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SUMMARY:Effects of alignment on CO2 emissions from the construction and us
 e phases of highway infrastructure - Ms Lynsay Hughes\, CUED
DTSTART:20120224T160000Z
DTEND:20120224T170000Z
UID:TALK35723@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Anama Lowday
DESCRIPTION:The environmental aspect of sustainability is currently high o
 n many agendas due at least in part to the issue of climate change\, manif
 esting in the monitoring of CO2 emissions from all activities within all i
 ndustrial sectors\, with construction projects being no exception.\n \nThe
  concept of Whole Life Carbon (WLC) involves understanding the carbon impa
 ct of an infrastructure project from its beginning\, through its serviceab
 le life\, to the end of its life. The WLC concept can be applied to future
  infrastructure projects to assist in decision making\, to ensure the corr
 ect project is taken forward in terms of minimising carbon emissions acros
 s the life time of the infrastructure.\n\nThe life cycle of a highway proj
 ect comprises the planning\, design\, construction\, operation\, use and d
 ecommissioning phases. For a new 23km motorway project in the UK\, when co
 nsidering the construction and use phases\, the CO2 emissions from vehicle
 s using the road comprised 91% over a 40 year period. With the majority of
  CO2 resulting from the use phase\, any measures taken to minimise the imp
 acts of this could potentially significantly reduce the CO2 over the lifet
 ime of a highway. \n\nIt is during the planning stage that decisions can b
 e made to reduce the WLC\; by forecasting the impact of different design o
 ptions at the different future phases of the life cycle. This thesis consi
 ders the effect of highway alignment\, which is a decision taken early in 
 a project's life cycle.\n \nThe gradient of a highway can have a significa
 nt impact on the fuel consumption (and hence CO2 emissions) of the vehicle
 s operating on it. To design the alignment around an optimum earthworks ph
 ase in terms of time\, cost and carbon may result in a construction phase 
 with a lower impact\, yet the long term effect of the subsequent gradients
  on vehicle fuel consumption may yield a significantly higher level of CO2
  emissions than the amount saved during the efficient construction operati
 on. Conversely\, an intensive earthworks operation may result in a CO2 int
 ensive construction phase yet result in long term benefits throughout the 
 life cycle\, as the fuel consumed by the vehicles operating on the highway
  is reduced. \n\nTo understand the effect of the vertical alignment throug
 h the life cycle\, the CO2 in both the construction and use phases has bee
 n calculated. A methodology to calculate the CO2 from the earthworks opera
 tions has been developed. The instantaneous emission model\, PHEM\, has be
 en used to calculate the CO2 from the vehicles using a highway.\n\nDiffere
 nt vehicle types have been assessed over hypothetical terrains\, with the 
 application of varying fleet mixes and vehicle speeds enabling an understa
 nding of the effect of alignment on typical vehicle flows. These alignment
 s have been modified\, requiring more CO2 intensive earthworks operations\
 , to understand the potential benefits the new alignment can bring to the 
 use phase\, and the overall life cycle.\n\nThe methodology developed has b
 een applied to an actual case study that had six very different horizontal
  and vertical alignments. A second real and current project was used to ga
 in an understanding of the CO2 impacts of choosing an embankment over a vi
 aduct structure.\n
LOCATION:Engineering Department - Lecture Room 6
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