Centre for infrastructure systems engineering (CISE)
Infrastructure Systems Engineering covers activities across a wide range of length scales aimed at sustainable infrastructure delivery and management. Research encompasses the characterisation and modelling of damage processes through asset life-cycles, the simulation of complex structural systems under cyclic, dynamic and extreme loads, and the performance assessment and management of large infrastructure networks.
Research themes
- Innovative construction materials and their durability
- Reliability assessment of large infrastructure systems
- Asset performance & management of potable water networks
- Advanced FE modelling & testing of structural systems under static/dynamic/fatigue loading
- Structural glass & glass facades
- Robustness & progressive collapse of structures
- Structural health monitoring and damage assessment
Dynamic and extreme loads
Sudden removal of columns caused by a blast or impact introduces instability in the building frame. Adjacent floors lose their bearing abruptly. This instability propagates and can be seen as a wave of buckling columns that propagates outwards and later upwards. Building instability resulting from an immediate column removal requires dynamics analysis. This work is part of a larger effort led by Dr Szyniszewski to understand the behavior of complex phenomena through the use of high-fidelity simulations. More information can be found on Dr Szyniszewski's website.
Civil infrastructure monitoring and analytics (CIMA)
Digital technologies, including sensing technologies, telecommunication engineering, and data science, have enormous potential to transform the construction industry. Monitoring data analytics, whether physics-based or data driven, can improve maintenance efficiency and optimise asset life. At Surrey, we have so far investigated a range of issues related to the application of such techniques in metallic bridges, pipelines and other structures, bringing together expertise in materials and structures, as well as statistics, informatics and decision theory. Our collaboration with various industry partners enables us to analyse real data from critical infrastructure assets and to influence the development of industry guidelines on inspection and maintenance.
Dr Ying Wang has recently been awarded an EPSRC grant: An integrated physics-based and data-driven approach to structural condition identification, which aims to develop an integrated algorithm to create a reliable and effective approach for structural health monitoring, which can find different applications.