Smart infrastructures and technologies for sustainable development of resilient megacities

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With rapid population growth worldwide, urban centers are evolving into megacities. Megacities comprise of different infrastructures (e.g., buildings, bridges and lifelines) which are interlocked as a complex system. Megacities are vulnerable to different hazards. Between 1998-2017, direct economic losses summed approximately USD 2.9 trillion due to natural disasters worldwide [1]. This NSERC DG aims to continue improving the resiliency of megacities by expanding on the applicant's expertise of individual infrastructures under earthquake hazard towards regional level scale under multi-hazard loading conditions. The proposed research will focus on the following research tasks: Understanding the infrastructure behavior under multi-hazard loading conditions The behavior of infrastructures under multi-hazard loading conditions is complex. The research will focus on developing advanced numerical simulation and experimental testing platform for multi-hazard loading. Specifically, the developed platform will be able to predict the infrastructure response under fire and earthquake hazards. Evaluating the condition of the infrastructures on a megacity scale Infrastructure assessment is crucial for enhancing resiliency of a megacity. Current infrastructure assessment methods cannot be scaled to a regional level due to the complexity of the task and the sheer amount of resources required. This research will create an autonomous AI assessment platform to evaluate infrastructure conditions on a megacity scale. Improving the performance of the new and existing infrastructure performance There are many high-performance structural systems and retrofit schemes developed to improve infrastructure performance. However, these systems are usually designed for single hazards (Fire, Wind, Blast and Earthquake). There is no systematic procedure of designing structural systems and retrofit schemes for multi-hazard loading conditions. This research will focus on developing a novel design methodology to account for multi-hazard loading conditions. The research will also improve the performance of new and existing infrastructures by developing robust retrofit schemes and high-performance systems. The outcomes of this NSERC DG will significantly impact the field of structural engineering. The proposed research will allow infrastructures to be assessed under multi-hazard loading conditions. This will create novel structural systems and retrofit schemes which will improve the resiliency of individual infrastructures. Moreover, the developed autonomous AI assessment platform will allow infrastructure assessment in a regional scale. This will significantly change the infrastructure inspection industry where inefficient human inspection will be replaced. This NSERC DG will ensure that the infrastructures are protected from multi hazards, hence, enabling the sustainable growth of megacities in Canada and worldwide.