Frame Work of Condition Assessment for Sewer Pipelines

The civil infrastructure including highways, bridges, and water/sewer systems, is crucial for economic growth and prosperity. Among the various infrastructure systems, sewer pipelines networks represent a great challenge due to their diverse components that have different repair requirements. This paper introduces a comprehensive asset management framework to support the efficient planning of maintenance and repair programs for sewer pipelines. The advantages of the proposed framework stem from the following: 1) a simple approach to support the assessment of the current condition of defects associated with gravity sewer pipelines; 2) a Markov chain approach for prediction of future conditions along the planning horizon; and 3) a GA-based optimization algorithm for determining the least-cost strategy to repair pipeline deficiencies in each year of the planning horizon. A case study of Shoha sewer network in Dakhlia, Egypt is presented to demonstrate the capabilities of the developed frame work. The results showed the effectiveness of the proposed framework in making appropriate decisions that ensure the sustainable operation of sewer pipelines networks.