Life cycle assessment of steel fibre-reinforced concrete beams
Gideon Osei Asare, S. J. Barnett, Kenneth Awinda, Brett Martinson
Abstract
The use of steel fibres in reinforcing concrete has proven to enhance certain mechanical and durability properties of concrete; however, as a material that presents enhanced properties, its environmental performance should also be analysed. This study aims to quantify the carbon emissions of steel fibre-reinforced concrete beams using a functional unit that considers the mechanical and durability performance of concrete through a whole life cycle assessment methodology that includes the benefits/load after the end-of-life. A cradle-to-grave approach, which considers the end-of-life stage and the benefits/loads beyond the system boundary, was performed to compare the embodied carbon of conventionally reinforced concrete and steel fibre-reinforced concrete beams. The results show that the addition of steel fibres as reinforcing material to concrete can reduce the area of steel required in the tension zone of a conventionally reinforced concrete beam and the embodied carbon of concrete by an average of 33% and 37%, respectively.