Holistic sustainability analysis of wrapped textile-reinforced concrete using the example of a pump sump

Concrete construction faces growing sustainability challenges due to climate-related regulations and shifting labor conditions. Existing component-level assessments often focus narrowly on environmental material indicators, overlooking the interplay of production, structural design, and socio-economic factors. This study presents an evaluation model integrating 20 criteria across ecological, economic, and social dimensions into a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework. The MCDM approach allows for flexible weighting, with the dominance matrix used to derive multiple sets of weights. The model is applied to the WiFaPu project, which developed a novel wrapping process for textile-reinforced concrete (TRC). A wrapped TRC pump sump is assessed alongside conventional solutions—cast-in-place, precast concrete, and plastic. Results show the wrapped TRC achieves the highest ecological performance, followed by precast concrete. Cast-in-place and plastic perform less favorably. Economically, the TRC solution needs further optimization. From a social perspective, cast-in-place ranks lowest due to higher labor demands and safety concerns. The model enables structured, transferable sustainability assessment across diverse components, materials, and production methods.