Assessment of the environmentla benefits provided by closed-loop strategies for industrial products

Products with multiple use phases have to be considered regarding new economic and environmental pressures. Therefore, the related complex life cycles of (re)manufactured products have to be modeled and assessed by design teams for a better understanding of their performance. This thesis presents methodologies to represent, model and assess closed-loop product lifecycle (focused on remanufacturing strategies). The study shows how to establish environmental assessments for remanufactured products life cycles and how to compare them to environmental assessments for classical life cycles.The present study shows how to establish the models and how to compare the environmental assessments of remanufactured products life cycles vs. classical life cycle scenarios. The objective is to provide easy to use methods and tools for designers to allow them quantifying the environmental benefits related to the use of a closed loop strategy. In this project, a life cycle assessment, life cycle bricks, and a parametric model of the products are used to evaluate and compare the environmental benefits provided by the remanufacturing. The methodologies and models have been developed based on previous works, such as the the life cycle bricks concept developed by Gehin et al. [2007].On the other hand, the thesis proposes a model to assess the product-service systems elements and their respective life cycle from an environmental point of view. Here, the thesis focuses on the development of a model which integrates the product lifecycle within those parameters by a product-service system strategy, taking into account physical elements, as well as the infrastructures network, unit services design, supply chain actors and their interactions. Finally, a model has been developed to assess from an environmental point of view the data of the operations and activities around product life cycle of the products with final non classic disposition scenarios (remanufacturing as end-of-life scenario and multiple uses by the disposition of the service offers system as a business strategy). The methodologies and models proposed allow identifying and distinguishing impacts between the different product life cycle stages and readjust the designers' decision at the product design stage. The results can be further used in simulation, to evaluate the environmental performance of different product life cycle end-of-life scenarios.