Social life cycle assessment of concrete bridge decks exposed to aggressive environments
Highlights: • Social Life Cycle Assessment of different design strategies for bridge decks in marine environments. • 15 design alternatives were studied and compared according to the Guidelines methodology. • Less maintenance results in better social performance. • Impacts during maintenance phase are main contributors to social performance. • Stainless steel and the addition of silica fume are socially preferable to conventional designs. - Abstract: Sustainable design of structures includes environmental and economic aspects; social aspects throughout the life cycle of the structure, however, are not always adequately assessed. This study evaluates the social contribution of a concrete bridge deck. The social performance of the different design alternatives is estimated taking into account the impacts derived from both the construction and the maintenance phases of the infrastructure under conditions of uncertainty. Uncertain inputs related to social context are treated through Beta-PERT distributions. Maintenance needs for the different materials are estimated by means of a reliability based durability evaluation. Results show that social impacts resulting from the service life of bridges are not to be neglected in sustainability assessments of such structures. Designs that minimize maintenance operations throughout the service life, such as using stainless steel rebars or silica fume containing concretes, are socially preferable to conventional designs. The results can complement economic and environmental sustainability assessments of bridge structures.
- OSTI ID:
- 22826052
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Impact Assessment Review, Vol. 72; Other Information: Copyright (c) 2017 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0195-9255
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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