures is an essential step towards making a meaningful contribution to the global effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve this goal, the Working Party SAG1.2.2 will focus on the following objective:

Identifying the best tools to guide the decision-making process towards optimal structural solutions in terms of environmental impact, while meeting the desired structural and functional and economic performances requirements: The TG.SAG.2 will elaborate on the objectives and methodologies for a multi-criteria decision-making process aimed at achieving sustainable structural solutions through sustainability-oriented design optimization. It will also propose effective strategies and procedures to ensure that decision-making across design stages supports the achievement of these objectives.

Convener
Irene Josa

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First name	Last name	Country	Affiliation
Fernández-Ordóñez	David	Switzerland	fib
Josa	Irene	United Kingdom	University College London (UCL)
Borghese	Vittoria	Netherlands	TNO
Ammann	Rebecca	Switzerland
Spada	Matteo	Switzerland	ZHAW
Passoni	Chiara	Italy	University of Bergamo
Marsili	Francesca	Germany	Helmut-Schmidt-University/ University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg
Strauss	Alfred	Austria	BOKU University
Minoretti	Arianna	Norway	Statens vegvesen

WPSAG1.2.3 - Green regeneration of the concrete heritage

 

Further development of design practices for sustainable concrete structures is an essential step towards making a meaningful contribution to the global effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve this goal, the Working Party SAG1.2.3 will focus on the following objective: specifying a path of knowledge, assessment of the level of safety and design of possible interventions, conceptually similar to that provided for ordinary, non-protected constructions, but appropriately adapted to the needs and peculiarities of cultural heritage. The purpose is to formulate, as objectively as possible, the final judgment on the safety and conservation of heritage reinforced concrete constructions ensured by their current state and the designed structural interventions.

Enabling performance-based design of sustainable structures in a life cycle perspective: The WP.SAG1.2.3 will work towards the consistent implementation of the green regeneration of the concrete heritage. This implementation will involve careful consideration of verification approaches for these heritage structures.

Convener
Marco di Prisco

Co-Convener
Francesco Romeo

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First name	Last name	Country	Affiliation
Fernández-Ordóñez	David	Switzerland	fib
di Prisco	Marco	Italy	Politecnico di Milano
Romeo	Francesco	Italy
Balázs	György L.	Hungary	Budapest Univ. of Techn. & Economics
A. O. Barros	Joaquim	Portugal	Universidade do Minho
Belletti	Beatrice	Italy	Univ. degli Studi di Parma - Engineering and Architecture
Borghese	Vittoria	Netherlands	TNO
Chiorino	Mario Alberto	Italy	Politecnico di Torino
Lenticchia	Erica	Italy
Margiotta Nervi	Elisabetta	Belgium	Fondation Pier Luigi Nervi
Multari	Giovanni	Italy	Corvino + Multari
Muttoni	Aurelio	Switzerland	École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPF Lausanne)
Plizzari	Giovanni	Italy	University of Brescia
Sikora	Pawel	Poland	West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin
Strauss	Alfred	Austria	BOKU University
Todisco	Leonardo	Spain	E.T.S.I. Caminos, Canales y Puertos
Zani	Giulio	Italy	Politecnico di Milano
Vereecken	Eline	Belgium	Hasselt University
Bigaj-van Vliet	Agnieszka	Netherlands	TNO - Buildings, Infrastructures and Maritime

WPSAG1.2.4 - Implementation of the safety philosophy for structural design with innovative solutions

 

Further development of design practices for sustainable concrete structures is an essential step towards making a meaningful contribution to the global effort to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve this goal, the Working Party SAG1.2.4 will focus on the following objective:

Enabling performance-based design of sustainable structures in a life cycle perspective: The WP.SAG1.2.4 will work towards the consistent implementation of the safety philosophy for structural design across a wide range of innovative solutions (in particular for solutions that are currently outside the scope of Model Code 2020). This implementation will involve careful reconsideration of reliability requirements and the treatment of uncertainties in the verification of structural performance. The WP.SAG1.2.4 will also formulate principles for an equivalent performance approach to structural design with innovative (material) solutions and establish a basis for operational provisions for performance evaluation supported by material and structural testing of innovative solutions.

The topics tackled in this WP are the following:

• Consideration of sustainability in risk-and reliability-based approaches to design and assessment
• Consideration of sustainability in the calibration of partial safety factors
• Selection of representative cases of application areas of current design rules
• Semi probabilistic design of new structures with reclaimed elements and recycled material

Convener
Diego Allaix

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First name	Last name	Country	Affiliation
Fernández-Ordóñez	David	Switzerland	fib
Allaix	Diego Lorenzo	Netherlands	TNO Neitherlands
Köhler	Jochen	Norway	NTNU
Hingorani	Ramon	Norway	SINTEF
Caspeele	Robby	Belgium	Ghent University
Bigaj-van Vliet	Agnieszka	Netherlands	TNO - Buildings, Infrastructures and Maritime
Vereecken	Eline	Belgium	Hasselt University

WPSAG1.2.5 - Sustainable decision-making for concrete structures portfolios

 

The Working Party SAG1.2.5 will focus on the development of sustainable portfolio-level decisionmaking approaches for concrete structures, with particular attention to the role of public authorities. The technical work is structured around four complementary parts addressing portfolio definition, portfolio optimisation and decision support for intervention planning in specific, practice relevant, cases.

 

• PART A – Portfolio definition and portfolio optimization for concrete structures portfolios Portfolio definition focuses on how sustainability is defined, governed, and operationalised at the portfolio level for concrete structures portfolios. It addresses the roles of various stakeholders in decisional processes, structuring portfolio objectives, and selecting sustainability criteria and indicators across different project phases. The objective is to understand how sustainability ambitions translate into portfolio decision frameworks, how criteria may change over time, and how risks related to fragmented or unbalanced indicator use can be mitigated through a coherent portfolio-level approach. Portfolio optimization focuses on methodologies and tools for optimising concrete structures portfolios once sustainability objectives, criteria, indicators and decision constraints have been defined. It spans from multi-objective and/or multi-criteria optimization to more complex and advanced tools such as stochastic and robust optimization, supporting transparent exploration of tradeoffs between structural performance, and economic, environmental and social impacts.
• PART B – Portfolio decision-making for interventions to mitigate earthquake effects. This part focuses on budget allocation problems in which the goal is to split limited monetary resources between proactive strengthening interventions to decrease the vulnerability of the structures and consequently decrease the probability of damages, or the intensity of the damages occurred, and reactive reconstruction operations to fix the damages and restore structure functionality and accessibility. This problem naturally includes uncertainty on the earthquake intensity, as well as on other parameters such as the initial vulnerability, which can be reduced by means of detailed inspections, which consumes part of the monetary resources. The goal is to study which types of interventions are more effective, which criteria should be used to determine the structures to be strengthen, which is the optimal budget split, and finally, how much important is to reduce uncertainty and which are the candidate buildings on which inspection is useful and yields a real benefit. Different decision tools will be provided, and the role of AI and Machine Learning (ML) may have in this process will be discussed.
• PART C – Portfolio decision-making for maintenance, renovation and replacement in bridge portfolios Road bridge networks are critical components of transportation systems. Many of them are aging and require carefully planned renovation and reconstruction interventions. Infrastructure managers are therefore faced with the challenge of allocating limited financial resources over time while maintaining required levels of structural performance over time and limiting mobility disruptions. This part addresses a strategic multi-year bridge portfolio management planning problem at network level, in which different types of interventions, including renovation, reconstruction, traffic limitation, and full closure, can be applied to extend the residual service life of bridges at different costs and with different impacts on mobility disruption. The goal is to provide effective tools which helps decision makers to provide effective plans, not only for immediate objectives, but also looking at long-term impact of these decisions on future generations. The advantageous achievable with the exploitation of inspections to reduce uncertainty on the initial conditions of the structures and on their aging and deterioration processes will be investigated. Different decision tools will be provided, and the role of AI and Machine Learning (ML) may have in this process will be discussed.
• PART D – Structural Monitoring In this part the role of monitoring for a quick and effective diagnosis of structures damages is investigated. In particular, the analysis and interpretation of data collected by sensors positioned in strategic points of the structure, will be used to derive insights on the damages occurred. To avoid false alarms and, more important, to avoid actual alarm signals neglection, AI and ML advanced tools can be used for developing advanced anomaly detection tools. The final goal is to provide practitioners strategies and tools which can helps quick detection of anomalies, identify the possible causes and provide decisions which can increase the population safety (such as closing or limiting the access to a structure), without disrupting mobility when it is not expressively needed.

Convener
Arianna Minoretti

Co-Convener
TBT

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First name	Last name	Country	Affiliation
Fernández-Ordóñez	David	Switzerland	fib
Minoretti	Arianna	Norway	Statens vegvesen
Bigaj-van Vliet	Agnieszka	Netherlands	TNO - Buildings, Infrastructures and Maritime
Brongers	Brian	Netherlands	Technische Universiteit Delft
Borghese	Vittoria	Netherlands	TNO
Kasuga	Akio	Japan	School of Engineering
Passoni	Chiara	Italy	University of Bergamo
Marini	Alessandra	Italy	University of Bergamo
DARO'	PAOLA	Italy
Kessler	Sylvia	Germany	Helmut-Schmidt-University/ University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg
Marsili	Francesca	Germany	Helmut-Schmidt-University/ University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg
Vereecken	Eline	Belgium	Hasselt University

WPSAG1.2.6 - Reuse in structural concrete

 

The objective of WP.SAG1.2.6 is to enable the performance-based assessment and structural integration of reinforced concrete elements salvaged from existing structures (including buildings and infrastructure) into new applications.

The core scope is on:

• Salvaged elements: The focus is strictly on components reclaimed from existing structures, not on design for disassembly with (fully) new components.
• New configurations: Design and assessment procedures for using these elements in new structural layouts, rather than whole-building preservation (i.e. assessment of existing structures).
• Technical focus: We will prioritize capacity assessment, quality control, connection design with salvaged elements, and overall structural robustness of new structures built with reused components. Even though the main focus will be on precast elements, the work will also consider the opportunities of reuse of in situ cast concrete.
• Typological approach: Assessment procedures will be categorized by element typology (e.g., beams, slabs, columns) to ensure applicability across various asset types.

Convener
Eline Vereecken

Co-Convener
Ramon Hingorani

Co-Convener
Irene Josa

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First name	Last name	Country	Affiliation
Fernández-Ordóñez	David	Switzerland	fib
Vereecken	Eline	Belgium	Hasselt University
Hingorani	Ramon	Norway	SINTEF
Vergoossen	Rob	Netherlands	Haskoning
Verstrynge	Els	Belgium	KU Leuven
Mark	Peter	Germany	Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Josa	Irene	United Kingdom	University College London (UCL)