The Proactive Infrastructure Monitoring and Evaluation (PRIME) System: Technology Demonstrator for Remote Monitoring of Transportation Earthworks

拟议的项目旨在通过经济上可行的监测和预警系统Prime来改变当前的资产管理做法，该系统可产生近乎实时的信息，为一系列基础设施土方不稳定问题提供决策支持和解决方案。该项目尤其旨在演示和验证新开发的地球物理监测技术，以此作为提高脆弱的铁路和水上交通土方基础设施对极端天气和洪水等环境风险的应变能力的一种手段。这项新技术可以将有关土方工程内部状况的近乎实时的信息直接传递给岩土资产所有者，从而在早期阶段识别斜坡破坏过程，从而在最大限度地减少对基础设施的干扰的情况下计划低成本的预防性干预(而不是对灾难性的土方工程故障进行高成本的更新和补救，这可能具有极大的破坏性--特别是对铁路行业，因为与延误相关的经济处罚)。作为对工业合作伙伴的指导，我们的目标是通过在更广泛的运营环境中测试该方法来进一步演示和验证Prime概念，包括铁路路堤和运河网络上的蓄水结构。这将使项目团队(资产所有者、管理人员和研究提供商)能够考虑一系列实际部署选项，展示自适应智能监控方法，进行成本效益分析，并通过借鉴在此项目下开发的案例研究和在相关创新B项目期间进行的研究的结果，正式评估Prime的技术准备水平。该项目的总体目标是向利益相关者提供必要的证据，证明Prime适用于一系列基础设施土方不稳定问题，作为经济上可行的监测、预警和决策支持系统(即“解决方案”)。

The proposed project seeks to change current asset management practice with an economically viable monitoring and early warning system, PRIME, that produces near-real-time information to provide decision support and 'solutions' for a range of infrastructure earthwork instability problems.In particular, this project aims to demonstrate and validate newly developed geophysical monitoring technology as a means of improving the resilience of vulnerable rail and water transportation earthworks infrastructure to environmental risks, such as extreme weather and flooding. The new technology could stream near-real-time information on the internal condition of earthworks direct to geotechnical asset owners - thereby allowing slope failure processes to be identified at an early stage so low cost preventative intervention can be planned with minimal disruption to infrastructure (rather than high-cost renewal and remediation of catastrophic earthwork failures, which can be highly disruptive - particularly for the rail industry due to financial penalties associated with delays).In response to guidance by the industrial partners we aim to further demonstrate and validate the PRIME concept by testing the approach in a greater range of operational settings, including a railway embankment and a water retaining structure on the canal network. This will allow the project team (asset owners, managers and research providers) to consider a range of practical deployment options, demonstrate an adaptive intelligent monitoring approach, undertake a cost benefit analysis, and formally assess the Technology Readiness Level of PRIME by drawing upon the outcomes of the case studies developed under this project and the study undertaken during the related Innovation B project. The overarching aim of the project is to provide the necessary evidence to the stakeholders that PRIME is applicable as an economically viable monitoring, early warning and decision support system (i.e. a 'solution') for a range of infrastructure earthwork instability problems.