Life cycle assessment applied to tunnels: potential environmental impacts of construction materials

Author(s): L. D’Aloia Schwartzentruber, M. Rabier
Paper category: symposium
Book title: International Symposium on Life Cycle Assessment and Construction – Civil engineering and buildings
Editor(s): A. Ventura and C. de la Roche
Print ISBN: 978-2-35158-127-8
e-ISBN: 978-2-35158-128-5
Publisher: RILEM Publications SARL
Pages: 153 – 160
Total Pages: 8
Language: English

Abstract: As far as sustainable development is concerned, important issues are related to the adequate integration of a tunnel in a given infrastructure project. Construction of tunnels is liable to have significant economic and environmental impacts. However, in a certain extent, both these kinds of impacts can be offset by the protection of the surface and by the global optimisation of the infrastructure design itself.
When the construction of a tunnel is taken for granted in the infrastructure project, the issue of technical choices arises. Although tunnel infrastructures are usually strongly constrained by both economic and geological considerations, it could be of great interest to evaluate the environmental impacts of several technical solutions. Moreover, environmental impacts can be limited when considering the entire life cycle: i.e. construction, operation and “end-of-life” phases.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been applied first to "materials" of civil engineering in order to compare the environmental potential impacts of technical solutions regarding excavation, support and lining. These impacts are also compared to the power consumption of equipment during the service-life. Such information could be of great interest for tunnels owners. However, they should be obtained by using objective tools and must gain wide acceptance among the profession.

Online publication: 2012
Publication Type: full_text
Public price (Euros): 0.00