Markov-based deterioration prediction and asset management of floodway structures

ABSTRACT

Floodway structures are sections of roads that have been designed to be overtopped by floodwater and to fully return to serviceable level after the flood water recedes. They are an alternative cost-effective solution to bridges and culverts while they play a significant role in the economy of a country by connecting regional communities, farmlands and agricultural areas to urban cities. To support proactive asset management of floodway structures, this study developed a Markov deterioration model to predict the rate of deterioration for a network of floodway structures by using their visual inspection data. A computational algorithm has also been developed for estimating the lowest-cost inspection interval for floodway structures. A case study with real floodway structures is used to demonstrate its practical application. Effects of maintenance assumption, traffic count and underneath drainage culverts on deterioration rate of floodway network together with a budget estimation are the outcomes of this study.

KEYWORDS:

• Floodways
• rehabilitation
• Markov deterioration
• failure
• inspection

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Commonwealth of Australia through the Cooperative Research Centre program; Bushfire and Natural Hazard CRC. Support provided by Lockyer Valley Regional Council (LVRC) in Australia, is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are very grateful to their former student, Mr. Patient Hadonou from University of Southern Queensland for the assistance in collecting the data.

Data Availability Statement

All data, models, or code generated or used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Commonwealth of Australia through the Bush fire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre program.

Notes on contributors

Huu Tran

Huu Tran (PhD) - is a Research Fellow at the School of Engineering, RMIT University, Australia. His research interests focus on deterioration modelling and asset management of infrastructure assets including bridges, road pavements, drainage pipes.

Weena Lokuge

Weena Lokuge (BSc, MEng, PhD, PGCertTertT&L, MIEAust) - is an Associate Professor in Civil Engineering at USQ since 2010. Her research areas include composite materials, construction materials, rehabilitation of concrete structures and infrastructure management.

Warna Karunasena

Warna Karunasena (BScEngCivil, MEng, PhD, FIEAUS, MSCE, CPEng, RPEQ) - is the Discipline Leader in Civil Engineering and Construction in the School of Civil Engineering and Surveying at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). His research interests include structural behaviour modelling, structural repair and rehabilitation, fibre composite materials and enhancing the resilience of road infrastructure.

Sujeeva Setunge

Sujeeva Setunge (Ph.D, FIE Aust, CPEng) - is the Associate Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) at RMIT University. Her research interests include concrete technology, wood-based composites, infrastructure management and disaster resilience – timber bridges, reinforced concrete bridges, community buildings, sea ports, storm water pipes.