Aluminium Structures – A Sustainable Future?

Abstract

To answer the question whether aluminium offers a valuable and sustainable solution in structural design or not, a comprehensive investigation has been undertaken. Parallel to ecological and economical performance considerations, design aspects are investigated as well. Utilization degrees of structural components are explored by comparing national and European design guidelines and by applying optimization methods. Environmental effects are evaluated by means of Life-Cycle-Analysis (LCA), whereas costs are estimated using Life-Cycle-Cost-Analysis (LCCA). Based on these tools, two load-bearing aluminium structures are investigated and compared with respective applications in steel. The examples are – first a 300 m2-façade-system, and second a roof structure consisting of metallic beams with 12 m span.If correctly designed and executed, an aluminium structure exhibits a much better ecological and economical performance compared to steel. Contributing factors include the high ratio of load-bearing capacity to dead weight, the formability and optimization of cross sections through extrusions, higher corrosion resistance, considerably lower maintenance requirements and the advantageous recycling potential.