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Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 July 2023) | Viewed by 27164

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Dr. Nuno Marques de Almeida

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Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georesources, Instituto Superior Técnico, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: asset management; risk management; construction management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Adolfo Crespo Márquez

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Guest Editor

Department of Industrial Management, School of Engineering, University of Seville, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
Interests: smart maintenance; Industry 4.0; big data driven
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The frequency and severity of natural or man-induced disaster events, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, pandemics, hazardous material spills, groundwater contamination, structural failures, explosions, etc., as well as their impacts, have greatly increased during recent decades due to population growth and extensive urbanization, amongst other factors. The World Bank estimates that the cost of the vulnerabilities of cities and communities due to these types of disaster risks could reach more than USD 300 billion per year by 2030. However, it has been argued that investments improving the quality and resilience of engineered physical assets that are the backbone of modern societies, such as infrastructure, industrial facilities and buildings, can significantly contribute to more sustainable and prosperous societies.

Engineered assets are key to the delivery of essential services such as transport, food, water, electricity supply, health and safety, etc. Some of these physical assets are integrated into asset systems and national or regional networks with life cycles extending several decades or even centuries. It is, therefore, of great importance that the strategies and life cycle decisions such as those related to short- and long-term capital investment planning, maintenance strategies, operational plans, and asset disposal lead to the maximization of the value that can be derived from these assets. Moreover, it is essential that the achievement of these goals is sustained in time.

Organizations dealing with engineering assets, both public and private, must, therefore, integrate sustainability and resilience concerns into everyday operations, alongside budgets that are often restricted and all the while having to satisfy demanding performance requirements under risky and uncertain environments.

The present Special Issue intends to comprise a selection of papers reporting the latest research and case studies discussing the trends and emerging strategies addressing these challenges, with contributions regarding how asset management principles and techniques can help push the boundaries of sophistication and innovation to improve the life cycle management of engineered assets toward more sustainable and resilient cities and societies being welcome.

Papers submitted to this Special Issue will be subject to a rigorous peer-review procedure with the aim of a rapid and wide dissemination of research results, developments, and applications.

Dr. Nuno Marques de Almeida
Prof. Dr. Adolfo Crespo Márquez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

engineering asset management
sustainable development
resilience
life cycle management
decision making
critical infrastructures
industrial facilities
buildings and built environment
digital transformation
regulations and policy
innovation
emerging risks and disaster risk reduction
life cycle management
management systems

Published Papers (12 papers)

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Editorial

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0 pages, 482 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets

by Nuno Marques de Almeida and Adolfo Crespo Márquez

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(1), 391; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14010391 - 31 Dec 2023

Viewed by 947

Abstract

The frequency and severity of natural or human-induced disaster events, such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires, pandemics, hazardous material spills, groundwater contamination, structural failures, explosions, etc., as well as their impacts, have greatly increased in recent decades due to population growth and extensive urbanization, among other factors. The World Bank estimates that the total cost of cities’ and communities’ vulnerability to these types of disasters could reach more than USD 300 billion per year by 2030. However, it has been argued that investment to improve the quality and resilience of engineered physical assets that are the backbone of modern societies, such as critical infrastructure, industrial facilities, and buildings, could significantly contribute to more sustainable and prosperous societies. Engineered assets are key to the delivery of essential services, such as transport, food, water, electricity supply, health and safety, etc. Some of these physical assets are integrated into asset systems and national or regional networks, with life cycles of several decades or even centuries. It is, therefore, of great importance that strategies and life cycle decisions, such as those related to short- and long-term capital investment planning, maintenance strategies, operational plans, and asset disposal, lead to the maximization of the value derived from these assets. Moreover, it is essential that the achievement of these goals is sustainable over time. Organizations dealing with engineering assets, both public and private, must, therefore, integrate sustainability and resilience concerns into everyday operations, using budgets that are often restricted, while also meeting demanding performance requirements in risky and uncertain environments. This Special Issue collates a selection of papers reporting the latest research and case studies regarding the trends and emerging strategies used to address these challenges, with contributions discussing how asset management principles and techniques can help to push the boundaries of sophistication and innovation to improve the life cycle management of engineered assets to ensure more sustainable and resilient cities and societies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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Research

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22 pages, 1134 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Quantitative Group Decision-Making Methodology for Structural Eco-Materials Selection Based on Qualitative Sustainability Attributes

by Majdi Al Shdifat, María L. Jalón, Esther Puertas and Juan Chiachío

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(22), 12310; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132212310 - 14 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 907

Abstract

In response to escalating global environmental challenges, developed countries have embarked on an ecological transition across a range of sectors. Among these, the construction industry plays a key role due to its extensive use of raw materials and energy resources. In particular, research into sustainable construction materials, here named eco-materials, has seen a boost in recent years because of their potential to replace less environmentally friendly materials such as concrete and steel. This paper proposes a large-scale group decision-making methodology to select among a set of candidate structural eco-materials based on sustainability considerations. The proposed approach is based on a novel quantitative SWOT analysis using survey data from a diverse group of experts, considering not only the technical aspects of the materials but also their impact in the context of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. As a result, a range of eco-materials are probabilistically assessed and ranked, taking into account the variability and uncertainty in the survey data. The results of this research demonstrate the suitability of the proposed methodology for eco-material selection based on sustainability criteria, but also provide a new generic methodology for group decision assessment considering the uncertainty in the survey data, which can be extended to multiple applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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15 pages, 3291 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Operation Principles of the Industrial Facility Infrastructures Using Building Information Modeling (BIM) Technology in Conjunction with Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE)

by Nikolai Bolshakov, Xeniya Rakova, Alberto Celani and Vladimir Badenko

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(21), 11804; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132111804 - 28 Oct 2023

Viewed by 780

Abstract

The current industrial facility market necessitates the digitization of both production and infrastructure to ensure compatibility. This digitization is presently accomplished using Building Information Modeling and digital twin technologies, as well as their integrated usage, which enhances convergence and adds further value to facility assets. However, these technologies primarily focus on the physical components of industrial facilities, neglecting processes, requirements, and functions. To address these gaps, the inclusion of the Model-Based System Engineering approach, a proven benchmark in systems engineering, is essential. This inclusion is the main objective of this research. This article outlines methods and principles for integrating Model-Based System Engineering into the informational modeling of existing industrial facilities to address current market gaps. It offers practical steps for such integration and compares it to other methods, positioning Model-Based System Engineering as a pivotal tool for enhancing the value of industrial facility digital assets. The main findings include the proposal of BIM and MBSE integration, which aims to create a competitive advantage for industrial facilities by improving customer service and operational efficiency, requiring collaboration from various stakeholders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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21 pages, 44185 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fragility Analysis Based on Damaged Bridges during the 2021 Flood in Germany

by Alessandro Pucci, Daniel Eickmeier, Hélder S. Sousa, Linda Giresini, José C. Matos and Ralph Holst

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(18), 10454; https://doi.org/10.3390/app131810454 - 19 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1415

Abstract

Floods trigger the majority of expenses caused by natural disasters and are also responsible for more than half of bridge collapses. In this study, empirical fragility curves were generated by referring to actual failures that occurred in the 2021 flood in Germany. To achieve this, a calibrated hydraulic model of the event was used. Data were collected through surveys, damage reports and condition ratings from bridge owners. The database comprises 250 bridges. The analysis revealed recurrent failure mechanisms belonging to two main categories: those induced by scour and those caused by hydraulic forcing. The severity of the damage was primarily dependent on the bridge typology and, subsequently, on the deck’s weight. The analysis allowed us to draw conclusions regarding the robustness of certain bridge typologies compared to others for a given failure mechanism. The likelihood of occurrence of the triggering mechanism was also highlighted as a factor to consider alongside the damage probability. This study sheds light on existing vulnerabilities of bridges to river floods, discussing specific areas in which literature data are contradictory. The paper also strengthens the call for a shift towards a probabilistic approach for estimating hydraulic force in bridge design and assessment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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37 pages, 10319 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Sustainability Analysis Based on the LCA–Emergy–Carbon Emission Approach in the Building System

by Junxue Zhang and Ashish T. Asutosh

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(17), 9707; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13179707 - 28 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 777

Abstract

Ecologically sustainable buildings and their carbon emissions are two popular ideas for building life cycle systems. It is a challenge to comprehensively assess the sustainability of building cases using two different methods. Based on over a decade of research, this paper attempts to explore the possibility of quantitatively integrating both approaches. In this study, we adopted the emergy method and carbon emission approach to assess and analyze a building system. In particular, similarities and differences have been identified through emergy and carbon emissions at each stage of the building’s whole life cycle. The results demonstrate that the building operation phase is the critical contributor (Approximately 79.6% of the total emergy and 97.9% of the entire carbon emission), which occupies the most emergy and carbon emission amounts of the whole building system. In order to improve the ecological sustainability of the building system, renewable energy subsystems are considered and explored. While the overall sustainability of the building system is enhanced, the new systems will aggrandize the carbon emissions. Therefore, the ecological sustainability of building systems and carbon emissions should be considered comprehensively, and the relationship between the two views needs to be balanced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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18 pages, 12735 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Vulnerability Assessment of Critical Infrastructure Based on Fire Risk through GIS Systems—Case Study: Historic City Center of Guimarães, Portugal

by Oscar Urbina, Hélder S. Sousa, Alexander Fekete, José Campos Matos and Elisabete Teixeira

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(15), 8881; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13158881 - 01 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2239

Abstract

One of the most important factors when assessing the resilience of critical infrastructure is its vulnerability to extreme events. This study focuses on developing correlation maps that define the vulnerability to fire risk of critical infrastructure and its zone of influence. Using an index approach, a vulnerability assessment is challenging due to the fact that observing and measuring certain vulnerability aspects is not too easy. Furthermore, analyzing the unique vulnerabilities of individual elements becomes intricate, given their interdependencies and correlations. Leveraging GIS mapping techniques, we investigate the impacts of infrastructure disruption on neighboring elements and the urban fabric. The methodology enables multiple levels of assessment, facilitating the identification of vulnerable elements and optimizing decision-making processes before and after extreme events. Our findings highlight the significance of prioritizing emergency planning, enhancing accessibility, implementing preventive measures, and adopting a proactive emergency response approach. In conclusion, these measures contribute to mitigating vulnerability and safeguarding critical infrastructure and surrounding communities from extreme events. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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33 pages, 12384 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Novel Approach for Modeling and Evaluating Road Operational Resilience Based on Pressure-State-Response Theory and Dynamic Bayesian Networks

by Gang Yu, Dinghao Lin, Jiayi Xie and Ye. Ken Wang

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(13), 7481; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13137481 - 25 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1236

Abstract

Urban roads face significant challenges from the unpredictable and destructive characteristics of natural or man-made disasters, emphasizing the importance of modeling and evaluating their resilience for emergency management. Resilience is the ability to recover from disruptions and is influenced by factors such as human behavior, road conditions, and the environment. However, current approaches to measuring resilience primarily focus on the functional attributes of road facilities, neglecting the vital feedback effects that occur during disasters. This study aims to model and evaluate road resilience under dynamic and uncertain emergency event scenarios. A new definition of road operational resilience is proposed based on the pressure-state-response theory, and the interaction mechanism between multidimensional factors and the stage characteristics of resilience is analyzed. A method for measuring road operational resilience using Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBN) is proposed, and a hierarchical DBN structure is constructed based on domain knowledge to describe the influence relationship between resilience elements. The Best Worst method (BWM) and Dempster–Shafer evidence theory are used to determine the resilience status of network nodes in DBN parameter learning. A road operational resilience cube is constructed to visually integrate multidimensional and dynamic road resilience measurement results obtained from DBNs. The method proposed in this paper is applied to measure the operational resilience of roads during emergencies on the Shanghai expressway, achieving a 92.19% accuracy rate in predicting resilient nodes. Sensitivity analysis identifies scattered objects, casualties, and the availability of rescue resources as key factors affecting the rapidity of response disposal in road operations. These findings help managers better understand road resilience during emergencies and make informed decisions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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28 pages, 6815 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Risk and Resilience Assessment of Lisbon’s School Buildings Based on Seismic Scenarios

by Filipe L. Ribeiro, Paulo X. Candeias, António A. Correia, Alexandra R. Carvalho and Alfredo Campos Costa

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(17), 8570; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12178570 - 27 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2115

Abstract

The safety and resilience of school buildings against natural disasters is of paramount importance since schools represent a reference point for communities. Such significance is not only related to the direct consequences of collapse on a vulnerable part of the population, but also due to the importance of schools in the post-disaster recovery. This work is focused on the risk and resilience assessment of school buildings in Lisbon (Portugal) under seismic events. The results of this study, in which a subset of 32 schools are analyzed, are used to define a prioritization strategy to mitigate the seismic risk of the Lisbon City Council school building portfolio and to assess the overall resilience of the school network. Numerical modeling of the school buildings is performed in order to estimate losses in terms of the built-up area of the schools and recovery times associated with different seismic scenarios, which are probabilistically defined specifically for the sites of the buildings, accounting for the local soil conditions and associated amplification effects. Based on the obtained risk estimates, which are compared to reference values established on international guidelines and specialized literature, the Lisbon City Council and LNEC jointly defined a short- and medium-term risk mitigation plan, starting with a detailed inspection and assessment of the most vulnerable school buildings and continuing to the implementation of retrofitting measures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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18 pages, 5535 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Generating More Hydroelecticity While Ensuring the Safety: Resilience Assessment Study for Bukhangang Watershed in South Korea

by Dong Hyun Kim, Taesam Lee, Hong-Joon Shin and Seung Oh Lee

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(9), 4583; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12094583 - 30 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1441

Abstract

The recent integrated water management policy and carbon-neutral policy can be seen as a turning point that changed the major frameworks of water resource policy and energy policy in the world. Values of hydropower reservoirs, directly related to both policies, should be re-evaluated in terms of resilience. In the past, hydropower reservoirs in Korea have contributed both to flood control and to generating electricity when operating dams within the limited water level during flood seasons. Under such limited operations, the power loss would be inevitable. Therefore, in this study, the concept of resilience was introduced for application to the operation of the hydropower reservoir to minimize such power loss. Also, the framework was able to be used for evaluating power generation performance when setting the target function to the maximization of electricity sale profit. HEC-5 was used for deriving the optimal operation rule, and the scenario was established by referring to the procedure of the general multiple-reservoir operation plan in Korea. As a result of application to the proposed framework, the operation rule that produces the maximum amount of electricity sales was presented, and it was confirmed that flood control and water usage performance could additionally be evaluated. When comparing the past data with optimal operation results for the period 2006~2013, it was found that the resilient operation increased by about 19.83% in terms of electricity generation. In the near future, if various scenarios are added and economic analysis is accompanied, it will be able to judge the best economic effects and the least opportunity costs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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19 pages, 3425 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Measuring Urban Infrastructure Resilience via Pressure-State-Response Framework in Four Chinese Municipalities

by Min Chen, Yu Jiang, Endong Wang, Yi Wang and Jun Zhang

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(6), 2819; https://doi.org/10.3390/app12062819 - 09 Mar 2022

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2952

Abstract

Urban infrastructure (UI), subject to ever-increasing stresses from artificial activities of human beings and natural disasters due to climate change, assumes a key role in modern cities for maintaining their functional operations. Therefore, understanding UI resilience turns essential. Based on the Pressure-State-Response (PSR) model, this paper built a comprehensive evaluation index system for urban infrastructure resilience evaluation. Four municipalities, including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing in China, were selected for the case study, given their specific significance in terms of geographical location and urban infrastructure scale. Temporal differences of UI resilience in those four cities during 2002–2018 were explored. The results showed that: (1) The various stages of PSR relative importance for the urban infrastructure resilience development in the four cities were different. The infrastructure status, primarily resource environmental benefit, had the most significant effect on urban infrastructure resilience, accounting for 38.73%. (2) While Shanghai ranked first, the levels of urban infrastructure resilience in four cities were generally poor in 2002–2018 with continuously low resilience. (3) Significant differences were found in the resilience levels associated with the three stages of pressure, state and response failing to form a positive development cycle, with the poorest pressure resilience. This paper puts forward some recommendations for providing scientific support for urban resilient infrastructure development in four municipalities in China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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Review

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41 pages, 2484 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Systematic Literature Review on Urban Resilience Enabled with Asset and Disaster Risk Management Approaches and GIS-Based Decision Support Tools

by Seyed MHS Rezvani, Maria João Falcão, Dragan Komljenovic and Nuno Marques de Almeida

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(4), 2223; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13042223 - 09 Feb 2023

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7789

Abstract

Urban Resilience (UR) enables cities and communities to optimally withstand disruptions and recover to their pre-disruption state. There is an increasing number of interdisciplinary studies focusing on conceptual frameworks and/or tools seeking to enable more efficient decision-making processes that lead to higher levels of UR. This paper presents a systematic review of 68 Scopus-indexed journal papers published between 2011 and 2022 that focus on UR. The papers covered in this study fit three categories: literature reviews, conceptual models, and analytical models. The results of the review show that the major areas of discussion in UR publications include climate change, disaster risk assessment and management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), urban and transportation infrastructure, decision making and disaster management, community and disaster resilience, and green infrastructure and sustainable development. The main research gaps identified include: a lack of a common resilience definition and multidisciplinary analysis, a need for a unified scalable and adoptable UR model, margin for an increased application of GIS-based multidimensional tools, stochastic analysis of virtual cities, and scenario simulations to support decision making processes. The systematic literature review undertaken in this paper suggests that these identified gaps can be addressed with the aid of asset and disaster risk management methods combined with GIS-based decision-making tools towards significantly improving UR. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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27 pages, 1378 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Systematic Review: To Increase Transportation Infrastructure Resilience to Flooding Events

by Grace Watson and Jeong Eun Ahn

Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(23), 12331; https://doi.org/10.3390/app122312331 - 02 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2626

Abstract

This study investigated literature databases of Google Scholar and Scopus from 1900 to 2021 and reviewed relevant studies conducted to increase transportation infrastructure resilience to flood events. This review has three objectives: (1) determine which natural hazard or natural disaster had the most vulnerability studies; (2) identify which infrastructure type was most prevalent in studies related to flood resilience infrastructure; and (3) investigate the current stage of research. This review was conducted with three stages. Based on stage one, floods have been extremely present in research from 1981 to 2021. Based on stage two, transportation infrastructure was most studied in studies related to flood resilience. Based on stage three, this systematic review focused on a total of 133 peer-reviewed, journal articles written in English. In stage three, six research categories were identified: (1) flood risk analysis; (2) implementation of real-time flood forecasting and prediction; (3) investigation of flood impacts on transportation infrastructure; (4) vulnerability analysis of transportation infrastructure; (5) response and preparatory measures towards flood events; and (6) several other studies that could be related to transportation infrastructure resilience to flood events. Current stage of studies for increasing transportation resilience to flood events was investigated within these six categories. Current stage of studies shows efforts to advance modeling systems, improve data collections and analysis (e.g., real-time data collections, imagery analysis), enhance methodologies to assess vulnerabilities, and more. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability and Resilience of Engineering Assets)

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