A comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges
Abstract Carbon emissions from bridge engineering are an important component of the carbon emissions in the construction industry. The life cycle carbon emissions (LCCE) of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges, hollow slab bridge and T-beam bridge, are studied and compared. Firstly, in or...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
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| author | Fasheng Qian Yong Ding Xinlei Shi Chengxiao Shu Xiaocun Zhang |
| author_facet | Fasheng Qian Yong Ding Xinlei Shi Chengxiao Shu Xiaocun Zhang |
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| description | Abstract Carbon emissions from bridge engineering are an important component of the carbon emissions in the construction industry. The life cycle carbon emissions (LCCE) of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges, hollow slab bridge and T-beam bridge, are studied and compared. Firstly, in order to establish the criteria for the comparison of different bridge types, the principle of equal stiffness is proposed for the superstructures, and the principle of matching load effect with bearing capacity is proposed for the substructures. Based on the above two principles, 6 bridges of 2 types and 3 spans are designed for comparative analysis. Then, a calculation model of the LCCE of simple-supported beam bridges is established, in which four stages, production, construction, operation and demolition stages are included, and the carbon emission factors of each stage are established. Finally, the carbon emissions of 6 bridges designed above are calculated, and the main factors affecting the LCCE of simple-supported beam bridges are discussed. The calculation results show that (1) For the same span, the LCCE of T-beam bridges are about 8–10% lower than those of hollow slab bridges. The reasons for this are that T-beam bridges use 22-32% less concrete and 4.5-11.5% less reinforcement than hollow slab bridges, which reduces carbon emissions during the production and demolition stages, and that the durability of the lateral connections of T-beam bridge is better than that of hollow slab bridge, which reduces carbon emissions from the maintenance and repair of T-beam bridge in the operation stage by about 30%. (2) Carbon emissions in the production stage of simple-supported beam bridges account for 83–84% of the LCCE, 11-12.6% of the LCCE in the operation stage, 3.8–4.5% of the LCCE in the construction stage, and 1% of the LCCE in the demolition phase. Therefore, the reduction of carbon emissions is most effective in the production and operation stages of these bridges. (3) Steel and concrete are the two materials that have the greatest impact on carbon emissions of simple-supported beam bridges. 100% recycled steel can reduce the carbon emissions of bridges by 17.7 -19.2% compared with 50% recycled steel. 50% and 100% recycled coarse aggregate concrete can reduce the carbon emissions of bridges by approximately 2.9% and 5.7%, respectively. (4) The carbon emission of the superstructure of the T-beam bridge is 12.5-14.2% less than that of the hollow slab bridge in the same span, and the differences in carbon emissions of the substructures are very small due to the small differences in the loads they are subjected to. With the increase of bridge span, the carbon emission per unit area of the superstructure of simple-supported beam bridge increases, that of the substructure decreases, and that of the whole bridge decreases firstly and then increases, which makes it possible to choose appropriate bridge span to decrease the carbon emission. |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c39ea8beeb364bcf855c3de153710ec72025-08-20T01:47:33ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111810.1038/s41598-025-99157-8A comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridgesFasheng Qian0Yong Ding1Xinlei Shi2Chengxiao Shu3Xiaocun Zhang4Department of Civil Engineering, Ningbo UniversityDepartment of Civil Engineering, Ningbo UniversityNingbo Traffic Planning and Design InstituteNingbo Xiangshan Transportation Development & Construction Group Co., LtdDepartment of Civil Engineering, Ningbo UniversityAbstract Carbon emissions from bridge engineering are an important component of the carbon emissions in the construction industry. The life cycle carbon emissions (LCCE) of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges, hollow slab bridge and T-beam bridge, are studied and compared. Firstly, in order to establish the criteria for the comparison of different bridge types, the principle of equal stiffness is proposed for the superstructures, and the principle of matching load effect with bearing capacity is proposed for the substructures. Based on the above two principles, 6 bridges of 2 types and 3 spans are designed for comparative analysis. Then, a calculation model of the LCCE of simple-supported beam bridges is established, in which four stages, production, construction, operation and demolition stages are included, and the carbon emission factors of each stage are established. Finally, the carbon emissions of 6 bridges designed above are calculated, and the main factors affecting the LCCE of simple-supported beam bridges are discussed. The calculation results show that (1) For the same span, the LCCE of T-beam bridges are about 8–10% lower than those of hollow slab bridges. The reasons for this are that T-beam bridges use 22-32% less concrete and 4.5-11.5% less reinforcement than hollow slab bridges, which reduces carbon emissions during the production and demolition stages, and that the durability of the lateral connections of T-beam bridge is better than that of hollow slab bridge, which reduces carbon emissions from the maintenance and repair of T-beam bridge in the operation stage by about 30%. (2) Carbon emissions in the production stage of simple-supported beam bridges account for 83–84% of the LCCE, 11-12.6% of the LCCE in the operation stage, 3.8–4.5% of the LCCE in the construction stage, and 1% of the LCCE in the demolition phase. Therefore, the reduction of carbon emissions is most effective in the production and operation stages of these bridges. (3) Steel and concrete are the two materials that have the greatest impact on carbon emissions of simple-supported beam bridges. 100% recycled steel can reduce the carbon emissions of bridges by 17.7 -19.2% compared with 50% recycled steel. 50% and 100% recycled coarse aggregate concrete can reduce the carbon emissions of bridges by approximately 2.9% and 5.7%, respectively. (4) The carbon emission of the superstructure of the T-beam bridge is 12.5-14.2% less than that of the hollow slab bridge in the same span, and the differences in carbon emissions of the substructures are very small due to the small differences in the loads they are subjected to. With the increase of bridge span, the carbon emission per unit area of the superstructure of simple-supported beam bridge increases, that of the substructure decreases, and that of the whole bridge decreases firstly and then increases, which makes it possible to choose appropriate bridge span to decrease the carbon emission.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99157-8Simple-supported beam BridgeT-beam BridgeHollow slab BridgeImplied carbon emissionsLife cycleComparative research |
| spellingShingle | Fasheng Qian Yong Ding Xinlei Shi Chengxiao Shu Xiaocun Zhang A comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges Scientific Reports Simple-supported beam Bridge T-beam Bridge Hollow slab Bridge Implied carbon emissions Life cycle Comparative research |
| title | A comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges |
| title_full | A comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges |
| title_fullStr | A comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges |
| title_full_unstemmed | A comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges |
| title_short | A comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple-supported beam bridges |
| title_sort | comparative study of life cycle carbon emissions of two commonly used simple supported beam bridges |
| topic | Simple-supported beam Bridge T-beam Bridge Hollow slab Bridge Implied carbon emissions Life cycle Comparative research |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-99157-8 |
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