Innovation

This paper introduces the concept of Construction 4.0 and examines the digital transformation of the construction sector. The potential of additive manufacturing as a driver for innovation in construction that enables the fabrication of lightweight and functionally graded structures is presented and discussed.

Construction 4.0

The construction industry is adopting new technologies at a slow pace and has not yet been through the major disruptive digital transformation that other industries such as automotive or aeronautics have been through in the form of Industry 4.0. Industry 4.0 has greatly altered industry and production value chains and business models. As the construction industry faces the challenges of implementing digital technologies, intelligent machines, and smart materials, this transformation is taking place. Known as Construction 4.0, this transformation will bring about greater productivity, time-efficiency, and resource-efficiency while enhancing safety and quality.

Building information modelling (BIM) digitally integrates the aesthetic design and technical details of a construction project into one information package. BIM gives a digital prototype of the building to everyone involved in the construction, before it is built.  ArcelorMittal Europe is currently developing BIM objects for every one of its high added value steel products used in construction.

A greater level of digitalisation through BIM integrated with cloud computing technology will result in Cloud-BIM data that allows for easy access on mobile devices. This increased connectivity and access to the most up-to-date information will greatly improve productivity.

In the steel construction industry specifically, adaptive automation solutions such as arc welding robotic technology are already enhancing production. These welding robotic solutions can be fitted with laser cameras to further improve production quality and are capable of cutting complex geometries quickly without the need for finishing steps. Additionally, these robotic solutions are also being applied to steel cutting applications such as tubes, thick plates, and pipes resulting in greater efficiency.

The utilisation of IoT (Internet of Things) technology such as UAV (unmanned aerial vehicles) also has the potential to transform the building industry. UAVs can be used for tracking construction projects and making quality assessments in addition to monitoring construction sites, masonry assembly, and carrying out some of the dangerous work that currently decreases site safety.

Overall, Construction 4.0 will enhance stakeholder collaboration, creativity, and strengthen the supply chain.

Additive manufacturing in construction

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is defined as “the process of joining materials to make objects from 3D model data, usually layer upon layer, as opposed to subtractive manufacturing methodologies, such as traditional machining ” (American Society for Testing and Materials standard).

AM processes are increasingly used in industrial applications due to their unique features such as eliminating the need for tooling and more economical custom product manufacturing. AM processes typically used in the construction industry are commonly extrusion-based processes (cement/ceramic paste and polymer-based materials), binder jetting processes, and the fusion of high melting point materials for both on-site and off-site fabrication of new construction elements or repairing applications.

As AM evolves, it is allowing architects and engineers to design more complex geometries. The main challenges and opportunities of this evolving technology in the construction sector are explored in depth in this paper.

Materials and lightweight and functionally graded structures

One of the ways in which AM is contributing to Construction 4.0 is as a platform for materials design. It allows for the use of natural and recyclable materials, which is conducive to a more sustainable construction approach.

As this paper points out, resource efficiency is fundamental as we move towards a more efficient construction sector. Lightweight structural components allow for a decrease in waste generation, emissions, and consumption.  Utilising the technologies describe in the paper will bring us one step closer to this global goal.

Moving forward

Construction 4.0 promises to increase construction productivity, quality, cost, and resource efficiency, all of which will require the adoption of technical innovations such as IoT, BIM, AM, and other digital systems.

Text: Constructalia
Photos and report: Flávio Craveiroa, José Pinto Duarte, Helena Bartolo, Paulo Jorge Bartolo

ArcelorMittal Europe has sponsored a documentary about Leslie E. Robertson, who was the lead structural engineer of the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in New York City. He oversaw the construction of the tallest building in the world at that time (417 m) and has been haunted by its collapse and the events of 9/11.

The designer of some of the most prestigious buildings

With the support and the love of his wife and business partner, SawTeen See, Robertson rebounded and has designed some of the most prestigious high-rise buildings on the planet, such as the Shanghai World Financial Center. This 492-metre-tall building, owned by Japanese investor Mori Building, was designed by Robertson and See with 15 000 tonnes of HISTAR® steel sections produced by ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products’ mill in Differdange, Luxembourg.

Robertson’s story

His story is now the subject of a documentary, Leaning Out, which premiered for the first time during the 2018 Architecture & Design Film Festival in New York City. The premiere was attended by our colleagues Jean-Claude Gerardy (ArcelorMittal Europe – Long Products), Ravi Ranganathan, Ramana Venkat, and Vince Mondelli (ArcelorMittal International Chicago).

ArcelorMittal is proud to sponsor this documentary focussing on innovation and visionary collaborations and recounting how Robertson embraced new technologies and innovative steels such as HISTAR® to design tall landmark buildings.

Leaning Out is now available on DVD/VOD. You can get your copy of Leaning Out now on the official website or Vimeo:

Official website
Vimeo

Text: ArcelorMittal Europe, Constructalia

Photos: Leaning Out documentary

ArcelorMittal has taken a leading role in forming and committing to ResponsibleSteel™, the steel industry's first multi-stakeholder global certification initiative.

First global certification programme

ResponsibleSteel™ was set up in 2015 as a non-profit organisation to drive a more responsible future for the steel industry. It will achieve this by building the first global certification programme and standard for the entire steel value chain from mining, to production processes, to final stage sales, and distribution. Certification standards will include the following areas:

• Climate Change & Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• Water Responsibility & Biodiversity
• Human Rights & Labour Law
• Local Communities & Business Integrity

ArcelorMittal’s commitment

Explaining ArcelorMittal’s commitment to ResponsibleSteel™, Alan Knight, Global Head of Sustainable Development, said that "responsible production techniques and high ethical and business standards are becoming increasingly important to our customers, and ultimately to their customers and consumers. We want to get to a point where steel users and purchasers have total confidence in their choices. ResponsibleSteel™ provides us with a fantastic opportunity to do this and to create the world’s first certification programme for the industry.”

About ResponsibleSteel™

ResponsibleSteel™ is a membership-based organisation currently comprising 22 members including steel producers, car manufacturers (BMW Group and Daimler), finance providers such as HSBC, industry organisations and NGOs. The scheme will formally launch its certification standards following a rigorous accreditation process which is expected to conclude towards the end of 2019. Once launched, ResponsibleSteel™ expects to rapidly grow its membership base with the aim of becoming the industry-recognised standard around the world.

Good news for astronomy enthusiasts: the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), which will be located in Chile, is currently being built with ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products’ steel plates produced in Gijón, Spain. Once in service, this powerful telescope, equipped with a 3.2-billion-pixel camera, will make a survey of the universe in 3D.

10 years studying the universe

Thanks to its dry atmosphere, Chile has become the site of choice for many astronomy observatories with 70% of the world’s astronomical infrastructure planned to be in the country by the 2020s.

This is where the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), developed by AURA (Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy), is currently under construction. The project has been funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and aims to produce the deepest, widest image of the universe night after night for 10 years.

The LSST uses a three-mirror design, which offers a wide field of view and is able to survey the entire sky in only three nights. It will deliver sharp images taken by a 3.2-billion-pixel camera, the largest digital camera ever constructed.

A robust structure made with our steel

In 2014, a Spanish consortium formed by Asturfeito and GHESA won the offer for the design, construction, and testing of the Telescope Mount Assembly.

ArcelorMittal Europe – Flat Products’ mill in Gijón supplied customer Asturfeito with steel plates for the construction of the telescope’s structure. Our plates in grade S355J2 + N provide the necessary toughness for an application such as this one.

The competitiveness of our offer in terms of price and technical requirements convinced Asturfeito to opt for our steel solutions. Regarding logistics, the location of our mill was an added benefit due to its proximity with the customer’s facility (also in the region of Asturias).

Coming in 2020

Asturfeito fully assembled the LSST in its production site and carried out control and performance tests in collaboration with GHESA. The telescope will be disassembled and the parts will be transported from the port of Avilés to Chile this autumn before being installed at 2600 metres of altitude in Cerro Pachón. LSST will see “first light” with a commissioning camera in August of 2020 and begin the ten-year full science survey in October of 2022.

About Asturfeito

Our client, Asturfeito, is a leading company in the engineering, manufacturing, and commissioning of capital goods with more than 20 years of experience in the scientific, nuclear, petrochemical, renewable energy, industrial, and steel industries. The company currently employs 220 people and has three production sites in Asturias: in Tabaza; in the Principality of Asturias Business Park (PEPA), very close to the port of Avilés (facilities where the skeleton of the telescope has been built); and in Silvota.

Fact & figures about the LSST

•    16 metre-diameter
•    375 tonnes
•    8.4-m mirror - the width of a singles tennis court
•    3200-megapixel camera
•    Each image the size of 40 full moons
•    37 billion stars and galaxies
•    10-year survey of the sky
•    10 million alerts, 1000 pairs of exposures
•    15 terabytes of data...every night

ArcelorMittal has won two Steelie Awards highlighting our excellence in sustainability, as well as in lifecycle assessment. The winners of the 9th Steelie Awards were announced at the Annual Dinner of the World Steel Association (worldsteel) on 16 October 2018.

Excellence in Sustainability

ArcelorMittal Brazil won the Steelie Award in the ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ category for their water master plan, which reduced the company's water intake by more than 6 000 000 m3/year despite a 17% increase in production. This award distinguishes the sustainability initiative which has made the greatest contribution to all three areas of sustainability – economic, environmental, and social value – while garnering significant community engagement.

Also shortlisted in the same category was ArcelorMittal Saint Chély d’Apcher, France for their construction of a heat network which recovers energy from the steel mill to heat the municipality of Saint Chély d’Apcher cutting CO2 emissions by more than 4000 tonnes a year.

Excellence in Life Cycle Assessment - Steligence®

ArcelorMittal has also won the Steelie in the ‘Excellence in Life Cycle Assessment’ category for our Steligence® concept. Steligence® goes beyond relying on steel’s excellent recycling credentials and low embedded carbon content to earn a construction project its sustainability designation. It offers developers, architects, engineers, and contractors a whole new way of thinking about construction – life cycle assessment – to enable them to build a truly circular economy. This award recognises the best use of life cycle thinking for overall environmental improvement in marketing and/or regulatory influence, project application, and new product development.

ArcelorMittal Europe was also shortlisted in the same category for an economic study conducted to better forecast the behaviour of the global scrap market and validate the allocation of recycling credits and burdens in the life cycle assessment of steel products.

ArcelorMittal continues to leap forward in steel solutions with the release of Steligence®. Ushering in a new wave of high-performance building and construction techniques, this fresh and innovative concept ensures that each steel component interacts in a complementary way.

"Taking a holistic approach to sustainable construction." (Prof. Olivier Vassart)

Steligence® was developed after a number of years of scientific and industry reviewed research that has resulted in a profound new approach to construction built on a strong foundation of sustainability.

Addressing current issues in the building industry, Steligence® is a philosophy that incorporates all elements of design and encourages more communication among the architectural and engineering experts involved in a building project.

Keeping only the strongest elements of traditional construction methods, Steligence® incorporates the best available technology in steelmaking and a new and fresh approach to sustainability in terms of the overall design process and the future life of a building.

The Steligence® approach includes a broad range of steel products for construction which individually add value, but together represent a compelling portfolio with a range of defined benefits.

A win-win solution

During a speech at the London launch event, Greg Ludkovsky, ArcelorMittal’s global head of research and development, explained that “as climate, energy and resource scarcity intensifies, win-win solutions like Steligence® become imperative for business and society at large. Buildings play a huge part in all our lives, so creating a construction concept that improves their social, economic and environmental impact while dramatically enhancing their functionality and aesthetics has been a huge but important challenge.”