Project
Country infrastructures play a main role inside the national economy; try to preserve those is a key factor to strengthen its economy. Transportation systems are the most demanded infrastructures and road network investments mean the most important porcentage above the overall investments in transport. Communications network patrimony in developed countries is huge , deserving to be highlighted the European case, and above all, the Spanish case as one that grew the most in the latest years.
So, it is supposed that the existing networks maintenance should be the main goal for any country. Roads and other infrastructures show the need of conservation and maintenance that must be solved for the optimization of economical resources and the maintenance of the productive economy of a country.
On the other hand, aspects like exploitation and vial safety of the streets have become the focus in the current spanish society, in which road sinistrality is one of the main problems that administrations will have to face. This project will contribute to the rise of knowledge about the current situation of roadways and infrastructures, and consequently it will improve vial infrastructures quality.
The existing inspection systems are mainly based on reports supplied by technicians from visual infrastructure inspections (experience), so the degree of technification shown is minimum. There is, therefore, technology already mature in other engineering applications that would only require its adaptation (laser scanner, thermography, georadar, etc) to this specific case.
Also functions based on mathematical methods (Finite Element Methods, Heyman, etc.) and computational methods (neural networks, Bayesian networks, decisión trees, etc) should be used to provide a very high knowledge rate of its current state, behaviour and future evolution, making in this way more efficient decisions.
The main target of this project could be summarized in the development, adaptation and tune-up of technological systems for linear infrastructure and road inspection, analyses and management (SITEGI). In this way, we pretend to improve the current decision-making process about the yes/no need of a rehab intervention, based esentially on cualitative parameters obtained from visual inspections and technicians experience, without using cuantitative information or sophisticated analysis systems.
In this project we pretend to introduce the latest technologies for acquisition of cualitative and quantitative visible information about the terrain and the internal state of materials, consequently, they give information about the state of linear infrastructures of our country.
We look for the automation and standardization in the data acquisition, as well as the systematization of optimal decision-making procedures. The cualitative and cuantitative information conveniently processed and integrated in an Expert Management System, would be the support for the decision-making in relation to maintenance and conservation actions to accomplish, in a scenary of poor economical resources, being neccesary to give priority to the investments, and also issues connected with road safety for users.
There will be targets of this project the following types of infrastructures associated to roads and linear works: bridges, tunnels, road surfaces, viaducts and slopes.
And now the specific targets and participants are listed:
1.Design and fabrication of an integrated inspection system of infrastructures.
It will be designed and elaborated one basic prototype of Mobile Computered Inspection Unit that will be integrated in a vehicle for continuous data acquisition. This system will have attached a number of sensors like laser scanner, infrared thermography, photogrammetry, video, GPR, laser profilometer and Global Positioning System (GPS). It will be developed a control software that will let the synchronization of all the systems and the data storage generated in a georeferenced database (Geographic Information System-GIS) for consulting and analysing obtained data.
2. Develop protocols for detailed infrastructure inventory in roads.
Protocols for infrastructure inventory will let the information storage in a GIS for data management, visualization and spatial analyses. These will include infrastructure localization, elements and components, dimensions, materials, ways of construction, construction period, overload record, inspections and interventions, management entity, between others.
3. Define auscultation and documentation methods of linear works and its related infrastructures through non destructive sensors integrated in the Mobile Computered Inspection Unit.
We will investigate what is the accuracy and precision of used techniques in comparison with other techniques that could be used, influence of vehicle speed, tune-up complexity , staff needed for the management of the Mobile Unit, etc.
4. Develop one methodology of infrastructure evaluation in roads that let assess the carrying capacity of structures, detect and focus critical zones of possible damage and value its structural seriousness.
They will use limit equilibrium and finite element methods; there will be done sensitivity analyses for the obtained results.
5. Implement one expert system to give a infrastructure diagnosis related to linear works and help with decision-making that let integrate the obtained data in one global deterioration index (DI) and execute evolution predictions.
6. Identify maintenance requirements, paying attention to road safety questions, economic issues and the development of guides and strategies for the suitable maintenance and the intervention prioritization in infrastructures associated to road works.
7. Promote the cooperation and knowledge transfer between enterprises and investigation centers from the productive sector.
8. Decrease the economic cost caused by the infrastructure maintenance in the Spanish territory and increase its safety.
9. Promote the use of technologies between participating enterprises in this project to be more competitive as a whole and favor their internationalization.
