In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the adoption of emerging sensing technologies for instrumentation within a variety of structural systems. Wireless sensors and sensor networks are emerging as sensing paradigms that the structural engineering field has begun to consider as substitutes for traditional tethered monitoring systems. A benefit of wireless structural monitoring systems is that they are inexpensive to install because extensive wiring is no longer required between sensors and the data acquisition system. Researchers are discovering that wireless sensors are an exciting technology that should not be viewed as simply a substitute for traditional tethered monitoring systems. Rather, wireless sensors can play greater roles in the processing of structural response data; this feature can be utilized to screen data for signs of structural damage. Also, wireless sensors have limitations that require novel system architectures and modes of operation. This paper is intended to serve as a summary review of the collective experience the structural engineering community has gained from the use of wireless sensors and sensor networks for monitoring structural performance and health.

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jerlynch/papers/SVDReview.pdf

A summary review of wireless sensors and sensor networks for structural health monitoring

Phase change materials for thermal energy storage

Vibration based condition monitoring refers to the use of in situ non-destructive sensing and analysis of system characteristics –in the time, frequency or modal domains –for the purpose of detecting changes, which may indicate damage or degradation. In the field of civil engineering, monitoring systems have the potential to facilitate the more economical management and maintenance of modern infrastructure. This paper reviews the state of the art in vibration based condition monitoring with particular emphasis on structural engineering applications.

Vibration Based Condition Monitoring: A Review:

Bond-slip models for FRP sheets/plates bonded to concrete

Technology developments in structural health monitoring of large-scale bridges

Full-range behavior of FRP-to-concrete bonded joints

To effectively and efficiently utilize fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) laminates in strengthening civil infrastructure, a design strategy integrating the properties of FRP reinforcement and composite structural behavior must be adopted. The interfacial stress transfer behavior including debonding should be considered to be one of the most important effects on composite structural behavior. In this paper, 2 kinds of nonlinear interfacial constitutive laws describing the pre- and postinterfacial microdebonding behavior are introduced to solve the nonlinear interfacial stress transfer and fracture propagation problems for different kinds of adhesive joints in FRP/steel-strengthened concrete or steel structures. Expressions for the maximum transferable load, interfacial shear stress distribution, and initiation and propagation of interfacial cracks are derived analytically. In addition, numerical simulations are performed to discuss the factors influencing the interfacial behavior, and the theoretical derivations are validated by finite element analysis.

Stress Transfer and Fracture Propagation in Different Kinds of Adhesive Joints

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) in architectural design in China

This paper presents the fatigue behaviour of various fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, namely, carbon, glass, polyparaphenylenl benzobisoxazole (PBO), and basalt fibres, including the effect of hybrid applications such as carbon/glass and carbon/basalt composites. A coupon test was conducted to examine the mechanical characteristics of the FRP composites subjected to monotonic and cyclic loads. Test parameters included the applied load range and different types of hybridization. Study results show that (1) the mechanical properties of the emerging PBO and basalt fibres are comparable to those of the conventional carbon and glass fibres; (2) the tensile modulus of the fibres influences the failure mode of the composite coupons; (3) the progressive damage propagation causes fatigue failure of the composites; (4) the hybrid composites of carbon/basalt significantly improves the fatigue resistance in comparison to the homogeneous basalt composite, whereas the resistance of the carbon/glass hybrid composites does not provide such effects.

Zhishen Wu

Papers

Full-range behavior of FRP-to-concrete bonded joints

Stress Transfer and Fracture Propagation in Different Kinds of Adhesive Joints

Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) in architectural design in China

Tensile fatigue behaviour of FRP and hybrid FRP sheets

Strength and ductility of concrete cylinders confined with FRP composites