The Impact of Connections on the Embodied Carbon of Mass Timber Buildings
Open Access
- Author:
- Prichard, Morgan
- Area of Honors:
- Architectural Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Architectural Engineering
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Nathan Brown, Thesis Supervisor
Richard Mistrick, Thesis Honors Advisor
Samantha J Leonard, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Mass Timber
Embodied Carbon
Connections
Parametric Design Space Exploration - Abstract:
- While full LCA studies of mass timber buildings quantify the embodied carbon (EC) of every individual component, some of these components have significant variability in early design when their characteristics are unknown. Consequently, many early design tools omit the contribution of structural connections. To address this gap in early design analysis of EC, this research investigates the EC impact of connections relative to the total gravity structural system. An interior bay of the gravity system provided the framework for analysis across both case study reviews and the development of parametrically driven design spaces for both mass timber systems and steel systems. When looking at mass timber beam to girder pre-engineered connections, they account for an average of 0.43 lbs CO2 / sqft. When including column connections and deck fasteners, connections are found to account for up to 40% of the total gravity system EC. Accounting for mass timber connections during LCA studies can be significantly more relevant as compared to more traditional system types when considering the EC contributions.
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