Modelling and Simulation of Slabs Combining Performance, Costs, and Life Cycle Assessment

Abstract

The useful lifetime of a residential building is at least 50 years according to Spanish law; the decisions to be made in year zero (in construction terms) must be conditioned by the defined phase of use for the building on the one hand, and on the other hand by cautious estimates about the availability of resources for such use. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool that models the impact of any product, process or service from the very beginning up to the end. This paper presents an optimization of the selection of slab alternatives in residential buildings, based on modelling and simulation of the costs and environmental impact (using the LCA with Ecoindicator'99 methodology) of all the alternatives with valid behaviour (according with the national laws).