Economic, Environmental, and Social Assessment of Concrete Pavement Life Cycle: A Literature Review

Concrete is extensively utilized in road pavement construction, including continuously reinforced, jointed plain, jointed reinforced, precast, and eco-block concrete pavements. However, the pavement industry faces significant challenges, such as high construction and maintenance costs, substantial e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mohammad saleh Entezari, Rashid Tanzadeh, Fereidoon Moghadas Nejad
Format: Article
Language:fas
Published: Sharif University of Technology 2025-06-01
Series:مهندسی عمران شریف
Subjects:
Online Access:https://sjce.journals.sharif.edu/article_23663_55b42681d69a32cad42b8381050a8a0c.pdf
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849236282223362048
author Mohammad saleh Entezari
Rashid Tanzadeh
Fereidoon Moghadas Nejad
author_facet Mohammad saleh Entezari
Rashid Tanzadeh
Fereidoon Moghadas Nejad
author_sort Mohammad saleh Entezari
collection DOAJ
description Concrete is extensively utilized in road pavement construction, including continuously reinforced, jointed plain, jointed reinforced, precast, and eco-block concrete pavements. However, the pavement industry faces significant challenges, such as high construction and maintenance costs, substantial energy consumption, pollution emissions during material production, and adverse impacts of work zones on workers and communities. These multifaceted impacts are evaluated through economic, environmental, and social life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools, forming the basis of life-cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This article reviews the historical development of LCSA and outlines its methodological steps based on existing standards. A critical review of concrete pavement LCSA studies examines their scope, including analysis pillars, life-cycle stages, unit processes, pavement types, tools, life-cycle inventory (LCI), and impact categories. Key gaps are identified: only 25% of studies address the use phase, while a mere 20% consider the end-of-life stage. Within the use phase, common focuses include roughness-induced fuel consumption (10% of studies), vehicle operation costs (10%), and work zone impacts (traffic delays: 15%; increased fuel consumption: 10%). Notably, pavement albedo, carbonation, and lighting effects were analyzed in only one study, while CO₂ was the most frequent LCI item (11 references). To address these limitations, the study proposes a standardized framework for scope definition in concrete pavement LCSA, ensuring comprehensive inclusion of unit processes across all life-cycle stages to enhance result reliability. The article concludes with recommendations for future research to advance LCSA methodologies.
format Article
id doaj-art-2158dea93ebc4dd78b2149c25313264f
institution Kabale University
issn 2676-4768
2676-4776
language fas
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Sharif University of Technology
record_format Article
series مهندسی عمران شریف
spelling doaj-art-2158dea93ebc4dd78b2149c25313264f2025-08-20T04:02:22ZfasSharif University of Technologyمهندسی عمران شریف2676-47682676-47762025-06-0141111012910.24200/j30.2024.63847.330123663Economic, Environmental, and Social Assessment of Concrete Pavement Life Cycle: A Literature ReviewMohammad saleh Entezari0Rashid Tanzadeh1Fereidoon Moghadas Nejad2Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, IranFaculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, IranFaculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, IranConcrete is extensively utilized in road pavement construction, including continuously reinforced, jointed plain, jointed reinforced, precast, and eco-block concrete pavements. However, the pavement industry faces significant challenges, such as high construction and maintenance costs, substantial energy consumption, pollution emissions during material production, and adverse impacts of work zones on workers and communities. These multifaceted impacts are evaluated through economic, environmental, and social life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools, forming the basis of life-cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA). This article reviews the historical development of LCSA and outlines its methodological steps based on existing standards. A critical review of concrete pavement LCSA studies examines their scope, including analysis pillars, life-cycle stages, unit processes, pavement types, tools, life-cycle inventory (LCI), and impact categories. Key gaps are identified: only 25% of studies address the use phase, while a mere 20% consider the end-of-life stage. Within the use phase, common focuses include roughness-induced fuel consumption (10% of studies), vehicle operation costs (10%), and work zone impacts (traffic delays: 15%; increased fuel consumption: 10%). Notably, pavement albedo, carbonation, and lighting effects were analyzed in only one study, while CO₂ was the most frequent LCI item (11 references). To address these limitations, the study proposes a standardized framework for scope definition in concrete pavement LCSA, ensuring comprehensive inclusion of unit processes across all life-cycle stages to enhance result reliability. The article concludes with recommendations for future research to advance LCSA methodologies.https://sjce.journals.sharif.edu/article_23663_55b42681d69a32cad42b8381050a8a0c.pdflife cycle sustainability pavement managementphysical modelingenvironmental life cycle analysissocial life cycle assessmentlife-cycle cost analysis
spellingShingle Mohammad saleh Entezari
Rashid Tanzadeh
Fereidoon Moghadas Nejad
Economic, Environmental, and Social Assessment of Concrete Pavement Life Cycle: A Literature Review
مهندسی عمران شریف
life cycle sustainability pavement management
physical modeling
environmental life cycle analysis
social life cycle assessment
life-cycle cost analysis
title Economic, Environmental, and Social Assessment of Concrete Pavement Life Cycle: A Literature Review
title_full Economic, Environmental, and Social Assessment of Concrete Pavement Life Cycle: A Literature Review
title_fullStr Economic, Environmental, and Social Assessment of Concrete Pavement Life Cycle: A Literature Review
title_full_unstemmed Economic, Environmental, and Social Assessment of Concrete Pavement Life Cycle: A Literature Review
title_short Economic, Environmental, and Social Assessment of Concrete Pavement Life Cycle: A Literature Review
title_sort economic environmental and social assessment of concrete pavement life cycle a literature review
topic life cycle sustainability pavement management
physical modeling
environmental life cycle analysis
social life cycle assessment
life-cycle cost analysis
url https://sjce.journals.sharif.edu/article_23663_55b42681d69a32cad42b8381050a8a0c.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT mohammadsalehentezari economicenvironmentalandsocialassessmentofconcretepavementlifecyclealiteraturereview
AT rashidtanzadeh economicenvironmentalandsocialassessmentofconcretepavementlifecyclealiteraturereview
AT fereidoonmoghadasnejad economicenvironmentalandsocialassessmentofconcretepavementlifecyclealiteraturereview