Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Lighting Systems and Road Pavements in an Italian Twin-Tube Road Tunnel

Abstract

This work calculates and discusses the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of four scenarios composed of two types of road pavements and two types of lighting systems to be built in an Italian twin-tube road tunnel. A 20-year time horizon is adopted to assess the burdens of construction and maintenance of both flexible and rigid pavements and high-pressure sodium (HPS) and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, traffic, and switching on of lamps. All considered scenarios are comparable with each other in terms of technical performances, but significantly differ regarding their environmental consequences. The geometrical and technical characteristics of the examined scenarios comply with current Italian standards for highways. In all the examined cases, LCA is carried out according to the European standard, EN 15804, and includes 19 impact categories (IC). The analysis demonstrates that the use of more reflecting surface pavement materials (i.e., concrete vs. asphalt) and more performing lighting systems (i.e., LED vs. HPS) can effectively mitigate the deleterious burdens related to road construction, maintenance, and use. For most of the examined ICs, the most environment-friendly scenario has LED lamps and concrete pavement.Sustainability 2018, 10, 4165 2 of 18 the efficiency of lighting systems during their service life. However, LEDs are not globally used for road lighting systems. Indeed, HPS lamps are currently one of the most used types of light source and the road lighting upgrade is still in progress [11].Many other complementary measures could contribute to operational energy efficiency in road tunnels. The most effective ones concern the tunnel lining and the road surface materials. Indeed, self-cleaning lining panels can produce 2.5% energy savings [12], while the use of a white and highly-reflective road surface materials can improve the driver visibility, and save more than 20% due to less luminaires required [10].Design options of a road infrastructure determine its sustainability and efficiency during the whole life cycle. For road tunnels and similar underground structures, in particular, there are both technical and economic constraints and opportunities to be considered [13,14]. In fact, these infrastructures require special attention due to their technical characteristics and performances that they must ensure, especially regarding the safety and comfort of users [15]. A road tunnel, in fact, is a complex infrastructure where a sensitive equilibrium is needed between the civil structures and the technical systems; among these components, an important role is played by the road pavement and the lighting system [16]. They determine the safety condition experimented by users, in terms of friction, stability, evenness, and visibility along the road section. At the same time, they significantly influence the economic, environmental, and energetic sustainability of the tunnel [17]. Recent research has highlighted that the use of lighter surfaced pavements can be a valid design solution to reduce lighting consumpt...

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Impact of LED Color Temperatures on Perception Luminance in the Interior Zone of a Tunnel considering Fog Transmittance

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