Architecture, Building and Planning - Research Publications
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ItemValidation of the use of input-output data for embodied energy analysis of the Australian construction industry(Bilingual Publishing, 2005)
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ItemUsing early-stage assessment to reduce the financial risks and perceived barriers of sustainable buildings(College Publishing, 2010)For sustainable buildings to become mainstream they must demonstrate not only improved environmental performance but also financial performance, benefiting both end users and investors. The perceived financial constraints and risks are often major barriers to sustainable design. This paper discusses the application of a new tool that formalizes the traditionally intuitive-based early-stage decision making processes and assesses the potential for creating a financially feasible best-practice sustainable building across a range of environmental, social and economic parameters, using the limited data available at the outset of a project. It considers the total cost of ownership, demonstrating the link between the recurrent and capital costs. A detailed feasibility assessment of those areas where greatest potential for improving environmental and financial performance exists can then be carried out, saving a considerable amount of time, money and effort otherwise spent on looking at all possible strategies for achieving a sustainable outcome. This approach also identifies areas where incorporating environmental strategies might be financially risky, reassuring investors and developers by reducing investment risks. By reducing some of these risks and perceived barriers to sustainable building development, it is hoped that clients and investors will be further encouraged to adopt a more sustainable approach to their building projects.
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ItemThe path exchange method for hybrid LCA(American Chemical Society, 2009)Hybrid techniques for Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) provide a way of combining the accuracy of process analysis and the completeness of input-output analysis. A number of methods have been suggested to implement a hybrid LCA in practice, with the main challenge being the integration of specific process data with an overarching input-output system. In this work we present a new hybrid LCA method which works at the finest input-output level of detail: structural paths. This new Path Exchange method avoids double-counting and system disturbance just as previous hybrid LCA methods, but instead of a large LCA database it requires only a minimum of external information on those structural paths that are to be represented by process data.
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ItemGreenhouse gas emissions embodied in reinforced concrete and timber railway sleepers(American Chemical Society, 2009)In Australia, there are currently two main materials used for railway sleepers: timber (river red gum, a species of eucalypt) and reinforced concrete. Within the state of Victoria alone, there are currently seven million railway sleepers that make up the rail network. It is estimated that around two million sleepers, or 29%, are presently required to replace timber sleepers and upgrade the entire network, for which there are significant environmental implications, such as the emission of greenhouse gases. These emissions are mainly as a result of the energy and other resources required or "embodied" through the sleeper manufacture, including those associated with harvesting timber and mining raw materials for manufacturing cement. Where alternatives are readily available, it is important that the environmental impacts of the various choices are assessed, ensuring that these impacts are minimized. This study aimed to assess the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions associated with timber and reinforced concrete railway sleepers and showed that the life cycle emissions of reinforced concrete sleepers were up to six times less than the emissions associated with timber sleepers. Taking the potential errors associated with this type of assessment into account, there appearsto be a significant advantage in using reinforced concrete sleepers, in terms of reducing the life cycle emissions associated with the provision of railway sleepers.
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ItemValidation of a hybrid life-cycle inventory analysis method(Elsevier, 2008)The life-cycle inventory analysis step of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) may currently suffer from several limitations, mainly concerned with the use of incomplete and unreliable data sources and methods of assessment. Many past LCA studies have used traditional inventory analysis methods, namely process analysis and input-output analysis. More recently, hybrid inventory analysis methods have been developed, combining these two traditional methods in an attempt to minimise their limitations. In light of recent improvements, these hybrid methods need to be compared and validated, as these too have been considered to have several limitations. This paper evaluates a recently developed hybrid inventory analysis method which aims to improve the limitations of previous methods. It was found that the truncation associated with process analysis can be up to 87%, reflecting the considerable shortcomings in the quantity of process data currently available. Capital inputs were found to account for up to 22% of the total inputs to a particular product. These findings suggest that current best-practice methods are sufficiently accurate for most typical applications, but this is heavily dependent upon data quality and availability. The use of input-output data assists in improving the system boundary completeness of life-cycle inventories. However, the use of input-output analysis alone does not always provide an accurate model for replacing process data. Further improvements in the quantity of process data currently available are needed to increase the reliability of life-cycle inventories.