Life cycle assessment of steel fibre-reinforced concrete beams

Gideon Osei Asare*, Stephanie Barnett, Kenneth Awinda, Brett Martinson

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

The use of steel fibres in reinforcing concrete has proven to enhance certain mechanical and durability properties of concrete; however, as a material that presents enhanced properties, its environmental performance should also be analysed. This study aims to quantify the carbon emissions of steel fibre-reinforced concrete beams using a functional unit that considers the mechanical and durability performance of concrete through a whole life cycle assessment methodology that includes the benefits/load after the end-of-life. A cradle-to-grave approach, which considers the end-of-life stage and the benefits/loads beyond the system boundary, was performed to compare the embodied carbon of conventionally reinforced concrete and steel fibre-reinforced concrete beams. The results show that the addition of steel fibres as reinforcing material to concrete can reduce the area of steel required in the tension zone of a conventionally reinforced concrete beam and the embodied carbon of concrete by an average of 33% and 37%, respectively.
Original languageEnglish
Article number2374942
Number of pages22
JournalCogent Engineering
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Jul 2024

Keywords

  • Carbon emission reduction
  • climate change
  • steel fibre-reinforced concrete
  • functional unit
  • life cycle assessment (LCA)
  • sustainability

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