Caprani, Colin - Dublin Institute of Technology

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Name: Dr Colin Caprani
Degree: PhD, BSc(Eng), DipEng
Department: Civil & Structural Engineering
Short Introduction on Researcher and/or Current Project:
Dr Colin Caprani is a Chartered Structural Engineer (CEng MIEI, MIStructE) with considerable industrial and
academic experience. He has worked as a design structural engineer on a wide range of projects, including
integral bridges, new-concept bridge beam development, large-scale commercial mixed-use developments, and
renovation and refurbishment of listed structures. His research specializations involve highway bridge traffic
loading for short- and long-span bridges; vibration serviceability of footbridges; and Intelligent Transportation
System - infrastructure interaction. He has lectured on numerous courses in two universities.
Dr Caprani is employed as a Lecturer in Structural Engineering at the Dublin Institute of Technology, Bolton St.
To date he has authored over 60 scientific publications, and has been responsible for the supervision of both
PhD and MSc students in a variety of topics related to structural safety and bridge engineering. He has spoken at
numerous international conferences on these topics and has been the recipient of numerous awards. He has
attracted research funding of over €600k. He has been involved in a number of research consortia, including EU
FP projects Sustainable and Advanced Materials for Road Infrastructures (SAMARIS); Weigh in Motion for the
21st Century (WIM21); Rehabilitation of Structures in Europe (ROSE). He has won several research
scholarships, including the Irish Research Council for Science Engineering and Technology EMBARK
Scholarship and the Dublin Institute of Technology ABBEST Scholarship.
At Dublin Institute of Technology, Dr Caprani has been involved in programme design for an MSc in Structural
Engineering, and BEng in Structural Engineering programme review. He is the chair of the School of Civil and
Building Services Engineering Research Committee, and serves on several College Boards. He was awarded a
Teaching Fellowship to improve pedagogical approaches to teaching structural behaviour. He has been widely
acclaimed for his lecture notes in structural analysis in particular and is currently writing a textbook in this area.
He has written several software programs for the teaching of structural analysis and design topics. His website
receives over 300 visits per day and is widely linked with, and referred to by other bridge and structural
engineering websites.
In 2008, Dr Caprani was elected Honorary Secretary of the Republic of Ireland Branch of the Institution of
Structural Engineers in recognition of his contribution since 2001. He acts as a Technical Report Assessor for
entry to sit the membership examination. He is a founding committee member of the Irish National Group of the
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineers.

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Publications:
Peer-Reviewed International Journals – Published
Caprani, C.C. (2012), „Calibration of a congestion load model for highway bridges using traffic
microsimulation‟, Structural Engineering International, in print, August 2012.
Caprani, C.C., Keogh, J., Archbold, P. and Fanning, P. (2012), „Enhancement factors for the vertical response
of footbridges subjected to stochastic crowd loading‟, Computers & Structures, in press,
10.1016/j.compstruc.2012.03.006.
Caprani, C.C., González, A., Rattigan, P.H. and OBrien, E.J. (2012), „Assessment dynamic ratio for traffic
loading on bridges‟, Structure and Infrastructure Engineering, 8(3), pp. 295-304. 10.1080/15732471003667645.
Caprani, C.C., OBrien, E.J. (2010), „The Use of Predictive Likelihood to Estimate the Distribution of Extreme
Bridge Traffic Load Effect‟, Structural Safety, Vol. 32(2), March, pp. 138-144. 10.1016/j.strusafe.2009.09.001.
González, A., Rattigan, P.H., OBrien, E.J. and Caprani, C.C. (2008), „Determination of bridge lifetime
dynamic amplification factor using finite element analysis of critical loading scenarios‟, Engineering Structures,
30(9), September, pp. 2330-2337. 10.1016/j.engstruct.2008.01.017.
Caprani, C.C., OBrien, E.J. and McLachlan, G.J. (2008), „Characteristic traffic load effects from a mixture of
loading events on short to medium span bridges‟, Structural Safety, Vol. 30(5), September, pp. 394-404.
10.1016/j.strusafe.2006.11.006.
OBrien, E.J., Caprani, C.C. and O‟Connell, G. (2006), „Bridge assessment loading: a comparison of west and
central/east Europe‟, Journal of Bridge Structures, Vol. 2, No. 1, March, pp. 25-33.
10.1080/15732480600578451.
OBrien, E.J. and Caprani, C.C. (2005), „Headway modelling for traffic load assessment of short- to medium-
span bridges‟, The Structural Engineer, Vol 83, No. 16, August, pp. 33-36.
istructe.org/thestructuralengineer/HC/Abstract.asp?PID=5494.
Peer-Reviewed International Journals – In Review
Lipari, A, Caprani, C.C., OBrien, E.J. (2012), „Accuracy of Congested Density Estimates from Point
Detectors‟, Proceedings of the ICE – Transport, In review.
Keogh, J., Caprani, C.C., Archbold, P. and Fanning, P. (2012), „Vertical response design enhancement factors
for footbridges subjected to stochastic crowd loading‟, Structural Engineering International, In review.
Caprani, C.C. (2012), 'Lifetime highway bridge traffic load effect from a combination of traffic states allowing
for dynamic amplification', ASCE Journal of Bridge Engineering, in review.

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Major International Conferences
Caprani, C.C., Enright, B. and Carey, C. (2012), „Lane changing control to reduce traffic load effect on long-
span bridges‟, International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, IABMAS, Lake
Como, Italy, July.
Keogh, J., Caprani C.C., Archbold P. and Fanning, P. (2012), „Reliability analysis of footbridge serviceability
considering crowd loading‟, International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management,
IABMAS, Lake Como, Italy, July.
McCarthy, L. and Caprani, C.C. (2012), „Reliability analysis of highway bridge structures considering ultimate
load effects‟, International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, IABMAS, Lake
Como, Italy, July.
Renehan, N. and Caprani, C.C. (2012), „A live load control procedure for long-span bridges‟, International
Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, IABMAS, Lake Como, Italy, July.
Lipari, A., OBrien, E.J. and Caprani C.C. (2012), „A comparative study of bridge traffic load effect using
micro-simulation and Eurocode load models‟, International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and
Management, IABMAS, Lake Como, Italy, July.
Caprani, C.C., Lipari, A. and OBrien, E.J. (2012), „Load effect of multi-lane traffic simulations on long-span
bridges‟, International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, IABMAS, Lake Como,
Italy, July.
Enright, B., Carey, C., Caprani, C.C. (2012), „The Effect of Lane Changing on Long-Span Highway Bridge
Traffic Loading‟, International Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, IABMAS, Lake
Como, Italy, July.
Archbold, P, Keogh, J., Caprani, C.C. and Fanning, P. (2011), „A Parametric Study of Pedestrian Vertical
Force Models for Dynamic Analysis of Footbridges‟, Proceedings of Experimental Vibration Analysis for Civil
Engineering Structures, Varenna, Italy, 3-5 October 2011.
Caprani, C.C., Keogh, J., Archbold, P. and Fanning, P. (2011), „Characteristic Vertical Response of a
Footbridge Due to Crowd Loading‟, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Structural Dynamics,
EURODYN 2011, Leuven, Belgium, 4-6 July, G. De Roeck, G. Degrande, G. Lombaert, G. Muller (eds.), pp.
978-985.
Caprani, C.C. (2010), „Using Microsimulation to Estimate Highway Bridge Traffic Load‟, International
Conference on Bridge Maintenance, Safety and Management, IABMAS, Philadelphia, USA, July.

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Caprani, C.C. and OBrien, E.J. (2009), „Estimating Extreme Highway Bridge Traffic Load Effects‟,
International Conference on Structural Safety and Reliability, ICOSSAR ’09, Osaka, Japan.
Carey, C., Enright, B. and Caprani, C.C. (2009), „The Estimation of Traffic Characteristics for Bridge Loading
with the Introduction of Long Combination Vehicles‟, Int. Conf. on Computational Structures Technology,
Madeira, Portugal.
Caprani, C.C. and OBrien, E.J. (2008), „Recent Advances in the Governing Form of Traffic for Bridge
Loading‟, Civil and Structural Health Monitoring 2, Toarmina, Sicily.
O‟Brien, E. J., Enright, B., and Caprani, C. C. (2008), „Implications of Future Heavier Trucks for Europe‟s
Bridges‟, In: A. Žnidarič, ed. Transport Research Arena Europe 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia. ZAG, Slovenian
National Building and Civil Engineering Institute; DDC Consulting and Engineering Ltd; DRC, Road
Transportation Research Association of Slovenia.
Bordallo-Ruiz A., McNally C., OBrien E.J. & Caprani C.C. (2007), “Structural reliability of bridges subject to
time dependent deterioration”, Proc. 11th Int. Conf. on Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering
Computing, ed. B.H.V. Topping, Civil-Comp Press, Stirling, Scotland, Paper No. 189, 16 pp.
Caprani, C.C., OBrien, E.J. (2006), „Statistical Computation for Extreme Bridge Traffic Load Effects‟, Proc.
8th Int. Conf. on Computational Structures Technology, ed. B.H.V. Topping, Civil-Comp Press, Stirling,
Scotland, Paper No. 139, 17 pp.
Caprani, C.C., OBrien, E.J. (2006), „Finding the Distribution of Bridge Lifetime Load Effect by Predictive
Likelihood‟, 3rd International ASRANet Colloquium, University of Glasgow, UK.
Enright, B., OBrien, E.J. and Caprani, C.C. (2006), „Assessment of Bridge Traffic Loading on Bridges with
Multiple Same-Direction Lanes‟, 3rd International ASRANet Colloquium, University of Glasgow, UK.
OBrien, E.J., Caprani, C.C., Žnidarič, A. and Quilligan, M. (2003), „Site-specific probabilistic bridge load
assessment‟, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Current and Future Trends in Bridge Design,
Construction and Maintenance, eds. B.I.G. Barr et al., Shanghai, China, Thomas Telford, Sep./Oct., pp. 341-
348.
Caprani, C.C., Grave, S.A., OBrien, E.J. and O‟Connor, A.J. (2002), „Critical loading events for the
assessment of medium span bridges‟, Proc. 6th Int. Conf. on Computational Structures Technology, eds. B.H.V.
Topping & Z. Bittnar, Civil-Comp Press, Stirling, Scotland, Paper No. 147, 11 pp.
Major National Conferences

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Caprani, C.C. (2012), „Bridge-to-vehicle communication for traffic load mitigation‟, Proceedings of Bridge
and Concrete Research in Ireland, Dublin, in print.
Blacoe, S., Caprani, C.C. and OBrien, E.J. (2012), „Determination of minimum gap in congested traffic‟,
Proceedings of Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland, Dublin, in print.
Carey, C., Caprani, C.C. and Enright, B. (2012), „Reducing traffic loading on long-span bridges by means of
lane-changing restrictions‟, Proceedings of Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland, Dublin, in print.
O‟Sullivan, D., Caprani C.C. and Keogh, J. (2012), „The response of a footbridge to pedestrians carrying
additional mass‟, Proceedings of Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland, Dublin, in print.
Caprani, C.C. and McCarthy, L.A. (2012), „Probabilistic analysis of an indeterminate beam subjected to
moving loads considering material nonlinearity‟, Proceedings of Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland,
Dublin, in print.
OBrien, E.J., Lipari, A. and Caprani, C.C. (2012), „Effect of single-lane congestions on long-span bridge traffic
loading‟, Proceedings of Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland, Dublin, in print.
Keogh, J., Caprani, C.C., Archbold, P., and Fanning, P. (2012), „The effect of clusters within crowds of
pedestrians on the vertical response of a flexible footbridge‟, Proceedings of Bridge and Concrete Research in
Ireland, Dublin, in print.
Caprani, C.C., OBrien, E.J. and Lipari, A. (2011), „Extension of a lane-changing model to a micro-simulation
tool‟, Proceedings of the Irish Transportation Research Network 2011, ITRN2011, 31 August-1 September,
Cork, in print.
OBrien, E.J., Lipari, A. and Caprani, C.C. (2011), „Estimation of density and gaps in congested traffic‟,
Proceedings of the Irish Transportation Research Network 2011, ITRN2011, 31 August-1 September, Cork, in
print.
Caprani, C.C. (2010), „Estimating extreme load effect from a combination of traffic states‟, Proceedings of 5th
Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Research in Ireland, Cork, in print.
Caprani, C.C., Carey, C. and Enright, B. (2010), „A new congested traffic load model for highway bridges‟,
Proceedings of 5th Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Research in Ireland, Cork, in print.
Keogh, J., Archbold, P., Caprani, C.C. and Fanning, P. (2010), „Estimating the characteristic vertical response
of a flexible footbridge due to crowd loading‟, Proceedings of 5th Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure
Research in Ireland, Cork, in print.

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Lipari, A., Caprani, C.C. and OBrien, E.J. (2010), „Load effect of single-lane traffic simulations on long span
bridges‟, Proceedings of 5th Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Research in Ireland, Cork, in print.
Caprani, C.C. and OBrien, E.J. (2008), „The governing form of traffic for highway bridge loading‟,
Proceedings of 4th Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Research in Ireland, eds. E. Cannon, R. West and
P. Fanning, National University of Ireland, Galway, pp. 53-60.
Caprani, C.C. and Rattigan, P.H. (2006), „Bridge traffic loading: the implications of some recent findings‟,
Third National Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Engineering in Ireland, eds. N.A. Ni Nuallain, A.
O‟Connor and K. Gavin, Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, pp. 131-138.
OBrien, E.J., Gonzalez, A., Caprani, C.C., Li, Y., Rattigan, P.H. and Harris, N. (2006), „Bridge dynamics and
loading‟, Keynote Paper, Third National Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Engineering in Ireland, eds.
N.A. Ni Nuallain, A. O‟Connor and K. Gavin, Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, pp. 347-
358.
Bordallo-Ruiz, A., OBrien, E.J. and Caprani, C.C. (2006), „Estimating risk of failure of engineering structures
by means of predictive likelihood‟, Third National Symposium on Bridge and Infrastructure Engineering in
Ireland, eds. N.A. Ni Nuallain, A. O‟Connor and K. Gavin, Trinity College Dublin and University College
Dublin, p. 139, 8 pp.
Rattigan, P.H., Gonzalez, A., OBrien, E.J. and Caprani, C.C. (2006), „Determination of characteristic bridge
DAF using dynamic finite element analysis of critical static loading scenarios‟, Third National Symposium on
Bridge and Infrastructure Engineering in Ireland, eds. N.A. Ni Nuallain, A. O‟Connor and K. Gavin, Trinity
College Dublin and University College Dublin, pp. 21-28.
Caprani, C.C. (2004), „Probabilistic Analysis of Highway Bridge Loading Events‟, Proceedings of the
Institution of Structural Engineers Young Researchers’ Conference, London.
O‟Connor, A., Caprani, C.C. and Belay, A. (2003), „Site-Specific Probabilistic Load Modelling for Bridge
Reliability Analysis‟, Assessment of Bridges and Highway Infrastructure, ed. E.J. OBrien, Institution of
Engineers of Ireland, Dublin, pp. 97-104.
A. Belay, A., O‟Connor, A. and Caprani, C.C. (2002), „Site-specific probabilistic load modelling for bridge
reliability analysis‟, First Symposium on Bridge Engineering Research in Ireland, eds. C. McNally and S.
Brady, University College Dublin, pp. 77-85.
Caprani, C.C., Grave, S.A., OBrien, E.J. and O‟Connor, A.J. (2002), „Critical loading events for the
assessment of medium span bridges‟, First Symposium on Bridge Engineering Research in Ireland, eds. C.
McNally and S. Brady, University College Dublin, pp. 67-76.

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Other Conferences, Seminars, Colloquia and Reports
Caprani, C.C. (2012), Towards and Improved Teaching of Structural Behaviour, Teaching Fellowship Report,
Dept. of Civil & Structural Engineering, Dublin Institute of Technology.
Caprani, C.C. (2011), Simba – Simulation for Bridge Assessment v1.1 - User Manual, Dept. of Civil &
Structural Engineering, Dublin Institute of Technology.
Caprani, C.C. (2010), TrussMaster v3.1 - User Manual, Dept. of Civil & Structural Engineering, Dublin
Institute of Technology.
Caprani, C.C. (2008), EvolveTraffic v1.3 - User Manual, Dept. of Civil & Structural Engineering, Dublin
Institute of Technology.
OBrien, E.J. and Caprani, C.C. (2006), Reply to correspondence on „Headway modelling for traffic load
assessment of short- to medium-span bridges‟, The Structural Engineer, Vol 84, No. 3, February, p. 51.
OBrien, E.J., Caprani, C.C. and O‟Connell, G. (2006), „Dynamic Amplification of Characteristic Lifetime
Bridge Load Effect‟, SAMARIS Final Report to the European Commission, Deliverable D30, Guidelines for
optimised assessment of highway structures, Appendix G.
Caprani, C.C. (2005), Probabilistic Analysis of Highway Bridge Traffic Loading, PhD Thesis, School of
Architecture, Landscape and Civil Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland.
Caprani, C.C. and OBrien, E.J. (2005), Interim Report on Calculation of Lifetime Dynamic Allowance for
Bridge Load Effect, Internal Report to the SAMARIS Working Group on Bridge Loading, Barcelona Meeting,
March.
Caprani, C.C. (2002), Programs for the Site-Specific Analysis and Simulation of Free-Flowing Trucks on
Bridges, Dept. of Civil Engineering, UCD, Internal Report.
Please link to www.colincaprani.com

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Research Skills
Technical:
IT:
Statistical:
Other:
Research Interests
Interests:
Statistical analysis of highway bridge traffic loading
Using extreme value statistics, Dr Caprani developed a composite distribution to describe the overall
distribution of traffic load effect accounting for the different types of loading events that can occur.
Building on this, I used predictive likelihood to account for statistical modelling uncertainty in the
extrapolated extreme. Using bivariate extreme value fitting of static and total (static + dynamics)
loading, I developed the concept of an Assessment Dynamic Ratio (ADR) that links characteristic total
and static loading for easier assessment of short-to-medium span bridges. A generalized dynamic
amplification factor function for such bridges has recently been proposed.
Traffic microsimulation for intelligent infrastructure load control
Dr Caprani and colleagues have developed a world-class integrated traffic microsimulation and bridge
analysis modelling tool for the accurate estimation of traffic loading on highway bridges. This model
accounts for real driver behaviour as they respond to road features such as lane-closure, speed limits,
etc. It is especially useful for modelling long-span bridge loading under congested traffic conditions.
Recent work has focused on intelligent infrastructure applications, most notably bridge-to-vehicle
communication, to reduce the loading on the bridge. This is especially important in the assessment of
ageing, deteriorated long-span bridges common in the developed world.
Pedestrian bridge crowd loading models for vibration serviceability
Dr Caprani‟s team have developed a moving force dynamic analysis model for footbridges subject to
crowd loading. Using Monte Carlo simulation of crowd loading scenarios, enhancement factors to be
applied to single pedestrian response have been calibrated for designers. Recently, this work has been
extended to moving mass, and moving spring-mass-damper models of the pedestrians comprising the
crowd. Modelling the coupled system in this way, the damping effect of the pedestrians on the bridge
can be taken into account – something heretofore not possible.
Research Experience
Type: Research Project/Teaching Activity
Title:
Time period: Month/Year to Month/Year or I currently do this
Institution:
Department:

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Research Group:
Location:
Description:
Supervision
Education Details
Institution:
Field of Study:
Degree:
4 PhD students and 2 MPhil student projects ongoing – lead or co-
supervisor.
Time period: Month/Year to Month/Year
Location:
Awards & Achievements
3 PhD and 2 MPhils to complete by Spring 2013.
Type: Award/Grant/Scholarship
Name:
Date: Month/Year
Contracts
Awards
2010 Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology –
Load control for long-span bridges. €72,000.
2009 ABBEST Scholarship – A statistical crowd-footbridge dynamic
interaction model. €87,500.
2008 ABBEST Scholarship – A new congested load model for long span
bridge loading. €87,500.
2012 US-Ireland R&D Partnership Programme – Sensor development for
calibration of traffic microsimulation model. €88,000.
2012 ULYSSES Ireland-France Programme – Modeling of highway bridge
traffic for fatigue assessment of bridges. Awarded travel support by French
Embassy in Ireland to work with IFSTARR, Paris. €1000k.

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Contact
Other
Location:
2011 Fiosraigh Material and Travel Grant, Dublin Institute of Technology.
€3000.
2011 Enterprise Ireland Innovation Voucher for commercial development of
traffic microsimulation software. €5000.
2010 Dublin Institute of Technology Teaching Fellowship – Towards an
improved teaching of structural behavior. €5000.
2010 EU FP7 Marie Curie Initial Training Network, TEAM Project –
Microsimulation for long-span bridge loading. €268,000.
2008- Enterprise Ireland Travel Awards for development of research
proposals. €3200.
2007 EU FP7 HeavyRoute project – Development of traffic microsimulation
program. €10,000.
Website: www.colincaprani.com
Email: colin.caprani [at] dit.ie
Phone:
Mobile:
Fax:
Twitter:
Skype:
Languages:
Scientific Memberships:
Chartered Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers (CEng
MIStructE)
Chartered Member of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland (CEng MIEI)
Member of the International Association for Bridge and Structural
Engineering (IABSE)
Member of the International Society for Weigh-In-Motion (ISWIM)

School of Civil and Building Services Engineering Research Committee
DIT Bolton Street
Journal Referee:
Member of the International Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety
(IABMAS)
Editor Twice guest editor of Republic of Ireland Branch edition - The Structural
Engineer – Journal of the Institution of the Structural Engineers (IStructE),
August 2005, April 2009.
Reviewer Journal of Bridge Engineering – American Society of Civil Engineers
(ASCE) (2010-)
Structure and Infrastructure Engineering – Journal of the International
Association for Bridge Maintenance and Safety (IABMAS) (2010-)
Structural Engineering International (SEI) – Journal of the International
Association for Bridge and Structural Engineers (IABSE) (2010–)
Engineering Structures (2007-)
The Structural Engineer – Journal of the Institution of the Structural
Engineers (IStructE) (2005-)
Other Interests: 2012 Co-chair – Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland, co-hosted by
Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Institute of Technology (www.bcri.ie).
2011 Mini-symposium organizer and chair on bridge traffic loading – 11th
International Conference on Application of Statistics and Probability in
Civil Engineering (ICASP).
2010 Bridge strand chair – Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland, Cork
Institute of Technology and University College Cork.