From resources to research—a framework for identification and prioritization of materials research for sustainable construction

Abstract In this article, a framework is presented to aid in the identification and prioritization of research projects related to the development of materials for sustainable construction. The framework is based on a holistic ranking of materials’ technical, economic, and environmental performance as well as the future availability of their respective raw material constituents. The detailed ranking enables a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of existing as well as newly developed materials. Each of the 27 attributes included in the framework is measured on a precisely defined scale, which is based on literature and expert data, and presented in detail. Thus, an objective and efficient evaluation of individual materials by practitioners and researchers is possible. Combining the evaluation of material performance with the analysis of factors affecting the respective long-term availability, it is possible to focus funding on specific areas and approaches where research and policy measures have the highest probability of providing long-term improvements to the construction industry. The applicability of the framework is illustrated with the evaluation of steel and stainless steel.

[1]  David C. Wilson.  Global Waste Management Outlook , 2015 .

[2]  David C. Brown,et al.  A hybrid approach using AHP–TOPSIS–entropy methods for sustainable ranking of structural materials , 2013 .

[3]  S. Ulgiati,et al.  Exploring environmental and economic costs and benefits of a circular economy approach to the construction and demolition sector. A literature review , 2017 .

[4]  K. Scrivener,et al.  Eco-efficient cements: Potential economically viable solutions for a low-CO2 cement-based materials industry , 2018, Cement and Concrete Research.

[5]  Ueli M. Angst,et al.  Chloride threshold values for corrosion in concrete - a myth? , 2016 .

[6]  Seiji Hashimoto,et al.  Global stainless steel cycle exemplifies China's rise to metal dominance. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[7]  René Kleijn,et al.  Metal requirements of low-carbon power generation , 2011 .

[8]  Mercedes del Río Merino,et al.  Sustainable construction: construction and demolition waste reconsidered. , 2010 .

[9]  Christoph Gehlen,et al.  Present and future durability challenges for reinforced concrete structures , 2012 .

[10]  R. Kolisch,et al.  Maximizing R&D Portfolio Value , 2005 .

[11]  J. Tilton,et al.  Assessing the long-run availability of copper , 2007 .

[12]  T. Graedel,et al.  Criticality of non-fuel minerals: a review of major approaches and analyses. , 2011, Environmental science & technology.

[13]  Carlos A. Bana e Costa,et al.  Transparent prioritisation, budgeting and resource allocation with multi-criteria decision analysis and decision conferencing , 2007, Ann. Oper. Res..

[14]  Ali Jahan,et al.  Multi-criteria Decision Analysis for Supporting the Selection of Engineering Materials in Product Design , 2013 .

[15]  N. T. Nassar,et al.  Criticality of metals and metalloids , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[16]  Kannan Govindan,et al.  Sustainable material selection for construction industry – A hybrid multi criteria decision making approach , 2016 .

[17]  Jamison V. Kovach,et al.  An approach for identifying and selecting improvement projects , 2018 .

[18]  Meng Zheng,et al.  The cost of corrosion in China , 2017, npj Materials Degradation.

[19]  R. Scholz,et al.  Approaching a dynamic view on the availability of mineral resources: What we may learn from the case of phosphorus? , 2013 .

[20]  B J Skinner,et al.  Earth resources. , 1979, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[21]  Douglas John Harris,et al.  A quantitative approach to the assessment of the environmental impact of building materials , 1999 .

[22]  A. Abedian,et al.  A simplified fuzzy logic approach for materials selection in mechanical engineering design , 2009 .

[23]  David Thorpe.  UPTAKE OF ADVANCED AND SUSTAINABLE ENGINEERING MATERIALS IN CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS , 2015 .

[24]  Catarina Thormark,et al.  The effect of material choice on the total energy need and recycling potential of a building , 2006 .

[25]  Mark Hughes,et al.  A multidisciplinary approach to sustainable building material selection: A case study in a Finnish context , 2014 .

[26]  R. Venkata Rao,et al.  A decision making methodology for material selection using an improved compromise ranking method , 2008 .

[27]  Stefan Seeger,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment of a New Technology To Extract, Functionalize and Orient Cellulose Nanofibers from Food Waste , 2015 .

[28]  Josephine Vaughan,et al.  Assessing construction innovation: theoretical and practical perspectives , 2016 .

[29]  Xiao-Bing Hu,et al.  Multi-objective optimization of material selection for sustainable products: Artificial neural networks and genetic algorithm approach , 2009 .

[30]  A. Thakker,et al.  A novel approach to materials selection strategy case study: Wave energy extraction impulse turbine blade , 2008 .

[31]  Dimitra Vagiona,et al.  ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE VALUE OF PROJECTS: AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT TOOL , 2015 .

[32]  Radul Milutinovic,et al.  Selected indicators for evaluation of eco-innovation projects , 2016 .

[33]  Karen Scrivener,et al.  Cement substitution by a combination of metakaolin and limestone , 2012 .

[34]  Simon Warren,et al.  Methodology of metal criticality determination. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[35]  J. J. Morrell,et al.  Improving the utility, performance, and durability of wood- and bio-based composites , 2017, Annals of Forest Science.

[36]  Ernst Worrell,et al.  Early-stage sustainability assessment to assist with material selection : a case study for biobased printer panels , 2016 .

[37]  William R. Bitman,et al.  A Conceptual Framework for Ranking R&D Projects , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.

[38]  Weimin Wang,et al.  Applying multi-objective genetic algorithms in green building design optimization , 2005 .

[39]  Peter Buchholz,et al.  Assessing the long-term supply risks for mineral raw materials—a combined evaluation of past and future trends , 2009 .

[40]  S. Rhoades.  The Herfindahl-Hirschman index , 1993 .

[41]  David Pearlmutter,et al.  A life-cycle energy analysis of building materials in the Negev desert , 2008 .

[42]  Jacquetta Lee,et al.  Recommendations for assessing materials criticality , 2012 .

[43]  Thomas K. L. Tong,et al.  Multi-criteria material selections and end-of-life product strategy: Grey relational analysis approach , 2007 .

[44]  Robert B. Gordon,et al.  On the sustainability of metal supplies: A response to Tilton and Lagos , 2007 .

[45]  Prasenjit Chatterjee,et al.  Selection of materials using compromise ranking and outranking methods , 2009 .

[46]  Fernando Pacheco-Torgal,et al.  The future of construction materials research and the seventh UN Millennium Development Goal: A few insights , 2013 .

[47]  Hamish Low,et al.  Are prices enough? The economics of material demand reduction , 2017, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences.

[48]  Gilbert Becker.  Horizontal Merger Guidelines , 2015 .

[49]  David Cebon,et al.  Selection strategies for materials and processes , 2002 .

[50]  Thomas Keller,et al.  A review of the fire behaviour of pultruded GFRP structural profiles for civil engineering applications , 2015 .

[51]  Paul Dewick,et al.  Sustainable technologies and the innovation–regulation paradox , 2002 .

[52]  Raheleh Rostami,et al.  Rank of green building material criteria based on the three pillars of sustainability using the hybrid multi criteria decision making method , 2018 .

[53]  David Cebon,et al.  Materials Selection in Mechanical Design , 1992 .

[54]  Dong-Hyun Jee,et al.  A method for optimal material selection aided with decision making theory , 2000 .

[55]  Daniel Jato-Espino,et al.  A review of application of multi-criteria decision making methods in construction , 2014 .

[56]  J. L. Arana,et al.  Evaluation of protective coatings for offshore applications. Corrosion and tribocorrosion behavior in synthetic seawater , 2018, Surface and Coatings Technology.

[57]  Ezekiel Chinyio,et al.  Multi-criteria evaluation model for the selection of sustainable materials for building projects , 2013 .

[58]  Peter Oluwole Akadiri.  Understanding barriers affecting the selection of sustainable materials in building projects , 2015 .

[59]  Stefan Seeger,et al.  Eco-Efficient Process Improvement at the Early Development Stage: Identifying Environmental and Economic Process Hotspots for Synergetic Improvement Potential. , 2018, Environmental science & technology.

[60]  Stefan Seeger,et al.  Multi-perspective application selection: a method to identify sustainable applications for new materials using the example of cellulose nanofiber reinforced composites , 2016 .

[61]  M. Porter.  How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy , 1989 .

[62]  Klas Johansson,et al.  Reflections regarding uncertainty of measurement, on the results of a Nordic fatigue test interlaboratory comparison , 2005 .