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Railway track infrastructure asset management is a challenging problem with added values on safety, society and environment. With railways serving as a key sustainable mode of transportation for passengers and freight, the industry is facing an increasing demand to expand its capacity, availability and speed, resulting in faster deterioration of the aging railway track infrastructure. Given the constrained maintenance budgets and the environmental challenges posed by climate change, railway asset managers have to identify economically and environmentally-justifiable track maintenance strategies without compromising on safety. To this end, this paper proposes a risk-informed approach to arrive at sustainable railway track maintenance strategies, while considering the associated track maintenance costs and impacts to train operation (environmental emissions and risk of derailments). Monte Carlo simulation is employed to address data uncertainties associated with track quality data, the costs and benefits of track maintenance and train operation. The proposed approach is successfully applied to the heavy haul railway lines in Sweden and Australia to compare some alternative maintenance strategies and identify the sustainable one.
Manu Sasidharan; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks. Infrastructure Asset Management 2021, 8, 25 -35.
AMA StyleManu Sasidharan, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks. Infrastructure Asset Management. 2021; 8 (1):25-35.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Sasidharan; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. 2021. "Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks." Infrastructure Asset Management 8, no. 1: 25-35.
Railway track infrastructure asset management is a challenging problem with added values on safety, society and environment. With railways serving as a key sustainable mode of transportation for passengers and freight, the industry is facing an increasing demand to expand its capacity, availability and speed, resulting in faster deterioration of the aging railway track infrastructure. Given the constrained maintenance budgets and the environmental challenges posed by climate change, railway asset managers have to identify economically and environmentally-justifiable track maintenance strategies without compromising on safety. To this end, this paper proposes a risk-informed approach to arrive at sustainable railway track maintenance strategies, while considering the associated track maintenance costs and impacts to train operation (environmental emissions and risk of derailments). Monte Carlo simulation is employed to address data uncertainties associated with track quality data, the costs and benefits of track maintenance and train operation. The proposed approach is successfully applied to the heavy haul railway lines in Sweden and Australia to compare some alternative maintenance strategies and identify the sustainable one.
Manu Plavinkoottathil Sasidharan; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleManu Plavinkoottathil Sasidharan, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Plavinkoottathil Sasidharan; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan. 2020. "Risk-informed sustainable asset management of railway tracks." , no. : 1.
Cast iron water distribution pipes are used widely in the UK and worldwide. Corrosion of these cast iron pipes often occurs due to an electrochemical process where the pipe is buried directly in a chemically aggressive ground (as is the case for some clays). The electrochemical process changes the pH environment and releases iron ions into the clay. This can cause chemical alteration of the clay minerals and corrosion products, such as iron oxide, hydroxide, and aqueous salts, to form in the soil. These chemical interactions are complex and time dependent, and can potentially result in pipe failure, and thus the conditions under which they occur need to be understood. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) has been proposed for routinely detecting, assessing, and monitoring buried cast iron pipes, and thus it is important to know how these chemical changes affect the electromagnetic properties of soil. A bespoke set of laboratory experiments was devised to simulate and accelerate cast iron corrosion (using electrokinetics) and ion migration processes in two types of clay, namely Kaolin clay and Oxford clay. Tests were conducted for periods of up to 3 months using both inert electrodes and a cast iron disc as the anode. The changes in the geotechnical properties (undrained shear strength, moisture content, and Atterberg limits), the geophysical properties (permittivity), and the geochemical properties (iron content, pH, and conductivity) were monitored. The results indicated that the Oxford clay was much more aggressive in terms of the corrosion activity compared to the Kaolin clay. The laboratory results were used in GPR simulations in relation to the detection of a buried cast iron pipe. The results showed that the chemically induced changes to the Kaolin clay did not materially affect the performance of GPR to detect the cast iron pipe, whereas for a pipe buried in Oxford clay the (greatly accelerated) chemically-induced changes were sufficiently advanced after approximately 7–8 weeks to cause the GPR to be unable to detect the corroded pipe.
Tara Moghareh Abed; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Aryan Hojjati; Christopher D. F. Rogers; David N. Chapman. Experimental Investigation into the Effects of Cast-Iron Pipe Corrosion on GPR Detection Performance in Clay Soils. Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice 2020, 11, 04020040 .
AMA StyleTara Moghareh Abed, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Aryan Hojjati, Christopher D. F. Rogers, David N. Chapman. Experimental Investigation into the Effects of Cast-Iron Pipe Corrosion on GPR Detection Performance in Clay Soils. Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice. 2020; 11 (4):04020040.
Chicago/Turabian StyleTara Moghareh Abed; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Aryan Hojjati; Christopher D. F. Rogers; David N. Chapman. 2020. "Experimental Investigation into the Effects of Cast-Iron Pipe Corrosion on GPR Detection Performance in Clay Soils." Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice 11, no. 4: 04020040.
An ecologic analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between air pollution, and COVID-19 cases and fatality rates in London. The analysis demonstrated a strong correlation (R2 > 0.7) between increment in air pollution and an increase in the risk of COVID-19 transmission within London boroughs. Particularly, strong correlations (R2 > 0.72) between the risk of COVID-19 fatality and nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter pollution concentrations were found. Although this study assumed the same level of air pollution across a particular London borough, it demonstrates the possibility to employ air pollution as an indicator to rapidly identify the city's vulnerable regions. Such an approach can inform the decisions to suspend or reduce the operation of different public transport modes within a city. The methodology and learnings from the study can thus aid in public transport's response to COVID-19 outbreak by adopting different levels of human-mobility reduction strategies based on the vulnerability of a given region.
Manu Sasidharan; Ajit Singh; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad. A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 741, 140515 -140515.
AMA StyleManu Sasidharan, Ajit Singh, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Ajith Kumar Parlikad. A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 741 ():140515-140515.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Sasidharan; Ajit Singh; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad. 2020. "A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality." Science of The Total Environment 741, no. : 140515-140515.
A critical assessment criterion for road condition assessment is the amount and severity of cracking. Cracking causes a loss of structural capacity (i.e. strength and stiffness) and if severe can cause water infiltration into the subbase and subgrade, potentially leading to more serious structural failure. The onset of cracking therefore accelerates the processes of deterioration of the road. To date the accurate and reliable automated detection of road surface cracking is still problematic. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) has the potential to detect cracks in materials as they cause changes in electromagnetic reflection. This paper proposes a method of automatic detection of road surface cracks using GPR and establishes the limits of its potential regarding the detectable crack size. Tests were conducted on asphalt pavement samples in a controlled laboratory environment. Significant changes in diffracted signal levels were observed in the GPR image when the image was analysed using a Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) algorithm for clutter reduction and a median filter to reduce noise. Moreover, a manifestly enhanced performance was achieved using a novel post-processing technique, which enabled the detection of cracks larger than 1.3 mm in width. The detected cracks were detectable irrespectively of the simulated physical conditions suggesting that the developed methodology is robust for use in practice. The experimental results indicate that the GPR system can be applied to automatically detect road cracking reliably in practice.
Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Wenda Li; Nicole Metje; Michael Burrow; David N. Chapman; Christopher D.F. Rogers. Automated detection of cracks in roads using ground penetrating radar. Journal of Applied Geophysics 2020, 179, 104118 .
AMA StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Wenda Li, Nicole Metje, Michael Burrow, David N. Chapman, Christopher D.F. Rogers. Automated detection of cracks in roads using ground penetrating radar. Journal of Applied Geophysics. 2020; 179 ():104118.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Wenda Li; Nicole Metje; Michael Burrow; David N. Chapman; Christopher D.F. Rogers. 2020. "Automated detection of cracks in roads using ground penetrating radar." Journal of Applied Geophysics 179, no. : 104118.
An ecologic analysis was conducted to explore the correlation between air pollution, and COVID-19 cases and fatality rates in London. The analysis demonstrated a strong correlation (R2>0.7) between increment in air pollution and an increase in the risk of COVID-19 transmission within London boroughs. Particularly, strong correlations (R2>0.72) between the risk of COVID-19 fatality and NO2 and PM2.5 pollution concentrations were also found. Although this study assumed the same level of air pollution across a particular London borough, it demonstrates the possibility to employ air pollution as an indicator to rapidly identify the city’s vulnerable regions. Such an approach can inform the decisions to suspend or reduce the operation of different public transport modes within a city. The methodology and learnings from the study can thus aid in public transport’s response to COVID-19 outbreak by adopting different levels of human-mobility reduction strategies based on the vulnerability of a given region. One Sentence Summary This study introduces air pollution levels as an indicator for a region’s vulnerability to COVID-19 and suggests human-mobility reduction measures.
Manu Sasidharan; Ajit Singh; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad. A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality. 2020, 1 .
AMA StyleManu Sasidharan, Ajit Singh, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Ajith Kumar Parlikad. A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality. . 2020; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleManu Sasidharan; Ajit Singh; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Ajith Kumar Parlikad. 2020. "A vulnerability-based approach to human-mobility reduction for countering COVID-19 transmission in London while considering local air quality." , no. : 1.
The functioning of modern societies relies on the successful performance of its infrastructure. In the UK much of the buried infrastructure is located below the road surface, and routine maintenance of these requires networks to be accessed, commonly by open cut methods. The open cut operation in roads is likely to change the performance of the pavement structure, and potentially how loads are transmitted, thereby affecting the buried infrastructure. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of open cut construction on the road, ground and buried infrastructure with the aim of improving the current associated guidelines. A fully instrumented site trial was undertaken where two pipes were installed using trenching in a road, with one reinstated according to the higher end of the UK specification and the other on the lower end of the specification. The trench reinstated according to the lower end of the specification experienced serviceability failure, where large settlements (approximately 70 mm) and deflections (up to 2000 microns) were observed. The other trench also experienced distress, although to a much reduced level. This demonstrates that trenching, even when reinstated according to the higher end of the specification, still weakens the existing road locally.
Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Giulio Curioni; Farzad Hayati; Alexander C D Royal; David N Chapman; Philip R Atkins; Christopher D F Rogers. Investigating the Relationship between Trenching Practice and Road Deterioration Using a Field Trial. Infrastructure Asset Management 2020, 1 -15.
AMA StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Giulio Curioni, Farzad Hayati, Alexander C D Royal, David N Chapman, Philip R Atkins, Christopher D F Rogers. Investigating the Relationship between Trenching Practice and Road Deterioration Using a Field Trial. Infrastructure Asset Management. 2020; ():1-15.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Giulio Curioni; Farzad Hayati; Alexander C D Royal; David N Chapman; Philip R Atkins; Christopher D F Rogers. 2020. "Investigating the Relationship between Trenching Practice and Road Deterioration Using a Field Trial." Infrastructure Asset Management , no. : 1-15.
The ever-growing urban population faces challenges of ageing infrastructure. The process for renewing the infrastructure is costly, and current practices for maintaining and repairing are often ineffective and labour intensive. Road networks, for instance, which act as the arteries for cities, suffer from reoccurring potholes (in the UK, a pothole is filled every 21 seconds: Asphalt Industry Alliance, 2018). A more effective way of maintaining road networks is through a proactive approach, where condition assessment and intervention are conducted throughout the asset lifecycle. However, there are barriers to a proactive approach, including budget constraints and the lack of effective technology for early defect detection (followed by a cheap yet effective repair). This paper puts forward an automated system, currently in development, based on cutting-edge robotic technologies to address these barriers and help achieve an effective proactive infrastructure maintenance and repair system. Technologies developed include automated condition assessment measures to detect road defects and repair technologies using a novel 3D printing method to seal road cracks and potholes. Sealing small cracks by using 3D printing techniques has shown promising results by achieving superior mechanical properties.
Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Bilal Kaddouh; Mohamed Abdellatif; Nicole Metje; Jason Liu; Richard Jackson; Christopher D F Rogers; David N Chapman; Raul Fuentes; Mark Miodownik; Robert Richardson; Phil Purnell. Robotic and autonomous systems for road asset management: a position paper. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Smart Infrastructure and Construction 2019, 172, 83 -93.
AMA StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Bilal Kaddouh, Mohamed Abdellatif, Nicole Metje, Jason Liu, Richard Jackson, Christopher D F Rogers, David N Chapman, Raul Fuentes, Mark Miodownik, Robert Richardson, Phil Purnell. Robotic and autonomous systems for road asset management: a position paper. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Smart Infrastructure and Construction. 2019; 172 (2):83-93.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Bilal Kaddouh; Mohamed Abdellatif; Nicole Metje; Jason Liu; Richard Jackson; Christopher D F Rogers; David N Chapman; Raul Fuentes; Mark Miodownik; Robert Richardson; Phil Purnell. 2019. "Robotic and autonomous systems for road asset management: a position paper." Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Smart Infrastructure and Construction 172, no. 2: 83-93.
The UK’s local road infrastructure is subject to frequent openings to maintain and invest in buried infrastructure. Opening a road reduces its structural integrity, necessitates the implementation of traffic management and causes environmental pollution. These in turn can result in increased road use costs, adversely affect local business, cause social disbenefit, reduce road asset value and necessitate unplanned maintenance. There are therefore benefits to be gained from coordinating the openings of the highway in similar locations. Shared highway openings, however, are often not realised in practice for a number of reasons, including the lack of public accountability among infrastructure providers and the absence of appreciation for quantifying the benefits of joint occupation. To address this, this paper describes a novel rigorous procedure, based on multicriteria analysis, developed for Staffordshire County Council that evaluates the primary monetised and non-monetised economic, social, political and environmental benefits and costs associated with joint occupation and enables potential joint occupation schemes to be ranked. The use of the procedure is demonstrated by two joint occupation schemes in a rural and an urban area of Staffordshire. The work highlights the advantages of encouraging collaborative working among service providers to reduce costs and to increase asset life.
Joshua Moran; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Michael P N Burrow. Estimating the benefits of joint occupation for street works in the UK. Infrastructure Asset Management 2017, 4, 115 -127.
AMA StyleJoshua Moran, Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Michael P N Burrow. Estimating the benefits of joint occupation for street works in the UK. Infrastructure Asset Management. 2017; 4 (4):115-127.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJoshua Moran; Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Michael P N Burrow. 2017. "Estimating the benefits of joint occupation for street works in the UK." Infrastructure Asset Management 4, no. 4: 115-127.
Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Michael P.N. Burrow; Dexter V.L. Hunt; Marwa Elcheikh. Risk-Based Framework (RBF) for a UK Pan-European Supergrid. Energy 2017, 124, 124 -132.
AMA StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Michael P.N. Burrow, Dexter V.L. Hunt, Marwa Elcheikh. Risk-Based Framework (RBF) for a UK Pan-European Supergrid. Energy. 2017; 124 ():124-132.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Michael P.N. Burrow; Dexter V.L. Hunt; Marwa Elcheikh. 2017. "Risk-Based Framework (RBF) for a UK Pan-European Supergrid." Energy 124, no. : 124-132.
Interconnected electricity networks, Supergrids, are being considered to help tackle some of the current global energy challenges such as rising CO2 emissions and the complete reliance on renewables. However, there are a range of obstacles associated with developing interconnections, not least the uncertainties associated with selecting appropriate countries with which to make interconnection. The process of identifying and then assessing various risks for these interconnections can be considered to be an important factor in mitigating and controlling their impact from within and outside national and international boundaries.
Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Michael P. N. Burrow; Dexter V. L. Hunt. Risk assessment for a UK pan-European Supergrid. International Journal of Energy Research 2015, 39, 1564 -1578.
AMA StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Michael P. N. Burrow, Dexter V. L. Hunt. Risk assessment for a UK pan-European Supergrid. International Journal of Energy Research. 2015; 39 (11):1564-1578.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Michael P. N. Burrow; Dexter V. L. Hunt. 2015. "Risk assessment for a UK pan-European Supergrid." International Journal of Energy Research 39, no. 11: 1564-1578.
Interconnected electricity networks, supergrids, are being considered in Europe as a way to help tackle two current global challenges – rapidly increasing energy demands and rising carbon dioxide emissions. As with any new approach, there is a range of risks associated with developing interconnections, not least the availability of surplus electricity for exportation between various candidate countries. While the future is never certain, the process of generating a range of possible capacities for these interconnections should be considered as a necessary precursor for mitigating risks within decision-making processes. In facilitating this objective, this paper proposes a step-wise methodological framework for assessing the probabilities of achieving surplus capacity provision within a UK pan-European supergrid. This includes application of a newly developed tool for proposing a range of energy supply/demand scenarios in conjunction with the @Risk assessment tool. Through example scenarios it is shown how P80 (80th percentile) interconnection capacities for 2030 can be assessed. The results suggest that, of the nine candidate countries, Germany could provide the greatest (10ṡ97 GW) surplus capacity with an 80% chance. It is concluded that, with further stakeholder engagement, the developed framework will provide a deeper understanding of the key fundamental risks associated with interconnections as well as mitigation measures.
Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Dexter V. L. Hunt; Michael Burrow. Supergrid: projecting interconnection capacities for the UK. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability 2014, 167, 249 -263.
AMA StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Dexter V. L. Hunt, Michael Burrow. Supergrid: projecting interconnection capacities for the UK. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability. 2014; 167 (6):249-263.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Dexter V. L. Hunt; Michael Burrow. 2014. "Supergrid: projecting interconnection capacities for the UK." Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Engineering Sustainability 167, no. 6: 249-263.
Growing energy demands and climatic changes, exacerbated through rapid increases in CO2 emissions, are two major global issues facing nations. Therefore ongoing research is being conducted on projecting supply / demand scenarios that look to match future energy demands against energy supply mixes. This requires energy providers to foresee the impact of various electricity generation scenarios on CO2 emissions and to assess the sustainability of, and risks involved with each so that an attitude of energy provision ‘whatever the cost’ does not prevail decision-making in the face of a plethora of electricity supply mixes and/or energy demand predictions is a complicated procedure which requires in depth consideration of the various scenarios that are being developed. This requires a high level of knowledge that is available only within a team of experts. Furthermore forecasting the possible impacts of various electricity scenarios on climate change as well as considering the associated cost just adds more complexity. This paper explores the features and choices available to decision-makers through the development of an Excel-based tool. The tool acts as a database for existing energy supply/demand scenarios and allows the user to look up existing scenarios or mix and match existing scenarios for the UK leading to a range of new possibilities. The benefits of creating and using the developed tool are explored within the paper and it is concluded that the tool begins to address the complex issues of projecting the most appropriate electricity supply mix and electricity demand by using a range of existing energy studies. In so doing it facilitates greatly decision-makers in beginning the process of further assessing the risks that might be involved. An example of using tool for developing three very different supply mix scenarios for the UK (including one with high share of interconnections) is provided.
Mehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Dexter Hunt; Michael Burrow. Projecting the UK's Future Electricity Supply Mix: A Tool for Generating Sustainable Future Energy Scenarios. Proceedings of The 3rd World Sustainability Forum 2013, 1 .
AMA StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan, Dexter Hunt, Michael Burrow. Projecting the UK's Future Electricity Supply Mix: A Tool for Generating Sustainable Future Energy Scenarios. Proceedings of The 3rd World Sustainability Forum. 2013; ():1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMehran Eskandari Torbaghan; Dexter Hunt; Michael Burrow. 2013. "Projecting the UK's Future Electricity Supply Mix: A Tool for Generating Sustainable Future Energy Scenarios." Proceedings of The 3rd World Sustainability Forum , no. : 1.