TY - CHAP A1 - Albrecht, Sophie Viktoria A1 - Thiel, Charlotte A1 - Karamara, Merve T1 - Decoding concrete’s environmental performance: A detailed analysis of global EPDs across the entire life cycle T2 - MATEC Web of Conferences N2 - Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for concrete are essential tools to quantify the environmental impact of this versatile building material throughout its life cycle, supporting sustainable choices in construction. Concrete is made up of raw materials like cement, water, aggregates, additives, and admixtures, which can be mixed in diverse ways. This variability often necessitates site-specific EPDs, as emissions and environmental impacts depend greatly on cement type, transport routes, and specific production processes. This study analyses various data sources, focusing on EPDs according to ISO 14025 and EN 15804. The life cycle phases A1-A3, B1-B7, C1-C4 and D are considered and compared. The results demonstrate that factors such as scenario assumptions, methodological choices, and allocation procedures significantly influence concrete’s environmental impact. Transparent EPDs improve assessment reliability, while allocation methods, especially in phases D and end-of-life, significantly influence reported benefits, underscoring the importance of careful allocation for accurate impact evaluations. Improved standardisation, transparency, and alignment with EN 16757 would enhance EPD comparability and reliability. Overall, the study identifies key parameters such as recycling potential, production stage and allocation methods as substantial factors in the environmental performance of concrete. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/202540913001 VL - 409 PB - EDP Sciences CY - Les Ulis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Qiao, Yu A1 - Grad, Marius A1 - Nonn, Aida T1 - Toward an Efficient and Robust Process–Structure Prediction Framework for Filigree L-PBF 316L Stainless Steel Structures JF - Metals N2 - Additive manufacturing (AM), particularly laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), provides unmatched design flexibility for creating intricate steel structures with minimal post-processing. However, adopting L-PBF for high-performance applications is difficult due to the challenge of predicting microstructure evolution. This is because the process is sensitive to many parameters and has a complex thermal history. Thin-walled geometries present an added challenge because their dimensions often approach the scale of individual grains. Thus, microstructure becomes a critical factor in the overall integrity of the component. This study focuses on applying cellular automata (CA) modeling to establish robust and efficient process–structure relationships in L-PBF of 316L stainless steel. The CA framework simulates solidification-driven grain evolution and texture development across various processing conditions. Model predictions are evaluated against experimental electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) data, with additional quantitative comparisons based on texture and morphology metrics. The results demonstrate that CA simulations calibrated with relevant process parameters can effectively reproduce key microstructural features, including grain size distributions, aspect ratios, and texture components, observed in thin-walled L-PBF structures. This work highlights the strengths and limitations of CA-based modeling and supports its role in reliably designing and optimizing complex L-PBF components. Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/met15070812 SN - 2075-4701 VL - 15 IS - 7 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kranz, Michael A1 - Wagner, Maria Stella A1 - Pointner, Daniel A1 - Haus, Moritz A1 - Lubnow, Matthias A1 - Lehle, Karla A1 - Krenkel, Lars T1 - Polymer embedding of membrane lungs for histological investigations of intra-device clot formation JF - Cardiovascular Medicine N2 - Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is an invasive but potentially lifesaving treatment option for severe cardiac or respiratory failure. Despite its beneficial effect, coagulation-related complications, mainly due to clot formation, excessive bleeding and the accumulation of deposits in the membrane lung (ML) remain common, causing higher mortality. In this context, the formation of clots and other deposits in the ML is of particular interest. Previous histological examinations of the polymethylpentene fiber mats inside the ML could only be performed in a top view, prohibiting valid quantification and examination of the multi-layered deposits or fiber mat spanning structures. Our objective was the establishment of a polymer embedding to increase the mechanical stability of the deposits and thus enable cross-sectional microtome cutting through the ML hollow-fibers. Clinically used MLs (PLS, Getinge, Rastatt, Germany) were stabilized with a polymer resin (HistoCURE 8100). Specimens were cut out of the embedded MLs and microtome sections with a thickness of 10 µm were performed. In addition to standard histological staining with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and Pappenheim (May-Grunwald-Giemsa), fluorescence DNA staining for nucleated cells with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and SYTOX™ Green as well as immunohistochemical and immunofluorescence staining for the lysosomal enzyme myeloperoxidase (MPO) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) were established. The protocol provides a method for large volume embedding (400 mL). The cellular and extracellular deposits were securely fixed by the polymer scaffold allowing the examination of clots in MLs in native position which was not possible with conventional paraffin embedding. Multi-layered deposits and fiber mat spanning structures are no longer disrupted during specimen extraction and can now be quantified. Staining with HE, Pappenheim, DAPI, SYTOX™ Green, MPO, and vWF was successfully tested with this protocol. This method may be the foundation for new insights into the complex clotting phenomena observed in MLs KW - clot formation KW - ECMO KW - HistoCURE 8100 KW - histology KW - membrane lungs KW - polymer embedding KW - Technovit 8100 Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2026.1650978 VL - 13 PB - Frontiers CY - Lausanne ER -