Dive Brief:

• Researchers at the University of Miami and the University of Milwaukee School of Engineering started with the premise that constructing with the least environmental impact is a good goal, and they looked at two alternatives for a bridge.
• Using steel cable construction instead of steel trusses turned out to have 29% less mass, took 65.1% less energy for the whole process of making materials and putting them in place, and generated 67.2% less carbon dioxide emissions.
• Matthew Trussoni, an assistant professor at Milwaukee, said cables also seemed appropriate because tension support systems generally are the most efficient way to transfer forces.

Dive Insight:

The experiments compared the results for simulated construction of two bridges that could meet the same requirements. The environmental conclusions came from using life-cycle assessment to capture all the energy and other environmental impacts from extracting materials through manufacturing and operation and end of useful life.