Demonstration of the Federal Aviation Administration Airfield Life Cycle Assessment Tool (FAALCAn)

Abstract: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recognizes the growing need for standardized environmental impact assessments of airfield infrastructure. This paper introduces FAALCAn, a comprehensive web-based life cycle assessment (LCA) tool developed by the University of California Pavement Research Center (UCPRC). The project was funded by the FAA. The tool is specifically designed to assess the life cycle environmental impacts of the airfield pavement infrastructures.
FAALCAn ensures compliance with accepted environmental assessment standards by integrating federal databases such as the Federal LCA Commons and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) resources. The tool supports both basic and complex assessments and allows for the study of various airfield features, including runways, taxiways, aprons, and blast pads. FAALCAn can quantify tool for reduction and assessment of chemicals and other environmental impacts (TRACI), cumulative energy demand, and other few other impacts.
The tool’s framework accommodates construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation scenarios over user-defined analysis periods, providing detailed environmental impact profiles for different design alternatives. It also offers flexibility in scenario development, allowing users to customize strategies based on their projects, analysis periods, and salvage values. Users can create and modify their own material designs, equipment configurations, and construction scenarios through the interface, which is supported by comprehensive guidelines. FAALCAn streamlines the assessment process by offering rapid analysis capabilities and generating detailed reports in multiple formats (PDF, Excel) that break down environmental impacts by life cycle stages, processes, and materials.
This development represents a significant advancement in standardizing environmental impact assessments for airfield infrastructure, enabling airport authorities and designers to make data-driven decisions regarding sustainable infrastructure development. The implementation of FAALCAn will facilitate consistent environmental reporting across FAA projects while supporting evidence-based sustainability initiatives in aviation infrastructure development. One to two case studies will be performed to demonstrate the use of the tool in this paper.