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Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering and Reliability of Condition Assessment

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 764

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing, Florida International University, 10555 West Flagler Street, EC 3602, Miami, FL 33174, USA
Interests: bridge engineering; non-destructive evaluation of bridges; structural health monitoring; vibration analysis and mitigation; structural performance evaluation; field and laboratory testing; bridge rehabilitation and corrosion mitigation; analysis and modeling of masonry and R/C frames; fiber-reinforced polymer applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering and Computing, Florida International University, 10555 West Flagler Street, EC 3660, Miami, FL 33174, USA
Interests: civil infrastructure design, maintenance, and rehabilitation with a focus on pavements and bridges; development of innovative concepts, models, methods, and tools that integrate sustainability principles with civil engineering practices; statistical analysis, multi-decision criteria, simulation processes, optimization techniques, and risk management methods for sustainable and resilient infrastructure
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Civil infrastructure supports services that are critical for communities. With the increasing global population, changes in the climate and the scarcity of resources, sustainable infrastructure engineering is more important than ever. Additionally, infrastructure is the backbone of sustainable development with regard to fostering economic and social growth towards livable, healthy communities. Climate change and natural and manmade hazards have also resulted in a new focus on infrastructure resiliency, which is the capacity of a system to recover from damage caused by extreme climate change events and other disruptions. Bridges and roads represent forms of surface transportation, although transportation is only one of the major infrastructure groups. A broader perspective is needed in order to pursue sustainable development, and the adaptation of sustainable infrastructure design to future trends and modes of transportation is a major consideration.

It is also as important to have methods of reliably monitoring and evaluating the condition of existing structures so that their safety can be assessed and preventive maintenance performed long before the extent of the damage necessitates drastic action. This is even more important in communities that are prone to natural hazards and need to recover quickly after each extreme event. Robust condition assessment is a major element of decision making in the operation and maintenance of infrastructure. Risk- and reliability-based decision making are becoming more common, and condition assessment under these methods must follow the same methodology. Advances in delivery and computational methods, including satellite imagery, drone and robot employment, image processing, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI), have also broadened the horizon of the development of new condition assessment approaches.

This Special Issue aims to compile articles on a wide range of topics related to the sustainable and resilient engineering of infrastructure, as well as the reliability of condition assessment in general. We welcome papers that refer mostly to civil applications of: surface infrastructure (roads, bridges, railway, etc.), air transportation (passenger airlines, drones, etc.), and utility infrastructure (electrical power, gas, water, etc.). The risk and reliability assessment and the condition assessment of infrastructure, as well as resiliency-related topics, are also included in the scope of this Special Issue. 

Dr. Armin Mehrabi
Dr. Carlos M. Chang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable engineering
  • infrastructure
  • resiliency
  • risk and reliability
  • condition assessment
  • future infrastructure trends
  • decision-making systems

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 5343 KiB  
Article
Addressing Post-Disaster Challenges and Fostering Social Mobility through Origami Infrastructure and Construction Trade Education
by Claudia Calle Müller and Mohamed ElZomor
Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3415; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su16083415 - 19 Apr 2024
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Abstract
Natural disasters devastate property and infrastructure systems, impeding sustainable development. Low-income communities, due to economic, physical, and social disparities, face heightened exposure and vulnerability. These communities endure severe and long-lasting infrastructure damage, experiencing a fourfold increase in deaths per disaster and delayed recovery [...] Read more.
Natural disasters devastate property and infrastructure systems, impeding sustainable development. Low-income communities, due to economic, physical, and social disparities, face heightened exposure and vulnerability. These communities endure severe and long-lasting infrastructure damage, experiencing a fourfold increase in deaths per disaster and delayed recovery efforts. Consequently, they resort to constructing informal housing and infrastructure, worsening post-disaster challenges and vulnerabilities. This study aims to address post-disaster challenges in low-income communities by proposing two novel approaches that remain understudied despite their significant potential: (1) a short-term solution of origami temporary emergency housing for swift shelter post-disaster, enabling a return to routine activities while homes and infrastructure systems are being repaired or rebuilt; and (2) a long-term solution, including effective pedagogy, such as teaching methods and instructional tools, to educate and train low-income individuals to aid in sustainable post-disaster reconstruction while providing the added benefit of social mobility. To validate the feasibility of origami TEH and the need and effectiveness of the pedagogy, a survey among architecture, engineering, and construction experts in Puerto Rico, a region prone to natural disasters, was conducted. The results, analyzed using statistical measures including descriptive statistics and ordered probit regression analysis, emphasize the urgent need for sustainable TEH that can be quickly assembled and education for low-income individuals in construction trades. Implementing these solutions will significantly impact communities by addressing post-disaster challenges and promoting social mobility and job equity. Full article
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