A Bio-inspired Framework for Highly Efficient Structural Health Monitoring and Vibration Analysis

Abstract

Civil engineering structures are continuously exposed to the risk of damage whether due to ageing effects, excessive live loa ds or extreme events, such as earthquakes, blasts and cyclones. If not readily identified, damage will inevitably compromise the structural integrity, leading the system to stop operating and undergo in-depth interventions. The economic and social impacts associated with such an adverse condition can be significant, therefore effective methods able to early identify structural vulnerabilities are needed for these systems to keep meeting the required life-safety standards and avoid the impairment of their normal function. In this context, vibration-based analysis approaches play a leading role as they allow to detect structural faults which lie beneath the surface of the structure by identifying and quantifying anomalous changes in the system's inherent vibration characteristics. However, although the considerable degree of maturity attained within the fields of experiment al vibration analysis (EVA) and structural health monitoring (SHM), several technical issues still need to be addressed in order to ensure the successful implementation of these powerful tools for damage identification purposes. The scope of this paper is to present a bio-inspired framework for optimal structural health monitoring and vibration analysis. After a critical overview on current methods and tools, three main sources of bio-inspiration are described along with the relative algorithms derived for SHM applications. It is shown how uncovering the general principles behind the functioning of selected biological systems can foster the development of efficient solutions to the technical conflicts of actual SHM architectures and lead to new sensing paradigms for optimal network to pology and sensors location. A compatibility-matrix is proposed to help compare biological and SHM systems and discriminate desired from unwanted features. Such a framewo rk will ultimately assist in seeking for the most suitable nature-inspired solutions for more accurate condition screening and robust vibration analysis.

New approach for monitoring historic and heritage buildings: Using terrestrial laser scanning and generalised Procrustes analysis

“…Because cracks are the most frequent cause of masonry performance failure, heritage and historic masonry buildings are likely to experience cracking . According to Masciotta, Ramos, no limiting values of crack width are provided in the actual codes and regulations for unreinforced stonemasonry structures.…”

“…Because cracks are the most frequent cause of masonry performance failure, heritage and historic masonry buildings are likely to experience cracking . According to Masciotta, Ramos, no limiting values of crack width are provided in the actual codes and regulations for unreinforced stonemasonry structures. However, he adapted, from original reference Burland, Broms, five levels of damage on the basis of observed crack widths and ease of repair of masonry (Classification of visible damage in masonry walls, Table ) .…”

“…According to Masciotta, Ramos, no limiting values of crack width are provided in the actual codes and regulations for unreinforced stonemasonry structures. However, he adapted, from original reference Burland, Broms, five levels of damage on the basis of observed crack widths and ease of repair of masonry (Classification of visible damage in masonry walls, Table ) . The target of this research is to detect moderate cracks.…”

“…For this purpose, for flexible structures, vibration tests with modal parameters are used. On the other hand, the static monitoring is fundamental for assessing the structural performance and identifying changes (plastic deformation) . Regarding heritage and historic building, due to aging and fatigue, the plastic deformation is the dominant, and therefore the static monitoring technique is required …”