Polder pumping-station for the future: designing and retrofitting infrastructure systems under structural uncertainty

Abstract

In designing and retrofitting infrastructure systems, engineers are increasingly confronted by uncertainties about the future operating conditions of these systems, stemming from climate change or rapid socio-economic development. Particularly for long-lived capital-intensive infrastructure components like pumping stations, current engineering practices need to be complemented by structured approaches for designing infrastructures whose performance is robust to a wide range of possible future operating conditions. This paper presents multi-objective robust simulation as a viable approach. We investigate its applicability in a case study of the re-design of a polder pumping-station in The Netherlands. The research demonstrates the added value of multi-objective robust simulation in establishing robust design alternatives. The approach generates additional decision relevant insights into the performance of the pumping-station under uncertain future conditions while supplying decision-makers with the information required to make informed trade-offs amongst key design choices.