• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.469-482
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• 2009

The emerging sensor-based structural health monitoring (SHM) technology has a potential for cost-effective maintenance of aging civil infrastructure systems. The author proposes to integrate continuous and global monitoring using on-structure sensors with targeted local non-destructive evaluation (NDE). Significant technical challenges arise, however, from the lack of cost-effective sensors for monitoring spatially large structures, as well as reliable methods for interpreting sensor data into structural health conditions. This paper reviews recent efforts and advances made in addressing these challenges, with example sensor hardware and health monitoring software developed in the author's research center. The hardware includes a novel fiber optic accelerometer, a vision-based displacement sensor, a distributed strain sensor, and a microwave imaging NDE device. The health monitoring software includes a number of system identification methods such as the neural networks, extended Kalman filter, and nonlinear damping identificaiton based on structural dynamic response measurement. These methods have been experimentally validated through seismic shaking table tests of a realistic bridge model and tested in a number of instrumented bridges and buildings.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.4 no.6
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• pp.795-807
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• 2008

A challenging problem in structural damage detection based on vibration data is the requirement of a large number of sensors and the numerical difficulty in obtaining reasonably accurate results when the system is large. To address this issue, the substructure identification approach may be used. Due to practical limitations, the response data are not available at all degrees of freedom of the structure and the external excitations may not be measured (or available). In this paper, an adaptive damage tracking technique, referred to as the sequential nonlinear least-square estimation with unknown inputs and unknown outputs (SNLSE-UI-UO) and the sub-structure approach are used to identify damages at critical locations (hot spots) of the complex structure. In our approach, only a limited number of response data are needed and the external excitations may not be measured, thus significantly reducing the number of sensors required and the corresponding computational efforts. The accuracy of the proposed approach is illustrated using a long-span truss with finite-element formulation and an 8-story nonlinear base-isolated building. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed approach is capable of tracking the local structural damages without the global information of the entire structure, and it is suitable for local structural health monitoring.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.301-329
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• 2017

Impedance-based damage detection method has been known as an innovative tool with various successful implementations for structural health monitoring of civil structures. To monitor the local critical area of a structure, the impedance-based method utilizes the high-frequency impedance responses sensed by piezoelectric sensors as the local dynamic features. In this paper, current advances and future challenges of the impedance-based structural health monitoring are presented. Firstly, theoretical background of the impedance-based method is outlined. Next, an overview is given to recent advances in the wireless impedance sensor nodes, the interfacial impedance sensing devices, and the temperature-effect compensation algorithms. Various research works on these topics are reviewed to share up-to-date information on research activities and implementations of the impedance-based technique. Finally, future research challenges of the technique are discussed including the applicability of wireless sensing technology, the predetermination of effective frequency bands, the sensing region of impedance responses, the robust compensation of noise and temperature effects, the quantification of damage severity, and long-term durability of sensors.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.225-231
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• 2006

The purpose of this study is to develop a promising hybrid structural health monitoring system for structural joints. For this propose, the combined use of vibration-based techniques and electro-mechanical impedance technique is employed. For the verification of the proposed health monitoring scheme, a series of damage scenarios are designed to simulate various situations at which the connection joints can experience during their service life. The obtained experimental results, modal parameters and electro-magnetic impedance signatures, are carefully analyzed to recognize the connecting states and the target damage locations. From the analysis. it is shown that the proposed hybrid health monitoring system is successful for acquiring global and local damage information on the structural joints.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.2 no.4
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• pp.357-382
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• 2015

This paper provides an overview of the use of different Distributed Optical Fiber Sensor systems (DOFSs) to perform Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) in the specific case of civil engineering structures. Nowadays, there are several methods available for extracting distributed measurements from optical fiber, and their use have to be according with the aims of the SHM performance. The continuous-in-space data is the common advantage of the different DOFSs over other conventional health monitoring systems and, depending on the particular characteristics of each DOFS, a global and/or local health structural evaluation is possible with different accuracy. Firstly, the fundamentals of different DOFSs and their principal advantages and disadvantages are presented. Then, laboratory and field tests using different DOFSs systems to measure strain in structural elements and civil structures are presented and discussed. Finally, based on the current applications, conclusions and future trends of DOFSs in SHM in civil structures are proposed.

• 한국방재학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.02a
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• pp.429-432
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• 2007

For smart structure technologies, the interests in wireless sensor networks for structural health monitoring are growing. The wireless sensor networks reduce the installation of the wire embedded in the whole structure and save the costs. But the wireless sensor networks have lots of limits and there are lots of researches and developments of wireless sensor and the network for data process. Most of the researches of wireless sensor network is applying to the civil engineering structure and the researches for the highrise building are required. And strain-based SHM gives the local damage information of the structures which acceleration-based SHM can not. In this paper, concept of wireless sensor network for structural health monitoring of highrise building is suggested. And verifying the feasibility of the strain-based SHM a strain sensor board has developed and tested by experiments.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.483-500
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• 2007

Emerging sensor-based structural health monitoring (SHM) technology can play an important role in inspecting and securing the safety of aging civil infrastructure, a worldwide problem. However, implementation of SHM in civil infrastructure faces a significant challenge due to the lack of suitable sensors and reliable methods for interpreting sensor data. This paper reviews recent efforts and advances made in addressing this challenge, with example sensor hardware and software developed in the author's research center. It is proposed to integrate real-time continuous monitoring using on structure sensors for global structural integrity evaluation with targeted NDE inspection for local damage assessment.

• Structural Monitoring and Maintenance
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.91-114
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• 2016

In this paper, recent research trends and activities on structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure in Korea are reviewed. Recently, there has been increasing need for adopting smart sensing technologies to SHM, so this review focuses on smart sensing, monitoring, and assessment for civil infrastructure. Firstly, the research activities on smart sensor technology is reviewed including optical fiber sensors, piezoelectric sensors, wireless smart sensors, and vision-based sensing system. Then, a brief overview is given to the recent advances in smart monitoring and assessment techniques such as vibration-based global monitoring techniques, local monitoring with piezoelectric materials, decentralized monitoring techniques for wireless sensors, wireless power supply and energy harvest. Finally, recent joint SHM activities on several test beds in Korea are discussed to share the up-to-date information and to promote the smart sensors and monitoring technologies for applications to civil infrastructure. It includes a Korea-US joint research on test bridges of the Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC), a Korea-US-Japan joint research on Jindo cable-stayed bridge, and a comparative study for cable tension measurement techniques on Hwamyung cable-stayed bridge, and a campaign test for displacement measurement techniques on Sorok suspension bridge.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.455-474
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• 2007

A flexibility-based distributed computing strategy (DCS) for structural health monitoring (SHM) has recently been proposed which is suitable for implementation on a network of densely distributed smart sensors. This approach uses a hierarchical strategy in which adjacent smart sensors are grouped together to form sensor communities. A flexibility-based damage detection method is employed to evaluate the condition of the local elements within the communities by utilizing only locally measured information. The damage detection results in these communities are then communicated with the surrounding communities and sent back to a central station. Structural health monitoring can be done without relying on central data acquisition and processing. The main purpose of this paper is to experimentally verify this flexibility-based DCS approach using wired sensors; such verification is essential prior to implementation on a smart sensor platform. The damage locating vector method that forms foundation of the DCS approach is briefly reviewed, followed by an overview of the DCS approach. This flexibility-based approach is then experimentally verified employing a 5.6 m long three-dimensional truss structure. To simulate damage in the structure, the original truss members are replaced by ones with a reduced cross section. Both single and multiple damage scenarios are studied. Experimental results show that the DCS approach can successfully detect the damage at local elements using only locally measured information.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.595-603
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• 2017

Piezoceramic transducers have been widely used in the health monitoring of civil structures. However, in most cases, they are used as sensors either to measure strain or receive stress waves. This paper proposes a method of using piezoelectric transducers as strain gauges and acoustic emission (AE) sensors simultaneously. The signals received by piezoceramic transducers are decomposed into different frequency components for various analysis purposes. The low-frequency signals are used to measure strain, whereas the high-frequency signals are used as acoustic emission signal associated with local damage. The b-value theory is used to process the AE signal in piezoceramic transducers. The proposed method was applied in the bending failure experiments of two reinforced concrete beams to verify its feasibility. The results showed that the extracted low-frequency signals from the piezoceramic transducers had good agreement with that from the strain gauge, and the processed high-frequency signal from piezoceramic transducers as AE could indicate the local damage to concrete. The experimental results verified the feasibly of structural health monitoring using piezoceramic transducers as strain gauges and AE sensors simultaneously, which can advance their application in civil engineering.