Life-cycle environmental assessment of ultra-high-performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutions
Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) stands at the forefront of cementitious materials used for construction, owing to its unparalleled strength and durability. However, the high cement content and excessive use of steel fibers in the conventional UHPC pose significant carbon dioxide emission and...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Cleaner Engineering and Technology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790824001265 |
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| author | Leila Farahzadi Lars Gunnar Furelid Tellnes Behrouz Shafei Mahdi Kioumarsi |
| author_facet | Leila Farahzadi Lars Gunnar Furelid Tellnes Behrouz Shafei Mahdi Kioumarsi |
| author_sort | Leila Farahzadi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) stands at the forefront of cementitious materials used for construction, owing to its unparalleled strength and durability. However, the high cement content and excessive use of steel fibers in the conventional UHPC pose significant carbon dioxide emission and environmental challenges, necessitating the exploration of sustainable alternatives. This study asseses the potential environmental impact reduction achieved by incorporating sustainable materials in UHPC mixtures. The research focuses on replacing conventional UHPC materials with Portland limestone cement (PLC), recycled glass powder, and polyester fibers as lower-impact alternatives. The UHPC mixtures are chosen in a way that falls under the same compressive strength class and offers similar performance characteristics. A life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is employed to evaluate the environmental performance of different UHPC mixtures. The LCA follows a cradle-to-gate approach, considering key factors such as global warming potential (GWP), energy use, raw material extraction, transportation, and production processes. The results show that substituting ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with PLC and incorporating recycled glass powder reduced the GWP of UHPC mixtures by up to 17%. Moreover, partially replacing steel fibers with polyester fibers further reduced the GWP by 29%. These findings highlight the potential for significant environmental impact reductions in UHPC production through material optimization, contributing to more sustainable construction practices without compromising mechanical performance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2a516c1867a94fbdabdf1f19c540100c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-7908 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cleaner Engineering and Technology |
| spelling | doaj-art-2a516c1867a94fbdabdf1f19c540100c2024-12-19T11:01:15ZengElsevierCleaner Engineering and Technology2666-79082024-12-0123100846Life-cycle environmental assessment of ultra-high-performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutionsLeila Farahzadi0Lars Gunnar Furelid Tellnes1Behrouz Shafei2Mahdi Kioumarsi3Department of Built Environment, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway; Corresponding author.Department of Engineering, Østfold University College, Fredrikstad, Norway; Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, Technical University of Cartagena, SpainDepartment of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USADepartment of Built Environment, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, NorwayUltra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) stands at the forefront of cementitious materials used for construction, owing to its unparalleled strength and durability. However, the high cement content and excessive use of steel fibers in the conventional UHPC pose significant carbon dioxide emission and environmental challenges, necessitating the exploration of sustainable alternatives. This study asseses the potential environmental impact reduction achieved by incorporating sustainable materials in UHPC mixtures. The research focuses on replacing conventional UHPC materials with Portland limestone cement (PLC), recycled glass powder, and polyester fibers as lower-impact alternatives. The UHPC mixtures are chosen in a way that falls under the same compressive strength class and offers similar performance characteristics. A life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is employed to evaluate the environmental performance of different UHPC mixtures. The LCA follows a cradle-to-gate approach, considering key factors such as global warming potential (GWP), energy use, raw material extraction, transportation, and production processes. The results show that substituting ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with PLC and incorporating recycled glass powder reduced the GWP of UHPC mixtures by up to 17%. Moreover, partially replacing steel fibers with polyester fibers further reduced the GWP by 29%. These findings highlight the potential for significant environmental impact reductions in UHPC production through material optimization, contributing to more sustainable construction practices without compromising mechanical performance.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790824001265Carbon footprintLife cycle assessment (LCA)FiberLow-impact materialsUltra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) |
| spellingShingle | Leila Farahzadi Lars Gunnar Furelid Tellnes Behrouz Shafei Mahdi Kioumarsi Life-cycle environmental assessment of ultra-high-performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutions Cleaner Engineering and Technology Carbon footprint Life cycle assessment (LCA) Fiber Low-impact materials Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) |
| title | Life-cycle environmental assessment of ultra-high-performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutions |
| title_full | Life-cycle environmental assessment of ultra-high-performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutions |
| title_fullStr | Life-cycle environmental assessment of ultra-high-performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Life-cycle environmental assessment of ultra-high-performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutions |
| title_short | Life-cycle environmental assessment of ultra-high-performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutions |
| title_sort | life cycle environmental assessment of ultra high performance concrete with sustainable materials and fiber substitutions |
| topic | Carbon footprint Life cycle assessment (LCA) Fiber Low-impact materials Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666790824001265 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT leilafarahzadi lifecycleenvironmentalassessmentofultrahighperformanceconcretewithsustainablematerialsandfibersubstitutions AT larsgunnarfurelidtellnes lifecycleenvironmentalassessmentofultrahighperformanceconcretewithsustainablematerialsandfibersubstitutions AT behrouzshafei lifecycleenvironmentalassessmentofultrahighperformanceconcretewithsustainablematerialsandfibersubstitutions AT mahdikioumarsi lifecycleenvironmentalassessmentofultrahighperformanceconcretewithsustainablematerialsandfibersubstitutions |