CONTEXT In today's rapidly urbanizing world, the need for innovative, sustainable, and efficient infrastructure solutions has never been greater. Underground construction presents a promising avenue to address this challenge, providing the means to expand vital transportation networks, utility systems, and storage facilities while minimizing surface disruption. As urban populations continue to grow, the demand for underground infrastructure will surge, requiring novel approaches that can deliver resilient, cost-effective, and environmentally conscious solutions. This fellowship seeks to harness the power of advanced digital technologies to transform underground construction, aligning with the ongoing global push for smarter, more efficient infrastructure development. CHALLENGE & APPLICATION Underground construction offers immense potential, but it also comes with significant hurdles. The complexity of soil-fluid-structure interactions (SFS) poses challenges that impact construction processes, project timelines, and costs. Traditional methods often struggle to accurately model and simulate these interactions, leading to uncertainties and suboptimal designs. This fellowship addresses this challenge by integrating cutting-edge digital tools, including Building Information Modeling (BIM), digital twins, and advanced data analytics. By doing so, it aims to revolutionize how we approach underground construction, enabling accurate prediction of SFS interactions and optimizing construction methodologies. AIMS & OBJECTIVES The primary aim of this fellowship is to reshape the landscape of underground construction by seamlessly integrating digital technologies. The project's objectives are: 1. Develop advanced digital modeling techniques that accurately predict complex SFS interactions in underground construction scenarios. 2. Create a comprehensive digital twin that integrates real-time data, enabling continuous monitoring and predictive maintenance of underground construction processes. 3. Identify and deploy optimal real-time monitoring technologies to gather data for improving the accuracy of the digital twin. 4. Apply advanced data analytics to optimize construction processes, enabling what-if scenario forecasting and predictive maintenance models. 5. Facilitate knowledge transfer and dissemination of research outcomes to industry professionals, policymakers, and stakeholders, driving the adoption of digital technologies in underground construction.

Offshore wind farms are gaining popularity in the UK due to the current interest in the need for greener energy sources, security of energy supply and to the public's reluctance to have wind farms on-shore. Offshore wind farms often contain hundreds of turbines supported at heights of 30m to 50m. The preferred foundations for these tall structures are large diameter monopiles due to their ease of construction in shallow to medium water depths. These monopiles are subjected to large cyclic, lateral and moment loads in addition to axial loads. It is anticipated that each of these foundations will see many millions of cycles of loading during their design life. In coastal waters around the UK, it is common for these monopiles to pass through shallow layers of soft, poorly consolidated marine clays before entering into stiffer clay/sand strata. One of the biggest concerns with the design of monopiles is their behaviour under very large numbers of cycles of lateral and moment loads. The current design methods rely heavily on stiffness degradation curves for clays available in the literature that were primarily derived for earthquake loading on relatively small diameter piles with relatively small numbers of cycles of loading. Extrapolation of this stiffness deterioration to large diameter piles with large numbers of cycles of loading represents the key risk factor in assessing the performance of offshore wind turbines. Further research is therefore required. The proposed project aims to understand the behaviour of large diameter monopiles driven through clay layers of contrasting stiffness and subjected to cyclic lateral and moment loading. Centrifuge model tests will be conducted taking advantage of recent developments at the Schofield Centre that include a computer-controlled 2-D actuator that can apply both force or displacement controlled cyclic loading to monopiles in-flight. In addition it is possible to carry out in-flight installation of the monopiles to simulate the insertion of these monopiles into the seabed. New equipment will be developed for the in-flight measurement of soil stiffness and dynamic response comparative to the state-of-the-art equipment which is now used in the field. The main outcome of the project will be a better understanding of the response of the monopiles in layered soil systems to large number of loading cycles (lateral and moment loads). The results will be directly compared to the current design practices and guidelines for improved design will be developed. The outcome of this project will allow an accurate estimation of the behaviour of offshore monopile foundations under very large numbers of cycles of loading, thus leading to a confident estimation of the life cycle of the foundation. This is critical in determining the economic viability of an offshore wind farm given that the capital costs are high and the revenue stream is relatively low but continues for the life of the wind farm.

The economic and social well-being of society is dependent on the efficient performance of the nation's infrastructure which encompasses transport networks (roads, bridges, railways, tunnels, airports and canals), the energy sector (power stations, electricity and gas distribution networks), water supply and waste treatment facilities, buildings and also digital communications networks (telephone and internet). Much of this infrastructure is in a serious state of disrepair or reaching the end of its economic life (e.g. the first generation nuclear power stations) and governments have recognised the need for substantial investment to regenerate and expand the existing infrastructure as well as build new infrastructure to meet the challenges posed by increasing population and climate change. In addition to these requirements, a recent Infrastructure UK report suggests that the construction industry in the UK is less efficient and significantly more expensive than counterparts on the continent and overseas. It highlighted the need for a radical rethink of the entire industry which is often characterised as being 'old and slow' as opposed to the 'new and fast' technology sectors such as the aerospace and automobile industries. The fragmented nature of the overall supply chain, and the length of innovation cycle (20 years or more) have historically made industry transformation difficult to deliver. The industry also creates significant waste. Out of 420m tonnes of material consumed in the UK each year, an estimated 20% is thrown away. In 2008 the then Labour government set a series of challenging targets to improve sustainability in the construction sector. These include: (a) improve design; (b) promote innovation sustainability; (c) improve procurement and adopt whole life cycle principles; (d) increase training and reduce accidents; (e) achieve 50% reduction in construction waste to landfill by 2012; (f) reduce UK greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050 and at least 34% by 2020 and (g) conserve water and enhance biodiversity on construction sites. Although some of these targets may be modified by the new government, it is likely that many will still be enforced and there remains a firm commitment to sustainable construction. On top of these targets, there is growing recognition that our infrastructure needs to be more resilient to the extremes of weather (such as floods and snow in the UK and hurricanes in Australia), and to the loads imposed by natural hazards such as earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as man-made events such as terrorist bombs and fires. All of these drivers serve to emphasise the importance of finding a mechanism to promote and implement the changes required. A 'business as usual' approach cannot be continued if these targets are to be achieved. The mission of the proposed Future Infrastructure Forum (FIF) is to generate a new vision of the shape of tomorrow's construction industry by providing a roadmap of research priorities in the ground and structural engineering sectors which will lead to firm proposals for innovative research aimed at revolutionizing how we procure, design and deliver major infrastructure projects. A key feature of this Forum is its broad membership which includes academics from over 20 of the top research Universities in the UK plus representatives from major consultants, contractors and industry and client organisations. In addition, a panel of experts from key international markets will be invited to participate and highlight the state-of-the-art and recent innovations across the globe. A core function will be to identify specific areas of focus and research projects which could be instigated immediately to precipitate this transformation. It will promote a total rethink of the fundamental approach to design, challenge established norms and stimulate innovation in construction.

The Innovative Construction Research Centre (ICRC) is dedicated to socio-technical systems research within the built environment, with particular emphasis on through-life performance in support of the client's business operations. Our vision is for a research centre that not only supports the competitiveness of the architectural, engineering, construction and facilities management sectors, but also supports societal needs for built infrastructure and the broader competitiveness of the UK economy. The domain of enquiry lies at the crucial interface between human and technical systems, thereby requiring an inter-disciplinary approach that combines engineering research methods with those derived from the social sciences. The ICRC's research portfolio is organised into six themes: (1) Integration of design, construction and facilities management. Concerns the through-life management of socio-technical systems within the built environment. Topics of consideration include: integrated logistic support, design for reliability and systems integration for building services. Of particular concern is the way that firms within the supply chain are integrated to provide solutions that add value to the client's business. (2) Knowledge management and organisational learning. Addresses the means of supporting knowledge flows across extended supply chains and the extent to which procurement systems learn across projects. Of particular importance is the design of learning mechanisms that extend across organisational boundaries. Also investigates the degree to which the construction sector can learn from other sectors, i.e. aerospace, automotive, retail, defence. (3) Human resource management and the culture of the industry. The construction sector is too often characterised by regressive approaches to human resource management (HRM) with little emphasis on developmental to support innovation. Of particular importance is the concept of 'high commitment management' that has emerged as a central component in the quest to link people management to business performance. Any attempt to improve HRM practices in the construction sector must also recognise cultural barriers to the implementation of new ways of working.(4) Innovative procurement. Includes legal, economic and organisational aspects of procurement systems. The last twenty years has seen a plethora of new procurement methods seeking to encourage different behaviours and allocations of risk. Many such initiatives experienced significant reality gaps between technological intent and resultant behaviours. Of particular importance in the current context is the notion of performance-based contracting which seeks to reward parties on the basis of building performance.(5) Innovation in through-life service provision. Most innovation in facilities management (FM) is concerned with service provision rather than the design and construction of the built asset. The inclusion of FM-service provision reflects the ICRC's strategic focus on through-life issues. The shift towards service provision is reflected in practice through procurement approaches such as PFI/PPP. But the issue has a wider significance as construction contractors increasingly embrace service philosophy. (6) Competitiveness, productivity and performance. Focuses on techniques for performance improvement, coupled with a broader emphasis on competitiveness and profitability within the marketplace. Techniques for performance improvement include: process mapping, benchmarking, value management, risk management and life-cycle costing. Also seeks to assess the competitiveness of the construction sector in comparison to other countries, and to achieve a broader understanding of the economic context within which firms operate.