Abstract:
Civil structures such as bridges,
buildings, dams, etc., are normally designed to
have long life spans. However, changes in load
patterns, deterioration with age and
environmental effects may initiate damage in
these structures. Structural Health Monitoring
(SHM) has emerged as an efficient means of
evaluating the health of a structure and detect
damage. Structural failure can be prevented if
damage is detected at its onset and appropriate
retrofitting carried. Vibration based (VB) SHM
methods have attracted much attention in
recent times. The principle of VB methods is
that the modal parameters (natural frequencies
and mode shapes) of a structure change when
the structure is damaged. These variations can
hence be used to detect structural damage.
Sophisticated instrumentation and numerical
methods have enabled the rapid growth in VB
SHM research and its applications to structures
in which the onset of damage can be easily
missed as it is not easily visible or accessible.
This paper presents the basics of VB SHM and
the research carried out by the author and his
team on its applications to a variety of
structures. They include (i) beams which are
important flexural members in buildings and
bridges, (ii) suspension bridge (iii) arch bridge,
(iv) dam and (v) hyperbolic cooling tower.
