Underground Infrastructure Innovations from CUIIC and Clemson University: Life-Cycle GHG Assessment and Seismic Resilience via CIPP

March 19, 2026 1:00 pm

Investigating Seismic Resilience Improvement of Water Mains Using CIPP Lining

This presentation discusses the seismic vulnerability of aging cast iron (CI) water mains in North America and examines how cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) rehabilitation can reduce earthquake-induced damage and improve system performance. CI pipelines have historically experienced widespread failures during seismic events, yet the seismic benefits of CIPP lining have not been clearly quantified for infrastructure planning and investment decisions.

This study discusses the development of seismic fragility relations for CI pipelines with and without CIPP rehabilitation to quantify expected damage under varying levels of ground deformation. These fragility relations are then used to evaluate the seismic resilience of a water distribution network in Charleston, South Carolina, across a large number of earthquake scenarios. The presentation discusses the effect of CIPP rehabilitation on expected pipeline damage at the network level and illustrates how targeted CIPP lining can improve post-earthquake connectivity and overall system resilience.

GHG Emissions in Canadian Underground Infrastructure: Methods, Standards, and Modelling Framework

Underground infrastructure systems such as water supply, wastewater and stormwater networks, energy distribution and pipelines, telecommunications and power infrastructure, and underground transportation systems are essential to modern society, yet their greenhouse gas emissions over the life cycle are still not well understood. Estimating these emissions requires more than applying generic Life Cycle Assessment procedures. It requires careful definition of infrastructure systems, identification of the components and activities that dominate emissions, and the development of structured asset inventories and modelling approaches that can support engineering decisions and long term planning.

This webinar presents a methodological framework for assessing and analysing greenhouse gas emissions in underground infrastructure in Canada, placing it within the context of international standards and guidance, including ISO 14040 and 14044, ISO 21931-2, EN 15978, RICS, ASTM practices, the ASCE prestandard, and PAS 2080. The presentation explains how these frameworks inform a research workflow that integrates system decomposition, life cycle assessment, comparative analysis, and scenario modelling, and discusses the practical challenges of applying these methods to real infrastructure systems.

About the Speaker

profile-image

Seyed (Mahmoud) Yadollahi

PhD candidate in Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Civil Engineering at Clemson University

Mahmoud Yadollahi is a PhD candidate in Construction Engineering and Management in the Department of Civil Engineering at Clemson University. His research focuses on the seismic performance and management of buried water pipeline infrastructure, with particular emphasis on water distribution system resilience and cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) rehabilitation. He has a background in structural and earthquake engineering and employs fragility modeling, network-level resilience analysis, and probabilistic assessment methods to evaluate infrastructure vulnerability under earthquake loading. His work aims to support data-driven rehabilitation planning and resilience-based decision-making for water distribution systems. Mahmoud holds a master’s degree in Structural Engineering, with a focus on seismic performance assessment of buildings and damping technologies.

profile-image

Fredy A. Díaz-Durán, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta

Fredy A. Díaz-Durán, Ph.D., is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering (Geotechnics) from the University of Waterloo and has directed industry-partnered projects, led research initiatives, and taught and supervised student teams in dynamic soil characterization, slope and excavation stability, and sustainability/LCA for subsurface works. His current work advances computational geomechanics, geohazard assessment, and risk analysis for resilient underground and geotechnical infrastructure, integrating field and laboratory characterization with numerical modelling and statistical/probabilistic methods to enable risk-informed decision-making under uncertainty. He translates ground–structure interaction into clear performance ranges and design margins for a wide spectrum of systems and contexts, including linear corridors and utilities, trenchless works, tunnels, foundations, and geohazard-prone sites in municipal, energy, and transportation settings.

Webinar Sponsors