Strategies for Infrastructure Asset Management - Electrical Conductors

Risk Based Inspection (RBI) methodologies originally developed to aid in the management of critical high temperature and pressurised components have now been successfully applied to infrastructure where the damage mechanisms involve corrosion and wear processes for example. An Asset Management Strategy has been developed to provide optimal use of the RBI generated data for infrastructure applications. RBI results include information on original design, historical usage and performance, maintenance, principle damage mechanisms, condition inspections and current use conditions. Models of damage accumulation rates can predict time to failure of individual evaluated components; however, the strategy proposed will allow extrapolation of limited inspection results to large sectors of infrastructure using statistical models. The models will enhance owner capability to use the available system characteristics and allow maintenance and replacement decisions to be based on measured and predicted damage rather than arbitrary generalised maintenance practices or a history of failures. This paper provides a description of the Infrastructure Asset Management Strategy with illustrations using overhead electrical conductors.