Abstract
The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are a necessity. A large number of public actions and activities in many countries go in this direction. Various indicators are used to quantitatively assess the impacts, all of which are included within product life cycle assessment. It is essential to study and assess infrastructure, as it is an important factor in emissions, as well as environmental and sustainable construction. In maritime works, the aggressiveness of seawater is an important factor that reduces the life of reinforced concrete structures, and it is necessary to search for solutions that reduce or eliminate maintenance. In this research paper, the aim is to quantitatively verify that the composite materials are viable from an environmental and resistant point of view. Concrete caissons and/or breakwater crowns for vertical breakwaters were constructed as the fundamental elements, calculating the life cycle in comparison with several contrasting examples. The first is the case of a conventional breakwater crown, built in Escombreras, southeast Spain, at the Mediterranean Sea, later simulating the impact with one reinforced with fiberglass bars. The results are encouraging and call for additional measures to further reduce maritime infrastructure indicators with much less polluting, more durable, and more sustainable solutions.
Highlights
Concrete caissons and/or breakwater crowns for vertical breakwaters were constructed as the fundamental elements, calculating the life cycle in comparison with several contrasting examples
This research proposes a calculation with a minimal hypothesis, but which shows the difference between considering maintenance and not doing it, providing greater value to the previous results of the life cycle of structures reinforced with composite materials [10]
OneClick LCA was verified by the ITB in compliance with life cycle assessment regulations [24]
Summary
The life cycle assessment (LCA) is the tool that makes this analysis possible, considering the entire service life of the infrastructure and not just the construction phase, and its maintenance, conservation, and, durability This analysis must include new materials which are being incorporated, such as the case of composite materials. It is known that its initial cost is higher than traditional solutions (except in rare cases, such as in remote areas, where traditional materials have a high cost, much higher than usual), but the analysis must be comprehensive For this reason, this paper analyzes two cases of construction of reinforced concrete structures with different materials, replacing the steel reinforcement with that of fiberglass bars, and comparing their corresponding life cycle, to learn if it leads effectively to more sustainable solutions. This research proposes a calculation with a minimal hypothesis, but which shows the difference between considering maintenance and not doing it, providing greater value to the previous results of the life cycle of structures reinforced with composite materials [10]
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