Environmental Impact Assessment of Wood-based Structure Development for Use in Space (Bachelorarbeit)

Abstract

This thesis presents a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Wood Aluminium Laminated Panels (WALP) as a potential sustainable alternative to Aluminium Honeycomb CFRP Panels (AHCP) for satellite structures. The study includes an analysis of the production, design, and testing phases of the WALP, comparing its environmental impacts with those of the AHCP. The findings reveal that the WALP exhibits a lower overall environmental impact than the AHCP accross most assessed impact categories, with the exception of Land Use Potential. The normalised and weighted single score for the WALP is significantly lower than that for the AHCP, indicating the WALP’s potential as a more environmentally friendly replacement. A key component of the research involved identifying the major contributors to environmental impact within the production phase. The major hotspot was found to be the production of aluminium for the WALP, while the AHCP’s most significant impact was the production of the CFRP. The design phase’s impact, dominated by office work, suggests that increasing the use of sustainable energy sources can significantly mitigate the overall environmental impact. One of the major challenges faced in this study was the lack of detailed primary data for testing equipment and procedures. This gap underscores the need for improved data acquisition and cooperation among different entities to facilitate more accurate environmental assessments in future projects. An uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo simulations was conducted to quantify the uncertainties introduced by assumptions and limitations in the data. The results indicate that while significant uncertainties exist, particularly in categories like Water Depletion Potential and Human Toxicity Potential, many categories show statistically significant differences between the WALP and the AHCP. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates the potential of the WALP to reduce the environmental footprint of satellite structures, advocating for more sustainable materials in aerospace applications. It also emphasizes the importance of accurate data collection and sustainable energy use in assessing and reducing the environmental impacts of manufacturing and testing processes. Future research should focus on refining the LCA methodology for space applications and expanding the scope of the study to include the use and end-of-life phases.