The research objectives of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program project are to develop and validate effective approaches to use sensor data acquired from civil infrastructures to make informed decisions related to management, preservation and renewal. The approaches to be investigated leverage advanced sampling techniques to generate large populations of simulation models, which are used to develop histograms of critical responses through a Bayesian probabilistic approach that incorporates sensor data. The resulting histograms are in turn used to provide reliable estimates of vulnerability and risk. The decision-support frameworks will be developed and evaluated through comparison with a configurable bridge model housed in the Laboratory of the Intelligent Infrastructure Institute at Drexel University. This phase of the research will aim to establish each framework's ability to reliably estimate structural vulnerability and risk for a wide-range of bridge types and configurations. The most robust frameworks identified will then be validated through applications to two long-span bridges in the Philadelphia region. The outcomes of this research will allow sensor data to be more effectively used to both inform infrastructure decisions and to enhance related codes and standards as they move towards more performance-based approaches.
The results of this research will allow engineers and decision-makers to take advantage of available sensing technologies to more effectively manage, preserve and renew civil infrastructures. To facilitate this impact, the proposed research includes an outreach component to directly disseminate the findings to the practicing engineering population that can benefit the most from them. In addition, the results of this study will be broadly disseminated through traditional approaches as well as through the development of an interactive website. This research will also provide unique training opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate engineering students by placing them in intimate contact with actual infrastructures throughout all phases of their education. Finally, this project will promote the participation of traditionally under-represented groups through targeted recruiting activities aimed at identifying qualified students to conduct the research.
