scholarly journals LCC-Based Appraisal of Ballasted and Slab Tracks: Limits and Potential

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Giammaria Pratico ◽  
Marinella Giunta
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Suitable Model ◽  
Train Speed ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Breakeven Point

The increase in train speed and axle load is an important goal to achieve in the future.  From a technical standpoint, ballastless tracks seem to be suitable to the aim, especially when high-speed passenger trains share the track with freight trains. Based on the above, the primary objective of this study is the comparison between ballasted and slab tracks regarding total costs over the life course. A suitable model to evaluate the total costs of competing solutions is set up. A solution for solving the issue of CO2 price fluctuation and for the quantification of External Costs is also formulated.  Life Cycle Costs are estimated based on agency, environmental and present user values. Analyses and results show that when Life Cycle Costing-based approaches are applied: i) Agency Costs have to be considered in the long-term perspective; ii) expected life has an appreciable impact and several solutions and systems, more affordable in the short term, yield unfavourable maintenance and renewal processes; iii) if total costs are considered over track life, the breakeven point is very far from the construction. Furthermore, the differences between the total Present Values of the two solutions become too small to yield sound conclusions in favour of the ballasted vs. the ballastless solution.

The National Infrastructure Reserve Bank

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-48
Author(s):  
Stephen M. Hubbard
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Size Of Government ◽  
Total Size ◽  
Reserve Bank ◽  
Deferred Maintenance ◽  
Reducing Costs ◽  
National Infrastructure

This article examines the implementation of a novel national infrastructure bank (NIB) which coins or “makes” U.S. currency to provide capital for infrastructure loans. This approach eliminates bond expense while reducing long-term life cycle costs caused by deferred maintenance and construction inflation. It also addresses the three main issues that have blocked prior NIB proposals by providing a near zero-cost source of capital, reducing the total size of government employment, and isolating funding from national politics while reducing costs by US$75 to US$220 billion and creating up to three million or more jobs annually.

The Influence of Engine Characteristics on Patrol Aircraft Life Cycle Cost Optimization

1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Schuetz
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
High Speed ◽  
Cost Optimization ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Design Constraints ◽  
Performance Requirements ◽  
Aircraft Performance ◽  
Antisubmarine Warfare ◽  
Flight Profile

A conceptual design study has been conducted for an all-new, land-based patrol aircraft for the U.S. Navy. The selected propulsion system was a conceptual high-speed turboprop. An antisubmarine warfare mission was chosen for the design flight profile. Probable peacetime utilization was postulated so that the engine duty cycle could be estimated. Aircraft designs were optimized for minimum takeoff gross weight (TOGW) and for minimum life cycle cost (LCC). It was shown that the aircraft performance requirements and design constraints bound the optimization process so tightly that the same point design is obtained for both TOGW and LCC criteria. The contribution of the engine costs to the overall life cycle costs was examined. The sensitivity of the aircraft optimization to the engine characteristics — specific fuel consumption (SFC), length, diameter, and cost — was analyzed. It was determined that SFC is the most significant engine characteristic.

Evaluation of the long-term performance and life cycle costs of GTR asphalt pavements

2016 ◽  
Vol 114 ◽  
pp. 261-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munir D. Nazzal ◽  
Md. Tanvir Iqbal ◽  
Sang Soo Kim ◽  
Ala R. Abbas ◽  
Moses Akentuna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Asphalt Pavements ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Long Term Performance ◽  
Term Performance

Salt marshes for flood risk reduction: Quantifying long-term effectiveness and life-cycle costs

2019 ◽  
Vol 171 ◽  
pp. 96-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Vuik ◽  
Bas W. Borsje ◽  
Pim W.J.M. Willemsen ◽  
Sebastiaan N. Jonkman
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Flood Risk ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Flood Risk Reduction

scholarly journals Residential Construction with a Focus on Evaluation of the Life Cycle of Buildings

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 524
Author(s):  
Eduard Hromada ◽  
Stanislav Vitasek ◽  
Jakub Holcman ◽  
Renata Schneiderova Heralova ◽  
Tomas Krulicky
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Implementation Phase ◽  
Acquisition Costs ◽  
Residential Projects ◽  
Total Life

The article focuses on highlighting the role of life cycle costing (LCC) in the preparatory and implementation phase of residential projects. It involves the evaluation of several investment scenarios in the pre-investment phase, the choice between variants of the design of the entire building or its parts, and the choice of variants of structures and equipment with acceptable parameters. An innovative method of evaluating the life cycle of buildings is described in the article. This method was tested in selected residential projects realized by Skanska in the Czech Republic. Experience from construction practice shows that the choice of variants, constructions, or equipment of buildings only on the basis of the lowest acquisition costs (lowest bid prices) is wrong. The LCC calculation tool has been designed to model life cycle costs of individual variants of construction designs with different input parameters. It is possible to analyze the components or equipment that have the greatest impact on total life cycle costs. The article presents a tool that evaluates the long-term economic efficiency of the proposed residential buildings in terms of analysis of life cycle costs. The article will also expand the knowledge of the professional and general public about the importance of examining investment and operating costs already in the phase of construction preparation.

Hierarchical Long-Term and Short-Term Production Optimization

SPE Journal ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.M.. M. van Essen ◽  
P.M.J.. M.J. Van den Hof ◽  
J.D.. D. Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Optimization Problem ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Production Optimization ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Secondary Objective ◽  
Life Cycle Optimization ◽  
Term Performance

Summary Model-based dynamic optimization of oil production has a significant potential to improve economic life-cycle performance, as has been shown in various studies. However, within these studies, short-term operational objectives are generally neglected. As a result, the optimized injection and production rates often result in a considerable decrease in short-term production performance. In reality, however, it is often these short-term objectives that dictate the course of the operational strategy. Incorporating short-term goals into the life-cycle optimization problem, therefore, is an essential step in model-based life-cycle optimization. We propose a hierarchical optimization structure with multiple objectives. Within this framework, the life-cycle performance in terms of net present value (NPV) serves as the primary objective and shortterm operational performance is the secondary objective, such that optimality of the primary objective constrains the secondary optimization problem. This requires that optimality of the primary objective does not fix all degrees of freedom (DOF) of the decision variable space. Fortunately, the life-cycle optimization problem is generally ill-posed and contains many more decision variables than necessary. We present a method that identifies the redundant DOF in the life-cycle optimization problem, which can subsequently be used in the secondary optimization problem. In our study, we used a 3D reservoir in a fluvial depositional environment with a production life of 7 years. The primary objective is undiscounted NPV, while the secondary objective is aimed at maximizing shortterm production. The optimal life-cycle waterflooding strategy that includes short-term performance is compared to the optimal strategy that disregards short-term performance. The experiment shows a very large increase in short-term production, boosting first-year production by a factor of 2, without significantly compromising optimality of the primary objective, showing a slight drop in NPV of only -0.3%. Our method to determine the redundant DOF in the primary objective function relies on the computation of the Hessian matrix of the objective function with respect to the control variables. Although theoretically rigorous, this method is computationally infeasible for realistically sized problems. Therefore, we also developed a second, more pragmatic, method relying on an alternating sequence of optimizing the primary-and secondary-objective functions. Subsequently, we demonstrated that both methods lead to nearly identical results, which offers scope for application of hierarchical long-term and short-term production optimization to realistically sized flooding-optimization problems.

Life-Cycle Economic Comparison of Common Signpost Materials and Types

2005 ◽  
Vol 1911 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
Sankara Raman ◽  
Margaret J. Rys ◽  
Eugene R. Russell
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Effective Alternative ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Present Worth ◽  
Cost Effective Alternative ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The Interest Rate ◽  
The Cost

There is a wealth of information related to life-cycle costs of different sign sheeting materials and considerable information on common signposts, but there is little or no information about the life-cycle costs of different types of signposts. The primary objective of this research was to determine the best cost-effective policy, consistent with safety, for signpost materials and types used on state highways in Kansas. From the initial literature review, a matrix was constructed detailing the various materials used for signposts by each state. This was followed with a survey questionnaire to gather information on what posts other states were using for three major types of signs used in Kansas. From the data obtained from the state departments of transportation, test installations were carried out by three vendors. Life-cycle economic analysis was conducted, taking into consideration the labor, equipment, and time requirements for the initial installation and the replacement. Among the four systems compared for a single signpost, the Poz-Loc Socket System is the most cost-effective alternative in life-cycle costs, followed by the Break-Out Sign Support System, the 4″ x 4″ x 14′ wood post, and the Telespar anchor-driven unit. Among the three systems compared for a double signpost, the Poz-Loc Slipbase System is the most cost-effective alternative, followed by the Telespar Slipbase System, and the double 4″ x 6″ x 16′ wood post. The present worth analysis and sensitivity analysis, conducted according to varying the interest rate, did not have any significant effect in changing the cost-effective alternative.

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