Thesis (M.S. in Management of Technology)--Vanderbilt University, May 2005. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 1990. / Thesis Advisor(s): Sovereign, Michael G. ; Hart, Neil E. "June 1990." Description based on signature page as viewed on October 19, 2009. DTIC Identifier(s): Life cycle costs, cost analysis, military forces (foreign), accounting, direct costs, theses. Author(s) subject terms: Life cycle cost, operating and support cost, life support cost, Australian Defense Forces, total cost of ownership. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-105). Also available online.

The purpose of this investigation was an attempt to clarify the relatives taxonomic position of and to formulate some of the basic cyclic morphological and physiological processes occurring in an aquatic actinomycete possessing streptomycetal characteristics.

Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) forms an important part of asset management practices and provides an informed decision support. The holistic nature of LCCA includes life cycle assessment (LCA) as an important component alongside economic life cycle cost analysis. The drinking water industry is right now lacking a reliable cost data structure which will ensure that all the utilities capture the same set of cost data. Also, models and tools currently available in the academia and industry are purely deterministic in nature and do not cater to uncertainty in the data. This study provides a framework for a holistic life cycle cost analysis tool which will help drinking water utilities to prioritize the activities and optimize the cost spending of the utility. The methodology includes the development of a cost data structure, a life cycle cost analysis and a life cycle assessment model in the form of an excel spreadsheet. The LCCA model has the capability to compare different pipe materials, installation, condition assessment, rehabilitation and replacement technologies. Whereas, LCA model can compare different pipe materials based on greenhouse gas emissions calculations. The final step of the methodology includes piloting the model with data from utility A. The analysis has been shown in the form of three case studies - comparison of two pipe materials, two pipe installation technologies and two pipe rehabilitation technologies. The case studies provide results in the form of comparison of total life cycle costs for different alternatives and hence a better alternative can be chosen. / Master of Science / The drinking water industry is right now lacking a reliable cost data structure which will ensure that all the utilities capture the same set of cost data. Also, models and tools currently available in the academia and industry do not cater to uncertainty in the data. This study provides a framework for a holistic life cycle cost analysis tool which will help drinking water utilities to prioritize the activities and optimize the cost spending of the utility. The methodology includes the development of a cost data structure, a life cycle cost analysis and a life cycle assessment model in the form of an excel spreadsheet. The LCCA model has the capability to compare different pipe materials, installation, condition assessment, rehabilitation and replacement technologies. Whereas, LCA model can compare different pipe materials based on greenhouse gas emissions calculations. The final step of the methodology includes piloting the model with data from utility A. The analysis has been shown in the form of three case studies - comparison of two pipe materials, two pipe installation technologies and two pipe rehabilitation technologies. The case studies provide results in the form of comparison of total life cycle costs for different alternatives and hence a better alternative can be chosen.

Since about 2015 the social, environmental and economic risks and chances of the bioeconomy and economy in general are becoming increasingly the subject of applied sustainability assessments. Under a bioeconomy, a variety of industrial metabolisms, strategies and visions on substituting fossil resources by renewables and hereto associated societal transformations is formulated, characterized as regional bioeconomy if most foreground activities take place in a specific region. Based on the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology, further social and economic LCA approaches were developed in previous research whereby life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) aims to combine or integrate the evaluation of social, environmental and economic effects. In this early stage of rudimentary and combinatory LCSA development, the research questions of this work are to develop a transdisciplinary framework for integrated LCSA for regional stakeholders to assess ecological, economic and social sustainability in one harmonized method, as well as to implement, apply and validate it by two regional case studies. Therefore, i) the understandings of sustainability and approaches of sustainability assessment in LCA are transdisciplinary reflected and developed, ii) a systemic framework of the important aspects of such assessments is structured by a series of stakeholder workshops, iii) the methods and indicators from existing LCA approaches as well as from bioeconomy monitoring systems are selected, identified and allocated to a sustainability concept of holistic and integrated LCSA (HILCSA), iv) databases for the life cycle inventory and methods for life cycle impact assessment are implemented in a software, as well as v) the model and method is applied and validated in two case studies on laminated veneer lumber production and production of biofuels in central Germany. Based on previous research, the dissertation provides a theoretically well based and practically applicable framework for integrated life cycle sustainability assessment, an applicable indicator set for regional (product & territorial) bioeconomy assessment, an integration of life cycle impact assessment methods as well as their comprehensive interpretation. Thereby, LCSA is able to identify the contribution of regional bioeconomy product systems to 14 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals in terms of planetary boundaries, a sustainable economy and societal needs. The presented results on material and energetic use cases of biomass show that integrated assessments are able to deliver a broad and comprehensive analysis of impacts to identify synergies, trade-offs and hot spots of regional bioeconomy. Compared to existing LCA and LCSA methodologies, the added value of the HILCSA methodology is its integrated and holistic character, which [1] allows consistent and comparable data on social, ecological, and economic indicators, [2] identifies synergies and trade-offs between different aspects and SDGs, [3] traces down impacts to regions in the fore-and background systems, [4] as well as allocates and aggregates them to the SDGs to make complexity communicable. Additionally, HILCSA takes social sciences and political economy into account from beginning to interpretation and discussion of results, relating to social, environmental, and economic impacts not only to technologies but also to societal, economic, and political questions.:Part I Overarching Introduction 1 1. Introduction 2 2. State of the Art 3 2.1 Sustainability Concepts and Frameworks in the Context of BE and the Role of Stakeholder Participation 3 2.2 LCA and LCSA Approaches for BE Regions 5 2.3 Inter-, Transdisciplinarity and Political Economy for Holistic Sustainability Assessment 7 2.4 Research Gaps to be addressed 8 3. Research Objectives 9 4. Methods 10 4.1 Stakeholder Expectations of the BE in Germany and Relevance of SDGs for Sustainability Assessments 10 4.2 Theoretical and Conceptual Considerations on BE, Sustainability and its Assessment for a Holistic and Integrated Framework for LCSA (HILCSA) 11 4.3 Criteria and Aspects for Implementation and Operationalization of HILCSA for BE Regions 11 4.4 Lessons Learned from Application and Validation of HILCSA in Case Studies and Results on Risks and Chances of a BE Transformation 13 5. Results 14 5.1 Stakeholder Participation in BE Monitoring and Assessment 14 5.1.1 Relevances, Interests and Perceptions 14 5.1.2 Narratives and Visions 17 5.2 Theoretical and Conceptual Implications from a Transdisciplinary Perspective on Sustainability Frameworks and Assessments 19 5.2.1 The Three Pillar Approach and additive LCSA 19 5.2.2 Introduction of Societal Relations to Nature in Sustainability Assessment and LCA 21 5.2.3 Societal-Ecological Transformation and the role of LCSA 21 5.3 Operationalization and Implementation of Holistic and Integrated LCSA (HILCSA) for BE Regions 23 5.3.1 Sustainability Concept and LCA Framework for HILCSA 23 5.3.2 Initial LCI and LCIA for HILCSA 25 5.4 Application and Validation of HILCSA in Case Studies and Results on Risks and Chances of a BE Transformation 31 5.4.1 Application of Holistic and Integrated LCSA: First Case Study on LVL Production in Central Germany 31 5.4.1.1 Goal and Scope 31 5.4.1.2 Life Cycle Inventory 33 5.4.1.3 Life Cycle Impact Assessment 34 5.4.1.4 Interpretation 35 5.4.2 Application of Holistic and Integrated LCSA: Second Case Study on prospective biomass to liquid production in Germany 36 5.4.2.1 Goal and Scope 36 5.4.2.2 Life Cycle Inventory 38 5.4.2.3 Life Cycle Impact Assessment 39 5.4.2.4 Interpretation 41 6. Conclusion and Outlook 43 6.1 Stakeholder Expectations and Participation 43 6.2 Theoretical Concepts for Sustainability and Methodological Frameworks 44 6.3 Operationalization and implementation of Holistic and Integrated LCSA 45 6.4 Lessons Learned from Case Studies: Identifying Risks and Chances of Regional BE by Applying & Validating HILCSA 47 6.4.1 Risks and Chances of Regional BE in Case of LVL and BtL and Validation of HILCSA 47 6.4.2 Lessons Learned and Future HILCSA Methodology Development 48 6.5 Concluding Remarks on Political (Bio-)Economy and Transformation 52 References 54 List of Acronyms 66 List of Tables 66 List of Figures 66 Part II Publications 68

<p dir="ltr">The race to comply with the Paris Climate Accords fueled by the desire to combat climate change and a greater appreciation of balance of ecological systems requires reducing reliance on fossil fuels and transitioning to using clean energy. This transition is expected to be cleaner but be also material intensive. These materials, such as neodymium or graphite, have been deemed critical by the United States, due to their importance to future of the country. Therefore, efforts are being made to diversify their production (by discovering new manufacturing methods) or improve the material efficiency of their applications.</p><p dir="ltr">It is important that these new applications are analyzed for their environmental impact. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is widely accepted methodology for conducting environmental assessment on products and processes. Traditional LCA has 4 steps – goal, scope definition, life cycle inventory, and life cycle impact analysis. Applying traditional LCA techniques on these emerging technologies has challenges, as they are still emerging and have demonstrated their potential at various scales – theoretical, lab scale, pilot scale, or small-scale industrial level. Often, the new processes or products are compared against existing conventional manufacturing methods. Therefore, to appropriately assess the impact of these new emerging technologies against current ones, the scope must be extended to include the product or manufacturing system (which is the economic system under which these technologies will operate and compete against). This methodology is applied to 3 technologies at various stages of their development.</p><p dir="ltr">In the first case study, for magnets, by including the importance of energy product to the product system within the LCA, we see that the higher energy product of additively manufactured magnets directly translates to its environmental benefits relative to injection molded magnets. The next case study looked at a novel process to create battery grade graphite, demonstrated at lab scale. This process was scaled to an industrial level and assessed against conventional methods of manufacturing graphite. The scaleup allowed the LCA to identify the molten salt and the graphite anode to be a potential hotspot. Lastly, the potential green marketability of aluminum cerium alloys is investigated. The product system is extended to include the effect of this new application on cerium compound prices and therefore the economic allocation for the LCA. A Nash equilibrium is found based on market dynamics for aluminum cerium alloys to help resolve this issue.</p><p dir="ltr">The case studies show that allowing the product systems to inform the LCA can result in richer results, which help identify hotspots or opportunities for these technologies as they mature and compete against the conventional products or processes.</p>

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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the relationship between predicted system reliability and planned spare parts levels. This will be accomplished through the integration of factors impacting spare parts levels and Life Cycle Costs into a spreadsheet model that will establish the appropriate relationship between the factors. This thesis will then attempt to determine the impact that varying estimations of reliability will have on both Life Cycle Costs nd spares levels for the H-1 Upgrades Program. / Major, United States Marine Corps