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Quantifying the Environmental Impact of Railway Bridges Using Life Cycle Assessment: A Case Study

 Quantifying the Environmental Impact of Railway Bridges Using Life Cycle Assessment: A Case Study
Author(s): , , ,
Presented at IABSE Symposium: Challenges for Existing and Oncoming Structures, Prague, Czech Republic, 25-27 May 2022, published in , pp. 1796-1803
DOI: 10.2749/prague.2022.1796
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As emission regulations in the EU are becoming stricter, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the construction industry has become a pressing need. As part of the efforts related to this ...
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Bibliographic Details

Author(s): (Division of Structural and Fire Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden.)
(Division of Structural and Fire Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden.)
(Division of Structural and Fire Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden.)
(Division of Structural and Fire Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, 97187 Luleå, Sweden.)
Medium: conference paper
Language(s): English
Conference: IABSE Symposium: Challenges for Existing and Oncoming Structures, Prague, Czech Republic, 25-27 May 2022
Published in:
Page(s): 1796-1803 Total no. of pages: 8
Page(s): 1796-1803
Total no. of pages: 8
DOI: 10.2749/prague.2022.1796
Abstract:

As emission regulations in the EU are becoming stricter, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the construction industry has become a pressing need. As part of the efforts related to this issue, it has been found that Environmental Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) approaches are required to optimize the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings and infrastructure assets. In this paper, The Institution of Structural Engineers guidance on how to calculate the embodied carbon in structures is used as LCA model and evaluated in a case study. The guidance divides the structure´s life cycle into five stages (A1‐A3: Product, A4‐A5: Construction process, B1‐ B7: Use, C1‐C4: End of live and D: Benefits and loads beyond the system boundary) and the environmental impact is measured in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions (kgCo2e) or global warming potential (GWP). The model was applied to an existing reinforced concrete trough bridge, which is a structure type commonly used in Swedish railways. Results show that that the model was effective and simple for investigating the environmental impact of the studied structure.

Keywords:
LCA life-cycle analysis global warming potential reinforced concrete embodied carbon railway bridge
Copyright: © 2022 International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE)
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