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Amponsah, I (2008) Emerging civil infrastructure and environmental sustainability: Life-cycle assessment and multiobjective optimization, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of South Carolina.
- Type: Thesis
- Keywords: optimization; sustainability; bridge; pavement; bridge design; environmental assessment; infrastructure planning; pavement design
- ISBN/ISSN:
- URL: https://www.proquest.com/docview/304467704
- Abstract:
There is a net emissions change when adopting new material for use in civil infrastructure. In evaluating this change, one must consider changes in the manufacture and associated life-cycle emissions, as well as changes in the quantity of material required. In this dissertation, a method that permits an environmental assessment of adopting emerging technologies/materials for civil infrastructure is developed. The method factors in data on differences between a standard and new material for civil infrastructure, material requirements as specified in designs for both materials, and price information. The life-cycle assessment approach known as economic input-output life-cycle assessment is utilized. The methodology is demonstrated with analysis of a switch from carbon steel to high-performance steel in military bridge design. The results are compared to a simplistic analysis that accounts for the weight reduction afforded by use of the high-performance steel but assuming no differences in manufacture. The results of the simplistic analysis would suggest that the smaller steel requirement would lead to an equal percent reduction in each of the environmental burden parameters. In contrast, the developed method suggests that the changes in environmental burden parameters should not be expected to be in accordance with the reduction in the steel requirement. Earlier EIO-LCA studies reported the life-cycle burdens associated with technology alternatives with different costs. The consequence of the differences in costs on the overall analysis of the environmental burden of a switch from use of the standard material to the nonstandard material is considered. Previous economic input-output life-cycle analysis studies of civil infrastructure have used the model output to compare a small set of alternatives. However, for civil infrastructure development such as pavement design, a larger set of alternative designs is typically encountered. There is often no unique solution for such a problem. Demonstration of life-cycle analysis for large-scale problems is needed. Furthermore, these previous studies of civil infrastructure did not provide guidance on how to deal with the large number of reported environmental burden parameters when considering civil infrastructure planning. In situations, where in addition to the alternative designs, there are a large number of environmental parameters the analysis becomes complex and multiobjective optimization analysis becomes important. This research develops and demonstrates multiobjective optimization modeling of civil infrastructure in which there are many alternative designs and a large number of environmental burden parameters. The modeling approach and methods adopted to illustrate the model are presented.