“Impact of Design Principles on End-of-Life and Recycling” 2024-26-0163

Automotive industry is a major contributor to global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and waste generation. Not only do vehicles produce emissions during usage, but they also generate emissions during production phase and end of life disposal. There is an urgent need to address sustainability and circularity issues in this sector. This paper explores how circularity and CO2 reduction principles can be applied to design and production of automotive parts, with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of these components throughout their life cycle. Also, this paper highlights the impact of design principles on End-of-Life Management of vehicles. As Design decisions of Component impacts up to 80% of emissions [1], it is important to focus on this phase for major contribution in reduction of emissions. Various factors such as material selection, quantity and weight of materials used in parts, design for durability, aerodynamic characteristics, design strategies, design for recycling, and compatibility of assembly processes contribute to such emissions. Research examines the feasibility of using recycled or bio-based plastics, improving part durability, design for disassembly and end-of-life recycling, and minimizing CO2 emissions in the process. Research also highlights challenges for using such material and recommended solutions. Intended Research emphasizes on use of tools like LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) analysis, QDCFS decision matrix, FMEA to find the areas of improvement, to make Product more sustainable and hence improving its End-of-Life Management. Part of the research also highlights data showing the use of recycled content in material and subsequent emission and End of Life impact. Additionally, this thesis investigates different ways of circular Economy Concept and CO2 reduction strategies in automotive industry. The results of this study can provide valuable insights to automotive manufacturers and policymakers to create more sustainable and resilient transportation systems.