Evaluation and Rehabilitation of Bridge and Building Infrastructure: Mechanics, Reliability and Design

下一代加拿大结构工程师的使命将是评估、管理和修复加拿大日益恶化的桥梁和建筑基础设施。例如，在未来50年内消除所有桥梁缺陷的当前价值约为850亿美元。拟议的研究计划将培养高素质的人员，通过密集的研究计划来应对这一挑战，包括数值分析和大规模样本测试，以提高公路桥梁和建筑评估和修复的设计规范标准。最主要的主题是在结构力学和可靠性原则的坚实基础上，制定合理的评估和修复设计实践，这些实践可以很容易地转移给执业工程师。 主要的短期目标是：(1)开发和通过物理试验、分析工具和工程程序验证钢和混凝土公路桥梁的修复；(2)调查名义上为单荷载路径结构的桥梁的真实弹性；以及(3)进行必要的研究，以支持加拿大和美国混凝土协会为现有建筑评估制定标准。 该项目的长期目标是提供相关知识，使工程师能够做出合理的维护、维修和更换决策，从而确保加拿大桥梁和建筑基础设施的安全和可持续性。 拟议的研究计划将在其5年任期内支持7名MESc学生和4名博士生：申请资金的87.9%用于学生津贴，另外5.4%用于支持学生参加技术会议。

The calling of the next generation of Canadian structural engineers will be to evaluate, manage, and rehabilitate Canada's huge inventory of deteriorating bridge and building infrastructure. For example, the current value of eliminating all bridge deficiencies as they arise over the next 50 years is in the order of $85 Billion. The proposed research program will educate Highly Qualified Personnel to address this challenge through an intensive research program, involving numerical analysis and large-scale specimen testing, to enhance design code criteria for the evaluation and rehabilitation of highway bridges and buildings. The overarching theme is to develop rational evaluation and rehabilitation design practices, based on a firm foundation of structural mechanics and reliability principles, that can be readily transferred to practicing engineers. The principal short-term objectives are to: (1) develop, and validate by physical test, analytical tools and engineering procedures for steel and concrete highway bridge rehabilitation; (2) investigate the true resilience of bridges that are nominally single-load-path structures; and, (3) conduct research necessary to support further development of Canadian and American Concrete Institute standards for existing building evaluation. The long-term objective, spawned by the Applicant's previous bridge-related research and industrial experience, is to provide the knowledge that will allow engineers to make rational maintenance, repair and replacement decisions and so ensure the safety and sustainability of Canadian bridge and building infrastructure. The proposed research program will support 7 MESc and 4 PhD students over its 5-year term: 87.9% of the requested funding is for student stipends and an additional 5.4% is to support student participation at technical conferences.