Design for sustainability

Solar and wind energy are the two most available renewable energy resources in the world. In this paper, a high-resolution analysis that allows sizing a hybrid photovoltaic-wind turbine-battery banks has been carried out. The analysis aims to minimize the annualized cost of the systems satisfying two reliability constraints. The solution has been obtained numerically by means of an iterative technique. The decision variables are the photovoltaic area, wind turbine radius, and battery capacity. A high-resolution model, based on fuzzy logic inference system, has been developed to evaluate the number of active occupants and the domestic electricity consumption. In order to allow a more accurate sizing of the system, a new reliability parameter named seasonal loss of load probability ratio that takes into account the seasonality of data has been defined. Seasonal loss of load probability ratio has been used in the iterative process in addition to the most common loss of load probability. Compared with traditional processes, the obtained results demonstrate that the introduction of the new parameter to iterative process causes a meaningful improvement of the system's reliability and a slight increase of its cost on the other hand. The simulation, conducted in MATLAB® environment, has been carried out to supply power for a domestic dwelling located in three different locations of Sicily. Compared to reliability values arising from the traditional procedure, the obtained results show that a reliability improvement of 75% is reached by using the new sizing procedure. Therefore, the proposed methodology gives an important advancement on the current state of the art since it allows at designing renewable plants in a more efficient way.

Keywords: Economic optimization , Fuzzy inference system , Hybrid PV-Wind energy system , LLP , Matlab

Although several works have been published in literature on agave fibers and their biocomposites, accurate information about the choice of both the fibers and the manufacturing processes that allow the user to optimize the biocomposites properties in terms of strength and stiffness are not yet available; also, no theoretical models that can be used for an accurate evaluation of the mechanical properties of these biocomposites, are reported. To this aim, the present work intends to give a contribution by considering green epoxy biocomposites reinforced by both short and discontinuous sisal agave fibers arranged in proper MAT-type fabrics. In particular, an optimized manufacturing process that allows to obtain good quality biocomposites, is proposed. A detailed analysis of the experimental results, obtained through preliminary pull-out and tensile tests carried out, along with an accurate analysis of the damage process performed by SEM micrographs, have allowed to develop reliable theoretical models that permit the mechanical properties evaluation of the analyzed biocomposites. Finally, the comparison with the most performing short/discontinuous fiber biocomposites reported in literature has shown how the implemented biocomposites exhibit comparable tensile strength and significantly higher stiffness, also respect to biocomposites reinforced by more stiff and more expensive fibers (flax, hemp, etc.).

Keywords: Biocomposites , Eco-friendly matrix , Natural fibers , Sisal fibers

The increasing interest about eco-sustainable materials in the industrial production (automotive, civil construction, packaging), has led to the increase of the research works dealing with biocomposites. However, until now the most attention has been devoted to the development of short fiber biocomposites for non-structural applications, whereas only a few works have considered high performance biocomposites for structural applications. Consequently, the development of structural biocomposites from robust natural fibers, as sisal fibers, is a result expected from the scientific community, but not yet achieved. In order to give a contribution to the implementation of high performance biocomposites constituted by a green matrix reinforced by sisal fibers, the present work proposes a manufacturing process that allows to obtain good quality unidirectional biocomposites with fiber volume fraction up to 70%. In detail, it uses unidirectional “stitched” fabrics, properly obtained in laboratory from optimized fibers, and a curing under a proper pressure cycle. The comparison with independent data reported in literature, has evidenced how the proposed biocomposites exhibit mechanical properties higher than most of biocomposites described in literature, so that they can advantageously substitute not only materials as steel, aluminum and glass fiber reinforced plastics, but also other biocomposites reinforced by more expensive fibers.

Keywords: Biocomposites , Ecofriendly matrixes , Natural fibers , Sisal fibers

Although several works have recently been published in literature about biocomposites, i.e. about composites with polymeric matrix reinforced by natural fibers, only a few articles have been devoted to the implementation of high performance biocomposites for structural and semi-structural applications. The present study aims to give a contribution by considering biocomposites obtained by using an eco-friendly partially bio-based epoxy (green epoxy) and sisal (agave sisalana fibers) obtained by a proper optimization process. Through a systematic experimental analysis, three different types of biocomposites obtained with a suitable manufacturing process, such as random short fiber biocomposites, random discontinuous fibers biocomposite obtained through the preliminary manufacture of MAT fabrics, and unidirectional long fibers biocomposites obtained through the preliminary manufacture of unidirectional "stitched" fabrics, have been studied.

Keywords: agave fibers , biocomposites , eco-friendly matrices , natural fibers

What does it make some sports such as off-road motorcycle to be perceived as non-environmentally-friendly? Are the activities themselves or the actual and/or traditional way of their fulfillment? How is it possible to make them more environmentally sustainable without giving up the fun? This paper aims to give an answer to these questions, analyzing the case of off-road motorcycling. It is clear that some of negative consequences of such sport are due to the bad behavior and scarce ecological awareness of its practitioners, while it is often neglected that other aspects are related to the present characteristics of its means: the motorcycles. The present work, starting with the analyses of the environmental damages related to this sport, tries to give an answer focusing on the technical aspects of actual motorcycles that can be related to such damages. In particular, the authors propose the application of an integrated eco-innovation and technical contaminated approach for the design and development of a new concept of off-road motorcycle to meet the requirements of low environmental impact and light weight of the vehicle, while maintaining the pleasure of riding in the nature.

Keywords: Eco-innovation , Environmental impact , LCA , Off-road motorcycle , Rear suspensions , Terramechanics

Eco-driving assistance devices are being introduced to reduce CO2 emissions, but the overall changes in the user behavior have not been sufficiently explored. While in-vehicle driver advanced systems are designed to support a single driving task (e.g. reducing emissions), they also imply the adoption of a different driving behavior and different driving attitudes in order to be efficient. Adopting for the first time a new driving style could affect driver's acceptance and undermine new technologies' efficacy. Purpose of the present research is to measure and evaluate the user's responses to first-time use of eco-driving assisting technology. Driver's performances in a virtual simulator were compared between experimental and a control group. The actual driving parameters and CO2 emissions were recorded and compared to the optimal eco-driving style calculated by CarMaker software. The cognitive costs of the new driving style were measured by changes in the modulation of autonomic nervous system and NASA-TLX workload scale. Acceptance of the assisted driving style and general eco-friendly attitudes were analyzed by self-reported measures. Results show that being exposed for the first time to eco-driving technology produces a reduction of cumulate fuel consumption only due to speed reduction, and not to changes in the driving style parameters, as recommended by the assisting software. Overall CO2 emissions of eco-driving group were not different from the control group. Rather, the first time use of the eco-driving assistance increases perceived fatigue and the physiological cardiac autonomic balance related to increased workload over time. These difficulties show that eco-driving style cannot be simply adopted by following the assistance device indications. It seems rather a process, which requires specific support during in the first driving-interaction with eco-driving technology. The design of assistance device that aims to change the driving style, could benefit from the measurement of the user's workload to avoid primacy effect that potentially undermine technology efficacy in supporting user-sustainable behaviors.

Keywords: Acceptance , Assistance technologies , CO2 emissions , Human-machine interaction , Pro-environmental behavior , Workload

The present contribution proposes a decision support paradigm that elucidates factors ensuing from Product-Service System implementations and that might be neglected due to assessment difficulties. These aspects emerge when companies are exposed to new business model scenarios underlying servitized propositions. The outcomes represent the backbone for the creation of a methodology and a quantitative estimation index, named the Servitization Value Correction Coefficient, devised as a reference term to assess and to forecast the economic value obtained by the introduction of a Product-Service System. The proposed methodology introduces an original criterion to give quantification of qualitative variables not addressed before. It is based on different factors coming into play in Product-Service System adoption that can bring both benefits and drawbacks. The study was carried out in firms initially unaware of Product-Service System opportunities.

Keywords: Decision-making , Product service system , PSS drawbacks , PSS opportunities , Service evaluation

A new composite material, defined as Ductile High Energy Composite (DHEC), is analysed in this paper, with particular reference to the energy absorbed after high speed impacts and to the relevant failure mode. A set of DHEC and pure carbon fibre laminates presenting equal weight, equal bending strength or equal stiffness, respectively, have been compared measuring the energy absorbed after the impact of a bullet, through the difference between the total energy of the bullet and the one corresponding to its penetration in a wooden block after hitting the specimens. Fracture modes have been investigated using an optical microscope. Energy absorbed by DHEC laminates is of the same order than for pure carbon ones; however, the DHEC failure mode (referred to as “petaling”) presents a lower spreading of splinters respect to the pure carbon fibres (brittle fracture) case. Even though a wider testing campaign is necessary to better evaluate the DHEC properties, they appear to be suitable for adoption in all those applications where impacts can be harmful for end-users or people. Further research on high energy absorption properties is needed to better characterize these innovative composite materials, yet the outcome of this study suggests the high potential of DHEC.

Purpose: Currently, the reduction of weight in automotive is a very important topic in order to lower the air pollution. In this context, the purpose of the present paper was to analyze a real case study through a comparison of the environmental sustainability between a conventional steel crossbeam for light commercial vehicles and an innovative lightweight aluminum one. Methods: For both scenarios, a cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment methodology and a sensitivity analysis has been used through the study of the following phases: mineral extraction, component manufacturing, use on vehicle, and end of life. In particular, many primary data and a complete vehicle model simulation with three different European driving cycles have been used in order to reach the highest possible level of accuracy during the analysis. Results and discussion: Regarding the manufacturing phase, the aluminum component's production gave the highest impact because of the high energy required in the mineral reduction. Anyway, this stage of the analysis had a low effect on the entire LCA, because the benefit of weight reduction during vehicle use showed a strongly higher contribution. The urban driving cycle had the most relevant impact, as a consequence of the frequent start and stop operations and the longest time with engine at idle speed, while the extra-urban cycle is the less demanding due to its higher average speed and no start and stop. Conclusions: In conclusion, the present research demonstrated the environmental importance of the lightweight for an actual case study in the commercial vehicles field.

Keywords: Aluminum , Automotive , Commercial vehicles , Life cycle assessment (LCA) , Lightweighting , Steel

This study presents a modelling system to evaluate the impact of weight reduction in light commercial vehicles with diesel engines on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. The PROPS model assesses the emissions of one vehicle in the aforementioned category and its corresponding reduced-weight version. The results serve as an input to the RIAT + tool, an air quality integrated assessment modelling system. This paper applies the tools in a case study in the Lombardy region (Italy) and discusses the input data pre-processing, the PROPS-RIAT + modelling system runs, and the results.

Keywords: Air quality , Greenhouse gases , Lightweighting , Multi-objective optimization , Road transport , Scenario analysis

The paper presents a comparison between the emission levels produced along the most used standard driving cycles (NEDC, WLTC, CADC) by a Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV). A proven simulation tool based on real-world emission data (RDE, Real Driving Emissions) has been used instead of a demanding test campaign. Emission levels have been computed for each cycle in three conditions (urban, combined, extra-urban/highway). Then the results have been compared with Euro 5 limits and real-world emission levels to highlight each driving cycle objectivity and representativeness. Among others, the WLTC driving cycle seems to be the most plausible one yet, as expected, it is not very representative of the real world.

Keywords: Diesel Emissions , Driving Cycle , Emissions Simulation , European Driving Cycles

Nowadays, several consumer goods are sold with an energy label which provides energy information about consumption, efficiency, noise, and performance. These labels are regulated by local energy policy and governments. Because of this, customers are becoming increasingly aware about the energy efficiency and consumption of products such as household appliances. In Europe, several household appliances are involved in the European Energy Labelling Directive. Therefore, the manufacturers are paying attention to Ecodesign tools and methods to support the development of eco-innovation and sustainable products. In this context, the paper proposes a design methodology to support the development of efficient cooker hoods using an approach based on a constraints satisfaction problem model. The scope of the proposed research is to reduce the time-to-market of household appliances considering the energy efficiency optimization from the early design phases to the embodiment design. A Case Based Reasoning is also implemented to define a pre-configured model of product before the CSP optimization. The CSP model has been developed as an analytical system, which can predict the energy label achieved by a final prototype of a cooker hood. The interaction of such tools can fill the gap between traditional design methods and eco-innovation approaches, in order to support the designer in the decision-making activity. The test case shows a cooker hoods optimization based on a CSP tool, developed using a programming framework based on Gecode platform.

Keywords: Case-based reasoning , Constraints satisfaction problem , Design optimization , Ecodesign , Energy label , Virtual prototyping

In industrialized countries, packaging waste is one of the major issues to deal with, representing around 35% of the total municipal solid waste yearly generated. Therefore, an analysis and an environmental assessment of packaging systems are necessary. This paper aims at analyzing and comparing the environmental performances of two different packaging for domestic hoods. It shows how, through a packaging redesign, it is possible to obtain a reduction of the environmental impacts. This study has been performed in accordance with the international standards ISO 14040/14044, by using attributional Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) from Cradle to Gate. The functional unit has been defined as the packaging of a single household hood. Primary data have been provided by a household hood manufacturer, while secondary data have been obtained from the Ecoinvent database. LCA software SimaPro 8.5 has been used to carry out the life cycle assessment, and ReCiPe method has been chosen for the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) stage. The results have shown the new packaging model being able to cut down the environmental impacts of approximately 30%. These outcomes may be used by household manufacturers to improve performances and design solutions of their different packaging.

Green building design and architecture have become widespread tenets in the development of sustainable buildings. In this context, the use of sustainable materials and the awareness of resource/energy consumption are strategic aspects to consider for the improvement of building performances. This paper presents a new and structured approach to address uncertainty and sensitivity analysis in Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to support the decision-making process in building renovation. This "probabilistic" approach to LCA allows for the obtaining of results expressed as ranges of environmental impacts and for alternative solutions, offering an idea of the meaning of input parameters' uncertainties and their influence on the result. The approach includes (i) the assessment of inputs' uncertainties (represented by Probability Density Functions-PDF); (ii) the data sampling; and (iii) the uncertainty propagation (Monte Carlo method). Variance decomposition techniques have been used to sample inputs' PDFs and assess their impact on the LCA result distribution (sensitivity analysis). The methodology application is illustrated through a case study where three building retrofit measures were assessed. Results provide an insight about the uncertainties of LCA indicators in terms of climate change and nonrenewable energy. The input parameters related to the use phase are confirmed as the most influential in building LCA.

Keywords: Building retrofit , Inputs' uncertainties , Monte Carlo , Probabilistic LCA , Sensitivity analysis

The paper aims to analyse and compare the environmental performances of the most widely used cooking appliances (the induction hob vs. the gas hob) considering a typical Italian scenario in terms of food, family and social habits. Cooking appliances are subject to energy labelling, and they represent the most impacting system inside households. This study was performed in accordance with the international standard, ISO 14040/14044, by using an attributional Life Cycle Assessment (aLCA). The functional unit is defined as the “preparation of a complete homemade meal (lunch) for 20 years consumed by a four-member family in Italy”. This study shows the dominance, in terms of environmental impact, of the induction hob with respect to the gas hob for most of the selected midpoint indicators. In particular, the induction hob accounts for more than 60% of the climate change and ozone depletion impact categories and more than 70% of the metal depletion category. The same trend is also noticed in the end-point categories (human health, ecosystem qualities and resources) and for the Cumulative Energy Demand indicator. Based on the experimental evidence of this work, the use phase is the most important due to the different energy carriers (natural gas vs. electrical energy). This finding is the result of the nature of the energy carrier (the electricity grid mix) in the Italian scenario, which is mainly based on non-renewable sources. In addition, concerning the production phase of the two appliances, the induction hob shows a relevant dominance in terms of the human toxicity and metal depletion impact categories due to the use of rare metals and coppers in the cooktop part manufacturing. The outcomes obtained from this study may be used by household manufacturers to improve the performance and design solutions of their appliances as well as by end users in their selection of cooking technologies.

Keywords: Cooking appliances , Energy consumption , Environmental impact assessment , Food cooking , Life cycle assessment

The paper aims to explore the implementation of an eco-design methodology and the related software platform (G.EN.ESI–Green ENgineering dESIgn) within technical departments of a manufacturing firm. The G.EN.ESI eco-design methodology is based on the life cycle thinking concept and the software platform is conceived as a set of inter-operable software tools able to efficiently exchange data among them and with the traditional design systems (i.e. CAD, PDM and PLM). A multinational company, designing and producing household appliances, adopted the proposed methodology and related software platform for redesigning two cooker hood models with the aim to improve their environmental performances. Design and engineering departments evaluated the methodology and platform impact on the product development process, as well as the platform inter-operability with traditional design tools. The results indicate that methodology and software platform satisfy the requirements of the enterprise in terms of: (i) degree of expertise and training requirement on this subject, (ii) low impact in a consolidated design process and, (ii) good level of inter-operability among heterogeneous tools. However, the testing results highlight the necessity of a further platform optimisations in terms of software integration (single workbench made by integrated software tools with the same graphical user interface).

Keywords: BoM: Bill of Material , CAD: Computer-Aided Design , CAE: Computer-Assisted Engineering , CAS: Computer-Aided Software , CBR: Case Base Reasoning , CREER: Cluster Research, Excellence in Ecodesign & Recycling , DB: Database , DfD: Design for Disassembly , DfEE: Design for Energy Efficiency , Eco-design methodology , eco-design software platform , EDIMS: EcoDesign Integration Method for SMEs , EoL: End of Life , EPD: Environmental Product Declaration , FMEA: Failure Mode and Effect Analysis , G.EN.ESI: Green ENgineering dESIgn , GUI: Graphic User Interface , interoperability evaluation , LCA: Life Cycle Assessment , LCC: Life Cycle Costing , LCT: Life Cycle Thinking , LE: Large Enterprises , LED: Light Emission Diode , PDM: Product Data Management , PDP: Product development Process , PLM: Product Life cycle Management , PMMA: Poly Methyl Methacrylate , product environmental sustainability , R&D: Research and Development , REACH: Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals , RoHS: Restriction of Hazardous Substances , SME: Small and Medium Enterprises , WEEE: Waste od Electric and Electronic Equipment , XML: Extensible Markup Language

Circular economy (CE) is a new business model that is pressing manufacturing companies to think about closed loop scenarios for materials and products. Design for End-of-Life (DfEoL) and Design for Disassembly (DfD) are key enabling methods for the effective application of this model. The paper presents a time-based method for the calculation of disassembly sequences, adopting basic theories and techniques in this topic and integrating new concepts for the assessment of the disassembly time. The method consists of five steps and starts from the documentations (e.g., CAD model) generally available early in the product development process. The first three steps encompass the product analysis by including (i) the definition of target components from the general assembly, (ii) the analyses of the virtual model, and (iii) the assessment of the so-called level matrix, which is based on the concept of disassembly levels and liaisons characterization among components. The last two steps allow for the assessment of the time-based disassembly sequence by including (iv) the analysis of feasible sequences and (v) the generation of the best disassembly sequence for target components. The method mainly overcomes two issues highlighted in the literature regarding the reliability of the disassemblability analysis using a time-based approach and the quality of results accounting for the real condition of the product at the time of disassembly. The calculation of the effective disassembly time is grounded on a specific repository developed to gather knowledge about the disassembly tasks and related disassembly time. This is the main contribution and novelty of the proposed approach. By using the proposed method, different target components of a washing machine are analysed with the aim of demonstrating the robustness of the method and its consistency in the estimation of disassembly time. A maximum deviation of 10% between the estimated and measured disassembly times is noticed.

Keywords: De-manufacturing , Design for disassembly , Disassembly sequence planning , Disassembly time calculation , Level matrix , Target disassembly

Waste management, in particular waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), currently represents an important issue for the modern society. A transition toward circular economy and industrial symbiosis models is needed to mitigate the environmental problem and recover value from end of life (EoL) materials/products. This study aims to define an approach and a platform, dedicated to the WEEE sector, to favor the creation of industrial symbiosis opportunities. Through this structured approach, demand of virgin materials and components, and supply of EoL products are linked to find potential collaborations. In this way, EoL components/materials could be reused in different applications, thus closed-loop lifecycles can be created through industrial symbiosis. A case study focused on the reuse of plastics from electrical cables is shown to demonstrate that in the WEEE sector the implementation of industrial symbiosis models can lead to win-win scenarios for all the involved stakeholders.

Keywords: closed-loop scenarios , End of life platform , industrial symbiosis approach

The paper defines a framework called virtual eco-design aiming to support designers and engineers in the development of sustainable energy-related products. Virtual prototyping is used to perform energy consumption tests according with ecodesign and energy label regulations. The goal is to build a knowledge-based repository in which virtual tests are stored and classified to create eco-knowledge. Induction hob has been analysed to verify the applicability of the approach and the integration in a traditional product development process. Results highlight how the proposed methodology increases company eco-knowledge providing a tangible support in the definition of energy-label compliant products.

Keywords: eco-design , eco-knowledge , energy labelling , energy-related products , virtual prototyping