NCSU TIE :Wireless Sensor Networks for Structural Health Monitering of Bridges

North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC

Investigators

Abstract

Bridges and concrete structures are subject to ageing and obsolescence and may be considered as the most vulnerable elements of the infrastructure as their condition of out-of-service causes great losses in terms of costs, both for the users and for road owners and operators. Special attention is therefore focused on maintaining them in a serviceable condition. This research is directed toward bettering the state-of-the-art in structural health monitoring of bridges and other similar structure. The research is broad in two parts. The first part addresses sensing/data interpretation, the second part addresses the transfer of data from sensors to the location where interpretation occurs. This project ties together the expertise in the first part provided by the Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for the Repair of Buildings Bridges and Composites and the networking expertise provided by the I/UCRC for Advanced Computing and Communication.