Determining the Environmental Benefits of Ultra High Performance Concrete as a Bridge Construction Material

World Multidisciplinary Civil Engineering-Architecture-Urban Planning Symposium - WMCAUS

土木建筑工程

Larsen, Ingrid Lande^1 ; Granseth Aasbakken, Ida^1 ; O'Born, Reyn^1 ; Vertes, Katalin^1 ; Thorstensen, Rein Terje^1

University of Agder, Jon Lilletunsvei 9, Grimstad

4879, Norway^1

关键词: Effective materials;    Environmental benefits;    High mechanical strength;    Highway crossings;    Life Cycle Assessment (LCA);    Maintenance requirement;    Normal strength concretes;    Ultra high performance concretes;   

Others  :  https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/245/5/052096/pdf
DOI  :  10.1088/1757-899X/245/5/052096

学科分类：土木及结构工程学

来源: IOP

【 摘 要 】

Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) is a material that is attracting attention in the construction industry due to the high mechanical strength and durability, leading to structures having low maintenance requirements. The production of UHPC, however, has generally higher environmental impact than normal strength concrete due to the increased demand of cement required in the concrete mix. What is still not sufficiently investigated, is if the longer lifetime, slimmer construction and lower maintenance requirements lead to a net environmental benefit compared to standard concrete bridge design. This study utilizes life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine the lifetime impacts of two comparable highway crossing footbridges spanning 40 meters, designed respectively with UHPC and normal strength concrete. The results of the study show that UHPC is an effective material for reducing lifetime emissions from construction and maintenance of long lasting infrastructure, as the UHPC design outperforms the normal strength concrete bridge in most impact categories.