Publications / 2024 Proceedings of the 41st ISARC, Lille, France
Emissions from machinery that is primarily fueled by Diesel represent a significant environmental concern in the construction sector. Traditional monitoring methods, including both Simplified and Portable Emissions Measurement Systems (SEMS and PEMS, respectively) encounter practical and financial constraints when deployed extensively across the diverse machinery types. This paper introduces a novel approach on predicting emissions and fuel consumption by leveraging a priori recorded emissions data from non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) in a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) as part of a Digital Twin Platform (DTP). Focusing on three types of construction machines (drilling rig, loading excavator, and hauling dump truck) the DES models their basic operations on a DTP purposed for earthwork and foundation activities for a high-rise building project in Denmark. With the input of different configurations (e.g., machine quantity and type, location,), DES allows for the prediction of emissions and work output. Verification of the approach occurred in a field-realistic outdoor construction laboratory setting while the validation was demonstrated on a construction site. The results provide an efficient and economical avenue for monitoring emissions related to construction equipment operations. Beyond the environmental benefits, the proposed method generates knowledge that can supply construction managers with critical insights into performing proper resource leveling.