Solutions to Monitor and Assess Resilience in Transport (SMART) Infrastructure

The research will focus specifically on the vulnerability of bridge structures within the road network. My PhD will be focused on developing a digital road map for infrastructure in Northern Ireland which will involve the structuring of existing data sets at the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and establishing a framework which would facilitate a fully interoperable technology platform to allow for network wide performance analysis. This information will then be used to develop novel mathematical methodologies to identify relationships and correlations between structural condition, material properties, climate and traffic using a machine learning approach. An innovative risk consequence map will then inform future repair plans and budget allocation within DfI. The objective of this element is to, for the first time, lay the foundation of a risk consequence map across the network to understand the practical consequences of road closures, extended repair programs, or failure. Most importantly this will consider interdependency of assets within the network and the cascading effects due to service loss.