Lifecycle Management, Monitoring and Assessment for Safe Large-Scale Infrastructures: Challenges and Needs

Abstract

Many European infrastructures dating back to '50 and '60 of the last century like bridges and viaducts are approaching the end of their design lifetime. In most European countries costs related to maintenance of infrastructures reach a quite high percentage of the construction budget and additional costs in terms of traffic delay are due to downtime related to the inspection and maintenance interventions. In the last 30 years, the rate of deterioration of these infrastructures has increased due to increased traffic loads, climate change related events and man-made hazards. A sustainable approach to infrastructures management over their lifecycle plays a key role in reducing the impact of mobility on safety (over 50 000 fatalities in EU per year) and the impact of greenhouse gases emission related to fossil fuels. The events related to the recent collapse of the Morandi bridge in Italy tragically highlighted the sheer need to improve resilience of aging transport infrastructures, in order to increase the safety for people and goods and to reduce losses of functionality and the related consequences. In this focus Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is one of the key strategies with a great potential to provide a new approach to performance assessment and maintenance over the life cycle for an efficient, safe, resilient and sustainable management of the infrastructures. In this paper research efforts, needs and challenges in terms of performance monitoring, assessment and standardization are described and discussed.

Structural Health Monitoring-Based Bridge Lifecycle Extension: Survival Analysis and Monte Carlo-Based Quantification of Value of Information

“…A key goal of SHM system use infrastructure is to improve asset management [11]. SHM systems yield benefits by providing information that allows improved asset management decisions.…”

A Comparative Analysis of Methods for Calculating Stability of Benchmarks Used in the Russian Federation to Monitor Deformations of Engineering Structures to Ensure Sustainability

“…Geodetic monitoring has become a mandatory procedure in the construction and operation of buildings and structures during their life cycles. [1,2] This is due to the need to improve the safety and sustainability of establishments. Due to the rapid growth of the instrument and software base, the traditional geodetic measurement methods are undergoing changes to ensure standard accuracy.…”

Developing a Comprehensive Quality Control Framework for Roadway Bridge Management: A Case Study Approach Using Key Performance Indicators

“…Maintaining and managing solutions for roadway bridges under limited resources but satisfying the need for safety and utility poses an enormous question mark for bridge administrators. Consequently, developing strategies that maximize the public advantages of investing in these assets becomes crucial [6]. This expenditure must be planned, managed correctly, and supported technically through appropriate management processes.…”