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

建筑石材的寿命是有限的，当它被放置在当今城市环境中经常经历的恶劣环境中时，它的寿命可能会大大缩短。然而，石砌体仍然被广泛认为是一种适应性强、可持续发展的建筑材料，具有低碳特征，并且是世界上许多物质文化遗产的储存库。由此而来的是，选择新的和替换的石材以及对腐烂的石材的保护，至关重要的是要详细了解不同的石材类型在特定环境下是如何腐烂的，以及什么因素引发了腐烂，一旦开始就控制了它的速度。目前在现有建筑中所见的各种各样的石头类型的数据是有限的，只有有限数量的相对耐用的石头的性能特征是已知的，这些石头在很大程度上抵抗物理破坏，腐烂主要是由溶解引起的。石头的溶解速度受到降雨量、时间、大气条件和化学等因素的影响，因此，通过对建筑石头内部和周围微环境条件的了解，可以通过短期观察在很大程度上预测衰变速度。尽管目前使用了相当先进的非破坏性方法来评估恶化过程及其速度，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，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，使用嵌入式传感器对这些建筑材料进行定性的在线健康监测是必不可少的。专门设计用于石材建筑的新型传感器系统可以提供维护人员所需的数据，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，从而以经济有效和及时的方式计划维修和维护程序。这项工作建立在EPSRC之前对光纤传感器系统、土木结构监测和遗产石工的几项资助的基础上。然而，特别的是，这一后续应用建立在一项成功的技术成果的基础上，该成果侧重于测试、评估和设计一套用于石制品监测水分和氯化物运输的新传感器系统。这项工作使得对衰变过程进行了更详细的评估，并开始更好地了解该基金资助的几个关键应用重点问题。认识到后续基金关注的是对确定的商业机会的发展，该项目可以概括为在历史和现代石制品结构监测和防腐蚀的背景下监测湿气和湿气盐进入的光纤传感器系统的开发、商业化和销售。通过仔细考虑技术和商业计划，旨在改进用于石砌体结构特定监测环境的传感器，并开发可以以最小侵入方式用于石制品的探头。通过实地评估、市场测试，以及与具备监测建筑环境专业知识的中小企业紧密合作，确立商业可行性。

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.