- Author
-
Ehlen, M. A.
- Title
- Life-Cycle Costs of New Construction Materials.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
- Journal
-
Journal of Infrastructure Systems,
Vol. 3,
No. 4,
129-133,
December 1997
- Keywords
-
construction materials
|
life cycle cost analysis
|
building economics
|
economic analysis
|
FRP composites
|
high performance construction materials
- Abstract
- New high-performance construction materials are being developed for transportation structures. Economic methods are needed for assessing the life-cycle cost advantages and disadvantages of these new materials relative to conventional meterials. This paper provides a step-by-step, project-based approach based on life cycle costing, minimum performance requirements, and a cost classification scheme that organizes a construction material's life cycle cost advantages and disadvantages. A case study example of the method analyzes the cost effectiveness of fiber-reinforced-polymer bridge decks relative to reinforced concrete decks.