Digital Twin Aided Vulnerability Assessment and Risk-Based Maintenance Planning of Bridge Infrastructures Exposed to Extreme Conditions

Sakdirat Kaewunruen, Jessada Sresakoolchai, Wentao Ma and Olisa Phil-Ebosie
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Sakdirat Kaewunruen: School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Jessada Sresakoolchai: School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Wentao Ma: School of Engineering, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Olisa Phil-Ebosie: Transport for London (TfL), 5 Endeavour Square, London E20 1JN, UK

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: Over the past centuries, millions of bridge infrastructures have been constructed globally. Many of those bridges are ageing and exhibit significant potential risks. Frequent risk-based inspection and maintenance management of highway bridges is particularly essential for public safety. At present, most bridges rely on manual inspection methods for management. The efficiency is extremely low, causing the risk of bridge deterioration and defects to increase day by day, reducing the load-bearing capacity of bridges, and restricting the normal and safe use of them. At present, the applications of digital twins in the construction industry have gained significant momentum and the industry has gradually entered the information age. In order to obtain and share relevant information, engineers and decision makers have adopted digital twins over the entire life cycle of a project, but their applications are still limited to data sharing and visualization. This study has further demonstrated the unprecedented applications of digital twins to sustainability and vulnerability assessments, which can enable the next generation risk-based inspection and maintenance framework. This study adopts the data obtained from a constructor of Zhongcheng Village Bridge in Zhejiang Province, China as a case study. The applications of digital twins to bridge model establishment, information collection and sharing, data processing, inspection and maintenance planning have been highlighted. Then, the integration of “digital twins (or Building Information Modelling, BIM) + bridge risk inspection model” has been established, which will become a more effective information platform for all stakeholders to mitigate risks and uncertainties of exposure to extreme weather conditions over the entire life cycle.

Keywords: inspection; bridge; BIM; life cycle; vulnerability; extreme condition; risk-based maintenance; sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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