Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network

Prof. Eugene OBrien

BE, MEngSc, PhD, CEng, FIEI, MI Struct.E
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Prof. Eugene OBrien 2018-07-20T11:42:07+00:00
Professor of Civil Engineering
University College Dublin (UCD)

Role in TRUSS: Main Supervisor (ESR12)

Area of Expertise:

Bridge traffic loading; Dynamic interaction of trucks with bridges and roads/track; Damage detection and Structural Health Monitoring of bridges; Weigh-in-Motion of road vehicles

Biography:

He has led two European CSA projects in the past and, on behalf of an Irish SME, currently leads the InfraRisk cooperation project in the Environment call. Prof. OBrien is former president of the International Society of Weigh-In-Motion and has won the cross-modal award in the EU Champions of Research competition, 2014.In Ireland, Prof OBrien’s work on Weigh-in-Motion has resulted in an increase in the allowable gross weight of 6-axle trucks from 44 to 46 tonnes. At European and the world level, his research on bridge traffic loading is identifying the nature of vehicles that govern the safety of bridges – these findings have made it possible to keep many bridges in these countries in service for much longer. The result is a bridge stock with a longer average bridge life, reducing the carbon footprint of bridges and reducing the demand for non-renewable materials.

At the time of start of the TRUSS project, Prof. OBrien had supervised 27 PhDs to completion, published 90 journal papers, 173 conference papers and 2 books.

Selected Research Outputs:

  • OBrien, E.J., Keogh, D.L. and O’Connor, A.J. (2015), “Bridge Deck Analysis”, 2nd Edition, Boca Raton, London, New York: CRC Press. [DOI]
  • OBrien, E.J., Bordallo-Ruiz, A. and Enright, B. (2014), “Lifetime maximum load effects on short-span bridges subject to growing traffic volume”, Structural Safety, 50 :113-122. [DOI]
  • OBrien, E.J., Dixon, A.S. and Sheils, E. (2012), “Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete Design”, 2nd Ed. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.

In TRUSS, Prof. OBrien supervises “ESR7 – Railway bridge safety and condition assessment”, “ESR8 – Probabilistic modelling of bridge damage based on damage indicators” and “ESR12 – Bridge damage detection using an instrumented vehicle”.

Publications in TRUSS (ESR7)
Publications in TRUSS (ESR8)
Publications in TRUSS (ESR12)