Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Assessing the Trade-Off Between Sustainability and Resiliency of Reinforced Concrete Alternatives in Corrosive Conditions: An LCA-System Dynamics Approach

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  • Concrete has been categorized as a key contributor of CO2 (carbon) emissions into the atmosphere. This is mostly associated with the production of ordinary portland cement (OPC). The concrete and cement industries are pursuing a path to reduce their carbon emissions generally in accordance with the climate change goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. These goals are to reduce carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 and to become carbon-neutral by 2050. These efforts have resulted in the development of multiple potential solutions to improve the sustainability of concrete systems. However, these potential solutions may not always result in a more resilient structure, i.e., a more durable and longer-lasting structure. In fact, some research indicates that the service life of structures containing lower carbon producing alternative cementitious materials (ACMs) may be reduced based on their performance in corrosive conditions. However, reduced service life does not necessarily mean that there is no value in implementing that material. An objective assessment of the trade-off between sustainability (i.e., reduced carbon footprint) and reduced resiliency (i.e., reduced service life) is needed. This work objectively assesses the trade-off between sustainability and resiliency of reinforced concrete alternatives in corrosive conditions through an innovative approach that combines the principles of system dynamics (SD), life-cycle assessment (LCA), and service life (SL) prediction into one model. The approach is herein referred to as the life-cycle assessment-system dynamics approach (LCA-SDA). The LCA-SDA model has the potential to be used by stakeholders, as an alternative to typical static LCAs, to better understand the overall carbon footprint and potential value of implementing reinforced concrete alternatives that might exhibit a reduction in service life based on their performance in corrosive conditions.
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