Sustainability Performance of Interior Wall Types Used in Canada: A Life Cycle Thinking-Based Comparison

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On January 7, 2025

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Kartik Patel and Rajeev Ruparathna

Introduction

There has been a growing body of knowledge of the asset management of civil infrastructure [1,2]. Consequently, predictive asset management is becoming increasingly popular as it is driven by advancements in technology, such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, and data analytics [2]. Predictive asset management requires forecasting the physical condition of civil infrastructure, where deterioration data is an important input. By leveraging comprehensive deterioration data, asset managers can enhance the resilience, reliability, and efficiency of infrastructure systems, ultimately delivering greater value to stakeholders [1].

Deterioration assessment plays a pivotal role in asset management for several reasons. Firstly, it provides valuable insights into the condition of assets over time, allowing asset managers to anticipate maintenance needs and plan interventions effectively [3]. By regularly monitoring deterioration, organizations can prioritize resources and allocate budgets efficiently, ensuring critical assets remain operational and reliable. Moreover, deterioration assessment aids in risk management by identifying potential vulnerabilities and weaknesses in infrastructure [3]. Understanding the rate and extent of deterioration enables proactive measures to mitigate risks, such as implementing preventive maintenance strategies or initiating timely repairs. This proactive approach helps minimize the likelihood of unexpected failures or disruptions, thereby safeguarding public safety and minimizing costly downtime [4]. Furthermore, deterioration assessment contributes to the optimization of asset lifecycle management [4]. Asset managers can make informed decisions about repair, rehabilitation, or replacement strategies by tracking asset degradation patterns and performance trends. This enables them to maximize the lifespan of assets while minimizing overall life cycle costs [5]. Additionally, accurate deterioration assessment data facilitates long-term planning and forecasting, allowing organizations to effectively anticipate future capital investments and adapt to evolving infrastructure needs [5].

Buildings are an important piece of the socio-economic environment. Therefore, it is vital to establish methods to investigate the deterioration of buildings over the serviceable life to facilitate maintenance and/or rehabilitation planning [6]. Traditionally, deterioration and damage assessment of building infrastructure is carried out based on information obtained from a visual inspection or local non-destructive testing [7]. Additionally, it was observed that the deterioration of the building envelope and load-bearing structural elements has received the attention of academia. Nguyen et. al. [null], provided a hybrid model to forecast the long-term physical condition of the building envelopes [8]. Shohet et. al [10]. developed a database of listing deterioration patterns of building cladding components of building. Ojha et. al [11]. assessed deterioration patterns of building elements such as slabs, columns, and beams by using non-destructive test methods [11]. Furthermore, Dziadosz and Meszek [12] studied the deterioration of building facility systems by considering beam-column assemblies and exterior envelopes by the expected life of structures and the degree of deterioration risk [12].

In building asset management, both interior and exterior walls need equal attention. While exterior walls maintain the environment and guide the roof and floors, interior walls support floor and ceiling loads, provide chases for running pipes, wires, and ducts, and, more importantly, support the functionality of buildings [13]. However, interior walls are rarely subjected to corrosive weathering and are mainly affected by the usage [13]. Even though methods such as visual inspection, moisture meters, ultrasonic testing, infrared thermography, and surface hardness testing have been used for the condition assessment of interior walls, there are no standard methods used for condition assessment of interior walls; no standard methods are available for simulating the accelerated deterioration. Even though previous researchers have used a sandbag test and an impact test to simulate the long-term performance of wall surfaces, these studies have investigated the resistance and durability of wall surfaces, and no deterioration rate has been recorded [14,15].

The objective of this research is bifold. First, a method for accelerated aging of interior walls was designed; second, the deterioration rate of two popular interior wall types was investigated by using this setup. The development of the above experimental setup is one of the unique contributions of this research. This research has generated important information on the long-term deterioration of concrete block masonry walls and steel stud gypsum walls that can be used for building infrastructure management and construction planning.