In an increasingly unpredictable world marked by escalating climate change impacts and persistent seismic activity, Resilient Bridge Design for Extreme Events (Floods, Earthquakes, Climate Change) has become an imperative discipline for safeguarding critical transportation infrastructure and ensuring societal continuity. Beyond merely withstanding design-level loads, resilient bridges are engineered to absorb, adapt to, and rapidly recover from high-impact, low-probability events, minimizing downtime, economic disruption, and potential loss of life. This comprehensive training course is designed to equip bridge engineers, infrastructure planners, and policymakers with the cutting-edge knowledge and practical tools to integrate resilience principles into every phase of bridge projects, enabling them to design, analyze, and manage structures that can robustly endure and swiftly recover from floods, earthquakes, extreme weather, and the long-term effects of a changing climate. Without prioritizing Resilient Bridge Design for Extreme Events, infrastructure networks remain vulnerable to catastrophic failures, prolonged service interruptions, and significant societal and economic consequences, underscoring the vital need for specialized expertise in this critical domain.

Duration: 10 Days

Target Audience

• Bridge Design Engineers
• Structural Engineers
• Civil Engineers involved in infrastructure planning and development
• Hydraulic Engineers and Hydrologists
• Geotechnical Engineers
• Infrastructure Owners and Managers
• Emergency Management and Disaster Preparedness Professionals
• Government Agency Personnel responsible for infrastructure resilience
• Researchers and Academics in civil and environmental engineering
• Policy Makers and Planners for transportation networks

Objectives

• Understand the fundamental concepts of resilience in infrastructure systems.
• Learn about various extreme events (floods, earthquakes, climate change impacts) and their effects on bridges.
• Acquire skills in assessing bridge vulnerability and risk to extreme events.
• Comprehend techniques for designing new bridges for enhanced resilience.
• Explore strategies for retrofitting existing bridges to improve their resilience.
• Understand the importance of multi-hazard design approaches.
• Gain insights into performance-based design for extreme events.
• Develop a practical understanding of adaptability and redundancy in bridge networks.
• Master lifecycle cost analysis incorporating resilience benefits.
• Acquire skills in utilizing advanced analytical tools for extreme event scenarios.
• Learn to apply relevant international standards and guidelines for resilient design.
• Comprehend techniques for post-event assessment and rapid recovery planning.
• Explore strategies for integrating climate change projections into bridge design.
• Understand the importance of stakeholder collaboration in resilience planning.
• Develop the ability to lead and implement resilient bridge infrastructure projects.

Course Content

Module 1: Introduction to Infrastructure Resilience

• Definition of resilience in civil infrastructure.
• Concepts of robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapidity.
• The changing landscape of extreme events: frequency and intensity.
• Economic, social, and environmental benefits of resilient infrastructure.
• Overview of global initiatives and frameworks for resilience.

Module 2: Understanding Flood Hazards and Hydrology

• Hydrological cycles and flood generation mechanisms.
• Flood frequency analysis and design flood estimation.
• River hydraulics and open channel flow principles.
• Floodplain mapping and inundation analysis.
• Impact of climate change on precipitation patterns and flood magnitudes.

Module 3: Hydraulic Design for Flood Resilience

• Bridge waterway openings and hydraulic efficiency.
• Scour analysis and countermeasures for flood events.
• Debris flow and ice jam considerations.
• Designing for overtopping and hydraulic forces.
• River training works and channel stabilization.

Module 4: Seismic Hazards and Ground Motion Characteristics

• Review of seismology fundamentals: earthquake sources, wave propagation.
• Seismic hazard analysis: deterministic and probabilistic approaches.
• Ground motion parameters: peak ground acceleration, response spectra.
• Site effects: soil amplification, liquefaction potential.
• Understanding seismic design philosophy for resilience.

Module 5: Seismic Design for Resilience

• Performance-based seismic design (PBSD) for multiple performance levels.
• Ductile detailing and capacity design principles.
• Seismic isolation and energy dissipation devices.
• Design for unseating prevention and redundancy.
• Retrofitting strategies for seismic resilience.

Module 6: Climate Change Impacts on Bridges

• Projected climate change scenarios and their uncertainties.
• Impacts of rising temperatures: thermal expansion, material degradation.
• Impacts of sea level rise and increased storm surge.
• Changes in precipitation and hydrological extremes.
• Long-term adaptation strategies for bridge infrastructure.

Module 7: Design for Climate Change Adaptation

• Material selection for enhanced durability in changing climates.
• Design for increased thermal movements and extreme temperatures.
• Incorporating future flood and storm surge projections into design.
• Designing for increased wind speeds and extreme weather events.
• Adaptable and modular bridge designs for future modifications.

Module 8: Multi-Hazard Design and Assessment

• Principles of multi-hazard analysis and design.
• Combining effects of different hazards (e.g., seismic and flood).
• Fragility curves and vulnerability assessment for multiple hazards.
• Risk assessment frameworks for multi-hazard environments.
• Integrated design approaches for comprehensive resilience.

Module 9: Advanced Materials for Resilient Bridges

• High-Performance Concrete (HPC) and Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC).
• Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) for strengthening and corrosion resistance.
• Self-healing concrete and smart materials.
• Corrosion-resistant steel and other durable alloys.
• Lifecycle benefits of advanced materials in extreme environments.

Module 10: Structural Redundancy and Robustness

• Principles of structural redundancy and alternative load paths.
• Designing for progressive collapse prevention.
• Robustness assessment and design for unforeseen events.
• Importance of connections and detailing for robustness.
• Network-level redundancy and alternative routes.

Module 11: Post-Event Assessment and Rapid Recovery

• Rapid damage assessment protocols after extreme events.
• Emergency repairs and temporary bridge solutions.
• Planning for rapid reconstruction and restoration of service.
• Utilizing prefabrication and Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) for recovery.
• Lessons learned from past disaster responses.

Module 12: Performance-Based Design for Resilience

• Defining performance objectives for various extreme events.
• Non-linear analysis methods for performance evaluation.
• Acceptance criteria for different performance levels.
• Cost-benefit analysis of achieving higher performance levels.
• Integrating PBSD into overall project planning.

Module 13: Risk Assessment and Decision-Making for Resilience

• Quantitative and qualitative risk assessment for extreme events.
• Decision-making under deep uncertainty.
• Prioritizing investments for resilience improvements.
• Developing resilience metrics and indicators.
• Communicating risks and benefits to stakeholders.

Module 14: Monitoring and Smart Technologies for Resilience

• Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) for real-time performance assessment.
• Sensor technologies for flood, seismic, and environmental monitoring.
• Integration of SHM with Digital Twins for predictive resilience.
• Early warning systems for impending extreme events.
• Data analytics for resilience assessment and decision support.

Module 15: Case Studies and Future Directions in Resilient Bridge Design

• Analysis of iconic resilient bridge projects worldwide.
• Innovations in design, materials, and construction for resilience.
• Policy and regulatory drivers for resilient infrastructure.
• Collaboration among engineers, scientists, and policymakers.
• Research frontiers in climate-resilient and multi-hazard bridge engineering.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org  Tel: +254 702 249 449

Training Venue

The training will be held at our Skills for Africa Training Institute Training Centre. We also offer training for a group at requested location all over the world. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, and buffet lunch.

Visa application, travel expenses, airport transfers, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Skills for Africa Training Institute certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org  Tel: +254 702 249 449

Terms of Payment: Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 10 working days before commencement of the training.