Embedding actuation functionalities in a wireless structural health monitoring system

This paper describes a prototype wireless actuation and sensing unit intended to collect measurement data from sensors embedded within structural elements that are excited by low-energy actuation elements, and to communicate data and results to a structural monitoring system network.

Abstract

Structural health monitoring is a broad field that encompasses a number of synergetic technologies that together can provide a system to identify and characterize possible damage present within a structure. Such a system should include data acquisition subsystems capable of recording a structure's response to ambient and external loads. Furthermore, it is now possible to include computational hardware in system designs for local execution of embedded engineering analyses that interrogate recorded response data for indicators correlated to possible damage. This paper describes a prototype wireless actuation and sensing unit which is intended: (1) to collect measurement data from sensors embedded within structural elements that are excited by low-energy actuation elements; (2) to store, manage and locally process the measurement data collected; and (3) to communicate data and results to a structural monitoring system network.