Pioneering research and skills
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Sensors pave the way to recycle buildings With space in city centres at a premium, a research team have pioneered a way to test whether the foundations of buildings under demolition or reconstruction can be reused – saving construction companies time and money, and helping reduce their environmental impact. Working with construction group Skanska, researchers from the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction which is sponsored by EPSRC and TSB, cored into the foundation supports of a London office block under demolition. They then inserted optical fibre-based sensors to measure the strain the foundations could absorb, and advise on which could be reused. The project was so successful, the Cambridge team led by Professor Kenichi Soga and Dr Mohammed Elshafie were able to help the company save £6 million and reduce carbon emissions by 100,000 tonnes. In the future, Skanska plan to use the same approach. By reusing foundations the construction programme can be shortened, typically saving £2-3 million per project plus associated CO2 and time savings.
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