scholarly journals Truck Platooning on Flexible Pavements in Illinois

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imad Al-Qadi ◽  
◽  
Egemen Okte ◽  
Aravind Ramakrishnan ◽  
Qingwen Zhou ◽  
...  

Truck platoons have many benefits over traditional truck mobility. Truck platoons have the potential to improve safety and reduce fuel consumption between 5% and 15%, based on platoon configuration. In Illinois, trucks carry more than 50% of freight tonnage and constitute 25% of the traffic on interstates. Therefore, expected fuel savings would be significant for trucks. Deployment of truck platoons within interstate highways may have a direct effect on flexible pavement performance, as the time between consecutive axle loads (i.e., resting time) is expected to decrease significantly. Moreover, platoons could potentially accelerate pavement damage accumulation due to trucks’ channelized position, decreasing pavement service life and increasing maintenance and rehabilitation costs. The main objective of this project was to quantify the effects of truck platoons on pavements and to provide guidelines to control corresponding potential pavement damage. Finite-element models were utilized to quantify the impact of rest period on pavement damage. Recovered and accumulated strains were predicted by fitting exponential functions to the calculated strain profiles. The results suggested that strain accumulation was negligible at a truck spacing greater that 10 ft. A new methodology to control pavement damage due to truck platoons was introduced. The method optimizes trucks’ lateral positions on the pavements, and an increase in pavement service life could be achieved if all platoons follow this optimization method. Life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis were conducted for fully autonomous, human-driven, and mixed-traffic regimes. For example, for an analysis period of 45 years, channelized truck platoons could save life cycle costs and environmental impacts by 28% and 21% compared with human-driven trucks, respectively. Furthermore, optimum truck platoon configuration could reduce life cycle costs and environmental impacts by 48% and 36%, respectively, compared with human-driven trucks. In contrast, channelized traffic could increase pavement roughness, increasing fuel consumption by 15%, even though platooning vehicles still benefit from reduction in air drag forces. Given that truck platoons are expected to be connected only in the first phase, no actions are required by the agency. However, in the second phase when truck platoons are also expected to be autonomous, a protocol for driving trends should be established per the recommendation of this study.

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuyuan Xue ◽  
Hongbo Liu ◽  
Qinxiao Zhang ◽  
Jingxin Wang ◽  
Jilin Fan ◽  
...  

The development of higher education has led to an increasing demand for campus buildings. To promote the sustainable development of campus buildings, this paper combines social willingness-to-pay (WTP) with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based on the characteristics of Chinese campus buildings to establish a life cycle assessment–life cycle cost (LCA–LCC) integrated model. Based on this model, this paper analyses the teaching building at a university in North China. The results show that the environmental impacts and economic costs are largest in the operation phase of the life cycle, mainly because of the use of electric energy. The environmental impacts and economic costs during the construction phase mainly come from the building material production process (BMPP); in this process, steel is the main source. Throughout the life cycle, abiotic depletion-fossil fuel potential (ADP fossil) and global warming potential (GWP) are the most prominent indexes. Further analysis shows that these two indexes should be the emphases of similar building assessments in the near future. Finally, this study offers suggestions for the proposed buildings and existing buildings based on the prominent problems found in the case study, with the aim to provide reference for the design, construction, and operation management of similar buildings.


Author(s):  
Duc Tuan Dong ◽  
Wei Cai

Life-cycle assessment has been widely applied in many industry sectors for years and there are some applications of this method in the shipping sector. Fuel consumption and material consumption are considered as crucial factors in the life cycle of ship. This study uses the life-cycle assessment method to show the effects of fuel consumption reduction and light displacement tonnage on the environmental performance of ships. This is done by comparing the environmental impacts of 25 investigated scenarios with different fuel consumption and light displacement tonnage. CML2001 methodology is used to evaluate the impact assessment and the results are calculated using GaBi software. The results show that fuel consumption reduction could cut down the environmental impacts. However, some scenarios are not environmentally beneficial due to the increase in light displacement tonnage. The effects of fuel consumption and light displacement tonnage on 12 CML2001 environmental indicators are different. It is recommended that the life-cycle assessment method should be used to fully assess the environmental impacts of ships before applying any techniques in order to achieve the environmental benefits.


Solar Energy ◽  
2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Larsen ◽  
Jennifer Szaro ◽  
William Wilson

This analysis uses actual installed system costs from available data to better assess and understand the real installed and life cycle costs for small-scale photovoltaic (PV) installations. Most PV systems are sold on the basis of first cost, but in addition to these first costs, system owners must consider operation and maintenance (O&M) costs and down time, as well as energy savings [1]. The challenge in developing realistic life cycle costs is that most databases have only new data available, and only one database — that maintained by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) — contains performance information along with cost and maintenance data. The goals of this effort are to: 1. Characterize the actual life cycle costs (LCC) of PV systems installed in Florida and tracked since 1998. 2. Develop a benchmark of PV LCC that will aid in prioritizing cost improvement steps and feed into the U.S. Department of Energy and its subcontractors’ efforts to develop a baseline for grid-connected small residential and larger commercial PV system costs. 3. Develop an easy to use and modify LCC model that allows sensitivity analysis and input of new data as it becomes available. The PV system LCC model developed and used here is based on statistical methods, which provide us with a range of expected outcomes. The Monte Carlo technique allows the use of repeated simulation iterations to mimic a population sample. For inputs, the model relies largely on data from FSEC’s performance and maintenance databases, and where appropriate simplifying assumptions are explained. Beyond establishing an LCC baseline, this project considers the sensitivity of the total LCC to various inputs and thereby provides guidance on the question of where to put valuable resources to substantially reduce PV system costs. Further discussion is offered concerning the additional value of this model in determining the impact of various methods of PV system performance tracking.


2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 137-153
Author(s):  
Harnpon Phungrassami ◽  
Phairat Usubharatana

Environmental impacts of fishery production have resulted in increased concern and awareness. Thailand, as one of the largest global fish exporters, faces challenges related to environmental problems caused by fishery processes. Here, the environmental impact of Thai surimi production was estimated based on life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, focusing specifically on two Thai surimi products made from goatfish and ponyfish caught within the southern region of Thailand. Three impact categories where explored: global warming, acidification and eutrophication. Life cycle impacts were calculated for one kg of product using both mass and economic allocations. Results of this study indicated that goatfish has lower impacts than ponyfish for all the impact categories. Fuel consumption during the fishery phase and electricity consumption during processing were the main parameters leading to most of the considered environmental impacts. The value of Global Warming  Potential(GWP) ranged within 1.3‒3.0 kg CO2eq for goatfish and 2.2‒7.1 kg CO2eq ponyfish depending on the allocation method. The acidification impact of goatfish and ponyfish were revealed at 3.2‒7.3 gSO2eq and 12.7‒39.7 gSO2eq, respectively. The eutrophication of goatfish and ponyfish were 0.7‒1.6 gPO4eq and 2.5‒8.1 gPO4eq, respectively. Sensitivity analysis of fuel consumption, electricity consumption, product yield and allocation method were evaluated.


2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shayne Brannman ◽  
Eric W. Christensen ◽  
Ronald H. Nickel ◽  
Cori Rattelman ◽  
Richard D. Miller

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 2525
Author(s):  
Camila López-Eccher ◽  
Elizabeth Garrido-Ramírez ◽  
Iván Franchi-Arzola ◽  
Edmundo Muñoz

The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of household life cycles in Santiago, Chile, by household income level. The assessment considered scenarios associated with environmental policies. The life cycle assessment was cradle-to-grave, and the functional unit considered all the materials and energy required to meet an inhabitant’s needs for one year (1 inh/year). Using SimaPro 9.1 software, the Recipe Midpoint (H) methodology was used. The impact categories selected were global warming, fine particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, freshwater ecotoxicity, mineral resource scarcity, and fossil resource scarcity. The inventory was carried out through the application of 300 household surveys and secondary information. The main environmental sources of households were determined to be food consumption, transport, and electricity. Food consumption is the main source, responsible for 33% of the environmental impacts on global warming, 69% on terrestrial acidification, and 29% on freshwater eutrophication. The second most crucial environmental hotspot is private transport, whose contribution to environmental impact increases as household income rises, while public transport impact increases in the opposite direction. In this sense, both positive and negative environmental effects can be generated by policies. Therefore, life-cycle environmental impacts, the synergy between policies, and households’ socio-economic characteristics must be considered in public policy planning and consumer decisions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6974
Author(s):  
Charlotte Cambier ◽  
Waldo Galle ◽  
Niels De De Temmerman

In addition to the environmental burden of its construction and demolition activities, the Flemish housing market faces a structural affordability challenge. As one possible answer, this research explores the potential of so-called expandable houses, being built increasingly often. Through specific design choices that enable the disassembly and future reuse of individual components and so align with the idea of a circular economy, expandable houses promise to provide ever-changing homes with a smaller impact on the environment and at a lower cost for clients. In this paper, an expandable house suitable for various housing needs is conceived through a scenario-based research-by-design approach and compared to a reference house for Flanders. Subsequently, for both houses the life cycle costs are calculated and compared. The results of this exploration support the proposition that designing expandable houses can be a catalyst for sustainable, circular housing development and that households could benefit from its social, economic and ecological qualities. It requires, however, a dynamic perspective on evaluating their life-cycle impact.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakdirat Kaewunruen ◽  
Victor Martin

Significant increase in the demand for freight and passenger transports by trains pushes the railway authorities and train companies to increase the speed, the axle load and the number of train carriages/wagons. All of these actions increase ground-borne noise and vibrations that negatively affect people who work, stay, or reside nearby the railway lines. In order to mitigate these phenomena, many techniques have been developed and studied but there is a serious lack of life-cycle information regarding such the methods in order to make a well-informed and sustainable decision. The aim of this study is to evaluate the life-cycle performance of mitigation methods that can enhance sustainability and efficacy in the railway industry. The emphasis of this study is placed on new methods for ground-borne noise and vibration mitigation including metamaterials, geosynthetics, and ground improvement. To benchmark all of these methods, identical baseline assumptions and the life-cycle analysis over 50 years have been adopted where relevant. This study also evaluates and highlights the impact of extreme climate conditions on the life-cycle cost of each method. It is found that the anti-resonator method is the most expensive methods compared with the others whilst the use of geogrids (for subgrade stiffening) is relatively reliable when used in combination with ground improvements. The adverse climate has also played a significant role in all of the methods. However, it was found that sustainable methods, which are less sensitive to extreme climate, are associated with the applications of geosynthetic materials such as geogrids, composites, etc.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Fereidouni Kondri

This report presents the methodology for determining least cost energy efficient upgrade solutions in new residential housing using brute force sequential search (BFSS) method for integration into the reference house to reduce energy consumption while minimizing the net present value (NPV) of life cycle costs. The results showed that, based on the life cycle cost analysis of 30 years, the optimal upgrades resulted in the average of 19.25% (case 1), 31% (case 2a), and 21% (case 2b) reduction in annual energy consumption. Economic conditions affect the sequencing of the upgrades. In this respect the preferred upgrades to be performed in order are; domestic hot water heating, above grade wall insulation, cooling systems, ceiling insulation, floor insulation, heat recovery ventilator, basement slab insulation and below grade wall insulation. When the gas commodity pricing becomes high, the more energy efficient upgrades for domestic hot water (DHW) get selected at a cost premium.


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