Life Cycle Assessment of Advanced Materials for Transportation Lightweighting Applications

Abstract

With transportation being responsible for almost 30% of total U.S. end-use sector greenhouse gas emissions, strategies that can improve the environmental performance of transportation systems are of high value. This research is an exploratory study as part of the Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT) initiative investigating the life cycle environmental performance of advanced lightweight materials for transportation applications. This work focuses on thin-wall ductile cast iron (TWDCI) as a candidate lightweight material and compares its environmental performance to conventional cast iron and cast aluminum in terms of energy and greenhouse gas emissions. A case study approach is used to analyze and compare specific vehicle parts to understand the influential parameters in the part’s life cycle impacts. The thesis highlights the tradeoffs that typically accompany lightweighting through lower fuel consumption in the use phase but potentially higher impacts in the production phase. Additionally, it helps emphasize the importance of a life cycle approach in understanding and quantifying the environmental performance of different technologies. The work in this thesis has been published as a journal article: Jhaveri, K., Lewis, G. M., Sullivan, J. L., & Keoleian, G. A. (2018). Life cycle assessment of thin-wall ductile cast iron for automotive lightweighting applications. Sustainable Materials and Technologies, 15, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2018.01.002.