Comparison of two different materials on frame systems with focus on life cycle analysis.

Sammanfattning: The structural engineer should not only be able to perform design calculations but also findmore efficient solutions for building parts. The purpose of this thesis is to redesign a concreteframe for a house (an apartment building) into a light frame with steel columns andcompartment walls, as well as perform a life cycle analysis for materials on both frames anddetermine the frame with the lowest environmental impact.The result shows that the lightweight frame with steel columns and compartment walls is amuch better choice for the environment as it stands only for 60 000 kg CO2e compared toconcrete frame which stands for 163 000 kg / CO2e. The steel frame emits about 60% lessemissions than the concrete frame.By optimizing steel columns in the upper floors and choosing smaller columns led to ten tonsless mass of steel and less emissions by 15 000 kg / CO2e.The selected compartment wall has a thickness of 309 mm which is 6 mm thicker than theexisting wall which results in a reduction of the area of house by 6 square meters throughoutthe house which can be expensive depending on the location of the house.In conclusion, the material concrete is good when it is needed due to requirements on fire,noise, and durability but also less suitable when not needed. In this case, it is useless with thematerial concrete as the outer wall and can therefore be replaced by a steel columns andcompartment wall instead.