U.S. Panel on Structural Control and Monitoring

An interesting intitiavie on SHM has an updated website.

The charter of the U.S. Panel on Structural Control and Monitoring is to accelerate the advancement of the science and practice of structural control and monitoring, by means of education, research and application of knowledge. This includes the response of large-scale structures to earthquakes, wind and man-made forces.  The U.S. Panel promotes and organizes activities including workshops, conferences and educational initiatives with the aim of fostering close collaboration between the academic and industrial communities.  In particular, the U.S. Panel has a proud tradition of assisting in the planning and execution of the International Workshop on Structural Control and Monitoring and the World Conference on Structural Control and Monitoring.

The website ca be found here: http://shm.engin.umich.edu/USPanel/index.html 

The Executive committe is chaired by prof. Shirley Dyke (Washington University) and prof. Jerome Lynch (University of Michigan, secretary). 

It contains useful information about SHM , conferences and test reports.

Using wireless sensors to monitor bridge safety

University of Texas (UT) professor, Dean Neikirk, will be field-testing a new bridge monitoring system within the year. The project is a collaboration between industry, government, and academia that will provide real-time monitoring of dangerous bridges and reduce inspection costs for all bridges.

"Most bridges have already been built," says Neikirk. "Our project will develop simple, low-cost equipment that can be used to retrofit existing construction as well as in new construction, but we are primarily concerned with ensuring that bridges do not fail without warning. Most aging bridges do not necessarily require replacement, they just need to be monitored for signs of corrosion and wear."

Neikirk and principal investigator and UT Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering Chair Sharon L. Wood are developing a network of low-power wireless sensors capable of capturing and transmitting data to a central location. They already have working sensors, a data collection methodology, and specifications for sensor placement. Researchers are working on (1) powering sensors with solar, wind, or traffic vibrations instead of batteries, (2) ensuring the sensor output is compatible with National Instruments (NI) equipment that will be collecting the data and that NI equipment is rugged enough for outdoor use, and (3) preventing the steel structures from interfering with the radio signals used to transmit data.

[University of Texas at Austin]