Framework for managing life-cycle cost of smart infrastructure systems

Smart infrastructure systems life-cycle costing has not receive much attention from researchers, albeit its considerable potential and proven success. This paper presents a framework to manage the life-cycle cost of these systems. The framework includes a core model for evaluating the life-cycle cost of civil infrastructure systems equipped with smart materials (fiber-reinforced concrete, sensor-embedded materials, etc.) or intelligent devices (smart valves, smart signals, etc.). The model identifies the basic cost elements that should be considered when evaluating life-cycle costs. In addition, the model identifies design and managerial factors that influence the values of these costs.