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Structural health monitoring of buildings

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What does structural monitoring involve?

Structural health monitoring in buildings and cultural heritage is a method based on sensors that collect data that are subsequently processed and interpreted. The aim is to gain in-depth knowledge of the conditions and state of the structure, as well as to carry out preventive or corrective maintenance actions to increase safety and guarantee its conservation.

Structural monitoring in buildings is mainly focused on:

  • Residential buildings.
  • Public buildings, such as hospitals, schools, sports stadiums, museums…
  • Cultural heritage.

 

Structural Health Monitoring of Cultural Heritage

Historic buildings, monuments and other cultural elements constitute a very important part of the artistic, architectural and cultural heritage, so we have developed a solution for monitoring the structural health of heritage, which allows us to evaluate the structural safety and possible pathologies of this type of construction in real time.

The system consists of:

  • The placement of sensors at strategic points along a historical building to detect the presence and location of any damage generated as a result of earthquakes, aluminosis, stone disease or the incidence of pollution and tourism.
  • The communication of the same.
  • The subsequent analysis of the results.

The system’s measurements, based on IoT technology, are carried out in a very short time, so that the information is available in real time to speed up decision-making during the work.

Monitoring of a variety of structural injuries

Mechanical damage monitoring

Sensors are placed at strategic points along a structure to monitor mechanical damage generated as a result of earthquakes, unpredictable events or their normal use. Mechanical damage has its origin in external or internal structural, constructive forces or in use.

The monitoring system, based on IoT technology, is conducted over very short periods of time, thus providing real-time information to make the decision making quicker and more immediate.

Taking into account present and/or future damages that can be a hazard for the stability of the buildings or harm their users, sensors are set up in the relevant points to:

  • Monitor vibrations with an accelerometer, as they can affect the behavior of the structure while operating.
  • Monitor deviations from the vertical with an inclinometer.
  • Determine the movements of the structures by the displacement of already existing cracks with a linear crackmeter.
  • Monitor other data important for decision making such as temperature and humidity, because they can have an influence on the appearance or presence of dilatations, corrosion, mold or rust.

Physicochemical damage monitoring

One of the most common forms of physical damage in buildings is the appearance of humidity. Regarding chemical damage, the most known and visually evident are oxidation, corrosion, efflorescence and chemical injuries caused by living organisms (plants, insect pests, chemical attack by excrement and fungi).

With the solution for structural health monitoring of buildings, physicochemical damage can also be studied by installing a sensor network that monitors variables such as temperature, humidity, dilatations, corrosion, molds or oxides.

Data acquisition and communication system

The datalogger collects the data monitored and sends it, via internet, to an Internet service by means of M2M standard communication protocols such as REST, MQTT, which store it in a database for future reference. The period for sending the data can be adjusted according to the client's preferences. The flexibility of the firmware displayed enables the equipment to be directly integrated with any kind of IoT platform or control center, both cloud-based and local, through communication protocols (format of messages, communication and transport networks, M2M networks) completely adapted to each case. Communication with the optional communication modules at ENVIRA are wireless, with technologies such as 3g, LTE, LORA®, and soon with Narrow-Band.

Data display and analysis

The data collected by the sensors are transmitted to the ENVIRA DS platform, where the information can be graphicly displayed or downloaded for further analysis with other tools.

The data collected by the sensors are transmitted to the ENVIRA DS platform, where the information can be graphically displayed or downloaded for further analysis with other tools.

 

With this data you get:

  • Monitoring of structures and buildings in real time.
  • Study of trends in the behavior of the fissures studied.
  • Increased safety and structural integrity.
  • Detection of anomalies over time.
  • Reduction of maintenance operating costs.
  • Better preventive conservation of heritage.
  • Integration with structural reinforcement strategies.

Advantages

Open solution, can be integrated with external developments at any level (device, connectivity, CLOUD or user application).

An unlimited number of devices can be included in future extensions.

High-reliable and available data in real time.

Tailored system.

Complete adaptation and integration with different types of buildings.

Complete adaptation and integration with different types of buildings.

Do you want to know more about Structural health monitoring of buildings?

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