Research

Civil Infrastructure Systems Resilience

The safety, security, prosperity, and social well-being of communities depend on the resilience of civil infrastructure systems, including transportation networks, the power grid, water and wastewater systems, and gas supply systems. Disruptions to these systems can hinder the operations of security agencies, jeopardize public health, and disrupt economic activities. Therefore, it is essential to prevent or minimize such disruptions. However, recent disasters have demonstrated that the level of preparedness and response in affected communities across the U.S. and globally remains inadequate. The speed and success of a community’s recovery after a disaster largely depend on the resilience of its infrastructure. The U.S. National Infrastructure Advisory Council defines infrastructure resilience as “the ability to reduce the magnitude and/or duration of disruptive events.”

At RCIS, we develop methods for risk management and resilience improvement in civil infrastructure systems. Our areas of expertise include (1) natural hazard modeling, (2) empirical and analytical structural component vulnerability modeling, (3) system reliability analysis, (4) infrastructure interdependence modeling, (5) risk-based decision-making, (6) life-cycle cost analysis, and (7) post-disaster repair planning.

Goal: To develop methods for civil infrastructure risk assessment and propose cost-effective strategies to reduce the magnitude and duration of disruptions.

Community Resilience

A community's ability to recover rapidly from natural disasters depends not only on the resilience of its infrastructure but also on the strength of its social and economic systems. At the RCIS lab, we collaborate with researchers in economics and social sciences to model the interactions between physical, economic, and social infrastructure systems and assess how these interactions impact recovery efforts.

Goal: Enhance communities' ability to prepare for, withstand, and recover rapidly from natural disasters.

Infrastructure Maintenance

Asset management is a critical concern for decision-makers and involves various actions, including component acquisition, maintenance, replacement, and disposition. One of the most essential aspects of asset management is preventive and corrective maintenance, which aims to extend the service life of components and reduce their probability of failure. Civil infrastructure managers continuously seek ways to optimize resource allocation for maintenance while ensuring an acceptable level of performance.

At RCIS, we focus on developing methods for the optimal maintenance of civil infrastructure systems under resource constraints. Our specific objectives include (1) developing, comparing, and validating physically-based and statistically-based failure prediction models for infrastructure components and (2) creating system-level maintenance planning models.

Goal: Develop a multi-objective optimization framework for investment in the maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement of infrastructure systems.

Climate Change Adaptation

Investment in civil infrastructure is a long-term commitment due to the extended service life of these assets. Therefore, it is essential for decision-makers to account for the uncertainties inherent in such long-term investments, as they can impact both return on investment and customer satisfaction. One significant uncertainty is the potential impact of climate change on the frequency and intensity of natural hazards, as well as the rate of infrastructure deterioration.

At the RCIS lab, we model the effects of climate change on the long-term risk and performance of civil infrastructure systems.

Goal: Integrate the potential impacts of climate change into infrastructure and community resilience assessments and develop cost-effective adaptation strategies.