CAREER: A Risk-Based Model to Achieve Sustainable Solutions for Bridge Infrastructure Subjected to Multiple Threats

该学院早期职业发展（Career）奖的研究目标是开发一种新的方法来增强桥梁基础设施，减轻多种威胁带来的风险，同时平衡更广泛的可持续性目标。我们国家的桥梁基础设施面临着多重威胁，包括老化和老化，人口增长带来的需求增加，以及随着气候变化可能变得更加频繁的自然灾害。这些威胁不仅会造成物理上的破坏，还会对社会、环境和经济产生连锁影响，损害可持续性。在拟议的模型“桥梁基础设施面临多种威胁的可持续解决方案（SSIMT）”中，性能目标由可持续性指标驱动，如能源使用、生命周期成本和停机时间，同时确保安全。SSIMT的风险评估工具是通过实地数据支持的分析研究方法衍生出来的，并在利益相关者的投入下进行了案例研究。首先，将建立脆弱性模型，以揭示风暴潮、地震、老化和劣化的复杂耦合效应，以及对桥梁可靠性的更高要求。这种物理脆弱性将与特定社会、环境和经济影响的可持续绩效指标相关联，从安全到停机时间，从生命周期成本到能源使用。将制定一种基于风险的分析方法来评估和选择桥梁修复策略，同时减轻威胁并促进可持续性。本研究的结果将是一个综合模型，以确定面临多种威胁的桥梁的可持续解决方案，使土木工程实践、公众和新一代学生受益。它的应用将产生更安全、更具成本效益的桥梁，并且在整个使用寿命中需要更少的能源或排放。综合教育计划旨在培养基础设施工程方面的多样化参与者，以解决我国基础设施的不足，并应用拟议的SSIMT模型。将测试基于情境的学习，通过国际交流、利益相关者互动和教育游戏，让学生了解可持续工程和减轻自然灾害风险的原则。基础设施工程领域的工程师和教育工作者将通过指导和研究经验招聘和留住代表性不足的学生，从而实现多元化。通过这些新的教育材料、实践和独特的交流经验，下一代土木工程师将具备可持续的工程概念、多学科团队和环境敏感性，以解决我们国家的一个问题。我们最大的挑战是保护我们的关键基础设施。

The research objective of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award is to develop a new approach to bridge infrastructure enhancement where risks posed by multiple threats are mitigated while balancing broader goals of sustainability. Our nation's bridge infrastructure faces multiple threats, including aging and deterioration, increased demand by a growing population, and natural hazards that may become more frequent with climate change. These threats result not only in physical damage, but cascading social, environmental, and economic impacts that impair sustainability. In the proposed model, "Sustainable Solutions for Bridge Infrastructure Subjected to Multiple Threats (SSIMT)", performance goals are driven by sustainability metrics, such as energy usage, life-cycle cost, and downtime, while ensuring safety. The risk assessment tools for SSIMT are derived through an analytical research approach supported by field data, with case studies conducted with stakeholder input. First, vulnerability models will be developed to uncover the complex coupled effects of storm surge, earthquakes, aging and deterioration, and increased demands on bridge reliability. This physical vulnerability will then be related to metrics of sustainable performance for specific social, environmental, and economic impacts, ranging from safety to downtime, and from life-cycle cost to energy usage. An analytical risk-based method will be formulated to evaluate and select bridge rehabilitation strategies that simultaneously mitigate threats while promoting sustainability.The outcome of this research will be an integrative model to determine sustainable solutions for bridges exposed to multiple threats, benefitting the civil engineering practice, public at large, and new generations of students. Its application will yield bridges that are safer, more cost-effective, and require less energy or emissions throughout their lifetime. The integrated education program aims to cultivate a pipeline of diverse participants in infrastructure engineering prepared to address our nation's infrastructure deficiencies and apply the proposed SSIMT model. Context-based learning will be tested to provide students with an understanding of principles of sustainable engineering and natural hazard risk mitigation through international exchange, stakeholder interaction, and educational games. The pool of engineers and educators in infrastructure engineering will be diversified by recruiting and retaining underrepresented students through mentoring and research experiences. Through these new educational materials, practices, and unique exchange experiences, a pipeline of next generation civil engineers will be prepared with the sustainable engineering concepts, multi-disciplinary teaming, and contextual sensitivity needed to tackle one of our nation?s biggest challenges--safeguarding our critical infrastructure.