A decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support: A case study in Wanrong tunnel on Meng-Hua railway
China faces an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, and tunnel construction will play a critical role in achieving this goal. While much focus has been placed on new construction materials, the potential carbon emission reductions from structural optimization have been largely overlooked. This st...
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Case Studies in Construction Materials |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525006758 |
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| author | Feng Lu Zhenyu Chen Xianshun Zhou Yingda Zhang Wenge Qiu Xinqiang Gao Kai Liu |
| author_facet | Feng Lu Zhenyu Chen Xianshun Zhou Yingda Zhang Wenge Qiu Xinqiang Gao Kai Liu |
| author_sort | Feng Lu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | China faces an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, and tunnel construction will play a critical role in achieving this goal. While much focus has been placed on new construction materials, the potential carbon emission reductions from structural optimization have been largely overlooked. This study addresses the issue of overdesign in tunnel lattice girders (LG) and achieves two key outcomes: preventing overdesign while ensuring tunnel safety, and demonstrating the decarbonization potential and economic benefits of optimizing the LG structure. The LG overdesign was found to stem from an overestimation of loose soil load in Chinese regulations. After accounting for the resistance of surrounding rock, mechanical evaluations revealed that the main steel bars near the rock side, diagonal bars, welds, and stirrups contribute minimally to the load-bearing capacity of the LG. An optimization strategy was proposed, involving adjustments to the diameters of the main steel and diagonal bars, the reduction of weld lengths, and the elimination of stirrups. On-site experiments conducted in the Wanrong tunnel of the Meng-Hua railway confirmed the safety of the optimized design and demonstrated a 36.77 % reduction in carbon emissions, amounting to 3462.85 tons, with a decrease of 0.4849 t/m in carbon emission intensity compared to standard designs. Further emission analysis considered quantities, contributing factors, construction stages, and individual components. Compared to the traditional scheme, the optimized solution has reduced the total project cost by 36.76 %. The decarbonization strategy proposed in this study provides a possible solution for future tunnel constructions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1f668405171749bcaec737d76efeddaa |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2214-5095 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Studies in Construction Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-1f668405171749bcaec737d76efeddaa2025-08-20T03:11:03ZengElsevierCase Studies in Construction Materials2214-50952025-07-0122e0487710.1016/j.cscm.2025.e04877A decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support: A case study in Wanrong tunnel on Meng-Hua railwayFeng Lu0Zhenyu Chen1Xianshun Zhou2Yingda Zhang3Wenge Qiu4Xinqiang Gao5Kai Liu6School of Emergency Management, Xihua University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610039, China; Key Laboratory of Transportation Tunnel Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031, ChinaSchool of Emergency Management, Xihua University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610039, ChinaSchool of Civil Engineering and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong 518060, ChinaSchool of Emergency Management, Xihua University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610039, ChinaKey Laboratory of Transportation Tunnel Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Civil Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and System Safety of Traffic Engineering Structures, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050043, China; Corresponding author.Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USAChina faces an urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, and tunnel construction will play a critical role in achieving this goal. While much focus has been placed on new construction materials, the potential carbon emission reductions from structural optimization have been largely overlooked. This study addresses the issue of overdesign in tunnel lattice girders (LG) and achieves two key outcomes: preventing overdesign while ensuring tunnel safety, and demonstrating the decarbonization potential and economic benefits of optimizing the LG structure. The LG overdesign was found to stem from an overestimation of loose soil load in Chinese regulations. After accounting for the resistance of surrounding rock, mechanical evaluations revealed that the main steel bars near the rock side, diagonal bars, welds, and stirrups contribute minimally to the load-bearing capacity of the LG. An optimization strategy was proposed, involving adjustments to the diameters of the main steel and diagonal bars, the reduction of weld lengths, and the elimination of stirrups. On-site experiments conducted in the Wanrong tunnel of the Meng-Hua railway confirmed the safety of the optimized design and demonstrated a 36.77 % reduction in carbon emissions, amounting to 3462.85 tons, with a decrease of 0.4849 t/m in carbon emission intensity compared to standard designs. Further emission analysis considered quantities, contributing factors, construction stages, and individual components. Compared to the traditional scheme, the optimized solution has reduced the total project cost by 36.76 %. The decarbonization strategy proposed in this study provides a possible solution for future tunnel constructions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525006758Carbon emissionLattice girdersSustainable tunnel constructionMechanical performance |
| spellingShingle | Feng Lu Zhenyu Chen Xianshun Zhou Yingda Zhang Wenge Qiu Xinqiang Gao Kai Liu A decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support: A case study in Wanrong tunnel on Meng-Hua railway Case Studies in Construction Materials Carbon emission Lattice girders Sustainable tunnel construction Mechanical performance |
| title | A decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support: A case study in Wanrong tunnel on Meng-Hua railway |
| title_full | A decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support: A case study in Wanrong tunnel on Meng-Hua railway |
| title_fullStr | A decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support: A case study in Wanrong tunnel on Meng-Hua railway |
| title_full_unstemmed | A decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support: A case study in Wanrong tunnel on Meng-Hua railway |
| title_short | A decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support: A case study in Wanrong tunnel on Meng-Hua railway |
| title_sort | decarbonization strategy for lattice girders in primary support a case study in wanrong tunnel on meng hua railway |
| topic | Carbon emission Lattice girders Sustainable tunnel construction Mechanical performance |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214509525006758 |
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