A novel life cycle assessment and life cycle costing framework for carbon fibre-reinforced composite materials in the aviation industry

Abstract

Purpose Carbon fibre-reinforced composite materials offer superior mechanical properties and lower weight than conventional metal products. However, relatively, little is known about the environmental impacts and economic costs associated with composite products displacing conventional metal products. The purpose of this study is to develop an integrated life cycle assessment and life cycle costing framework for composite materials in the aviation industry. Methods An integrated life cycle assessment (LCA) and life cycle costing (LCC) framework has been developed. The displacement of a conventional aluminium door for an aircraft by a composite door is presented as an example of the use of this framework. A graphical visualisation tool is proposed to model the integrated environmental and economic performances of this displacement. LCA and LCC models for composite applications are developed accordingly. The environmental hotspots are identified, and the sensitivity of the environmental impact results to the different composite waste treatment routes is performed. Subsequently, the research suggests a learning curve to analyse the unit price for competitive mass production. Sensitivity analysis and Monte Carlo simulation have been applied to demonstrate the cost result changes caused by data uncertainty. Results Energy consumption was the hotspot, and the choice of composite waste treatment routes had a negligible effect on the LCA outcomes. Concerning the costs, the most significant cost contribution for the unit door production was labour. The future door production cost was decreased by about 29% based on the learning curve theory. The uncertainties associated with the variables could lead to variations in the production cost of up to about 16%. The comparison between the two doors shows that the composite door had higher potential environmental impacts and cost compared to the conventional aluminium door during the production stage. However, the composite door would have better environmental and financial performance if a weight reduction of 47% was achieved in future designs. Conclusions The proposed framework and relevant analysis models were applied through a case study in the aerospace industry, creating a site-specific database for the community to support material selection and product development. The graphical tool was proved to be useful in representing a graphical visualisation comparison based on the integration of the LCA and LCC results of potential modifications to the composite door against the reference door, providing understandable information to the decision-makers.

Procedure for Aggregating Indicators of Quality and Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the Product-Improvement Process

“…Quality level is the customer's satisfaction with the usability of the product and is determined according to the main criteria (key) (attributes) of the product [24]. These criteria are evaluated by the customer on a Likert scale [25] in terms of their importance and quality, which are subsequently processed according to formalized scoring (PS) [26,27]. The product life-cycle assessment (LCA) is carried out on the basis of the ISO 14040 standard [28], which according to assumptions, concerns one criterion of environmental burden.…”

“…The quality level is assessed according to a simplified formalized scoring method (PS, Czechowski method) [27,43]. The choice of this method was due to its simple methodology and the ability to determine the level of product quality based on customer assessments.…”

Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Analysis of Fibre Composite Manufacturing Technologies in Shipyards Industry

“…The Ecoinvent database does not include carbon fibre material, but only "carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic injection moulding" with a GWP 100 value of 82.6 kg CO 2 -eq per kg, which is significantly higher than values reported in the literature for unprocessed carbon fibre production: from 19 [44] to 32 [45] kg CO 2 -eq per kg of carbon fibre. Therefore, the production stage of carbon fibre was simulated based on literature data [46], and the inventory for a 1 kg production of carbon fibre is also included in Table 2. Table 3 shows inventory for the UV curved pultrusion process.…”

A Comprehensive Review on the Thermal Stability Assessment of Polymers and Composites for Aeronautics and Space Applications

“…Owing to numerous advantages surpassing conventional materials like metals or ceramics [15,[100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108], epoxy composites are increasingly playing a primary role in the aeronautical and aerospace sectors. Some of their pivotal benefits include [109][110][111][112]:…”

“…Owing to numerous advantages surpassing conventional materials like metals or ceramics [ 15 , 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 , 106 , 107 , 108 ], epoxy composites are increasingly playing a primary role in the aeronautical and aerospace sectors. Some of their pivotal benefits include [ 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 ]: Exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, giving them a fusion of robustness and lightness, thus minimizing the overall weight and fuel consumption of aircrafts. Remarkable creep resistance, allowing them to stave off deformation under persistent stress or high temperatures.…”