Circular Economy Design through System Dynamics Modeling

TL;DR

This paper introduces a quantitative measure of circularity in systems using system dynamics and thermodynamics, optimizing it through analytical mechanics, and explores applications in circular robotics and repair processes.

Contribution

It proposes a novel thermodynamics-based definition of circularity and applies analytical mechanics to optimize and analyze circular economy systems, including robotic repair.

Findings

Defined a new measure of circularity, λ, based on thermodynamics.

Demonstrated calculation of λ in different compartmental network models.

Highlighted the potential of robotic repair to enhance circularity.

Abstract

Nowadays, there is an increasing concern about the unsustainability of the take-make-dispose paradigm upon which traditional production and consumption systems are built. The concept of circular economy is gaining attention as a potential solution, but it is an emerging field still lacking analytical and methodological dynamics approaches. Hence, in this paper, firstly we propose a quantitative definition of circularity, namely, $\lambda$, predicated on compartmental dynamical thermodynamics, and then, we use it to state the optimization of the circularity $\lambda$ as an arg-max problem. By leveraging the derivation of Lagrange's equations of motion from the first law of thermodynamics, we apply the analytical mechanics approaches to circularity. Three examples illustrate the calculation of $\lambda$ for different settings of two compartmental networks. In particular, hypothesizing a repair stage followed by product reuse we highlight the memory property of $\lambda$. Finally, robotic repair is proposed within this framework to pave the way for circular robotics as a new area of research in which the performance of a robotic system is measured against $\lambda$.