Date Approved

3-3-2026

Embargo Period

3-3-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D. Civil Engineering

Department

Civil Engineering

College

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering

Advisor

Adriana Trias, Ph.D.

Committee Member 1

Mohammad Jalayer, Ph.D.

Committee Member 2

S. Hooman Ghasemi, Ph.D.

Committee Member 3

Yi Bao, Ph.D.

Disciplines

Engineering

Abstract

Infrastructural resiliency is critical for maintaining functionality during and after extreme events, ensuring minimal service disruptions and supporting rapid recovery. Key resiliency attributes—robustness, redundancy, resourcefulness, and rapidity—enhance infrastructure adaptability and safety. This study investigates significant factors and methods for improving resiliency, with a focus on equity and reliability. A new resiliency metric, incorporating equity as a core element, is developed using probabilistic approaches. This metric integrates structural vulnerability with accessibility, income, cost, and exposure factors to evaluate community impact on infrastructure access. To achieve this, limit state functions are defined to assess how infrastructural vulnerabilities affect diverse communities. Apart From this, structural robustness is quantified through resilience analysis of reinforced concrete (RC) bridge walls, tracking crack initiation and progression under extreme stresses. Fragility curves based on crack size are developed to represent structural vulnerability, with Bayesian inference applied to enhance predictions. Load path redundancy is also examined as a resiliency indicator. Subsequently, for flood-prone bridge systems, probabilistic flood modeling and XFEM finite element analyses are used to assess failure and generate accurate fragility curves, especially for bridge piers and foundations. Results will guide resiliency formulations specific to substructure systems.

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