Discussion on the use of stainless steel in constructions in view of sustainability

Abstract Recent years have seen an increase in the use of stainless steel in buildings, mainly owing to its corrosion properties and therefore long service life. Among stainless steels, ferritic and lean duplex grades are characterized by low nickel content resulting in a more cost-stable and economic material compared to austenitic stainless steels. These grades have comparable (or even higher) strength than carbon steel and good corrosion resistance at lower cost. That is why, lately, they have been more often used in structural components. In this paper, attention is first paid to the advantages associated with the use of stainless steel in recent construction projects in view of sustainability. Second, life cycle analysis and the background of the new European standard EN 15804 are introduced, including module D, which allows credits to be taken now for the eventual reuse or recycling of material in the future, at the end-of-life stage. Life cycle inventories of stainless steel products (cold-rolled coils and quarto plate) are presented. Depending on the fraction of material recovered at the end of the lifespan, two potential impacts (Primary Energy Demand and Global Warming Potential) are presented for four grades: 1.4301 (AISI 304) and 1.4401 (AISI 316) austenitic grades, 1.4016 (AISI 430) ferritic grade and 1.4462 (AISI 2205) duplex grade. The influence of module D is underlined.

[1]  J.-P. Birat,et al.  The value of recycling to society and its internalization into LCA methodology , 2006 .

[2]  Barbara Rossi,et al.  Strength enhancements in cold-formed structural sections - Part II: Predictive models , 2013 .

[3]  A. Amato,et al.  Development of quantitative methodology for assessing embodied energy of recyclable and reusable materials/products , 1996 .

[4]  Tao Wang,et al.  The energy benefit of stainless steel recycling , 2008 .

[5]  Hans-Jürgen Dr. Klüppel,et al.  The Revision of ISO Standards 14040-3 - ISO 14040: Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Principles and framework - ISO 14044: Environmental management – Life cycle assessment – Requirements and guidelines , 2005 .

[6]  N. R. Baddoo,et al.  Stainless steel in construction: A review of research, applications, challenges and opportunities , 2008 .

[7]  Graham Gedge,et al.  Structural uses of stainless steel — buildings and civil engineering , 2008 .

[8]  Leroy Gardner,et al.  The use of stainless steel in structures , 2005 .

[9]  Dimitri V. Val,et al.  Life-cycle cost analysis of reinforced concrete structures in marine environments , 2003 .

[10]  Hans-Jürgen Dr. Klüppel,et al.  ISO 14041: Environmental management — life cycle assessment — goal and scope definition — inventory analysis , 1998 .

[11]  Mahmud Ashraf,et al.  Elevated temperature material properties of stainless steel alloys , 2010 .

[12]  Leroy Gardner,et al.  Temperature development in structural stainless steel sections exposed to fire , 2006 .

[13]  Barbara Rossi,et al.  Life-cycle assessment of residential buildings in three different European locations, basic tool , 2012 .

[14]  Jun Qian,et al.  Studies on the emittance of stainless steel surface , 1996 .

[15]  J. Terán,et al.  Assessment of stainless steel reinforcement for concrete structures rehabilitation , 2008 .