MMLV: Life Cycle Assessment

Critical factors affecting life cycle assessments of material choice for vehicle mass reduction

“…For the review, twenty-six LCAs on light-duty vehicle mass reduction were identified. The studies, listed in Table 1, were published in 2010 or later and focus on the application of LCA to investigate the impacts of reducing mass from vehicles or their components (Baroth and McKay, 2012;Bushi et al, 2015;Das, 2011Das, , 2014bDhingra and Das, 2014;Ding et al, 2016;Du et al, 2010aDu et al, , 2010bDubreuil et al, 2012;Ehrenberger, 2013;Kelly et al, 2015;Kim et al, 2010;Koffler, 2013;Lewis et al, 2014;Li et al, 2015;Marretta et al, 2012;Mayyas et al, 2012c;PE International, 2012a,b;Raugei et al, 2015;Simões et al, 2016;Stasinopoulos et al, 2012;Steel Market Development Institute, 2016;Tempelman, 2011;Tharumarajah and Koltun, 2010;Witik et al, 2011). The cutoff year of 2010 was selected to focus the review on LCAs that may capture more recent innovations in mass reduction technology, changing material compositions in light-duty vehicles, updated inventory data, and policy changes that have driven mass reduction efforts to the forefront.…”

“…Aluminum was most commonly examined (18), followed by composites (13) and magnesium (11). Four of the studies examined all four materials (Bushi et al, 2015;Kelly et al, 2015;Li et al, 2015;Mayyas et al, 2012c). While some of the studies focused on substitution of one material by another, others assessed multi-material design changes with different materials being used in conjunction to achieve greater mass reductions through a holistic design.…”

“…Because of the energy intensity of aluminum production, the manufacturing efficiency and GHG emissions rates for the electric energy mix assumed are all key factors that influence the associated emissions. The aluminum industry in North America has historically sited facilities to access regional electric grid mixes with lower cost and often lower GHG-emissions sources like hydropower, so LCA studies often assume a high proportion of hydroelectric power such as 53% hydro, 15% nuclear, and 20% coal (Raugei et al, 2014(Raugei et al, , 2015 or up to 75% hydroelectric power (Bushi et al, 2015;Das, 2014b), which is based on a 2013 report by The Aluminum Association (2013). This distribution might be representative of the current energy delivered to aluminum manufacturing facilities but additional global demand for aluminum would require additional electricity production.…”

“…Unlike aluminum, AHSS contributes fewer GHG emissions than conventional steel from the beginning, not requiring a payback period during the use phase. Many of the multi-material designs assessed in the selected studies use HSS/AHSS (Bushi et al, 2015;Das, 2014a;Dhingra and Das, 2014;Tempelman, 2011). The application of steel alloys for reducing mass plays an important role in comprehensive designs, including two different aluminumintensive designs evaluated in the LCAs (Bushi et al, 2015;Das, 2014b).…”

“…Aluminum alloy parts were used in the body, interior, chassis, and powertrain. This was achieved through the use of castings, extrusions, stampings, and forgings (Bushi et al, 2015).…”