Life Cycle Design Research Articles

Special Issue on Design and Manufacturing for Environmental Sustainability

This is the seventh special issue on Design and Manufacturing for Environmental Sustainability. As the first special issue on the topic was issued in 2009, the topic has a fifteen-year history in this journal. Environmental sustainability was recognized as important for manufacturing even at that time, which is why the special issue was started in this journal. The seriousness of this topic has been increasing not only in Europe but also in Japan and other countries. A recent critical trend has been the way in which companies’ attitudes toward this issue, including their positions on carbon neutrality, a circular economy, and biodiversity, determine their value. Furthermore, particularly striking trend is the promotion of various policies to realize a circular economy, including the adoption of international standards for a circular economy and new eco-design regulations in Europe. These movements indicate the need to transform production and consumption in society as a whole beyond the boundaries of individual companies and industries. The seventh special issue contains seven well-written papers. The papers cover the following topics: - Circular economy - Life cycle design and management - Environmentally conscious design of products and services - Low-energy and low-emission manufacturing - Closed-loop supply chain management - Sustainable consumption and production From the fifteen-year history of this special issue, we have been able to learn viewpoints specific to the series in this journal. Most of the papers, revised and enhanced in response to the editor’s invitation, were originally presented at EcoDesign 2023, the 13th International Symposium on Environmentally Conscious Design and Inverse Manufacturing, held in Nara, Japan. The editor sincerely thanks the authors and reviewers for their contributions in making this special issue possible. We hope that these articles encourage further research on design and manufacturing for environmental sustainability.

Modelling inter-relationships of barriers to smart construction implementation

Smart construction technology offers fresh avenues for advancing the field of civil engineering. It seamlessly integrates across the entire life cycle of civil engineering projects, encompassing planning, design, construction, and maintenance, thereby fundamentally reshaping the landscape of civil engineering development. Nonetheless, it is essential to recognize that, presently, smart construction’s developmental stage remains relatively nascent. Its progression is subject to a myriad of adoption barriers, and the complex dynamics of their interactions remain insufficiently understood. Therefore, this study aims to (1) explore the barriers to the adoption of smart construction; (2) analyze the impact level of each barrier; and the interaction mechanism between the barriers (3) propose effective strategies to promote the development of smart construction. This study commences by identifying 16 major impediments to the adoption of smart construction through a comprehensive synthesis of existing literature and expert interviews. Subsequently, Euclidean similarity analysis is employed to harmonize varying expert assessments. Following this, the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory model is utilized to ascertain the degree of influence associated with each barrier. Further, the Interpretive Structural Model is employed to establish a hierarchical framework that illuminates the interdependencies among these barriers. Additionally, the Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliqués à un Classement method is invoked to elucidate the roles and statuses of each barrier. Finally, strategies are proposed based on the results of the analysis. This study offers practical strategies for overcoming barriers and driving the adoption of smart construction, filling a critical gap in understanding by identifying key barriers and providing actionable insights, thus significantly advancing the field and empowering stakeholders for successful implementation and dissemination.

On the use open BIM procedures for acoustic problems of the buildings: the new IDS standard for design stage and verification stage

Recent European directives provide for the use of digital procedures based on Building Information Modeling (BIM) as a tool for the design and management of the entire life cycle of public buildings. This directive has been implemented by the various Member States. Even acoustic performance must now be evaluated with the use of digital procedures based on BIM. The purpose of this work is to analyze the standards currently available on the market for the Desing phase, the verification phase and the acoustic classification of the buildings and evaluate the applicability through the use of the Open BIM models is the format and specifications based on IDS format. An Information Delivery Specification (IdS) is a computer interpretable document that defines the Exchange Requirements of model based exchange. This can be a combination of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), Domain Extensions, and additional classifications and properties (national agreements or company specific ones; either stored in bSDD or somewhere else).

Integrating Gamification with BIM for Enhancing Participatory Design

The combination of gamification and Building Information Modeling (BIM) can be described to support user participation, decision-making, and collaboration in design contexts. Within this aim, this paper presents a literature review on the potential of using gamification in the BIM framework to create immersive participatory design environments. Active involvement of stakeholders by the corporation of gamified components such as challenges and interactive simulations into the design process enables better decisions and enhances user experience. Further, gamification integrated into BIM brings the potential to improve user behavior and decision-making at all stages of the design lifecycle but also the limitations and challenges. It can encourage stakeholder interaction and provide real-time input allowing various stakeholders to make meaningful contributions towards sustainability goals. This study examines recent developments and trends in extended reality (XR), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). These advances significantly enhance gamified Building Information Modeling (BIM) environments as being immersive. In addition, it points out some challenges, and ethical concerns encountered with these technologies. Furthermore, this paper highlights some tools and their advantages, disadvantages, pricing, and key elements. Designers can create interactive experiences by combining these technologies with virtual and physical environments. BIM environments powered by gamification can be used in BIM workflows to reach their full potential in shaping future design practices. These include ways to advance cooperative design processes by creating immersive spaces for different stakeholders’ interests and keeping up with emergent technology.

Multi-Stage Evaluation Using GONUKE

Multi-stage validation (MSV) has become an important concept in nuclear power plant control room design and modernization. MSV consists of multiple stages of collecting evidence that establish reasonable confidence in the design. The Guideline for Operational Nuclear Usability and Knowledge Elicitation (GONUKE) was created as a framework to support different types of human factors evaluations across different stages of the design and development life cycle. The GONUKE framework did not originally address MSV, but it espoused safety case approaches that build different evidences toward design completion, which is a complementary approach to MSV. In this paper, we show how GONUKE specifically aligns to MSV. We then expand the discussion to include multi-stage evaluation. As defined in GONUKE, there are three types of evaluation. Validation is empirical evidence collected through human-in-the-loop studies, whereas verification is expert comparison of a design against formalized standards, and epistemiation is expert knowledge transfer to design.

Renewal strategies of industrial heritage based on placeness theory: The case of Guangzhou, China

Studying the preservation and reuse of industrial heritage can improve people's knowledge and understanding of cultural heritage, thus deepening their sense of identity and belonging to the local culture. This study applies the theory of placeness to protect industrial architectural heritage, promote the organic revitalization of urban space, enhance local identity, and realize the visualization of tacit knowledge. Based on the theory of placeness, this study constructs an indicator system for industrial architectural heritage renewal strategy. The indicator system includes four primary indicators, namely State of Matter, Policy System, Behavior and Spirit, and 23 secondary indicators. Exploratory factor analysis is carried out using the post-evaluation (POE) method. This study concludes that (1) there are seven strategy combinations for industrial heritage renewal, including artistic expression, landscape and space, humanistic connotation, industrial building, history and culture, architectural features, and construction skills. The combination of strategies can enhance the locality and architectural originality. (2) The strategy combinations can be used in the design, construction, and operation stages of the whole life cycle and have been empirically demonstrated in typical projects in Guangzhou. Building Construction Atlas, Climatic Suitability, Building History/People, and Industrial Equipment have a higher contribution to the renewal effect of industrial buildings. (3) The 23 renewal strategy elements based on placeness provide new ideas for coding methods of historic buildings and modeling of historic building information model (HBIM). These strategy elements can be used to construct a knowledge graph of historic buildings and visualize tacit knowledge to promote sustainable construction and twin city construction.

Life cycle assessment and design of LignoBlock: A lignin bound block on the path towards a green transition of the construction industry

Lignin-based biopolymer-bound soil composites (BSCs) are a new class of sustainable construction materials that utilize a bio-based biopolymer — lignin — as a binder. Prior use of lignin suggests that lignin is a promising candidate for the development of bio-based construction materials. Inspired by these applications, lignin-based BSCs were developed using lignoboost lignin, lignoforce lignin, alkali lignin, and hydrolysis lignin. Uni-axial compressive testing of lignin-based BSC shows that the compressive strength for these BSCs range from 1.6–8.1 MPa, which makes them appropriate for low compressive strength construction applications. We performed a life cycle assessment (LCA) of lignin-based BSC, with the functional unit being a CMU-sized block (V=6423cm3). The major advantage of BSC lies in the elimination of ordinary portland cement, which is common to many construction materials, including many forms of concrete. Furthermore, the use of lignin in lignin-based BSC results in carbon sequestration (lignin ≈ 60 wt% carbon), potentially making construction materials made from lignin-based BSC carbon negative. Additionally, a design guide for estimating the life cycle carbon footprint of lignin-based BSC for a required compressive strength was developed. By utilizing the results from material tests and the LCA, designers are now able to use lignin effectively in construction applications, as they can now design lignin-based BSC for a target compressive strength with a full understanding of the life cycle carbon footprint implications.

Human factors methods in the design of digital decision support systems for population health: a scoping review

BackgroundWhile Human Factors (HF) methods have been applied to the design of decision support systems (DSS) to aid clinical decision-making, the role of HF to improve decision-support for population health outcomes is less understood. We sought to comprehensively understand how HF methods have been used in designing digital population health DSS.Materials and methodsWe searched English documents published in health sciences and engineering databases (Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, Scopus, Comendex, Inspec, IEEE Xplore) between January 1990 and September 2023 describing the development, validation or application of HF principles to decision support tools in population health.ResultsWe identified 21,581 unique records and included 153 studies for data extraction and synthesis. We included research articles that had a target end-user in population health and that used HF. HF methods were applied throughout the design lifecycle. Users were engaged early in the design lifecycle in the needs assessment and requirements gathering phase and design and prototyping phase with qualitative methods such as interviews. In later stages in the lifecycle, during user testing and evaluation, and post deployment evaluation, quantitative methods were more frequently used. However, only three studies used an experimental framework or conducted A/B testing.ConclusionsWhile HF have been applied in a variety of contexts in the design of data-driven DSSs for population health, few have used Human Factors to its full potential. We offer recommendations for how HF can be leveraged throughout the design lifecycle. Most crucially, system designers should engage with users early on and throughout the design process. Our findings can support stakeholders to further empower public health systems.

Systematic literature review of BIM application in the whole life cycle of green building projects

ABSTRACT Building information modelling (BIM), as an effective digital method of information representation in the field of construction engineering, helps to deal with a series of works including design optimization, construction planning, and facility management. BIM enhances sustainability through energy simulations, material selection, waste reduction, and energy monitoring. However, challenges like talent shortage, interoperability issues, data management, and lack of standardization hinder its widespread use. Current research lacks systematic exploration of BIM's application in green buildings' life cycle, limiting further development. To fill this research gap, this study aims to provide a systematic review of the application of BIM in the design, construction and operation stages of the whole life cycle of green buildings. As a guideline to conduct this research, the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) model are used to identify the main procedures for literature screening and review. Through the systematic review, the main applications of BIM technology in green buildings are summarized, while the challenges in the current applications and the corresponding solutions are discussed. Finally, the study proposes key points for the future development of BIM to help the construction industry truly realize the development of man and nature and harmony and greenery.

Applications of Power Electronics using AI Technology: Overview

In this century our world, there are huge impacts of AI. This paper discusses an overview of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications used in power electronic systems. AI works in three distinctive life-cycle phases, design, control, and maintenance. Also, it includes optimisation, classification, regression, and data structure exploration. Here we discuss, the applications of four categories of AI: expert system, fuzzy logic, metaheuristic method, and machine learning. This paper shows various techniques of AI, applications of AI and different methods are fault diagnosis and prognosis. Future scope of AI in power electronics is discuss in this review paper.

Sustainable preventive maintenance of MMC-based concrete building structures in a harsh environment

The construction industry plays a significant role in environmental strain, attributed mainly to its substantial resource consumption, primarily driven by the surge in residential construction. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) presents an innovative paradigm for designing and constructing infrastructure and buildings more efficiently, using conventional materials with unconventional techniques. The article aims to apply this approach to an MMC-based building structure, minimizing its life cycle impact by optimizing the consumption of building materials, with particular attention to the effects of the maintenance phase from a preventive point of view. This study focuses on assessing the sustainability of reinforced concrete flat slabs employing a hollow structural body system, explicitly emphasizing environmental aggressiveness factors contributing to corrosion, such as carbonation and chlorides. The research explores ten design options for a waterfront public residential building, examining their impact on the economy, the environment, and even society regarding the maintenance cycles required over the structure's lifetime, depending on the preventive strategy employed for each design. In assessing the sustainability of these options, researchers employed a combination of the best-worst method (BWM) and the VIKOR technique, considering nine criteria related to sustainability. The study found that 5 % silica fume concrete is the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly option, with hydrophobic impregnation reducing social impacts. However, compared to one- and two-dimensional evaluations, the study demonstrates the importance of simultaneously considering a design's life cycle's economic, environmental, and social impacts to achieve sustainability in maintenance with a holistic view. This approach led to an 86 % higher sustainability rating for a design using sulforesistant cement in the concrete mix than the baseline.

Implementation of a Technical Peer Review Process: Principles, Policy, and Cultural Change

AbstractThe complex scientific and engineering work performed at Sandia National Laboratories is supported by a comprehensive system of reviews that include design, gate, and peer reviews. A recent exercise revealed a need to change how technical peer reviews are conducted. Building on industry standards, best practices, current standard internal practices and other previous work, Sandia has developed a continuous improvement process to institutionalize technical peer review in the design lifecycle of products. The approach focuses on translating customer and leadership expectations, utilizing current established practices, simplifying planning and execution, and providing resources to project teams to guide them and ensure that rigorous and consistent technical peer reviews are performed. This paper presents the process used by Sandia to improve the technical peer review process, the factors that affect implementation of a peer review process, the simplified three‐step process implemented, the tools and resources generated, and the sustainment plan adopted to increase the institution‐wide use of peer review as a tool to improve product delivery.

Renovation with height increasing of residential buildings of the 1960s made of precast concrete

For many years, an urgent problemin Ukraine is a technical renovation of the existing housing stock of mass-series buildings. Most of them were built with precast concrete elements inthe 1960s–1970s. The design lifecycle of such buildings was determined for 25 years. Therefore they have obsolescence and backwardness. That expressed in inconformity with modern design codes for residential buildings, the absence of elevators, the unavailability of engineering communications, low heat and energy efficiency and environmental compatibility of such buildings. On the other hand, the technical examinations of concrete structures of such houses showed that at least 80 % of them havenot depleted their bearing capacity resource. The problem of buildings renovation was especially emphasized by the destructive consequences of theRussian federation armed aggression in Ukraine. The paper describes the experience of renovation with reconstruction of the old 5-storey residential building into modern 9-storey multi-apartment residential building. Construction works included redevelopment of the interior space, elevator installation, and replacement of the utilities by the modern ones and using of up-to-date technologies to improve the energy efficiency of the building. The project provides increasing the number of stories.

Life-cycle optimal design and energy benefits of centralized cooling systems for data centers concerning progressive loading

Cooling of data centers requires a significant amount of energy, comparable to the energy consumption of the servers themselves. The current design of the centralized cooling systems for data centers is based on ideal IT loading conditions (i.e., 100 % loading). However, such conventional design often results in significant oversized cooling systems and leads to substantial energy waste, since most data centers operate at part load in their lifespan. To address this issue, this study proposes an optimal design for centralized cooling systems with multiple chillers under progressive loading. The optimization problem, aimed at minimizing life-cycle cost, is formulated adopting SLSQP (Sequential Least Squares Programming) algorithm. A cooling system model is developed using the manufacturer's performance data of cooling equipment. The optimal designs in different climate zones are identified according to energy performance under full-range loads and ambient temperatures. Furthermore, this study comprehensively analyzes and compares free cooling hours, cooling energy, and life-cycle cost of the optimized designs with conventional designs. The results show that the optimized cooling systems could operate more energy-efficiently, despite decreased free cooling hours (13–860). Significant cooling energy savings over the lifespan could be achieved, i.e., 4–22 %, corresponding to the PUE reductions of 0.02–0.11, depending on climate conditions and control strategies.

Embed systemic equity throughout industrial ecology applications: How to address machine learning unfairness and bias

AbstractRecent calls have been made for equity tools and frameworks to be integrated throughout the research and design life cycle —from conception to implementation—with an emphasis on reducing inequity in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications. Simply stating that equity should be integrated throughout, however, leaves much to be desired as industrial ecology (IE) researchers, practitioners, and decision‐makers attempt to employ equitable practices. In this forum piece, we use a critical review approach to explain how socioecological inequities emerge in ML applications across their life cycle stages by leveraging the food system. We exemplify the use of a comprehensive questionnaire to delineate unfair ML bias across data bias, algorithmic bias, and selection and deployment bias categories. Finally, we provide consolidated guidance and tailored strategies to help address AI/ML unfair bias and inequity in IE applications. Specifically, the guidance and tools help to address sensitivity, reliability, and uncertainty challenges. There is also discussion on how bias and inequity in AI/ML affect other IE research and design domains, besides the food system—such as living labs and circularity. We conclude with an explanation of the future directions IE should take to address unfair bias and inequity in AI/ML. Last, we call for systemic equity to be embedded throughout IE applications to fundamentally understand domain‐specific socioecological inequities, identify potential unfairness in ML, and select mitigation strategies in a manner that translates across different research domains.

Multihazard resilience and economic loss evaluation method for cable-stayed bridges under the combined effects of scour and earthquakes

Cable-stayed bridges (CSBs) commonly experience scour-induced foundation issues during their service life, impacting both structural seismic resilience and economic losses. Nonetheless, these aspects remain inadequately addressed in existing seismic codes. This paper presents a comprehensive probabilistic multihazard fragility, resilience, and economic loss evaluation method for CSBs influenced by scour and earthquakes. Numerical models with various scour depths considering epistemic uncertainties in loads, structural properties, and soil conditions are first established using the Latin-hypercube sampling (LHS) method. Incremental dynamic analyses (IDAs) are then conducted on these models in cases with near-fault and far-field bidirectional ground motions, yielding probabilistic multihazard demand models and component- and system-level multihazard fragility surfaces for diverse limit states. Subsequently, resilience and economic losses are comparatively evaluated by integrating damage probabilities with corresponding uncertain functional recovery functions. Eventually, a rapid bridge traffic capacity evaluation method based on the critical traffic capacity surface concept is devised to effectively assess CSB open patterns under various peak ground accelerations (PGAs), scour depths, and repair times. The numerical results show apparent shifts in the nonmonotonic seismic fragility, resilience, and economic loss of the case CSB due to scour effects, with the rates of change reaching 31.4 %, 34 %, and 24.8 %, respectively, associated with a critical scour depth of 12 m at IM = 0.8 g. The developed analysis framework provides a reference for the life-cycle design and maintenance of CSBs affected by multihazard scour and earthquakes.

How Shapes and Colors Drive Sustainable Fashion aand Eco-Friendly Graphic Design.

Integrating shape and color theory into sustainable fashion and eco-friendly graphic design is more than a conceptual idea; it's a practical strategy that enables designers to create impactful, responsible designs. This approach encourages innovative solutions, efficient processes, and sustainability throughout the design lifecycle. In fashion design, using eco-friendly materials and experimenting with shapes and silhouettes optimizes material usage and minimizes waste. In graphic design, sustainable printing techniques and mindful color selection foster environmental consciousness. Both fields benefit from ethical branding, accessibility considerations, and collaborative practices, ensuring designs are inclusive and environmentally friendly. By embracing these principles, designers can inspire positive change and contribute to a sustainable future.

Smart Energy Systems Based on Next-Generation Power Electronic Devices

Power electronics plays a key role in the management and conversion of electrical energy in a variety of applications, including the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydrogen energy, as well as in electric vehicles, industrial technologies, homes and smart grids. These technologies are essential for the successful implementation of the green transition, as they help reduce carbon emissions and promote the production and consumption of cleaner and more sustainable energy. The present work presents a new generation of power electronic devices and systems, which includes the following main aspects: advances in semiconductor technologies, such as the use of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN); nanomaterials for the realization of magnetic components; using a modular principle to construct power electronic devices; applying artificial intelligence techniques to device lifecycle design; and the environmental aspects of design. The new materials allow the devices to operate at higher voltages, temperatures and frequencies, making them ideal for high-power applications and high-frequency operation. In addition, the development of integrated and modular power electronic systems that combine energy management, diagnostics and communication capabilities contributes to the more intelligent and efficient management of energy resources. This includes integration with the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) for automated task solving and work optimization.

Enhancing sustainability in manufacturing: A methodology for quantitative assessment and improvement of life-cycle design conflict managing capabilities

In response to the escalating need for sustainable production and consumption, manufacturers increasingly adopt Life-Cycle Design (LCD) to address environmental and social challenges. However, the complex nature of cross-organizational collaborations in LCD often leads to conflicts among stakeholders, hindering effective implementation. This study aims to address this gap by proposing a comprehensive method framework for characterizing, evaluating, and improving manufacturers' LCD Conflict Managing Capabilities (LCD-CMC). The study begins by explicating conflicts in LCD and introduces the People-Process-Technology Framework. This framework serves to comprehensively characterize LCD-CMC and to break down the abstract LCD-CMC concept into specific elements in three dimensions. Subsequently, a Maturity Model is developed for quantitatively evaluating LCD-CMC, utilizing a hybrid method integrating Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytical Network Process (ANP). DEMATEL enables the identification and quantification of interrelations among multiple criteria of the LCD-CMC evaluation system, while ANP facilitates the weighting of each criterion based on its significance. Together, these methodologies enable a comprehensive assessment of the maturity level of LCD-CMC. Building upon this foundation, a systematic approach for generating improvement strategies for LCD-CMC is proposed, leveraging the Total Adversarial Interpretive Structure Model (TAISM) to analyze the inter-relations among contributing capability elements. TAISM offers a practical approach to generating robust improvement strategies, ensuring effective and efficient improvements in LCD-CMC over time. Through a case study involving a prominent Chinese machine tool manufacturer, the feasibility and efficacy of our framework are demonstrated, providing valuable insights into potential improvements. Overall, this paper offers valuable insights into managing conflicts in LCD, providing a structured methodology for evaluating and improving LCD-CMC. By leveraging advanced models and methods, it contributes to addressing LCD conflicts and enhancing collaboration in LCD implementation. Furthermore, it contributes to enriching the knowledge of Life-Cycle Design in the context of conflict management, ultimately advancing sustainable production and consumption practices.

Developed Status and Forecast of Intelligent Ship Application

The concept of smart ships is not limited to ship autonomous driving, it covers a broader scope, including the full life cycle of ship design, construction, operation and maintenance. By integrating advanced sensors, navigation systems and data analysis platforms, smart ships are able to monitor ship status and the Marine environment in real time, optimize route planning and improve fuel efficiency, thereby reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, smart ships can revolutionize the shipping industry by improving maritime safety and reducing human error through remote control and autonomous decision-making. In recent years, smart ship technology has gradually moved from the theoretical research stage to practical application, and has attracted wide attention from the global shipping industry. A number of international cooperation and research projects have been launched to explore the practical application potential and promotion paths of smart ships. However, the development of smart ships also faces many challenges, including technical difficulties, legal and regulatory restrictions, and public acceptance issues. This paper will deeply discuss the current development status of smart ships, analyze the main challenges it faces, and forecast the future development trend, in order to provide reference and inspiration for the innovative development of the shipping industry.