Mini‐Symposia

MS1: Life‐Cycle Performance of Structural Systems under Multiple Hazards

Structural systems, due to their inherent vulnerability, are at risk from aging, fatigue and deterioration processes due to aggressive chemical attacks and other physical damage mechanisms. The detrimental effects of these phenomena can lead over time to unsatisfactory structural performance under service loadings or accidental actions and extreme events, such as natural hazards and man‐made disasters.[read more=”read more” less=”read less”] These problems pose a major challenge to the field of structural engineering, since the classical time‐invariant structural design criteria and methodologies need to be revised to account for a proper modeling of the structural system over its entire life‐cycle by taking into account the effects of deterioration processes, time‐variant loadings, and maintenance and repair interventions under uncertainty. Despite these needs and recent research advances, life‐cycle concepts are not yet explicitly addressed in structural design codes. Moreover, the level of structural performance is generally specified with reference to structural safety and reliability. However, when aging and deterioration are considered, the evaluation of the system performance should account for additional probabilistic indicators aimed to provide a comprehensive description of the life‐cycle structural resources, such us structural redundancy, robustness and resilience. Based on these considerations, the purpose of this Mini‐ Symposium is to present principles, concepts, methods and strategies for a life‐cycle probability based design that can effectively be implemented in practice for measuring and evaluating the lifecycle reliability, redundancy, robustness and resilience of deteriorating structural systems under multiple hazards, with emphasis on the interaction between seismic and environmental hazards.

Mini‐Symposium organized on behalf of the SEI/ASCE Technical Council on Life‐Cycle Performance, Safety, Reliability and Risk of Structural Systems, Task Group 1 on Life‐Cycle Performance of Structural Systems under Uncertainty. [/read]

MS2: Vibration-based health monitoring,
damage identification and residual lifetime estimation

This mini-symposium deals with vibration-based health monitoring, damage identification and residual lifetime estimation for civil engineering structures such as bridges and viaducts, buildings, wind turbines, towers, masts, etc.
In vibration-based structural health monitoring and damage identification (detection, localization, quantification, and prognosis), an attempt is made to identify structural damage from vibration data of a structure.[read more=”read more” less=”read less”] For civil engineering structures, data obtained under ambient excitation is often used due to the difficulties associated with the forced excitation of large structures. This is often followed by a two-stage procedure where (1) a black-box model of the structure is identified from time or frequency domain data and (2) features of the black-box model such as the modal characteristics (natural frequencies, mode shapes) are either directly interpreted by a damage identification algorithm, or used to calibrate stiffness parameters of a physics-based model. If a physics-based model is employed, it can also be used to update response and reliability predictions, so as to estimate the residual lifetime of the structure.

This mini-symposium welcomes novel contributions on vibration-based structural health monitoring, damage identification and parameter, input and load estimation, using black-box as well as physics-based models. Relevant topics include linear and nonlinear system identification, statistical system identification methods (maximum likelihood, Bayesian inference) for parameter and state estimation, model updating and correlation, uncertainty quantification in system and parameter identification, model class selection based on system response data, stochastic simulation techniques for state estimation and model class selection, optimal strategies for experimental design, optimal sensor location methods, updating response and reliability predictions using data.

[/read]

MS3: Life-Cycle Performance Assessment of Civil Engineering Systems

Civil engineering systems in an aggressive environment deteriorate with time due to the environmental stressors. In case of RC structures in a marine environment, corrosion is initiated by chloride contamination if the structures have poor quality concrete and/or
inadequate concrete cover. Reinforcement corrosion in concrete is the predominant factor for the premature deterioration of RC structures, leading to structural failure.[read more=”read more” less=”read less”] Failure does not necessarily mean structural collapse, but also includes loss of serviceability, characterized by concrete cracking, spalling, and excessive deflection. Whole life performance prediction of RC structures is gradually becoming a necessity for decision making with respect to inspection, repair, strengthening, replacement, and demolition of aging and deteriorated RC structures. Despite extensive research in this field, however, a number of issues still remain unclear. One of the main intricacies is the uncertainty associated with the physical parameters involved in the problem. Because of the presence of uncertainties, long-term structural performance must be predicted based on probabilistic concepts and methods, and life-cycle reliability assessment methodologies must be established.
The aim of this Mini-Symposium is to attract state-of-the-art papers that deal with the use of advanced computational and/or experimental techniques for evaluating the life-cycle performance of aging structures in an aggressive environment. For these
structures, multiple environmental and mechanical stressors lead to deterioration of structural performance. Such deterioration will reduce their service life and increase the life-cycle cost associated with maintenance actions. This Mini-Symposium covers current theoretical and experimental efforts made in the assessment and future prediction of performance, maintenance and strengthening of existing structures in an aggressive environment. The following topics would be addressed:
– Long-term deterioration model of structural performance;
– Visual inspection or advanced structural health monitoring techniques;
– Life-cycle analysis of aging structures based on reliability approach;
– Updating the reliability of existing structures by incorporating inspection results;
– Related topics with laboratory or field experiments on aging structures.

Note: This Mini Symposium is organized on behalf of the SEI/ASCE Technical Council on Life]Cycle Performance, Safety, Reliability and Risk of Structural Systems, Task Group 1 on Life-Cycle Performance of Structural Systems under Uncertainty.

[/read]

MS4: Life cycle engineering for hydraulic structures, levees, and other water related infrastructure

A large amount of civil infrastructure has water related functions: flood control, marine, drinking water, sewage, etc. Considerable investments are required for building, renovating and maintaining these infrastructures. Most of them serve more than one function, and have more than one owner / manager, complicating their life cycle management. This mini symposium will focus on water related infrastructure like dikes and dunes, bridge pillars, sluices, retaining walls, sewage and drinking water, harbor infrastructures, reservoirs and dams, etc.[read more=”read more” less=”read less”]

Existing infrastructure in these domains generally has long life spans and are not always designed to adapt to changes in use, climate or regulations. Since part of the infrastructure is reaching the end of its service life, this offers opportunities in infrastructure development that meet present day adaptive, societal and environmental requirements

With this respect, trends require to search for smart solutions from technical, financial and governance point of view. We live in a society with increasing need for efficiency and transparency of public organizations. The focus shifts from condition and risk management, to predictive and adaptive management and from asset level to system or regional level.

The purpose of this mini symposium is twofold. Firstly to collect and exchange best approaches and innovative practices in Life Cycle Engineering in water related infrastructure and infrastructure systems. Secondly to set up and discuss a research agenda for the development of better methods and tools to assist decision making in Life Cycle Engineering of water related infrastructure.

The papers in this mini symposium will show
• new life cycle management approaches to the problem, like adaptation pathways for changing demands and requirements, scenario analysis, societal cost benefit approaches, system optimization and planning;
• new life cycle engineering approaches for life time prediction: intervention levels, deterioration models, inspection and monitoring.
• New life time extension approaches: repair and renovation techniques, design, probabilistic modeling and maintenance optimization.
[/read]

MS5: Building Information Models (BIM) for the lifecycle

The use of Building Information Models in construction industry is growing rapidly. Contractors and engineering companies use BIM-models mainly to reduce failure cost and to increase efficiency during construction. 3D-models play an important role in BIM.
During the design phase, long before construction starts, a virtual (usually) 3D-model is built. This virtual representation is used to detect flaws in design, but also provide a basis for an automated logistic building process. [read more=”read more” less=”read less”] All information gathered during design and construction is stored in the BIM-model.

New challenges
During the design and construction phase problems arise if main contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and engineering companies have to work together in BIM-model. At the same time, information exchange problems arise if the data structure and object definitions in the BIM-model differ from the information delivery protocols from the clients project. Once the project is finished, the new asset becomes a part of the total asset stock. Similar problems arise if the clients project information model differs from the subsequent management systems used to maintain the asset information. This is where a new challenge arises: How to create a BIM-model for the lifecycle? This challenge becomes increasingly important in the building sector. Government policies like “single data acquisition, multiple use” stress the importance of an integral approach to information management.

Current directions of research and methods being developed to solve problems
Much research is currently being done on the field of BIM-modeling. International platforms like W3C promote and support the development of linked open data.
Other organizations, like Building Smart International (BSi) support the development of BIM. Typical products that are part of BSi and IFC, IFD, EDM, and the Building Smart Data Dictionary (bSDD). Typical important international developments are: IFC for Infra and integration of the BIM and the integration between BIM and the GEO-world.

Scope of the Special Session / Mini Symposium
Authors writing papers related to BIM-modelling for the lifecycle are welcome to contribute to this Mini Symposium. [/read]

MS6: Issues and challenges in real-world applications of structural health monitoring

Structural health monitoring (SHM) has been evaluated by bridge owners, as well as those in industry, as a method with potential to improve the safety and reliability of structures and thereby reduce their operational cost. SHM technology is perceived as a revolutionary method of determining the integrity of structures, combining multidisciplinary fields involving sensors, materials, signal processing, system integration and signal interpretation.[read more=”read more” less=”read less”] SHM systems are expected not only to detect structural failure, but
also to provide an early indication of physical damage. The early warning provided by such a system can then be used to define remedial strategies before the structural damage leads to failure.

In spite of significant research activity, SHM technology has not yet been widely accepted by working level officials and bridge owners; this is probably caused by few satisfactory results in real-world
applications. However, recent fast-growing technologies in the fields of sensing, signal processing and pattern recognition have great potential to be incorporated for the successful real-world application of SHM technology.

The aim of this mini symposium is to provide a forum in which scientists and engineers from academia and industry can present their state-of-the-art research results on SHM technology, focusing on realworld applications. The mini symposium covers the following topics as well as relevant topics on challenges facing real-world applications of SHM:
–  Applications of novel technologies in structural health monitoring
–  Damage/outlier detection for real structures
–  Long/Short term monitoring applications of real structures
–  Monitoring-based decision making on structural integrity
–  Novel sensing applications/Power sources and data storage
–  What is missing in existing frameworks & Bridge Management Systems which can help promote and support SHM [/read]

MS7: Life-Cycle Maintenance Technology and Management System for Concrete Roads in Severe Chloride Environment Region

Concrete roads in severe environmental conditions typically deteriorate in 20-30 years due to the strong sea breeze and the use of de-icing salts. However, the budget for local governments is limited, and insufficient to cover the costs for maintenance. In addition, an engineer lacks knowledge of proper inspection methods, damage analyses and efficient repair.
Based on the above background, maintenance techniques and management systems to support proper decision making should be developed.  [read more=”read more” less=”read less”] Maintenance management systems should support the following process flow;
1) inspection, check and monitoring,
2) evaluation and judgment,
3) countermeasure (strengthening, repair and renewal).
Therefore, the deterioration progress and structural performance of the road structure under the severe chloride environment is clarified, and a preventive maintenance strategy with low cost and efficient support system for engineers to keep the road in a safe operational state is needed. Here, an efficient inspection technology to grasp the present situation of the structure is needed, including an appropriate judgment system is constructed. Afterwards a plan to switch from “preemptive maintenance” to “preventive maintenance” in the road structure of the local government is suggested in order to aim at drawdown and the equalization of the budget.

Authors are invited to submit papers for this Mini Symposia, dealing with the following topics
–   Comparison of chloride permeation into concrete between flying salt and anti-freeze agent
–   Inspection or advanced facility health monitoring techniques
–   Experimental and/or analytic investigation about corrosion and load capacity of RC and PC structures with chloride attack and its complex deterioration
–   Technique to prolong the life of road structures to build in the severe chloride environment area
–   Rational inspection technology and system for road structures that damaged chloride attack
–   Operational management techniques for road system
This list is not limitative. This mini symposia welcomes the research of a wide range. For example, reports related to inspection results for actual deteriorated structures, non-destructive testing technology, new repair methods and maintenance management under little budget. [/read]

 MS8: Construction in the context sustainable development

Ageing constructions, end‐of‐life questions are challenging tasks in the context sustainable development. European normative activity is focusing on the life‐cycle perspective of assets in real-estate and construction. This means an upcoming strong demand of impact reduction of structures, infrastructure and construction also from the legislative side with a life‐cycle focus. [read more=”read more” less=”read less”]
Construction activity and service provision as challenging tasks of the future building context are interdependent concerning impacts on environment and society.  This means, the monitoring of aspects along the life‐cycle demand interdisciplinary approaches, aiming at maintenance, rehabilitation and end‐of‐life solutions for constructions. These include performance based design, service life prediction, maintenance strategies, life–cycle cost models, project management and further procedures and disciplines.
Based on these considerations, this session is seeking approaches, principles, concepts and methods for the description and assessment in the context of the trifold demands of sustainable development.
This means:
‐   Asset performance aiming at impacts on the trifold demands of sustainable development;
‐   Economic cycles of construction and assets;
‐   Environmental and social impact of constructions and construction activity;
‐   End‐of‐life solutions;
‐   Stakeholder integration.
Suggested solutions can either address the construction stage, use stage, end‐of‐life stage or integrate the different stages of constructions, connect existing techniques or step beyond this system. [/read]

MS9: Modeling time-dependent behavior and deterioration of concrete

In recent years topics such as robustness, resilience, sustainability, life-cycle assessment have shifted into the focus of engineering societies. Many concepts have been developed. Yet, accurate and physically based prediction models and modeling concepts for the time dependent behavior and deterioration of concrete which are quintessential inputs are still scarce. This Mini Symposium will provide a forum for international experts and researchers to discuss recent developments in modeling time-dependent phenomena relevant to concrete structures.  [read more=”read more” less=”read less”] In particular, authors working on research related to creep and shrinkage, alkali-silica reaction, delayed ettringite formation, carbonization, freeze and thaw, corrosion, sulphate attack, and the age-dependent change of mechanical properties are encouraged to submit abstracts. Further topics of interest include coupled problems such as cracking damage and permeability, as well as transport processes in ageing and deteriorating concrete structures. [/read]

 MS10: Assessment of structural capacity by proof loading

Assessment of the structural capacity of existing concrete structures becomes increasingly important for several reasons. In the Netherlands many bridges were built in the decades of the European reconstruction after the Second World War. These structures are now approaching the end of the service life they were originally designed for. Additionally, the current design codes impose higher live load and stricter capacity calculation to the structures.  [read more=”read more” less=”read less”] As a result, the capacity of several existing bridges is subject of discussion. Other sources of uncertainty are the effect of material degradation or the uncertainty about the available reinforcement.Strengthening or demolishing and rebuilding all those bridges that do not meet the current regulations, while their real structural capacity is still sufficient, is of course a waste of money. However, sufficient structural capacity should be demonstrated. Improving the conservative models is one way to do this, but proof loading might be an interesting efficient alternative. Proof loading as a tool for the assessment of the structural capacity of bridges is still in the infancy and many questions still have to be answered. Recently, in the Netherlands several pilots were performed and it would be interesting to discuss this topic during the IALCCE symposium, since the challenge of an aging bridge stock is certainly not only a Dutch problem, but a global problem.

Several topics are relevant with respect to proof loading; for instance the relationship between the deterministic proof loading and the design of the concrete bridge based on a probablistic approach. Or in other words, where on the bridge should the load be applied and how large should the maximum test load be? And how to convert the magnitude of proof loading to the approved structural capacity of the structure?
Also, the way the proof loading is executed asks for attention. The load should be applied in a controlled way and the loading process should not significantly affect the capacity of the structure. In fact, there are contradictory requirements. On one hand, to demonstrate the structural capacity, the load on the bridge should be as high as possible, while on the other hand, to prevent damage, the maximum applied load is limited. What stop criteria should be used and are they safe and not too restrictive for the assessment of both the bending moment and the shear capacity?

Authors writing papers related to proof loading of concrete structures, not only for existing structures, but also for new structures, are kindly invited to contribute to this Mini Symposium. [/read]

MS11: Reliability analysis of structural systems and reliability-based optimal design and assessment

This mini-symposium deals with the reliability-based optimal design and assessment of structures and structural systems. Typical engineering problems such as design, assessment, inspection, maintenance planning and decommissioning may be realized to be decision problems subject to a combination of inherent, modeling and statistical uncertainties.
Rational design decisions cannot be made without modelling them and taking them into account.[read more=”read more” less=”read less”]

This mini-symposium welcomes novel contributions on reliability‐based design optimization, life-cycle reliability and optimization, risk acceptance criteria for new and existing structures, efficient system reliability analysis by finite element structural models, probabilistic load models, bayesian updating techniques for structural reliability, model uncertainties and infrastructure risk assessment and management.[/read]

 

MS12: Integrative monitoring for the life-cycle performance of engineering structures.

 


Integrative monitoring concepts become more and more important in the structural health diagnosis and prognosis, and life-cycle performance assessment of engineering structures. Integrative monitoring comprises early age inspection and damage detection methods as well as long term monitoring measures among others that supports in the intervention planning (e.g., maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, replacement) for new and existing structures. This mini symposium will provide a forum for international experts and researchers to discuss recent developments in integrative monitoring, for instance the development of smart monitoring systems, structural health diagnosis and prognosis approaches, in life-cycle performance assessment associated with monitoring based reliability methods. Integrative monitoring concepts become more and more important in the structural health diagnosis and prognosis, and life-cycle performance assessment of engineering structures.[read more=”read more” less=”read less”]Integrative monitoring comprises early age inspection and damage detection methods as well as long term monitoring measures among others that supports in the intervention planning (e.g., maintenance, repair, rehabilitation, replacement) for new and existing structures. This mini symposium will provide a forum for international experts and researchers to discuss recent developments in integrative monitoring, for instance the development of smart monitoring systems, structural health diagnosis and prognosis approaches, in life-cycle performance assessment associated with monitoring based reliability methods. Participants will be able to share innovative ideas on the state-of-the-art, state-of-the-practice and future trends in integrative monitoring concepts.[/read]