Consensus-based single-score life cycle assessment for space missions

With a continuously growing number of satellites in orbit, it becomes increasingly important to assess their impacts on the Earth's environment in a standardised manner. While interest in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for space missions has gained in strength in the past few years – particularly in Europe – no consensus has yet been reached on a...

Environmental trade-offs of aerostructures: A prospective lifecycle assessment of wing ribs

Emerging in the domain of composite manufacturing, thermoplastic polymers can enable the reduction of process times, costs, and waste. In this study, lifecycle assessment (LCA) is used to evaluate a design for a carbon fibre-reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) wing rib, made from carbon fibre and polyetherketoneketone (CF/PEKK). The CF/PEKK rib is...

Measuring the environmental impact of a livestock feeding robot life cycle

The pursuit of sustainability is at the forefront of international conversation in an era marked by urgent environmental challenges. This research aims to shed a light on tools, indicators, and methodologies used to assess sustainability, paving the way for informed decisions, actionable insights, and a brighter tomorrow. <br/><br/>The Paris...

Life Cycle Assessment of Offshore Low Head Pumped Hydro Storage

Aiming to comply with the Paris Agreement, the reduction of Europe’s GHG emissions in the energy sector is a must. Due to the intermittency of renewable sources, energy storage technologies are essential to this plan. Offshore Low Head Pumped Hydro Storage (LH PHS) is presented as an alternative to partly solve this problem. Considering that its...

A decision support model for analysing the reuse potential of hollow-core slab floor components

This thesis ‘A decision support model for analysing the reuse potential of hollow-core slab floor components’ describes the development of a decision support model to investigate the reuse potential of a structural building component. For this research, the hollow-core slab floor component is chosen as the structural building component to be...

When energy savings become a waste: How the environmental- and energy performance requirements of buildings can stimulate the building industry towards sustainable design of office facades in the Netherlands

The life cycle of a building has a tremendous impact on the environment. This is due to its energy demand, production and transportation of building materials, and its maintenance. Actually, the building industry is one of the most polluting industries that contribute to climate change. In the Netherlands alone, this sector is chargeable for 50%...

Sustainable structural design of high-rise: Life-cycle assessment of main load bearing structures of high-rise buildings in the Netherlands

High-rise buildings are a potential solution to the environmental impact caused by the built environment and the increasing demand for space in urban areas. As recent developments focus on reducing the impact by operational energy (OE) (heating, cooling, hot water and ventilation during use phase), impact by the embodied energy (EE) (production,...

Conceptual design of a demountable, reusable composite flooring system: Structural behaviour and environmental advantages

There is currently increasing interest in making a transition towards a circular economy, to improve resource efficiency and to reduce harmful emissions to the environment. The European Union adopted a Circular Economy package in 2015, while the Dutch government introduced a programme to achieve a circular economy by 2050. The construction...