Mapping structural engineering strategies for sustainable development

Considering current trends in the Netherlands with regards to sustainability, there is a strong desire at Delft University of Technology to incorporate sustainable structural design strategies in the civil and structural engineering curriculum. Based on literature study and own experiences in practice, a coherent approach was developed, that can...

Environmental Impact Optimisation of Flight Plans in a Fixed and Free Route network

Efforts to minimise the environmental impact of aviation can be implemented at several levels including electric green taxiing systems, novel propulsion systems, jet fuels, improvements in aircraft efficiency and optimisation of climb profiles. In this paper, we address the optimisation of flight plans in a route network considering operational...

Fuel Inefficiency Characterisation and Assessment due to Early Execution of Top of Descents: A Case Study for Amsterdam-Schiphol Terminal Airspace using ADS-B data

The vertical trajectory plan (altitude and speed) corresponding to the descent phase of a modern airliner is computed by the on-board flight management system while the aircraft is still in cruise. As long as the constraints on the arrival procedure allow, this system plans for an idle descent and the exact location of the (optimal) top of...

Determining the “true” three-dimensional environmental impact of Public Law Restrictions

The needs of modern, heavily urbanised societies, require, on the one hand, the most efficient exploitation of land by individual stakeholders and, on the other hand, have set up a variety of restrictions and regulations for the public benefit. Such restrictions are steadily growing in number and apply in various areas. Given the technological...

Environmental impact of concrete with recycled aggregates an evaluation through 4 case studies

The use of recycled aggregates in new structural concrete is generally considered as a measure for lowering the environmental impact of concrete. Existing literature considers transport distances and the final performance of the concrete (linked to its composition) as main influencing factors to evaluate the environmental burdens or gains when...

Design considerations and sustainability of self-compacting concrete

Strength development of concrete: balancing production requirements and ecological impact

The effective production of concrete structures requires adequate control of<br/>strength development in order to realise the scheduled production cycles. Demoulding of elements can take place only when sufficient strength is gained and the production cycle has to be maintained with seasonal changes of temperature. The use of Portland Cement...

Reducing the environmental impact and improving the efficiency of construction transport

Last few years the hindrance, accidents, pollution and other negative side effects of construction projects and namely construction transport have become an issue particularly in urban areas across Europe such as in London, and in the Netherlands as well, including the cities of Utrecht, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Municipalities have issued new...

The CO2PE!-initiative (cooperative effort on process emissions in manufacturing): International framwork for sustainable production

Manufacturing processes are responsible for a substantial part of the environmental impact of products but are still poorly documented in terms of their environmental footprint. The lack of thorough analysis of manufacturing processes has as consequence that optimization opportunities are often not recognized and that improved machine tool...

The environmental significance of management practices: Exploring the Eco-efficiency of 6 Cases

The starting point for this paper is the importance of understanding how humans interact with material and energy flows. Technical systems are vital to model for improving eco-efficiency, but they are always managed by humans. Daily maintenance of machinery and the process of planning a new warehouse are examples of these ordinary human actions,...

The influence on the environment of coastal structures recently built in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands today much attention is paid to the effect of coastal structures on the environment. In the past it was usual to quantify the effect of such a structure on its environment solely with the purpose of deciding whether that effect could imply any hazard to the structure itself (or to structures in the neighbourhood). Nowadays...