Research Themes
Research Themes Overview
The infrastructure research areas of FIBE2 are grouped in the following six high-level interconnected research themes (RT) and four high level crosscutting themes (CT) of research methodology expertise at Cambridge. Each theme has an academic lead responsible for connectivity and integration. Projects for the Research Themes are still being finalised and will be advertised in due course.
RT1 Advanced Infrastructure Materials: Developing innovative materials for smart infrastructure including low carbon, tailored, biomimetic, sensory, cognitive and smart nanomaterials, as well as addressing extending the life of materials and material flow |
RT2 Rethinking Design & Construction: Creation of noveldesign methods for structural optimisation and material minimisation, design for in‐service and end of life performance, carbon reduction, off‐site manufacturing, sustainable construction operations, blast-resistant design, regenerative and adaptive design, accelerated recovery, multi-purpose infrastructure, human wellbeing-structure interactions, research by design for multi-sectoral infrastructure. |
RT3 Digitised Civil Engineering: Generating digital copies of real assets (Digital Twins) and exploiting them through computer vision, machine learning and mixed reality technologies, as well as cyber resilience, design and construction automation, and robotics. |
RT4 Whole-Life Performance: infrastructure condition monitoring, performance assessment, extending the life of structures, smart repairs, vibration serviceability of structures, digitally-enabled buildings, user interface, efficiency vs resilience, cost-effective resilience, protection against shocks, circular economy metrics. |
RT5 Built Environment: Building physics, smart buildings, facades, urban-scale interactions with environment and infrastructure, future energy systems, resilient buildings, interactions between urban dwellers and technologies of infrastructure, role of gender/age/class/income/race in human-technical relations, socio-technical landscape of infrastructure |
RT6 Global Challenges (including sustainability): Resilience against natural hazards, access to water and sanitation, global wellbeing, energy security, flood proofing, land remediation, inland & offshore pollution control, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, cascade failure, climate change, post-disaster relief, decarbonisation. |
CT1 Emerging Technologies: Role of and interactions between emerging and existing technologies in future proofing of existing and new infrastructure including smart sensing, responsive materials and structures, BIM, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, 3D/4D printing, robots, autonomous and connected vehicles and transport systems, disruptive advanced technologies (hyperloop, miniloop, personal air vehicles, ubiquitous microtunneling) |
| CT2 Performance to Data to Knowledge: Linkages between actual in-service behaviour e.g from large scale laboratory and field testing, commercial deployment, living labs, and resilience ‘performance’ metrics and requirements, knowledge creation from data-driven research through theoretical modelling and experimental innovation, approaches to data generation, capture, storage, analysis and management, data visualisation, digitisation, multiple-source data, security and accountability, value of and from data. |
| CT3 Research across Scales: Connectivities (both experimental and theoretical) within and across scales e.g. from nano to building to city scales, and from short term shocks to long term climate change impact, changing demands and time-dependent responses. |
| CT4 Risk and Uncertainty: resilience, robustness, redundancy within a systems approach across sectors and disciplines. Probabilistic approaches to design for uncertain futures and complex risk scenarios, including Bayesian decision methods and machine learning, agent-based methods, scenario planning and expert elicitation. |