Case study: influence of performance levels of ABNT NBR 15575 without consumption of materials used in reinforced concrete structures

Abstract

The Brazilian construction industry still discusses the consequence of the Performance Standard on housing developments. According to ABNT NBR 15575 [1], the systems that compose residential buildings need to meet minimum performance requirements. Among the systems, the structural must reach a minimum Service Life (SL) of 50 years, or intermediate or higher that corresponds to 63 and 75 years, respectively. The industry also debates the impact and viability of increasing the SL of reinforced concrete structures. Therefore, this article aimed to analyze a single reinforced concrete building designed for the 3 SL specified by ABNT NBR 15575 [1]. The study focused on the total consumption of steel and concrete. The structure’s designed conditions of exposure were varied for each performance level, based on the 4 environmental exposure classes (EEC) of ABNT NBR 6118 [3] and ABNT NBR 12655 [11], totalizing 12 situations. It was noted that the increased performance level increases consumption of materials, and the designs made for EEC IV consumed 12.3% and 16.2% more steel and concrete at the intermediate and superior performance levels respectively, when compared to the minimum performance level.