Designing and Innovating for Circularity: An Engineering Life Cycle
Approach for Complex and Certified Products 2023-01-0988
The concept of the circular economy provides a framework for a more efficient
closed-loop economy. Much literature has been published focusing on circular
business models and assessing environmental impact throughout the life cycle. A
move towards more circular business models, where the focus transitions to the
delivery of a capability rather than the delivery of a product, presents new
challenges to manufacturers of complex or certified engineered products. The
aviation industry has established several engineering disciplines, life cycle
design, and certification approaches that (while not designed with the circular
economy in mind) underpin the principles of the circular economy. This paper
provides a new conceptual framework for the circular economy that integrates the
engineering principles that drive circularity around the life cycle for
designing, producing, and operating complex and certified engineering systems.
It also identifies the engineering and operational principles that support the
implementation of circular economy principles for complex and certified
engineering systems, those already established, and those that would benefit
from further research and development. Then goes on to explore how these
principles, when applied by companies, industry ecosystems, and policymakers,
can underpin the move from linear to circular principles and broadly apply to
industries producing complex or certified engineering products.
Citation: Meldrum, R., "Designing and Innovating for Circularity: An Engineering Life Cycle Approach for Complex and Certified Products," SAE Technical Paper 2023-01-0988, 2023, https://doi.org/10.4271/2023-01-0988. Download Citation
Author(s):
Rebecca Meldrum
Affiliated:
Innovation and Sustainability Consultant at Meldrum Consulti
Pages: 10
Event:
2023 AeroTech
ISSN:
0148-7191
e-ISSN:
2688-3627
Related Topics:
Research and development
Design processes
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