A Study on Technological Dynamics in Structural Health Monitoring Using Intelligent Fault Diagnosis Techniques: A Patent-Based Approach

Abstract

The performance and reliability of structural components are greatly influenced by the presence of any abnormality in them. To this purpose, structural health monitoring (SHM) is recognized as a necessary tool to ensure the safety precautions and efficiency of both mechanical and civil infrastructures. Till now, most of the previous work has emphasized the functioning of several SHM techniques and systematic changes in SHM execution. However, there exist insufficient data in the literature regarding the patent-based technological developments in the SHM research domain which might be a useful source of detailed information for worldwide research institutes. To address this research gap, a method based on the Co-Operative Patent Classification (CPC) codes is proposed in the current study. The proposed method includes the patent analysis of SHM in terms of its global publication trend and technology-based applications. This analysis is performed using patent database search tools, namely, IncoPat and Espacenet. The period ranging from 2005 to 2019 is selected to retrieve the required patent documents. A new approach termed as Patents’ value is utilized to investigate the technological impact of a patent in the form of forward citations, technical stability, and scope of protection. The identification of emerging SHM techniques and forecasting of vacant technology is also part of current research work. The research results have revealed the increasing trend in the number of published patents each year related to various SHM technologies. In this regard, China, the United States, and South Korea are notified as to the major depositor countries, respectively. Hence, mapping of patent data in this research is an effort to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method to demonstrate the development trends and dynamic inventions over the time in SHM research domain to achieve the optimal damage inspections of various mechanical components.