Structural monitoring (or structural health monitoring) is an essential part of modern urban infrastructure. As the name suggests, it involves closely monitoring the performance of the structures that constitute modern towns and cities, especially those which may be vulnerable to processes like erosion, subsidence or other forms of decay.

SHM can be applied to all forms of buildings or structures, from ancient buildings which have been standing for thousands of years, to bridges that are under construction in earthquake zones.

Nowadays, monitoring generally takes place remotely via arrays of sensors which may be embedded within the fabric of the structures being assessed. As such, it has become one of the most important implementations of the Internet of Things (IoT), where data is collected from sensors in the real world for analysis at central locations.

How Does Structural Health Monitoring Work?

All buildings can deteriorate and collapse. From the dawn of civilisation, we have suffered from the catastrophic effects of structural breakdown, from cities flattened by quakes or hurricanes, to fires, explosions and sudden collapses triggered by subsidence.

While natural disasters cannot be predicted, general decay can be detected and averted. And if we know more about a building’s health, we can make it as resistant to vibrations as possible. Structural health monitoring seeks to give engineers the ability to prevent and predict structural issues before they cause any damage.

Generally, structural health monitoring involves the placement of sensors in locations where they can dynamically detect relevant information about how the materials in a structure are performing. The data from connected sensors can then be sent via 3G, Sigfox or wi-fi connections to analytical tools located in the Cloud.

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