Análisis de ciclo de vida del puente atirantado sobre el río Hun He en Liaoning, China

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (revista indexada en el JCR, en el primer cuartil) sobre el ciclo de vida del puente atirantado sobre el río Hun He, en Liaoning, China.

El trabajo se enmarca dentro del proyecto de investigación DIMALIFE que dirijo como investigador principal en la Universitat Politècnica de València.

En este trabajo se estudió impacto ambiental de un puente atirantado de tres torres mediante el software openLCA, y se analizaron más de 23.680 grupos de datos utilizando la cadena de Markov y otros métodos de investigación. La conclusión muestra que el control de la contaminación de los vehículos que pasan y la mejora de la durabilidad de los materiales de construcción son la clave para reducir la contribución del carbono.

ABSTRACT

Due to the rapid growth of the construction industry’s global environmental impact, especially the environmental impact contribution of bridge structures, it is necessary to study the detailed environmental impact of bridges at each stage of the full life cycle, which can provide optimal data support for sustainable development analysis. In this work, the environmental impact case of a three-tower cable-stayed bridge was analyzed through openLCA software, and more than 23,680 groups of data were analyzed using Markov chain and other research methods. It was concluded that the cable-stayed bridge contributed the most to the global warming potential value, which was mainly concentrated in the operation and maintenance phases. The conclusion shows that controlling the exhaust pollution of passing vehicles and improving the durability of building materials were the key to reducing carbon contribution and are also important directions for future research.

KEYWORDS

Greenhouse gas; environmental impact; cable-stayed bridge; life-cycle assessment; sustainable construction

REFERENCE:

ZHOU, Z.; ALCALÁ, J.; YEPES, V. (2020). Bridge Carbon Emissions and Driving Factors Based on a Life-Cycle Assessment Case Study: Cable-Stayed Bridge over Hun He River in Liaoning, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(16):5953. DOI:10.3390/ijerph17165953

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Análisis del ciclo de vida del balasto frente a la vía en placa en líneas ferroviarias de alta velocidad

Nos acaban de publicar en la revista de Elsevier del primer cuartil, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, un artículo donde se analiza el ciclo de vida del balasto frente la alternativa de vía en placa. Este artículo forma parte de nuestra línea de investigación DIMALIFE en la que se pretenden optimizar estructuras atendiendo no sólo a su coste, sino al impacto ambiental y social que generan a lo largo de su ciclo de vida.

El artículo lo podéis descargar GRATUITAMENTE hasta el 7 de septiembre de 2020 en el siguiente enlace:

https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1bQbriZ5t2ZYO

ABSTRACT:

The increase of train speed and axle load is an essential goal to make the railway transport more and more competitive for passengers and freights. On this basis, the unevenness of the railway track is crucial for the safety of the railway due to the high speed of the vehicle. Although ballasted tracks represent by far the most used railway track substructure, in recent years the modernization process has led the development of the ballastless track substructures.

In deciding between the use of ballasted or ballastless track substructure there are many important technical, economical and environmental factors that have to be addressed. Based on the above, the principal objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental impact of different railway track substructures including ballast, cast-in sleeper and embedded track systems on the short, medium and long term. To accomplish this task, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out throughout the entire life cycle of the railway infrastructure by using the ReCiPe (H) method. Although such approach is commonly included in the environmental assessment of building products and buildings, it was rarely applied in the analysis of the environmental impacts of railway track substructure.

Thus, the result of these LCA showed that ballasted tracks cause the lowest environmental impact for service lives of up to 75 years. On the other hand, the embedded track beds cause the highest environmental impacts, regardless of their service life. The highest contributor for the environmental impacts of the track beds was the steel production.

The results of this study will provide relevant environmental information for engineers and decision makers to select the most adequate railway track substructures for addressing issues related to the pursuit of sustainable development.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Rail construction and maintenance phases should not be neglected in LCA approach.
LCA of rail track require more standardized assessment procedures.
Environmental LCA of different railway track substructures were analyzed.
Damage categories have been normalized for the total environmental impact.
Future LCA of rail projects should also consider the time effect.

KEYWORDS:

Life cycle assessment (LCA); High speed railway (HSR); Railway infrastructure; Railway track-bed

REFERENCE:

PONS, J.J.; VILLALBA-SANCHIS, I.; INSA, R.; YEPES, V. (2020). Life cycle assessment of a railway tracks substructures: comparison of ballast and ballastless rail tracks. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 85:106444. DOI:10.1016/j.eiar.2020.106444

Propuesta de indicadores de sostenibilidad para el proyecto de puentes de pequeña luz

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (revista indexada en el JCR) sobre la propuesta de indicadores de sostenibilidad para el proyecto de puentes de pequeña luz.

El trabajo se enmarca dentro del proyecto de investigación DIMALIFE que dirijo como investigador principal en la Universitat Politècnica de València.

También es fruto de la colaboración con el profesor Moacir Kripka, de la Universidad de Passo Fundo, de Brasil.

En este trabajo se presenta la aplicación de técnicas que analizan la sostenibilidad en el ciclo de vida de las superestructuras de puentes de pequeña luz. El objetivo es obtener indicadores ambientales y económicos para su integración en el proceso de adopción de decisiones a fin de minimizar el impacto ambiental, reducir el consumo de recursos y los costos del ciclo de vida. Se analizaron 27 configuraciones de puentes de pequeñas luces (6 a 20 m) de los siguientes tipos: puentes mixtos de acero y hormigón, puentes de hormigón armado in situ, puentes prefabricados y puentes de hormigón pretensado, que comprenden un total de 405 estructuras. Los impactos ambientales y los costos se cuantificaron mediante la evaluación ambiental del ciclo de vida y el análisis del costo del ciclo de vida siguiendo los límites de los sistemas desde la extracción de los materiales hasta el final de la vida del puente (“de la cuna a la tumba”). En general, los resultados indicaron que el rendimiento ambiental de los puentes estaba vinculado significativamente a la selección de los materiales y la configuración de los puentes. Además, el estudio permitió identificar los productos y procesos de mayor impacto a fin de subvencionar el diseño de estructuras y políticas gubernamentales más sostenibles.

Abstract:

The application of techniques to analyze sustainability in the life cycle of small-span bridge superstructures is presented in this work. The objective was to obtain environmental and economic indicators for integration into the decision-making process to minimize the environmental impact, reduce resource consumption and minimize life cycle costs. Twenty-seven configurations of small-span bridges (6 to 20 m) of the following types were analyzed: steel–concrete composite bridges, cast in situ reinforced concrete bridges, precast bridges and prestressed concrete bridges, comprising a total of 405 structures. Environmental impacts and costs were quantified via life cycle environmental assessment and life cycle cost analysis following the boundaries of systems from the extraction of materials to the end of bridge life (“from cradle to grave”). In general, the results indicated that the environmental performance of the bridges was significantly linked to the material selection and bridge configuration. In addition, the study enabled the identification of the products and processes with the greatest impact in order to subsidize the design of more sustainable structures and government policies.

Keywords:

bridges; sustainability; design; life cycle assessment

Reference:

MILANI, C.J.; YEPES, V.; KRIPKA, M. (2020). Proposal of sustainability indicators for the design of small-span bridges. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12):4488. DOI:10.3390/ijerph17124488

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Special Issue “Trends in Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure”

High visibility: indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded, the Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science) and other databases. Impact Factor: 2.468 (2018)

Special Issue “Trends in Sustainable Buildings and Infrastructure”

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2020.

Special Issue Editors

Guest Editor Prof. Dr. Víctor Yepes Concrete Science and Technology Institute (ICITECH), Department of Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering Projects, Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia, Spain Interests: multi-objective optimization; life-cycle assessment; decision-making; sustainability; concrete structures; CO2 emissions; construction management
Guest Editor Dr. Ignacio J. Navarro Department of Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering Projects, Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia, Spain Interests: multicriteria decision making; reliability-based maintenance optimization; sustainability of infrastructures; social impacts of infrastructures

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The recently established Sustainable Development Goals call for a paradigm shift in the way buildings and infrastructures are conceived. The construction industry is a main source of environmental impacts, given its great material consumption and energy demands. It is also a major contributor to the economic growth of regions through the provision of useful infrastructure and generation of employment, among others. Conventional approaches underlying current building design practices fall short of covering the relevant environmental and social implications derived from inappropriate design, construction, and planning. The development of adequate sustainable design strategies is therefore becoming extremely relevant with regard to the achievement of the United Nations 2030 Agenda Goals for Sustainable Development.

This Special Issue aims to increase knowledge on sustainable design practices by highlighting the actual research trends that explore efficient ways to reduce the environmental consequences related to the construction industry while promoting social wellbeing and economic development. These objectives include but are not limited to:

Life-cycle-oriented building and infrastructure design;
Design optimization based on sustainable criteria;
Maintenance design towards sustainability;
Inclusion of social impacts in the design of buildings and infrastructures;
Resilience and sustainability;
Use of sustainable materials;
Decision-making processes that effectively integrate economic, environmental, and social aspects.

Papers selected for this Special Issue will be subject to a rigorous peer-review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Keywords

Sustainable design and construction
Life cycle assessment
Sustainability in decision making
Green buildings
Sustainable maintenance
Resilient structures
Sustainable materials
Social life cycle assessment
Sustainable management of infrastructures
Multiobjective optimization for sustainable development

Special Issue “Sustainable Construction II”

High visibility: indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded, the Social Sciences Citation Index (Web of Science) and other databases. Impact Factor: 2.801 (2018)

Special Issue “Sustainable Construction II”

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section “Sustainable Engineering and Science“.

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2020.

Special Issue Editors

Guest Editor Prof. Dr. Víctor Yepes Concrete Science and Technology Institute (ICITECH), Department of Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering Projects, Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia, Spain Interests: multi-objective optimization; life-cycle assessment; decision-making; sustainability; concrete structures; CO2 emissions; construction management
Guest Editor Prof. Dr. José V. Martí Concrete Science and Technology Institute (ICITECH), Department of Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering Projects, Universitat Politècnica de València Valencia, Spain Interests: multiobjective optimization; structures optimization; lifecycle assessment; social sustainability of infrastructures; construction engineering

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This “Sustainable Construction” Special Issue comprises selected papers for Sustainability. Construction is one of the main sectors generating greenhouse gases. This industry consumes large amounts of raw materials, such as stone, timber, water, etc. Additionally, infrastructure should provide service over many years without safety problems. Therefore, their correct design, construction, maintenance and dismantling are essential to reduce economic, environmental and societal consequences. That is why promoting sustainable construction is becoming extremely important nowadays. This Special Issue is seeking papers that explore new ways of reducing the environmental impacts caused by the construction sector, as well promoting social progress and economic growth. These objectives include, but are not limited to:

The use of sustainable materials in construction
The development of technologies and processes intended to improve sustainability in construction
The optimization of designs based on sustainable indicators
The reduction of the economic, environmental and social impact caused by production processes
The promotion of durable materials that reduce the future maintenance
The life-cycle assessment
Decision-making processes that integrate economic, social, and environmental aspects

Papers selected for this Special Issue are subject to a rigorous peer-review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments and applications.

Submission

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Keywords

sustainable materials
life-cycle assessment
sustainable and efficient technologies and processes
design optimization
durable materials
maintenance minimization
decision-making

Optimización del mantenimiento basado en la fiabilidad bajo una perspectiva de ciclo de vida

Nos acaban de publicar en la revista de Elsevier del primer cuartil, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, un artículo donde se optimiza el mantenimiento de un puente considerando el ciclo de vida. Este artículo forma parte de nuestra línea de investigación DIMALIFE en la que se pretenden optimizar estructuras atendiendo no sólo a su coste, sino al impacto ambiental y social que generan a lo largo de su ciclo de vida.

Abstract:

Sustainability is of paramount importance when facing the design of long-lasting, maintenance-demanding structures. In particular, a sustainable life cycle design for concrete structures exposed to aggressive environments may lead to significant economic savings and reduced environmental consequences. The present study evaluates 18 different design alternatives for an existing concrete bridge deck exposed to chlorides, analyzing the economic and environmental impacts associated with each design as a function of the maintenance interval chosen. Results are illustrated in the context of a reliability-based maintenance optimization on life cycle costs and environmental impacts. Maintenance optimization significantly reduces life cycle impacts if compared to the damage resulting from performing the maintenance actions when the end of the structure’s service life is reached. Using concrete with 10% silica fume is the most effective prevention strategy against corrosion of reinforcement steel in economic terms, reducing the life cycle costs of the original deck design by 76%. From an environmental perspective, maintenance based on the hydrophobic treatment of the concrete deck surface results in the best performance, allowing for a reduction of the impacts associated with the original design by 82.8%.

Keywords:

Life cycle assessment; Life cycle cost analysis; Chloride corrosion; Sustainable design; Maintenance optimization; Reliability

Reference:

NAVARRO, I.J.; MARTÍ, J.V.; YEPES, V. (2019). Reliability-based maintenance optimization of corrosion preventive designs under a life cycle perspective. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 74:23-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2018.10.001

Análisis del ciclo de vida de las medidas preventivas a la corrosión aplicadas a puentes pretensados

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista Environmental Impact Assessment Review (primer decil del JCR), de la editorial ELSEVIER, en el que se realiza una valoración de las medidas preventivas consideradas en el proyecto a lo largo del ciclo de vida de un puente de hormigón sometido a un ambiente costero, donde los clorhídricos suponen una agresión que supone un mantenimiento de la infraestructura. En el artículo se analizan 15 diseños diferentes y se comprueba que no siempre ejecutar un mantenimiento mínimo supone menores impactos ambientales. Además, los tratamientos superficiales y la adición de humo de sílice supone una reducción del 70% en los impactos.

Asimismo, podéis solicitar al autor una copia en la plataforma Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325690791_Life_cycle_impact_assessment_of_corrosion_preventive_designs_applied_to_prestressed_concrete_bridge_decks

Referencia:

NAVARRO, I.J.; YEPES, V.; MARTÍ, J.V.; GONZÁLEZ-VIDOSA, F. (2018). Life cycle impact assessment of corrosion preventive designs applied to prestressed concrete bridge decks. Journal of Cleaner Production, 196:698-713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.110

Abstract:

Chloride corrosion of reinforcing steel in concrete structures is a major issue in the construction sector due to economic and environmental reasons. Assuming different prevention strategies in aggressive marine environments results in extending the service life of the exposed structures, reducing the maintenance actions required throughout their operation stage. The aim of the present study is to analyze the environmental implications of several prevention strategies through a life cycle assessment using a prestressed bridge deck as a case study.

The environmental impacts of 15 prevention alternatives have been evaluated when applied to a real case of study, namely a bridge deck exposed to a chloride laden surrounding. The Eco-indicator 99 methodology has been adopted for the evaluation of the impacts. As some of the alternatives involve the use of by-products such as fly ash and silica fume, economic allocation has been assumed to evaluate their environmental impacts.

Results from the life cycle analysis show that the environmental impacts of the chloride exposed structure can be reduced significantly by considering specific preventive designs, such as adding silica fume to concrete, reducing its water to cement ratio or applying hydrophobic or sealant treatments to its surface. In such scenarios, the damage caused to the environment mainly due to maintenance operations and material consumption can be reduced up to a 30–40% of the life cycle impacts associated to a conventional design. The study shows how the application of life cycle assessment methodologies can be of interest to reduce the environmental impacts derived from the maintenance operations required by bridge decks subjected to aggressive chloride laden environments.

Keywords:

Life cycle assessment; Chloride corrosion; Preventive measures; Eco-indicator 99; Bridge deck; Sustainable design; Concrete

Highlights:

Life cycle assessment of different design strategies for bridge decks in marine environments.
15 different design alternatives were studied and compared with the conventional design.
Less maintenance does not always result in lower environmental impacts.
Steel and maintenance are main contributors to environmental burdens.
Surface treatments and the addition of silica fume reduce impacts up to 70%.

Comparativa medioambiental de muros atendiendo a su ciclo completo de vida

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista Journal of Cleaner Production (primer decil del JCR), de la editorial ELSEVIER, en la que analizamos una de las construcciones más habituales en la ingeniería civil, como son las estructuras de contención de tierras.

Se ha realizado para ello un análisis de ciclo de vida completo de cuatro tipos de muros: muros de hormigón armado, de hormigón en masa, de gaviones y de escollera. Además se ha realizado un estudio paramétrico para averiguar hasta qué altura de tierras es mejor una u otra tipología. Las conclusiones obtenidas no son evidentes a priori. Podéis verlas en el resumen que os paso a continuación.

Referencia:

PONS, J.J.; PENADÉS-PLÀ, V.; YEPES, V.; MARTÍ, J.V. (2018). Life cycle assessment of earth-retaining walls: An environmental comparison. Journal of Cleaner Production, 192:411-420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.04.268

Abstract:

Earth-retaining walls are one of the most common structures in civil engineering, a discipline of the construction sector known to produce one of the highest environmental impacts. Therefore, developing cleaner design and construction practices could contribute to a more sustainable future for our planet. To make a step towards this goal, this study comprises the life cycle assessment (LCA) of the four most common earth-retaining walls built between 1 to 6 m of height: cantilever walls, gravity walls, masonry walls and gabion walls to obtain the best solutions for the environment. To assess the environmental impacts caused throughout their whole life-cycle including the production, construction, use and end of life phases, we used the OpenLCA software, the ecoinvent 3.3 database and the ReCiPe (H) method. The associated uncertainties have been considered and the results are provided in both midpoint and endpoint approaches. Our findings show that gabion and masonry walls produce the lowest global impact. On the one hand, gabion walls cause less damage to human health but on the other hand, masonry walls cause less damage to the ecosystems. Furthermore, gravity walls produce similar impacts to gabion and masonry walls between 1 and 3 m of height as well as fewer impacts than cantilever walls for a height of 4 m. In conclusion, gabion and masonry walls are preferable to concrete walls for heights between 1 and 6 m and cantilever walls should be used over gravity walls for greater heights than 4.5 m.

Keywords:

Life cycle assessment; Sustainability; Earth-retaining wall; ReCiPe

Highlights:

Four earth-retaining walls are compared to obtain the best environmental solution.
The OpenLCA software, the Ecoinvent 3.3 database and the ReCiPe (H) method are used.
Gabion walls cause less damage to human health than masonry walls.
Masonry walls cause less damage to the ecosystems than gabion walls.
Mass concrete walls are cleaner than reinforced ones until 4.5 m of height.

¿Cómo afectan los costes al mantenimiento de un puente cuando se consideran aspectos sociales?

Pocas veces se incorporan en los proyectos de puentes actuales las variables sociales como factores determinantes de su diseño. Tampoco se dedica la atención suficiente al análisis del coste del ciclo de vida para evaluar la mejor alternativa posible de diseño. Considerar en nuestros proyectos este tipo de variables podría reducir, por ejemplo, en un 60% los costes de mantenimiento. También se constataría el hecho de que incrementar solamente 5 mm el recubrimiento de las armaduras de las estructuras de hormigón podría reducir el coste del mantenimiento en un 40%. Un ejemplo de la aplicación de este tipo de metodologías es la que nos acaban de publicar en la revista Sustainability. Allí se ha analizado el coste del ciclo de vida de las medidas de prevención aplicado a un puente de hormigón postesado expuesto al ataque de clorhídricos. Para ello se ha elegido el puente de la Isla de Arosa, en Galicia (España). Os dejo el artículo completo y la referencia.

Referencia:

NAVARRO, I.J.; YEPES, V.; MARTÍ, J.V. (2018). Life cycle cost assessment of preventive strategies applied to prestressed concrete bridges exposed to chlorides. Sustainability, 10(3):845. doi:10.3390/su10030845 .

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Análisis de ciclo de vida de puentes óptimos de vigas artesa

Acaban de publicarnos un artículo en la revista internacional Sustainability sobre análisis de ciclo de vida de puentes óptimos de vigas. La evaluación del impacto ambiental se realiza a lo largo del ciclo de vida de puentes de hormigón postesado de vigas artesa que previamente han sido optimizados mediante una metaheurística de algoritmos meméticos. Os dejo a continuación la referencia de la revista. Además os podéis descargar y distribuir el artículo sin problema, pues está editado en abierto:

http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/3/685/html

Referencia:

PENADÉS-PLÀ, V.; GARCÍA-SEGURA, T.; MARTÍ, J.V.; YEPES, V. (2018). An optimization-LCA of a prestressed concrete precast bridge. Sustainability, 10(3):685. doi:10.3390/su10030685

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