Now showing 1 - 10 of 11
  • Publication
    Plastik-Index PLIX macht Verpackungen vergleichbar
    ( 2021)
    Adel, F. van den
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    Scagnetti, C.
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    Lorenz, M.
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    Krieg, H.
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    Der Plastik-Index (PLIX) bietet Konsumierenden und Unternehmen ein verständliches Instrument zur Bewertung von Kunststoffverpackungen und zum Vergleich von Kunststoffverpackungen. Der PLIX befähigt Konsumierende, ihren Verpackungsverbrauch zu reduzieren und Unternehmen in Handel und Logistik, ihren gesamten ökologischen Fußabdruck zu minimieren. Die Bewertungskriterien für den PLIX sind die Verpackungsmenge, die Rezyklierfähigkeit und deren Umweltwirkung; die daraus resultierende Bewertung wird in einem ""best case"" bis ""worst case"" Szenario dargestellt. Unter Berücksichtigung des Lebenszyklusgedankens wird die Verpackung von ""Cradle to Gate"", also vom Rohstoffabbau bis zum Point of Sale im Einzelhandel berücksichtigt. In der vorliegenden Fallstudie dient der PLIX als Instrument zum Vergleich verschiedener Verpackungen innerhalb der Produktgruppe Tomaten. Grundsätzlich ist der PLIX jedoch auch für Anwendungsfälle außerhalb des Lebensmittelbereiches geeignet.
  • Publication
    The dilemma of balancing design for impact sound with environmental performance in wood ceiling systems - A building physics perspective
    ( 2021)
    Müller, Theresa
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    Borschewski, David Sven
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    Due to the high consumption of resources and energy in the construction sector, the development of resource-efficient and sustainable construction solutions is gaining increasing attention. The awareness of sustainability and resource conservation results in the interest of using natural and renewable materials in contemporary architecture. Timber construction methods offer both constructive and ecological potential for sustainable solutions. From a building physics perspective, the acoustic performance of lightweight buildings, such as those made of timber, presents a challenge. Even if standard requirements are met, the increased low-frequency sound transmission typical for light-weight construction can cause discomfort and is already the subject of questions in building physics, which are currently increasingly extending to timber construction. Within the framework of a holistic approach, this paper compares the problem of acoustic properties, design optimizations and the ecological properties of timber-frame and solid timber construction components. The comparison with heavy materials, such as concrete, shows the relation of acoustic optimization with the change of the environmental profile. In order to establish the interaction between acoustic quality of wooden ceiling constructions and their ecological characteristics, this article aims to demonstrate the potential of materials used in the building sector under ecological aspects considering a life cycle analysis.
  • Publication
    Environmental impacts of renewable insulation materials
    ( 2021)
    Geß, Andreas
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    Lorenz, Manuel
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    Tolsdorf, Anna
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    According to the IEA Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction 2019, one of the main industry sectors causing environmental impacts is the construction sector. Hence, construction materials from renewable resources are expected to have a large potential to decrease these impacts. In this study, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted for four different insulation materials from renewable feedstock: insulation made from pasture grass, seaweed, reed, and recycled jute fibres. Additionally, the effects on land use change were evaluated for pasture grass insulation using the LANCA® methodology. To put the LCA results in relation to those of nonrenewable resources, a comparison of standardized LCA values for conventional insulation materials is presented. In general, the renewable insulation materials show fewer environmental impacts than their conventional counterparts. In particular, these materials have advantages regarding greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on climate change. Of the analyzed materials, seaweed showed the overall lowest emissions. It can be concluded that insulation materials from non-mineral, non-fossil, and non-wooden resources are still fairly niche in terms of market share, but they have extraordinary potential in decreasing the environmental impacts of construction ventures.
  • Publication
    Reliable design of adaptive load-bearing structures with focus on sustainability
    ( 2020)
    Ostertag, Andreas
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    Dazer, Martin
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    Bertsche, Bernd
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    Schlegl, Friederike
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    Gienger, Andreas
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    Wagner, Julia
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    Tarín, Cristina
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    Sawodny, Oliver
    Nowadays large amounts of raw materials are used in the building industry. Conventional design methods for passive constructions are at the limit of what's permissible according to standard and oversized for most of their design life. In order to reduce the consumption of raw material and the environmental impact caused by its production, an actuation of the load-bearing structure is a possible way forward. Such a structure is able to adapt to different load cases by specifically manipulating internal stresses using actuators installed in the structure. This paper introduces a design procedure applied to an adaptive high-rise load-bearing structure demonstrating reliability and includes the changing environmental impact. The trade-off between oversizing, which leads to high reliability and savings of raw material for minimal environmental impact needs to be solved for unique structures with quantity one. By use of a linear-elastic model the effect of wind loads is simulated and actuator forces and tensions were calculated. In the total balance the energy consumption of the actuators and its related greenhouse gas emissions as well as the intended savings due to the reduced need for raw materials in production is included. In conclusion, replacing building material with energy can be a promising way forward on the condition, that electric energy will become increasingly environmentally friendly in the near future, whereas natural resources for materials are limited.
  • Publication
    Die Bedeutung von Anlagentechnik für die Ökobilanz von Nichtwohngebäuden - Ergebnisse eines neuen Anlagenkonfigurators
    Gebäude leisten einen erheblichen Beitrag zur globalen Erwärmung, dem Ressourcenverbrauch und der Produktion von Abfällen. Mit verbesserten Energiestandards steigt der Anteil der Herstellung und des Lebensendes gebäudetechnischer Komponenten an den Umweltwirkungen des Lebenszyklus. Aufgrund der Komplexität liegt der Anteil gebäudetechnischer Komponenten an den gesamten Treibhausgasemissionen eines Gebäudes bei bis zu 25%. In den derzeit angewendeten Bewertungsverfahren werden die Verteilung und Übergabe oft vereinfacht oder nicht abgebildet. Es wurde daher ein Anlagenkonfigurator entwickelt, der flexibel im Planungsprozess eingesetzt werden kann und an die verfügbaren Informationen angepasst ist. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Anteil der Verteil- und Übergabesysteme bis zu 80 % an den gesamten Treibhausgasemissionen einer Kostengruppe betragen kann und daher nicht wie bisher vernachlässigbar ist.
  • Publication
    Assessment of social impacts along the value chain of automation technology components using the LCWE method
    ( 2019)
    Schlegl, Friederike
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    Barkmeyer, Mercedes
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    Kaluza, Alexander
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    Purpose: During the last years, the sustainability of products has gained importance. The established life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology focuses on the evaluation of environmental impacts of products. Academic research extends this approach to social impacts towards establishing a social life cycle assessment (S-LCA). The life cycle working environment (LCWE) method offers one option to include social impacts in LCA. This paper aims at creating a LCWE procedure for company purposes. Automation technology components serve as a case study. Methods: LCWE helps to assess the social impact on humans along a products life cycle based on statistical data and the possibility to integrate primary data. The methods focus is on working conditions in upstream and manufacturing activities. LCWE is based on the energy and material flows used in LCA study's. The results of the method are social profiles of single processes or products. The allocation to social profiles is performed through shares of value-added costs within the life cycle processes of a product. Results and discussion: First, a procedure that enables the integration of the LCWE method into companies is presented. Within the procedure, it is possible to integrate corporate data as well as companies aims. The results of the process assessment are categorized by a traffic light function, so that decision makers within the company will be able to integrate the results into their department and improve the processes they are responsible for.
  • Publication
    LCA of buildings in Germany: Proposal for a future benchmark based on existing databases
    ( 2019)
    Schlegl, Friederike
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    Gantner, Johannes
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    Traunspurger, René
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    The evaluation of environmental aspects in the early planning phase of buildings can support the reduction of the resource use and environmental impacts associated with the building sector over the whole building life-cycle. The integration of life cycle assessment (LCA) benchmarks in the planning phase is one potential measure. To derive these benchmarks a large database of existing building assessment is essential. Potential data input is available from the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), as it certifies more than 200 buildings annually and the certification includes a mandatory LCA. In this study, the current submission files and database of the DGNB are assessed and critically reviewed with regard to their usability for automated LCA benchmarks. First, a harmonized database is created from the large number of assessed buildings. Second, the data is examined for its suitability for benchmarking with regard to data format, structure and level of detail. The data that were declared fit for purpose were used to create an exemplary, harmonized data set with 22 office buildings. The evaluation of these data for various environmental indicators of the individual life-cycle phases shows their respective relevance and can thus serve as a benchmark. Another focus is to encourage improvement of the additional documentation like the energy source required for better benchmarking, interpretation of results and auditing of the LCA rules for building certification. The results of this study highlight the opportunities and challenges in the development of a database for benchmarking. Before long-term LCA benchmarks can be developed and deployed, a standardized and uniform submission format of results, that is indifferent regarding the used LCA software, needs to be developed. In the future the submission process should be extended by an automated quality assurance to prevent restraints from low data quality and data gaps that otherwise have to be detected manually.
  • Publication
    Bauphysikalische und ökologische Bewertung adaptiver Fassadenkonstruktionen auf Raumebene
    ( 2019)
    Harder, Nadine
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    Schlegl, Friederike
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    Flemming, Daniela
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    Eine Antwort auf den großen und fortschreitenden Ressourcenverbrauch im Bauwesen können leichte und zugleich adaptive Lösungsansätze für Gebäudehüllen und -strukturen darstellen. Dazu müssen sie sowohl für schadensfreie Bauwerke mit passender Aufenthaltsqualität als auch für eine deutlich höhere Ressourceneffizienz sorgen. Beides gilt für den gesamten Lebensweg und trotz der für die Adaptivität benötigen zusätzlichen Betriebsenergie. Im Rahmen einer vorangegangenen Untersuchung adaptiver Leichtbaukonstruktionen für Fassaden wurde die bauphysikalische Funktionalität und Umweltwirkung einiger Beispiele auf Bauteilebene behandelt. Im hier vorliegenden Beitrag wird nun der Betrachtungshorizont auf die Raumebene erweitert, um z. B. neben Kennwerten für Wärme- und Feuchteschutz der Hülle auch die Behaglichkeit im Raum als Bewertungsmaßstab heranzuziehen. Natürlich erhöhen sich damit der Aufwand und die Komplexität der Bilanz, dafür lässt sich aber fundierter das Anwendungspotenzial adaptiver Alternativen einschätzen und über deren Weiterverfolgung entscheiden. Dazu werden drei herkömmliche, teils massive und teils leichte Konstruktionen, sowie vergleichbare adaptive Fassaden auf Raumebene untersucht und bewertet. Als wesentliche Bewertungskriterien gelten dabei quantitative Aussagen zur Erfüllung bauphysikalischer Anforderungen und zu ökologischen Umweltwirkungen. Im Ergebnis der methodenübergreifenden Forschung zeigt sich, dass adaptive Konstruktionen fallspezifisch, z. B. standortbezogen, beachtliches Potenzial zur Ressourcenreduktion ohne Funktionseinschränkungen mit sich bringen.
  • Publication
    Bio-inspiration as a Concept for Sustainable Constructions Illustrated on Graded Concrete
    ( 2019) ; ;
    Haase, Walter
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    Langer, Max
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    Schmeer, Daniel
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    Sobek, Werner
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    Speck, Olga
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    The building industry is one of the main contributors to worldwide resource consumption and anthropogenic climate change. Therefore, sustainable solutions in construction are particularly urgent. Inspired by the success principles of living nature, biologists and engineers present here an interdisciplinary work: The sustainability assessment of a bio-inspired material technology called graded concrete, which was developed at ILEK. Gradient structural materials can be found in plants on different hierarchical levels, providing a multitude of creative solutions for technology. Graded concrete applies this biological concept of structural optimization to the interior structure of concrete components to minimize material and resource expenditure. To evaluate the sustainability of this innovation, a newly developed quantitative Bio-inspired Sustainability Assessment (BiSA) method is applied. It focuses on the relationship of environmental, social and economic functions and the corresponding burdens quantified basing on life cycle assessment. The BiSA of graded concrete slabs shows significant improvements over conventional concrete for the applied use case. While an overall reduction of environmental burdens by 13% is expected, economic burdens can be reduced by up to 40% and social burdens by 35.7%. The assessment of the graded concrete technology identifies its potential with regard to sustainable construction. The presented work provides a blueprint for the interdisciplinary, integrative work on sustainable, bio-inspired innovations. It shows that the synergies of bio-inspiration and BiSA within technical product development can be fruitful.
  • Publication
    Integration of LCA in the planning phases of adaptive buildings
    ( 2019)
    Schlegl, Friederike
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    Honold, Clemens
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    Leistner, Sophia
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    Roth, Daniel
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    Haase, Walter
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    Binz, Hansgeorg
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    Sobek, W.
    The high consumption of resources in the building industry requires a significant reduction of material in buildings and consequently a reduction of emissions over all phases of the life cycle. This is the aim of the Collaborative Research Centre 1244 Adaptive Skins and Structures for the Built Environment of Tomorrow, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), which addresses research on the development and integration of adaptive systems in building structures and skins. New approaches in building planning are required for the implementation of adaptive buildings. Therefore, a multidisciplinary team from various fields such as architecture, civil and mechanical engineering, and system dynamics is necessary. The environmental impacts of the whole life cycle have to be considered for an integral planning process for adaptive buildings right from the beginning. For the integration of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), four temporal and content-related interfaces were identified in the planning process. Inputs and outputs of the LCA were defined for the relevant planning stages in order to enable the greatest possible benefit for the planners and to minimize the environmental impacts as far as possible. The result of the research work is a methodology that can be used in the future to reduce life cycle-related environmental impacts in the planning process of adaptive buildings (ReAdapt).