Pavement performance and economic efficiency are researched on the perpetual test pavement of Yijiang-Suzhou Express Highway in Jiangsu province, China. Test sections were continuously monitored. The conditions and de...Pavement performance and economic efficiency are researched on the perpetual test pavement of Yijiang-Suzhou Express Highway in Jiangsu province, China. Test sections were continuously monitored. The conditions and developing laws of deflection, rutting and cracking are compared among the perpetual pavement with the rich binder layer （RBL）, the perpetual pavement without the RBL, and the conventional semi-rigid asphalt pavement in the past eight years after opening for traffic. Economical evaluation is conducted via life cycle cost analysis （LCCA）. Based on the performance comparison and LCCA analysis, sections with the RBL have good crack resistance, but they are not very satisfactory in the aspect of permanent deformation; the conventional semi-rigid asphalt pavement is the least economic one due to requiring more frequent maintenance. Research results show that the perpetual pavement without RBL is a more appropriate structure for the test site.展开更多
Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) provides a systematic approach to assess the total cost associated with owning, operating, and maintaining assets throughout their entire life. BIM empowers architects and designers to ...Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) provides a systematic approach to assess the total cost associated with owning, operating, and maintaining assets throughout their entire life. BIM empowers architects and designers to perform real-time evaluations to explore various design options. However, when integrated with LCCA, BIM provides a comprehensive economic perspective that helps stakeholders understand the long-term financial implications of design decisions. This study presents a methodology for developing a model that seamlessly integrates BIM and LCCA during the conceptual design stage of buildings. This integration allows for a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the design process, ensuring that the development aligns with the principles of low carbon emissions by employing modular construction, 3D concrete printing methods, and different building design alternatives. The model considers the initial construction costs in addition to all the long-term operational, maintenance, and salvage values. It combines various tools and data through different modules, including energy analysis, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) to execute a comprehensive assessment of the financial implications of a specific design option throughout the lifecycle of building projects. The development of the said model and its implementation involves the creation of a new plug-in for the BIM tool (i.e., Autodesk Revit) to enhance its functionalities and capabilities in forecasting the life-cycle costs of buildings in addition to generating associated cash flows, creating scenarios, and sensitivity analyses in an automatic manner. This model empowers designers to evaluate and justify their initial investments while designing and selecting potential construction methods for buildings, and enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions by assessing different design alternatives based on long-term financial considerations during the early stages of design.展开更多
Inverted pavements have proven performance across the world,and there is a need to opti-mize the layer thickness and material properties of the pavement addressing the critical failures in the mechanistic-empirical pa...Inverted pavements have proven performance across the world,and there is a need to opti-mize the layer thickness and material properties of the pavement addressing the critical failures in the mechanistic-empirical pavement design.The present study is made on bituminous concrete(BC)pavement with traffic up to 50 samples per second(MSA)and studying the critical factors affecting the pavement performance.The Minitab’s response surface methodology(RSM)box behnken method,was used for the design of experi-ments which includes critical factors and responses obtained from ANSYS finite element modeling of the inverted pavement.The critical factors and responses are normally dis-tributed and indicate a linear relationship with the least error.The composite desirability for minimum stress and strains in the pavement layers was found to be 0.89.The optimized pavement thickness and layer material properties were validated with two pavement field cross sections of different Indian national highways,and it is observed that the optimized cross-section is safe.Further,this research paper carried out life cycle cost analysis(LCCA)and life cycle assessment(LCA)of inverted pavement with optimized pavement cross-section obtained including the carbon footprint during the vehicle operation phase.The study demonstrated the benefits of inverted pavement with reduced costs and carbon emissions.Thus,this approach paves the way towards sustainable and long-lasting pavements.展开更多
Sludge quality is a critical factor influencing the economic and environmental performance of treatment and disposal processes.In many regions,sludge is typically characterized by a low organic matter content.Conseque...Sludge quality is a critical factor influencing the economic and environmental performance of treatment and disposal processes.In many regions,sludge is typically characterized by a low organic matter content.Consequently,the selection of sludge treatment and disposal routes should be tailored to the specific characteristics of sludge in each region,considering its dual attributes of“resource”and“pollution”,and aiming to maximize environmental,economic,and social benefits.Using the current sludge treatment and disposal situation in Wuhan,China,this study conducted a quantitative assessment of carbon emissions,environmental risks,and economic benefits associated with several existing treatment and disposal routes from a life cycle perspective.The results suggest that for sludge characteristics with low organic matter content,co-incineration in coal-fired power plants or cement production processes is the most favorable option.Specifically,when the organic matter content of the sludge falls below approximately 40%,cement production is deemed the preferred process,whereas co-incineration with coal is favored when the organic matter content exceeds 40%but is less than 50%.Owing to the relatively low organic matter and nutrient contents of sludge,optimization of existing anaerobic digestion and aerobic composting processes can be achieved through collaborative treatment with other solid wastes.Moreover,the prevailing carbon trading prices in the Chinese carbon market are relatively low and do not significantly impact the selection of current sludge treatment processes.This study aids in the development of sustainable management strategies for sludge characterized by low resource and pollution attributes in the future.展开更多
Above ground gas storage devices for compressed air energy storage(CAES) have three types:air storage tanks,gas cylinders,and gas storage pipelines.A cost model of these gas storage devices is established on the basis...Above ground gas storage devices for compressed air energy storage(CAES) have three types:air storage tanks,gas cylinders,and gas storage pipelines.A cost model of these gas storage devices is established on the basis of whole life cycle cost(LCC) analysis.The optimum parameters of the three types are determined by calculating the theoretical metallic raw material consumption of these three devices and considering the difficulties in manufacture and the influence of gas storage device number.The LCCs of the three types are comprehensively analyzed and compared.The result reveal that the cost of the gas storage pipeline type is lower than that of the other two types.This study may serve as a reference for designing large-scale CAES systems.展开更多
The new Green Building Code impacts the design and construction of building systems,which are vital for energy consumption estimation,especially since electricity prices are of great interest to today’s consumers.Thr...The new Green Building Code impacts the design and construction of building systems,which are vital for energy consumption estimation,especially since electricity prices are of great interest to today’s consumers.Through the integration of energy consumption and utility bills,this paper presents the results of the economic impacts of installing various energy efficient systems required by the Green Building Code.Energy consumption prediction models are developed using multiple regression statistical methods based on electricity data collected from 110 single-family houses located in Los Angeles,California,USA.These prediction models have found a significant difference in electricity consumption of a single-family house prior to the introduction of the code and after its introduction.In addition,life cycle cost analysis on two of the featured systems,photovoltaic system and hybrid water heater,discovered that consumers can pay off their up-front investments in state-of-the-art energy efficient systems and appliances and earn a profit within the stated life cycle time period.The findings provide useful guidelines for making initial monetary decisions in the residential building industry。展开更多
基金The Science and Technology Project of Jiangsu Provincial Communications Department(No.7621000078)
文摘Pavement performance and economic efficiency are researched on the perpetual test pavement of Yijiang-Suzhou Express Highway in Jiangsu province, China. Test sections were continuously monitored. The conditions and developing laws of deflection, rutting and cracking are compared among the perpetual pavement with the rich binder layer （RBL）, the perpetual pavement without the RBL, and the conventional semi-rigid asphalt pavement in the past eight years after opening for traffic. Economical evaluation is conducted via life cycle cost analysis （LCCA）. Based on the performance comparison and LCCA analysis, sections with the RBL have good crack resistance, but they are not very satisfactory in the aspect of permanent deformation; the conventional semi-rigid asphalt pavement is the least economic one due to requiring more frequent maintenance. Research results show that the perpetual pavement without RBL is a more appropriate structure for the test site.
文摘Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) provides a systematic approach to assess the total cost associated with owning, operating, and maintaining assets throughout their entire life. BIM empowers architects and designers to perform real-time evaluations to explore various design options. However, when integrated with LCCA, BIM provides a comprehensive economic perspective that helps stakeholders understand the long-term financial implications of design decisions. This study presents a methodology for developing a model that seamlessly integrates BIM and LCCA during the conceptual design stage of buildings. This integration allows for a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the design process, ensuring that the development aligns with the principles of low carbon emissions by employing modular construction, 3D concrete printing methods, and different building design alternatives. The model considers the initial construction costs in addition to all the long-term operational, maintenance, and salvage values. It combines various tools and data through different modules, including energy analysis, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) to execute a comprehensive assessment of the financial implications of a specific design option throughout the lifecycle of building projects. The development of the said model and its implementation involves the creation of a new plug-in for the BIM tool (i.e., Autodesk Revit) to enhance its functionalities and capabilities in forecasting the life-cycle costs of buildings in addition to generating associated cash flows, creating scenarios, and sensitivity analyses in an automatic manner. This model empowers designers to evaluate and justify their initial investments while designing and selecting potential construction methods for buildings, and enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions by assessing different design alternatives based on long-term financial considerations during the early stages of design.
文摘Inverted pavements have proven performance across the world,and there is a need to opti-mize the layer thickness and material properties of the pavement addressing the critical failures in the mechanistic-empirical pavement design.The present study is made on bituminous concrete(BC)pavement with traffic up to 50 samples per second(MSA)and studying the critical factors affecting the pavement performance.The Minitab’s response surface methodology(RSM)box behnken method,was used for the design of experi-ments which includes critical factors and responses obtained from ANSYS finite element modeling of the inverted pavement.The critical factors and responses are normally dis-tributed and indicate a linear relationship with the least error.The composite desirability for minimum stress and strains in the pavement layers was found to be 0.89.The optimized pavement thickness and layer material properties were validated with two pavement field cross sections of different Indian national highways,and it is observed that the optimized cross-section is safe.Further,this research paper carried out life cycle cost analysis(LCCA)and life cycle assessment(LCA)of inverted pavement with optimized pavement cross-section obtained including the carbon footprint during the vehicle operation phase.The study demonstrated the benefits of inverted pavement with reduced costs and carbon emissions.Thus,this approach paves the way towards sustainable and long-lasting pavements.
基金supported by the Technical Service Foundation,China University of Geosciences(Wuhan)(No.122-KH2360504).
文摘Sludge quality is a critical factor influencing the economic and environmental performance of treatment and disposal processes.In many regions,sludge is typically characterized by a low organic matter content.Consequently,the selection of sludge treatment and disposal routes should be tailored to the specific characteristics of sludge in each region,considering its dual attributes of“resource”and“pollution”,and aiming to maximize environmental,economic,and social benefits.Using the current sludge treatment and disposal situation in Wuhan,China,this study conducted a quantitative assessment of carbon emissions,environmental risks,and economic benefits associated with several existing treatment and disposal routes from a life cycle perspective.The results suggest that for sludge characteristics with low organic matter content,co-incineration in coal-fired power plants or cement production processes is the most favorable option.Specifically,when the organic matter content of the sludge falls below approximately 40%,cement production is deemed the preferred process,whereas co-incineration with coal is favored when the organic matter content exceeds 40%but is less than 50%.Owing to the relatively low organic matter and nutrient contents of sludge,optimization of existing anaerobic digestion and aerobic composting processes can be achieved through collaborative treatment with other solid wastes.Moreover,the prevailing carbon trading prices in the Chinese carbon market are relatively low and do not significantly impact the selection of current sludge treatment processes.This study aids in the development of sustainable management strategies for sludge characterized by low resource and pollution attributes in the future.
基金supported by grants from the National High-Tech Research and Development Projects(863)of China(No.2013AA050801)the International S&T Cooperation Projects of China(No.2014DFA60600)
文摘Above ground gas storage devices for compressed air energy storage(CAES) have three types:air storage tanks,gas cylinders,and gas storage pipelines.A cost model of these gas storage devices is established on the basis of whole life cycle cost(LCC) analysis.The optimum parameters of the three types are determined by calculating the theoretical metallic raw material consumption of these three devices and considering the difficulties in manufacture and the influence of gas storage device number.The LCCs of the three types are comprehensively analyzed and compared.The result reveal that the cost of the gas storage pipeline type is lower than that of the other two types.This study may serve as a reference for designing large-scale CAES systems.
文摘The new Green Building Code impacts the design and construction of building systems,which are vital for energy consumption estimation,especially since electricity prices are of great interest to today’s consumers.Through the integration of energy consumption and utility bills,this paper presents the results of the economic impacts of installing various energy efficient systems required by the Green Building Code.Energy consumption prediction models are developed using multiple regression statistical methods based on electricity data collected from 110 single-family houses located in Los Angeles,California,USA.These prediction models have found a significant difference in electricity consumption of a single-family house prior to the introduction of the code and after its introduction.In addition,life cycle cost analysis on two of the featured systems,photovoltaic system and hybrid water heater,discovered that consumers can pay off their up-front investments in state-of-the-art energy efficient systems and appliances and earn a profit within the stated life cycle time period.The findings provide useful guidelines for making initial monetary decisions in the residential building industry。
