Environmental Evaluations and Cost Performance of Prefabricated Buildings Based on the Life Cycle Assessment

学生名:王 賀

研究テーマ:English

(日本語)

入学年月:2017.04

修了年月:2020.09

取得学位:博士（工学）

論文概要:The increasing global focus on sustainable development and the urgent need to mitigate environmental impacts in the construction industry have highlighted prefabricated buildings as a promising solution. Prefabrication, an industrialized approach to building, offers benefits such as reduced material waste, shorter construction times, and lower energy consumption. However, these benefits are often accompanied by challenges, including higher initial costs, logistical limitations, and a lack of comprehensive evaluation frameworks that consider the entire life cycle of buildings.

This study investigates the environmental and cost performance of prefabricated buildings through a detailed life cycle assessment (LCA). The research first reviews the historical development of prefabricated construction across various countries, analyzing technological innovations, policy frameworks, and market adoption trends. A hybrid LCA model is proposed, which divides the building life cycle into design, materialization, operation, and dismantling stages to comprehensively assess environmental impacts. Key performance metrics include carbon emissions, energy consumption, and cost-effectiveness across these stages.

A comparative analysis of prefabricated and traditional cast-in-situ buildings reveals that prefabricated structures reduce total energy consumption and carbon emissions by 7.54% and 7.17%, respectively, over their life cycle. Furthermore, prefabricated buildings achieve a 10.62% reduction in construction costs per square meter. Case studies on varying assembly rates indicate that increasing prefabrication levels up to 60% optimizes environmental and cost performance, beyond which diminishing returns are observed.

This research also explores the role of thermal insulation in prefabricated building envelopes, identifying optimal insulation thicknesses for different climate zones to balance material production energy and operational energy savings. Results demonstrate that overly thick insulation layers can lead to diminishing energy efficiency gains, emphasizing the need for tailored solutions based on regional conditions.

The findings underscore the potential of prefabricated construction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and resource consumption in the building sector. By combining environmental and economic assessments, this study provides a practical framework for stakeholders to advance the adoption of prefabricated buildings and contribute to sustainable urban development.