LONGRUN Partners VUB and TUG have jointly develop a standalone LCA platform (GUI tool) for LCA calculations with a focus on lifetime carbon footprint (gCO2eq/km) and energy consumption (kWh/km). The tool profits from the large collection of LCA data and uses it along with vehicle specifications, consumption and TTW tailpipe emissions input from the LONGRUN simulation platform to generate detailed LCA results.
A first release of the tool is now ready and is currently undergoing partners’ validation.
Figure 1: 1st version of the LCA tool following partner recommendations, changes and improvements
The generated results file includes overall lifetime carbon footprint (gCO2eq/km) and energy consumption (kWh/km) and its distribution among the three main sources: (1) Production and disposal; (2) Well To Tank (WTT); (3) Tank To Wheel (TTW) aspects. Choice of fuel, energy, heat source, component and vehicle production sources etc, is also presented along with their corresponding contributions to the above-discussed life cycle impact sources. This helps in visualizing the influence of individual aspects on energy consumption and carbon footprint to give a better idea on design recommendations for future environment-friendly HD powertrains.
This standalone LCA tool functions in a synchronized manner with the LONGRUN simulation platform and later also with VECTO to feature ease for back-to-back usage and analysis of changing vehicle designs and their effect on lifetime carbon footprint and overall energy expenditure.
Interfacing of the tool with the LONGRUN simulation platform is being assured through the use of the platform’s auto generated vehicle data file containing all important vehicle specifications, mass values, energy carrier, fuel/electrical energy consumption, tailpipe emissions and other LCA parameters. This file structure could later also be generated from other sources (VECTO) or filled manually to use the standalone LCA tool.
For further information, please contact Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Prof. Omar Hegazy (omar.hegazy[at]vub.be) or dr. ir. Mohamed El Baghdadi (Mohamed.El.Baghdadi[at]vub.be).