Bridges & Embankments

We champion a state-of-the-art approach for assessing the built-in resilience of bridges and embankments and their interdependencies within the broader road network. We use our highly technical skills and sophisticated numerical tools to study the performance of bridges and embankments to exceptional loading cases that go beyond the code standards. Our procedures emphasize on the simulation of the entire soil-foundation-structure system and the faithful representation of material properties.

In simulations of broader scale, we treat the bridges and the embankments as critical connectors that can be physically damaged, affecting the post-event network capacity and causing serious and long-lasting disruptions to interconnected systems and the broader community.

On a recent development, our bridge and flood experts have coordinated for proposing a simplified methodology for assessing the risk of failure of river-crossing bridges due to scouring. The methodology manages to translate the complex soil-fluid scouring mechanics into an efficient scoring system that can be implemented in early-warning platforms and resilience-planning strategies.