Life Cycle Assessment of Fiber-Metal Laminates for SPACE-FML-PROTECTION
Description
This dataset contains the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) inventory data and impact assessment results for various high-performance Fiber-Metal Laminates (FMLs) utilizing AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy as facing layers integrated with Basalt, Aramid, Zylon, and Innegra fabric reinforcements. The product systems were modeled using openLCA v2.5.0, drawing background inventory data from the ecoinvent v3.12, Worldsteel (2020), and USDA databases, with Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) calculations performed using the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) method. The six studied FML configurations are designated as AFML-A through AFML-F based on their specific material stack-ups and the interfacial surface treatments imparted to the aluminum plies prior to fabrication. The analysis identifies critical environmental hotspots, demonstrating that the choice of interfacial treatment and fiber type significantly dictates the sustainability profile of the laminates. To facilitate both immediate evaluation and full computational replication, the dataset includes 12 human-readable Excel sheets containing the detailed inventory process flows and LCIA results, alongside a complete compressed openLCA JSON-LD backup (.zip archive) containing the full database structure, processes, and flows required for direct software import.
Files
Steps to reproduce
1. Define the system boundary as cradle-to-gate, encompassing raw material extraction, constituent manufacturing, and final laminate fabrication. Determine the life cycle inventory (LCI) data for all constituent materials and processes—including sourcing, preparation, fabrication, and post-processing—and incorporate them into the process flows relative to the declared functional unit of the FML stack-up. 2. Model each respective stack-up in openLCA (v2.5.0) by inputting the compiled LCI data into the input and output flows of the corresponding process and product systems. Utilize background datasets including ecoinvent v3.12, Worldsteel (2020), and USDA databases to link the appropriate elementary and product flows for each unit process. 3. Perform the Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) for the six FML configurations using the ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) method within the openLCA platform. Compute core environmental impact indicators—specifically climate change, terrestrial acidification, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidant formation, and material resource depletion—and export the resulting characterization factors for each FML stack-up into individual Excel spreadsheets. 4. Extract the component contribution data directly from the openLCA software for each individual product system, following the same analytical workflow used to obtain the primary LCIA indicators, to isolate the specific material or process hotspots driving each environmental impact category.
Institutions
- Universidad Carlos III de MadridMadrid, Madrid
- Manipal Academy of Higher EducationKarnataka, Manipal