Restoration of Bridge Networks after an Earthquake: Multicriteria Intervention Optimization

Abstract

This paper presents an optimization procedure for the restoration activities associated with the bridges of a transportation network severely damaged by an earthquake. The design variables are (i) the time intervals between the occurrence of the distress and the start of the interventions on each bridge of the network; and (ii) the restoration pace of the interventions, which represents a measure of the funding allocated to each bridge. The objectives of the optimization are the maximization of the network resilience, the minimization of the time required to reach a target functionality level, and the minimization of the total cost of the restoration activities. Because the first two objectives clearly conflict with the last one, the optimization procedure does not provide a unique solution, but an entire set of Pareto solutions. A numerical example involving a complex, existing transportation network in Santa Barbara, California, illustrates the capabilities of the proposed methodology.