Environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Centralised vs Distributed Aerospace Manufacturing

Abstract

This thesis investigates the environmental impacts of manufacturing aeronautical turbine blades using two different techniques: traditional Investment Casting (IC) and Electron Beam Melting (EBM) in both centralized (CM-EBM) and distributed (DM-EBM) settings. Through a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), the study examines each phase of the blade's life cycle, from material extraction and processing to end-of-life recycling, offering insights into Global Warming Potential (GWP) and material efficiency. Findings reveal that although EBM scenarios have higher energy consumption and GWP during production, their lower buy-to-fly ratio indicates better material efficiency compared to IC. Furthermore, when the use phase is included, EBM scenarios demonstrate up to 85% lower total GWP than IC, due to the lower density of titanium alloy blades, which reduces aircraft weight and fuel consumption over their lifespan. The research highlights the importance of evaluating the entire product life cycle for sustainable aerospace manufacturing and suggests further exploration into optimizing EBM processes and hybrid manufacturing models to balance energy costs with long-term environmental benefits.