CSIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre Phase 2

Lead Research Organisation: University of Cambridge
Department Name: Engineering

Abstract

Globally, national infrastructure is facing significant challenges:
- Ageing assets: Much of the UK's existing infrastructure is old and no longer fit for purpose. In its State of the Nation Infrastructure 2014 report the Institution of Civil Engineers stated that none of the sectors analysed were "fit for the future" and only one sector was "adequate for now". The need to future-proof existing and new infrastructure is of paramount importance and has become a constant theme in industry documents, seminars, workshops and discussions.
- Increased loading: Existing infrastructure is challenged by the need to increase load and usage - be that number of passengers carried, numbers of vehicles or volume of water used - and the requirement to maintain the existing infrastructure while operating at current capacity.
- Changing climate: projections for increasing numbers and severity of extreme weather events mean that our infrastructure will need to be more resilient in the future.

These challenges require innovation to address them. However, in the infrastructure and construction industries tight operating margins, industry segmentation and strong emphasis on safety and reliability create barriers to introducing innovation into industry practice.

CSIC is an Innovation and Knowledge Centre funded by EPSRC and Innovate UK to help address this market failure, by translating world leading research into industry implementation, working with more than 40 industry partners to develop, trial, provide and deliver high-quality, low cost, accurate sensor technologies and predictive tools which enable new ways of monitoring how infrastructure behaves during construction and asset operation, providing a whole-life approach to achieving sustainability in an integrated way. It provides training and access for industry to source, develop and deliver these new approaches to stimulate business and encourage economic growth, improving the management of the nation's infrastructure and construction industry.

Our collaborative approach, bringing together leaders from industry and academia, accelerates the commercial development of emerging technologies, and promotes knowledge transfer and industry implementation to shape the future of infrastructure.
Phase 2 funding will enable CSIC to address specific challenges remaining to implementation of smart infrastructure solutions.

Over the next five years, to overcome these barriers and create a self-sustaining market in smart infrastructure, CSIC along with an expanded group of industry and academic partners will:
- Create the complete, innovative solutions that the sector needs by integrating the components of smart infrastructure into systems approaches, bringing together sensor data and asset management decisions to improve whole life management of assets and city scale infrastructure planning; spin-in technology where necessary, to allow demonstration of smart technology in an integrated manner.
- Continue to build industry confidence by working closely with partners to demonstrate and deploy new smart infrastructure solutions on live infrastructure projects. Develop projects on behalf of industry using seed-funds to fund hardware and consumables, and demonstrate capability.
- Generate a compelling business case for smart infrastructure solutions together with asset owners and government organisations based on combining smarter information with whole life value models for infrastructure assets. Focus on value-driven messaging around the whole system business case for why smart infrastructure is the future, and will strive to turn today's intangibles into business drivers for the future.
- Facilitate the development and expansion of the supply chain through extending our network of partners in new areas, knowledge transfer, smart infrastructure standards and influencing policy.

Planned Impact

The UK is well placed to lead the smart infrastructure revolution, and investment in CSIC's programme to develop and demonstrate innovative, integrated solutions will provide a step change in the UK's capability to deliver solutions which are globally competitive.
CSIC Phase 2 funding will deliver a wide range of impacts in the UK and globally, through addressing the challenges to implementation of smart infrastructure solutions in an industry where innovation is challenging. These impacts can be summarised as follows:

Industry benefits:
CSIC's work will impact through transforming the capability of the industry to deliver smart infrastructure solutions:
- Increased industry confidence to implement smart infrastructure solutions through deployment of technologies and demonstration of their benefits, working with our network of more than 40 industry partners
- Increased industry capability to deliver smart infrastructure solutions through support in developing solutions and services from innovative technologies and solutions - for example current work with Skanska on developing a fibre optic monitoring service, which is projected to deliver a turnover of £1M in its first year
- New business opportunities, generated through networking between industry partners and exploring the potential for application of novel technologies in the infrastructure and construction industries
- Raised industry awareness and confidence in smart infrastructure solutions through training and knowledge transfer, using training courses, secondments, industry-focussed best practice guides and case studies CSIC will transfer knowledge to the infrastructure and construction industries to raise awareness and acceptance of smart infrastructure
- Development of complete smart infrastructure solutions, and the standards required to specify them

Policy makers:
- Insights into the benefits of smart infrastructure solutions, and guidance on what policy or regulation may be required to create the environment for industry uptake
- Development of a 'smart infrastructure standards' roadmap, in collaboration with BSI

Benefits to the public and wider society:
- Widespread uptake in industry of smart infrastructure solutions will result in more reliable infrastructure provision, with better performance and reduced whole life costs alongside increased whole life value. Services will be responsive to user needs and resilient to shocks, returning rapidly to service from interruptions due to events such as severe weather
- The programme will also feed into undergraduate and masters level education, producing the next generation of engineers who will be well-placed to work in the smart infrastructure industry and deliver these solutions

Organisations

Publications

10 25 50
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Abdalla Khalid (2019) Soil water retention curves representing tropical clay soils from Africa

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Acikgoz S (2016) Distributed sensing of a masonry vault during nearby piling

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Acikgoz S (2018) Sensing dynamic displacements in masonry rail bridges using 2D digital image correlation

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Acikgoz S (2017) Distributed sensing of a masonry vault during nearby piling Distributed Sensing of a Masonry Vault in Structural Control and Health Monitoring

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Acikgoz S (2021) A Fibre-optic Strain Measurement System to Monitor the Impact of Tunnelling on Nearby Heritage Masonry Buildings in International Journal of Architectural Heritage

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Acikgoz S (2017) Evaluation of the response of a vaulted masonry structure to differential settlements using point cloud data and limit analyses in Construction and Building Materials

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Acikgoz S (2019) The Marsh Lane Railway Viaduct: 2 years of monitoring with combined sensing and surveying technologies

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Acikgoz S (2017) Vibration modes and equivalent models for flexible rocking structures in Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering

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Acikgoz S (2018) Dynamic response of a damaged masonry rail viaduct: Measurement and interpretation

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Acikgoz S (2021) Cracked Equivalent Beam Models for Assessing Tunneling-Induced Damage in Masonry Buildings in Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering

 
Title "Mixed Reality for Infrastructure " 
Description Video on Cambridge University's youtube channel by Brilakis, I., Huethwohl, P. and Kopsida, M. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2017 
Impact Over 26,000 views (top 10 out of 98 videos in this channel in past year) 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmqBE4OA_xM&list=PL7NVHs7Y_TuIq7ViNahxYJnLz-_BMfjrS
 
Title CSIC 2022: Data, performance, decision-making 
Description This short film introduces the collaborative work of the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC). 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2022 
Impact Wider reach than usual annual review 
URL https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHoDq45GBYM
 
Title Cambridge Postgraduate Education: LeadUP 
Description Cambridge Postgraduate Education in Leadership of Urban Digital Innovation (LeadUP) - video 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2024 
Impact Cambridge Postgraduate Education in Leadership of Urban Digital Innovation (LeadUP) - promoting the course and wider attendance was achieved at the Executive Education Course. 
URL https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7158817190928900096/
 
Title Four Futures, One Choice - Interactive Children's Book - Dr Didem Gürdür Broo 
Description A new book written during the COVID-19 pandemic and global climate crisis paints a picture of how the choices we make today are vital in shaping our future built environment world - and asks us all to decide what sort of society we want to live in. This is a vital moment in the global story, with many possible paths laid out ahead, but ultimately it is up to you to decide what you're going to do. What kind of future do you want to live in and what are you going to do to make it happen? Co-authored by CSIC and Laing O'Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology Research Associate, Dr Didem Gürdür Broo, 'Four Futures, One Choice - Options for the Digital Built Britain of 2040' presents possible futures for the built environment to provide insight into how we can take swift and decisive actions to support a flourishing future and reduce our negative impact on the global environment. Developed by the Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) as part of the Construction Innovation Hub's transformative programme, the multi-disciplinary group of contributing authors are researchers at CDBB and includes: Kirsten Lamb, Richmond Juvenile Ehwi; Erika Parn, Antiopi Koronaki, Chara Makri and Thayla Zomer. 'Four Futures One Choice' brings focus to opportunities presented as we plan recovery from COVID-19, the role of data to support and enhance sustainability and equality, and the potential of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to shape the built environment world of the future. Highlighting four possible scenarios for 2040: A legacy of hope; Generation zero; Resigned to our fate; and Too little, too late; the book considers Britain's economy, society and environment to explore the influencing factors and trends involved in each scenario, and the complexities of the interconnecting systems that shape these dimensions. "While we can't guarantee, with any certainty, the outcomes our decisions as society, policy makers or decision-makers in the built environment will have, exploring future scenarios helps us identify the direction we would prefer and ultimately which way we should steer." 
Type Of Art Creative Writing 
Year Produced 2020 
Impact Promoted at Cambridge Festival 
URL https://indd.adobe.com/view/792c83c3-3ae0-4e70-8690-9f307a3ff063
 
Description Over the last thirteen years, CSIC has catalysed transformation in infrastructure and construction, working with partners to research, demonstrate and support implementation of smart solutions for the industry. The Centre has provided a platform for strong academia-industry collaboration. CSIC has changed the landscape in the UK construction industry through: developing sensing systems; working with industry partners to demonstrate their application in real infrastructure and construction environments; developing analysis tools to create insights from data; and working with policymakers and clients to create the case for investment in smart infrastructure solutions. This has included more sensing and analytics companies providing services to the industry, companies such as Skanska setting up their own sensing business, and HS2 specifying advanced monitoring solutions in tender documents. The overall goal of CSIC articulated in 2011 remains the same: "to transform approaches to the design, construction and use of complex infrastructure to facilitate a low-carbon society." There have been four spin-out companies formed as a result of the research funded by this award: 8Power, UtterBerry, Epsimon and BKwai; and a fibre-optic monitoring business at CSIC partner Skanska, CemOptics, developed from CSIC's fundamental research and an initial demonstration project. This system has been patented globally, and further development of the analysis approaches is ongoing funded by Skanska and Arup in collaboration. CSIC hosted 26 industry secondees for 3-12 month periods to co-develop industry-ready tools from our research. CSIC has provided training so industry operatives can readily use CSIC technology, including teams from CERN and contractors Geocisa, Multiplex, and BAM Nuttall. CSIC has developed a series of Best Practice and Technology Guides, published by ICE (Institution of Civil Engineers), to support the construction industry, infrastructure owners and operators, with over 760 guides sold. CSIC has provided input to the ICE Specification for Piling and Embedded Retaining Walls, for specifying the testing and instrumentation of foundations. CSIC and the ICE Asset Management Group produced ICE Guidance Document, Intelligent Assets for Tomorrow's Infrastructure: Guiding Principles. CSIC has produced several thought leadership papers. "Smart infrastructure, getting more from strategic assets" which, in collaboration with industry, set out a definition of Smart Infrastructure. "Smart Sustainability, exploiting data to mitigate climate change" which discusses the role of the civil engineer and the key advantages of a data driven approach to mitigating climate change. The "Flourishing systems: Re-envisioning infrastructure as a platform for human flourishing" paper advocates a vision for infrastructure as people-focused and systems-based which must deliver continuous service to society. The central idea in the paper is that the purpose of infrastructure is human flourishing and that infrastructure is a system of systems.
CSIC has delivered a number of inter-disciplinary projects including: a collaboration with the Turing designing and deploying long-term mixed sensor monitoring systems on assets to live stream data for high-level statistical analysis (including machine learning and artificial intelligence) in real time; Planning in 3D, optimising space and resources to absorb and repurpose waste energy flows for purposes such as urban agriculture; and Integrated Infrastructure Information, developing innovative ways to apply data for efficient whole-life asset management. CSIC has conducted more than 200 proof-of-concept or site demonstrations for major infrastructure projects including Crossrail, National Grid Power Tunnels, London Underground station upgrades, the Lee Tunnel Project, Network Rail, National Highways and HS2. We have developed solutions for HS2 including a fibre optic instrument geotextile for sinkhole detection 'smartgrid'; embedded asset sensors for National Highways; monitoring protocols for integral bridges for National Highways; and long-term monitoring and data analysis solutions for Network Rail assets. CSIC has published 43 deployment case studies, more than 140 trade articles and over 1,200 academic papers. We have worked closely with our knowledge partners RICS, TRL, CIRIA and CICES. CSIC initiated a journal with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), The Journal of Smart Infrastructure and Construction, and held steering group roles on two ICE State of the Nation Reports. CSIC has worked closely with industry to develop a robust supply chain capability, through direct engagement. This has included delivering numerous training courses and knowledge transfer events, secondments, and R&D projects. CSIC has worked with suppliers to deliver new technologies to meet industry needs, for example our collaboration with FEBUS Optics to create a dynamic infrastructure sensing system, with a successful first-of-a-kind deployment on a Network Rail project. Infrastructure digitalisation generates several potential areas of concern for responsible innovation, in particular: (mis)use of data including lack of attention to the socio-technical aspects of digital systems; security issues associated with data; unintended impacts of 'optimising' one element of a system without regard to the impact on other elements. CSIC addresses these in the following ways: 1. The DC2 project is investigating socio-technical aspects of city digital twins, including: data sufficiency; engaging the full range of stakeholders in decisions about purpose, use of data; governance of the digital system. The steering group includes city executives and social scientists. 2. CSIC has run two security events including input from CPNI for partners, staff and students. We assess security issues in our projects. 3. We encourage a 'system of systems' approach in our projects and industry outreach. This is fundamental to our whole-life asset management and city-systems work. In summary, over the last thirteen years CSIC has: • Attracted over £17M of non-IKC funding • Entered into partnership agreements with 62 industry, public sector and learned bodies and collaborated or provided consultancy services for numerous others • Published over 1,200 journal papers • Hosted 7 international conferences • Delivered over 200 proof-of-concept or site demonstrations • Hosted 26 industry secondees and 22 academic visitors • Generated 4 spinouts • Won 18 industry awards. In addition, CSIC led the development of the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment over the period 2020-2021, bringing together a committee of industry and academic experts to craft the code. The code was launched in November 2021 and is cited in HMG's Construction Playbook 2022, Promoting Net Zero Carbon and Sustainability in Construction (Sept 2022) and the UKGBC Roadmap, and forms part of the Construction Leadership Council's Construct Zero programme. Further information can be found in Annual Reviews https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/newsletters.
Exploitation Route The engineering, management, maintenance and upgrading of infrastructure requires fresh thinking to minimise use of materials, energy and labour whilst still ensuring resilience. This can only be achieved by a full understanding of the performance of the infrastructure, both during its construction and throughout its design life, through the application of innovative sensor technologies and other emerging technologies. The key aim of CSIC has been that emerging technologies, frameworks, approaches and methods from world-leading research at Cambridge will transform the construction industry through a whole-life approach to achieving sustainability in construction and infrastructure in an integrated way. This covers: • design and commissioning • the construction process • exploitation and use • eventual de-commissioning. Crucial elements of these emerging technologies are the innovative application of the latest sensor technologies, data management tools, manufacturing processes and supply chain management processes to the construction industry, both during infrastructure construction and throughout its design life. The major objective of CSIC has been to integrate these innovations for exploitation and knowledge transfer - something which was new to the UK construction and infrastructure industry. We believe that the outcomes has been a major transformations in the approaches to the design, construction and use of complex infrastructure contributing to step changes in improved health and productivity; a low carbon society; sustainable urban planning and management. There has been a substantial market for exploitation of these technologies by the construction industry - particularly contractors, specialist instrumentation companies and owners of infrastructure for both domestic and international markets. With our industry partners CSIC has pushed forward new frontiers of technology and innovative management in a sector of the economy which has traditionally had very little investment in research, particularly when compared to sectors such as computing or electronics. CSIC draws on recent research in new techniques, new models of construction and new management approaches. Through this innovation in technology and management, supported by extensive training and development, deep-rooted attitudes and assumptions have been challenged by CSIC with the aim of revolutionizing construction and the public perception of it.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy

Construction

Creative Economy

Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software)

Education

Electronics

Energy

Environment

Healthcare

Government

Democracy and Justice

Manufacturing

including Industrial Biotechology

Culture

Heritage

Museums and Collections

Security and Diplomacy

Transport
URL http://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/
 
Description Due to the wide scope of CSIC activities, only the briefest description can be given here. For further information please see our CSIC Annual Reviews and in particular the CSIC 10 Year Annual Review all of which are available on the CSIC website at http://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/newsletters. Additionally, a series of papers resulting from CSIC research are available at https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/whatwedo/Resources/csic-papers-and-documents . Business benefits - As a result of the research in fibre optic sensing systems, Cementation Skanska plc have established a new business channel called CemOptics. During the grant period the technology has led to a reduction in the release of CO2 from projects, the installation of 100km of fibre optic cables, and has been used on a number of projects including the GBP1Bn Northern Line extension. Additionally, Network Rail have deployed the techniques for remote monitoring on several bridges, with savings estimated in the millions, and are making a significant investment in monitoring technologies. CSIC partner HS2 specified advanced monitoring solutions in many of their tender documents. This is on track to deliver huge benefits via prediction of damage and targeting maintenance. Transport for London (TfL) have saved GBP1M by avoiding unnecessary mitigation costs on one project, alerting staff of potential damage caused by new underground tunnel boring. Impact on industry practice - Technology based on the CSIC research findings is embedded in Institution of Civil Engineering (ICE) Specification for Piling, and CSIC ICE best practice guides on structural monitoring, which are used in many hundreds of organisations. CSIC have had key roles on UK national infrastructure bodies driving policy and government investment plans for open information sharing. CSIC has had a real impact on the uptake of smart infrastructure solutions. Specific examples include: the development of a 'Line of Sight methodology' for industry to create Asset Information Requirements based on Organisational Information requirements - which is being trialled with the Department of Transport's Transport Infrastructure Efficiency programme, based on a CSIC PhD thesis; development of an instrumented geotextile system developed by CSIC and Huesker for detection of sinkholes, being trialled with HS2; development of a satellite monitoring technique for ground stability monitoring with HS2; development of a new University of Cambridge Masters Course, 'Leadership of Urban Digital Innovation for Public Value (LeadUP)'. The course is a flagship program for delivering responsible digital innovations in connected places and cities. CSIC's spinout, Epsimon, continues to provide monitoring services to a variety of clients both in the UK and overseas. CSIC is also continuing to support Network Rail and Highways England in the development and adoption of smart infrastructure solutions. CSIC has led the development and publication of the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment in association with the Construction Leadership Council and its Construct Zero initiative. The Code allows organisations to make a public commitment to reaching net zero across its business and projects by 2045 with annual accountability. . It is referenced in key documents such as the UK Construction Playbook September 2022, the UKGBC Roadmap, and the UK Government Guidance Note Promoting Net Zero Carbon and Sustainability in Construction September 2022. Four start-up companies have spun out from CSIC - Epsimon, 8Power, UtterBerry, and Bkwai creating new jobs and meeting the need for new technologies in the marketplace.
First Year Of Impact 2016
Sector Construction,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Education,Energy,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections,Security and Diplomacy,Transport,Other
 
Description 'Design Engineer Construct!' Digital Twins workshop-Didem Gurdur Broo
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Dr Didem Gürdür Broo, CSIC Research Associate, champions the education of young people in data science and was delighted to be asked to be part of a virtual Digital Twins workshop for Class of Your Own secondary school students held this month (July). Class of Your Own (COYO) was launched as a Social Business in 2009 to provide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths)-focused creative curriculum and built environment student engagement programmes. Created by land surveyor Alison Watson, the Design, Engineer Construct! (DEC) learning programme includes fully-accredited qualifications and is delivered in schools and colleges across the UK and internationally, and is supported by industry leaders, professional bodies and universities. "My involvement came from a chat I had with a former colleague at the University of Cambridge who is now at Bentley Systems, Maria Gkovedarou, about how important it is to educate the current and future workforce on data science and digital twins. I have a huge respect for and big expectations of our future generations because they are growing up in a different world and have access to tools and resources that I believe can change the future." Bentley Systems supports the DEC programme and hosted the first ever Future Infrastructure Challenge: DEC Hyperloop in 2019, which required sixth form students, aged 16 to 18, from four schools in the UK to conceptualise a design of a hyperloop transport system and stations for Singapore. A number of students who have been working on their hyperloop infrastructure projects for 18 months were invited to attend a week of intensive workshops held this summer to complete their programme of study, and be the first in the world to gain a brand new DEC qualification for young people aged 16 plus. Alison Watson, CEO and Founder of COYO, invited Didem to lead the Digital Twins workshop, which was supported by Alison and Maria. "Preparing to communicate data science and Digital Twins to a younger audience during the hour-long workshop presented the greatest challenge," said Didem. "Describing the concepts in a simplified way without using academic jargon was a useful exercise. I did not know if the students would engage with my teaching or not, but their confidence and ability to ask questions and engage with discussions made everything easy. The rewarding part of it was to work with so many bright minds and to initiate some thinking out-of-the-box process with them. It was a very interactive way of teaching and the students engaged with the topic, asked me really important questions and answered my questions with honesty - they did not hesitate to criticise the whole concept and its applications. "They immediately saw the value of using Digital Twins and asked me some questions about how and what they should think about. I enjoyed the whole process and felt really hopeful after the workshop. I am very thankful for this opportunity - I would be happy to do it again." Class of Your Own launches the Level 3 'Design Engineer Construct! Future Infrastructure' qualification this autumn and once again, the organisation has the support of significant leaders. Alison Watson said: "COYO might be a small organisation, but our mission is as big as ever; to educate the Future of Construction, the incredible digital talent that sits in classrooms around the world. Great champions like Didem inspire our students and give genuine context to their studies. I'm thrilled she agreed to get involved and I look forward to next time."
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/csic-research-associate-leads-design-engineer-con...
 
Description A Review of Earthworks Management Professor Lord Robert Mair CBE FREng FICE FRS
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact Identifying a lack of information "on pore water pressures and suctions in slopes and embankments and on their response to different rainfall and weather patterns", the Review recommends an increase of investment in research and development: "The development of data analytics is also considered as a useful tool to manage a large and complex asset base and harnessing more value from existing data sets through smarter information." In conclusion the Review states: "We recommend that Network Rail build on their comprehensive asset management system and progressively adopt a broader and more integrated approach to the management of Earthworks, Drainage and Vegetation, taking account of changing weather patterns. There is a need to breakdown the historic silos between these interdependent assets across the organisation to support the delivery of a safe, cost-effective and sustainable railway infrastructure into the future."
URL https://www.networkrail.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Network-Rail-Earthworks-Review-Final-Report...
 
Description APESS - CK
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description As Chairman of the Department of Transport's Science Advisory Council, Professor Lord Robert Mair has influenced Department of Transport policy on Artificial Intelligence in Transport
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description As Chairman of the Department of Transport's Science Advisory Council, Professor Lord Robert Mair has influenced Department of Transport policy on Autonomous Vehicles
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description As Chairman of the Department of Transport's Science Advisory Council, Professor Lord Robert Mair has influenced Department of Transport policy on Future of Flight
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description As Chairman of the Department of Transport's Science Advisory Council, Professor Lord Robert Mair has influenced Department of Transport policy on Future of Mobility
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description As Chairman of the Department of Transport's Science Advisory Council, Professor Lord Robert Mair has influenced Department of Transport policy on Hyperloop
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description As Chairman of the Department of Transport's Science Advisory Council, Professor Lord Robert Mair has influenced Department of Transport policy on Transport Infrastructure Efficiency Strategy
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description As Head of CSIC responsible for producing Guidelines for Department of Transport on Condition Monitoring and Intelligent Infrastructure Professor Lord Robert Mair has Influenced systematic reviews, guidelines and policy documents
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description As a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, Professor Lord Robert Mair has influenced Government policy on the following topic (through publication of reports): Nuclear Research and Technology (published May 2017)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description As a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, Professor Lord Robert Mair has influenced Government policy on the following topic: Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (published March 2017)
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description BSI B/555 CB5 Strategic Planning Committee - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description BSI B/555 Committee on Design, Construction & Operational Data & Process Management for the Built Environment - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description CSIC hosted the workshop on Smart Infrastructure for the DFT Scientific Advisory Committee and DFT Agencies
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Implementation circular/rapid advice/letter to e.g. Ministry of Health
 
Description CSIC-convened Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment is included as a key policy recommendation in the Pathway to Net Zero for the UK Built Environment which was launched by the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) at COP26
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or Improved professional practice
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/carbon-reduction-code
 
Description CZPF witness session: strategic land use planning - Jennifer Schooling
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Cambridge Zero Policy Forum study on local priorities for investing in resilient and sustainable infrastructure Witness session 3: strategic land use planning in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough region
 
Description Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or Improved professional practice
Impact Following this soft launch, organisations are encouraged to get involved and sign up to committing to the code. The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment will then be formally launched in the autumn to coincide with the UK hosting the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference at COP26.
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/carbon-reduction-code
 
Description Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact We have 16 built environment organisations signed up to the Carbon Code, of varying sizes, who report annually on their carbon emissions, many doing much more than this for carbon reduction. This leads to lower carbon emissions, and overall contributes positively to net zero targets overall.
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/carbon-reduction-code
 
Description Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment Included in The Construction Playbook
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact Widening of awareness for the Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment
URL https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1102...
 
Description Centre for Doctoral Training Sensors Day - JMS presentation
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description Chair of Strategic Research Advisory Group, Centre for Digital Built Britain (JMS)
Geographic Reach Local/Municipal/Regional 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
URL https://www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk/CDBBResearchBridgehead
 
Description Chair of the Department for Transport's (DfT's) Science Advisory Council
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Chairman of the Department of Transport's Science Advisory Council
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Commissioner, Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
URL https://www.royalcommission1851.org/about-us/
 
Description Council Member in the International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure (ISHMII)
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
URL http://www.ishmii.org/new-council-members-introduced/
 
Description DFOS training - CK
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description DOFS CERN short course / training CK
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description DOFS sensing short course - CK
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description Department for Transport Science Advisory Committee-John Orr
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Digital Catapult Crossrail PitStop - invited speaker - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Digital Framework Task Group JMS
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Digital Transformation Task Group JMS
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Empowering young people to become the climate-aware built environment professionals of the future: What do we need to do now? - COP26 - Sam Cocking
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Sam Cocking said: "The built environment and infrastructure sectors have significant carbon footprints and, if we are serious about meeting our net zero objectives, we will need to achieve a sea change in how carbon is factored into the design, use, maintenance, and decommissioning of our built assets. This will require an evolution in the skills we teach young professionals, closer collaboration between academia and industry so that we can speed up innovation, and a common language of carbon that crosses the barriers between traditional roles in our sectors. This event, with its dialogue between young and senior professionals, will examine what needs to happen now to kick start these changes."
URL https://www.workcast.com/register?cpak=7926389076887414
 
Description FBb sensing short course/training CK
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description FINESSE - Commercialising your research training - PK
Geographic Reach Europe 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description H2020 short course / training CK
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description HS2 BIM Advisory Group JMS
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Highways England Innovation workshop - invited participant - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description House of Lords Augar Review of Post-18 Education and Funding Debate
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/news-and-events/head-of-csic-champions-modern-engineer...
 
Description ICE Asset Management 2015 conference - invited speaker - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description ICE Brunel Lecture Advisory Board - Jennifer Schooling
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description ICE Council annual strategy meeting - invited speaker and participant JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description ICE Triennial Summit - invited speaker - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
 
Description ISO TC59 SC13 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description IStructE Invited speaker - international conference
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description Innovate UK Innovate 15 - invited speaker - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Institution of Civil Engineers State of the Nation 2020: Net-Zero
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Invited member to the Construction Leadership Council working party on Procuring for Value
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact The CLC's objective is to drive industry improvement. It draws together business leaders from across the sector to identify how to promote solutions to meet the ambition of a 33% reduction in cost, a 50% reduction in project time, a 50% reduction in carbon emissions and a 50% reduction in the trade gap. The "Procuring for Value" report provides recommendations on how government, clients and the industry can maximise the impact of the sector deal by a change in approach to procurement
URL http://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/news/procuring-for-value/
 
Description KTN Built evironment advisory board - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Lead for the Cambridgeshire Autonomous Metro (CAM)-Robert Mair
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/head-csic-professor-lord-robert-mair-appointed-ch...
 
Description Lead for the Network Rail Earthworks Management Task Force
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/head-csic-appointed-lead-task-force-wake-stonehav...
 
Description Line of Sight: an Asset Management Methodology to Support Organisational Objectives
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or Improved professional practice
Impact The Line of Sight Methodology has already been tested by Jacobs on the Network Rail Transpennine Route Upgrade and industry-friendly tools and guidance on adopting the methodology are in development. "The Line of Sight Methodology aims to address the fundamental challenge of developing information requirements by developing Organisational and Asset Information Requirements that ultimately enable digital transformation within the industry. This project addresses this challenge by providing a structured approach to the development of information requirements," said Heaton. "We are actively engaging with the broader industry and collating feedback to ensure that the methodology meets the needs of its intended users. We are keen to hear from companies and organisations in the industry wishing to trial or start using the Line of Sight Methodology."
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/files/line_of_sight_july_2021.pdf
 
Description Making Smart Infrastructure Business as Usual - Roundtable workshop and draft paper
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Maria Scott technical training CK
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description Meeting with National Grid - Jennifer Schooling
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or Improved professional practice
 
Description Member Transport Research and Innovation Board
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Member of Smart Construction Network
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www.smartconstructionnetwork.org.uk/
 
Description Member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology - Offsite Manufacture in Construction - Building for Change Report
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact A report published by the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, Off-site Manufacture for construction: building for change, says that off-site manufacture (OSM) can help to increase productivity in the construction sector while reducing labour demands, improving the quality and efficiency of buildings, and reducing the environmental impacts associated with traditional construction.
URL https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201719/ldselect/ldsctech/169/16902.htm
 
Description Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government-discussion on embodied carbon-John Orr
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Our vision for the built environment steering group - Jennifer Schooling
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Dr Jennifer Schooling, CSIC Director, said: "I was delighted to be involved in the Steering Group to develop this incisive and collaborative industry manifesto. I believe this Vision sets out an important direction for those who build and manage the built environment. It makes achieving better outcomes for people and the planet the focus of the existing built environment and its future development." Knowledge transfer between academia and industry not only strengthens economic development but also provides the tools and technology to make this future vision a reality, addressing current challenges from the climate crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic. This Vision is aligned to the UK Government's ambition to encourage innovation and inclusion so people and nature are at the heart of how we design, build, operate and use our existing built environment.
URL https://indd.adobe.com/view/f2092c85-cd16-4186-9035-e2a63adc2bf9
 
Description Ove Arup Foundation Steering workshop - invited participant JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description Panel member at the 'Designing a green and resilient built environment: What do we need to do now and in the future? - Jennifer Schooling - COP26
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
Impact Improving how we design our built environment will be crucial if we want to realise more green and resilient places to live. The issue is multifaceted and covers low carbon design principles, the value we place on natural capital, the codes, standards and regulations that guide decisions on design and the role of alternatives such as low build or no build design solutions.
URL https://www.workcast.com/register?cpak=4395488292421997
 
Description Participation in CLC COVID-19 Construction Sector Call with Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP - Jennifer Schooling
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact Ongoing
 
Description Prof Lord Mair - member of the National Infrastructure Commission Technical Expert Panel
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact member of the National Infrastructure Commission Technical Expert Panel
 
Description Professor Lord Robert Mair CBE, Founding Head of CSIC at the University of Cambridge, contributed to the debate in the House of Lords on the 'Select Committee Report on Risk Assessment and Risk Planning'. The Report was entitled Preparing for Extreme Risks: Building a Resilient Society
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
Impact Knowledge sharing
URL https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2023-01-12/debates/7FCCFF65-F7CF-4BE0-9A91-3A32F87271BD/Preparin...
 
Description Professor Lord Robert Mair is Chairman of the Science Advisory Council of the Department of Transport
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description Professor Lord Robert Mair is a Member of House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description Professor Lord Robert Mair is a Member of the National Infrastructure Commission Expert Advisory Technical Group
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact See above
 
Description Professor Lord Robert Mair, Founding Head of CSIC, led a debate in the House of Lords on the Science and Technology Select Committee's report titled Catapults: Bridging the Gap between Research and Industry discussing the future of the Catapults.
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2022-05-19/debates/FE0A05EB-4866-45D7-9508-6007F194E9B5/Catapult...
 
Description Report from the Economic Affairs Committee Rethinking High Speed 2
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www-smartinfrastructure.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/head-csic-calls-need-innovation-house-lords-hs2-d...
 
Description Skanska Deployment team Raman course
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Influenced training of practitioners or researchers
 
Description Smart Buildings - presentation to Houses of Parliament asset and information management teams - Jennifer Schooling
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
Impact Smart Buildings - presentation to Houses of Parliament asset and information management teams
 
Description The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment forms part of the Construction Leadership Council's Construct Zero initiative
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact The Code provides a simple way for organisations to demonstrate their commitment to net zero to their clients or supply chain. The Code brings together and aligns sector wide initiatives and facilitates cross-sector collaboration to reduce carbon emissions (CO2eq) related to design, construction, maintenance, operation, and decommissioning of built assets.
URL https://www.constructionleadershipcouncil.co.uk/constructzero/
 
Description The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment forms part of the Construction Leadership Council's Construct Zero initiative and is referenced in key document - the UKGBC Roadmap.
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact The Code provides a simple way for organisations to demonstrate their commitment to net zero to their clients or supply chain. The Code brings together and aligns sector wide initiatives and facilitates cross-sector collaboration to reduce carbon emissions (CO2eq) related to design, construction, maintenance, operation, and decommissioning of built assets.
URL https://www.ukgbc.org/ukgbc-work/net-zero-whole-life-roadmap-for-the-built-environment/
 
Description The Carbon Reduction Code for the Built Environment is referenced in the UK Government Guidance Note Promoting Net Zero Carbon and Sustainability in Construction September 2022.
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to new or improved professional practice
Impact The Code provides a simple way for organisations to demonstrate their commitment to net zero to their clients or supply chain. The Code brings together and aligns sector wide initiatives and facilitates cross-sector collaboration to reduce carbon emissions (CO2eq) related to design, construction, maintenance, operation, and decommissioning of built assets.
URL https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1102...
 
Description The Institute of Structural Engieers Council Member - John Orr
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description The Institute of Structural Engineers Sustainability Committee-John Orr
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description The Select Committee on Risk Assessment and Risk Planning appointed by the House of Lords included Professor Lord Robert Mair, Founding Head of CSIC
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Contribution to a national consultation/review
URL https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-preparing-for-extreme-risks-buildi...
 
Description Tideway Tideway Academic Advisory Meeting - JMS
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description i3P DLG Advisory Committee JMS
Geographic Reach National 
Policy Influence Type Participation in a guidance/advisory committee
 
Description 1851 RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP
Amount £99,000 (GBP)
Organisation Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2017 
End 12/2019
 
Description CDBB Early Career Researcher - Dr Li Wan - A City-Level Digital Twin Experiment for Exploring the Impacts of Digital Transformation on Journeys to Work in the Cambridge Sub-region
Amount £78,910 (GBP)
Organisation University of Cambridge 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2018 
End 07/2019
 
Description CDBB Early Career Researcher - Dr Timea Nochta - The local governance of digital technology - Implications for the city-scale digital twin
Amount £59,765 (GBP)
Organisation University of Cambridge 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2018 
End 07/2019
 
Description CDBB General Research - ECR Funding - Ruchi Choudhary
Amount £81,308 (GBP)
Organisation Digital Built Britain 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2018 
End 07/2019
 
Description CDBB General Research Funding
Amount £500,000 (GBP)
Organisation Digital Built Britain 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2019 
End 09/2022
 
Description CMMI-EPSRC: Modeling and Monitoring of Urban Underground Climate Change
Amount £420,171 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/T019425/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2019 
End 10/2023
 
Description CREDS Early Career Researcher - Dr Timea Nochta
Amount £63,765 (GBP)
Organisation Centre for Research into Energy Demand Solutions 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 07/2020 
End 09/2022
 
Description CSIC Industry Adoption Facilitator
Amount £40,000 (GBP)
Organisation Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2023 
End 03/2023
 
Description CSIC Phase 2 Industry Matching Fund
Amount £200,000 (GBP)
Organisation High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2022 
End 06/2023
 
Description Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction - Phase 2: Additional Funding for Financial Year 17/18
Amount £500,000 (GBP)
Funding ID 920038 
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2017 
End 03/2018
 
Description Data & Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure - Hardware Funding Allocation
Amount £88,094 (GBP)
Funding ID R47116/CN011 
Organisation University of Oxford 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2020 
End 03/2021
 
Description Data Centric Engineering - Extension from Sep 2018 to Mar 2019
Amount £27,684 (GBP)
Organisation Alan Turing Institute 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2018 
End 03/2019
 
Description Data centric engineering
Amount £100,000 (GBP)
Organisation Alan Turing Institute 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2017 
End 02/2018
 
Description Data-Centric Engineering Applications in Smart Infrastructure
Amount £216,711 (GBP)
Organisation Alan Turing Institute 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2019 
End 12/2021
 
Description Developing remote capability assessment for Bridges
Amount £70,000 (GBP)
Organisation Network Rail Ltd 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2018 
End 12/2019
 
Description Digital Changes for Cities
Amount £233,000 (GBP)
Organisation Arup Group 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2017 
End 05/2019
 
Description Digital Cities for Change Phase 2 ( Year 3 and 4)
Amount £276,739 (GBP)
Organisation Ove Arup Foundation 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2020 
End 05/2023
 
Description Digital Cities for Change Phase 3 ( Year 7 and 8)
Amount £227,871 (GBP)
Organisation Ove Arup Foundation 
Sector Charity/Non Profit
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2023 
End 05/2025
 
Description Digital Twinning NetworkPlus: DTNet+
Amount £3,214,307 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/Y016289/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 07/2023 
End 07/2028
 
Description Dr Liam Butler Fellowship - Group Leader for Data centric engineering
Amount £61,436 (GBP)
Organisation Alan Turing Institute 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2018 
End 02/2019
 
Description Driving Port Efficiency through 5G-enabled Connectivity
Amount £381,083 (GBP)
Organisation Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2020 
End 03/2022
 
Description FINNESE (ITN)
Amount £433,790 (GBP)
Organisation European Commission 
Sector Public
Country European Union (EU)
Start 09/2016 
End 09/2020
 
Description FOAK - Autonomous self powered Sensors
Amount £11,500 (GBP)
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 07/2016 
End 03/2017
 
Description FOAK - Condition based maintanence
Amount £10,000 (GBP)
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 07/2016 
End 03/2017
 
Description FOAK - MetroCare - Strategic decision-making for integrated urban infrastructure
Amount £10,000 (GBP)
Funding ID 971490 
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 07/2016 
End 03/2017
 
Description Facebook for Machines (EPSRC Institutional Support Grant) - AKNP
Amount £10,000 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2016 
 
Description GIS-BASED INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR OPTIMIZED RESPONSE TO EXTREME EVENTS ON TERRESTRIAL TRANSPORT NETWORKS (SAFEWAY)
Amount € 4,521,100 (EUR)
Organisation European Commission H2020 
Sector Public
Country Belgium
Start 08/2018 
End 02/2022
 
Description Innovate and Knowledge Centres
Amount £2,499,396 (GBP)
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2016 
End 06/2021
 
Description International multi-disciplinary workshop: Funding, Financing & Emerging Technologies in Infrastructure
Amount £78,131 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/W016451/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2021 
End 03/2022
 
Description Junior Research Fellowship - MSA
Amount £90,000 (GBP)
Organisation University of Cambridge 
Department Clare Hall
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2017 
 
Description LIFE RESYSTAL
Amount € 133,557 (EUR)
Organisation European Research Council (ERC) 
Sector Public
Country Belgium
Start 08/2021 
End 04/2023
 
Description Lifecycle performance monitoring of bridges using digital twins
Amount ₩450,000,000 (KRW)
Organisation Chung-Ang University 
Sector Academic/University
Country Korea, Republic of
Start 01/2021 
End 12/2023
 
Description Managing Air for Green Inner Cities (MAGIC) - YJ
Amount £4,000,000 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/N010221/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2016 
 
Description Novel applications of structural equation models for car ownership and travel choice forecasting (PI) - YJ
Amount £25,000 (GBP)
Organisation Department of Transport 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2016 
 
Description Performance of polymer support fluids for piling and diaphragm walls
Amount £27,800 (GBP)
Funding ID 2109009 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2018 
End 09/2022
 
Description Poverty in Chinese Cities: application of new data analytics (PI) YJ
Amount £126,000 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2016 
 
Description Research Hub for Decarbonised Adaptable and Resilient Transport Infrastructures (DARe)
Amount £10,568,485 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/Y024257/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 08/2023 
End 03/2027
 
Description Revolutionising Operational Safety and Economy for High-value Infrastructure using Population-based SHM (ROSEHIPS)
Amount £6,326,800 (GBP)
Funding ID EP/W005816/1 
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 05/2022 
End 05/2027
 
Description Small Partnership Awards - RC
Amount £20,000 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 09/2016 
 
Description Smart Urban Design - XJ
Amount £150,000 (GBP)
Organisation Global University Alliance 
Sector Academic/University
Start 11/2016 
 
Description Spatial economic data analyses for Greater Cambridge-Greater Peterborough (GCGP) Enterprise Partnership Strategic Economic Plan (research lead) - YJ
Amount £120,000 (GBP)
Organisation Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 11/2016 
 
Description Staffordshire Bridge Long Term Monitoring
Amount £399,914 (GBP)
Organisation Digital Built Britain 
Sector Private
Country United Kingdom
Start 01/2020 
End 07/2022
 
Description Towards A Flexible, Sustainable Urban Energy System
Amount £199,957 (GBP)
Organisation Alan Turing Institute 
Sector Academic/University
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2021 
End 09/2022
 
Title Advanced soil models to be incorporated into commercially available software Extended Saniclay model in Abaqus - Samila Bandara 
Description Advanced soil models to be incorporated into commercially available software Extended Saniclay model in Abaqus 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Advanced soil models to be incorporated into commercially available software Extended Saniclay model in Abaqus 
 
Title BIM Maturity Assessment Tool 
Description CSIC's BIM Maturity Assessment Tool (BMAT), initially developed in 2017, uses established performance measurement practices, BIM literature, and other relevant standards, to build and expand on previous BIM assessment tools. Consisting of two major parts -measurement of the organisation's BIM development maturity and measurement of the supporting processes - the tool provides a separate assessment of the different stakeholders (contractor, designer and employer), and is designed to be used as a continuous performance measurement tool that can be employed to track the evolution of BIM maturity throughout the construction phase through to handover. The Excel-based tool is designed to be user friendly and adaptable to the needs of individual organisations and projects. Limited testing of the tool was successful but more case studies were needed for validation. Secondment project - BIM Maturity Assessment Tool - This aim of the secondment project was to ensure the tool complies with all of the applicable standards, to validate the tool through five additional cross-sector case studies and to ensure its appropriateness for Level 2 BIM maturity assessments. Also, the tool required future-proofing for extension beyond Level 2. In order to develop the tool and make it effective and useful to industry, diverse case studies were identified from a range of sectors (water, railways, highways, and nuclear) and various stages in the project delivery cycle (design, construction and handover) as well as different contract types (e.g. traditional, and, design and build). The updated tool is structured to ask the right questions of the user depending on the stage of the Information Delivery Cycle (IDC) and which stakeholders are involved. The tool is designed to reveal how well the asset owner has defined the asset information requirements and how well the different project stakeholders have defined their approach to develop these requirements for both the BIM Execution Plan (BEP) and the Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP). The tool enables clarity on who owns the data, who owns the common data environment, and who will take responsibility for the Asset Information Model (AIM) upon handover. Questions are asked about competency and information production, which standards have been applied, how to measure the quality of data used, and how the different stakeholders collaborate. The tool is designed to be extended further. Plans include testing additional case studies and improving the weighting system and interdependencies between the various BIM elements, as well as the development of a web-based version which will enable widely processing and disseminating maturity assessment results across the country. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact CSIC's BIM Maturity Assessment Tool (BMAT), initially developed in 2017, uses established performance measurement practices, BIM literature, and other relevant standards, to build and expand on previous BIM assessment tools. Consisting of two major parts -measurement of the organisation's BIM development maturity and measurement of the supporting processes - the tool provides a separate assessment of the different stakeholders (contractor, designer and employer), and is designed to be used as a continuous performance measurement tool that can be employed to track the evolution of BIM maturity throughout the construction phase through to handover. The Excel-based tool is designed to be user friendly and adaptable to the needs of individual organisations and projects. Limited testing of the tool was successful but more case studies were needed for validation. 
 
Title Digital Cities for Change (DC2) Competency Framework. 
Description The DC2 Competency Framework is a research tool that outlines the key competencies to lead digital innovation and public value creation through responsible digitalisation in the urban built environment. The DC2 Competency Framework is composed of a Digital Innovation Process (DIP) model and its delivery structure to allow city managers and built environment professionals to use the framework. The DIP model provides a process perspective on digital innovation in the urban context, consisting of three process stages (plan, test, and embed) and a supporting environment (enable). The delivery structure enables city managers and built environment professionals to use the DIP model. The delivery structure is based on the definition and interrelationship among tasks, competencies, and roles. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2023 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact The DC2 Competency Framework is envisioned to impact the successful delivery of 'smart city' initiatives that create public value. The framework has gained strong commendations from both practitioners (e.g. individuals from the public sector and private organisations) and scholars. The development of the framework has not only facilitated key collaborations with practitioners in the UK but has also laid the groundwork for research partnerships with international bodies and scholars. Additionally, the framework has underpinned the development of educational outcomes for the Leadership of Urban Innovation for Public Value (LeadUP) course at the University of Cambridge. 
URL https://doi.org/10.1049/smc2.12063
 
Title Finite Element Method (FEM) 
Description Professor Mark Girolami, Sir Kirby Laing Professor of Civil Engineering and Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair at the University of Cambridge, Director of the Data-centric Engineering Programme at The Alan Turing Institute and academic lead for CSIC and CDBB, has been heading up an international consortium whose collaborative research is now published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The research paper provides a statistical redefinition of the well-known Finite Element Method (FEM), which has been used as a computational predictive tool in the engineering and physical sciences for more than 70 years. Recent advances in data acquisition technologies suggested the need to Professor Girolami and his team to reconsider the FEM from a statistical perspective, and this resulted in a new FEM which is a combination of both data and mathematical models that enhances predictions in engineering and scientific applications in an extremely powerful way."By accepting that our mathematical descriptions of complex systems can be wrong, or at best misspecified, we were able to redefine the theoretical foundations of the FEM to one that is essentially statistical. This then provided for the first time a very natural way to systematically use the FEM to blend data and mathematical models in a really powerful manner," said Professor Girolami. While the research published in PNAS demonstrates the method in the context of internal ocean waves (solitons), which regularly occur on Australia's North West Shelf and are a threat to offshore structures such as wind turbines, it has potential to transform most areas of the sciences and engineering. "These waves have a significant impact on the engineering design, safety and operations of the offshore energy industry, and improved methods of prediction provides significant benefit," said Connor Duffin, PhD student from the University of Western Australia School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing and lead author on the paper. Professor Girolami pointed out the implications of the research for advancement of Digital Twins: "The idea of Digital Twins - the pairing of the physical and digital world - is of significant current interest to the broader engineering community. By systematically integrating data with FEMs, this new work provides the much-needed theoretical foundations, methodology and practical algorithms by which these Digital Twins can be realised. "It also serves as an ideal springboard into the forthcoming ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for Transforming Energy Infrastructure through Digital Engineering, hosted at UWA and directed by Shell Professor Phil Watson, with which CSIC and The Alan Turing Institute is very excited to collaborate." Researchers involved in the project include Connor Duffin, Edward Cripps, Thomas Stemler from The University of Western Australia, and Mark Girolami from the University of Cambridge and The Alan Turing Institute. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Science and engineering have benefited greatly from the ability of finite element methods (FEMs) to simulate nonlinear, time-dependent complex systems. The recent advent of extensive data collection from such complex systems now raises the question of how to systematically incorporate these data into finite element models, consistently updating the solution in the face of mathematical model misspecification with physical reality. This article describes general and widely applicable methodology for the coherent synthesis of data with FEM models, providing a data-driven probability distribution that captures all sources of uncertainty in the pairing of FEM with measurements. 
URL https://www.pnas.org/content/118/2/e2015006118
 
Title Foundation anomaly detection with thermal integrity testing 
Description An anomaly detection system for cast in-situ piles has developed in CSIC. The system employed a new integrity test, Thermal Integrity Profiling (TIP), to measure temperature changes and thermal profiles of concrete during curing. Heat generation and dissipation of early-age concrete is determined by the concrete mix, the ground conditions and the shape of the concrete structure. Any existing defects inside the concrete body will appear local temperature variations when compared to the expected heat generated during curing. The devised anomaly detection system combines early-age temperature monitoring data with finite element (FE) back-analyses and utilize the heat of hydration and heat transfer theory. The FE model can be customised for different pile designs and ground conditions. The predicted temperature profile from the numerical model of an as-designed pile is then compared to the field test temperature data. Any temperature discrepancies indicate potential anomalies of the pile structure. To quantitively evaluate the pile quality, the system then follows an investigative staged process to establish and assess anomalies in the problematic regions along the pile employing the combined use of FE simulations and generic evolution algorithms. These algorithms will be used to calibrate the cement hydration model and minimise the temperature discrepancies mentioned above. At each stage, more details can be revealed about the anomalies being investigated including, crucially, location, size and shape. This staged process enables practitioners to follow a risk-based approach and decide whether or not to pursue subsequent stages of construction depending on the results they get at the end of each stage. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Through the collaboration with our industry partners, the method has already been implemented in the field. The field test results have shown this system can successfully detect anomalies of less than 10% cross-section area. The team will continue working with industrial partners on more field trials to verify the detectability in different field conditions. Researchers expect that this thermal integrity approach could potentially become a standard quality control approach in the industry within a few years. In the meantime, we have secured some additional funding from our industry partners to support us on further developing this research tool. 
 
Title Monitoring axial shortening 
Description CSIC has developed a novel application of distributed fibre optic sensors (DFOS) to continuously measure the progressive axial shortening of reinforced concrete columns and walls during the construction of high-rise buildings. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact The data acquired to date provide the shortening time histories of the instrumented elements with unprecedented detail and at an unprecedented temporal density. This information has been used to demonstrate how an element's shortening is affected by its profile and stiffness, with smaller and less stiff elements shortening more. The continuous data also show that transient thermal effects can play a significant role in axial shortening, at times accounting for as much as 50 per cent of the total deformation. This is particularly significant as shortening predictions prior to construction do not take into account such thermal effects. CSIC's FO monitoring system also makes it possible to observe the effects of occasional and unexpected events - such as an incident of abrupt loading - which could not be observed with periodic or occasional measurements. 
 
Title Predictive Maintenance Model 
Description CSIC researchers have developed a methodology to help asset managers to determine the most optimal timing for interventions on their bridge portfolio in a predictive manner. As maintenance budgets for bridge systems are squeezed, many necessary maintenance activities are delayed or cancelled. Retaining an appropriate level of service and safety for an infrastructure network has become a challenging issue and there is pressing need for a smart asset management approach for road bridges. The structure of the overall approach is composed of five interconnected models: deterioration model; lifecycle cost model; predictive maintenance; group maintenance; and maintenance scheduling model (Figure 2). The deterioration model is formulated for each component of the bridges based on the information from the Structures Asset Management Planning Toolkit, general inspection, and other theoretical models. The predictability of the maintenance model enables proactive grouping of maintenance activities at different timings to reduce add-on costs such as the cost of preliminaries, traffic management and design. These add-on costs can be up to 80 per cent of the cost of repairs that are carried out at the same time. Finally, a designed to be meaningful and supports asset management planning and business case development for the asset owner, as well as the interface between the Structures Asset Management Toolkit and asset management systems to allow asset data input to be automated. The tool is designed to be used for any type of bridge from footbridges to motorway bridges. It has been tested and demonstrated using real industry data and dependencies and, constraints have been tested to enable scenario planning. To develop the CISC toolkit, data including deterioration rates and maintenance costs were extracted from the 2015 update of the Structures Asset Management Toolkit Documentation published by the Department for Transport. This data is different from the current version of the DfT Strcutures Asset Management Toolkit released in 2017. Therefore, it is difficult to compare the CSIC toolkit results against the DfT toolkit. The latest data are required in order to secure more accurate results and also validate the outcome of the CSIC toolkit. The available tools in the market have a time-dependent strategy based on experience. The CSIC tool is the first to provide a strategy based on data using a mathematical model to reduce the maintenance costs and improve the safety of bridges at the same time; the CSIC tool introduces a cost and safety dependent maintenance strategy. The tool can be used for a wide range of applications within the infrastructure sector. The next step is to make the tool adaptable for different types of assets such as tunnels, retaining walls, and earthworks. Our secondment programme offers benefits to all stakeholders. Secondees bring new skills, projects and challenges to CSIC that help to develop emerging tools and technologies for industry use. The secondees gain a deep understanding of innovations which they can apply for the direct benefit of their own companies/organisations. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact CSIC researchers have developed a methodology to help asset managers to determine the most optimal timing for interventions on their bridge portfolio in a predictive manner. As maintenance budgets for bridge systems are squeezed, many necessary maintenance activities are delayed or cancelled. Retaining an appropriate level of service and safety for an infrastructure network has become a challenging issue and there is pressing need for a smart asset management approach for road bridges. The structure of the overall approach is composed of five interconnected models: deterioration model; lifecycle cost model; predictive maintenance; group maintenance; and maintenance scheduling model (Figure 2). The deterioration model is formulated for each component of the bridges based on the information from the Structures Asset Management Planning Toolkit, general inspection, and other theoretical models. The predictability of the maintenance model enables proactive grouping of maintenance activities at different timings to reduce add-on costs such as the cost of preliminaries, traffic management and design. These add-on costs can be up to 80 per cent of the cost of repairs that are carried out at the same time. Finally, a designed to be meaningful and supports asset management planning and business case development for the asset owner, as well as the interface between the Structures Asset Management Toolkit and asset management systems to allow asset data input to be automated. The tool is designed to be used for any type of bridge from footbridges to motorway bridges. It has been tested and demonstrated using real industry data and dependencies and, constraints have been tested to enable scenario planning. 
 
Title Thermal Integrity Testing Anomaly Detection System 
Description This system uses fibre optic sensors to detect anomalies in cast-in-situ piles by measuring temperature changes and thermal profiles of concrete during curing. The method combines temperature monitoring data with finite element (FE) back-analyses, leveraging heat of hydration and heat transfer theory to identify potential anomalies. 
Type Of Material Improvements to research infrastructure 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Year of Publication/Availability: Sun, Q., & Elshafie, M. Z. (2024). Pile Integrity Assessment through a Staged Data Interpretation Framework. In Data Driven Methods for Civil Structural Health Monitoring and Resilience (pp. 98-119). CRC Press. Sun, Q., Elshafie, M. Z., Xu, X., & Schooling, J. (2023). Pile defect assessment using distributed temperature sensing: fundamental questions examined. Structural Health Monitoring, 14759217231189426. Sun, Q., Elshafie, M. Z., Barker, C., Fisher, A., Schooling, J., & Rui, Y. (2022). Integrity monitoring of cast in-situ piles using thermal approach: A field case study. Engineering Structures, 272, 114586. Notable impacts: The method has been successfully implemented in the field, detecting anomalies of less than 10% cross-sectional area. It is expected to potentially become a standard quality control approach in the construction industry. In addition, there is a significant collaboration between the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC), Arup, and Cementation Skanska. This partnership has led to the successful field application of the above mentioned research tool for detecting anomalies in foundation piles, with the potential to improve quality control and efficiency in construction projects. 
 
Title A vibration-based bridge scour monitoring technique 
Description Historically, the most common cause of bridge failure has been "scour" - the gradual erosion of soil around bridge foundations due to rapid water flow. A reliable technique to monitor scour could potentially guide timely repair and, in turn, mitigate the risk of future scour-induced bridge failure. Currently, there are various, mostly underwater, techniques employed by bridge managers to monitor scour, ranging from diving inspections to autonomous underwater vehicles; however, none have gained wide acceptance. A particular disadvantage of underwater monitoring techniques is that the equipment underwater is relatively difficult to install and prone to damage from fast-flowing water and debris. One possible solution might be to use a vibration-based method to monitor scour indirectly, using changes in dynamic modal parameters (e.g. the natural frequency of vibration) captured by sensors mounted on the bridge deck or piers above the water level. There has been extensive research into the use of vibration-based monitoring methods to identify other causes of failure, such as cracking and deterioration in bridge superstructures; however, this has proven to be ineffective in practice, as the expected sensitivities in modal parameters were only single-digit percentages and therefore insufficient to overcome environmental/operational sensitivity. In contrast to superstructure damage, scour is a special damage case, which changes a boundary condition of the bridge in the form of an increase in effective pier height as a result of the lowering of the ground level and therefore, significant changes in modal parameters can be expected. Recently, this concept has been studied primarily using numerical modelling simulations of a hypothetical integral bridge with piled foundations. Only one modal parameter - natural frequency - was investigated in most of these studies and it was predicted to change by up to double-digit percentages due to scour. Although such a high change could potentially overcome environmental and operational sensitivities, a critical problem is that this has been difficult to observe in practice with experiments on either real field bridges or small-scale soil-structure models. Another problem is that there is little knowledge of the applicability of this technique to different types of bridges and forms of scour. This research proposes a vibration-based technique based on a combination of three vibration parameters (spectral density, mode shape and natural frequency), which were studied using first-of-a-kind experiments and numerical modelling simulations on various types of bridges and forms of scour. A field trial was carried out on a bridge with pre-existing scour, which was monitored for ambient vibrations throughout a repair process involving controlled scour backfilling, i.e., "scour in reverse". The effect of this scour backfilling was captured by measuring changes in two of these parameters, mode shape and spectral density, derived from the ambient vibrations. The mode shapes, in particular, showed the potential to localise the presence of scour to a specific pier. The most commonly measured vibration parameter of natural frequency was also observed from ambient vibrations, but this did not capture the effects of backfilling due to high measurement uncertainties. In order to study all three of these vibration parameters in a controlled environment, a centrifuge model testing programme was developed. These tests considered small-scale models representing three full-scale bridges with different bridge deck and foundation configurations (i.e. integral/ simply supported decks and shallow/deep foundations) and two forms of scour (i.e. local/global). The observed results of these small-scale centrifuge models were used to calibrate numerical models of full-scale bridges representative of these centrifuge models. Numerical simulation techniques were also developed to simulate the experimentally observed effects of local and global scour. These centrifuge experiments and the associated numerical modelling found that vibration-based methods have broad applicability for bridges, although only some parameters showed sufficient sensitivity to be viable as a monitoring technique in certain types of bridges. For example, the centrifuge bridge models with a shallow foundation did not show a significant change in natural frequency or mode shapes, but they did show a significant change in modal spectral density. This research therefore concludes that a vibration-based scour monitoring technique, examining the combined effect of natural frequency, mode shape and spectral density parameters, has significant potential to measure and even localise the change of scour depths at bridge foundations. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2020 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Conference paper: Kariyawasam, K.K.G.K.D., Fidler, P.R.A., Talbot, J.P. and Middleton, C.R. (2019). Field deployment of an ambient vibration-based scour monitoring system at Baildon Bridge, UK, Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction 2019 (ICSIC): Driving data-informed decision-making, 8-10 July 2019, Cambridge, UK. (DeJong, M.J., Schooling, J.M., Viggiana, G.M.B. eds.) ICE Publishing, London. pp. 711-719. ISBN: 978-0-7277-6466-9. doi:10.1680/icsic.64669.711 
URL https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/311753
 
Title Augmenting an existing railway bridge monitoring system with additional sensors to create a bridge weigh-in-motion system and digital twin 
Description Infrastructure asset managers have limited maintenance budgets and require qualitive data on the performance and utilization of their assets in order to prioritize preventative maintenance. A project investigating the potential for using digital twins for infrastructure asset management provided an opportunity to augment an already extensive fiber-optic strain-based bridge structural health monitoring system with additional sensors measuring both deck rotation and axle positions. Data from the new and existing sensors is fed to a database in near real time. In addition to a simple web-based visualization (dashboard), the data from the system can be utilized by a number of different analytical back-ends which together form a Digital Twin of the bridge. The first of these back-ends provides a bridge weigh-in-motion system, but other back ends are possible including statistical finite element analysis models or Bayesian or computer vision-based train categorization systems. This paper details the design and implementation of the augmented system including the additional hardware and software required. Constrains included the requirement to install the new sensors and cabling quickly during a time-limited overnight possession of the bridge. Challenges included the need to correctly timestamp the incoming data from the various separate sensor systems so that the results obtained could be compared and combined correctly. This paper includes some preliminary data demonstrating that the newly augmented system is capable of providing useful data to the asset owner. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact TBC 
URL https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/339327
 
Title CSIC Fibre-Optics Data Analysis Dashboard 
Description The construction and infrastructure industries grapple with huge volumes of data (big data), when attempting to monitor the structural health of their infrastructure. CSIC is producing a Fibre-Optics Data Analysis Dashboard to assist the industries in quickly and efficiently assessing huge volumes of data for the key message. 
Type Of Material Data analysis technique 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact The CSIC FODA Dashboard is still in the Research and Development phase, with CSIC's Industry Partners providing vital sites and data, as well as industry feedback as the dashboard develops. 
 
Title Data collected strain and temperature sensors on Chebsey Bridge, Staffordshire from November 2021 
Description Chebsey Bridge in Staffordshire was instrumented with FBG strain and Temperature sensors during construction in 2015. A permanent power supply allowing 24/7 data collection was added in 2021. The dataset consists of strain and temperature data from a subset of the FBG strain and temperature sensors taken during the passage of trains over the bridge. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Work in progress / Research data 
 
Title Data collected strain, accelerometer, range finder and temperature sensors on Norton Bridge, Staffordshire from November 2021 
Description Norton Bridge in Staffordshire was instrumented with FBG strain and Temperature sensors during construction in 2015. A permanent power supply allowing 24/7 data collection was added in 2021. Accelerometer and laser range finder sensors were also added in 2021. The dataset consists of strain and temperature data from a subset of the FBG strain and temperature sensors, 3-axis acceleration data from four QMEMS accelerometers and wheel present/absent indications from four laser rangefinder sensors - taken during the passage of trains over the bridge. There is additionally 24/7 data from a separate temperature/humidity sensor situated close to the bridge. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Work in progress / Research data 
 
Title Data supporting "Assessment of bridge natural frequency as an indicator of scour using centrifuge modelling" 
Description This dataset contains the Matlab files, raw data files and other spreadsheets related to the centrifuge experimental programme conducted to study the vibration-based scour monitoring technique. Please see the ReadMe file for more detailed information. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Research data 
URL https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/322395
 
Title Data supporting "Augmenting an existing railway bridge monitoring system with additional sensors to create a bridge weigh-in-motion system and digital twin" 
Description Data used to create plots and charts in the associated conference paper. The data consists of accelerometer data, raw fibre-optic strain sensor readings and axle position data of a train crossing an instrumented bridge. Please see readme document for further details 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2022 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact TBC 
URL https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/339254
 
Title Data supporting 'Long-term monitoring of the Humber Bridge Hessle Anchorage Chamber' 
Description This dataset contains data recorded by a wireless sensor network installed in the Hessle Anchorage or the Humber Bridge. The sensors recorded temperature and relative humidity from mid-2007 to end-2019. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2020 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Paper : 'Long-term monitoring of the Humber Bridge Hessle Anchorage Chamber' 
URL https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/315377
 
Title Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge - QL 
Description Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models. A point cloud model for west Cambridge site and a point cloud model for IfM building. 
Type Of Material Computer model/algorithm 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Basis for further work 
 
Title Norton Bridge (IB5) - Two large datasets from two Staffordshire Bridges (update) 
Description Norton Bridge (IB5) has recorded over 55,461 train crossings as of March 2024. Each of these crossings has strain data from over 200 FBG strain and/or temperature gauges, 4 accelerometers, and in some cases axle detection of trains entering and leaving the bridge. In some cases we have video of the trains too (mainly during the daytime.) IB5 is a steel 27 m steel bridge with an insitu concrete deck. The sensing data is processed in near real time to implement a Bridge Weigh-In-Motion system. Chebsey bridge (UB11) only has FBG strain and temperature sensors. It has recorded over 37,665 train crossings. It doesn't (yet) have any real time processing. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2021 
Provided To Others? No  
Impact Paper presented by Paul Fidler at SHMII-11 in Montreal in August 2022: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/339327 Data supporting paper: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/339254 (This is just a subset of the IB5 dataset. Just enough to replicate the graphs shown in the paper.) Farhad Huseynov also presented a paper (virtually) at SHMII-11: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93865 Another paper https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ymssp.2023.110738 data supporting the paper is available at: https:// https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93877 (Part of the Norton Bridge/IB5 dataset - just enough to recreate the graphs in the paper). 
URL https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.93877
 
Title Principal Tower axial shortening L0-16: Research data supporting "Monitoring the axial displacement of a high-rise building under construction using embedded distributed fibre optic sensors" 
Description Axial displacement of columns C8 and C9 and walls W1 and W2 at Principal Tower (London, UK) measured between mid-October 2016 and end March 2017 from levels 0 to 16. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Principal Tower column axial shortening L0-4 
Description Axial displacement of columns C8 and C9 at Principal Tower (London, UK) measured between mid-October and mid-December 2016 from levels 0 to 4. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Research data supporting "Dynamic response of a damaged masonry rail viaduct: Measurement and interpretation" 
Description Dataset includes fibre-optic data and photogrammetry data collected at Marsh Lane Viaduct in Leeds, UK. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Research data supporting "Elastoplastic solutions to predict tunnelling-induced load redistribution and deformation of surface structures" 
Description Dataset of the performed analyses 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2019 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Research data supporting "Evaluation of the response of a vaulted masonry structure to differential settlements using point cloud data and limit analyses" 
Description Raw data, processing algorithms and paper figure data 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Research data supporting "Sensing dynamic displacements in masonry rail bridges using 2D digital image correlation" 
Description Key figures (in MATLAB .fig format) from the publication "Sensing dynamic displacements in masonry rail bridges using 2D digital image correlation". 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2018 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Title Research data supporting "Wireless sensor monitoring of Paddington Station Box Corner" 
Description This data consists of displacement and inclination sensor data from an excavation at a construction site at Paddington, London between 17/02/2014 and 17/08/2014 and transmitted using a wireless sensor network. Accompanying this data is a location of each of the sensors within the construction site. A portion of this data has been used to generate the figures presented in the paper "Wireless sensor monitoring of Paddington Station Box Corner". 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2016 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact Research data 
URL https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/254928
 
Title Research data supporting the publication: Alexakis H, Lau FD-H, DeJong MJ (2020) "Fibre Optic Sensing of Ageing Railway Infrastructure enhanced with Statistical Shape Analysis", Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring. DOI: 10.1007/s13349-020... 
Description Title: Research data supporting the publication: Alexakis H, Lau FD-H, DeJong MJ (2020) "Fibre Optic Sensing of Ageing Railway Infrastructure enhanced with Statistical Shape Analysis", Journal of Civil Structural Health Monitoring. DOI: 10.1007/s13349-020-00437-w Creator: Haris Alexakis, September 2020 Affiliation: Aston University and Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction, University of Cambridge, UK Data were generated for the project "Data-centric Bridge Assessment - The Marsh Lane Bridge." PI: Prof. Matthew DeJong, University of California, Berkeley. Co-funded by The Alan Turing Institute and Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction. Data have been collected with a 4-channel sm130 Optical Sensing Interrogator of Micron Optics, Inc., permanently installed in the bridge, as described in the paper. Type of files: Microsoft Excel Comma Separated Values File (.csv) File name description (Location - Sampling rate - Timestamp) - Characters 1-9: location of site (e.g. 'MarshLane') - Characters 10-13: Sampling rate (e.g. '1000' Hz) - Characters 15-18: Year - Characters 19-20: Month - Characters 21-22: Day - Characters 23-24: Hours - Characters 25-26: Minutes - Characters 27-28: Seconds Each file contains 6 columns 1st column: Time (sec) 2nd column: Sensor 37NA3A4 (micro-strain) 3rd column: Sensor 37NA6A7 (micro-strain) 4th column: Sensor 38NA3A4 (micro-strain) 5th column: Sensor 38NA6A7 (micro-strain) 6th column: Ambient temperature (Celsius degrees) 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2020 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact unknown 
URL https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/310663
 
Title Research data supporting: Robust fibre optic sensor arrays for monitoring the early-age behaviour of mass-produced concrete sleepers 
Description Research data supporting the above noted publication. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2017 
Provided To Others? Yes  
 
Description 'Staffordshire Bridges - Long-Term Performance Monitoring using Fibre-Optic Sensors' (2021 on) aka 'Stafford Area Improvement Project Self-sensing Bridges' (2017) 
Organisation Network Rail Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We have instrumented two newly constructed bridges, built as part of the Stafford Area Improvement Project back in 2015/16, with fibre-optic strain sensors to use as a proof of concept and as a test bed for demonstrating sensing technologies in the field. The installation has been augmented in subsequent years to include accelerometers, laser-based axle detectors and cameras to allow for the development of a bridge weigh-in-motion system.
Collaborator Contribution Network Rail have provided 24/7 power to the site (we estimate this to have cost them ~ £100,000.) They have also contributed £70,000 to the cost of the fibre-optic monitoring equipment used from 2017 onwards. They have provided site access to to install and maintain the additional sensors used for the bridge weigh-in-motion system development.
Impact Demonstration of practicality and feasibility of instrumenting two bridges of differing materials using fibre-optic sensors during construction. Development of 'Two self-sensing bridges' Development of a first-of-its-kind (maybe) bridge weigh-in-motion system and associated Digital Twin. Recent papers: Wang, S., Huseynov, F., Casero, M., OBrien, E.J., Fidler, P., McCrum, D.P. (2023) A novel bridge damage detection method based on the equivalent influence lines - Theoretical basis and field validation. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing 204 (2023) 110738. doi:10.1016/j.ymssp.2023.110738. Fidler, P.R.A., Huseynov, F., Bravo-Haro, M., Vilde, V., Schooling, J.M., Middleton, C.R. (2022). Augmenting an existing railway bridge monitoring system with additional sensors to create a bridge weigh-in-motion system and digital twin. Presented at SHMII-11: 11th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure August 8-12, 2022, Montreal, QC, Canada. doi:10.17863/cam.86738 (Accepted version). Huseynov, F., Fidler, P.R.A., Bravo-Haro, M., Vilde, V., Schooling, J.M., Middleton, C.R. (2022). Setting up a real-time train load monitoring system in the UK using Bridge Weigh-In Motion technology - A case study. Presented at SHMII-11: 11th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure August 8-12, 2022, Montreal, QC, Canada. doi:10.17863/CAM.93865 (Accepted version).
Start Year 2016
 
Description 5G trial at Port of Felixstowe 
Organisation Blue Mesh Solutions
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution CSIC Investigator, Ajith Parlikad, will take part in a new Government-funded test project to investigate and maximise the benefits of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. As part of a £28 million project to improve people's lives with the mobile network, the Port was chosen as one of nine pilots to test the potential of 5G in two forms; with the deployment of the Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise maintenance, and to enable CCTV transmission to remote-control the Port's 113 cranes. Working with Three UK, Blue Mesh Solutions, Ericsson and Siemens, the project will test the potential of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. The project aims to test how Britain can seize the full benefits of 5G and help British industries capitalise on the power of modern technology. It will explore two use cases: enabling remote-controlled cranes via the transmission of CCTV; and deploying Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise the predicative maintenance cycle of Felixstowe's 31 quayside and 82 yard cranes. Harnessing the speed, low-latency and high-capacity of 5G, the project will demonstrate the productivity and efficiency gains of such technology, whilst reducing unplanned outage. Dr Ajith Parlikad, head of the Asset Management research group at the IfM, said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity to explore how we can bring together the advances in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 5G, and advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to radically transform the way in which assets are managed and maintained in a complex industrial environment.'
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet known.
Start Year 2021
 
Description 5G trial at Port of Felixstowe 
Organisation Ericsson
Country Sweden 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution CSIC Investigator, Ajith Parlikad, will take part in a new Government-funded test project to investigate and maximise the benefits of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. As part of a £28 million project to improve people's lives with the mobile network, the Port was chosen as one of nine pilots to test the potential of 5G in two forms; with the deployment of the Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise maintenance, and to enable CCTV transmission to remote-control the Port's 113 cranes. Working with Three UK, Blue Mesh Solutions, Ericsson and Siemens, the project will test the potential of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. The project aims to test how Britain can seize the full benefits of 5G and help British industries capitalise on the power of modern technology. It will explore two use cases: enabling remote-controlled cranes via the transmission of CCTV; and deploying Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise the predicative maintenance cycle of Felixstowe's 31 quayside and 82 yard cranes. Harnessing the speed, low-latency and high-capacity of 5G, the project will demonstrate the productivity and efficiency gains of such technology, whilst reducing unplanned outage. Dr Ajith Parlikad, head of the Asset Management research group at the IfM, said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity to explore how we can bring together the advances in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 5G, and advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to radically transform the way in which assets are managed and maintained in a complex industrial environment.'
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet known.
Start Year 2021
 
Description 5G trial at Port of Felixstowe 
Organisation Siemens AG
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution CSIC Investigator, Ajith Parlikad, will take part in a new Government-funded test project to investigate and maximise the benefits of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. As part of a £28 million project to improve people's lives with the mobile network, the Port was chosen as one of nine pilots to test the potential of 5G in two forms; with the deployment of the Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise maintenance, and to enable CCTV transmission to remote-control the Port's 113 cranes. Working with Three UK, Blue Mesh Solutions, Ericsson and Siemens, the project will test the potential of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. The project aims to test how Britain can seize the full benefits of 5G and help British industries capitalise on the power of modern technology. It will explore two use cases: enabling remote-controlled cranes via the transmission of CCTV; and deploying Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise the predicative maintenance cycle of Felixstowe's 31 quayside and 82 yard cranes. Harnessing the speed, low-latency and high-capacity of 5G, the project will demonstrate the productivity and efficiency gains of such technology, whilst reducing unplanned outage. Dr Ajith Parlikad, head of the Asset Management research group at the IfM, said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity to explore how we can bring together the advances in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 5G, and advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to radically transform the way in which assets are managed and maintained in a complex industrial environment.'
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet known.
Start Year 2021
 
Description 5G trial at Port of Felixstowe 
Organisation Three UK
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution CSIC Investigator, Ajith Parlikad, will take part in a new Government-funded test project to investigate and maximise the benefits of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. As part of a £28 million project to improve people's lives with the mobile network, the Port was chosen as one of nine pilots to test the potential of 5G in two forms; with the deployment of the Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise maintenance, and to enable CCTV transmission to remote-control the Port's 113 cranes. Working with Three UK, Blue Mesh Solutions, Ericsson and Siemens, the project will test the potential of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. The project aims to test how Britain can seize the full benefits of 5G and help British industries capitalise on the power of modern technology. It will explore two use cases: enabling remote-controlled cranes via the transmission of CCTV; and deploying Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise the predicative maintenance cycle of Felixstowe's 31 quayside and 82 yard cranes. Harnessing the speed, low-latency and high-capacity of 5G, the project will demonstrate the productivity and efficiency gains of such technology, whilst reducing unplanned outage. Dr Ajith Parlikad, head of the Asset Management research group at the IfM, said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity to explore how we can bring together the advances in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 5G, and advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to radically transform the way in which assets are managed and maintained in a complex industrial environment.'
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet known.
Start Year 2021
 
Description 5G trial at Port of Felixstowe 
Organisation UK Government Investments
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution CSIC Investigator, Ajith Parlikad, will take part in a new Government-funded test project to investigate and maximise the benefits of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. As part of a £28 million project to improve people's lives with the mobile network, the Port was chosen as one of nine pilots to test the potential of 5G in two forms; with the deployment of the Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise maintenance, and to enable CCTV transmission to remote-control the Port's 113 cranes. Working with Three UK, Blue Mesh Solutions, Ericsson and Siemens, the project will test the potential of 5G at the Port of Felixstowe. The project aims to test how Britain can seize the full benefits of 5G and help British industries capitalise on the power of modern technology. It will explore two use cases: enabling remote-controlled cranes via the transmission of CCTV; and deploying Internet of Things sensors and artificial intelligence to optimise the predicative maintenance cycle of Felixstowe's 31 quayside and 82 yard cranes. Harnessing the speed, low-latency and high-capacity of 5G, the project will demonstrate the productivity and efficiency gains of such technology, whilst reducing unplanned outage. Dr Ajith Parlikad, head of the Asset Management research group at the IfM, said: 'This is a fantastic opportunity to explore how we can bring together the advances in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), 5G, and advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence to radically transform the way in which assets are managed and maintained in a complex industrial environment.'
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet known.
Start Year 2021
 
Description 8 Power 
Organisation 8 Power Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Translating technologies on energy harvesting and low-power sensors
Collaborator Contribution Translating technologies on energy harvesting and low-power sensors
Impact Translating technologies on energy harvesting and low-power sensors
Start Year 2016
 
Description 8 Power - PRAF 
Organisation 8 Power Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Innovate UK First-Of-A-Kind Project - Phase I (JMS, DRH, PRAF)
Collaborator Contribution Innovate UK First-Of-A-Kind Project - Phase I (JMS, DRH, PRAF)
Impact Innovate UK First-Of-A-Kind Project - Phase I (JMS, DRH, PRAF)
Start Year 2016
 
Description ARUP - MJD 
Organisation Arup Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Worked closely analysing monitoring data for masonry structures above the Crossrail tunnels
Collaborator Contribution Worked closely analysing monitoring data for masonry structures above the Crossrail tunnels
Impact Worked closely analysing monitoring data for masonry structures above the Crossrail tunnels
Start Year 2014
 
Description ARUP development of strategies and implementation of sensing in piles -JMS 
Organisation Arup Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution development of strategies and implementation of sensing in piles
Collaborator Contribution development of strategies and implementation of sensing in piles
Impact development of strategies and implementation of sensing in piles
Start Year 2016
 
Description Academic partner for: Guide to Tremie Concrete for Deep Foundations 
Organisation European Federation of Foundation Contractors
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Learned Society 
PI Contribution Attended multiple meetings in Europe to partake in academic discussions on the best practice for producing deep foundations.
Collaborator Contribution Multiple options for numerical models were discussed during the meetings and the development of the guide. The numerical method we use was discussed in detail but unfortunately was not ready in time for current version publication.
Impact Publication of wide-reaching best practice guide.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Achieving Net Zero Roundtable 
Organisation Arcadis NV
Country Netherlands 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution CSIC, COWI and Arcadis jointly hosting an Achieving Net Zero Roundtable Discussion. The infrastructure and construction industry must take action now if we are to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. Some organisations have already publicly stated their commitment to achieve this even before 2050. However, the majority of organisations, although accepting the need to take up this challenge, do not know where to start. What can we as an industry do now to move towards the net zero goal and what changes in policy are needed to enable industry to reach this goal? This cross-government and industry roundtable event, organised by CSIC, Arcadis, and COWI, will address three initial questions. 1) What design and site measures can be adopted to reduce waste and move towards achieving net zero? How can existing data and digital tools be exploited to achieve this? 2) Given the climate emergency and government commitment to net zero by 2050, what changes to their procurement documents and processes can public sector, regulated industry and private sector clients make immediately? 3) What further actions can government ask of asset owners and project clients under existing powers? An action plan for each question will be developed for both individual organisations and at a systemic level.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Collaboration still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Achieving Net Zero Roundtable 
Organisation COWI A/S
Country Denmark 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution CSIC, COWI and Arcadis jointly hosting an Achieving Net Zero Roundtable Discussion. The infrastructure and construction industry must take action now if we are to achieve net zero carbon by 2050. Some organisations have already publicly stated their commitment to achieve this even before 2050. However, the majority of organisations, although accepting the need to take up this challenge, do not know where to start. What can we as an industry do now to move towards the net zero goal and what changes in policy are needed to enable industry to reach this goal? This cross-government and industry roundtable event, organised by CSIC, Arcadis, and COWI, will address three initial questions. 1) What design and site measures can be adopted to reduce waste and move towards achieving net zero? How can existing data and digital tools be exploited to achieve this? 2) Given the climate emergency and government commitment to net zero by 2050, what changes to their procurement documents and processes can public sector, regulated industry and private sector clients make immediately? 3) What further actions can government ask of asset owners and project clients under existing powers? An action plan for each question will be developed for both individual organisations and at a systemic level.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Collaboration still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Acoustic Emission Sensing 
Organisation Department of Transport
Department Highways Agency
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution CSIC is working with industry partner Highways England and Kier Group to identify emerging sensing technologies and approaches for the structural assessment and deterioration detection of static highways assets. CSIC has been tasked with exploring the capabilities of acoustic emission (AE) sensing technology for the structural health monitoring of concrete bridges. The structural condition of motorway bridges is commonly monitored through periodic site inspections, which result in signi?cant cost and tra?c disruptions that may be hazardous to road users. Even if these inspections are enhanced by conventional crack monitoring or surveying methods, the underlying deterioration in critical structural members is hard to assess. A systems integration approach that brings together multi-sensing systems, ICT, computer vision technologies, cloud data management, statistics and big data analytics may o?er a better understanding of underlying deterioration and overall structural performance, enabling e?ective structural alert systems for asset management.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact CSIC aims to create a cloud-based data platform for asset management through the creation and integration of numerous digital twins modelling infrastructure networks. Data curation, management, and sharing strategies play a vital role in preparing to meet this long-term vision. Real-time monitoring data from di?erent assets can be analysed and shared through well-de?ned and agreed protocols to make integrated and sustainable asset management practices possible. Interoperability, systems-of-systems perspective and sustainable decision-making would be the core of this platform. Securely sharing the appropriate information with the di?erent stakeholders enables overall digital twin integration, management and monitoring which would change the future of smart infrastructure management. The ?ndings and rich information that will be collected throughout the Highways England Systems Integration for Resilient Infrastructure project and the proposed cloud-based data platform may contribute towards the National Digital Twin programme. The Centre for Digital Built Britain's National Digital Twin programme aims to steer the successful development and adoption of the information management framework for the built environment, and to create an ecosystem of connected digital twins - which opens the opportunity to release value for society, the economy, business and the environment. CSIC's collaborative project with Highways England has potential to become one of many digital twins that would bene?t stakeholders from e?ective information management through cloud- based data platforms which will enable interoperability and data sharing between di?erent assets.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Acoustic Emission Sensing 
Organisation Mistras Group Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution CSIC is working with industry partner Highways England and Kier Group to identify emerging sensing technologies and approaches for the structural assessment and deterioration detection of static highways assets. CSIC has been tasked with exploring the capabilities of acoustic emission (AE) sensing technology for the structural health monitoring of concrete bridges. The structural condition of motorway bridges is commonly monitored through periodic site inspections, which result in signi?cant cost and tra?c disruptions that may be hazardous to road users. Even if these inspections are enhanced by conventional crack monitoring or surveying methods, the underlying deterioration in critical structural members is hard to assess. A systems integration approach that brings together multi-sensing systems, ICT, computer vision technologies, cloud data management, statistics and big data analytics may o?er a better understanding of underlying deterioration and overall structural performance, enabling e?ective structural alert systems for asset management.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact CSIC aims to create a cloud-based data platform for asset management through the creation and integration of numerous digital twins modelling infrastructure networks. Data curation, management, and sharing strategies play a vital role in preparing to meet this long-term vision. Real-time monitoring data from di?erent assets can be analysed and shared through well-de?ned and agreed protocols to make integrated and sustainable asset management practices possible. Interoperability, systems-of-systems perspective and sustainable decision-making would be the core of this platform. Securely sharing the appropriate information with the di?erent stakeholders enables overall digital twin integration, management and monitoring which would change the future of smart infrastructure management. The ?ndings and rich information that will be collected throughout the Highways England Systems Integration for Resilient Infrastructure project and the proposed cloud-based data platform may contribute towards the National Digital Twin programme. The Centre for Digital Built Britain's National Digital Twin programme aims to steer the successful development and adoption of the information management framework for the built environment, and to create an ecosystem of connected digital twins - which opens the opportunity to release value for society, the economy, business and the environment. CSIC's collaborative project with Highways England has potential to become one of many digital twins that would bene?t stakeholders from e?ective information management through cloud- based data platforms which will enable interoperability and data sharing between di?erent assets.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands - ES 
Organisation Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences
Country Netherlands 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Shadow EU-Summit: managing cities of tomorrow
Collaborator Contribution Shadow EU-Summit: managing cities of tomorrow
Impact Shadow EU-Summit: managing cities of tomorrow
Start Year 2016
 
Description Anglian Water - AKNP 
Organisation Anglian Water Services
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Asset Management
Collaborator Contribution Asset Management
Impact Asset Management
Start Year 2016
 
Description Anglian Water - PTK 
Organisation Anglian Water Services
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Newmarket Shopwindow
Collaborator Contribution Newmarket Shopwindow
Impact Newmarket Shopwindow
Start Year 2016
 
Description Anglian Water - PTK 
Organisation Anglian Water Services
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Grafham Water
Collaborator Contribution Grafham Water
Impact Grafham Water
Start Year 2015
 
Description Applications of New Techniques to the Detection and Monitoring of Bridge Scour 
Organisation WSP Group plc
Department WSP UK Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Cam Middleton and WSP working on secondment project 'Applications of New Techniques to the Detection and Monitoring of Bridge Scour'
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Collaboration is still active, output and outcomes not yet known.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Aquacleansing installation of FO sensors in sewer tunnels - JMS 
Organisation Aqua cleansing
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution installation of FO sensors in sewer tunnels
Collaborator Contribution installation of FO sensors in sewer tunnels
Impact installation of FO sensors in sewer tunnels
Start Year 2016
 
Description Arup 
Organisation Arup Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Development of strategies and implementation of sensing in piles.
Collaborator Contribution Development of strategies and implementation of sensing in piles.
Impact Development of strategies and implementation of sensing in piles.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Asset management - Zhenglin Liang 
Organisation Herefordshire Council
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Asset management
Collaborator Contribution Asset management
Impact Asset management
Start Year 2017
 
Description Asset management methodology to support organisational objectives 
Organisation Network Rail Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Organisations responsible for infrastructure assets must understand the importance that asset information has to achieving their organisational objectives. Despite the potential benefits of effective information management to optimise digital opportunity, many organisations still struggle to identify what information should be collected to support the efficient management of assets throughout their whole life. Asset-related information not collected in alignment to organisational requirements can restrict the performance of capital investment decisions, risk management and operational performance throughout the whole life of the asset and ultimately impact productivity. Standards such as the PAS 1192 series and ISO 19650 describe the approach that organisations should take to define their asset information requirements (AIR) and the asset information model (AIM). The AIR should be informed by the organisational information requirements (OIR), which in turn is defined based on organisation objectives. However, the standards do not prescribe how this should be achieved and what processes should be used. CSIC researchers have developed a top-down methodology that supports the development of AIR in relation to OIR and addresses the disconnect between the PAS/ISO BIM-related standards and asset management standard ISO 55000. The novel aspect of this approach is the development of Functional Information Requirements (FIR) to bridge the gap between the OIR and the AIR. This is achieved by identifying and understanding the 'functions' of the asset systems that help address or have an impact on the OIR, to then identify the assets that form each function.
Collaborator Contribution The methodology is currently being tested within industry as part of a CSIC secondment project with a member of the Asset Management Team from CSIC Industry Partner, Jacobs. The Asset Management Team is supporting Network Rail in delivering the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU) - a major railway enhancement to improve connectivity between York and Manchester. TRU involves upgrading existing assets and installation of new assets to deliver a railway that will leave a lasting legacy. Exploring the benefits, challenges and opportunities of the methodology for Network Rail facilitates the longer-term possibility for a digital twin of the TRU, which would require whole-life data collection and management from the starting point of the programme and throughout design, construction, operation and integration. A wide range of Network Rail strategic documents were collated to identify organisational objectives. In order to reduce time required to read large volumes of text, an algorithm-based tool using datamining techniques was developed to search the text and identify locations of organisational objectives. More than 60 objectives were sense checked and put into the following categories: operational; reputational; customer; financial; environmental; and health and safety. For the purpose of testing the methodology within the secondment timeframe of four months, one organisational objective was selected: improve customer satisfaction. The top-down methodology creates a two-way line of sight from organisational objectives to asset requirements with functional requirements located between the two. A sample of FIR and AIR aligned to the identified organisational objective was captured. This approach helped deconstruct siloed structures familiar to many organisations and enables a systems perspective. A seven-step process provides a rigorous methodology and holistic approach capturing interfaces between asset disciplines and types - see the framework opposite. The methodology clarifies why an organisation needs specific asset information, which ensures data collected has a clear purpose making it possible to optimise value. Being able to classify data is particularly helpful in the context of the UK government's commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 making the carbon cost of data a consideration. It also enables classification and curation of data throughout the whole life of the asset, making data accessible to any asset manager and operator. Establishing a'golden thread'of valued information offers insight, it enables better decision-making and safeguards an organisation against the consequences of bad decisions.
Impact A series of workshops were organised for a number of senior Network Rail representatives to explore the methodology, test the framework and identify its value in relation to the TRU Programme and Network Rail. To ensure the framework's user accessibility and avoid the necessity of referring to spreadsheets of information, CSIC and Jacobs developed a web app streamlining the three-layer framework process. The web app helped record information requirements during the workshop and was developed with a view to being used throughout Network Rail's TRU upgrade programme, and potentially be applied to future projects and programmes. Feedback about the framework from attendees was very positive and recognised the added value and business case to Network Rail from curating data for future use and whole-life operation. Network Rail recognised the potential value of applying an information management framework to support organisational objectives. Key benefits of the framework Benefits of applying this methodology include: • Identifying gaps in information capture • Establishing line of sight from asset information to organisational objectives • Providing holistic process capturing interfaces between asset disciplines/types • Allowing better decision-making to optimise performance and manage risk throughout the whole life of the asset. In addition, two applications have been created as part of the secondment project which can be used by all collaborating partners - Jacobs, Network Rail and CSIC - on future projects. Our infrastructure assets are required to give service over a long period of time and existing assets form the greatest part of the UK's total infrastructure; each year in this country we add just 0.5 per cent to the capital value of the assets we have inherited1 . Having a line of sight from asset information to organisational objectives enables an organisation to be agile if circumstances, such as extreme weather events and the consequences of climate change, require organisational objectives to change.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Atkins - LB 
Organisation WS Atkins
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Staffordshire Alliance Bridge Monitoring Project (EPSRC)
Collaborator Contribution Staffordshire Alliance Bridge Monitoring Project (EPSRC)
Impact Staffordshire Alliance Bridge Monitoring Project (EPSRC)
Start Year 2014
 
Description Atkins - PTK 
Organisation WS Atkins
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Staffordshire Alliance Bridges
Collaborator Contribution Staffordshire Alliance Bridges
Impact Staffordshire Alliance Bridges
Start Year 2015
 
Description Automating concrete construction: digital processes for whole-life sustainability and productivity 
Organisation University of Bath
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution CSIC Investigators are collaborating with colleagues from the Universities of Bath and Dundee to drive a new culture in the construction industry to improve whole-life sustainability and productivity. CSIC is a project partner and Director Dr Jennifer Schooling chairs the steering group. Automating Concrete Construction (ACORN) is one of four research and development projects funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund 'Transforming Construction'. The three-year project will address the core aims of the programme: designing and managing buildings through digitally enabled simulation and constructing quality buildings through offsite manufacturing approaches. ACORN aims to create a culture that takes a holistic approach to the manufacture, assembly, reuse and deconstruction of concrete buildings. This will lead to a healthier, safer built environment and a culture that is built on the concept of using enough material, and no more. The challenge Today, the widespread use of flat panel formwork for concrete leads to materially inefficient prismatic shapes for the beams, columns, and floor-slabs in buildings. This practice, which has been around since Roman times, is both architecturally constraining and a key driver behind the high embodied carbon emissions associated with concrete structures. As much as half of the concrete in a building could be saved, if only we approached the use of the material in a different way. Optimised concrete Concrete starts its life as a fluid and can therefore be used to form structures of almost any shape, given the right mould geometry. ACORN will capitalise on this material property to drive the minimisation of embodied carbon in new building structures. The team will create an end-to-end digital process to automate the manufacture of non-prismatic building elements, capitalising on the recent proliferation of affordable robotics and bring them into an industry ripe for a step-change in sustainability and productivity. Something as simple as allowing beams, columns and floor-slabs to have the shape they need to take load, rather than the shape they need to be easily formed, allows a complete rethink of the way material is used in buildings. Fabrication of concrete elements By moving the manufacture of structural concrete elements into a highly controlled factory environment, ACORN aims to ensure that buildings can become more sustainable and the construction industry more productive. Considerations such as the materials to be used, how reinforcement is placed efficiently, how to take into account whole-life value, and how to organise the design process to take advantage of the new possibilities of robotics, will all be considered within the sphere of the project. Demonstration building The key to transforming this conservative industry is to lead by example. One of the most exciting parts of the project, is the proposed construction of two bays of a full-size prototype office building, to be completed at the BRE Innovation Park in Watford. One bay will be left with an exposed structure to show the methods and techniques used in its manufacture, the other bay will be fitted-out as an office building, with roof, walls, façade and internal finishings, to show how the techniques translate into an architectural solution. The demonstration building will serve multiple purposes. On an academic level, it will contribute to the research agenda by acting as a living laboratory. Embedded sensors will collect and share useful live data about how the building is performing structurally, as well as what loads the different parts are carrying. The BRE Innovation Park is visited by 20,000 people annually and data will also be collected from those visitors in user surveys, to evaluate the new appearance. The building's eventual deconstruction will also be an opportunity to verify how the whole-life value drivers for automation perform in reality. Benefits The ACORN project is expected to produce a number of benefits. Reducing reliance on concrete will have a positive environmental effect - construction accounts for nearly half of the UK's carbon emissions and concrete alone for five per cent of global CO2 emissions. There is also huge cost-saving potential - ACORN's research has identified close to £4bn in cost savings for UK construction per annum, that would arise directly from better consideration of material use. Globally, a mere one per cent reduction in construction cost would save $100bn annually. ACORN's focus on automated manufacturing and digital processes to reduce both fabrication and build time are key parts in realising better value. The project will benefit from the contributions of 12 industry partners, including architects, engineers and building contractors, who will work alongside the ACORN team to ensure outputs will bring value to industry. The professions will also benefit with architects able to explore a new form of construction; engineers gaining insights into the real loads such structures have to carry during their lifetime; and contractors having the tools they need to increase quality control, productivity and fabrication time, while de-risking the construction site. ACORN is tackling the UK government's Construction 2025 targets head-on. By automating construction, moving it off-site, and developing a culture of using just enough material, and no more, the project will lower costs, reduce delivery times and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet known.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Automating concrete construction: digital processes for whole-life sustainability and productivity 
Organisation University of Dundee
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution CSIC Investigators are collaborating with colleagues from the Universities of Bath and Dundee to drive a new culture in the construction industry to improve whole-life sustainability and productivity. CSIC is a project partner and Director Dr Jennifer Schooling chairs the steering group. Automating Concrete Construction (ACORN) is one of four research and development projects funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund 'Transforming Construction'. The three-year project will address the core aims of the programme: designing and managing buildings through digitally enabled simulation and constructing quality buildings through offsite manufacturing approaches. ACORN aims to create a culture that takes a holistic approach to the manufacture, assembly, reuse and deconstruction of concrete buildings. This will lead to a healthier, safer built environment and a culture that is built on the concept of using enough material, and no more. The challenge Today, the widespread use of flat panel formwork for concrete leads to materially inefficient prismatic shapes for the beams, columns, and floor-slabs in buildings. This practice, which has been around since Roman times, is both architecturally constraining and a key driver behind the high embodied carbon emissions associated with concrete structures. As much as half of the concrete in a building could be saved, if only we approached the use of the material in a different way. Optimised concrete Concrete starts its life as a fluid and can therefore be used to form structures of almost any shape, given the right mould geometry. ACORN will capitalise on this material property to drive the minimisation of embodied carbon in new building structures. The team will create an end-to-end digital process to automate the manufacture of non-prismatic building elements, capitalising on the recent proliferation of affordable robotics and bring them into an industry ripe for a step-change in sustainability and productivity. Something as simple as allowing beams, columns and floor-slabs to have the shape they need to take load, rather than the shape they need to be easily formed, allows a complete rethink of the way material is used in buildings. Fabrication of concrete elements By moving the manufacture of structural concrete elements into a highly controlled factory environment, ACORN aims to ensure that buildings can become more sustainable and the construction industry more productive. Considerations such as the materials to be used, how reinforcement is placed efficiently, how to take into account whole-life value, and how to organise the design process to take advantage of the new possibilities of robotics, will all be considered within the sphere of the project. Demonstration building The key to transforming this conservative industry is to lead by example. One of the most exciting parts of the project, is the proposed construction of two bays of a full-size prototype office building, to be completed at the BRE Innovation Park in Watford. One bay will be left with an exposed structure to show the methods and techniques used in its manufacture, the other bay will be fitted-out as an office building, with roof, walls, façade and internal finishings, to show how the techniques translate into an architectural solution. The demonstration building will serve multiple purposes. On an academic level, it will contribute to the research agenda by acting as a living laboratory. Embedded sensors will collect and share useful live data about how the building is performing structurally, as well as what loads the different parts are carrying. The BRE Innovation Park is visited by 20,000 people annually and data will also be collected from those visitors in user surveys, to evaluate the new appearance. The building's eventual deconstruction will also be an opportunity to verify how the whole-life value drivers for automation perform in reality. Benefits The ACORN project is expected to produce a number of benefits. Reducing reliance on concrete will have a positive environmental effect - construction accounts for nearly half of the UK's carbon emissions and concrete alone for five per cent of global CO2 emissions. There is also huge cost-saving potential - ACORN's research has identified close to £4bn in cost savings for UK construction per annum, that would arise directly from better consideration of material use. Globally, a mere one per cent reduction in construction cost would save $100bn annually. ACORN's focus on automated manufacturing and digital processes to reduce both fabrication and build time are key parts in realising better value. The project will benefit from the contributions of 12 industry partners, including architects, engineers and building contractors, who will work alongside the ACORN team to ensure outputs will bring value to industry. The professions will also benefit with architects able to explore a new form of construction; engineers gaining insights into the real loads such structures have to carry during their lifetime; and contractors having the tools they need to increase quality control, productivity and fabrication time, while de-risking the construction site. ACORN is tackling the UK government's Construction 2025 targets head-on. By automating construction, moving it off-site, and developing a culture of using just enough material, and no more, the project will lower costs, reduce delivery times and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet known.
Start Year 2019
 
Description BAM Nuttall - Development of rockfall early warning system for rail PK 
Organisation BAM Nuttall
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Development of rockfall early warning system for rail
Collaborator Contribution Development of rockfall early warning system for rail
Impact Development of rockfall early warning system for rail
Start Year 2018
 
Description BP - AS 
Organisation BP (British Petroleum)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Improving reservoir management using MEMS sensors
Collaborator Contribution Improving reservoir management using MEMS sensors
Impact Improving reservoir management using MEMS sensors
Start Year 2010
 
Description Bechtel - PTK 
Organisation Bechtel Corporation
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution HS2 Excavation monitoring of heave
Collaborator Contribution HS2 Excavation monitoring of heave
Impact HS2 Excavation monitoring of heave
Start Year 2016
 
Description Beijing Information Sci & Techn University - DC 
Organisation Beijing Information Science & Technology University
Country China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution To supply low cost fibre analyser for field deployment
Collaborator Contribution To supply low cost fibre analyser for field deployment
Impact To supply low cost fibre analyser for field deployment
Start Year 2016
 
Description Beijing Information Science & Technology University - PK 
Organisation Beijing Information Science & Technology University
Country China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Development of mini-BISTU analyser
Collaborator Contribution Development of mini-BISTU analyser
Impact Development of mini-BISTU analyser
Start Year 2017
 
Description Bentley, Topcon, Redbite - QL 
Organisation Bentley Systems UK Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Collaborator Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Impact Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Start Year 2017
 
Description Bentley, Topcon, Redbite - QL 
Organisation RedBite Solutions
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Collaborator Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Impact Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Start Year 2017
 
Description Bentley, Topcon, Redbite - QL 
Organisation Topcon
Country Japan 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Collaborator Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Impact Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Start Year 2017
 
Description Berkeley University - NdB 
Organisation University of California, Berkeley
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Testing of trial piles
Collaborator Contribution Testing of trial piles
Impact Testing of trial piles
Start Year 2018
 
Description British Geological Survey - AB 
Organisation British Geological Survey
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Development of a 3D geological model of Greater London
Collaborator Contribution Development of a 3D geological model of Greater London
Impact Development of a 3D geological model of Greater London
Start Year 2017
 
Description British Geological Survey and University of California Berkeley 
Organisation British Geological Survey
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Co-published 2 journal articles and presented at 3 conferences. Large scale numerical modelling of shallow ground temperatures. Won a joint CMMI-NSF proposal with £450K per university partner
Collaborator Contribution BGS provided geological and hydro-geological models at urban scale and UC Berkeley helped with the finite element modelling
Impact New CMMI-EPSRC grant (EP/T019425/1) is a direct outcome of this collaboration.
Start Year 2018
 
Description British Geological Survey and University of California Berkeley 
Organisation University of California, Berkeley
Department Civil and Environmental Engineering
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Co-published 2 journal articles and presented at 3 conferences. Large scale numerical modelling of shallow ground temperatures. Won a joint CMMI-NSF proposal with £450K per university partner
Collaborator Contribution BGS provided geological and hydro-geological models at urban scale and UC Berkeley helped with the finite element modelling
Impact New CMMI-EPSRC grant (EP/T019425/1) is a direct outcome of this collaboration.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe - CK 
Organisation Brookfield
Department Multiplex Construction Europe ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Axial shortening monitoring of tall residential tower
Collaborator Contribution Axial shortening monitoring of tall residential tower
Impact Axial shortening monitoring of tall residential tower
Start Year 2016
 
Description Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd no August 2016 to February 2018 Axial shortening monitoring of tall residential tower - Cedric Kechavarzi 
Organisation Brookfield
Department Multiplex Construction Europe ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd no August 2016 to February 2018 Axial shortening monitoring of tall residential tower
Collaborator Contribution Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd no August 2016 to February 2018 Axial shortening monitoring of tall residential tower
Impact Brookfield Multiplex Construction Europe Ltd no August 2016 to February 2018 Axial shortening monitoring of tall residential tower
Start Year 2016
 
Description Buro Happold - AKNP 
Organisation BuroHappold Engineering
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Futureproofing
Collaborator Contribution Futureproofing
Impact Futureproofing
Start Year 2016
 
Description CENTRIFUGE MODELLING OF THE BEHAVIOUR OF STEEL SHEET PILE WALLS UNDER SEISMIC ACTIONS 
Organisation ArcelorMittal
Country Luxembourg 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Carried out experimental work to validate analytical and computational methods for the seismic design of tied back SSP walls in port facilities and to develop guidelines to be included in codes and regulations. In particular, developed equipment and carried out centrifuge tests to: (i) investigate the influence of different subsoil conditions and structural configurations on the seismic behaviour of SSP walls, (ii) identify the plastic mechanisms actually occurring in the soil-wall-anchor system, and the critical acceleration associated to each mechanism and (iii) provide benchmark data for validation of theoretical methods for computing the critical acceleration of the wall, based on limit analysis and/or limit equilibrium approaches, and numerical modelling.
Collaborator Contribution Provided background information on steel production and characterization, results from internal research project on numerical modelling of Seismic Behaviour of Anchored Steel Sheet Pile (A-SSP) Quay Walls, and on Effects of Steel Grade Properties on Seismic Resistance of Steel Sheet Piles. All related real projects documents and information (i.e.: tender documents, drawings, soil conditions )
Impact Caputo, G.V., Conti, R., Viggiani, G.M.B., Prüm, C. (2021) Improved Method for the Seismic Design of Anchored Steel Sheet Pile Walls. Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering, 147 (2), DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)GT.1943-5606.0002429 Morigi, M., Conti, R., Viggiani, G.M.B., Tamagnini, C. (2019) A numerical study on the seismic behaviour of cantilever embedded retaining walls in saturated sand. Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering for Protection and Development of Environment and Constructions - Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, 2019, pp. 4030-4037. Caputo, V.G., Conti, R., Viggiani, G.M.B., Prüm, C.(2019) Theoretical framework for the seismic design of anchored steel sheet pile walls. Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering for Protection and Development of Environment and Constructions- Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, 2019, pp. 1604-1611. Fusco, A., Viggiani, G.M.B., Madabhushi, S.P.G., Caputo, G., Conti, R., Prüm, C.(2019). Physical modelling of anchored steel sheet pile walls under seismic actions. Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering for Protection and Development of Environment and Constructions- Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Earthquake Geotechnical Engineering, 2019, pp. 2502-2509.
Start Year 2017
 
Description CERN - PTK 
Organisation European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Department CERN - Other
Country Switzerland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Monitoring of LHC Tunnels
Collaborator Contribution Monitoring of LHC Tunnels
Impact Monitoring of LHC Tunnels
Start Year 2015
 
Description CERN AEY 
Organisation European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)
Country Switzerland 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Fibre Optic
Collaborator Contribution Fibre Optic
Impact Fibre Optic
Start Year 2015
 
Description CH2M - PTK 
Organisation CH2M HILL
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution HS2 Pile monitoring
Collaborator Contribution HS2 Pile monitoring
Impact HS2 Pile monitoring
Start Year 2016
 
Description CH2MHil(Halcrow) - PTK 
Organisation CH2M HILL
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution PO Tunnel
Collaborator Contribution PO Tunnel
Impact PO Tunnel
Start Year 2014
 
Description CSIC Follow-On Match Funding HS2 
Organisation High Speed Two (HS2) Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Funding committed to CSIC for future collaboration. Innovation plays an essential part in the delivery of HS2, driving the adoption of new technologies, techniques and practices within the largest civil engineering project in Europe. To deliver this strategy we are building an ecosystem of partners from across academia, research and industry, to create an Innovation Legacy for the UK. HS2 aims to identify, test and implement new ideas via our partners and supply chain. Therefore, Innovation at HS2 would like to continue our relationship with the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) and further support the development of the following key areas of innovation focus.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact N/A
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC Follow-On Match Funding-Geobear 
Organisation Geobear
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Funding committed to CSIC for future collaboration. We would like to create technology on using sensing and artificial intelligence to identify ground movements and monitor stabilisation to add further value to the industry. We are also keen on continued cooperation regarding real time monitoring of assets through fibre optics and other ground breaking technologies. So far the association with CSIC has increased our credibility on the market place and helped with certain client discussions to increase credibility. We have been discussing the possibility of using fibre optics for real time monitoring on a few occasions. Our representatives have received education, contacts and ideas in events.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact N/A
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC Formal Partner-BKwai 
Organisation BKwai
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Formal CSIC partner
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet know
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC Formal Partner-FDH Infrastructure Services 
Organisation FDH Infrastructure Services
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Formal CSIC partner
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet know
Start Year 2019
 
Description CSIC Formal Partner-Royal Haskoning DHV UK 
Organisation Royal HaskoningDHV
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Formal CSIC partner
Collaborator Contribution As above
Impact Not yet know
Start Year 2019
 
Description CSIC Formal Partner-Sintela 
Organisation Sintela
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Formal CSIC Partner
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Not yet know.
Start Year 2019
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Deep foundation automatic anomaly detection and visualisation system 
Organisation Arup Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The proposed research aims to develop an automated pile integrity interpretation framework that uses thermal distributed fibre optic (FO) methodology, finite element modelling and machine learning techniques. In the first and second stages, using a full-scale well controlled laboratorytest, the project will firstly develop a system to visualise the pile construction process using collected date and an effective interpretation method for assessing the structural integrity of the pile. Then, machine leaning techniques will be used to recognise the defect patterns within the pile to establish a rapid anomaly response system. An automatic defect detection prototype (software) will be developed at the end of the first stage which allows automatic defection including the location of the defect and its size using minimal human input. In the third stage, the project aims to study the complex strain and temperature coupling effect for early age concrete. The study outcomes will not only help to improve the capability of the anomaly detection system, but will enable the whole-life performance assessment of the concrete piles and hence a benchmark for pile re-use in future.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet know.
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Deep foundation automatic anomaly detection and visualisation system 
Organisation Skanska UK Ltd
Department Cementation Skanska
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The proposed research aims to develop an automated pile integrity interpretation framework that uses thermal distributed fibre optic (FO) methodology, finite element modelling and machine learning techniques. In the first and second stages, using a full-scale well controlled laboratorytest, the project will firstly develop a system to visualise the pile construction process using collected date and an effective interpretation method for assessing the structural integrity of the pile. Then, machine leaning techniques will be used to recognise the defect patterns within the pile to establish a rapid anomaly response system. An automatic defect detection prototype (software) will be developed at the end of the first stage which allows automatic defection including the location of the defect and its size using minimal human input. In the third stage, the project aims to study the complex strain and temperature coupling effect for early age concrete. The study outcomes will not only help to improve the capability of the anomaly detection system, but will enable the whole-life performance assessment of the concrete piles and hence a benchmark for pile re-use in future.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet know.
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Digital Twins of Urban Farms 
Organisation Alan Turing Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The objective of seeking CSIC funding is to maximize fully the achievements-to-date on the digital twin of the world's first underground farm by delivering it at a high TRL and testing it for usability and reproducibility in a collaboration between CSIC and the Research Software Engineers at Turing.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project is still active, outputs and outcomes not yet know.
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Digital Twins of Urban Farms 
Organisation Growing Underground
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The objective of seeking CSIC funding is to maximize fully the achievements-to-date on the digital twin of the world's first underground farm by delivering it at a high TRL and testing it for usability and reproducibility in a collaboration between CSIC and the Research Software Engineers at Turing.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project is still active, outputs and outcomes not yet know.
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Digital Twins of Urban Farms 
Organisation Imperial College London
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The objective of seeking CSIC funding is to maximize fully the achievements-to-date on the digital twin of the world's first underground farm by delivering it at a high TRL and testing it for usability and reproducibility in a collaboration between CSIC and the Research Software Engineers at Turing.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project is still active, outputs and outcomes not yet know.
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Export cable stability for offshore wind turbine arrays 
Organisation Cura Analytica
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution This project will focus on alleviating the potential risk of over-estimating wind farm export cable fatigue problems via three activities: (i) Assess experimentally the validity of various models for pipeline (or cable) breakout in sands under combined loading via 1g laboratory testing (delivered by post-doc and PI Stanier & Co-I Viggiani); (ii) Evaluate the impact of varying models for cable restraint on export cable fatigue using finite element methods (delivered by MRes student and PI Stanier & Co-I Viggiani); and (iii) Develop a prototype system for cable fatigue monitoring using fibre optic technologies that could potentially be deployed in the field (delivered by post-doc and PI Stanier & Co-I Viggiani).
Collaborator Contribution Expert in subsea cable fatigue design. Will provide access to commercial Orcaflex license for FE simulations. Key local contact for the offshore wind consultancy sector.
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet know.
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Inside concrete - distributed spatial and temporal fibre optic sensing 
Organisation University of Oxford
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 1. To validate and calibrate distributed optical fibre sensing systems as accurate measures of temporal and spatial temperature and strain in fresh and hardened concrete. 2. To explore how distributed sensor indicators could be used as early age predictive measures for conventional ordinary Portland cement and more sustainable low-carbon mixes. Better predictors of concrete strength reduce uncertainty, enhance productivity and improve efficiency. The insight could also be used to adapt manufacturing processes and to promote acceptance of low carbon cementitious elements. 3. To determine the feasibility of a back-scattering spectrometer based system for monitoring internal concrete temperature and strain. 4. To undertake a scoping study of the added value of 'Inside concrete' fibre optic sensing during the fresh state curing process and consider how this might be extrapolated across different
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project is still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known.
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Inside concrete - distributed spatial and temporal fibre optic sensing 
Organisation University of Southampton
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution 1. To validate and calibrate distributed optical fibre sensing systems as accurate measures of temporal and spatial temperature and strain in fresh and hardened concrete. 2. To explore how distributed sensor indicators could be used as early age predictive measures for conventional ordinary Portland cement and more sustainable low-carbon mixes. Better predictors of concrete strength reduce uncertainty, enhance productivity and improve efficiency. The insight could also be used to adapt manufacturing processes and to promote acceptance of low carbon cementitious elements. 3. To determine the feasibility of a back-scattering spectrometer based system for monitoring internal concrete temperature and strain. 4. To undertake a scoping study of the added value of 'Inside concrete' fibre optic sensing during the fresh state curing process and consider how this might be extrapolated across different
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project is still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known.
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Modular design for underground construction 
Organisation Laing O'Rourke
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The goal of this proposal is to revolutionise the approach to delivery of large underground basements with tools for design and implementation of modular off-site construction for increased productivity, faster completion and reduced carbon.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project is still active, outputs and outcomes not yet know
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Modular design for underground construction 
Organisation Smith and Wallwork
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The goal of this proposal is to revolutionise the approach to delivery of large underground basements with tools for design and implementation of modular off-site construction for increased productivity, faster completion and reduced carbon.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project is still active, outputs and outcomes not yet know
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Whole life carbon costing in the context of ACORN - and beyond 
Organisation Arup Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution - Identify/Develop techniques to quantify the whole-life cost and carbon impact of the new methods of construction. - Evaluate existing carbon-counting tools available to infrastructure and construction industry, to determine utility to the industry in e.g. assessing most appropriate interventions on existing assets wrt carbon - Create guidance for industry in terms of 'getting the basics right' with respect to carbon assessment and minimising CO2 emissions and resource use
Collaborator Contribution LOR Access to factory and construction sites McKinsey Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Costain Access to construction sites Qualisflow Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Arup Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Whole life carbon costing in the context of ACORN - and beyond 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution - Identify/Develop techniques to quantify the whole-life cost and carbon impact of the new methods of construction. - Evaluate existing carbon-counting tools available to infrastructure and construction industry, to determine utility to the industry in e.g. assessing most appropriate interventions on existing assets wrt carbon - Create guidance for industry in terms of 'getting the basics right' with respect to carbon assessment and minimising CO2 emissions and resource use
Collaborator Contribution LOR Access to factory and construction sites McKinsey Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Costain Access to construction sites Qualisflow Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Arup Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Whole life carbon costing in the context of ACORN - and beyond 
Organisation Laing O'Rourke
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution - Identify/Develop techniques to quantify the whole-life cost and carbon impact of the new methods of construction. - Evaluate existing carbon-counting tools available to infrastructure and construction industry, to determine utility to the industry in e.g. assessing most appropriate interventions on existing assets wrt carbon - Create guidance for industry in terms of 'getting the basics right' with respect to carbon assessment and minimising CO2 emissions and resource use
Collaborator Contribution LOR Access to factory and construction sites McKinsey Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Costain Access to construction sites Qualisflow Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Arup Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Whole life carbon costing in the context of ACORN - and beyond 
Organisation McKinsey & Company
Department McKinsey & Company, UK
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution - Identify/Develop techniques to quantify the whole-life cost and carbon impact of the new methods of construction. - Evaluate existing carbon-counting tools available to infrastructure and construction industry, to determine utility to the industry in e.g. assessing most appropriate interventions on existing assets wrt carbon - Create guidance for industry in terms of 'getting the basics right' with respect to carbon assessment and minimising CO2 emissions and resource use
Collaborator Contribution LOR Access to factory and construction sites McKinsey Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Costain Access to construction sites Qualisflow Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Arup Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known
Start Year 2020
 
Description CSIC RA Funding Project - Whole life carbon costing in the context of ACORN - and beyond 
Organisation Qualisflow
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution - Identify/Develop techniques to quantify the whole-life cost and carbon impact of the new methods of construction. - Evaluate existing carbon-counting tools available to infrastructure and construction industry, to determine utility to the industry in e.g. assessing most appropriate interventions on existing assets wrt carbon - Create guidance for industry in terms of 'getting the basics right' with respect to carbon assessment and minimising CO2 emissions and resource use
Collaborator Contribution LOR Access to factory and construction sites McKinsey Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Costain Access to construction sites Qualisflow Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting Arup Advisor on process mapping and carbon accounting
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known
Start Year 2020
 
Description Cambridgeshire County Council - ES 
Organisation Cambridgeshire County Council
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Land use - transport /mobility
Collaborator Contribution Land use - transport /mobility
Impact Land use - transport /mobility
Start Year 2016
 
Description Central Alliance 
Organisation Central Alliance
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Cumbrian bridge monitoring
Collaborator Contribution Cumbrian bridge monitoring
Impact Cumbrian bridge monitoring
Start Year 2016
 
Description Centro - JT 
Organisation Centro plc
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Establishment of collaborative project on vehicle-based track condition monitoring, incl. supply of tram, access to depot facilities and support during installation of instrumentation
Collaborator Contribution Establishment of collaborative project on vehicle-based track condition monitoring, incl. supply of tram, access to depot facilities and support during installation of instrumentation
Impact Establishment of collaborative project on vehicle-based track condition monitoring, incl. supply of tram, access to depot facilities and support during installation of instrumentation
Start Year 2015
 
Description Collaboration with University of Tokyo 
Organisation University of Tokyo
Department Institute of Industrial Science
Country Japan 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution - Guest Professor at Ooka Lab, Institute of Industrial Science for 4 months (Sept-December 2015) supported by an invitational Fellowship by Japan Society of Promotion of Science. - Interacted with PhD students and staff on the following topics: uncertainty analysis, distributed energy systems, exergy analysis of building energy systems. - Since 2015, we have regular annual visits to each others labs
Collaborator Contribution The Ooka Lab invited Cambridge PhD student Bryn Pickering for 2 week visit in December 2015. We have co-authored 2 peer-reviewed conference articles and 3 journal publications. From the B-bem project, PDRA Kathrin Menberg has been heavily involved in these collaborations. We have worked with University of Tokyo to carry out uncertainty analysis in the estimation of ground thermal properties for geo-energy systems. In turn- University of Tokyo helped us carry out exergy analysis of heat pump systems, which enabled us to have an improved understanding of system efficiencies.
Impact 1. 2018 visiting researcher from U. of Tokyo hosted by Alan Turing Institute 2. Uncertainty Analysis: 2 journal articles in 2018 3. Exergy Analysis: 1 conference publication (2017), and 1 journal paper (2017). 4. Distributed Energy Systems: 1 conference publication in 2016.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Cornell University May-17 Laboratory scale pipeline testing - Cedric Kechavarzi 
Organisation Cornell University
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Cornell University May-17 Laboratory scale pipeline testing
Collaborator Contribution Cornell University May-17 Laboratory scale pipeline testing
Impact Cornell University May-17 Laboratory scale pipeline testing
Start Year 2017
 
Description Costain - BIM - AKNP 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution BIM
Collaborator Contribution BIM
Impact BIM
Start Year 2016
 
Description Costain - CK 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Tram track monitoring
Collaborator Contribution Tram track monitoring
Impact Tram track monitoring
Start Year 2016
 
Description Costain - NdB 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Monitoring of light rail test track
Collaborator Contribution Monitoring of light rail test track
Impact Monitoring of light rail test track
Start Year 2016
 
Description Costain - PTK 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Various London Bridge monitoring projects at construction sites
Collaborator Contribution Various London Bridge monitoring projects at construction sites
Impact Various London Bridge monitoring projects at construction sites
Start Year 2015
 
Description Costain - PTK 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Costain light rail track instrumentation with bend sensors
Collaborator Contribution Costain light rail track instrumentation with bend sensors
Impact Costain light rail track instrumentation with bend sensors
Start Year 2016
 
Description Costain AKNP 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution ICASE Project on Data-driven engineering for improving the performance of asset management
Collaborator Contribution ICASE Project on Data-driven engineering for improving the performance of asset management
Impact ICASE Project on Data-driven engineering for improving the performance of asset management
Start Year 2016
 
Description Costain Computer vision for tunnel monitoring JMS 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Computer vision for tunnel monitoring
Collaborator Contribution Computer vision for tunnel monitoring
Impact Computer vision for tunnel monitoring
Start Year 2016
 
Description Costain light rail -testing of light railtrial 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Site visits and discussion with client; Monitoring system design.
Collaborator Contribution Site visits and discussion with client; Monitoring system design.
Impact Site visits and discussion with client; Monitoring system design.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Counterest - MSA 
Organisation Counterest
Country Spain 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Working together on an article where we use their hardware/software
Collaborator Contribution Working together on an article where we use their hardware/software
Impact Working together on an article where we use their hardware/software
Start Year 2016
 
Description Crossrail - CK 
Organisation Crossrail
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Post Office tunnel monitoring
Collaborator Contribution Post Office tunnel monitoring
Impact Post Office tunnel monitoring
Start Year 2015
 
Description Crossrail - MJD 
Organisation Crossrail
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Research on Settlement effects on masonry structures
Collaborator Contribution Research on Settlement effects on masonry structures
Impact Research on Settlement effects on masonry structures
Start Year 2013
 
Description Crossrail - PTK 
Organisation Crossrail
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Various shaft monitoring projects at construction sites
Collaborator Contribution Various shaft monitoring projects at construction sites
Impact Various shaft monitoring projects at construction sites
Start Year 2015
 
Description DARe Research Hub: Decarbonised, Adaptable, and Resilient Transport Infrastructures 
Organisation Heriot-Watt University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Cambridge University (CSIC) have joined a new transport research hub, alongside Newcastle, Heriot-Watt, and Glasgow Universities. This hub, jointly funded by EPSRC and DfT, will research the competing challenges of transforming infrastructure to generate net zero carbon emissions while also upgrading its resilience to meet future threats from climate change and long-term deterioration. Cambridge researchers will bring expertise on risk-based asset management, low carbon materials, structural monitoring and data-driven analyses of infrastructure assets, modelling, and resilience. The hub was launched in September 2023 and will run until early 2027.
Collaborator Contribution Newcastle, Heriot-Watt, and Glasgow Universities are collaborating with Cambridge on the DARe Hub. They are bringing expertise from a wide range of research fields relevant to DARe's work, including transport modelling, low carbon freight transport, electricity demands of low carbon infrastructure, and climate modelling, among other areas. DARe also involves close collaboration with many stakeholders from government (central and local), infrastructure owners and operators, consultants and contractors, and infrastructure users. We will be expanding our network of stakeholders throughout the lifetime of the Hub.
Impact This collaboration has only recently started. Key work to date includes stakeholder engagement to shape the Hub's work plan, and a major landscape mapping of relevant transport strategies and vision documents. This landscape review encompasses themes such as net zero carbon, resilience, health and socioeconomics, climate, and technology. The outcomes of the review are expected over the coming months.
Start Year 2023
 
Description DARe Research Hub: Decarbonised, Adaptable, and Resilient Transport Infrastructures 
Organisation Newcastle University
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Cambridge University (CSIC) have joined a new transport research hub, alongside Newcastle, Heriot-Watt, and Glasgow Universities. This hub, jointly funded by EPSRC and DfT, will research the competing challenges of transforming infrastructure to generate net zero carbon emissions while also upgrading its resilience to meet future threats from climate change and long-term deterioration. Cambridge researchers will bring expertise on risk-based asset management, low carbon materials, structural monitoring and data-driven analyses of infrastructure assets, modelling, and resilience. The hub was launched in September 2023 and will run until early 2027.
Collaborator Contribution Newcastle, Heriot-Watt, and Glasgow Universities are collaborating with Cambridge on the DARe Hub. They are bringing expertise from a wide range of research fields relevant to DARe's work, including transport modelling, low carbon freight transport, electricity demands of low carbon infrastructure, and climate modelling, among other areas. DARe also involves close collaboration with many stakeholders from government (central and local), infrastructure owners and operators, consultants and contractors, and infrastructure users. We will be expanding our network of stakeholders throughout the lifetime of the Hub.
Impact This collaboration has only recently started. Key work to date includes stakeholder engagement to shape the Hub's work plan, and a major landscape mapping of relevant transport strategies and vision documents. This landscape review encompasses themes such as net zero carbon, resilience, health and socioeconomics, climate, and technology. The outcomes of the review are expected over the coming months.
Start Year 2023
 
Description DARe Research Hub: Decarbonised, Adaptable, and Resilient Transport Infrastructures 
Organisation University of Glasgow
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Cambridge University (CSIC) have joined a new transport research hub, alongside Newcastle, Heriot-Watt, and Glasgow Universities. This hub, jointly funded by EPSRC and DfT, will research the competing challenges of transforming infrastructure to generate net zero carbon emissions while also upgrading its resilience to meet future threats from climate change and long-term deterioration. Cambridge researchers will bring expertise on risk-based asset management, low carbon materials, structural monitoring and data-driven analyses of infrastructure assets, modelling, and resilience. The hub was launched in September 2023 and will run until early 2027.
Collaborator Contribution Newcastle, Heriot-Watt, and Glasgow Universities are collaborating with Cambridge on the DARe Hub. They are bringing expertise from a wide range of research fields relevant to DARe's work, including transport modelling, low carbon freight transport, electricity demands of low carbon infrastructure, and climate modelling, among other areas. DARe also involves close collaboration with many stakeholders from government (central and local), infrastructure owners and operators, consultants and contractors, and infrastructure users. We will be expanding our network of stakeholders throughout the lifetime of the Hub.
Impact This collaboration has only recently started. Key work to date includes stakeholder engagement to shape the Hub's work plan, and a major landscape mapping of relevant transport strategies and vision documents. This landscape review encompasses themes such as net zero carbon, resilience, health and socioeconomics, climate, and technology. The outcomes of the review are expected over the coming months.
Start Year 2023
 
Description Data-centric Bridge Assessment (Marsh Lane Viaduct) Haris Alexakis 
Organisation Network Rail Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Data-centric Bridge Assessment (Marsh Lane Viaduct
Collaborator Contribution Data-centric Bridge Assessment (Marsh Lane Viaduct
Impact Data-centric Bridge Assessment (Marsh Lane Viaduct
Start Year 2017
 
Description Data-centric bridge monitoring and assessment - Liam Butler 
Organisation Alan Turing Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Data-centric bridge monitoring and assessment
Collaborator Contribution Data-centric bridge monitoring and assessment
Impact Data-centric bridge monitoring and assessment
Start Year 2017
 
Description Department for Transport, Local Transport, UK - ES 
Organisation Department of Transport
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Local transport planning
Collaborator Contribution Local transport planning
Impact Local transport planning
Start Year 2016
 
Description Designing in data insights to improve customer experience at Gatwick Train Station 
Organisation Costain Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Jennifer Schooling and Costain working on secondment project Designing in data insights to improve customer experience at Gatwick Train Station
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Collaboration still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known.
Start Year 2020
 
Description Developing the supply chain to advance dynamic strain sensing 
Organisation FEBUS Optics
Country France 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Responding to industry call In a working group discussion at a CSIC event, industry partners raised the subject of sensing strain in structures and that current distributed fibre optic strain sensing technologies were too slow to capture dynamic events. There was a consensus that the ability to measure strain at a rate of 50Hz or more was needed to fulfil many dynamic applications, such as capturing traffic loading effects on bridges. However, achieving this goal would require development and application of new technology. CSIC has worked with French SME, FEBUS Optics1 to deliver this capability. Febus had developed a new generation of fast Brillouin fibre optic strain sensing systems, the FEBUS G1. FEBUS and CSIC discussed applying the technology for civil engineering applications, and the challenge was set to create a dynamic infrastructure sensing system. After six months of development, FEBUS met this challenge and demonstrated dynamic strain measurement at 50Hz over 1km in a fully-functioning system, the FEBUS G1D. This ability means vital performance data can be captured at sub-second rates instead of periodically sampling performance at longer time frames over several minutes. CSIC worked with Febus on minimum system requirements and specifications, and in late 2018, the FEBUS G1D was ready to leave the lab and be deployed in the field. First deployment on a CSIC project The FEBUS G1D was used as part of the rockfall early warning system developed by CSIC in a collaborative project with Network Rail to monitor Hooley Cutting: the steep cutting faces either side of a 170-year-old stretch of railway between London and Brighton. The FEBUS system was successfully used to monitor strain changes in a rockfall mesh in real time in order to capture potential rock debris accumulating in the mesh on the cutting (see Transforming infrastructure through smarter information). Key benefits of fibre optic sensing Optical fibre sensors can measure many infrastructure parameters, including strain, temperature, displacement, vibration, and, with some mechanical modifications, tilt and acceleration. For sensing requirements that need more than several hundred sensing points (for example embankments and rail track), optical fibre sensing also becomes the lowest cost solution. It eliminates the need for copper cable power cables or battery maintenance and is easy to install. This ability of distributed fibre optic sensing systems, such as the FEBUS G1, to provide spatially dense information while being simple to install means that fibre optic sensors are becoming an attractive alternative to electrical point sensors for infrastructure sensing. The system is commercially available and more than 30 FEBUS G1 systems have now been made and deployed around the world. Implications for whole-life monitoring The fibre optic sensor cables used by CSIC are identical to telecommunications optical fibre which has been used worldwide since the 1970s and 80s. They are made of silica which does not experience the same failure modes as electrical sensors and is one of the most environmentally stable compounds known; there is no corrosion when the sensors are exposed to humidity, nor do they suffer from electromigration ageing or copper embrittlement. They are also immune to electromagnetic fields present in high voltage environments such as rail. Corning Glass, a leading manufacturer of optical fibre recently published a white paper on their use, and in particular, the lifespan of the product. In the paper Corning have stated that there is "no 'theoretical lifetime' of optical fibres" and that "there is no industry accepted 'wear out' mechanism for optical fibre". They reported that it is "common for customers to report to Corning that trial fibres installed in the late 1970s or early 1980s are still in use today". Optical sensing systems which can last for the life of the asset being monitored make whole-life sensing a real option for asset management and can provide the data required to ensure the asset is fit for purpose over its entire lifetime.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact The system is commercially available and more than 30 FEBUS G1 systems have now been made and deployed around the world.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Developing toolkit for bridge maintenance - Zhenglin Liang 
Organisation Mott Macdonald UK Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Developing toolkit for bridge maintenance
Collaborator Contribution Developing toolkit for bridge maintenance
Impact Developing toolkit for bridge maintenance
Start Year 2017
 
Description Development of a 3D geological model of Greater London - Asal Bidarmaghz 
Organisation British Geological Survey
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Development of a 3D geological model of Greater London
Collaborator Contribution Development of a 3D geological model of Greater London
Impact Development of a 3D geological model of Greater London
Start Year 2017
 
Description Diemount joint development of low cost FO sensors JMS 
Organisation Diemount GmbH
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution joint development of low cost FO sensors
Collaborator Contribution joint development of low cost FO sensors
Impact joint development of low cost FO sensors
Start Year 2016
 
Description Digital Cities for Change: next-generation tools for city planning and management 
Organisation Cambridgeshire County Council
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution The challenges for modern cities to deliver smart systems for its citizens are complex and cut across many traditional disciplines. CSIC's Digital Cities for Change project, funded by the Ove Arup Foundation and the Centre for Digital Built Britain, evaluates both the existing structures and systems of city and infrastructure management, and investigates how digital tools can help better decision-making within these areas. Understanding limitations of the current approach The planning, management and operation of assets, buildings and towns have traditionally operated in professional silos. Researchers are investigating the impact of these silos within city and infrastructure management and how this leads to departments following separate, and sometimes divergent, approaches to address common challenges. We live in an era of increasing digital abundance, but industry and city governments lack the tools to understand and interpret the data to support smarter decision-making processes and deliver best value from them. In order to deliver on the transformative potential of this digital revolution, we need built environment professionals who are trained in a broader range of disciplines and tools, bridging infrastructure and city management solutions and developing the opportunities presented by the digital economy. Working with local authorities The use of data has huge potential to help deliver social, economic and political goals for cities. Digital Cities for Change researchers have built a working partnership with Smart Cambridge, a programme supported by Connecting Cambridgeshire, which is led by Cambridgeshire County Council, and are using the city as a pilot. A workshop was held in December 2018 with o?cers from the council's transport, sustainability and planning departments to plan how digital technology and data can be used to support decisions and make improvements. The aim of the workshop was to understand the current activities addressing two of the council's policy goals; improving air quality and reducing congestion, including the use of data to support policy measures related to the goals and to explore future requirements. Researchers are also aiming to understand the possibilities for developing a digital twin prototype for the city which responds to imminent challenges and the delivery of the policy goals. Developing a new digital strategy The Digital Cities for Change team is now exploring the potential building blocks of a new digital strategy, with two key components: 1. A digital twin, combining traditional urban modelling techniques, new data sources and advanced data analytics, to support decision-making in di?erent sectors. 2. A new governance framework which will ensure successful implementation through linking planning, management and operation. The digital twin prototype will use technology and data to tackle air pollution and tra?c congestion. It will include recent trends of journeys to work in Cambridge, including how people of di?erent ages and employment status travel to work and how di?erent factors a?ect their travel. It will also explore future possible journeys to work based on transport investment, housing developments and how ?exible working and new technology may impact commuting. A web-based modelling platform will also visualise future development options and give people an opportunity for feedback. The governance aspect of the strategy will map stakeholders of the digital twin and their relationships to each other across government and private sectors. It will incorporate legislation and regulation, sharing and security. A crucial part of the governance will be citizen engagement - to connect the physical to the data and provide evidence that can motivate people to change their behaviour. This will involve talking to employees about ?exible working and community co-working spaces. The vision for the city-level strategy The Cambridge digital twin prototype, along with the governance recommendations is under development, with an initial version discussed with colleagues at Smart Cambridge in April. The project team is now planning to re?ne the strategy and develop the tool to explore di?erent aspects of the collection, processing and use of data to improve various city functions.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Nochta, T., Wan, L., Schooling, J. M. et al. (2019). Digitalisation for smarter cities: Moving from a static to a dynamic view. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Smart Infrastructure and Construction Journal, https://doi.org/10.1680/jsmic.19.00001. www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/jsmic.19.00001 Nochta, T., Badstuber, N.E., Wan, L. (2019). Evidence-informed decisionmaking in multi-stakeholder settings: The case of city digital twins for planning and management. Proceedings of the Data for Policy Conference, 11-12 June 2019, University College London, UK. zenodo.org/record/2798858#.XV0MmXvTXQy Wan, L., Nochta, T., Schooling, J.M. (2019). Developing A City-level Digital Twin - Propositions and A Case Study. Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction (ICSIC), 8-10 July 2019, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK. www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/291545 Nochta, T., Badstuber, N.E., Wahby, N. (2019). On the Governance of City Digital Twins - Insights from the Cambridge Case Study. Working paper, published in the CDBB publication series. Series No: CDBB_WP_012. www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/293984
Start Year 2018
 
Description Digital Cities for Change: next-generation tools for city planning and management 
Organisation Digital Built Britain
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The challenges for modern cities to deliver smart systems for its citizens are complex and cut across many traditional disciplines. CSIC's Digital Cities for Change project, funded by the Ove Arup Foundation and the Centre for Digital Built Britain, evaluates both the existing structures and systems of city and infrastructure management, and investigates how digital tools can help better decision-making within these areas. Understanding limitations of the current approach The planning, management and operation of assets, buildings and towns have traditionally operated in professional silos. Researchers are investigating the impact of these silos within city and infrastructure management and how this leads to departments following separate, and sometimes divergent, approaches to address common challenges. We live in an era of increasing digital abundance, but industry and city governments lack the tools to understand and interpret the data to support smarter decision-making processes and deliver best value from them. In order to deliver on the transformative potential of this digital revolution, we need built environment professionals who are trained in a broader range of disciplines and tools, bridging infrastructure and city management solutions and developing the opportunities presented by the digital economy. Working with local authorities The use of data has huge potential to help deliver social, economic and political goals for cities. Digital Cities for Change researchers have built a working partnership with Smart Cambridge, a programme supported by Connecting Cambridgeshire, which is led by Cambridgeshire County Council, and are using the city as a pilot. A workshop was held in December 2018 with o?cers from the council's transport, sustainability and planning departments to plan how digital technology and data can be used to support decisions and make improvements. The aim of the workshop was to understand the current activities addressing two of the council's policy goals; improving air quality and reducing congestion, including the use of data to support policy measures related to the goals and to explore future requirements. Researchers are also aiming to understand the possibilities for developing a digital twin prototype for the city which responds to imminent challenges and the delivery of the policy goals. Developing a new digital strategy The Digital Cities for Change team is now exploring the potential building blocks of a new digital strategy, with two key components: 1. A digital twin, combining traditional urban modelling techniques, new data sources and advanced data analytics, to support decision-making in di?erent sectors. 2. A new governance framework which will ensure successful implementation through linking planning, management and operation. The digital twin prototype will use technology and data to tackle air pollution and tra?c congestion. It will include recent trends of journeys to work in Cambridge, including how people of di?erent ages and employment status travel to work and how di?erent factors a?ect their travel. It will also explore future possible journeys to work based on transport investment, housing developments and how ?exible working and new technology may impact commuting. A web-based modelling platform will also visualise future development options and give people an opportunity for feedback. The governance aspect of the strategy will map stakeholders of the digital twin and their relationships to each other across government and private sectors. It will incorporate legislation and regulation, sharing and security. A crucial part of the governance will be citizen engagement - to connect the physical to the data and provide evidence that can motivate people to change their behaviour. This will involve talking to employees about ?exible working and community co-working spaces. The vision for the city-level strategy The Cambridge digital twin prototype, along with the governance recommendations is under development, with an initial version discussed with colleagues at Smart Cambridge in April. The project team is now planning to re?ne the strategy and develop the tool to explore di?erent aspects of the collection, processing and use of data to improve various city functions.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Nochta, T., Wan, L., Schooling, J. M. et al. (2019). Digitalisation for smarter cities: Moving from a static to a dynamic view. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Smart Infrastructure and Construction Journal, https://doi.org/10.1680/jsmic.19.00001. www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/jsmic.19.00001 Nochta, T., Badstuber, N.E., Wan, L. (2019). Evidence-informed decisionmaking in multi-stakeholder settings: The case of city digital twins for planning and management. Proceedings of the Data for Policy Conference, 11-12 June 2019, University College London, UK. zenodo.org/record/2798858#.XV0MmXvTXQy Wan, L., Nochta, T., Schooling, J.M. (2019). Developing A City-level Digital Twin - Propositions and A Case Study. Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction (ICSIC), 8-10 July 2019, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK. www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/291545 Nochta, T., Badstuber, N.E., Wahby, N. (2019). On the Governance of City Digital Twins - Insights from the Cambridge Case Study. Working paper, published in the CDBB publication series. Series No: CDBB_WP_012. www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/293984
Start Year 2018
 
Description Digital Cities for Change: next-generation tools for city planning and management 
Organisation Ove Arup Foundation
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution The challenges for modern cities to deliver smart systems for its citizens are complex and cut across many traditional disciplines. CSIC's Digital Cities for Change project, funded by the Ove Arup Foundation and the Centre for Digital Built Britain, evaluates both the existing structures and systems of city and infrastructure management, and investigates how digital tools can help better decision-making within these areas. Understanding limitations of the current approach The planning, management and operation of assets, buildings and towns have traditionally operated in professional silos. Researchers are investigating the impact of these silos within city and infrastructure management and how this leads to departments following separate, and sometimes divergent, approaches to address common challenges. We live in an era of increasing digital abundance, but industry and city governments lack the tools to understand and interpret the data to support smarter decision-making processes and deliver best value from them. In order to deliver on the transformative potential of this digital revolution, we need built environment professionals who are trained in a broader range of disciplines and tools, bridging infrastructure and city management solutions and developing the opportunities presented by the digital economy. Working with local authorities The use of data has huge potential to help deliver social, economic and political goals for cities. Digital Cities for Change researchers have built a working partnership with Smart Cambridge, a programme supported by Connecting Cambridgeshire, which is led by Cambridgeshire County Council, and are using the city as a pilot. A workshop was held in December 2018 with o?cers from the council's transport, sustainability and planning departments to plan how digital technology and data can be used to support decisions and make improvements. The aim of the workshop was to understand the current activities addressing two of the council's policy goals; improving air quality and reducing congestion, including the use of data to support policy measures related to the goals and to explore future requirements. Researchers are also aiming to understand the possibilities for developing a digital twin prototype for the city which responds to imminent challenges and the delivery of the policy goals. Developing a new digital strategy The Digital Cities for Change team is now exploring the potential building blocks of a new digital strategy, with two key components: 1. A digital twin, combining traditional urban modelling techniques, new data sources and advanced data analytics, to support decision-making in di?erent sectors. 2. A new governance framework which will ensure successful implementation through linking planning, management and operation. The digital twin prototype will use technology and data to tackle air pollution and tra?c congestion. It will include recent trends of journeys to work in Cambridge, including how people of di?erent ages and employment status travel to work and how di?erent factors a?ect their travel. It will also explore future possible journeys to work based on transport investment, housing developments and how ?exible working and new technology may impact commuting. A web-based modelling platform will also visualise future development options and give people an opportunity for feedback. The governance aspect of the strategy will map stakeholders of the digital twin and their relationships to each other across government and private sectors. It will incorporate legislation and regulation, sharing and security. A crucial part of the governance will be citizen engagement - to connect the physical to the data and provide evidence that can motivate people to change their behaviour. This will involve talking to employees about ?exible working and community co-working spaces. The vision for the city-level strategy The Cambridge digital twin prototype, along with the governance recommendations is under development, with an initial version discussed with colleagues at Smart Cambridge in April. The project team is now planning to re?ne the strategy and develop the tool to explore di?erent aspects of the collection, processing and use of data to improve various city functions.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Nochta, T., Wan, L., Schooling, J. M. et al. (2019). Digitalisation for smarter cities: Moving from a static to a dynamic view. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Smart Infrastructure and Construction Journal, https://doi.org/10.1680/jsmic.19.00001. www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/jsmic.19.00001 Nochta, T., Badstuber, N.E., Wan, L. (2019). Evidence-informed decisionmaking in multi-stakeholder settings: The case of city digital twins for planning and management. Proceedings of the Data for Policy Conference, 11-12 June 2019, University College London, UK. zenodo.org/record/2798858#.XV0MmXvTXQy Wan, L., Nochta, T., Schooling, J.M. (2019). Developing A City-level Digital Twin - Propositions and A Case Study. Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction (ICSIC), 8-10 July 2019, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK. www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/291545 Nochta, T., Badstuber, N.E., Wahby, N. (2019). On the Governance of City Digital Twins - Insights from the Cambridge Case Study. Working paper, published in the CDBB publication series. Series No: CDBB_WP_012. www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/293984
Start Year 2018
 
Description Digital Cities for Change: next-generation tools for city planning and management 
Organisation University of Cambridge
Department Department of Engineering
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The challenges for modern cities to deliver smart systems for its citizens are complex and cut across many traditional disciplines. CSIC's Digital Cities for Change project, funded by the Ove Arup Foundation and the Centre for Digital Built Britain, evaluates both the existing structures and systems of city and infrastructure management, and investigates how digital tools can help better decision-making within these areas. Understanding limitations of the current approach The planning, management and operation of assets, buildings and towns have traditionally operated in professional silos. Researchers are investigating the impact of these silos within city and infrastructure management and how this leads to departments following separate, and sometimes divergent, approaches to address common challenges. We live in an era of increasing digital abundance, but industry and city governments lack the tools to understand and interpret the data to support smarter decision-making processes and deliver best value from them. In order to deliver on the transformative potential of this digital revolution, we need built environment professionals who are trained in a broader range of disciplines and tools, bridging infrastructure and city management solutions and developing the opportunities presented by the digital economy. Working with local authorities The use of data has huge potential to help deliver social, economic and political goals for cities. Digital Cities for Change researchers have built a working partnership with Smart Cambridge, a programme supported by Connecting Cambridgeshire, which is led by Cambridgeshire County Council, and are using the city as a pilot. A workshop was held in December 2018 with o?cers from the council's transport, sustainability and planning departments to plan how digital technology and data can be used to support decisions and make improvements. The aim of the workshop was to understand the current activities addressing two of the council's policy goals; improving air quality and reducing congestion, including the use of data to support policy measures related to the goals and to explore future requirements. Researchers are also aiming to understand the possibilities for developing a digital twin prototype for the city which responds to imminent challenges and the delivery of the policy goals. Developing a new digital strategy The Digital Cities for Change team is now exploring the potential building blocks of a new digital strategy, with two key components: 1. A digital twin, combining traditional urban modelling techniques, new data sources and advanced data analytics, to support decision-making in di?erent sectors. 2. A new governance framework which will ensure successful implementation through linking planning, management and operation. The digital twin prototype will use technology and data to tackle air pollution and tra?c congestion. It will include recent trends of journeys to work in Cambridge, including how people of di?erent ages and employment status travel to work and how di?erent factors a?ect their travel. It will also explore future possible journeys to work based on transport investment, housing developments and how ?exible working and new technology may impact commuting. A web-based modelling platform will also visualise future development options and give people an opportunity for feedback. The governance aspect of the strategy will map stakeholders of the digital twin and their relationships to each other across government and private sectors. It will incorporate legislation and regulation, sharing and security. A crucial part of the governance will be citizen engagement - to connect the physical to the data and provide evidence that can motivate people to change their behaviour. This will involve talking to employees about ?exible working and community co-working spaces. The vision for the city-level strategy The Cambridge digital twin prototype, along with the governance recommendations is under development, with an initial version discussed with colleagues at Smart Cambridge in April. The project team is now planning to re?ne the strategy and develop the tool to explore di?erent aspects of the collection, processing and use of data to improve various city functions.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Nochta, T., Wan, L., Schooling, J. M. et al. (2019). Digitalisation for smarter cities: Moving from a static to a dynamic view. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Smart Infrastructure and Construction Journal, https://doi.org/10.1680/jsmic.19.00001. www.icevirtuallibrary.com/doi/abs/10.1680/jsmic.19.00001 Nochta, T., Badstuber, N.E., Wan, L. (2019). Evidence-informed decisionmaking in multi-stakeholder settings: The case of city digital twins for planning and management. Proceedings of the Data for Policy Conference, 11-12 June 2019, University College London, UK. zenodo.org/record/2798858#.XV0MmXvTXQy Wan, L., Nochta, T., Schooling, J.M. (2019). Developing A City-level Digital Twin - Propositions and A Case Study. Proceedings of the International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction (ICSIC), 8-10 July 2019, Churchill College, Cambridge, UK. www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/291545 Nochta, T., Badstuber, N.E., Wahby, N. (2019). On the Governance of City Digital Twins - Insights from the Cambridge Case Study. Working paper, published in the CDBB publication series. Series No: CDBB_WP_012. www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/293984
Start Year 2018
 
Description Dragados - MSA 
Organisation Dragados
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Planning for monitoring of Mansion House
Collaborator Contribution Planning for monitoring of Mansion House and
Impact Planning for monitoring of Mansion House and
Start Year 2017
 
Description Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge (Centre for Digital Built Britain Mini-projects Programme 2017-18) Quichen Lu 
Organisation Digital Built Britain
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge (Centre for Digital Built Britain Mini-projects Programme 2017-18)
Collaborator Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge (Centre for Digital Built Britain Mini-projects Programme 2017-18)
Impact Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge (Centre for Digital Built Britain Mini-projects Programme 2017-18)
Start Year 2017
 
Description Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge - Quichen Lu 
Organisation Bentley Motors
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Collaborator Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Impact Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Start Year 2017
 
Description Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge - Quichen Lu 
Organisation RedBite Solutions
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Collaborator Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Impact Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Start Year 2017
 
Description Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge - Quichen Lu 
Organisation Topcon
Country Japan 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Collaborator Contribution Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Impact Dynamic digital twin with multi-layered information models for West Cambridge
Start Year 2017
 
Description E G Technology - PTK 
Organisation E G Technology
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Development of Macro VEH, and development of New Analyser enclosure
Collaborator Contribution Development of Macro VEH, and development of New Analyser enclosure
Impact Development of Macro VEH, and development of New Analyser enclosure
Start Year 2014
 
Description EM-Solutions 
Organisation EM - Solutions
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Detection of defects in water courses
Collaborator Contribution Detection of defects in water courses
Impact Detection of defects in water courses
Start Year 2015
 
Description Epsimon Ltd - NdB 
Organisation Epsimon
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Instrumentation of new Civil Eng building (boreholes, basement, frame, strong floor)
Collaborator Contribution Instrumentation of new Civil Eng building (boreholes, basement, frame, strong floor)
Impact Instrumentation of new Civil Eng building (boreholes, basement, frame, strong floor)
Start Year 2017
 
Description FBGS - PTK 
Organisation FBGS
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Development of FRP armoured FBG fibre optic sensors for embedding in concrete structures.
Collaborator Contribution Development of FRP armoured FBG fibre optic sensors for embedding in concrete structures.
Impact Development of FRP armoured FBG fibre optic sensors for embedding in concrete structures.
Start Year 2015
 
Description FO instrumentation for pile testing 
Organisation Gammon Construction Limited
Country Hong Kong 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution FO instrumentation for pile testing
Collaborator Contribution FO instrumentation for pile testing
Impact FO instrumentation for pile testing
Start Year 2018
 
Description FO instrumentation of 2 tall towers in London - Nicky de Battista 
Organisation Multiplex Construction
Country Australia 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution FO instrumentation of 2 tall towers in London
Collaborator Contribution FO instrumentation of 2 tall towers in London
Impact FO instrumentation of 2 tall towers in London
Start Year 2018
 
Description FO instrumentation of test piles in San Francisco - Berkeley University - Nicky de Battista 
Organisation University of California, Berkeley
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution FO instrumentation of test piles in San Francisco
Collaborator Contribution FO instrumentation of test piles in San Francisco
Impact FO instrumentation of test piles in San Francisco
Start Year 2018
 
Description Febus - PTK 
Organisation FEBUS Optics
Country France 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Development of high speed Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR) fibre optic technology
Collaborator Contribution Development of high speed Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR) fibre optic technology
Impact Development of high speed Brillouin Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (BOTDR) fibre optic technology
Start Year 2017
 
Description Femtofibertec- PTK 
Organisation Femtofibertec
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Low-cost FBG sensor array development
Collaborator Contribution Low-cost FBG sensor array development
Impact Low-cost FBG sensor array development
Start Year 2016
 
Description Fit-for-Purpose Asset Information Requirements based on Asset Functions 
Organisation Jacobs Engineering Group
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution CSIC investigator Ajith Parlikad and Jacobs working on secondment project 'Fit-for-Purpose Asset Information Requirements based on Asset Functions'
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Collaboration is still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Functional Data Modelling 
Organisation National University of Singapore
Country Singapore 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Co-authored paper on transfer learning
Collaborator Contribution Co-authored paper on transfer learning
Impact Ward, R., Wong, C. S. Y., Chong, A., Choudhary, R., & Ramasamy, S. (2021). A study on the transferability of computational models of building electricity load patterns across climatic zones. Energy and Buildings, 237, 110826.
Start Year 2019
 
Description GE Aviation - AS 
Organisation GE Aviation Systems
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Innovate UK projects on MEMS energy harvesting and self-powered wireless sensors
Collaborator Contribution Innovate UK projects on MEMS energy harvesting and self-powered wireless sensors
Impact Innovate UK projects on MEMS energy harvesting and self-powered wireless sensors
Start Year 2013
 
Description Geocisa, Dragados - MSA 
Organisation Geocisa UK
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Bank Station Capacity Upgrade Mansion House and St Mary Abchurch monitoring
Collaborator Contribution Bank Station Capacity Upgrade Mansion House and St Mary Abchurch monitoring
Impact Bank Station Capacity Upgrade Mansion House and St Mary Abchurch monitoring
Start Year 2017
 
Description Geosense - PTK 
Organisation Geosense
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Crossrail tunnel wireless XY tilt sensors
Collaborator Contribution Crossrail tunnel wireless XY tilt sensors
Impact Crossrail tunnel wireless XY tilt sensors
Start Year 2014
 
Description Geosica April 2017 to January 2020 Historical building monitoring - Cedric Kechavarzi 
Organisation Geocisa UK
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Geosica no April 2017 to January 2020 Historical building monitoring
Collaborator Contribution Geosica no April 2017 to January 2020 Historical building monitoring
Impact Geosica no April 2017 to January 2020 Historical building monitoring
Start Year 2017
 
Description Growing Underground 
Organisation Growing Underground
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Digital twin of the underground farm to help optimize their crop yield and design the expansion
Collaborator Contribution supported our research with giving us access to the site for monitoring and with other data
Impact 1 book chapter, several presentations at seminars and media
Start Year 2018
 
Description Growing Underground - Paul Fidler 
Organisation Growing Underground
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Collaboration
Collaborator Contribution Collaboration
Impact Growing Underground
Start Year 2017
 
Description Gwynedd Council - PTK 
Organisation Gwynedd Council
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Brazil Wall movement, and Road condition monitoring
Collaborator Contribution Brazil Wall movement, and Road condition monitoring
Impact Brazil Wall movement, and Road condition monitoring
Start Year 2015
 
Description HS2 - PTK 
Organisation Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
Country United States 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution HS2 Bored concrete Piles Challenge
Collaborator Contribution HS2 Bored concrete Piles Challenge
Impact HS2 Bored concrete Piles Challenge
Start Year 2017
 
Description Hertfordshire County Council - AKNP and ZL 
Organisation Hertfordshire Sports Village
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution (1) Asset management for bridge networks. (2) Improve deterioration model for bridges with inspections data. (3) Prioritize maintenance activities for 11 bridges along A10 in Hertfordshire. (4) Group maintenance activities to reduce the traffic management cost in the bridge network. They have agreed on future support on providing historical principle and general inspections data for the 11 bridges.
Collaborator Contribution (1) Asset management for bridge networks. (2) Improve deterioration model for bridges with inspections data. (3) Prioritize maintenance activities for 11 bridges along A10 in Hertfordshire. (4) Group maintenance activities to reduce the traffic management cost in the bridge network. They have agreed on future support on providing historical principle and general inspections data for the 11 bridges.
Impact (1) Asset management for bridge networks. (2) Improve deterioration model for bridges with inspections data. (3) Prioritize maintenance activities for 11 bridges along A10 in Hertfordshire. (4) Group maintenance activities to reduce the traffic management cost in the bridge network. They have agreed on future support on providing historical principle and general inspections data for the 11 bridges.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Hertfordshire county council - ZhL 
Organisation Hertfordshire County Council
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Asset management for bridge networks
Collaborator Contribution Asset management for bridge networks
Impact Asset management for bridge networks
Start Year 2016
 
Description Highways England - PTK 
Organisation Department of Transport
Department Highways Agency
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution A14 Road Noise Monitoring A14 Abutment monitoring using FO Geogrids
Collaborator Contribution A14 Road Noise Monitoring A14 Abutment monitoring using FO Geogrids
Impact A14 Road Noise Monitoring A14 Abutment monitoring using FO Geogrids
Start Year 2017
 
Description Historic England 
Organisation Historic England
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Assessment/monitoring of heritage structures
Collaborator Contribution Assessment/monitoring of heritage structures
Impact Assessment/monitoring of heritage structures
Start Year 2015
 
Description Huesker - Sinkhole Detection Development PK 
Organisation Huesker
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Sinkhole Detection Development
Collaborator Contribution Sinkhole Detection Development
Impact Sinkhole Detection Development
Start Year 2018
 
Description Huesker UK - PTK 
Organisation Huesker
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Instrumented Geogrid
Collaborator Contribution Instrumented Geogrid
Impact Instrumented Geogrid
Start Year 2017
 
Description Humber Bridge - PTK 
Organisation Humber Bridge Board
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Work on Humber Bridge
Collaborator Contribution Work on Humber Bridge
Impact Work on Humber Bridge
Start Year 2015
 
Description IHI - AS 
Organisation Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
Country United States 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Low-power MEMS strain sensors and field deployment
Collaborator Contribution Low-power MEMS strain sensors and field deployment
Impact Low-power MEMS strain sensors and field deployment
Start Year 2015
 
Description ITM Soil - PTK 
Organisation ITM Soil
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Dam monitoring
Collaborator Contribution Dam monitoring
Impact Dam monitoring
Start Year 2015
 
Description Imetrum - MSA 
Organisation Imetrum
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Workshops for learning their Video Gauge software
Collaborator Contribution Workshops for learning their Video Gauge software
Impact Workshops for learning their Video Gauge software
Start Year 2016
 
Description Imperial College London/Berkeley University/Alan Turing Institute - Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge 
Organisation Alan Turing Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Collaborator Contribution Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Impact Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Start Year 2018
 
Description Imperial College London/Berkeley University/Alan Turing Institute - Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge 
Organisation Imperial College London
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Collaborator Contribution Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Impact Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Start Year 2018
 
Description Imperial College London/Berkeley University/Alan Turing Institute - Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge 
Organisation University of California, Berkeley
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Collaborator Contribution Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Impact Statistical Shape Analysis; Structural Alert System for Marsh Lane Bridge
Start Year 2018
 
Description Imperial College, London AEY 
Organisation Imperial College London
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Research Grant co-working
Collaborator Contribution Research Grant co-working
Impact Research Grant co-working
Start Year 2015
 
Description Improbable - RC 
Organisation Improbable
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Knowledge Transfer Fellowship
Collaborator Contribution Knowledge Transfer Fellowship
Impact Knowledge Transfer Fellowship
Start Year 2016
 
Description Informing the 'Digital Blueprint' for the Houses of Parliament 
Organisation Parliament of UK
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Jennifer Schooling and Houses of Parliament working on secondment project Informing the 'Digital Blueprint' for the Houses of Parliament
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Collaboration still active, outcomes and outputs not yet know.
Start Year 2020
 
Description James Dyson Building - monitoring of superstructure - NdB 
Organisation University of Cambridge
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Project management; Site visits and discussion with client; Monitoring system design and preparation; Installation on site.
Collaborator Contribution Project management; Site visits and discussion with client; Monitoring system design and preparation; Installation on site.
Impact Project management; Site visits and discussion with client; Monitoring system design and preparation; Installation on site.
Start Year 2014
 
Description John Grill Centre, University of Sydney - CRM 
Organisation University of Sydney
Department John Grill Centre
Country Australia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Promoting more innovative and customer-focused infrastructure design in Australia
Collaborator Contribution Promoting more innovative and customer-focused infrastructure design in Australia
Impact Promoting more innovative and customer-focused infrastructure design in Australia
Start Year 2016
 
Description KTN- PTK 
Organisation Knowledge Transfer Network
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution HS2 Bored concrete Piles Challenge
Collaborator Contribution HS2 Bored concrete Piles Challenge
Impact HS2 Bored concrete Piles Challenge
Start Year 2017
 
Description Keller - CK 
Organisation Keller Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution 3 pile load tests
Collaborator Contribution 3 pile load tests
Impact 3 pile load tests
Start Year 2016
 
Description Keltbray - CK 
Organisation Keltbray
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution 2 pile load tests
Collaborator Contribution 2 pile load tests
Impact 2 pile load tests
Start Year 2016
 
Description Keltbray Piling - NdB 
Organisation Keltbray
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Instrumentation and monitoring of RC test piles
Collaborator Contribution Instrumentation and monitoring of RC test piles
Impact Instrumentation and monitoring of RC test piles
Start Year 2016
 
Description Knowledge exchange between University of Cambridge, University of Southampton, and University of Oxford 
Organisation University of Oxford
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution This collaboration draws on University of Southampton expertise in fibre-optic sensor development and fibre-optic sensor analysis, University of Oxford knowledge of embedded sensing systems in smart pipe tunnel segments, and world leading University of Cambridge infrastructure sensing and concrete material research. One planned outcome of this collaboration is to use experimental tests on fundamental concrete behaviour, currently being performed at Cambridge, as a testbed for novel embedded fibre-optic sensors that are being developed at Southampton. This will allow for detailed evaluation of the new sensors themselves, against established sensing methods. The data recorded by these new sensors are expected to be of higher quality and will be used to develop improved models of concrete material behaviour. These tests are ongoing.
Collaborator Contribution Regular knowledge exchange is underway and joint projects planned. Most recently, in December 2022, Martynas Beresna (Southampton) and research students from Southampton and Oxford visited labs at the National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing (NRFIS), University of Cambridge. Fibre-optic analysers at Cambridge were used to conduct initial trials of the novel sensors developed by Southampton. Further work is now underway to prepare these sensors for embedment in concrete material tests.
Impact The collaboration is multi-disciplinary. Beresna (Southampton) research interests include fiber optic sensors, distributed sensing systems, miniature optical imaging and spectrometry systems. Sheil (Oxford) has experimental geotechnics expertise and keen interests in intelligent monitoring to inform underground construction processes. Lees (Cambridge) contributes deep insight into concrete material and structural behaviour. The collaboration also draws upon Cambridge's strong position as a National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Knowledge exchange between University of Cambridge, University of Southampton, and University of Oxford 
Organisation University of Southampton
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution This collaboration draws on University of Southampton expertise in fibre-optic sensor development and fibre-optic sensor analysis, University of Oxford knowledge of embedded sensing systems in smart pipe tunnel segments, and world leading University of Cambridge infrastructure sensing and concrete material research. One planned outcome of this collaboration is to use experimental tests on fundamental concrete behaviour, currently being performed at Cambridge, as a testbed for novel embedded fibre-optic sensors that are being developed at Southampton. This will allow for detailed evaluation of the new sensors themselves, against established sensing methods. The data recorded by these new sensors are expected to be of higher quality and will be used to develop improved models of concrete material behaviour. These tests are ongoing.
Collaborator Contribution Regular knowledge exchange is underway and joint projects planned. Most recently, in December 2022, Martynas Beresna (Southampton) and research students from Southampton and Oxford visited labs at the National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing (NRFIS), University of Cambridge. Fibre-optic analysers at Cambridge were used to conduct initial trials of the novel sensors developed by Southampton. Further work is now underway to prepare these sensors for embedment in concrete material tests.
Impact The collaboration is multi-disciplinary. Beresna (Southampton) research interests include fiber optic sensors, distributed sensing systems, miniature optical imaging and spectrometry systems. Sheil (Oxford) has experimental geotechnics expertise and keen interests in intelligent monitoring to inform underground construction processes. Lees (Cambridge) contributes deep insight into concrete material and structural behaviour. The collaboration also draws upon Cambridge's strong position as a National Research Facility for Infrastructure Sensing.
Start Year 2019
 
Description LDA - Design - YJ 
Organisation LDA Design
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Strategic LEP economic plan
Collaborator Contribution Strategic LEP economic plan
Impact Strategic LEP economic plan
Start Year 2016
 
Description LDA - Design - YJ 
Organisation LDA Design
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Strategic LEP economic plan
Collaborator Contribution Strategic LEP economic plan
Impact Strategic LEP economic plan
Start Year 2016
 
Description Laing O'Rourke - LB 
Organisation Laing O'Rourke
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Staffordshire Alliance Bridge Monitoring Project (EPSRC)
Collaborator Contribution Staffordshire Alliance Bridge Monitoring Project (EPSRC)
Impact Staffordshire Alliance Bridge Monitoring Project (EPSRC)
Start Year 2014
 
Description Laing O'Rourke - PTK 
Organisation Laing O'Rourke
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Pile monitoring , Francis Crick, Staffpordshiore Bridges
Collaborator Contribution Pile monitoring , Francis Crick, Staffpordshiore Bridges
Impact Pile monitoring , Francis Crick, Staffpordshiore Bridges
Start Year 2015
 
Description Lifecycle performance monitoring bridges using digital twins 
Organisation Chung-Ang University
Country Korea, Republic of 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction (CSIC) at Cambridge University has been collaborating with Chung-Ang University with the primary objective of developing low-cost performance monitoring systems for modular bridge elements. CSIC has extensive experience in long-term monitoring of full-scale structures using fibre optic sensing systems and valuable "know-how" of digital twin technology. We have been developing digital twins of a railway bridge in Staffordshire instrumented with FBG sensors during the construction phase. The self-sensing bridge provides information about the realistic conditions occurring on-site to the level of detail never achieved before. For instance, we can now monitor in real-time deformations at +200 sensor locations and accurate traffic loading causing these deformations. Together with their digital twins, these bridges serve as a research testbed for developing a low-cost condition monitoring system in collaboration with Chung-Ang University.
Collaborator Contribution Some of the primary issues preventing the widespread deployment of more data-driven approaches in the asset management of transportation structures are mainly associated with their cost and power requirements for operating. The researchers at Chung-Ang University have been developing a system that addresses both requirements; a cost-efficient and ultra-low powered sensing system that measure strains and temperature and is suitable for long-term bridge monitoring purposes. Such a system can potentially transition the industry from visual inspections to more quantitative data-driven approaches. Thereby, the purpose of this proposal is to develop a reliable and cost-efficient monitoring system for bridge main load-carrying elements using the low-powered sensing equipment developed by the researchers at Chung-Ang University and CSIC's know-how on the long-term bridge monitoring applications and the digital twin technology. In addition to sharing knowledge and technology, the funding from this project is spent towards covering 50% of two researchers' employed at CSIC.
Impact No outcomes yet
Start Year 2021
 
Description London Underground - PTK 
Organisation Transport for London
Department London Underground
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Smart Plan, Iron tunnel segments
Collaborator Contribution Smart Plan, Iron tunnel segments
Impact Smart Plan, Iron tunnel segments
Start Year 2015
 
Description MEMS surface gravimeter for geotechnical surveying 
Organisation Silicon Microgravity Ltd.
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Ashwin Seshia and Silicon Micrograity working on secondment project 'MEMS surface gravimeter for geotechnical surveying'
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Collaboration still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known.
Start Year 2019
 
Description McLaren Applied Technologies - AS 
Organisation McLaren Applied Technologies
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Innovate UK project on self-powered wireless sensors
Collaborator Contribution Innovate UK project on self-powered wireless sensors
Impact Innovate UK project on self-powered wireless sensors
Start Year 2015
 
Description McLaren Racing Limited - HA 
Organisation McLaren Racing
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Small size sensors (Fibre Bragg Grating)
Collaborator Contribution Small size sensors (Fibre Bragg Grating)
Impact Small size sensors (Fibre Bragg Grating)
Start Year 2015
 
Description Metrodynamics, UK - ES 
Organisation Metro Dynamics
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Metropolitan planning and stakeholder engagement
Collaborator Contribution Metropolitan planning and stakeholder engagement
Impact Metropolitan planning and stakeholder engagement
Start Year 2016
 
Description Modelling and Monitoring of Urban Underground Climate Change 
Organisation Alan Turing Institute
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The Universities of Cambridge and California, Berkeley, in partnership with the British Geological Survey, are launching a joint project on Modelling and Monitoring of Urban Underground Climate Change. This project is run as part of the Data Centric Engineering Research Programme at the Alan Turing Institute and the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction at the University of Cambridge. The objective of this NSF(US)-EPSRC(UK) funded research is to better understand impacts of urban underground infrastructure, such as basements and tunnels, on shallow subsurface temperature increase at city-scale. Overview In dense urban areas, the underground is exploited for a variety of purposes, including transport, additional residential/commercial spaces, storage, and industrial processes. With the rise in urban populations and significant improvements in construction technologies, the number of subsurface structures is expected to grow in the next decade, leading to subsurface congestion. Recently emerging data indicate a significant impact of underground construction on subsurface temperature and there is extensive evidence of underground temperature rise at the local scale. Although it is well known that urbanization coupled with climate change is amplifying the urban heat island effect above ground, the extent of the underground climate change at the city scale is unknown because of limited work on modelling the historical and future underground climate change at large scale and very limited long-term underground temperature monitoring. The hypothesis of this research is that (a) the high ground temperature around tunnels and underground basements, (b) the observed temperature increase within the aquifer, and (c) inefficiency in ventilation of the underground railway networks, necessitate more detailed and reliable knowledge of urban underground thermal status. The project will develop a framework for monitoring and predicting temperature and groundwater distributions at high resolutions in the presence of underground heat sources and sinks. This can be achieved via a combination of numerical modelling, continuous temperature and groundwater monitoring and statistical analyses. The ultimate goal is for every city to generate reliable maps of underground climate, with the ability to understand the influence of future urbanization scenarios.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact No impact yet.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Modelling and Monitoring of Urban Underground Climate Change 
Organisation British Geological Survey
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The Universities of Cambridge and California, Berkeley, in partnership with the British Geological Survey, are launching a joint project on Modelling and Monitoring of Urban Underground Climate Change. This project is run as part of the Data Centric Engineering Research Programme at the Alan Turing Institute and the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction at the University of Cambridge. The objective of this NSF(US)-EPSRC(UK) funded research is to better understand impacts of urban underground infrastructure, such as basements and tunnels, on shallow subsurface temperature increase at city-scale. Overview In dense urban areas, the underground is exploited for a variety of purposes, including transport, additional residential/commercial spaces, storage, and industrial processes. With the rise in urban populations and significant improvements in construction technologies, the number of subsurface structures is expected to grow in the next decade, leading to subsurface congestion. Recently emerging data indicate a significant impact of underground construction on subsurface temperature and there is extensive evidence of underground temperature rise at the local scale. Although it is well known that urbanization coupled with climate change is amplifying the urban heat island effect above ground, the extent of the underground climate change at the city scale is unknown because of limited work on modelling the historical and future underground climate change at large scale and very limited long-term underground temperature monitoring. The hypothesis of this research is that (a) the high ground temperature around tunnels and underground basements, (b) the observed temperature increase within the aquifer, and (c) inefficiency in ventilation of the underground railway networks, necessitate more detailed and reliable knowledge of urban underground thermal status. The project will develop a framework for monitoring and predicting temperature and groundwater distributions at high resolutions in the presence of underground heat sources and sinks. This can be achieved via a combination of numerical modelling, continuous temperature and groundwater monitoring and statistical analyses. The ultimate goal is for every city to generate reliable maps of underground climate, with the ability to understand the influence of future urbanization scenarios.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact No impact yet.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Modelling and Monitoring of Urban Underground Climate Change 
Organisation University of California, Berkeley
Country United States 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The Universities of Cambridge and California, Berkeley, in partnership with the British Geological Survey, are launching a joint project on Modelling and Monitoring of Urban Underground Climate Change. This project is run as part of the Data Centric Engineering Research Programme at the Alan Turing Institute and the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction at the University of Cambridge. The objective of this NSF(US)-EPSRC(UK) funded research is to better understand impacts of urban underground infrastructure, such as basements and tunnels, on shallow subsurface temperature increase at city-scale. Overview In dense urban areas, the underground is exploited for a variety of purposes, including transport, additional residential/commercial spaces, storage, and industrial processes. With the rise in urban populations and significant improvements in construction technologies, the number of subsurface structures is expected to grow in the next decade, leading to subsurface congestion. Recently emerging data indicate a significant impact of underground construction on subsurface temperature and there is extensive evidence of underground temperature rise at the local scale. Although it is well known that urbanization coupled with climate change is amplifying the urban heat island effect above ground, the extent of the underground climate change at the city scale is unknown because of limited work on modelling the historical and future underground climate change at large scale and very limited long-term underground temperature monitoring. The hypothesis of this research is that (a) the high ground temperature around tunnels and underground basements, (b) the observed temperature increase within the aquifer, and (c) inefficiency in ventilation of the underground railway networks, necessitate more detailed and reliable knowledge of urban underground thermal status. The project will develop a framework for monitoring and predicting temperature and groundwater distributions at high resolutions in the presence of underground heat sources and sinks. This can be achieved via a combination of numerical modelling, continuous temperature and groundwater monitoring and statistical analyses. The ultimate goal is for every city to generate reliable maps of underground climate, with the ability to understand the influence of future urbanization scenarios.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact No impact yet.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Monitoring collaboration with AECOM and Network Rail 
Organisation AECOM Technology Corporation
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Network Rail commissioned a joint monitoring project between AECOM and CSIC (the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction, which is the research group in which I work). This project involved installation of a wide range of structural health monitoring technologies on a masonry arch railway bridge near Leeds, UK, and the use of these technologies to monitor bridge response under train loading. The main deliverable from this collaboration is a series of reports for Network Rail, evaluating the different technologies with a view to streamlining future monitoring decisions that Network Rail will take on their other, similar bridge assets. Following internal review, Network Rail intends to submit these reports as part of their contribution to the European Shift2Rail research initiative, as an example of research that it is funding. Furthermore, data analysis and interpretation from this collaboration form the basis of a series of academic conference and journal articles, some of which have now been published and others of which are currently pre-publication. AECOM have an interest in fibre-optic technologies for structural health monitoring, which is an area of expertise at CSIC. Knowledge transfer in this field has been enabled by this collaboration.
Collaborator Contribution AECOM have provided organisational and project management services to the CSIC installation, which was carried out in parallel to installation of AECOM's own sensors. Furthermore, data sharing between CSIC and AECOM's sensors is taking place, to aid interpretation and report writing. AECOM have directly contributed to one academic conference paper that is based on this work, and may contribute to other publications in the future. Network Rail have provided funding and access for the project, as well as sharing information and participating in regular meetings and workshops. They are also advising us of similar bridges that will enable the collaboration to be extended in the future, applying the recommendations from the conclusions of the current work.
Impact Three consultancy reports describing the collaboration to date have already been accepted by Network Rail, and a fourth will shortly be written summarising long-term monitoring findings. The intention is that all of these reports will be published through Shift2Rail. Three academic conference papers have been written based on this collaboration. These were presented at various international conferences, and thereafter published in the relevant conference proceedings. These conferences were: (a) International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction, July 8-10 2019, Cambridge, UK, (b) 9th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure, August 7-9 2019, St Louis, Missouri USA, (c) 9th International Conference on Arch Bridges, October 2-4 2019, Porto, Portugal. Academic journal publications will also be forthcoming. The work so far has also led to future opportunities for monitoring collaborations between CSIC, AECOM, and Network Rail, to help meet Network Rail's asset management requirements, as well as their longer term goal of digitising the rail network using sensors, and knowledge transfer between all three organisations.
Start Year 2017
 
Description Monitoring collaboration with AECOM and Network Rail 
Organisation Network Rail Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Network Rail commissioned a joint monitoring project between AECOM and CSIC (the Cambridge Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction, which is the research group in which I work). This project involved installation of a wide range of structural health monitoring technologies on a masonry arch railway bridge near Leeds, UK, and the use of these technologies to monitor bridge response under train loading. The main deliverable from this collaboration is a series of reports for Network Rail, evaluating the different technologies with a view to streamlining future monitoring decisions that Network Rail will take on their other, similar bridge assets. Following internal review, Network Rail intends to submit these reports as part of their contribution to the European Shift2Rail research initiative, as an example of research that it is funding. Furthermore, data analysis and interpretation from this collaboration form the basis of a series of academic conference and journal articles, some of which have now been published and others of which are currently pre-publication. AECOM have an interest in fibre-optic technologies for structural health monitoring, which is an area of expertise at CSIC. Knowledge transfer in this field has been enabled by this collaboration.
Collaborator Contribution AECOM have provided organisational and project management services to the CSIC installation, which was carried out in parallel to installation of AECOM's own sensors. Furthermore, data sharing between CSIC and AECOM's sensors is taking place, to aid interpretation and report writing. AECOM have directly contributed to one academic conference paper that is based on this work, and may contribute to other publications in the future. Network Rail have provided funding and access for the project, as well as sharing information and participating in regular meetings and workshops. They are also advising us of similar bridges that will enable the collaboration to be extended in the future, applying the recommendations from the conclusions of the current work.
Impact Three consultancy reports describing the collaboration to date have already been accepted by Network Rail, and a fourth will shortly be written summarising long-term monitoring findings. The intention is that all of these reports will be published through Shift2Rail. Three academic conference papers have been written based on this collaboration. These were presented at various international conferences, and thereafter published in the relevant conference proceedings. These conferences were: (a) International Conference on Smart Infrastructure and Construction, July 8-10 2019, Cambridge, UK, (b) 9th International Conference on Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure, August 7-9 2019, St Louis, Missouri USA, (c) 9th International Conference on Arch Bridges, October 2-4 2019, Porto, Portugal. Academic journal publications will also be forthcoming. The work so far has also led to future opportunities for monitoring collaborations between CSIC, AECOM, and Network Rail, to help meet Network Rail's asset management requirements, as well as their longer term goal of digitising the rail network using sensors, and knowledge transfer between all three organisations.
Start Year 2017
 
Description Monitoring of concrete bridges with acoustic emission sensors 
Organisation Department of Transport
Department Highways Agency
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Highways England - Monitoring of concrete bridges with acoustic emission sensors The research will explore the benefits of acoustic emission monitoring on damage detection, characterisation and localisation in concrete bridges, enhanced by multi-sensing information from fibre optics and environmental sensors. The main objective is the development of data processing tools for the structural performance assessment of bridges, through continuous infrastructure monitoring and experimental studies. This research and development project is partly funded by Highways England and it is planned a highway bridge will be fully instrumented during this project in collaboration with Mistras Group Ltd, a leading acoustic emission sensing provider.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known
Start Year 2019
 
Description Monitoring of concrete bridges with acoustic emission sensors 
Organisation Kier Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Highways England - Monitoring of concrete bridges with acoustic emission sensors The research will explore the benefits of acoustic emission monitoring on damage detection, characterisation and localisation in concrete bridges, enhanced by multi-sensing information from fibre optics and environmental sensors. The main objective is the development of data processing tools for the structural performance assessment of bridges, through continuous infrastructure monitoring and experimental studies. This research and development project is partly funded by Highways England and it is planned a highway bridge will be fully instrumented during this project in collaboration with Mistras Group Ltd, a leading acoustic emission sensing provider.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known
Start Year 2019
 
Description Monitoring of concrete bridges with acoustic emission sensors 
Organisation Mistras Group Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Highways England - Monitoring of concrete bridges with acoustic emission sensors The research will explore the benefits of acoustic emission monitoring on damage detection, characterisation and localisation in concrete bridges, enhanced by multi-sensing information from fibre optics and environmental sensors. The main objective is the development of data processing tools for the structural performance assessment of bridges, through continuous infrastructure monitoring and experimental studies. This research and development project is partly funded by Highways England and it is planned a highway bridge will be fully instrumented during this project in collaboration with Mistras Group Ltd, a leading acoustic emission sensing provider.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact Project still active, outputs and outcomes not yet known
Start Year 2019
 
Description Monitoring of tall building during construction - Nicky de Battista 
Organisation Multiplex Construction
Country Australia 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Monitoring of tall building during construction
Collaborator Contribution Monitoring of tall building during construction
Impact Monitoring of tall building during construction
Start Year 2017
 
Description Monitoring of under-reamed piles during tunnelling interception using distributed fibre optic sensing 
Organisation Arup Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The Transport for London Bank Station Capacity Upgrade (BSCU) project is reconstructing one of the busiest interchanges on the London Underground network. The tunnelling and underground excavation works commenced in 2016 and excavated their way around a 'rabbit warren'of existing tunnels and beneath many significant buildings in the City of London. An extensive instrumentation and monitoring programme was established to safeguard existing infrastructure assets and buildings. The unprecedented pile interceptions required at the Princes Court building won the 2019 BGA Fleming Award. This eight-storey two-level basement building, owned by The Worshipful Company of Grocers, was built in the 1970s and is supported on 25 large diameter unreinforced under-reamed piles in London Clay. The sprayed concrete lining (SCL) tunnelling fully intercepted four under-reamed piles. The interception strategy involved cutting piles just below tunnel crown and, while temporarily unsupported, constructing a reinforced concrete permanent load transfer structure around the tunnel for each pile. Fibre optic monitoring was installed in existing piles to measure pile response due to tunnelling and interception and to enable verification of design assumptions. Innovation and collaboration Working with Dragados, an Abaqus 3D finite element (FE) geotechnical substructure model, which included the under-ream piles, raft slab, building basement and all tunnel excavation sequences was created by consultant Dr Ali Nasekhian and team at Dr Sauer & Partners Ltd. This model was coupled with a Strand7 3D super-structure model from Robert Bird Group to predict pile foundation and building response to staged tunnelling excavation. At basement slab level, the tops of the under-reamed piles were instrumented with settlement monitoring studs fixed into the concrete slab above each pile position. At tunnelling level, reflective monitoring targets were installed on the pile shafts above and below the cut level as soon as the pile shaft was exposed (Figure 1). This conventional type of monitoring of the intercepted piles before and after cutting recorded the top and bottom pile displacement from exposing the pile, but not the pre-exposure displacement of the base of the pile nor the response down the length of the pile. To fully capture pile behaviour due to tunnelling and interception, distributed fibre optic sensors (DFOS) were used to measure the axial strain over the length of the piles during interception and other construction activities. The use of fibre optics to measure strain in new piled foundations is a well-established method and transferring this to the monitoring of existing piles has proven successful. It is the least invasive and only viable method for spatially continuous axial strain measurement where access is limited. CSIC was brought in by the project team as experts in this field and applied this method by inserting fibre optic sensing cables into two of the 50-year-old under-reamed piles (one intercepted pile and one nonintercepted pile). The piles were cored at 100mm diameter from basement level to depths of 18.9m and 25.3m respectively. A temperature and a strain cable, pre-spliced to form two parallel lines, was lowered to the bottom of the pre-cored boreholes using a spherical weight to overcome buoyancy and keep the cables under tension when grouting (Figure 2). After installation, the cables were connected in a single circuit to a Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA) spectrum analyser located in the plant room of the basement. The under-reamed piles were monitored during tunnelling, pile interception/nibbling, support installation and post construction for over eight months in order to quantify the effect of these activities on pile performance. The strain profiles and strain changes at selected vertical locations are presented in Figures 3 and 4, respectively, for one of the fully intercepted piles. There was little change in strain until the tunnel excavation reached the pile, at which point the axial strain increased all along the pile. This was followed by a sudden development of localised strain at the depth of 3.5m two days later. This localised strain had however halved within two weeks and is consistent with the presence of a short reinforcement cage down to this depth. The strain increase from pile interception to the load transfer structure completion measured an overall pile length extension of 1.3mm, which compared with 3 to 4mm measured by the conventional pile instrumentation.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact This project may mark the first time this fibre optic monitoring method has been successfully used in piling interception during tunnelling. The conventional monitoring method would have been to measure the basement settlement at pile positions with studs, and measuring movement of the pile base by coring the pile and installing a rod extensometer. However, rod extensometers would only record displacement at discrete locations rather than at close intervals as with the fibre optics. It is not thought traditional instrumentation methods would have limited the pile interception solution, however more piles would likely have been instrumented and monitored. By installing innovative fibre optics and recording pile behaviour over the full pile length and at frequent time intervals, a clear picture of how the piles were responding to the advancing tunnel and pile interception gave much better confidence that the building was responding as predicted. As our urban cities become even more connected with new infrastructure tunnels, there will likely be further opportunities for such smart fibre optic piles to provide a robust and reliable instrumentation monitoring method. There can also be ongoing benefit for such monitoring systems if it provides a means by which existing foundation structures can be reused. The installation and use of fibre optic instrumentation to measure temperature and strain successfully verified the pile performance made in the design of the pile interceptions at Princes Court. Four of the Princes Court pile foundations are now permanently supported onto reinforced concrete load transfer structures around the new southbound Northern Line tunnel. Two of the 50-year-old piles retain the fibre optic instrumentation and have now become smart fibre optic piles which are available to inform future performance during multiple demolition and construction phases for the Princes Court site.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Monitoring of under-reamed piles during tunnelling interception using distributed fibre optic sensing 
Organisation Epsimon
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The Transport for London Bank Station Capacity Upgrade (BSCU) project is reconstructing one of the busiest interchanges on the London Underground network. The tunnelling and underground excavation works commenced in 2016 and excavated their way around a 'rabbit warren'of existing tunnels and beneath many significant buildings in the City of London. An extensive instrumentation and monitoring programme was established to safeguard existing infrastructure assets and buildings. The unprecedented pile interceptions required at the Princes Court building won the 2019 BGA Fleming Award. This eight-storey two-level basement building, owned by The Worshipful Company of Grocers, was built in the 1970s and is supported on 25 large diameter unreinforced under-reamed piles in London Clay. The sprayed concrete lining (SCL) tunnelling fully intercepted four under-reamed piles. The interception strategy involved cutting piles just below tunnel crown and, while temporarily unsupported, constructing a reinforced concrete permanent load transfer structure around the tunnel for each pile. Fibre optic monitoring was installed in existing piles to measure pile response due to tunnelling and interception and to enable verification of design assumptions. Innovation and collaboration Working with Dragados, an Abaqus 3D finite element (FE) geotechnical substructure model, which included the under-ream piles, raft slab, building basement and all tunnel excavation sequences was created by consultant Dr Ali Nasekhian and team at Dr Sauer & Partners Ltd. This model was coupled with a Strand7 3D super-structure model from Robert Bird Group to predict pile foundation and building response to staged tunnelling excavation. At basement slab level, the tops of the under-reamed piles were instrumented with settlement monitoring studs fixed into the concrete slab above each pile position. At tunnelling level, reflective monitoring targets were installed on the pile shafts above and below the cut level as soon as the pile shaft was exposed (Figure 1). This conventional type of monitoring of the intercepted piles before and after cutting recorded the top and bottom pile displacement from exposing the pile, but not the pre-exposure displacement of the base of the pile nor the response down the length of the pile. To fully capture pile behaviour due to tunnelling and interception, distributed fibre optic sensors (DFOS) were used to measure the axial strain over the length of the piles during interception and other construction activities. The use of fibre optics to measure strain in new piled foundations is a well-established method and transferring this to the monitoring of existing piles has proven successful. It is the least invasive and only viable method for spatially continuous axial strain measurement where access is limited. CSIC was brought in by the project team as experts in this field and applied this method by inserting fibre optic sensing cables into two of the 50-year-old under-reamed piles (one intercepted pile and one nonintercepted pile). The piles were cored at 100mm diameter from basement level to depths of 18.9m and 25.3m respectively. A temperature and a strain cable, pre-spliced to form two parallel lines, was lowered to the bottom of the pre-cored boreholes using a spherical weight to overcome buoyancy and keep the cables under tension when grouting (Figure 2). After installation, the cables were connected in a single circuit to a Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA) spectrum analyser located in the plant room of the basement. The under-reamed piles were monitored during tunnelling, pile interception/nibbling, support installation and post construction for over eight months in order to quantify the effect of these activities on pile performance. The strain profiles and strain changes at selected vertical locations are presented in Figures 3 and 4, respectively, for one of the fully intercepted piles. There was little change in strain until the tunnel excavation reached the pile, at which point the axial strain increased all along the pile. This was followed by a sudden development of localised strain at the depth of 3.5m two days later. This localised strain had however halved within two weeks and is consistent with the presence of a short reinforcement cage down to this depth. The strain increase from pile interception to the load transfer structure completion measured an overall pile length extension of 1.3mm, which compared with 3 to 4mm measured by the conventional pile instrumentation.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact This project may mark the first time this fibre optic monitoring method has been successfully used in piling interception during tunnelling. The conventional monitoring method would have been to measure the basement settlement at pile positions with studs, and measuring movement of the pile base by coring the pile and installing a rod extensometer. However, rod extensometers would only record displacement at discrete locations rather than at close intervals as with the fibre optics. It is not thought traditional instrumentation methods would have limited the pile interception solution, however more piles would likely have been instrumented and monitored. By installing innovative fibre optics and recording pile behaviour over the full pile length and at frequent time intervals, a clear picture of how the piles were responding to the advancing tunnel and pile interception gave much better confidence that the building was responding as predicted. As our urban cities become even more connected with new infrastructure tunnels, there will likely be further opportunities for such smart fibre optic piles to provide a robust and reliable instrumentation monitoring method. There can also be ongoing benefit for such monitoring systems if it provides a means by which existing foundation structures can be reused. The installation and use of fibre optic instrumentation to measure temperature and strain successfully verified the pile performance made in the design of the pile interceptions at Princes Court. Four of the Princes Court pile foundations are now permanently supported onto reinforced concrete load transfer structures around the new southbound Northern Line tunnel. Two of the 50-year-old piles retain the fibre optic instrumentation and have now become smart fibre optic piles which are available to inform future performance during multiple demolition and construction phases for the Princes Court site.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Monitoring of under-reamed piles during tunnelling interception using distributed fibre optic sensing 
Organisation Geocisa UK
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution The Transport for London Bank Station Capacity Upgrade (BSCU) project is reconstructing one of the busiest interchanges on the London Underground network. The tunnelling and underground excavation works commenced in 2016 and excavated their way around a 'rabbit warren'of existing tunnels and beneath many significant buildings in the City of London. An extensive instrumentation and monitoring programme was established to safeguard existing infrastructure assets and buildings. The unprecedented pile interceptions required at the Princes Court building won the 2019 BGA Fleming Award. This eight-storey two-level basement building, owned by The Worshipful Company of Grocers, was built in the 1970s and is supported on 25 large diameter unreinforced under-reamed piles in London Clay. The sprayed concrete lining (SCL) tunnelling fully intercepted four under-reamed piles. The interception strategy involved cutting piles just below tunnel crown and, while temporarily unsupported, constructing a reinforced concrete permanent load transfer structure around the tunnel for each pile. Fibre optic monitoring was installed in existing piles to measure pile response due to tunnelling and interception and to enable verification of design assumptions. Innovation and collaboration Working with Dragados, an Abaqus 3D finite element (FE) geotechnical substructure model, which included the under-ream piles, raft slab, building basement and all tunnel excavation sequences was created by consultant Dr Ali Nasekhian and team at Dr Sauer & Partners Ltd. This model was coupled with a Strand7 3D super-structure model from Robert Bird Group to predict pile foundation and building response to staged tunnelling excavation. At basement slab level, the tops of the under-reamed piles were instrumented with settlement monitoring studs fixed into the concrete slab above each pile position. At tunnelling level, reflective monitoring targets were installed on the pile shafts above and below the cut level as soon as the pile shaft was exposed (Figure 1). This conventional type of monitoring of the intercepted piles before and after cutting recorded the top and bottom pile displacement from exposing the pile, but not the pre-exposure displacement of the base of the pile nor the response down the length of the pile. To fully capture pile behaviour due to tunnelling and interception, distributed fibre optic sensors (DFOS) were used to measure the axial strain over the length of the piles during interception and other construction activities. The use of fibre optics to measure strain in new piled foundations is a well-established method and transferring this to the monitoring of existing piles has proven successful. It is the least invasive and only viable method for spatially continuous axial strain measurement where access is limited. CSIC was brought in by the project team as experts in this field and applied this method by inserting fibre optic sensing cables into two of the 50-year-old under-reamed piles (one intercepted pile and one nonintercepted pile). The piles were cored at 100mm diameter from basement level to depths of 18.9m and 25.3m respectively. A temperature and a strain cable, pre-spliced to form two parallel lines, was lowered to the bottom of the pre-cored boreholes using a spherical weight to overcome buoyancy and keep the cables under tension when grouting (Figure 2). After installation, the cables were connected in a single circuit to a Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA) spectrum analyser located in the plant room of the basement. The under-reamed piles were monitored during tunnelling, pile interception/nibbling, support installation and post construction for over eight months in order to quantify the effect of these activities on pile performance. The strain profiles and strain changes at selected vertical locations are presented in Figures 3 and 4, respectively, for one of the fully intercepted piles. There was little change in strain until the tunnel excavation reached the pile, at which point the axial strain increased all along the pile. This was followed by a sudden development of localised strain at the depth of 3.5m two days later. This localised strain had however halved within two weeks and is consistent with the presence of a short reinforcement cage down to this depth. The strain increase from pile interception to the load transfer structure completion measured an overall pile length extension of 1.3mm, which compared with 3 to 4mm measured by the conventional pile instrumentation.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact This project may mark the first time this fibre optic monitoring method has been successfully used in piling interception during tunnelling. The conventional monitoring method would have been to measure the basement settlement at pile positions with studs, and measuring movement of the pile base by coring the pile and installing a rod extensometer. However, rod extensometers would only record displacement at discrete locations rather than at close intervals as with the fibre optics. It is not thought traditional instrumentation methods would have limited the pile interception solution, however more piles would likely have been instrumented and monitored. By installing innovative fibre optics and recording pile behaviour over the full pile length and at frequent time intervals, a clear picture of how the piles were responding to the advancing tunnel and pile interception gave much better confidence that the building was responding as predicted. As our urban cities become even more connected with new infrastructure tunnels, there will likely be further opportunities for such smart fibre optic piles to provide a robust and reliable instrumentation monitoring method. There can also be ongoing benefit for such monitoring systems if it provides a means by which existing foundation structures can be reused. The installation and use of fibre optic instrumentation to measure temperature and strain successfully verified the pile performance made in the design of the pile interceptions at Princes Court. Four of the Princes Court pile foundations are now permanently supported onto reinforced concrete load transfer structures around the new southbound Northern Line tunnel. Two of the 50-year-old piles retain the fibre optic instrumentation and have now become smart fibre optic piles which are available to inform future performance during multiple demolition and construction phases for the Princes Court site.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Monitoring of under-reamed piles during tunnelling interception using distributed fibre optic sensing 
Organisation Transport for London
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution The Transport for London Bank Station Capacity Upgrade (BSCU) project is reconstructing one of the busiest interchanges on the London Underground network. The tunnelling and underground excavation works commenced in 2016 and excavated their way around a 'rabbit warren'of existing tunnels and beneath many significant buildings in the City of London. An extensive instrumentation and monitoring programme was established to safeguard existing infrastructure assets and buildings. The unprecedented pile interceptions required at the Princes Court building won the 2019 BGA Fleming Award. This eight-storey two-level basement building, owned by The Worshipful Company of Grocers, was built in the 1970s and is supported on 25 large diameter unreinforced under-reamed piles in London Clay. The sprayed concrete lining (SCL) tunnelling fully intercepted four under-reamed piles. The interception strategy involved cutting piles just below tunnel crown and, while temporarily unsupported, constructing a reinforced concrete permanent load transfer structure around the tunnel for each pile. Fibre optic monitoring was installed in existing piles to measure pile response due to tunnelling and interception and to enable verification of design assumptions. Innovation and collaboration Working with Dragados, an Abaqus 3D finite element (FE) geotechnical substructure model, which included the under-ream piles, raft slab, building basement and all tunnel excavation sequences was created by consultant Dr Ali Nasekhian and team at Dr Sauer & Partners Ltd. This model was coupled with a Strand7 3D super-structure model from Robert Bird Group to predict pile foundation and building response to staged tunnelling excavation. At basement slab level, the tops of the under-reamed piles were instrumented with settlement monitoring studs fixed into the concrete slab above each pile position. At tunnelling level, reflective monitoring targets were installed on the pile shafts above and below the cut level as soon as the pile shaft was exposed (Figure 1). This conventional type of monitoring of the intercepted piles before and after cutting recorded the top and bottom pile displacement from exposing the pile, but not the pre-exposure displacement of the base of the pile nor the response down the length of the pile. To fully capture pile behaviour due to tunnelling and interception, distributed fibre optic sensors (DFOS) were used to measure the axial strain over the length of the piles during interception and other construction activities. The use of fibre optics to measure strain in new piled foundations is a well-established method and transferring this to the monitoring of existing piles has proven successful. It is the least invasive and only viable method for spatially continuous axial strain measurement where access is limited. CSIC was brought in by the project team as experts in this field and applied this method by inserting fibre optic sensing cables into two of the 50-year-old under-reamed piles (one intercepted pile and one nonintercepted pile). The piles were cored at 100mm diameter from basement level to depths of 18.9m and 25.3m respectively. A temperature and a strain cable, pre-spliced to form two parallel lines, was lowered to the bottom of the pre-cored boreholes using a spherical weight to overcome buoyancy and keep the cables under tension when grouting (Figure 2). After installation, the cables were connected in a single circuit to a Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis (BOTDA) spectrum analyser located in the plant room of the basement. The under-reamed piles were monitored during tunnelling, pile interception/nibbling, support installation and post construction for over eight months in order to quantify the effect of these activities on pile performance. The strain profiles and strain changes at selected vertical locations are presented in Figures 3 and 4, respectively, for one of the fully intercepted piles. There was little change in strain until the tunnel excavation reached the pile, at which point the axial strain increased all along the pile. This was followed by a sudden development of localised strain at the depth of 3.5m two days later. This localised strain had however halved within two weeks and is consistent with the presence of a short reinforcement cage down to this depth. The strain increase from pile interception to the load transfer structure completion measured an overall pile length extension of 1.3mm, which compared with 3 to 4mm measured by the conventional pile instrumentation.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact This project may mark the first time this fibre optic monitoring method has been successfully used in piling interception during tunnelling. The conventional monitoring method would have been to measure the basement settlement at pile positions with studs, and measuring movement of the pile base by coring the pile and installing a rod extensometer. However, rod extensometers would only record displacement at discrete locations rather than at close intervals as with the fibre optics. It is not thought traditional instrumentation methods would have limited the pile interception solution, however more piles would likely have been instrumented and monitored. By installing innovative fibre optics and recording pile behaviour over the full pile length and at frequent time intervals, a clear picture of how the piles were responding to the advancing tunnel and pile interception gave much better confidence that the building was responding as predicted. As our urban cities become even more connected with new infrastructure tunnels, there will likely be further opportunities for such smart fibre optic piles to provide a robust and reliable instrumentation monitoring method. There can also be ongoing benefit for such monitoring systems if it provides a means by which existing foundation structures can be reused. The installation and use of fibre optic instrumentation to measure temperature and strain successfully verified the pile performance made in the design of the pile interceptions at Princes Court. Four of the Princes Court pile foundations are now permanently supported onto reinforced concrete load transfer structures around the new southbound Northern Line tunnel. Two of the 50-year-old piles retain the fibre optic instrumentation and have now become smart fibre optic piles which are available to inform future performance during multiple demolition and construction phases for the Princes Court site.
Start Year 2016
 
Description Mott MacDonald - CRM 
Organisation Mott Macdonald UK Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Measuring effectiveness of @one Alliance consortium for delivering long term infrastructure upgrade programme (with prospective PhD student Daniel Brackenbury)
Collaborator Contribution Measuring effectiveness of @one Alliance consortium for delivering long term infrastructure upgrade programme (with prospective PhD student Daniel Brackenbury)
Impact Measuring effectiveness of @one Alliance consortium for delivering long term infrastructure upgrade programme (with prospective PhD student Daniel Brackenbury)
Start Year 2016
 
Description Mott MacDonald - PTK 
Organisation Mott Macdonald UK Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Instrumentation of sheet piling with FBG sensors and measurement during pile installation at Trinity Hall.
Collaborator Contribution Instrumentation of sheet piling with FBG sensors and measurement during pile installation at Trinity Hall.
Impact Instrumentation of sheet piling with FBG sensors and measurement during pile installation at Trinity Hall.
Start Year 2015
 
Description Mott MacDonald - ZL 
Organisation Mott Macdonald UK Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Develop user friendly software for asset management of bridge systems
Collaborator Contribution Develop user friendly software for asset management of bridge systems
Impact Develop user friendly software for asset management of bridge systems
Start Year 2017
 
Description Mott MacDonald instrumentation of sheet piling with FBG sensors and measurement during pile installation at Trinity Hall - JMS 
Organisation Mott Macdonald UK Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution instrumentation of sheet piling with FBG sensors and measurement during pile installation at Trinity Hall
Collaborator Contribution instrumentation of sheet piling with FBG sensors and measurement during pile installation at Trinity Hall
Impact instrumentation of sheet piling with FBG sensors and measurement during pile installation at Trinity Hall
Start Year 2016
 
Description Mouchel - PTK 
Organisation Mouchel Group PLC
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Detection of defects in water courses
Collaborator Contribution Detection of defects in water courses
Impact Detection of defects in water courses
Start Year 2015
 
Description Multi-sensing structural health monitoring of a skewed masonry arch bridge 
Organisation AECOM Technology Corporation
Department AECOM, Nottingham, UK
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution In 2018, Network Rail commissioned CSIC and AECOM to install structural health monitoring technologies on a skewed masonry arch bridge in North Yorkshire, which had suffered extensive historic damage. The technologies would monitor how the 150-year-old bridge behaved structurally and how it was responding to intervention work carried out in 2016. Network Rail also wanted to explore available monitoring technologies to determine which ones worked well and could be used on other assets. The system traditionally used in the UK is deflection pole monitoring, which measures vertical crown displacements at the arch soffit under the centre of the tracks above. However, this method often entails difficulties with access and may require costly and disruptive road closures. Bespoke monitoring system Following several desk studies, laser vibrometry and laser scanning at an initial monitoring visit, engineers were able to study the environment of the bridge and design a bespoke monitoring system. The vibrometry was used to provide an initial gauge of the magnitude of movements that the bridge was experiencing under typical train loading. The laser scan data was used to profile the surface of the bridge and to decide the locations of monitoring equipment, given the constraints of an A-road and footpath running underneath it. CSIC installed distributed monitoring technologies, including a network of fibre optic Fibre Bragg Gratings for detailed dynamic measurement of strains across the arch, a laser scan analysis of historic deformations, and videogrammetry to capture dynamic displacements. AECOM installed an autonomous remote monitoring system comprising a range of dynamic, point-sensing technologies. Real-time monitoring with this system allows for accurate tracking of long-term trends in the monitoring data. The bridge was monitored for six months from September 2018 to February 2019. Both teams from AECOM and CSIC analysed large quantities of data to co-author a series of reports for Network Rail. The reports summarised the studies undertaken before installation, the reasons the system was chosen, the evaluation of the technologies used, and the results to date. An upcoming report will also provide guidance on monitoring technologies that can be used as alternatives to the deflection pole method. Next steps Following internal review by the client, it is intended that these reports will be submitted to the European Shift2Rail programme as examples of research that Network Rail is supporting. Network Rail is also commissioning AECOM and CSIC to perform long-term monitoring of the bridge, which demonstrates the value of the installed monitoring system and the benefits of long-term structural health monitoring. As part of this, the CSIC FBG system will be upgraded to be autonomous and self-sufficient, running on solar power in the same way as AECOM's remote point-sensing system. This enables FBG measurements to be taken automatically and monitoring data transferred back to the CSIC office for analysis. The teams from AECOM and CSIC have also been invited to present the project results to other asset engineers at Network Rail as an example of best practice. This project has enabled CSIC to continue the development of fibre optic monitoring of heritage structures and carry out research into the fundamental behaviour of an existing skewed masonry arch railway bridge. Following refinement of the monitoring system at this bridge, it is expected that more testing on other bridges will take place in the next year.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact CSIC's innovative way of monitoring the health of ageing railway infrastructure won the New Civil Engineer TechFest Rail Visionary award. The award recognises organisations developing pioneering ideas and designs to effect major changes in the global rail sector. The University of Cambridge, Innovative Structural Health Monitoring of Ageing Railway Infrastructure and Smart Monitoring for Condition Assessment of Ageing Infrastructure (a collaboration between CSIC, AECOM, Network Rail and the Alan Turing Institute (ATI)) showcases two bespoke monitoring systems designed for a masonry arch bridge and viaduct, both in Yorkshire. As well as enabling fundamental research into the behaviour of these heritage structures, the detailed monitoring data is also being used to research novel, statistical-based approaches to asset management and structural assessment, through collaboration between CSIC and ATI. Furthermore, at one of these structures, a skewed masonry arch bridge, Network Rail wanted to explore available monitoring technologies to determine systems with the potential to be used on other assets.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Multi-sensing structural health monitoring of a skewed masonry arch bridge 
Organisation Network Rail Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution In 2018, Network Rail commissioned CSIC and AECOM to install structural health monitoring technologies on a skewed masonry arch bridge in North Yorkshire, which had suffered extensive historic damage. The technologies would monitor how the 150-year-old bridge behaved structurally and how it was responding to intervention work carried out in 2016. Network Rail also wanted to explore available monitoring technologies to determine which ones worked well and could be used on other assets. The system traditionally used in the UK is deflection pole monitoring, which measures vertical crown displacements at the arch soffit under the centre of the tracks above. However, this method often entails difficulties with access and may require costly and disruptive road closures. Bespoke monitoring system Following several desk studies, laser vibrometry and laser scanning at an initial monitoring visit, engineers were able to study the environment of the bridge and design a bespoke monitoring system. The vibrometry was used to provide an initial gauge of the magnitude of movements that the bridge was experiencing under typical train loading. The laser scan data was used to profile the surface of the bridge and to decide the locations of monitoring equipment, given the constraints of an A-road and footpath running underneath it. CSIC installed distributed monitoring technologies, including a network of fibre optic Fibre Bragg Gratings for detailed dynamic measurement of strains across the arch, a laser scan analysis of historic deformations, and videogrammetry to capture dynamic displacements. AECOM installed an autonomous remote monitoring system comprising a range of dynamic, point-sensing technologies. Real-time monitoring with this system allows for accurate tracking of long-term trends in the monitoring data. The bridge was monitored for six months from September 2018 to February 2019. Both teams from AECOM and CSIC analysed large quantities of data to co-author a series of reports for Network Rail. The reports summarised the studies undertaken before installation, the reasons the system was chosen, the evaluation of the technologies used, and the results to date. An upcoming report will also provide guidance on monitoring technologies that can be used as alternatives to the deflection pole method. Next steps Following internal review by the client, it is intended that these reports will be submitted to the European Shift2Rail programme as examples of research that Network Rail is supporting. Network Rail is also commissioning AECOM and CSIC to perform long-term monitoring of the bridge, which demonstrates the value of the installed monitoring system and the benefits of long-term structural health monitoring. As part of this, the CSIC FBG system will be upgraded to be autonomous and self-sufficient, running on solar power in the same way as AECOM's remote point-sensing system. This enables FBG measurements to be taken automatically and monitoring data transferred back to the CSIC office for analysis. The teams from AECOM and CSIC have also been invited to present the project results to other asset engineers at Network Rail as an example of best practice. This project has enabled CSIC to continue the development of fibre optic monitoring of heritage structures and carry out research into the fundamental behaviour of an existing skewed masonry arch railway bridge. Following refinement of the monitoring system at this bridge, it is expected that more testing on other bridges will take place in the next year.
Collaborator Contribution As above.
Impact CSIC's innovative way of monitoring the health of ageing railway infrastructure won the New Civil Engineer TechFest Rail Visionary award. The award recognises organisations developing pioneering ideas and designs to effect major changes in the global rail sector. The University of Cambridge, Innovative Structural Health Monitoring of Ageing Railway Infrastructure and Smart Monitoring for Condition Assessment of Ageing Infrastructure (a collaboration between CSIC, AECOM, Network Rail and the Alan Turing Institute (ATI)) showcases two bespoke monitoring systems designed for a masonry arch bridge and viaduct, both in Yorkshire. As well as enabling fundamental research into the behaviour of these heritage structures, the detailed monitoring data is also being used to research novel, statistical-based approaches to asset management and structural assessment, through collaboration between CSIC and ATI. Furthermore, at one of these structures, a skewed masonry arch bridge, Network Rail wanted to explore available monitoring technologies to determine systems with the potential to be used on other assets.
Start Year 2018
 
Description Multiplex - NdB 
Organisation Multiplex Construction
Country Australia 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Monitoring of tall building during construction
Collaborator Contribution Monitoring of tall building during construction
Impact Monitoring of tall building during construction
Start Year