Integrating fire safety into bridge design is essential for resilient infrastructure
Andrea Franchini, Bosibori Barake, Carmine Galasso, Maria Garlock, Joseph Mulligan, Spencer E. Quiel, José L. Torero
Abstract
The frequent occurrences of bridge fires and the substantial disruptions and direct/indirect economic losses resulting from these events highlight the immediate need for effective fire-safety-oriented design of new bridges and retrofit approaches for vulnerable existing bridges. In this Perspective, we discuss why a holistic engineering approach integrating innovative fire analysis methods and structural design/retrofit strategies into multi-hazard and future-oriented risk modeling frameworks represents the way forward to more sustainable and resilient infrastructure in an uncertain and rapidly changing built environment.
Topics & Concepts
Bridge (graph theory)Fire safetyRisk analysis (engineering)HazardResilience (materials science)Computer scienceFire protection engineeringConstruction engineeringEngineeringArchitectural engineeringBusinessEcologyMedicineInternal medicinePhysicsThermodynamicsBiologyInfrastructure Resilience and Vulnerability AnalysisStructural Response to Dynamic LoadsRisk and Safety Analysis