Integrated Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Cost Methodologies for the Development of Aeronautical Systems through ’Circular Design’

Conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) requires extensive data that characterizes the product during its manufacturing, service, and end-of-life periods. It becomes evident that wide access to reliable and transparent databases is imperative for accurately modeling the system under study. Additionally, environmental processes are often very complex, necessitating the development of software tools to structure the modeled scenarios, visualize process chains, and present and analyze the results obtained. An effective LCA software should organize data, minimize the effort required for inventory analysis or impact assessment, provide documentation that validates the study, and be compatible with other software, allowing interaction between the LCA software and other tools used by LCA practitioners. This thesis explores the application of LCA as prescribed by ISO 14040/14044 standards to evaluate as primary objective the environmental impact of each phase of a passenger aircraft's service life, including manufacturing, operation, and decommissioning. To support the aircraft circular design process, incorporating both environmental and economic dimensions, and to assess the sustainability of aircraft throughout their service life, a parametric system has been implemented using a Python-based software, along with a complementary Excel file to facilitate further analysis and data management. An aircraft life cycle model and framework is developed, designed to be easily extended with specific data from available literature guidelines with the potential to mitigate the aircraft's environmental impacts based on a holistic approach. This research also examines the system implementation costs and discusses potential issues and solutions. An LCA of the aircraft is conducted, considering the environmental impacts, through a cradle-to-grave methodology, of each life cycle phase, as well as the contribution of individual aircraft structural components, different materials used, fuel consumption, and other operational processes, and finally, recycling, re-use and landfill processes. This study has demonstrated the effectiveness of integrated Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Cost (LCC) methodologies in evaluating and improving the sustainability of aeronautical systems through "circular design." However, several areas could benefit from further research and development. Expanding the database used for LCA and LCC could enhance the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the analyses, including innovative materials and emerging technologies that would allow for a more precise assessment of environmental and economic impacts. Moreover, the integration of machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence could further optimize the design process together with a better prediction of the long-term effects of various circular strategies. In conclusion, a potential avenue for future research could involve expanding the variety and nature of factors considered in the sustainability assessment. This expansion could allow the model to incorporate the social dimension as well. Thus, this approach can assist engineers in designing and operating more sustainable aircraft, enhancing the broader applicability of the methodologies and tools present in the aviation industry.