Life-cycle of structural systems: recent achievements and future directions

† Based on the Fazlur R. Khan plenary lecture and the associated paper presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE2014), Tokyo, Japan, 16–19 November 2014.

Abstract

Structural systems are under deterioration due to ageing, mechanical stressors, and harsh environment, among other threats. Corrosion and fatigue can cause gradual structural deterioration. Moreover, natural and man-made hazards may lead to a sudden drop in the structural performance. Inspection and maintenance actions are performed to monitor the structural safety and maintain the performance over certain thresholds. However, these actions must be effectively planned throughout the life-cycle of a system to ensure the optimum budget allocation and maximum possible service life without adverse effects on the structural system safety. Life-cycle engineering provides rational means to optimise life-cycle aspects, starting from the initial design and construction to dismantling and replacing the system at the end of its service life. This paper presents a brief overview of the recent research achievements in the field of life-cycle engineering for civil and marine structural systems and indicates future directions in this research field. Several aspects of life-cycle engineering are presented, including the performance prediction under uncertainty and optimisation of life-cycle cost and intervention activities, as well as the role of structural health monitoring and non-destructive testing techniques in supporting the life-cycle management decisions. Risk, resilience, sustainability, and their integration into the life-cycle management are also discussed.

Keywords::

• infrastructure management
• life-cycle
• optimisation
• reliability
• risk
• sustainability
• resilience
• decision-making
• probability

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

† Based on the Fazlur R. Khan plenary lecture and the associated paper presented at the Fourth International Symposium on Life-Cycle Civil Engineering (IALCCE2014), Tokyo, Japan, 16–19 November 2014.

^1. Email: [email protected]

Additional information

Funding

The support by grants from (a) the National Science Foundation (NSF) Award [CMS-0639428], (b) the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community and Economic Development, through the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA), (c) the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Cooperative Agreement Award [DTFH61-07-H-00040], (d) the US Office of Naval Research (ONR) Awards [N00014-08-1-0188, N00014-12-1-0023] and (e) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Award [NNX10AJ20G] is gratefully acknowledged. The opinions presented in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsoring organisations.