Life Cycle Assessment of Concrete Parking Structures to Enhance Durability and Structural Performance

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to provide designers, manufacturers, and owners of new parking facilities with best practices and design choices considering lifecycle costs and extreme loading scenarios for several selected parking structures in Ohio. To achieve this overall goal, an interactive tool was developed using Python software to perform lifecycle cost analysis while considering various parameters like joint sealant, flange-to-flange connectors, and general repairs due to corrosion after environmental exposure. Also, snow load effects were investigated when a plow pushes all the uniform snow accumulated on the top of the roof slabs of thirteen parking garage structures to the corners or edges. Furthermore, the additional live load that could come from large numbers of driverless cars on cast-in-place and precast concrete parking structures was investigated. In this dissertation, a lifecycle assessment methodology is proposed for cast-in-place and precast concrete parking structures to identify and address durability and structural performance issues with the objective of answering these specific questions: (1) how to perform overall lifecycle assessment of parking structures, (2) how to perform performance assessment of double-tee beam flange-to-flange connections and joint leakage, and (3) how to investigate a parking structure’s ability to carry unexpected loads. The author had access to design, repair, and maintenance data from several existing concrete parking structures. Historical maintenance and repair records were used to assess the impact of design changes to improve the durability and structural performance. An interactive tool is developed in Python software to perform lifecycle cost analysis considering various parameters including joint sealants, flange-to-flange connector, periodical damage repairs, and general maintenance due to environmental exposure. The new program also evaluates the fatigue stress conditions considering the design life of connectors. The ability of existing parking structures to last into the future relies not only on proper maintenance but also on an ability to resist future unexpected loads that may not have been designed for. For example, this can be snow load produced when a plow pushes the uniform snow on the top deck of a garage to one corner or edge producing a load concentration. Another load with potential impact is the additional live loads that could come from driverless cars in the future. A procedure is proposed using three-dimensional influence surfaces to investigate the effects of these unusual loads on the structural performance of parking structures.