Advanced structural health monitoring for stone masonry structures - bringing new technology closer to market

建筑石材的使用寿命有限，当它被放置在当今城市环境中经常发生的侵蚀性环境中时，可能会大大缩短-但石材仍然被广泛认为是一种适应性和可持续的建筑材料，具有低碳特征，并且是世界上许多有形文化遗产的储存库。因此，选择新的和替代的石头以及保护腐烂的石头必须详细了解不同类型的石头在特定环境中如何腐烂，以及一旦开始腐烂，哪些因素会触发腐烂并控制其速度。数据是有限的，从广泛的石头类型中看到的结构存在的今天-只有有限数量的相对耐用的石头的性能特征是已知的，这些是在很大程度上抵抗物理损坏和腐烂主要是由溶解驱动。石材的溶解速率受降雨量、时间、大气条件和化学等因素的影响，因此，了解建筑石材内部和周围的微环境条件后，通过短期观察可以很大程度上预测腐烂速率。尽管目前使用相当先进的非破坏性方法来评估老化过程及其速度，但这些方法在很大程度上仍然无法解释建筑材料内部污染的命运和程度。因此，使用嵌入式传感器对这些建筑材料进行定性在线健康监测是必不可少的，不仅从经济规划和维护的角度来看，而且从文化，技术和科学的角度来看。专为石材建筑设计的新型传感器系统可以提供保护人员所需的数据，使他们能够更好地了解正在进行的复杂过程，并更好地建模，从而以具有成本效益和及时的方式计划维修和维护程序。这项工作建立在以前的几个EPSRC赠款到光纤传感器系统，民用结构监测和遗产石制品。然而，特别是这一后续应用建立在一项资助的成功技术成就的基础上，该资助侧重于测试、评估和设计一套新的传感器系统，用于监测水分和氯化物的运输。这项工作使人们能够对衰变过程进行更详细的评估，并开始更好地了解该赠款资助的几个关键应用问题。认识到后续基金关注的是为确定的商业机会进行开发，该项目可以概括为光纤传感器系统的开发、商业化和销售，以监测结构监测和防止古代和现代石制工程腐烂方面的水分和水分携带的盐的进入。通过仔细考虑的技术和商业计划，旨在改进用于石砌结构的特定监测环境的传感器，并开发可以以最小侵入性方式用于石雕的探头。商业可行性将通过现场评估、市场测试以及与具有建筑环境监测专业知识的中小企业密切合作来确定。

Building stone has a finite life that can be drastically curtailed when it is placed in the often-aggressive environments experienced in today's urban settings - yet stone masonry is still widely recognized as an adaptable and sustainable construction material, with a low carbon signature, and as a repository of much of the world's tangible cultural heritage. Arising from this, it is essential that the choice of new and replacement stone and the conservation of decaying stone is underpinned by a detailed knowledge of how different stone types decay in specific environments and what factors trigger decay and control its rate once it is initiated. Data are limited from the wide range of stone types seen in structures existing today - the performance characteristics of only a limited number of comparatively durable stones are known and these are largely resistant to physical damage and decay is driven primarily by dissolution. The rate of solution of stones is influenced by factors such as rainfall amount, timing, atmospheric conditions and chemistry and thus, with knowledge of micro-environmental conditions in and around the building stone, decay rates are largely predictable from short-term observation. Despite rather advanced non-destructive methods currently used for assessing the deterioration process and their rates, the fate and extent of inner contamination of building materials remains largely unaccounted for by such methods. Therefore qualitative online health monitoring of these building materials using embedded sensors is essential, not only from the standpoint of economic planning and maintenance, but also on cultural, technical and scientific grounds. Novel sensor systems designed specifically for use in buildings constructed from stone can provide the data that conservators need which enable them to understand better the complex processes that are on-going and to model better and thus plan repair and maintenance procedures in a cost efficient and timely way. This work builds upon several previous EPSRC grants into both fibre optic sensor systems, civil structural monitoring and heritage stonework. However in particular this follow on application builds upon the successful technical achievements of a grant focusing on the test, evaluation and design of a suite of new sensor systems for stonework monitoring for both moisture and chloride transport. The work enabled a more detailed evaluation of the decay processes and the beginning of a better understanding of several key applications-focused issues from that grant funded. Recognizing that the Follow-on Fund is concerned with development towards an identified commercial opportunity, this project can be summarized as the development, commercialization and marketing of fibre optic sensor systems for monitoring ingress of moisture and moisture-borne salts in the context of structural monitoring and decay prevention of stonework, both historic and modern. Through carefully considered technical and commercial plans, it is intended to refine the sensors for the specific monitoring environments of stone masonry strucures and develop probes which can be used in stonework in a minimal invasive manner. The commercial feasibility will be established through in situ evaluation, market testing and working closely with an SME with specialised knowledge in monitoring the built environment.