Technical Challenges for Infrastructure Resilience
Haritha Jayasinghe
Digital Twins
Infrastructure System of Systems
digital twin: a virtual instance of a physical system (twin) that is continually updated with the latter’s performance, maintenance, and health status data throughout the physical system’s life cycle.
Life Cycle Assessment: quantifying the environmental impacts over
the infrastructure life cycle by identifying the costs during each phase.
Threats:
infrastructure systems currently operate within silos, with little data
sharing between infrastructure operators, resulting in lack of synergy.
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Infrastructure system twinning
Threats:
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Lack of standardization of digital twin formats, leading to lack of interoperability and confusion within industry.
Life span mismatch between technology and infrastructure systems.
Solutions:
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Creation of standardized, open source formats, and the switch to
standardized PaaS platforms.
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Focus on short term savings over life-time operational emissions.
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Balancing security privacy concerns with open data sharing.
Embodied carbon optimization
Better Concrete
Solutions:
Use of statistical and ML tools to predict long term environmental impacts.
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Standardized
principles for
creating city
wide infrastructure ‘systems
of systems’
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Use of computer vision for generation of twins for existing facilities.
Threats:
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Conflicting requirements during lifetime
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High carbon costs
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Significant cost of error when wrong
material is used
Culture of low margins and time pressure
Conflicting stakeholder priorities
Solutions:
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Whole life
costing
Embodied carbon in concrete
Embodied emissions
Engineering for sustainable development
Moving away from the
concepts of ‘net emissions’ and emissions
occurring purely on
‘our territory’ towards
a global, zero emissions policy.
Emission
reduction
Threats:
Unsustainable carbon utilization in construction
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Possibility of carbon capture creates a sense of false security
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Utilization ratios of 0.5 due to overdesign
Digital twin enrichment with sensors
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Solutions:
Using optimization models for higher utilization ratios and preventing
overdesign
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Creating more sustainable and flexible designs
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Sourcing recycled materials and developing better materials
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Re-purposing existing infrastructure
Threats:
Solutions:
Complexity:
Adopting a systems approach
Uncertainty:
Avoiding technical lock in, applying the
precautionary principle
Change:
Challenging orthodoxy, envisioning the future
Other disciplines:
Building multi-disciplinary teams
People:
Consultation processes and negotiation
to meet individual & societal needs
Whole life costs:
Considering project externalities
Trade offs:
Avoiding optimisation around a single variable
to create solutions acceptable for all
Level 3 - eyes off;
Level 4 - mind off,
Level 5 - steering wheel optional
Threats:
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High levels of congestion and underutilized pedestrian spaces
low load factor in large public transport systems resulting in high GHG
emissions
High cost of drivers for smaller vehicles
Solutions:
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Autonomous low speed electric pods for transportation and deliveries,
utilizing pedestrian spaces
Higher focus on autonomous semi-segregated paths for transport
Re-use and re-purposing of infrastructure
Disaster resilient
infrastructure design
Building back better
Context: Disaster recovery after an earthquake of magnitude 6.2 at Christchurch,
New Zealand in 2011, causing 185 casualties.
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Connected transport systems
Structural Health Monitoring
Resource optimization & life
extension
Level 2 - hands off;
Switch towards alternative materials
Threats:
Autonomous vehicle: a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and moving safely with little or no human input.
Level 1 - hands on/shared control;
Better structural design and optimization
Environmental limits: Resource efficiency, pollution control
and maintaining ecosystem services
Autonomous Transport
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Absolute zero:
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Concrete mix design optimizations
Fibre optic monitoring: measuring strains in structures and geotechnical processes, using light, rather than electricity, as the signal carrier.
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Overcoming infrastructure challenges with optimum resource usage
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Anomaly detection
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Increased construction safety
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Anomaly detection to prevent failure
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Operational life extension of existing infrastructure
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Heritage site preservation
Benefits:
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High resolution: 10,000+ sensing points within single instrument
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Large range: 10,000m+ range from a single control box
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Multiple measurements: Temperature strain and derivatives
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Ease of installation: Small lightweight but robust
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Ease of maintenance: No calibration or maintenance needed
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Safety: No live wires at sensing location
High initial cost of more resilient infrastructure
Immediate need for temporary fixes
Lack of information sharing among
stakeholders
Community resistance to change
Solutions:
Use cases:
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Conflicts between parties responsible
for aspects of rebuilding
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Setting clear demarcations of responsibility among stakeholders
Improving communication among stakeholders
Awareness building among the community on resilience
Clearer policies for handling disasters
Creating decision making criteria which
emphasizes resilience across the life cycle and building back better, as opposed
to recreating the status quo.