Iris Tien

Bridge Resilience Assessment with INSPIRE Data

Funding Agency: US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Award #00055082-02B

Role: PI

Project as part of Tier 1 University Transportation Center (UTC) Grant #69A3551747126:
Inspecting and Preserving Infrastructure through Robotic Exploration (INSPIRE)

Investigator(s):

Iris Tien (Principal Investigator)
Reginald DesRoches (Co-Principal Investigator)
Genda Chen (Co-Principal Investigator)

Sponsor:

Georgia Tech Research Corporation
Office of Sponsored Programs
Atlanta, GA 30332-0420 (404) 894-4819

Abstract:

Robotic data collection, both automated and remote, will enable post-disaster assessment of bridge components where it would normally be difficult and potentially dangerous for manual inspection by field workers to do so.

Overall Objectives: This project aims to develop and validate a new framework that uses the data collected from the robotic exploration of infrastructure, particularly after a disaster, to assess the condition of bridges and prioritize these structures for repair. This will improve the resilience of the transportation system to disasters by targeting bridge repairs and enabling resources to be distributed more effectively across the system for more rapid recovery after a disaster.

Approach and Methodology: To perform bridge resilience assessment, data will first be used to update component, e.g., column and girder, fragility assessments. Next, these updated component assessments will be input into bridge models to update overall bridge safety assessments. Safety will be determined based on updated assessments of load carrying capacity and updated bridge fragility functions. Finally, comparing these assessments across the bridges inspected will enable prioritization of repair across the transportation system for decreased system down time and improved resilience.