Sensitivity analysis of Life Cycle Assessment to select reinforced concrete structures with one-way slabs

Abstract Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tools are often applied to the production stage of structural projects. This study aims to determine the sensitivity of the real environmental impact according to aspects related to decisions made during the execution stage. This stage includes factors that are beyond the control of the planner or designer: control over production (hourly yield, waste management), location of production facilities (transport of components to building location). The present study analyzes and evaluates three variables: distance travelled for component transport, working hours, and materials wasted during the production and construction process. Limit values are established according to six possible scenarios. Based on the results, it can be concluded that hourly yield had a minimal effect on the generated environmental impact. Transport and material waste, on the other hand, are the factors that brought about the greatest variations in environmental impact. For example, the components that are most sensitive to transport can decrease environmental impact by 65.66% or increase it by 18.24% depending on project location. And when considering material wasted during production and construction, the environmental impact varied from −9.77% to 9.78%.

[1]  José Dinis Silvestre,et al.  Comparative environmental life cycle assessment of thermal insulation materials of buildings , 2014 .

[2]  Joël Aubin,et al.  Comparing environmental impacts of native and introduced freshwater prawn farming in Brazil and the influence of better effluent management using LCA , 2015 .

[3]  Yuhang Li,et al.  Life cycle inventory comparison of different building insulation materials and uncertainty analysis , 2016 .

[4]  Johannes T. Voordijk,et al.  Reducing the environmental impact of concrete and asphalt: a scenario approach , 2014 .

[5]  Oscar Ortiz,et al.  Sustainability in the construction industry: A review of recent developments based on LCA , 2009 .

[6]  E. Sanyé-Mengual,et al.  Comparative LCA of recycled and conventional concrete for structural applications , 2013, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[7]  Arpad Horvath,et al.  Life-cycle inventory analysis of concrete production: A critical review , 2014 .

[8]  R. L. Sawhney,et al.  Effect of construction materials on embodied energy and cost of buildings—A case study of residential houses in India up to 60 m2 of plinth area , 2014 .

[9]  Maurizio Cellura,et al.  Sensitivity analysis to quantify uncertainty in Life Cycle Assessment: The case study of an Italian tile , 2011 .

[10]  Vivian W. Y Tam,et al.  Benefit analysis on replacing in situ concreting with precast slabs for temporary construction works in pursuing sustainable construction practice , 2009 .

[11]  S Marinković,et al.  Comparative environmental assessment of natural and recycled aggregate concrete. , 2010, Waste management.

[12]  Ioanna Papayianni,et al.  Comparative life cycle assessment of concrete road pavements using industrial by-products as alternative materials , 2015 .

[13]  Valeria Ibáñez-Forés,et al.  Eco-efficiency analysis of the life cycle of interior partition walls: a comparison of alternative solutions , 2016 .

[14]  Teresa Gallego,et al.  Comparison of environmental impacts of building structures with in situ cast floors and with precast concrete floors , 2009 .

[15]  A. Mohamed,et al.  LCA for open systems: a review of the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors on aquaculture systems , 2015, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment.

[16]  Zhang Xu,et al.  Inventory analysis of LCA on steel- and concrete-construction office buildings , 2008 .

[17]  D. Fino,et al.  Eco-efficient waste glass recycling: Integrated waste management and green product development through LCA. , 2012, Waste management.

[18]  Gjalt Huppes,et al.  Quantitative life cycle assessment of products 2. Classification, valuation and improvement analysis , 1993 .

[19]  P. Van den Heede,et al.  Environmental impact and life cycle assessment (LCA) of traditional and ‘green’ concretes: Literature review and theoretical calculations , 2012 .

[20]  Alex K. Jones,et al.  A Materials Life Cycle Assessment of a Net-Zero Energy Building , 2013 .

[21]  Flora Faleschini,et al.  Recycled concrete containing EAF slag: environmental assessment through LCA , 2014 .

[22]  Stephan A. Durham,et al.  Optimization of Cementitious Material Content for Sustainable Concrete Mixtures , 2012 .

[23]  A. R. Ometto,et al.  Sensitivity analysis of the use of Life Cycle Impact Assessment methods: a case study on building materials , 2016 .

[24]  C Griffin,et al.  Comparing the embodied energy of structural systems in buildings , 2010 .

[25]  Fausto Freire,et al.  Significance of mobility in the life-cycle assessment of buildings , 2016 .

[26]  S. Thomas Ng,et al.  A life cycle assessment model for evaluating the environmental impacts of building construction in Hong Kong , 2015 .

[27]  A. Mladenovič,et al.  Environmental evaluation of green concretes versus conventional concrete by means of LCA. , 2015, Waste management.

[28]  Marco Rosignoli.  Full-Span Precasting for Light-Rail Transit and High-Speed Railway Bridges , 2014 .

[29]  Florence Collet,et al.  LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT OF A HEMP CONCRETE WALL: IMPACT OF THICKNESS AND COATING. , 2014 .

[30]  Joan Rieradevall,et al.  Environmental optimization of concrete sidewalks in urban areas , 2009 .

[31]  Vasilis Fthenakis,et al.  Life cycle analysis in the construction sector: Guiding the optimization of conventional Italian buildings , 2013 .

[32]  Hans-Jörg Althaus,et al.  Relevance of simplifications in LCA of building components , 2009 .

[33]  Emilio Jiménez-Macías,et al.  Optimization based on life cycle analysis for reinforced concrete structures with one-way slabs , 2016 .

[34]  S. Sharples,et al.  Global warming implications of facade parameters: A life cycle assessment of residential buildings in Bahrain , 2013 .

[35]  Emily Lorenz.  Life-cycle assessment in U.S. codes and standards , 2014 .

[36]  Stefano Pellegrini,et al.  Life-cycle assessment of a 2-MW rated power wind turbine: CML method , 2008 .

[37]  Carles M. Gasol,et al.  Environmental Assessment of Sewer Construction in Small to Medium Sized Cities Using Life Cycle Assessment , 2014, Water Resources Management.

[38]  G. A. McAuliffe,et al.  A thematic review of life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to pig production , 2016 .

[39]  Justo Garcia Navarro,et al.  Assessment of the decrease of CO2 emissions in the construction field through the selection of materials: Practical case study of three houses of low environmental impact , 2006 .

[40]  Nicholas J Santero,et al.  Life cycle climate impacts of the US concrete pavement network , 2013 .

[41]  W. K. Hui,et al.  Assessment of CO2 emissions reduction in high-rise concrete office buildings using different material use options , 2012 .

[42]  Eul-Bum Lee,et al.  Life cycle energy consumption and GHG emission from pavement rehabilitation with different rolling resistance , 2012 .

[43]  Ward N. Smith,et al.  Accounting for soil carbon changes in agricultural life cycle assessment (LCA): a review , 2015 .

[44]  Agnès Jullien,et al.  LCA allocation procedure used as an incitative method for waste recycling: An application to mineral additions in concrete , 2010 .

[45]  Ignacio Zabalza Bribián,et al.  Life cycle assessment of building materials: Comparative analysis of energy and environmental impacts and evaluation of the eco-efficiency improvement potential , 2011 .