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Special Topic: Infrastructure Systems - Criticality and Lifelines
Infrastructure Systems – Criticality and Lifelines introduces graduate students and engineering professionals to key concepts and analytical skills necessary for understanding hazards to and vulnerabilities of infrastructure systems, wider societal impacts from infrastructure failure, and managing these risks in the context of environmental change and socio-economic-political factors. Impacts of natural hazard-caused disasters and technological disasters on infrastructure lifelines will be explored through case studies to highlight issues of criticality, resilience, interdependencies and cascading effects. The course will provide students and engineering professionals: a background in how infrastructure development in Aotearoa/New Zealand and internationally has exposed these systems to hazards; how to assess infrastructure lifelines vulnerability, resilience, and cascading effects when failure occurs; how to conduct disaster impact and loss assessments for infrastructure systems.
At the end of this course, participants will understand how infrastructure development exposes systems to hazards, and they will be able to assess system criticality, interdependencies and failure impacts. The course objectives are to: Define infrastructure systems from technological and societal perspectives; Review the historical development of selected systems e.g. transportation, water, electricity; Appreciate infrastructure system exposure to: earthquake impacts including liquefaction; landslides; tsunamis; volcanoes; floods and other meteorological events; space weather. Natural hazard-caused technological disasters (Natech) and purely technological disasters will also be addressed; Instil lessons learned from disasters including: 2010-2011 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence and the November 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake; other meteorological and technological events in Aotearoa/New Zealand; international case studies including earthquake, tsunami and volcano impacts on infrastructure; Define and assess criticality at component, network and interdependency levels; Analyse cascading failure impacts using event and fault trees, and the bowtie method; Identify and assess critical interdependencies, pinch-points and hazard hotspots using Aotearoa/New Zealand National Lifelines Council methods; Conduct a resilience assessment of part or whole of an infrastructure system; Conduct disaster impact and loss assessments for infrastructure systems using the computer programme RiskScape; Understand key drivers and limitations of asset management and investment for resilience.
Subject to approval of the Director of Studies
The course is delivered in ‘Block Mode’, with one two-day block (24-25 June 2019) and one three-day block (1-3 July 2019) at the University of Canterbury. The block course offers lectures designed to introduce basic concepts and ideas of infrastructure types, criticalities and interdependencies, and hazard types and impacts. Seminar sessions will be delivered by government and industry practitioners, and researchers, with experience in asset management during disaster response and recovery – these sessions will provide opportunity for discussion and reflection on issues specific to different infrastructure systems, as well as their interdependencies. Combined workshop/computer laboratory sessions will focus on developing event and fault trees, conducting geospatial infrastructure hotspot and pinch-point analyses using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and performing disaster impact and loss assessments using RiskScape.
Matthew Hughes
The assessment for this paper comprises three main components: an Event and Fault Tree Analysis; a Hotspot and Pinch-Point GIS Analysis; RiskScape Impact and Loss Assessment; and a Final Project - Infrastructure Resilience Assessment. The weighting for each of these is provided.Notes: i. General Information • The deadlines for all assignments will be displayed on the Course Schedule and on LEARN • Any changes to submission dates or other details will be communicated through LEARN. It is the responsibility of each student to check the LEARN website regularly • Assessments must be submitted by the due date on LEARN. Marks will be posted online as soon as they are available. • Our aim is to provide feedback on assessments within one month. Where this is not possible, it will be communicated to you. • All submissions should be single (typed) PDF documents. Specific formatting requirements for individual assessment swill be made available prior to course commencement. ii. Hotspot and Pinch-Point Analysis • Upon enrolment, students will be sent Preliminary GIS Exercise instructions and data so they can independently learn GIS basics in preparation for the block course. Students will also be issued an individual ArcGIS Student Licence so they can install the GIS software on their personal laptop or PC so that can work off-campus or outside of computer teaching laboratories.
Recommended Texts:Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (2015). International Infrastructure Management Manual. Available as e-book through University of Canterbury Library.Elizabeth Krausmann, Anna Cruz, Ernesto Salzano (2016). Natech Risk assessment and Management – Reducing the Risk of Natural-Hazard Impact on Hazardous Installations. Elsevier. Available as e-book through University of Canterbury Library.Other Recommended Readings:A detailed list of peer-reviewed articles, reports and other documents will be made available to participants prior to course commencement.
Prospective students are expected to have attained a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons), or a Bachelor of Science in Geological Sciences, Geography or related field. The course is also directed at practitioners with experience in asset management, hazard and disaster management, and Civil Defence and Emergency Management roles.The course is intended to complement other taught Masters courses within the College of Engineering.Pre-course readings and Preliminary GIS Exercises will be made available before commencement of the block course.
Domestic fee $1,080.00
International Postgraduate fees
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
This course will not be offered if fewer than 5 people apply to enrol.
For further information see Civil and Natural Resources Engineering .