Dr.-Ing.

Albrecht, Stefan

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  • Publication
    Analysis and visualisation of large scale life cycle assessment results: A case study on an adaptive, multilayer membrane façade
    ( 2024-05-17)
    Borschewski, David
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    Prenzel, Tobias Manuel orcid-logo
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    Albrecht, Stefan orcid-logo
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    Leistner, Philip
    The importance of visualisations in context of life cycle assessment has been widely discussed and acknowledged in the literature. Especially with the increasing ability to process and create large-scale LCA results, visualisations are vital tools to not only analyse and interpret but also check and validate underlying datasets. Based on a dataset containing 1.25 million LCA results for all potential configurations within a defined parameter space, different visualisations and analysis methods were applied to identify hotspots, assess parameter sensitivity, gain insights to optimise environmental sustainability, and provide benchmarks for an adaptive, multilayer membrane façade. Box plots for the identification of hotspots, parameter sensitivity, and benchmarking, as well as colour-coded scatter plots, have proven to be incredibly versatile and effective for understanding the results and providing multiple perspectives to gain further insight. The ability to interact directly with interactive visualisation in order to identify and isolate specific areas of interest allows for a very efficient analysis of the relevant aspects of data. However, the usefulness of the proposed visualisations is not only dependant on the quality and characteristic of the underlying data but also on the objectives and scope of the study, as well as the intended medium illustrating the results.
  • Publication
    Switchable Heat Pipes for Eco-Friendly Battery Cooling in Electric Vehicles: A Life Cycle Assessment
    ( 2024-02-17)
    Illner, Maike orcid-logo
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    Thüsing, Kai
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    Nioac de Salles, Ana Claudia orcid-logo
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    Trettenhann, Anian orcid-logo
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    Albrecht, Stefan orcid-logo
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    Winkler, Markus
    Battery thermal management systems (BTMSs) ensure that lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles (EVs) are operated in an optimal temperature range to achieve high performance and reduce risks. A conventional BTMS operates either as an active system that uses forced air, water or immersion cooling, or as a complete passive system without any temperature control. Passive systems function without any active energy supply and are therefore economically and environmentally advantageous. However, today’s passive BTMSs have limited cooling performance, which additionally cannot be controlled. To overcome this issue, an innovative BTMS approach based on heat pipes with an integrated thermal switch, developed by the Fraunhofer Cluster of Excellence Programmable Materials (CPM), is presented in this paper. The suggested BTMS consists of switchable heat pipes which couple a passive fin-based cold plate with the battery cells. In cold state, the battery is insulated. If the switching temperature is reached, the heat pipes start working and conduct the battery heat to the cold plate where it is dissipated. The environmental benefits of this novel BTMS approach were then analysed with a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). Here, a comparison is made between the suggested passive and an active BTMS. For the passive system, significantly lower environmental impacts were observed in nearly all impact categories assessed. It was identified as a technically promising and environmentally friendly approach for battery cooling in EVs of the compact class. Furthermore, the results show that passive BTMS in general are superior from an environmental point of view, due their energy self-sufficient nature
  • Publication
    Sustainable Pultruded Sandwich Profiles with Mycelium Core
    ( 2023-07-28)
    Früchtl, Marion
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    Senz, Andreas
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    Sydow, Steffen
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    Frank, Jonas Benjamin
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    Hohmann, Andrea
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    Albrecht, Stefan orcid-logo
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    Fischer, Matthias orcid-logo
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    Holland, Maximilian
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    Wilhelm, Frederik
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    Christ, Henrik-Alexander
    This research focuses on exploring the potential of mycelium as a sustainable alternative to wood or solid foam in pultruded glass fiber-reinforced plastic (GFRP) sandwich profiles. The study evaluates the performance and the environmental sustainability potential of this composite by mechanical tests and life cycle assessment (LCA). Analysis and comparison of pultruded sandwich profiles with mycelium, polyurethane (PUR) foam and chipboard demonstrate that mycelium is competitive in terms of its performance and environmental impact. The LCA indicates that 88% of greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to mycelium production, with the heat pressing (laboratory scale) being the main culprit. When pultruded profiles with mycelium cores of densities 350 and 550 kg/m 3 are produced using an oil-heated lab press, a global warming potential (GWP) of 5.74 and 9.10 kg CO 2-eq. per functional unit was calculated, respectively. When using an electrically heated press, the GWP decreases to 1.50 and 1.78 kg CO 2-eq. Compared to PUR foam, a reduction of 23% in GWP is possible. In order to leverage this potential, the material performance and the reproducibility of the properties must be further increased. Additionally, an adjustment of the manufacturing process with in situ mycelium deactivation during pultrusion could further reduce the energy consumption.
  • Publication
    Ökobilanzierung adaptiver Hüllen und Strukturen
    ( 2023-04-06)
    Borschewski, David
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    Albrecht, Stefan orcid-logo
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    Bischoff, Manfred
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    Blandini, Lucio
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    Bosch, Matthias
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    Dazer, Martin
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    Efinger, Dshamil Daniel
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    Eisenbarth, Christina
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    Haase, Walter
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    Kreimeyer, Matthias
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    Leistner, Philip
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    Nitzlader, Markus
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    Roth, Daniel
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    Sawodny, Oliver
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    Adel, Friederike van den
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    Voigt, Michael
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    Simon Weber
    Die Bilanzierung von Umweltwirkungen spielt eine entscheidende Rolle bei der Entwicklung nachhaltiger und umweltfreundlicher Technologien und Konzepte. Dies gilt auch in der Entwicklung von Gebäuden mit adaptiven Hüllen und Strukturen und stellt darüber hinaus weitreichende Anforderungen an alle beteiligten Disziplinen. Die vollständige Integration der Ökobilanzierung in den Planungs- und Auslegungsprozess ermöglicht, Umweltwirkungen als Optimierungsgrößen in den komplexen, dynamischen Berechnungswerkzeugen einzusetzen. Die bisherigen Ergebnisse des SFB 1244 bescheinigen adaptiven Tragwerken und Fassaden großes Potenzial zur Einsparung von Ressourcen und Umweltwirkungen. Die ganzheitliche Betrachtungsweise, sowohl in Bezug auf den Lebenszyklus als auch auf die interdisziplinären Wechselwirkungen, stellt sicher, dass die relevanten Effekte und Einflüsse in der Bilanzierung berücksichtigt werden. Das stellt die Methode der Ökobilanzierung selbst jedoch vor neue Herausforderungen im Umgang mit einer Vielzahl an Varianten und den umfangreichen Wechselwirkungen zwischen Auslegung und Einflüssen auf Parameter in der Nutzungsphase, wie z. B. den Energieverbrauch oder die Lebensdauer.
  • Publication
    Shape Memory Polymer Foam for Autonomous Climate-Adaptive Building Envelopes
    ( 2022-12-15)
    Walter, Mario
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    Lengsfeld, Kristin
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    Borschewski, David Sven
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    Albrecht, Stefan orcid-logo
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    Kölsch, Philipp
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    Pretsch, Thorsten
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    Krus, Martin
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    Lehmann-Brauns, Susanne orcid-logo
    Reducing the continuously growing cooling energy demand of buildings is an important part of achieving global emission targets. Here, we present an innovative scenario of how the integration of a programmable material into a climate-adaptive building envelope (CABE) can create an energy-efficient thermal management system inherent to the material. This novel concept is based on a thermoresponsive shape memory polymer foam (SMP) and is designed to regulate the flow of ambient air through the building envelope in order to enable natural cooling of the structure. Hygrothermal simulation data obtained by the software WUFI® Plus indicate that significant cooling energy saving potential may be accessible with this type of concept. As a possible material basis for a corresponding adaptive element, a reactive foamed polyurethane-based SMP foam is proposed, which is capable of executing a thermoreversible shape change of more than 20% while having a suitable switching temperature range. Finally, the ecological impact of such a functional foam element is evaluated in detail as well as its influence on the overall balance of a façade construction by means of a life cycle assessment (LCA).
  • Publication
    Ökobilanzierung adaptiver Hüllen und Strukturen
    ( 2022-09)
    Borschewski, David
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    Albrecht, Stefan orcid-logo
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    Bischoff, Manfred
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    Blandini, Lucio
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    Bosch, Matthias
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    Dazer, Martin
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    Efinger, Dshamil
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    Eisenbarth, Christina
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    Haase, Walter
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    Kreimeyer, Matthias
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    Leistner, Philip
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    Nitzlader, Markus
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    Roth, Daniel
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    Sawodny, Oliver
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    Adel, Friederike
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    Voigt, Michael
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    Weber, Simon
    Life cycle assessment of adaptive skins and structuresThe assessment of environmental impacts is crucial in the de-velopment of sustainable and environmentally friendly techno-logies and concepts. The development of adaptive buildings is no exception and also places far-reaching demands on all dis-ciplines involved. The full integration of life cycle assessment into the planning and design process makes it possible to use environmental impacts as optimization parameters in the com-plex, dynamic calculation tools. The results of SFB 1244to date confirm that adaptive load-bearing structures and façades have great potential for saving resources and environmental impacts. The holistic approach, both in terms of the life cycle and the interdisciplinary dependencies, ensures that the rele-vant effects and influences are taken into account in the as-sessment. However, this confronts the life cycle assessment method with new challenges in dealing with a large number of variants and the extensive interactions between design and in-fluences on parameters in the use phase, such as energy con-sumption or service life.
  • Publication
    The Relevance of Recyclability for the Life Cycle Assessment of Packaging Based on Design for Life Cycle
    ( 2022-03-30)
    Keller, Jonas
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    Scagnetti, Carla
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    Albrecht, Stefan orcid-logo
    The awareness for more environmentally sustainable packaging solutions is steadily growing. With both consumers and manufacturers looking to minimize their impacts on the environment, the need for easy-to-implement and standardized measures strengthening a circular economy rises. In the research, the goal was to determine whether the carbon footprint and circularity of non-food plastic packaging can be improved by simple design changes. The results should then lead to design recommendations, providing a Design for Life Cycle approach. The methodology of the study was to conceptually design a single-use plastic packaging with attributes having positive and negative effects on recyclability. Herein, only design characteristics from products obtainable on the market were regarded. Moreover, a comparison over existing recyclability assessment methods is given. The recyclability was then determined with the selected approach by Cyclos HTP, and a reference calculation was conducted. Life Cycle Assessments were implemented for 14 packaging designs using the GaBi software and the Environmental Footprint method. The results showed that dark color, material compounds, insoluble adhesives, and large labels result in lower recyclability of the single-use packaging. The impacts on climate change range from 0.13 kg CO2-equivalent emissions (100% recyclability) to 0.21 kg CO2-equivalent emissions (0% recyclability) per packaging, showing that lower recyclability leads to a larger carbon footprint in all assessed scenarios. Concluding, the research demonstrated that by applying Design for Life Cycle measures, impacts on climate change can be reduced. Lastly, design recommendations for decision makers are outlined.