US-India Cooperative Research: Health Monitoring and Retrofitting of Infrastructure

University Of Arizona, Tucson AZ

Investigators

Abstract

0352680 Kundu Description: This award supports the US-India Cooperative Research: Health Monitoring and Retrofitting of Infrastructure. US PIs Tribikram Kundu, University of Arizona (UA) and Thomas Boothby, Pennsylvania State University (PSU) will collaborate with Abhijit Mukherjee, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IITB) on sensor-based health monitoring of civil infrastructure systems. Recent developments in the field of structural health monitoring promise a paradigm shift in the evaluation and maintenance of infrastructural systems. Advances in sensor technology and the use of fiber-reinforced composites (FRC) are key factors in transforming traditional methods of monitoring and maintaining facilities. This research addresses current and developing issues in the selection and installation of sensors, the recording and processing of their signals, and has the potential for infrastructure application on a global scale. Scope: This research is interdisciplinary and requires cooperation from researchers in health monitoring, structural retrofitting and structural mechanics. The collaborating investigators and institutions offer excellent complimentary expertise. UA is active in ultrasonic investigations and system identification techniques, PSU has facilities for manufacturing and testing FRC, and the IITB has experience in field applications of FRC techniques and development of micro-electrical-mechanical sensors (MEMS). The international collaboration compliments the domestic research of each of these institutions. The Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems is cofunding this research. Also, the Government of India's Department of Science and Technology (DST) is jointly funding this project under the NSF/DST program.