Optimal design of infrastructure facilities subject to deterioration

Publication KuFa03

Authors

Oliver Kübler and Michael H. Faber

Abstract

Infrastructure facilities such as roads, bridges, sewage water systems, etc. are required for activities like transportation, water supply, energy exploitation and energy supply. These facilities constitute an important part of the backbone of society. The design of structures supporting such facilities should be performed such that the life cycle benefit of the activity is maximized. The present paper considers optimal design taking into account the effect of deterioration processes on the life cycle benefit. It is assumed that structures are system-atically reconstructed after failure. The failure process is modeled as a renewal process. The approach is illustrated by an example considering the optimal design of the concrete cover of a concrete bridge.

Published in/by

Proceedings ICASP9, 9th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering, Vol. 2, San Francisco, USA, July 6-9, 2003, pp.1031-1039.