Development of a Framework for Assessing Global Warming Potential Across the Concrete Pavement Life Cycle

AUTHORS: Cooper, M.A.; and Mukherjee, A.

ABSTRACT: The objective of this work is to develop a framework for performing life cycle assessments (LCAs) of a concrete pavement. Current concrete LCAs focus mainly on stages A1 through A3 in keeping with concrete environmental product declarations (EPDs) and therefore only on the concrete mixture design and constituents. Those concrete pavement LCAs tending towards beyond the gate focus on the tailpipe emissions of vehicles using the concrete pavement. The pavement industry desires a pavement LCA to incorporate the life cycle stages beyond the gate, including construction, repair, maintenance, rehabilitation, and end of life. Incorporating a more holistic approach allows for improved decision-making and consideration of material choices that may have a higher upfront global warming potential (GWP) but result in longer life, thus lowering overall emissions. The framework developed in this study considers the embodied emissions associated with the entire pavement life cycle, including repair, maintenance, rehabilitation, and end of life. The framework does not include the tailpipe emissions or use phase of the pavement in which the sole source of emissions arises from vehicles. Developing this framework offers not only a holistic solution of concrete pavement life cycle to the industry, but also transitions concrete LCAs from a declared unit to a functional unit. The transition to a functional unit positions concrete pavement LCAs into a more comparative process and provides more meaning to the estimations received during the LCA.