A multi-criteria decision-making framework for selecting sustainable building materials using Fuzzy-AHP and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

The selection of sustainable building materials is one of the key challenges in civil engineering and green design, as different materials have varying impacts on structural performance, costs, and the environment. In this study, a multi-criteria decision-making framework based on Fuzzy-AHP and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is proposed to optimize the material selection process in a quantitative and scientific manner while considering the subjective uncertainties of experts. First, the economic, functional, and environmental criteria of building materials were identified and weighted, and then LCA data were extracted to analyze the environmental impacts of various materials. The final score of each material was calculated and ranked by combining the Fuzzy-AHP weights with the LCA index. The results show that high-performance materials such as steel, despite their significant economic and mechanical advantages, have high environmental impact indices, while materials like wood, with lower environmental impacts, achieve higher sustainability rankings. Sensitivity and regression analyses reveal the influence of different criteria on the final scores and confirm the capability of the proposed framework in modeling sustainable decision-making. This study provides a practical and scientific tool for engineers, architects, and planners to select sustainable building materials by considering all economic, functional, and environmental aspects.

کلیدواژه ها:

Sustainable building materials ، Fuzzy-AHP ، Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) ، Multi-criteria decision-making ، Sensitivity analysis