8 - Structural health monitoring and field validation of civil engineering structures

Abstract

With the increasing age of infrastructure and the use of new technologies, there is a need to derive, on a continuous basis, knowledge about the actual condition of a structure, or system, with the aim of not just knowing that its performance may have deteriorated, but rather to be able to pinpoint the area of degradation and more importantly to assess remaining performance levels and life. This has led to the development of the field of structural health monitoring (SHM) as a means of validating current and assessing potential future performance characteristics of structures and systems.