REVIVE
Non-DestRuctive EValuation and Service LIfe Extension of VulnerablE Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure
Inspection built for a different era
Reinforced concrete has become the default material for the world's safety-critical structures, and its use has tripled in recent decades, growing faster than any other material. Regular inspection is essential — a structure's failure can mean loss of life, as the 2018 collapse of the Morandi bridge in Italy tragically showed — yet inspection still relies heavily on manual, subjective assessment.
Automated tools such as drones, ground-penetrating radar and LiDAR can collect substantial volumes of data, but their potential is underused: current practice remains reactive, fragmented and insufficiently predictive. Emerging repair technologies — 3D printing, recycled aggregates, geopolymers — offer sustainable alternatives, but are not yet aligned with codes such as the Eurocodes and ACI standards, limiting their adoption as primary load-bearing repair systems.
REVIVE responds to this gap by advancing and adapting state-of-the-art non-destructive evaluation technologies for ageing reinforced-concrete infrastructure — building an experimentally validated theoretical framework that integrates monitoring data with automated digitalisation tools and low-carbon, sustainable materials.
Advancing NDE, digital twins and sustainable repair
REVIVE aims to advance the state of the art in non-destructive evaluation, structural health monitoring, predictive modelling, and sustainable and smart materials — and to integrate these into digitally enabled, performance-based asset management frameworks. A key mechanism is the intersectoral and international exchange of staff through structured secondments across academic, industrial and regulatory partners, fostering mutual knowledge development and long-term cooperation between sectors.
The programme is structured around five technical work packages, supported by two cross-cutting enablers for field demonstration and dissemination — see the full work plan →
Six SMART objectives
Combine at least five complementary techniques — GPR, ultrasonic testing, vibration testing, fibre optics — into one inspection framework, targeting over 90% laboratory detection accuracy and 80% in the field.
Develop physics-based and AI-enhanced models calibrated with multi-sensor data, demonstrating predictive accuracy within ±10% of observed deterioration on a real bridge and tunnel.
Design and characterise recycled-aggregate concretes and smart composites, targeting a 20% improvement in durability indicators such as chloride-ingress resistance and fatigue life.
Deliver harmonised guidelines and digital tools for condition-based maintenance aligned with Eurocode 2, fib and RILEM, validated on at least two case studies.
Implement at least 70 secondments across academia, industry and certification partners, complemented by joint workshops, training schools and an e-learning module.
Deliver two international summer schools, four technical workshops and an innovation hackathon, training at least 100 participants with strong early-career and external participation.
A balanced, open research culture
Around 30% of REVIVE's senior consortium staff are women, and three lead work packages 2 and 4. Training events — summer schools, workshops and the innovation hackathon — target at least 40% participation from women and early-career researchers, with fee waivers to lower entry barriers. Educational materials and datasets are released under open-access principles, in line with REVIVE's commitment to open science.
Non-Destructive Evaluation and Service Life Extension of Vulnerable Reinforced Concrete Infrastructure.
University of Southampton
United Kingdom