Life Cycle Modeling of Concrete Bridge Design: Comparison of Engineered Cementitious Composite Link Slabs and Conventional Steel Expansion Joints
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 11, Issue 1
Abstract
Concrete infrastructure represents an enormous investment of materials, energy, and capital, and results in significant environmental burdens and social costs. There is an ongoing effort to identify material alternatives to conventional concrete. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an important tool to evaluate the environmental performance of alternative infrastructure materials and systems. Here, we present a comparative LCA of two bridge deck systems over a 60 year service life: one using conventional steel expansion joints and the other based on a link slab design using a concrete alternative, engineered cementitious composites (ECC). The ECC link slab design is expected to extend the bridge deck service life and reduce maintenance activities. A life cycle model was developed that accounts for materials production and distribution, construction and maintenance processes, construction-related traffic congestion, and end-of-life management. Results indicate that the ECC bridge deck system has significant advantages in environmental performance: 40% less life cycle energy consumption, 50% less solid waste generation, and 38% less raw material consumption. Construction related traffic congestion is the greatest contributor to most life cycle impact categories.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded through an NSF MUSES Biocomplexity Program Grant (Nos. CMS-0223971 and CMS-0329416). MUSES (Materials Use: Science, Engineering, and Society) supports projects that study the reduction of adverse human impact on the total interactive system of resource use, the design and synthesis of new materials with environmentally benign impacts on biocomplex systems, as well as the maximization of efficient use of materials throughout their life cycles.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 11 • Issue 1 • March 2005
Pages: 51 - 60
Copyright
© 2005 ASCE.
History
Received: Jan 26, 2004
Accepted: Mar 26, 2004
Published online: Mar 1, 2005
Published in print: Mar 2005
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