What is the purpose of structural health monitoring?

1 Benefits of SHM

SHM can provide many benefits for structural engineers, owners, operators, and users of the structure, such as reducing the risk of structural failure and collapse, enhancing resilience and robustness, improving efficiency and performance, and saving the cost and time of structural maintenance and management. Specifically, SHM can help the structure withstand natural hazards and human-induced threats, meet design objectives and service standards, achieve the optimal balance between preventive and corrective actions, and avoid unnecessary or excessive interventions.

2 Types of SHM

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) can be classified into different types according to the level of complexity, automation, and integration of the data collection and analysis. Visual inspection is the simplest and most traditional type, involving observation and examination with the naked eye or with tools such as cameras, binoculars, or drones. It can provide a general overview of the structural condition, but may not detect hidden or subtle damage or defects. Local testing is a more advanced type, which involves applying physical or chemical methods to test a specific part or component of the structure. It can provide a more detailed and accurate assessment of the structural condition. Global monitoring is the most sophisticated and comprehensive type, involving installation of a network of sensors and systems on the structure for continuous and real-time measurement of its response, behavior, and state. Advanced data analysis techniques such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, or data fusion can also be used in this type.

3 Challenges of SHM

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) can be effective, reliable, and feasible; however, it is not without its challenges and limitations. Data quality can be affected by sources of uncertainty, error, or noise, resulting in false alarms, missed detections, or erroneous diagnoses. Additionally, the data collected from SHM may be too large, complex, or diverse to be managed and utilized efficiently and economically. Furthermore, the data collected from SHM may be vulnerable to unauthorized access, manipulation, or disclosure. These issues can compromise the data integrity, confidentiality, and availability causing ethical, legal, and social challenges for the data protection and governance. To address these issues appropriate data reduction techniques, compression methods, filtering methods, encryption methods, authentication methods and authorization methods must be used.

4 Future of SHM

SHM is a dynamic and evolving field that can benefit from the development of new technologies, methods, and applications. Future trends and opportunities for SHM include smart materials and structures, which can sense and respond to external stimuli, as well as the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing, which can facilitate data collection, transmission, and sharing. Digital twins and augmented reality can also create virtual representations of a structure that mirror its physical or real form. These technologies can enhance the self-monitoring, self-healing, and self-regulating capabilities of a structure, as well as the data analysis, interpretation, and presentation of SHM. Furthermore, they enable remote access, control, and coordination of the structure operation and management, as well as immersive interaction, inspection, and evaluation.