Flexible smart sensor framework for autonomous structural health monitoring

Rice, Jennifer A.,Mechitov, Kirill,Sim, Sung-Han,Nagayama, Tomonori,Jang, Shinae,Kim, Robin,Spencer, Billie F. Jr.,Agha, Gul,Fujino, Yozo Techno-Press 2010 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.6 No.5

Wireless smart sensors enable new approaches to improve structural health monitoring (SHM) practices through the use of distributed data processing. Such an approach is scalable to the large number of sensor nodes required for high-fidelity modal analysis and damage detection. While much of the technology associated with smart sensors has been available for nearly a decade, there have been limited numbers of fulls-cale implementations due to the lack of critical hardware and software elements. This research develops a flexible wireless smart sensor framework for full-scale, autonomous SHM that integrates the necessary software and hardware while addressing key implementation requirements. The Imote2 smart sensor platform is employed, providing the computation and communication resources that support demanding sensor network applications such as SHM of civil infrastructure. A multi-metric Imote2 sensor board with onboard signal processing specifically designed for SHM applications has been designed and validated. The framework software is based on a service-oriented architecture that is modular, reusable and extensible, thus allowing engineers to more readily realize the potential of smart sensor technology. Flexible network management software combines a sleep/wake cycle for enhanced power efficiency with threshold detection for triggering network wide operations such as synchronized sensing or decentralized modal analysis. The framework developed in this research has been validated on a full-scale a cable-stayed bridge in South Korea.

Structural health monitoring of a cable-stayed bridge using wireless smart sensor technology: data analyses

Cho, Soojin,Jo, Hongki,Jang, Shinae,Park, Jongwoong,Jung, Hyung-Jo,Yun, Chung-Bang,Spencer, Billie F. Jr.,Seo, Ju-Won Techno-Press 2010 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.6 No.5

This paper analyses the data collected from the $2^{nd}$ Jindo Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge in Korea that is a structural health monitoring (SHM) international test bed for advanced wireless smart sensors network (WSSN) technology. The SHM system consists of a total of 70 wireless smart sensor nodes deployed underneath of the deck, on the pylons, and on the cables to capture the vibration of the bridge excited by traffic and environmental loadings. Analysis of the data is performed in both the time and frequency domains. Modal properties of the bridge are identified using the frequency domain decomposition and the stochastic subspace identification methods based on the output-only measurements, and the results are compared with those obtained from a detailed finite element model. Tension forces for the 10 instrumented stay cables are also estimated from the ambient acceleration data and compared both with those from the initial design and with those obtained during two previous regular inspections. The results of the data analyses demonstrate that the WSSN-based SHM system performs effectively for this cable-stayed bridge, giving direct access to the physical status of the bridge.

A framework for distributed analytical and hybrid simulations

Kwon, Oh-Sung,Elnashai, Amr S.,Spencer, Billie F. Techno-Press 2008 Structural Engineering and Mechanics, An Int'l Jou Vol.30 No.3

A framework for multi-platform analytical and multi-component hybrid (testing-analysis) simulations is described in this paper and illustrated with several application examples. The framework allows the integration of various analytical platforms and geographically distributed experimental facilities into a comprehensive pseudo-dynamic hybrid simulation. The object-oriented architecture of the framework enables easy inclusion of new analysis platforms or experimental models, and the addition of a multitude of auxiliary components, such as data acquisition and camera control. Four application examples are given, namely; (i) multi-platform analysis of a bridge with soil and structural models, (ii) multiplatform, multi-resolution analysis of a high-rise building, (iii) three-site small scale frame hybrid simulation, and (iv) three-site large scale bridge hybrid simulation. These simulations serve as illustrative examples of collaborative research among geographically distributed researchers employing different analysis platforms and testing equipment. The versatility of the framework, ease of including additional modules and the wide application potential demonstrated in the paper provide a rich research environment for structural and geotechnical engineering.

Reliable multi-hop communication for structural health monitoring

Nagayama, Tomonori,Moinzadeh, Parya,Mechitov, Kirill,Ushita, Mitsushi,Makihata, Noritoshi,Ieiri, Masataka,Agha, Gul,Spencer, Billie F. Jr.,Fujino, Yozo,Seo, Ju-Won Techno-Press 2010 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.6 No.5

Wireless smart sensor networks (WSSNs) have been proposed by a number of researchers to evaluate the current condition of civil infrastructure, offering improved understanding of dynamic response through dense instrumentation. As focus moves from laboratory testing to full-scale implementation, the need for multi-hop communication to address issues associated with the large size of civil infrastructure and their limited radio power has become apparent. Multi-hop communication protocols allow sensors to cooperate to reliably deliver data between nodes outside of direct communication range. However, application specific requirements, such as high sampling rates, vast amounts of data to be collected, precise internodal synchronization, and reliable communication, are quite challenging to achieve with generic multi-hop communication protocols. This paper proposes two complementary reliable multi-hop communication solutions for monitoring of civil infrastructure. In the first approach, termed herein General Purpose Multi-hop (GPMH), the wide variety of communication patterns involved in structural health monitoring, particularly in decentralized implementations, are acknowledged to develop a flexible and adaptable any-to-any communication protocol. In the second approach, termed herein Single-Sink Multi-hop (SSMH), an efficient many-to-one protocol utilizing all available RF channels is designed to minimize the time required to collect the large amounts of data generated by dense arrays of sensor nodes. Both protocols adopt the Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol, which provides any-to-any routing and multi-cast capability, and supports a broad range of communication patterns. The proposed implementations refine the routing metric by considering the stability of links, exclude functionality unnecessary in mostly-static WSSNs, and integrate a reliable communication layer with the AODV protocol. These customizations have resulted in robust realizations of multi-hop reliable communication that meet the demands of structural health monitoring.

Semi-active damped outriggers for seismic protection of high-rise buildings

Chang, Chia-Ming,Wang, Zhihao,Spencer, Billie F. Jr.,Chen, Zhengqing Techno-Press 2013 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.11 No.5

High-rise buildings are a common feature of urban cities around the world. These flexible structures frequently exhibit large vibration due to strong winds and earthquakes. Structural control has been employed as an effective means to mitigate excessive responses; however, structural control mechanisms that can be used in tall buildings are limited primarily to mass and liquid dampers. An attractive alternative can be found in outrigger damping systems, where the bending deformation of the building is transformed into shear deformation across dampers placed between the outrigger and the perimeter columns. The outrigger system provides additional damping that can reduce structural responses, such as the floor displacements and accelerations. This paper investigates the potential of using smart dampers, specifically magnetorheological (MR) fluid dampers, in the outrigger system. First, a high-rise building is modeled to portray the St. Francis Shangri-La Place in Philippines. The optimal performance of the outrigger damping system for mitigation of seismic responses in terms of damper size and location also is subsequently evaluated. The efficacy of the semi-active damped outrigger system is finally verified through numerical simulation.

Structural health monitoring of a cable-stayed bridge using smart sensor technology: deployment and evaluation

Jang, Shinae,Jo, Hongki,Cho, Soojin,Mechitov, Kirill,Rice, Jennifer A.,Sim, Sung-Han,Jung, Hyung-Jo,Yun, Chung-Bangm,Spencer, Billie F. Jr.,Agha, Gul Techno-Press 2010 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.6 No.5

Structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil infrastructure using wireless smart sensor networks (WSSNs) has received significant public attention in recent years. The benefits of WSSNs are that they are low-cost, easy to install, and provide effective data management via on-board computation. This paper reports on the deployment and evaluation of a state-of-the-art WSSN on the new Jindo Bridge, a cable-stayed bridge in South Korea with a 344-m main span and two 70-m side spans. The central components of the WSSN deployment are the Imote2 smart sensor platforms, a custom-designed multimetric sensor boards, base stations, and software provided by the Illinois Structural Health Monitoring Project (ISHMP) Services Toolsuite. In total, 70 sensor nodes and two base stations have been deployed to monitor the bridge using an autonomous SHM application with excessive wind and vibration triggering the system to initiate monitoring. Additionally, the performance of the system is evaluated in terms of hardware durability, software stability, power consumption and energy harvesting capabilities. The Jindo Bridge SHM system constitutes the largest deployment of wireless smart sensors for civil infrastructure monitoring to date. This deployment demonstrates the strong potential of WSSNs for monitoring of large scale civil infrastructure.

Automated assessment of cracks on concrete surfaces using adaptive digital image processing

Liu, Yufei,Cho, Soojin,Spencer, Billie F. Jr,Fan, Jiansheng Techno-Press 2014 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.14 No.4

Monitoring surface cracks is important to ensure the health of concrete structures. However, traditional visual inspection to monitor the concrete cracks has disadvantages such as subjective inspection nature, associated time and cost, and possible danger to inspectors. To alter the visual inspection, a complete procedure for automated crack assessment based on adaptive digital image processing has been proposed in this study. Crack objects are extracted from the images using the subtraction with median filter and the local binarization using the Niblack's method. To adaptively. determine the optimal window sizes for the median filter and the Niblack's method without distortion of crack object an optimal filter size index (OFSI) is proposed. From the extracted crack objects using the optimal size of window, the crack objects are decomposed to the crack skeletons and edges, and the crack width is calculated using 4-connected normal line according to the orientation of the local skeleton line. For an image, a crack width nephogram is obtained to have an intuitive view of the crack distribution. The proposed procedure is verified from a test on a concrete reaction wall with various types of cracks. From the crack images with different crack widths and patterns, the widths of cracks in the order of submillimeters are calculated with high accuracy.

사장교를 위한 LRB-기반 복합 기초격리 시스템

정형조,박규식,이인원,Jung, Hyung-Jo,Park, Kyu-Sik,Spencer, Billie-F.Jr.,Lee, In-Won 한국지진공학회 2004 한국지진공학회논문집 Vol.8 No.3

사장교에 발생하는 지진에 의한 진동을 감소시키기 위해 추가적인 능동/반능동 제어장치를 부착한 LRB-기반 복합 기초격리 시스템에 대한 논문이다. 복합 기초격리 시스템은 제어장치가 다중으로 작동하기 때문에 LRB가 설치된 교량 시스템과 같은 수동형 기초격리 시스템에 비해 제어 성능이 뛰어나다. 본 논문에서는, LQG 알고리듬에 의해 제어되는 능동형 유압식 가력기와 clipped 최적제어에 의해 제어되는 반능동형 자기유변 유체 (MR) 감쇠기를 추가적인 제어장치로 고려하여 추가적인 응답 감소 효과를 검토하였다. 이를 위해, 미국토목학회의 1단계 벤치마크 사장교에 LRB를 설치한 교량을 고려하였다. 수치해석 결과를 통해, 모든 LRB-기반 복합 기초격리시스템이 구조물의 응답을 효과적으로 감소시킴을 확인하였다. 또한, MR 감쇠기를 채택한 복합 기초격리 시스템은 구조물 강성의 불확실성에 대해 강인성을 보였지만 유압식 가력기를 채택한 경우에는 강인성이 부족함을 알 수 있었다. 따라서, 반능동형 추가 제어장치를 채택한 복합 기초격리 시스템의 대형 토목구조물에 대한 적용가능성이 제어 성능 및 강인성 면에서 분명하게 검증되었다. This paper presents LRB-based hybrid base isolation systems employing additional active/semiactive control devices for mitigating earthquake-induced vibration of a cable-stayed 29 bridge. Hybrid base isolation systems could improve the control performance compared with the passive type-base isolation system such as LRB-installed bridge system due to multiple control devices are operating. In this paper, the additional response reduction by the two typical additional control devices, such as active type hydraulic actuators controlled by LQG algorithm and semiactive-type magnetorheological dampers controlled by clipped-optimal algorithm, have been evaluated bypreliminarily investigating the slightly modified version of the ASCE phase I benchmark cable-stayed bridge problem (i.e., the installation of LRBs to the nominal cable-stayed bridge model of the problem). It shows from the numerical simulation results that all the LRB based hybrid seismic isolation systems considered are quite effective to mitigate the structural responses. In addition, the numerical results demonstrate that the LRB based hybrid seismic isolation systems employing MR dampers have the robustness to some degree of the stiffness uncertainty of in the structure, whereas the hybrid system employing hydraulic actuators does not. Therefore, the feasibility of the hybrid base isolation systems employing semiactive additional control devices could be more appropriate in realfor full-scale civil infrastructure applications is clearly verified due to their efficacy and robustness.

System identification of an in-service railroad bridge using wireless smart sensors

Kim, Robin E.,Moreu, Fernando,Spencer, Billie F. Techno-Press 2015 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.15 No.3

Railroad bridges form an integral part of railway infrastructure throughout the world. To accommodate increased axel loads, train speeds, and greater volumes of freight traffic, in the presence of changing structural conditions, the load carrying capacity and serviceability of existing bridges must be assessed. One way is through system identification of in-service railroad bridges. To dates, numerous researchers have reported system identification studies with a large portion of their applications being highway bridges. Moreover, most of those models are calibrated at global level, while only a few studies applications have used globally and locally calibrated model. To reach the global and local calibration, both ambient vibration tests and controlled tests need to be performed. Thus, an approach for system identification of a railroad bridge that can be used to assess the bridge in global and local sense is needed. This study presents system identification of a railroad bridge using free vibration data. Wireless smart sensors are employed and provided a portable way to collect data that is then used to determine bridge frequencies and mode shapes. Subsequently, a calibrated finite element model of the bridge provides global and local information of the bridge. The ability of the model to simulate local responses is validated by comparing predicted and measured strain in one of the diagonal members of the truss. This research demonstrates the potential of using measured field data to perform model calibration in a simple and practical manner that will lead to better understanding the state of railroad bridges.

A fast image-stitching algorithm for characterization of cracks in large-scale structures

Linlin Wang,Billie F. Spencer Jr,Junjie Li,Pan Hu 국제구조공학회 2021 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.27 No.4

Visual inspection of concrete cracks has been widely used in structural health monitoring (SHM). Capturing highresolution images is an effective method to visualize a complete crack, but it is difficult to show a whole crack from a single high-resolution image. One feasible method is using image stitching technique to stitch several images into a complete crack map. However, the current image stitching method is a computationally intensive process. Numerous images are required to cover large-scale structures with sufficient resolution, this can be computationally prohibitive. To address this problem, an improved image stitching method for crack damage evaluation is proposed, which can quickly stitch the crack images without affecting the quality of the stitching or the resulting images. Rather than first stitching the images together and then determining the crack maps, we propose to first develop the crack maps for the individual images and then stitch them together. The proposed method reduces the number of redundant matching points between the original images by combining their characteristics during image stitching, so it can reduce the calculation time without affecting the quality. Also, the results will not be influenced by the image stitching seam, which can reduce the complexity of the algorithm. Several experimental results are provided in this article to demonstrate that the proposed method can reduce the calculation time without affecting the quality of image stitching and have better robustness than the current method in use.