Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SMARTI ETN (European Training Network on Sustainable Multi-functional Automated Resilient Transport Infrastructures.)
Berichtszeitraum: 2019-03-01 bis 2021-08-31
SMARTI (Sustainable Multifunctional Automated Resilient Transport Infrastructures) ETN was a 4-year Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network (ETN) with the overall aim to set up a multidisciplinary and multi-sectoral network in order to form a new generation of engineers versed in SMARTI technologies and to provide, to both academia and industry, the SMARTI Prototypes and Guidelines. In recognising the challenges and embracing the opportunities of the SMARTI vision, the programme adopted a holistic approach to achieve “revolution” not “evolution” in transport infrastructure engineering. Hence, in close consultation with key stakeholders, it was concluded that to achieve long-term benefits it is necessary to shape a large collaborative training-through-research-initiative aiming at educating the professionals able to exploit the SMARTI vision.
As a result, the programme achieved the following sub-objectives:
• creating a platform where multi-disciplinary training in smartening of transport infrastructure was structured and provided at the graduate level.
• providing outstanding opportunities for Transfer of Knowledge, through the fellows and between the transport infrastructure stakeholders and innovators acquainted with smartening of systems
• generating the SMARTI Prototypes and Guidelines for early exploitation in Europe and in developing Countries
As a result, the programme achieved the following sub-objectives:
• creating a platform where multi-disciplinary training in smartening of transport infrastructure was structured and provided at the graduate level.
• providing outstanding opportunities for Transfer of Knowledge, through the fellows and between the transport infrastructure stakeholders and innovators acquainted with smartening of systems
• generating the SMARTI Prototypes and Guidelines for early exploitation in Europe and in developing Countries
The SMARTI ETN was built around the idea of changing the culture of the transport infrastructure industry by growing the next generation of researchers that will actually exploit the change. In order to do that, the first 24 months have focused on consolidating the network, recruitment of the 15 fellows, training, research activities and dissemination. The second period provided the remaining part of the training and focused primarily on completing the research projects towards a PhD while also increasing the dissemination events as follows:
RESEARCH
To implement the SMARTI vision, multi-disciplinary research in the adoption/development of the smart solutions for smartening the transport infrastructure is needed at all levels ranging from materials to infrastructure components, to then going to even bigger scale from the network level to cities/province/regions. Along these lines and within some of these areas, the 15 early-stage researchers of the SMARTI ETN developed smart solutions here identified as “Prototypes”. Each prototype has been conceived in the form of a 1) technology, 2) asset management methodology or 3) novel decision-making framework, and the development has been carried targeting different the four pillars of the vision.
In Work Package 2, ESR1-8 fellows worked in the optimisation of materials, technologies and methodologies as follows:
• ESR1 - Ignacio Nilo Ruiz Riancho, oil capsules for self-healing asphalt
• ESR2 - Maria Barriera, use of nanosensors in pavement and characterisation
• ESR3 - Domenico Vizzari, semi-transparent layer of asphalt for energy harvesting from sunlight
• ESR4 - Giulia Siino, multicriteria decision-making model for management of the deterioration of railways embankments
• ESR5 - Rufus Adjetey Nii-Adjei, energy harvesting systems in railways
• ESR6 - Iain Dunn, model of a multi-spam beam under Poissonian loading for bridges
• ESR7 - Mario Manosalvas, the concept of “Responsive Asphalt” through the usage of piezoelectric sensors being embedded in trial sections
• ESR8 - Gaspare Giancontieri, tools and equipment able to improve the characterisation of complex materials
In Work Package 3, ESR9-15 worked in the definition of frameworks and methodologies as follows:
• ESR9 - Philippe Sohouenou, a framework to quantitatively assess the resilience of road networks to extreme events
• ESR10 - Konstantinos Manosalvas framework to combine LCA and LCCA, supported by a circular economy in transport infrastructures
• ESR11 - Pawan Deep, model to simulate the pavement response close to the load for joints
• ESR12 - Ronald Roberts, authenticate the accuracy of the digital techniques for pavement distress identification
• ESR13 - Antonino Scalia, methods of safety assessment for earthworks located along with road and rail transportation networks
• ESR14 - Paulina Leiva Padilla, mechanomutable binders for asphalt mixtures
• ESR15 - Natasha Baloch, instrumentation of pavements
TRAINING
The 15 ESRs were recruited locally by each institution; however, each fellow had other supervisors from academia and/or industry affiliated to the mini-consortium of each project. Furthermore, the Doctoral Studies Panel coordinated by the University of Nottingham ensured that the PhD development of the fellows could go in the right direction.
Furthermore, fellows and specialists had the chance to work together within network-wide events where the consortium partners combined and shared expertise. The main events were offered in advanced scientific and not-scientific thematic training modules. The Coordination, in collaboration with local partners, organised 7 thematic training weeks.
DISSEMINATION AND OUTREACH
SMARTI ETN website (http://smartietn.eu) was the main dissemination tool linked to all social media accounts. Several dissemination events have been attended, and various items have been further produced and can be downloaded from the website.
MAIN RESULTS
The main result of the SMARTI ETN project was to successfully train the seeds of a new era of professionals able to design, construct, operate and maintain the transport network of the future. Furthermore, the project delivered the SMARTI Prototypes and Guidelines: two reports presenting the results of the individual projects (prototypes) as well as a collaborative effort to present the necessary steps towards SMARTI (roadmaps).
RESEARCH
To implement the SMARTI vision, multi-disciplinary research in the adoption/development of the smart solutions for smartening the transport infrastructure is needed at all levels ranging from materials to infrastructure components, to then going to even bigger scale from the network level to cities/province/regions. Along these lines and within some of these areas, the 15 early-stage researchers of the SMARTI ETN developed smart solutions here identified as “Prototypes”. Each prototype has been conceived in the form of a 1) technology, 2) asset management methodology or 3) novel decision-making framework, and the development has been carried targeting different the four pillars of the vision.
In Work Package 2, ESR1-8 fellows worked in the optimisation of materials, technologies and methodologies as follows:
• ESR1 - Ignacio Nilo Ruiz Riancho, oil capsules for self-healing asphalt
• ESR2 - Maria Barriera, use of nanosensors in pavement and characterisation
• ESR3 - Domenico Vizzari, semi-transparent layer of asphalt for energy harvesting from sunlight
• ESR4 - Giulia Siino, multicriteria decision-making model for management of the deterioration of railways embankments
• ESR5 - Rufus Adjetey Nii-Adjei, energy harvesting systems in railways
• ESR6 - Iain Dunn, model of a multi-spam beam under Poissonian loading for bridges
• ESR7 - Mario Manosalvas, the concept of “Responsive Asphalt” through the usage of piezoelectric sensors being embedded in trial sections
• ESR8 - Gaspare Giancontieri, tools and equipment able to improve the characterisation of complex materials
In Work Package 3, ESR9-15 worked in the definition of frameworks and methodologies as follows:
• ESR9 - Philippe Sohouenou, a framework to quantitatively assess the resilience of road networks to extreme events
• ESR10 - Konstantinos Manosalvas framework to combine LCA and LCCA, supported by a circular economy in transport infrastructures
• ESR11 - Pawan Deep, model to simulate the pavement response close to the load for joints
• ESR12 - Ronald Roberts, authenticate the accuracy of the digital techniques for pavement distress identification
• ESR13 - Antonino Scalia, methods of safety assessment for earthworks located along with road and rail transportation networks
• ESR14 - Paulina Leiva Padilla, mechanomutable binders for asphalt mixtures
• ESR15 - Natasha Baloch, instrumentation of pavements
TRAINING
The 15 ESRs were recruited locally by each institution; however, each fellow had other supervisors from academia and/or industry affiliated to the mini-consortium of each project. Furthermore, the Doctoral Studies Panel coordinated by the University of Nottingham ensured that the PhD development of the fellows could go in the right direction.
Furthermore, fellows and specialists had the chance to work together within network-wide events where the consortium partners combined and shared expertise. The main events were offered in advanced scientific and not-scientific thematic training modules. The Coordination, in collaboration with local partners, organised 7 thematic training weeks.
DISSEMINATION AND OUTREACH
SMARTI ETN website (http://smartietn.eu) was the main dissemination tool linked to all social media accounts. Several dissemination events have been attended, and various items have been further produced and can be downloaded from the website.
MAIN RESULTS
The main result of the SMARTI ETN project was to successfully train the seeds of a new era of professionals able to design, construct, operate and maintain the transport network of the future. Furthermore, the project delivered the SMARTI Prototypes and Guidelines: two reports presenting the results of the individual projects (prototypes) as well as a collaborative effort to present the necessary steps towards SMARTI (roadmaps).
Progress beyond state of the art:
SMARTI ETN has been a journey within which fellows grew their skills and, together with the scientists involved in the project, also grew the concept of SMARTI. Taking advantage of the results of research projects as well as of the several brainstorming that happened during the thematic training weeks and project meetings, the consortium refined the concept of SMARTI and, together with the researchers, produced two main deliverables: SMARTI Prototypes and Guidelines, both publicly available on our website. The Prototypes provides details of research products able to support the adaptation of transport infrastructure into SMARTI, while the Guidelines provides a refined definition of Sustainable, Multi-Functional, Automated, Resilient Transport Infrastructure together with roadmaps towards the implementation of SMARTI in 2030.
Main outcomes and Impacts:
The Researchers, the Prototypes, the Guidelines and the Website represent the main drivers towards the forecasted change:
- The researchers are already employed in Academia and Industry and contributing to exploiting the SMARTI vision,
- The Prototypes are detailed in a special issue of an open-access international scientific journal
- The Guidelines provide a four-step approach to implement project results in Europe and beyond
- The Website will be kept active for years to come to be a reference for those who want to access results and products
SMARTI ETN has been a journey within which fellows grew their skills and, together with the scientists involved in the project, also grew the concept of SMARTI. Taking advantage of the results of research projects as well as of the several brainstorming that happened during the thematic training weeks and project meetings, the consortium refined the concept of SMARTI and, together with the researchers, produced two main deliverables: SMARTI Prototypes and Guidelines, both publicly available on our website. The Prototypes provides details of research products able to support the adaptation of transport infrastructure into SMARTI, while the Guidelines provides a refined definition of Sustainable, Multi-Functional, Automated, Resilient Transport Infrastructure together with roadmaps towards the implementation of SMARTI in 2030.
Main outcomes and Impacts:
The Researchers, the Prototypes, the Guidelines and the Website represent the main drivers towards the forecasted change:
- The researchers are already employed in Academia and Industry and contributing to exploiting the SMARTI vision,
- The Prototypes are detailed in a special issue of an open-access international scientific journal
- The Guidelines provide a four-step approach to implement project results in Europe and beyond
- The Website will be kept active for years to come to be a reference for those who want to access results and products