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Updated Pavement LCA tool from Athena Sustainable Materials Institute

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World Cement,


Athena Sustainable Materials Institute has recently released version 2.1 of Pavement LCA, formerly known as the Impact Estimator for Highways. The update includes features such as US locations and sample projects.

The tool has the ability to assess the environmental footprint of any roadway cross-section, including major freeways and arterial roadways that it was initially designed for, hence the name change to Pavement LCA.

Features of the new Pavement LCA

New features include: Hello USA! software containing multiple US centric sample roadway projects and additional concrete mix designs. Users can now add custom mixes, assisted by a tutorial on Athena’s YouTube channel.

Updates have made estimating steel reinforcement input mass requirements easier due to the addition of a new spreadsheet resource file. Moreover, users can now set the rigid pavement slab length between 3 and 100 ft.

Updated databases and processes

The new version, 2.1, includes several new and updated LCI databases and processes. The US Life Cycle Inventory data for Portland cement has been updated. A new North American Slag Cement LCI profile has been added, alongside asphalt patching.

Version 2.1 also offers new sample projects for California, Illinois and US average roadway designs.

Comment from Athena Sustainable Materials Institute

Athena is excited about the potential of Pavement LCA in its new form. "We are happy we've been able to expand the capability and regional coverage of the tool," said Jamie Meil, Research Principal. "We are hoping it will become the tool of choice for North American roadway design assessment."


Adapted from press release by

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/27072015/updated-pavement-lca-tool-from-athena-sustainable-materials-institute-218/

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