An automated wireless-based system for real-time health monitoring of civil infrastructures

Abstract

This paper presents a structural health monitoring (SHM) system based on wireless smart sensor network for real-time condition assessment of civil infrastructures. The system consists of a new wireless smart sensor network and a MATLAB-based data management and data analysis toolbox. In the first part, the development process of wireless sensor system is presented, which was especially designed to meet the requirements of low-amplitude vibration measurements and sudden event monitoring of civil infrastructures. Then, the multipurpose MATLAB-based toolbox is introduced that is able to manage and synchronise time-series data, process the monitoring data, evaluate modal parameters using time and frequency domain System Identification (SI) techniques, compare the modal parameters, and identify any abnormalities as structural damage. To validate the performance of the wireless smart sensor nodes in terms of sensitivity, event-triggered sampling mode, and time synchronisation a series of shaking table tests was conducted on a steel truss bridge model at Structures Laboratory of Auckland University of Technology. Also, the system was installed on the Newmarket Viaduct to evaluate the overall performance of the wireless sensor network in an outdoor environment. The laboratory test results showed that the wireless smart sensor network is able to provide promising performance to measure various types and amplitudes of vibrations from the bridge model with high precision. In addition, the dynamic characteristics of the full-scale bridge measured using the vibration data were consistent showing the reliability of the SHM system in terms of data sensing, data management, and data analysis for SHM applications.