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Life cycle assessment in the development process of lightweight railway vehicles using sensitivity analysis

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  • Soenke Kraft

    (Luiss University)

Abstract

According to EU policy goals, railway shall become the main pillar of a sustainable and smart mobility. This works outlines how the environmental sustainability of railway vehicles can be further improved by integrating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the simulation-based design process of lightweight railway vehicles and by considering environmental sustainability as an equal criterion for the design optimisation. The LCA for lightweight railway vehicles considering the manufacturing, operation and recycling phases is performed using a LCA tool. To link the LCA tool with the simulation-based development process of the vehicle, an interface is implemented. Process and vehicle parameters coming from the development process as well as datasets from LCA databases are used to parameterize the LCA model. By applying local and global sensitivity analyses, the most influencing design parameters with respect to the environmental impact can be identified and the effect of uncertainties studied. Based on the results, the environmental sustainability of the vehicle design can be optimised. The development process including LCA is illustrated for the application case of a railway vehicle bogie, exposed to high loads and design requirements. Different design configurations based on steel and carbon fibre composites are compared. For the assumed energy supply, it is the found that reduction in energy consumption during the operation phase overcompensates for energy-intensive production and recycling of carbon fibre composites.

Suggested Citation

  • Soenke Kraft, 2024. "Life cycle assessment in the development process of lightweight railway vehicles using sensitivity analysis," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 44(3), pages 527-546, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:44:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s10669-023-09955-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10669-023-09955-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Khang, Dinh S. & Tan, Raymond R. & Uy, O. Manuel & Promentilla, Michael Angelo B. & Tuan, Phan D. & Abe, Naoya & Razon, Luis F., 2017. "Design of experiments for global sensitivity analysis in life cycle assessment: The case of biodiesel in Vietnam," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 12-23.
    2. Nils Thonemann & Anna Schulte & Daniel Maga, 2020. "How to Conduct Prospective Life Cycle Assessment for Emerging Technologies? A Systematic Review and Methodological Guidance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-23, February.
    3. Lars Reimer & Alexander Kaluza & Felipe Cerdas & Jens Meschke & Thomas Vietor & Christoph Herrmann, 2020. "Design of Eco-Efficient Body Parts for Electric Vehicles Considering Life Cycle Environmental Information," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-28, July.
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