Development of innovative methods for structural health monitoring and related improvement of structural performance and resilience

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A large part of our infrastructure was built in mid-seventies and they are in urgent need of rehabilitation and/or reconstruction. In order to reduce the vulnerability of structures to operational and extreme loadings (e.g., earthquake), it is important to determine their structural conditions and capacity through regular inspection and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) techniques. This is essential for making effective decisions on structural rehabilitation, and take advantage of high performing materials (e.g., high strength concrete, fiber reinforced polymer or FRP), and new devices and systems (e.g., dampers and control systems) to improve the structural performance and resilience. The long term goal of the proposed research is to develop effective methods to achieve sustainable and resilient infrastructure. The short term goals are to: (1) develop innovative SHM techniques for evaluation of the in-situ performance of structures, and (2) develop practical methods to improve structural performance and resilience to operational and extreme events (e.g. earthquake) using the SHM-based condition assessment. To achieve Goal 1, the proposed research program will focus on the development of new sensing methods for monitoring, system identification and damage detection techniques in structures. Particular attention will be given to wireless sensors for SHM and their performance will be studied in the laboratory and field. A number of issues including optimal placement of sensors, appropriate deployment mechanism, detecting sensor malfunction, environmental effect on monitoring data, detecting novel events (e.g., earthquake), identify system properties, and detect structural damage will be addressed in this research. To achieve Goal 2, the present research will focus on new materials and technologies such as advanced composites and damping devices to upgrade the performance of a structure. Particular attention will be given to magneto-rheological (MR) fluid-based semi-active dampers in controlling vibration response in structures. Effective application of these devices requires simplified methods to model them in a structural system, which will be addressed here by developing a simplified modelling technique for such devices and integrating them to structural models to analyze their performance. The functioning of a semi-active device can be directly tied to the SHM system of a structure as such a device requires feedback from structure in terms of its dynamic response. The proposed research program will be built upon the applicant's ongoing work in the above areas. There is significant potential for innovation in the proposed research which aims at enhancing the fundamental knowledge in the above areas. The outcome of the research is expected to enhance the safety of the civil and built infrastructure and benefit the Canadian society.