Principal Investigators

Prof Su Taylor s.e.taylor@qub.c.uk

Prof Gerry Hamill g.a.hamill@qub.ac.uk

Prof Adele Marshall a.h.marshall@qub.ac.uk

Dr David Hester d.hester@qub.ac.uk

Details of any grant/funding connected with the research 

• EP/V035967/1 EPSRC Core Equipment Grant –Total value £578,688.
• EP/R511602/1 EPSRC Impact Accelerator Account- PI on QUB Internal competition round.
• RF\201718\1796 RAEng Research Fellowship Program –Total Value £504.5k
• DfI QUB PhD Partnership: Funded by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Salary cost for two staff members to undertake part time PhD’s developing novel management systems to enhance the resilience of bridges in Northern Ireland.

Research Summary

SMART Infrastructure’ research, is focused specifically on enhancing the resilience of our road networks. The research is supported by DfI who are providing the platform for the development and demonstration of a bridge maintenance decision support tool, which will be translatable across all road networks. On completion of a fully structured bridge management database, machine learning and statistical regression techniques will enable predictive maintenance across road networks and provide a shift from the current reactive methods towards informed decision making. The systems will allow for the integration of Structural Health Monitoring data which can inform on the true condition of bridges and provide an early warning of damage or extend the safe working life of a bridge.

Scour is the number one cause of bridge collapse globally, our research aims to develop a fibre optic sensor for the early detection of bridge scour. The prototype sensors is being designed in collaboration Somni Solutions in the Netherlands and tested in state of the art hydraulics testing facility at QUB. The research will determine the feasibility of using vortex flow measurements to provide real time alerts of development of scour before any structural damage occurs to the bridge.

Impact of Research

The timing of ‘replace, repair or extend service’ decisions for infrastructure is a significant challenge for local authorities. To address this, researchers at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) have developed a cutting-edge Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) smart alerting system to monitor structures in real time to directly inform decision making at local government level. By embedding data analytics models within an intelligent diagnostic framework, this unique system has delivered step-like improvements in infrastructure monitoring in Northern Ireland (NI). To date, it has resulted in ‘extension of service’ for assets with a replacement cost > GBP40,000,000 within the critically underfunded budget of the Department for Infrastructure. SHM has also demonstrably transformed ‘risk to life’ assessment and practice in NI.

How have you been supported at Queen's?

The fellowship academy at QUB has provided me with access to high quality training courses including “Leadership in Action” whist developing my knowledge through information sessions on policy engagement and commercial development. The School of Natural and Built Environment is enabling me to develop my teaching skills at undergraduate and post graduate level and supporting my completion of The Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Teaching (PGCHET). The peer and mentoring support at QUB has acted as a springboard for my independent research career and the Research and Development staff have provided me with the guidance to administrate my research.  

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