Resilient Infrastructure Systems

A special issue of Infrastructures (ISSN 2412-3811). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Infrastructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2019) | Viewed by 53701

Special Issue Editors

School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, PO Box 875306, Tempe, AZ 85287-5306, USA
Interests: resilient infrastructure; sustainability leadership; innovation; sustainable energy systems; anticipatory life cycle assessment
RENEW Institute, University at Buffalo, 112 Cooke Hall, University at Buffalo, North Campus, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
Interests: resilient infrastructure systems; sustainability; human development; stakeholder engagement; climate change adaptation
Collaboratory for Resiliency & Recovery, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623, USA
Interests: resilience metrics and modeling; risk critical systems; multidimensional sustainability for the corporate and public sectors
College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2208 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive Madison, WI 53706, USA
Interests: resilient infrastructure systems; human behavior; sustainability; industrial ecology; new technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on “Resilient Infrastructure Systems” from an interdisciplinary perspective, particularly focusing on the technological and social aspects of infrastructure systems. The objective of this issue is to continue building a resilient infrastructure knowledge community that spans sectoral, organizational, and disciplinary boundaries.

Non-stationarity within our climate, social and technical systems prevent the precise predictability of stressors and their potentially cascading and complex impacts. This makes risk analysis, or the practice of estimating risk in a well-defined situation to a well-recognized threat, insufficient for the protection of infrastructure systems on which society depends. As an alternative to risk, the concept of resilience acknowledges the unpredictability and complexity of interdependent infrastructure systems and seeks to transition towards more adaptive, safe-to-fail systems. Although the concept of resilience is well recognized, the methods for operationalizing resilience have yet to be defined. For resilience to be effective it must be holistic, integrating insight from technology, engineering and the social sciences. This holistic approach will enable adaptive management of infrastructure systems in consideration of economic, social and environmental challenges.

The Special Issue aims at publishing high-quality papers, particularly those that integrate both the physical and technological aspects of infrastructure systems with the human dimensions of these systems, including the institutions that govern infrastructure and community resilience. In addition to external submissions through MDPI, this issue will contain selected papers submitted to the Resilient Infrastructure Systems theme of the 2018 International Symposium of Sustainable Systems and Technology (ISSST) to be held in Buffalo, NY in June 2018. Papers will be reviewed by international experts and then widely disseminated by the journal.

Dr. Thomas P Seager
Dr. Susan Spierre Clark
Dr. Jennifer L. Schneider
Dr. Andrea Hicks
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Infrastructures is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Infrastructure Systems
  • Resilience
  • Community resilience
  • Safe-to-fail
  • Adaptive Management

Published Papers (7 papers)

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16 pages, 1992 KiB  
Article
Post-Disaster Recovery Associations of Power Systems Dependent Critical Infrastructures
by Partha Sarker and Henry D. Lester
Infrastructures 2019, 4(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures4020030 - 29 May 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 6929
Abstract
The complete failure of the power systems infrastructure in Puerto Rico, following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, severely hampered the recovery efforts of multiple critical infrastructure systems (CIS). Understanding the relationships of infrastructure recovery efforts between power infrastructure systems and the other [...] Read more.
The complete failure of the power systems infrastructure in Puerto Rico, following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, severely hampered the recovery efforts of multiple critical infrastructure systems (CIS). Understanding the relationships of infrastructure recovery efforts between power infrastructure systems and the other CIS has the potential to be a key in developing an effective recovery plan leading to resilient infrastructure systems, and thereby a more resilient community. This paper explores the critical interfaces and interdependencies in CIS recovery by examining the disruptions and recovery progress of the CIS, including the power infrastructure systems, in Puerto immediately following the events of Hurricane Maria. This research uncovers that strong CIS recovery interdependency relationships exist between the power infrastructure systems and other CIS in Puerto Rico, and these relationships contribute to the resilience of these CIS. The resultant CIS recovery associations may potentially predict the recovery progress of post-disaster CIS recovery centered on the power infrastructure systems and lay the groundwork for further interdependency analysis of CIS in post-disaster scenarios. The results may also be helpful while designing CIS for resiliency in natural disaster areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilient Infrastructure Systems)
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18 pages, 3334 KiB  
Article
Resilience-Based Recovery Assessments of Networked Infrastructure Systems under Localized Attacks
by Tanzina Afrin and Nita Yodo
Infrastructures 2019, 4(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures4010011 - 12 Mar 2019
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 5683
Abstract
To reduce unforeseen disaster risks, infrastructure systems are expected to be resilient. The impact of many natural disasters on networked infrastructures is often observed to follow a localized attack pattern. The localized attack can be demonstrated by the failures of a group of [...] Read more.
To reduce unforeseen disaster risks, infrastructure systems are expected to be resilient. The impact of many natural disasters on networked infrastructures is often observed to follow a localized attack pattern. The localized attack can be demonstrated by the failures of a group of links concentrated in a particular geographical domain which result in adjacent isolated nodes. In this paper, a resilience-based recovery assessment framework is proposed. The framework aims to find the most effective recovery strategy when subjected to localized attacks. The proposed framework was implemented in a lattice network structure inspired by a water distribution network case study. Three different recovery strategies were studied with cost and time constraints incorporated: preferential recovery based on nodal weight (PRNW), periphery recovery (PR), and localized recovery (LR). The case study results indicated that LR could be selected as the most resilient and cost-effective recovery strategy. This paper hopes to aid in the decision-making process by providing a strategic baseline for finding an optimized recovery strategy for localized attack scenarios. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilient Infrastructure Systems)
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18 pages, 2059 KiB  
Article
Will Updated Electricity Infrastructure Security Protect the Grid? A Case Study Modeling Electrical Substation Attacks
by Jenna K. McGrath
Infrastructures 2018, 3(4), 53; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures3040053 - 20 Nov 2018
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 7289
Abstract
As targeted attacks continue to threaten electricity infrastructure, the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) and private utilities companies are revising and updating the physical and cybersecurity standards for grid infrastructure in the United States (U.S.). Using information collected about past physical attacks, [...] Read more.
As targeted attacks continue to threaten electricity infrastructure, the North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) and private utilities companies are revising and updating the physical and cybersecurity standards for grid infrastructure in the United States (U.S.). Using information collected about past physical attacks, feasible physical and cyber-physical attacks are modeled against the proposed updated security standards for a U.S.-based generic electric substation. Utilizing the software program Joint Conflict and Tactical Simulation (JCATS), a series of increasingly sophisticated physical attacks are simulated on the substation, as are a set of cyber-enabled physical attacks. The purpose of this study is to determine which of the security upgrades will be most effective at mitigating damages to the electrical infrastructure from an attack. The findings indicate that some of the utility and agency-proposed security measures are more effective than others. Specifically, additional barriers around the substation and physical armored protection of transformers are most effective at mitigating damages from attacks. In contrast, increased lighting at the substation and reducing the surrounding foliage are not as effective. This case study demonstrates a modeling analysis approach to testing the efficacy of physical security measures that can assist in utility and agency decision-making for critical infrastructure security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilient Infrastructure Systems)
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19 pages, 3403 KiB  
Article
Hotels as Critical Hubs for Destination Disaster Resilience: An Analysis of Hotel Corporations’ CSR Activities Supporting Disaster Relief and Resilience
by Sarah Dobie, Jennifer Schneider, Muhammet Kesgin and Rick Lagiewski
Infrastructures 2018, 3(4), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures3040046 - 18 Oct 2018
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 10369
Abstract
Disaster management has begun to examine the unique role of the private sector in disaster relief. The hotel and lodging industry is an especially critical infrastructure for community disaster relief and resilience, providing many lifeline services in addition to core skills and competencies [...] Read more.
Disaster management has begun to examine the unique role of the private sector in disaster relief. The hotel and lodging industry is an especially critical infrastructure for community disaster relief and resilience, providing many lifeline services in addition to core skills and competencies contributing to the community’s social and human capital. Social and human capital empower the community to better cope with disturbance, and companies’ efforts to build social and human capital are often tied to their corporate social responsibility (CSR) management systems. A framework was developed to evaluate the management system maturity of the hotel and lodging industry’s CSR management for disaster relief and resilience. An analysis of three hotel and lodging corporations was performed to understand the current state of the industry. While many hotel properties are engaging in CSR activities during disaster relief, the analysis revealed that corporate management systems have room for maturation and growth to support the resilience of their community. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilient Infrastructure Systems)
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26 pages, 4487 KiB  
Article
An Integrated Dynamical Modeling Perspective for Infrastructure Resilience
by Jean-Denis Mathias, Susan Spierre Clark, Nuri Onat and Thomas P. Seager
Infrastructures 2018, 3(2), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures3020011 - 09 May 2018
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6140
Abstract
This paper considers a dynamical way to connect resilience outcomes and processes by nesting process-based approaches inside a controlled dynamical system under resource constraints. To illustrate this, we use a dynamical model of electric power generation to show the complementary aspects of outcome, [...] Read more.
This paper considers a dynamical way to connect resilience outcomes and processes by nesting process-based approaches inside a controlled dynamical system under resource constraints. To illustrate this, we use a dynamical model of electric power generation to show the complementary aspects of outcome, resources, and process-based approaches for analyzing infrastructure resilience. The results of this stylized model show that adaptation is the most influential process and that for monitoring to be efficient it must account for associated costs. Beyond these specific results, we suggest that nesting outcome- and process-based approaches within a dynamical controlled framework can be very useful and complementary for infrastructure managers and designers tasked with effectively allocating resources for enhancing system resilience. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilient Infrastructure Systems)
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17 pages, 1177 KiB  
Case Report
Risk and Resilience at the Oroville Dam
by Lucien X. Hollins, Daniel A. Eisenberg and Thomas P. Seager
Infrastructures 2018, 3(4), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures3040049 - 06 Nov 2018
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 8714
Abstract
Existing analyses of the February 2017 Oroville Dam Crisis identify maintenance failures and engineering shortcomings as the root cause of a nearly catastrophic failure of the tallest dam in the United States. However, the focus on technical shortcomings largely overlooks the role of [...] Read more.
Existing analyses of the February 2017 Oroville Dam Crisis identify maintenance failures and engineering shortcomings as the root cause of a nearly catastrophic failure of the tallest dam in the United States. However, the focus on technical shortcomings largely overlooks the role of adaptive decision-making that eventually averted the crisis. Understanding the decisions that both created the circumstances leading up to the crisis and saved the dam from collapse requires that risk analysis be complemented by a resilience perspective. This paper presents a case study on the Oroville Dam Crisis to develop a timeline of failures and successes in the resilience processes of sensing, anticipation, adapting, and learning throughout the history of the dam. Three factors that drove poor operational and engineering decisions include: (1) misalignment of technical nomenclature and design requirements for the ungated spillway, (2) overconfidence in original engineering designs, and (3) conflicting pressure from diverse stakeholders. These factors contributed to unrealistic perceptions of dam capabilities and promoted decisions to forgo maintenance and design efforts that may have mitigated the danger. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilient Infrastructure Systems)
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18 pages, 1020 KiB  
Perspective
Holistic Infrastructure Resilience Research Requires Multiple Perspectives, Not Just Multiple Disciplines
by John E. Thomas, Daniel A. Eisenberg and Thomas P. Seager
Infrastructures 2018, 3(3), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures3030030 - 10 Aug 2018
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 7396
Abstract
Resilience research includes multiple definitions, concepts, perspectives, and applications across a broad range of academic disciplines. While experts, policy-makers, and practitioners assert that resilience requires holism, what is considered holistic is rarely discussed. The traditional scientific approach to holism is to engage [...] Read more.
Resilience research includes multiple definitions, concepts, perspectives, and applications across a broad range of academic disciplines. While experts, policy-makers, and practitioners assert that resilience requires holism, what is considered holistic is rarely discussed. The traditional scientific approach to holism is to engage multiple disciplines. However, this review studies an alternative approach to holism that engages multiple perspectives, as suggested by integral theory. An integral approach requires consideration of at least four irreducible domains: (1) subjective experience, (2) intersubjective culture, (3) objective behavior, and (4) interobjective systems. This way of approaching holism both engages multiple disciplines and reveals important gaps in the popular understanding of resilient infrastructure. For example, organizing the 20 most highly cited resilience research articles from all disciplines according to the Integral Map reveals that most articles in the sample set are distributed among three of the four perspectives corresponding to experience, behavior, and systems. None of the most popular articles studies resilience through the lens of culture. Thus, the importance of factors such as organizational values and group intentionality may be underappreciated in the scholarly literature. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Resilient Infrastructure Systems)
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