Evaluating the deterioration of geotechnical infrastructure assets using performance curves

Long Linear (geotechnical) Assets (LLAs) are a major component of the physical infrastructure required to deliver critical services over long distances. This existing, physical transport infrastructure is at various stages of performance and deterioration, some of which is in a poor state or reaching the end of life. This paper describes a framework for understanding deterioration processes and then evaluates the use of curves to map the performance of LLAs forming the UK’s transport infrastructure network. Detail was added to generic performance curves by considering the peer-reviewed evidence for the drivers, properties and mechanisms causing a loss of soil strength in transport infrastructure embankments. The results show that performance curves can be used to evaluate the performance of LLAs over their lifetime, to consider specific definitions of performance and to compare asset types. They provide a common language to communicate the deterioration mechanisms affecting assets or a network of assets. They provide a method to structure the planning, collection and interpretation of large volumes of ‘smart’ information describing the performance of long linear assets. This contributes to the UK’s infrastructure vision to deliver intelligent design, management and maintenance.