Structural health monitoring

About: Structural health monitoring is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 11727 publications have been published within this topic receiving 186231 citations.

Recent advances in wireless smart sensors for multi-scale monitoring and control of civil infrastructure

Abstract: While much of the technology associated with wireless smart sensors (WSS) has been available for over a decade, only a limited number of full-scale implementations have been realized for civil infrastructure, primarily due to the lack of critical hardware and software elements. Using the Imote2, a flexible WSS framework has been developed for full-scale, autonomous structural health monitoring (SHM) that integrates the necessary software and hardware elements, while addressing key implementation requirements for civil infrastructure. This paper discusses the recent advances in the development of this WSS framework and extensions to structural control. Their successful implementations at full-scale for SHM of the 2nd Jindo Bridge in South Korea and the Government Bridge at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois, USA, as well as for wireless control of a lab-scale structure are presented.

The magnetostrictive sensor technology for long range guided wave testing and monitoring of structures

Abstract: A technical background on and applications of a guided wave technology called the magnetostrictive sensor are described. The magnetostrictive sensor technology is for long range global testing and condition monitoring of structures such as piping, plates and steel cables. For long range testing of piping in processing plants, such as refineries and chemical plants, the magnetostrictive sensor system, including the probe, instrument and data analysis software, is matured for use in commercial testing services. Capabilities of the present magnetostrictive sensor system for pipe testing are presented together with an example of testing data and their analysis.

Recent Advancements in Non-Destructive Testing Techniques for Structural Health Monitoring

Abstract: Structural health monitoring (SHM) is an important aspect of the assessment of various structures and infrastructure, which involves inspection, monitoring, and maintenance to support economics, quality of life and sustainability in civil engineering. Currently, research has been conducted in order to develop non-destructive techniques for SHM to extend the lifespan of monitored structures. This paper will review and summarize the recent advancements in non-destructive testing techniques, namely, sweep frequency approach, ground penetrating radar, infrared technique, fiber optics sensors, camera-based methods, laser scanner techniques, acoustic emission and ultrasonic techniques. Although some of the techniques are widely and successfully utilized in civil engineering, there are still challenges that researchers are addressing. One of the common challenges within the techniques is interpretation, analysis and automation of obtained data, which requires highly skilled and specialized experts. Therefore, researchers are investigating and applying artificial intelligence, namely machine learning algorithms to address the challenges. In addition, researchers have combined multiple techniques in order to improve accuracy and acquire additional parameters to enhance the measurement processes. This study mainly focuses on the scope and recent advancements of the Non-destructive Testing (NDT) application for SHM of concrete, masonry, timber and steel structures.

A mobile sensing system for structural health monitoring: design and validation

Abstract: This paper describes a new approach using mobile sensor networks for structural health monitoring. Compared with static sensors, mobile sensor networks offer flexible system architectures with adaptive spatial resolutions. The paper first describes the design of a mobile sensing node that is capable of maneuvering on structures built with ferromagnetic materials. The mobile sensing node can also attach/detach an accelerometer onto/from the structural surface. The performance of the prototype mobile sensor network has been validated through laboratory experiments. Two mobile sensing nodes are adopted for navigating on a steel portal frame and providing dense acceleration measurements. Transmissibility function analysis is conducted to identify structural damage using data collected by the mobile sensing nodes. This preliminary work is expected to spawn transformative changes in the use of mobile sensors for future structural health monitoring.

Particle filter scheme with mutation for the estimation of time-invariant parameters in structural health monitoring applications

Abstract: SUMMARY In this study, a novel method is presented for non-linear, non-Gaussian online state and parameter identification, developed for use in structural health monitoring (SHM) problems. The algorithm consists of a particle filter (PF) that combines the use of the standard PF with mutation operators. The algorithm aims at alleviating the sample impoverishment problem, which is a well-known limitation of the standard PF, yielding it inefficient for demanding non-linear identification problems. To overcome this hurdle, we introduce here an alternative approach, influenced by the principles of evolutionary computation. After the standard PF steps are performed to a point where the sample diversity drops below some threshold, the unfit particles are replaced by either the fittest particles or the current weighted estimate of the state. Next, the time-invariant components of the particles are mutated under some mutation probability, and the new sample is then propagated to the next time step. This process is well suited for joint state and parameter estimation problems, as is usually the case in SHM techniques. As a result, the loss of diversity associated with the standard PF is overcome, and the new PF with mutation is shown to outperform the standard PF and the unscented Kalman filter for the case of high process noise. The method is validated through an established benchmark problem found in the literature, lying outside of the structural identification concept, and a previously referenced 3DOF structural system with hysteresis elaborating the SHM aspect. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.