Sustainability and Lifecycle Assessment of Timber-Concrete Composite Bridges
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 23, Issue 1
Abstract
Over the last few years there has been a renewed interest on the use of timber-concrete composite (TCC) structures in bridge decks, possibly because of their cost competitiveness and environmental friendliness. Accordingly, this paper investigates the sustainability of TCC bridge decks under a threefold environmental, economic, and sociocultural perspective. Two different types of decks, which represent the overall characteristics of TCC bridges constructed around the world, are first described. Next, the paper presents a comparative sustainability assessment of two existing concrete bridges and their TCC deck potential alternatives (of the types previously mentioned); a lifecycle methodology, based on standards from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and other publications, is followed. The main conclusions are that, when compared with concrete decks, TCC solutions cause less environmental impact and are cost-competitive. Regarding sociocultural impacts, this analysis reveals the lower user-incurred costs of one of the TCC deck types.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with Research Grants No. SFRH/BD/44908/2008 and UID/MULTI/00308/2013, and by the Science and Innovation Operational Program, cofinanced by the European Union Fund FEDER, through the Research Project No. PTDC/ECM/099833/2008.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 23 • Issue 1 • March 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 10, 2015
Accepted: Feb 10, 2016
Published online: May 20, 2016
Discussion open until: Oct 20, 2016
Published in print: Mar 1, 2017
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