COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR EVALUATING ECO-FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF A PRODUCT

• US 20130018809A1
• Filed: 07/14/2011
• Published: 01/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Original Assignee: Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• Inventors: LI, Yi, Muthu, Subramanian Senthilkannan, Hu, Junyan
• Application Number:
  US13/182,792
• Publication Number:
  US 20130018809A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/317
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/018 Certifying business or products

Abstract

A computer-implemented method for evaluating eco-functional properties of a product, comprising: providing four inputs including raw materials, process of manufacture, functional properties and ecological properties of the product; providing five outputs including Quality, Functionality, Human Impact, 3R'"'"'s (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse), and Environmental Impact; connecting the inputs and outputs using predetermined rules to generate an eco-functional model; and wherein the eco-functional properties of the product are evaluated using the eco-functional model to derive an Eco-Functional Index which is computed by the equation: ΣESI+HTI+EII+FI+Eco-I, where ESI is an Ecological Sustainability Index, EII is an Environmental Impact Index, HTI is a Human Toxicity Index, FI is a Functionality Index and Eco-I is an Ecological Index.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for evaluating eco-functional properties of a product, comprising:

providing four inputs including raw materials, process of manufacture, functional properties and ecological properties of the product;

providing five outputs including Quality, Functionality, Human Impact, 3R'"'"'s (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse), and Environmental Impact;

connecting the inputs and outputs using predetermined rules to generate an eco-functional model; and

wherein the eco-functional properties of the product are evaluated using the eco-functional model to derive an Eco-Functional Index which is computed by the equation;

Σ

ESI+HTI+EII+FI+Eco-I, where ESI is an Ecological Sustainability Index, EII is an Environmental Impact Index, HTI is a Human Toxicity Index, FI is a Functionality Index and Eco-I is an Ecological Index.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the product is a textile product.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the EII is computed by the equation:

Σ

CPFI+ERFPI+ELUI, where CFPI is a Carbon Foot Print Index, ERFPI is an Ecological Resources Foot Print Index and ELUI is an Environmental Load Unit Index.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the FI is computed by the equation:

Σ

QI+SI+HSI+PI+CFI+IRI, where SI is a Strength Index, IRI is an Impact Resistance Index, HIS is a Human Safety Index, PI is a Permeability Index, CFI is a Colour Fastness Index, and QI is a Quality Index.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the Eco-I is computed by the equation:

Σ

BI+RUI+RC, where BI is a Biodegradability Index, RUI is a Reusability Index and RCI is a Recyclability Index.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined rules to connect the inputs and the outputs is any one from the group consisting of:

the raw materials input is connected to the environmental impact output;

the raw materials input is connected to the 3R'"'"'s output;

the raw materials input is connected to the Human Impact output;

the process of manufacture input is connected to the Human Impact output and Environmental Impact output;

the functional properties input is connected to the Quality output and Functionality output; and

the ecological properties input is connected to the Human Impact output, Environmental Impact output and 3R'"'"'s output.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the Environmental Impact output includes Eco-Damage, ecological footprint and carbon footprint.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the raw materials input is quantified by the EII and the ESI.

9. The method according to claim 5, wherein the ecological properties input is quantified by RUI, RCI, and BI.

10. A system for evaluating eco-functional properties of a product, comprising:

an input module to receive four inputs including raw materials, process of manufacture, functional properties and ecological properties of the product;

an output module to generate five outputs including Quality, Functionality, Human Impact, 3R'"'"'s (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse), and Environmental Impact;

a processing module to connect the inputs and outputs using predetermined rules to generate an eco-functional model; and

wherein the eco-functional properties of the product are evaluated using the eco-functional model to derive an Eco-Functional Index which is computed by the equation;

Σ

ESI+HTI+EII+FI+Eco-I, where ESI is an Ecological Sustainability Index, EII is an Environmental Impact Index, HTI is a Human Toxicity Index, FI is a Functionality Index and Eco-I is an Ecological Index.